Hello! So, for those of you who arent quite sure what I am up to right now... I am currently in Colorado Springs, CO at the Focus Leadership Institute. I am not yet sure what all God has in store for me while I am here, or even why exactly I am here. But I am very excited about this opportunity and how it is going to help me to become a world-changer wherever I find my in the future!
So, heres what you can expect from my blog this semster: Today during orientation, I found out that we are expected to read about 5000 pages over the next 12 weeks. One word: WHOA. So dont expect anything too lengthy, in depth, or anything like that on a regular basis. However, in our first lecture today, I was very challenged by Dr. Tackett and some of the things he said. So, Ive decided this blog would be a great place for me to post things Ive heard/learned/discovered that are worth sharing and remembering...
1. The Ten Commandments
Why did God give us the Ten Commandments to live by? Is it just some set of rules/guidelines that He set before us so that there is some sense of order in the world? Maybe. But more importantly, the Ten Commandments allow us an opportunity to get a glimpse of the very nature of Christ. Therefore, we must conclude that if we are to aim to live Christ-like lives, then following the Ten Commandments is a great start on how to do that.
So, if God wanted to, could He have instead said that lying is right or murder is right? Could he have reversed the Ten Commandments to make these things okay? When I first heard this question, my immediate answer was, "Of course he could have. God can do anything he wants." However, upon further discussion, I realized how wrong I was. The answer is a clear NO. God could not have done that because those things/characteristics are not part of His nature and who He is.
2. What is eternal life?
Yeah, we've all heard about eternal life and talked about it endlessly... but really. What exactly is it? Can we even wrap our heads around it? I dont know... I am still trying to process all of this discussion in my head. Im sure I'll come back to it again later, but this is what Ive got for now. John 17:3-- And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have have sent. -- This word- know- is more than just a casual friend type thing. This "know" is a deeply intimate relationship with... the type of relationship we should always be striving for in our walk with God.
I'll leave that one there for now... What exactly is eternal life?
More to come!
Grace and Peace. :)
20 January 2010
12 December 2009
Goodbye Guadalajara!
What a journey the past six weeks have been! There have been exciting times, frustrating times, happy and sad times, but through all, I can say that I have learned much and thoroughly enjoyed this unforgettable experience.
One thing that has truly inspired me during my time here is how the teachers at ASFG really do seek to do more than just teach their students-- they seek to turn them into individuals and great leaders. I know this was a constant topic of conversation in many of my classes at ASU, but to see it truly put into action has been a great learning experience for me. Here is an example: Last week three 2nd graders got up at our weekly flag assembly and shared the following message with their student body... Two of the girls, on their own time, had been reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortensen. They were very inspired by it and knew that there must be something they could do to help the education system in the Middle East. So they approached their teacher with the idea of a class project. Their teacher loved their idea so much that she encouraged them to go talk to the principal, and thus was born their school-wide (Pre-school thru 12th grade) campaign, called "Pesos for Peace". They have challenged every student in the school to give at least one peso in the next three weeks, and daily collect and count the money. As of this past week, they had already collected over 1500 pesos and are still going around to talk to classes about why what they are doing is so important. These are true leaders, and true leaders are never born without someone (maybe a teacher) to help them develop leadership skills. All I can really say to this is "WOW!"
Another huge thing that I have learned about teaching while here is how to integrate well. Throughout my time at ASU, this was something professors always urged us to do, but many of them also assumed that we already knew how to created a well integrated lesson. I would agree that this is very important, but this isnt something I had ever really learned how to do well. I was taking shots in the dark and hoping for the best. Because the studenst at ASFG receive 1/2 the instructional day in English and the other 1/2 in Spanish, a teacher's instructional time is greatly decreased, thus making it that much more important to integrate subject matter and to do it well. Spending time in an environment where integration is not just something that is good if it happens, but a necessity, has helped me to understand how to integrate subject matter well, as well as how much more valuable instruction can be when subjects are integrated. My teacher, Ms. Ivette, has a been teacher to learn from, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to spend six weeks learning from such a devoted and skilled professional.
