Spoke a little too soon

So school has started...sort of. Tuesday, the supposed first day of class, was only what they call here an ¨acto¨ or a form of presentation. It consisted of a prayer (church and state are NOT separate here), 2 piñatas/dance contest, music and a reminder of all the rules that will soon be ignored and not enforced. The second day of school actually started classes, but this week and next are supposed to just be ¨diagnostic testing,¨ or seeing what the students do and don´t remember from last year.

I am going to be teaching first and second year (7th and 8th grade) kids in the high school. When I arrived at school the second day for the morning classes, my counterpart was in a different class and asked me to make up the plan for our next class together. The whole point of the PC TEFL project is to CO-plan and CO-teach so it´s sustainable (when I leave the English teachers can keep doing what we were doing when I was here), so there´s one rule broken (didn´t co-plan). Then, once class started, my counterpart left me in the class alone with 60 kids for about half an hour. Second, and more important, rule broken (didn´t co-teach). Classes in the afternoon with my other counterpart were a little better.

Some of my classes are composed of mostly kids who are repeating a grade. There is even one kid in first year who is in first year for the fourth time! The worst part is that when we ask them what they remember from English class last year, we get blank stares. It´s been a struggle just to get them to spell the numbers from 1-10. So there is lots of room for improvement, from the students to my counterparts. Hopefully once everything at is settled down and organized (they are still fiddling with the schedule) it will be better...

My dad was here in Nicaragua last week. I got to see him and watch some of his surgeries in Managua on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between him and his friend they did 20 knee surgeries in 3 1/2 days! On Friday I brought him back here to my town to meet my family and see where I live. Saturday we went to the Masaya Volcano, Laguna de Apoyo and the market in Masaya. It was really nice to see him and to have him see my new home!

Last weekend four new PC trainees in the health group arrived to my town for their 3 months of training. They all seem really nice so far. I´ve been running with one of them in the mornings.

Hopefully next time I write I´ll be able to report some positive news from the school front.