iPhone Photo Dump

Here're some pictures of my classroom. And stuff.

Our class library

My little corner of insanity before I got my charola from Office Depot

A particularly nice sunset walking home from school one day

Coloring mandalas in class

There's a lot going on here.

The Writing Process

Huge burger from GBC...ate this on an in-service day.

Random note from my student

This chicken was walking around the bus stop at Tunco.

Good morning from the boys' apartment!

Casey and Matt getting ready for a pirate party

Time Flies

I can't believe it's already the middle of October! This week, I'll complete week ten with my kiddos. I have parent/teacher conferences tomorrow, and we have an in-service on Friday, so I only have them for three days this week.

Many challenges have arisen, but I'm finding ways to solve them. This morning, we had a class meeting about how to use kind words if someone is bothering you. I busted out "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," and I think some of them actually understood what I was getting at.

It's really fun to watch them learn. I've almost corrected away their double negative use. They edited and "published" actual paragraphs, formatted on the computer and everything (it was such a test of patience to get 21 eight- and nine-year-olds to format a paper in Word). They can subtract across zero. They know the difference between incomplete and complete metamorphosis. They understand that a rural area does not mean a poor area.

I'm really trying to encourage more creativity, and I luckily have the freedom to (for the most part) do what I want with unlimited-ish resources. After lunch, we color mandalas to settle down. They created small Blot Books to jot down and illustrate ideas. I need to get some songs going because I have a few who are so auditory. One in particular absolutely MUST be making some kind of noise at all times.

I also decided to take on the extra challenge of starting a master's degree. The school flies in professors from Framingham in Massachusetts, and we also get a scholarship for the program. I'm really glad I started it, as I've already completed one of the nine required courses (Curriculum Theory and Practice). Each course goes for two weeks, 3:30-6:30 during the week and 8:00-4:00 on Saturdays. It's a lot, but it's doable. In the fall of 2014, I'll complete a master's of International Teaching. Sweet.

El Salvador is still wonderful. I like my friends, I like my job. I don't have to do laundry or clean.There are bugs everywhere, including a new colony of ants in our kitchen, but oh well. Rainy season is almost over, and it's going to be endless, perfect weather.

We are going to Costa del Sol for Thanksgiving.

I will try to update more often.

Lots of things!

Lots has happened since my last post. We met our maids last Friday and organized which days they were going to come. One of the perks of being here is having inexpensive help around the house, and our complejo residents pay much more than the ladies would be making elsewhere. Megan and I have Antonia on Tuesdays and Fridays, and we pay only $24 a week. She does laundry, cleans, and will even make food if we want. Next week I'm going to have her make that tamarindo drink I like so much. I'm so glad I'm able to speak with her and the vigilantes, etc. around here; it's come in really handy and saves us a lot of time.

The new elementary teachers and I are planning a trip to Perquín for the Agostinas coming up. I called the place we wanted to stay, and of course they had no one available who spoke English. I'm happy to report that I booked the whole thing, complications and all, in Spanish. I think this is a first for me. The weird thing down here is that you can't hold the room with a credit card; you have to go to their bank and make a deposit into an account. So, I took my first trip to Citibank the other day, which happens to also be our bank. It reminded me a lot of the DMV. I took a number and waited to be called, only to find out that the lady couldn't transfer money from my account to the other account. I had to go outside and around a corner to the ATM, take money out, and come back to deposit it inside the bank. What a pain! I definitely missed the conveniences of home that day.

We also took a trip to Ataco, stopping at a few places along the way. We ate at an amazing garden/restaurant for lunch, bought some stuff at artisan markets, and stopped by a gastronomical festival.

I don't remember which day, but we also took a trip to downtown San Salvador. It was quick, but interesting. Definitely a very different world from our school bubble over here in San Benito.

Today we went to La Libertad to the beach club that the school has a membership to. It was a nice, relaxing day. Megan and I plan to come back to the States super tan for winter break.

After we got back today, a few of us were feeling under the weather, so we took a field trip to the farmacia across the street from the complejo. I described everyone's symptoms and we walked away with medicine that would for sure need a prescription in the US. One of the things I really like about being abroad is the ability to walk into the pharmacy and get things like antibiotics with no problem. I remember in Spain I had a blister that got infected, and I just went to the pharmacy to get prescription-strength antibiotic ointment. It's incredible and such a time/money saver.

Tomorrow we're going to La Palma. I have no idea what we're doing, and no one else seems to know either. It will be a surprise!

Arrival!

I have arrived in San Salvador! My housemate Megan and I are unpacking...we've already killed a roach.

We have a lime tree in the backyard. :)

Big day tomorrow - grocery shopping, bank stuff, etc. Looking forward to seeing San Salvador in the sunlight.