My teacher, Ms. Ivette, and I
Although working with second language learners did provide a bit of a challenge at times, it was also lots of fun to see them learning, understanding new concepts, and taking in so much new knowledge and vocabulary like a sponge. Also, it was very difficult for to work a group of students from affluent homes, as that is not where my passion lies. Sometimes discipline was very difficult with this particular group of students, and at times I felt completely defeated, as they made it very obvious that they were used to being in charge and had no intentions of listening to the gringa who had only come into their lives for such a short period of time. However, it was interesting to see that, just as with many experiences I have had in the US, the ones who resisted discipline the most, were also the ones who were the saddest on my last day.
Overall, my experience outside of school was fabulous! I really enjoyed learning about Mexican culture and trying to immerse myself into it during my time in this huge city. I was very lucky to get to travel around some, as well as being a part of several true Mexican traditions such as the traditional Mexican fiesta, mariachi bands, and the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls). And although the Health Departments in the US would surely not approve of many of the places I ate, I thorougly enjoyed getting to eat traditional Mexican cuisine daily. This included anything from fresh made quesadillas, tortas ahogadas, chilaquiles, and enchiladas, to a big ol' scoop of refried beans from the pot that had been sitting on the stove going on four days.
I would trade this experience for nothing else in the world, and cant wait to apply the things I have learned into my life as a teacher and professional, as I start my own journey of impacting children and creating leaders daily.
A beautiful view of the sunset on my trip to Zacatecas!
Adios Amigos!
One thing that has truly inspired me during my time here is how the teachers at ASFG really do seek to do more than just teach their students-- they seek to turn them into individuals and great leaders. I know this was a constant topic of conversation in many of my classes at ASU, but to see it truly put into action has been a great learning experience for me. Here is an example: Last week three 2nd graders got up at our weekly flag assembly and shared the following message with their student body... Two of the girls, on their own time, had been reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortensen. They were very inspired by it and knew that there must be something they could do to help the education system in the Middle East. So they approached their teacher with the idea of a class project. Their teacher loved their idea so much that she encouraged them to go talk to the principal, and thus was born their school-wide (Pre-school thru 12th grade) campaign, called "Pesos for Peace". They have challenged every student in the school to give at least one peso in the next three weeks, and daily collect and count the money. As of this past week, they had already collected over 1500 pesos and are still going around to talk to classes about why what they are doing is so important. These are true leaders, and true leaders are never born without someone (maybe a teacher) to help them develop leadership skills. All I can really say to this is "WOW!"
Another huge thing that I have learned about teaching while here is how to integrate well. Throughout my time at ASU, this was something professors always urged us to do, but many of them also assumed that we already knew how to created a well integrated lesson. I would agree that this is very important, but this isnt something I had ever really learned how to do well. I was taking shots in the dark and hoping for the best. Because the studenst at ASFG receive 1/2 the instructional day in English and the other 1/2 in Spanish, a teacher's instructional time is greatly decreased, thus making it that much more important to integrate subject matter and to do it well. Spending time in an environment where integration is not just something that is good if it happens, but a necessity, has helped me to understand how to integrate subject matter well, as well as how much more valuable instruction can be when subjects are integrated. My teacher, Ms. Ivette, has a been teacher to learn from, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to spend six weeks learning from such a devoted and skilled professional.
My teacher, Ms. Ivette, and I
Although working with second language learners did provide a bit of a challenge at times, it was also lots of fun to see them learning, understanding new concepts, and taking in so much new knowledge and vocabulary like a sponge. Also, it was very difficult for to work a group of students from affluent homes, as that is not where my passion lies. Sometimes discipline was very difficult with this particular group of students, and at times I felt completely defeated, as they made it very obvious that they were used to being in charge and had no intentions of listening to the gringa who had only come into their lives for such a short period of time. However, it was interesting to see that, just as with many experiences I have had in the US, the ones who resisted discipline the most, were also the ones who were the saddest on my last day.
