September 7 – September 13
Halfway through the week, we had our first morning of
practicum. For our teaching practicum, another volunteer and I work with a
wonderful mentor teacher in an all-girls colegio
in Barranquilla, where we learn techniques for teaching in Colombia and also
help with English classes. On Thursday, we celebrated my host sister’s birthday
and, on Saturday, we explored the Centro
of Barranquilla with our language classes.
- Sunday – This morning, I went to church with my host
family. This time, we went to a different church, which was farther away and air-conditioned.
We actually met up with several other family members for Mass and praying with
them was nice. In the afternoon, I went with two friends to the market and then
cooked dinner in the evening. The vegetables for my tortilla española took way too long to cook for who knows why, but
it still tasted great. I also discovered that brownies here need a little extra
flour and a little less vanilla, but that brownie fudge is also delicious.
- Monday – During training today, we had Spanish class, as
usual, and also learned a method for peer observation and providing feedback,
which I actually like even better than methods I learned before, since this way
suggests having the teacher give him- or herself feedback before the observer
does. We also learned about how to analyze the English education and general
needs of our communities. I put the brownies I made in the coffee room, so I am
not sure how many people found them, but everyone who did seemed to like them,
so that makes it a success.
- Tuesday – In Spanish class, we learned more words to
describe someone’s physical appearance and, in the afternoon, we learned about
the functional approach to teaching. Even though I have a background in
education, I appreciate knowing what seems to work best for most Colombians and
am excited to try using this method (as well as bits and pieces of others I
have learned) for teaching English.
- Wednesday – This morning, we had our 1st day in
our practicum schools. I am teaching at el
Colegio Mayor de Baranquilla, a school for girls from preschool through
high school. This seems to be one of the more prestigious schools – students
tend to show up to all of their classes and behave relatively well. I really
like the school itself, too – there are posters and signs and paintings of the
school’s values everywhere with 3 floors of classrooms and a courtyard for gym
in the middle. The teacher I am working with is also very nice and her English
is excellent – I am excited to get to know the students and her style of
teaching.
- Thursday – Today is September 11th. It has been
over a decade since the 9/11 attacks, but not so long that those who were lost
are forgotten. We Remember. On a less solemn note, today was also my host
sister’s birthday. At around 11:55 last night, I awoke slowly out of a deep
sleep to the extremely loud sound of a Mariachi band (with turned-up-all-the-way
speakers), which was in our living room. The musicians and singer were
wonderful and I’m pretty sure everyone within a kilometer of our house knew it
was my sister’s birthday. We also had a family party for her in the evening and
had a delicious arequipe cake and
sang, “Happy Birthday,” in very out-of-tune English and much-more-in-tune
Spanish. Sometime during the day, I also gave her a card, which ironically
(considering the previous night’s event) had a musical theme, since my sister
likes to dance.
- Friday – Today was rather cloudy, but not rainy, so I took
time to take pictures of the Colombo’s campus. We learned words for describing
personalities in Spanish and, during technical training, talked about methods
for teaching large classes and how to work within Colombian educational
cultures.
- Saturday – This afternoon, we went in small groups to
explore el Centro, the “downtown” of
Barranquilla. We took pictures in the Plaza
de Simón Bolívar and of the Iglesia
de San Nicolás de Torontino, though we were unable to go into the church at
the time. We also walked through the shopping centers there, which were very
tightly packed and full of people, more so than anything I have seen in the
United States. I thought about buying things, but I was pretty overwhelmed and
decided I could probably buy what I needed someplace quieter and less chaotic…
- Thunderstorms are amazing. At first, they make everything
really humid, but then they bring the temperature down significantly and make
life more pleasant overall. A lot of the locals aren’t fans, though, because rain
also causes arroyos, which translates
to “streams.” However, arroyos are
more like “flash flood rivers” that careen down streets sweeping away cars,
buses, and anything else in their path. They also tend to make a lot of people
late and cause…surprisingly little stress…
- I live in a neighborhood sitting in the highest part of
Barranquilla, which is nice because there’s always a lovely breeze blowing. It
does make nights sound like there’s a hurricane coming, but I can sleep through
just about anything and the neighborhood is otherwise relatively quiet and
safe, so I like living here. If you’re in the area and are dying of the heat
and humidity, come visit and enjoy the mirador,
an overlook of the city, and the nice breezes.
- Ask what the price is to go to such and such a place
before you get into a taxi. (Just open the passenger side door and ask.) That
avoids unnecessary arguments at the other end and gives you a better chance of
getting a fair (or almost fair) price.
- Dulce de leche
is called arequipe here.
- A cake is generally called a “pudín”, rather than a “pastel”. Anything pie-like is usually
called either “pie” (just like in English) or “torta”.
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