Overall, my experience outside of school was fabulous! I really enjoyed learning about Mexican culture and trying to immerse myself into it during my time in this huge city. I was very lucky to get to travel around some, as well as being a part of several true Mexican traditions such as the traditional Mexican fiesta, mariachi bands, and the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls). And although the Health Departments in the US would surely not approve of many of the places I ate, I thorougly enjoyed getting to eat traditional Mexican cuisine daily. This included anything from fresh made quesadillas, tortas ahogadas, chilaquiles, and enchiladas, to a big ol' scoop of refried beans from the pot that had been sitting on the stove going on four days.
I would trade this experience for nothing else in the world, and cant wait to apply the things I have learned into my life as a teacher and professional, as I start my own journey of impacting children and creating leaders daily.
A beautiful view of the sunset on my trip to Zacatecas!
Adios Amigos!
03 December 2009
Ole, Ole!
This week has been really great! If you read my last update, you know that I was writing from a small town named Zacatecas, where I spent a short break that I had. The rest of my time there was just as much fun as the first part. In fact, I think I would have stayed forever if I could have! One night, I even got to go to the Lighting of the Christmas Tree celebration in the town square. It was very neat to how the whole town came together for this one event which, I didnt realize until I got back to the hostel, lasted about 3 hours!
On Sunday, when I returned to GDL, I got to do another thing that I have been dying to do... I got to go the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls)! Even more interesting, this one showcased child toreros. Although some things were a little different, such as the children not beign allowed to actually kill the bull like usual, this was the last event of the season and I still feel that it was a great cultural experience. It was very stressful to sit there and watch people so close to such a dangerous animal, but it was also lots of fun to hear the shouts of "Ole!" all around and to take in what a huge part of Mexican culture this event is. I loved every minute of it!
This week at school has been good, although you can tell the students know the holiday season is quickly approaching. They are starting to go crazy, and being an international school, students and their families are beginning to take trips to visit family and friends in many different countries. It is also very interesting to see the wide variety of holidays celebrated by students around the school, and to hear about the family traditions. While I am here, my teacher has wanted to go ahead and study the traditions of Christmas with our class, since she wants the students to learn about Christmas traditions in the United States. Earlier this week, we did a lesson using "The Night Before Christmas" by C.C. Moore, a very traditional story. I have also been teaching a lot of math lately. We just started a unit on addition with regrouping. This has been really fun to teach so far and the students seems to be understanding it pretty well.
I cant believe that in just 7 short days, I will be on my way back to NC. My time here is flown by so quickly and it is hard to think that I only have four days left with my class. I know the next week is going to fly by!
Nos vemos! See you later!
On Sunday, when I returned to GDL, I got to do another thing that I have been dying to do... I got to go the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls)! Even more interesting, this one showcased child toreros. Although some things were a little different, such as the children not beign allowed to actually kill the bull like usual, this was the last event of the season and I still feel that it was a great cultural experience. It was very stressful to sit there and watch people so close to such a dangerous animal, but it was also lots of fun to hear the shouts of "Ole!" all around and to take in what a huge part of Mexican culture this event is. I loved every minute of it!
This week at school has been good, although you can tell the students know the holiday season is quickly approaching. They are starting to go crazy, and being an international school, students and their families are beginning to take trips to visit family and friends in many different countries. It is also very interesting to see the wide variety of holidays celebrated by students around the school, and to hear about the family traditions. While I am here, my teacher has wanted to go ahead and study the traditions of Christmas with our class, since she wants the students to learn about Christmas traditions in the United States. Earlier this week, we did a lesson using "The Night Before Christmas" by C.C. Moore, a very traditional story. I have also been teaching a lot of math lately. We just started a unit on addition with regrouping. This has been really fun to teach so far and the students seems to be understanding it pretty well.
I cant believe that in just 7 short days, I will be on my way back to NC. My time here is flown by so quickly and it is hard to think that I only have four days left with my class. I know the next week is going to fly by!
Nos vemos! See you later!
27 November 2009
ZACATECAS!!
Wow! It has been a very crazy week here in Guadalajara and at The American School. One thing I have loved about ASFG is that they make sure to educate the students in both the American and Mexican culture and to give them quality educational experiences to help them understand each one. That said, this short school week was one of those that is wasted in terms of teaching time. On Monday, we had our weekly Flag Assembly along with a special presentation on the Mexican Revolution by the 4th graders. On Tuesday, we had an earthquake drill which took quite a long time to get through. Wednesday was a short day for the students, complete with a classroom Thanksgiving feast! Our students made pilgrim hatrs and wore them to the feast. They really enjoyed learning about the history and traditions of Thanksgiving throughout the week and it was lots of fun to be able to help teach them these things!
Last weekend turned out to be quite an interesting one. I wont bore you with all the details, but I will tell you that my adventures in the nearby town of Tonala and downtown Guadalajara involved asking for directions to a certain place and being sent to the exact opposite end of the city, almost getting in trouble with the military for taking pictures of a building I wasnt supposed to be taking pictures of (standing in the middle of a public park... and there were NO SIGNS!), and a crazy lady on the city bus claiming to have a knife. At the ArtFest I saw some absolutely fabulous art! I was very impressed by the quality of the art that the students had produced and the number of people from the community that came. I am very happy that I got to experience the ArtFest, as it is such a huge part of the culture of the school.
Right now, I am actually writing from a small town called Zacatecas and it is very cold here! I decided to come to Zacatecas to spend my two day break from school after some of my own research, plus a recommendation from my brother. I had heard many good things about the town and they were all true. I am loving it here! When I first arrived at the hostal I am staying at, I began talking with the owner and she remembered my brother and sister in law from a few months ago when they came through the area. That was very cool! So far, I have been to several museums and to an old mine. The mine, which is no longer in use, was the workplace of many slaves, child and adult, for many centruries-- up until the 1970´s. Its main product was silver, although some quartz can be found. I have also been to the top of a great big hill by teleferico (cable car) called Cerro de la Bufa. Zacatecas was one of the first cities in the world to have this service available to its citizens and it has some amazing views! This famed hill is supposedly where Pancho Villa fought and defeated a large army. I am very glad I came here and am sad to have to leave tomorrow.
Just a few of the 3000 masks inside this amazing museum! (There are 7000 more masks in storage. WOW!)
A look at the mine as we start the descent to the 4th of the 7 floors.
Its hard to believe that I have so little time left in Mexico. I cant wait to see what adventures the next week and a half bring though!
Last weekend turned out to be quite an interesting one. I wont bore you with all the details, but I will tell you that my adventures in the nearby town of Tonala and downtown Guadalajara involved asking for directions to a certain place and being sent to the exact opposite end of the city, almost getting in trouble with the military for taking pictures of a building I wasnt supposed to be taking pictures of (standing in the middle of a public park... and there were NO SIGNS!), and a crazy lady on the city bus claiming to have a knife. At the ArtFest I saw some absolutely fabulous art! I was very impressed by the quality of the art that the students had produced and the number of people from the community that came. I am very happy that I got to experience the ArtFest, as it is such a huge part of the culture of the school.
Right now, I am actually writing from a small town called Zacatecas and it is very cold here! I decided to come to Zacatecas to spend my two day break from school after some of my own research, plus a recommendation from my brother. I had heard many good things about the town and they were all true. I am loving it here! When I first arrived at the hostal I am staying at, I began talking with the owner and she remembered my brother and sister in law from a few months ago when they came through the area. That was very cool! So far, I have been to several museums and to an old mine. The mine, which is no longer in use, was the workplace of many slaves, child and adult, for many centruries-- up until the 1970´s. Its main product was silver, although some quartz can be found. I have also been to the top of a great big hill by teleferico (cable car) called Cerro de la Bufa. Zacatecas was one of the first cities in the world to have this service available to its citizens and it has some amazing views! This famed hill is supposedly where Pancho Villa fought and defeated a large army. I am very glad I came here and am sad to have to leave tomorrow.
Just a few of the 3000 masks inside this amazing museum! (There are 7000 more masks in storage. WOW!)
A look at the mine as we start the descent to the 4th of the 7 floors.
Its hard to believe that I have so little time left in Mexico. I cant wait to see what adventures the next week and a half bring though!
19 November 2009
Hello Hello From Mexico!!!
Hello again from Guadalajara!
I am still having a fabulous time here in Mexico and I am learning a lot!
I am continuing to teach lots of Guided Reading Groups in my class, as well as other math and reading lessons. This past week I taught a lesson on honeybees and then we made honeybee puppets out of paper bags. The students loved their puppets!
Also, last week we got to do Reading Buddies with a fourth grade class. It was amazing to see how much the kids loved reading with the older students. It was also really fun to hear the 4th graders giving the first graders reading tips!
Each year around this time, ASFG holds an ArtFest, in which the school displays student work, alongside the work of professional artists. Then, they have an auction and sell the artwork. I am excited to experience this and see all the artwork around the schoolgrounds. In addition, the students get to attend special art presentations all week long. So far, my class has been to a puppet show and another play.
Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Mexico, ASFG gives its students and staff a Thanksgiving break due to its affiliation with the US and the number of staff members that come from the US. So next week will be a very short week and we have all sorts of Thanksgiving lessons and festivities planned to teach the students about the holiday. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
This past weekend was a long weekend for Mexico. Schools were closed Monday to celebrate the Mexican Revolution. So, I got to travel with my new friend, Clancy, and Danna, the teacher she lives with. We traveled about 4 hours south on a bus to a smaller town named Morelia. It was a beautiful colonial town. We spent some time walking around and exploring and had a great time! However, Morelia didnt give us quite the small town environment we had hoped for, so we decided to continue another hour south to an even smaller town named Patzcuaro. We absolutely loved it there! There were small shops and markets everywhere there, and the cobblestone streets were a nice touch too. I even made some pretty good bargains with the shop owners. We didnt want to leave!
The cathedral in the zocalo of Morelia. It took over a century to build!
A beautiful view of the street in Patzcuaro
Me hanging out with some leftover Day of the Dead decorations in Patzcuaro!!
I had hoped to continue travelling with Clancy while we are both in Guadalajara, but on Monday when we returned, Clancy had to go to the hospital. She has the dengue. I am still healthy, and I am hoping it stays that way.
One thing that I have to get used to here is that Guadalajara is not a very friendly city. Having traveled to many other destinations in Latin America, I am very used to everyone being friendly and treating you like family, no matter how much of a stranger you are. This is not the case here though and it makes for a very strange environment. It is a strange feeling to be in Latin America and to say that people aree not friendly.
Also, the weather here is crazy! In fact, it reminds me of Boone. Being that Guadalajara is the highlands of Mexico, it is very cold in the mornings, and then it is very hot in the afternoons. In fact, during the first days that I was here, it got down to about 4 derees Celsius every morning. That's not too cold for us, but for the Mexicans it's freezing! Its so funny to see everyone walking aroudn with their winter coats on. It's a good thing I brought my jacket!
Cant wait for the ArtFest this weekend!
Nos vemos amigos!
I am still having a fabulous time here in Mexico and I am learning a lot!
I am continuing to teach lots of Guided Reading Groups in my class, as well as other math and reading lessons. This past week I taught a lesson on honeybees and then we made honeybee puppets out of paper bags. The students loved their puppets!
Also, last week we got to do Reading Buddies with a fourth grade class. It was amazing to see how much the kids loved reading with the older students. It was also really fun to hear the 4th graders giving the first graders reading tips!
Each year around this time, ASFG holds an ArtFest, in which the school displays student work, alongside the work of professional artists. Then, they have an auction and sell the artwork. I am excited to experience this and see all the artwork around the schoolgrounds. In addition, the students get to attend special art presentations all week long. So far, my class has been to a puppet show and another play.
Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Mexico, ASFG gives its students and staff a Thanksgiving break due to its affiliation with the US and the number of staff members that come from the US. So next week will be a very short week and we have all sorts of Thanksgiving lessons and festivities planned to teach the students about the holiday. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
This past weekend was a long weekend for Mexico. Schools were closed Monday to celebrate the Mexican Revolution. So, I got to travel with my new friend, Clancy, and Danna, the teacher she lives with. We traveled about 4 hours south on a bus to a smaller town named Morelia. It was a beautiful colonial town. We spent some time walking around and exploring and had a great time! However, Morelia didnt give us quite the small town environment we had hoped for, so we decided to continue another hour south to an even smaller town named Patzcuaro. We absolutely loved it there! There were small shops and markets everywhere there, and the cobblestone streets were a nice touch too. I even made some pretty good bargains with the shop owners. We didnt want to leave!
The cathedral in the zocalo of Morelia. It took over a century to build!
A beautiful view of the street in Patzcuaro
Me hanging out with some leftover Day of the Dead decorations in Patzcuaro!!
I had hoped to continue travelling with Clancy while we are both in Guadalajara, but on Monday when we returned, Clancy had to go to the hospital. She has the dengue. I am still healthy, and I am hoping it stays that way.
One thing that I have to get used to here is that Guadalajara is not a very friendly city. Having traveled to many other destinations in Latin America, I am very used to everyone being friendly and treating you like family, no matter how much of a stranger you are. This is not the case here though and it makes for a very strange environment. It is a strange feeling to be in Latin America and to say that people aree not friendly.
Also, the weather here is crazy! In fact, it reminds me of Boone. Being that Guadalajara is the highlands of Mexico, it is very cold in the mornings, and then it is very hot in the afternoons. In fact, during the first days that I was here, it got down to about 4 derees Celsius every morning. That's not too cold for us, but for the Mexicans it's freezing! Its so funny to see everyone walking aroudn with their winter coats on. It's a good thing I brought my jacket!
Cant wait for the ArtFest this weekend!
Nos vemos amigos!
12 November 2009
Saludos from Mexico!!
Hello again!
This past week has been great and full of adventure!
I am, however, completely surrounded by lots of disease and sickness. An outbreak of head lice is finally on the decline at ASFG. However, the dengue is starting to go rampant in the city, and the flu is a problem too. Teachers at the school have had to create a contingency plan in the case that schools have to close... which is highly likely. The Mexican Government has said that they will under no circumstances close schools, but apparently whenever they say they will not do something, that really means they are going to do it. It's only a matter of time, and most believe that it will happen in the next few weeks.
I am starting to do a little more teaching now and I am really enjoying my school and my students. This past week I continued to Guided Reading Lessons almost everyday, as well as teaching a math lesson on ordinal numbers. One thing I really like about the American School is how low stress it is compared to schools in the States. The teachers and students are held to high standards, but the school day itself is not quite so daunting. Students at ASFG, a unviersity prep and bilingual school, actually receive 14 years of education before graduating, as well as the option of preschool beforehand. Students must complete Pre 1st Grade before they go to 1st. The math curriculum is followed per normal, but the reading and language curriculum for 1st grade students in the states is split between Pre-1st and 1st, allowing more time for English Language Acquisition to take place effectively. So, although I am teaching 1st graders, they are the age of my 2nd graders at Fox Road! My daily schedule includes about 2.5 hours of teaching time in the morning. The students have a Special and two recesses. At 12:30, the Spanish teacher comes and teaches for the rest of the day, allowing the classroom teacher some extra time to plan and get things done. The students are all very intelligent and I love seeing the work that they do. One of the things I love the most about being here is coming to school each day and hearing the beautiful sound of English and Spanish being spoken in the same room. It is music to my ears!
Last week, we began a unit on insects, and one day was focused on ladybugs. This was lots of fun and reminded me of my time at Fox Road ES, since my cooperating teacher's favorite animal was a ladybug and has her room decorated with them! Here are a few pictures of my beautiful children and their ladybug creations.
Look at this clever continuation of "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle that one of my students wrote!
I usually really enjoy travelling alone. However, this past weekend, I tried to travel around a little, and quickly discovered that it was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. On Sunday, I first rode the bus dowtown, walked and walked trying to find the right bus station. Once I finally found it, I took a bus to San Juan Chapala, Ajijic, and Chapala- three very small towns about an hour from Guadalajara. These town are all on the edge of Lake Chapala. The lake was beautiful! They also had some absolutely gourgeous colonial churches in the zocalos/ city centers. The towns were really pretty, also. However, the normally adventurous Maria was a little too scared to go exploring and get too far off the beaten path as a lone female traveler.
Lake Chapala from the town of San Juan Cosala
The beautiful church in the zocalo of Ajijic
A view of the street in Chapala
Lucky for me, I have met two really nice people in the past few days. One girl, Sofia, lives with me. She is a Mexican student studying at the university. Hopefully she will be able to show me around some. Also, yesterday I met another girl, Clancy, who just arrived in Guadalajara from Canada on Sunday night. She will be working at ASFG doing something similar to myself for the next month. We exchanged contact info and hop to be travel buddies while we are both here. I was super excited to meet Clancy! Hopefully we will have had some great adventures togther before the next time I write!
Hasta la semana proxima!! Til next week!!
This past week has been great and full of adventure!
I am, however, completely surrounded by lots of disease and sickness. An outbreak of head lice is finally on the decline at ASFG. However, the dengue is starting to go rampant in the city, and the flu is a problem too. Teachers at the school have had to create a contingency plan in the case that schools have to close... which is highly likely. The Mexican Government has said that they will under no circumstances close schools, but apparently whenever they say they will not do something, that really means they are going to do it. It's only a matter of time, and most believe that it will happen in the next few weeks.
I am starting to do a little more teaching now and I am really enjoying my school and my students. This past week I continued to Guided Reading Lessons almost everyday, as well as teaching a math lesson on ordinal numbers. One thing I really like about the American School is how low stress it is compared to schools in the States. The teachers and students are held to high standards, but the school day itself is not quite so daunting. Students at ASFG, a unviersity prep and bilingual school, actually receive 14 years of education before graduating, as well as the option of preschool beforehand. Students must complete Pre 1st Grade before they go to 1st. The math curriculum is followed per normal, but the reading and language curriculum for 1st grade students in the states is split between Pre-1st and 1st, allowing more time for English Language Acquisition to take place effectively. So, although I am teaching 1st graders, they are the age of my 2nd graders at Fox Road! My daily schedule includes about 2.5 hours of teaching time in the morning. The students have a Special and two recesses. At 12:30, the Spanish teacher comes and teaches for the rest of the day, allowing the classroom teacher some extra time to plan and get things done. The students are all very intelligent and I love seeing the work that they do. One of the things I love the most about being here is coming to school each day and hearing the beautiful sound of English and Spanish being spoken in the same room. It is music to my ears!
Last week, we began a unit on insects, and one day was focused on ladybugs. This was lots of fun and reminded me of my time at Fox Road ES, since my cooperating teacher's favorite animal was a ladybug and has her room decorated with them! Here are a few pictures of my beautiful children and their ladybug creations.
Look at this clever continuation of "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle that one of my students wrote!
I usually really enjoy travelling alone. However, this past weekend, I tried to travel around a little, and quickly discovered that it was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. On Sunday, I first rode the bus dowtown, walked and walked trying to find the right bus station. Once I finally found it, I took a bus to San Juan Chapala, Ajijic, and Chapala- three very small towns about an hour from Guadalajara. These town are all on the edge of Lake Chapala. The lake was beautiful! They also had some absolutely gourgeous colonial churches in the zocalos/ city centers. The towns were really pretty, also. However, the normally adventurous Maria was a little too scared to go exploring and get too far off the beaten path as a lone female traveler.
Lake Chapala from the town of San Juan Cosala
The beautiful church in the zocalo of Ajijic
A view of the street in Chapala
Lucky for me, I have met two really nice people in the past few days. One girl, Sofia, lives with me. She is a Mexican student studying at the university. Hopefully she will be able to show me around some. Also, yesterday I met another girl, Clancy, who just arrived in Guadalajara from Canada on Sunday night. She will be working at ASFG doing something similar to myself for the next month. We exchanged contact info and hop to be travel buddies while we are both here. I was super excited to meet Clancy! Hopefully we will have had some great adventures togther before the next time I write!
Hasta la semana proxima!! Til next week!!
04 November 2009
A Mountaineer in Mexico!
Goodbye North Carolina!
Hello Guadalajara!
Things are going really well so far and I am liking it here, although I must admit that my time here has already been one adventure after the next. When I first arrived at my host home, Antonio, my host "father", asked me if I wanted to go to a party with him. This was at 12 pm. We got home at 8. Welcome to Mexican social life! I was very excited as this was a true Mexican fiesta. First, there was a mariachi band, then a belly dancer, and finally a banda, which played all night long while people danced and sang. There was also tons and tons of food-- peanuts, lots of meat, quesadillas, taquitos, beans, and lots of really yummy salsas. There was also lots of piña coladas, horchata, and agua de jamaica (hibiscus). That was Saturday.
What did I do on Sunday? I went to another party! This one began at 10 am and lasted until 8 pm. Lotas and lots of food and music were present once again. However, one of the foods we had at this party was menudo-- a soup of broth that has just about every pig part that someone in the United States wouldnt dare eat. It was interesting to say the least! At this party we played many hands of poker, as well as a game called Loteria. The fellowship and food was lots of fun to experience. Unfortunately, it was not an appropriate time to take pictures at either of these parties, although I would have LOVED to have had some. (I was able to sneak a few on Saturday, although they are not very good.)
On Monday, school was not in session, per a last minute decision by the Secretary of Education to give students a day to celebrate Day of the Dead. Although, this holiday is a dying tradition in some of the larger cities, it has been neat to see some of the altars people have set up outside their homes as I rode around town. Also, At ASFG, some of the students created two huge altares de muertos that were absolutely gorgeous, and people are still selling their leftover pan de muertos and sugar skulls on the streets.
Also, on Monday Antonio took me to figure out how to take the city bus to shool each day. It seemed really easy and I was pretty excited about getting to experience a huge part of the Latino culture in my everday life... until Tuesday morning came!
On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the bus stop a little before 7. I had to be at school between 730 and 8. Most of the buses come every 5 minutes or so... mine didnt. Ruta 24 only comes every 30 minutes. Also, if youve ever ridden a city bus in Central or South America, you know that there is always room for one more. Well, there is room for more in Guadalajara too... until the doors cant close anymore. So I waited, and the bus passed. I waited some more, and the bus passed again. And two more times this happened. I had been waitingfor almost two hours at this point, with a group of two other women and a man in the same situation. Each time we raced to the bus doors together, hoping to be one of the two or three that made it on. Finally, the man went and bought for us all to share, as we were headed in the same general direction. No, my mother would not approve, but I finally made it to school nonetheless.
There is tons more I could write about, but I´ll stop there for now!
I hope to be able to write about school and some of my experiences there next week. I have already started being in charge of some of the transition times in the classroom, and I have also taught some Guided Reading lessons. Also, once I have my credentials to enter the school, instead of wearing a visitor pass everyday, I will be able to take some pictures of the campus and the students!
(I would post more pictures, but this computer is being stubborn. Look at the ASU International Student Teaching Blog for more: http://blogs.rcoe.appstate.edu/projects/intstudteach_f09 )
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