As many of you know, I prefer working with older children. I've done my field experience in a middle school and my practicum in the high school. I work with 7-11th graders here in the morning, but I work with kindergarteners in the afternoon. Now, I have fond memories of my kindergarten experience, and I have a great respect for kindergarten teachers, but it's not for me. Yes, it's fun, yes, the kids are adorable, and, yes, the teacher has to know something about a lot of different subjects, but it's sometimes hard to communicate with kids so young, and I sometimes have a hard time breaking things down into the smallest part of the explanation. Nevertheless, I've learned a lot from Seño Jacqueline, and I adore the kids I work with here!
Today, Seño asked me how Spanish was taught in schools in the U.S., and so I told her that in high school, we learn how to present ourselves and how to greet people, we watch short videos and write about them, read stories, write stories, and we listen to songs. I told her about how Don Carlos uses music in his English classes and how well his students speak, and so she asked if I could teach some English songs in her classes! I mean, the kids already know tons of songs in Spanish, and even some in Nahuat. She doesn't speak English at all, which is why I'm helping her out (for the 20 minutes out of three hours that the kinders learn English, haha). So, tomorrow or Wednesday, I'm going to teach "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider!" I'm actually really excited! I have the hand motions down and everything. I even wrote out the Spanish translation to help both Seño and the kids understand (although I don't think many of the kids can read very well, yet). It might take a while to teach, since I'll have to speak slowly for the kids to hear how to pronounce the words before I put it to song, but I think it will be fun! I'm so excited!
Also, I can now count my five fingers in Nahuat:
finger = mapipi (pronounced "mah- pee-pee". It was a huge effort on my part not to die laughing when I heard the kids counting these today. I learned what it meant only after I heard the word).
So, counting 1-5 fingers in Nahuat:
se mapipi
ume mapipi
yey mapipi
nawi mapipi
makwíl mapipi
I can also say "nikneki nikuni at", which means "I want to drink water," and "nikneki ni machichi" means "I have to go pee."
"Yek tunat" is good morning, and "tut-tut" (toot-toot, like the sound they make!) means bird.
I am totally not ashamed to be learning a 3rd language along with these kindergarten students! This is awesome. The older kids help me with Spanish, I learn Nahuatl with the little kids, and I "teach" English. This is working out well. :)
Monday, April 28, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Well, that was slightly awkward.
Tonight, I was invited to go to the graduation ceremony at the school. The graduation ceremony was supposed to begin at 5, and Conny told me we were going to leave at 4:30, so I was ready by 4. I don't know why I did that, since I knew in the back of my mind that 4:30 El Salvador time means at least 5.
Well, the embarrassing part of the story is yet to come.
You see, I keep forgetting how incredibly well-known and
famous Sra. Conny is.
So, we arrived at the graduation ceremony late because 3 people came to visit right at
the time we were supposed to BE there.
As we were walking into the schoolyard, the principal, who's calling the students up one by one to get their diplomas, announces the arrival of
Conny, and then he called her up to the little panel where alumni and
administrators and teachers were shaking hands with the graduates.
He called me up, too!
So I got stuck helping hand out diplomas and being in all
the pictures and having to smile and congratulate total strangers and I felt
sooooo awkward because I had no right being there!
I had literally no part in these students' success.
I felt really awkward.
I got over it, though. The ceremony took forever, but it was super nice! All the girls were dressed in very formal white dresses with black high (VERY high) heels, and all the young men wore black suits. The principal called each student up by the full name, and even announced who was accompanying that student. Most students were accompanied by their mothers, although some walked with grandmothers, fathers, or friends. While the students were shaking hands with our row of teachers and getting their pictures taken with their diplomas, the announcer read a brief statement about the student. "[student] has studied here since [year/grade]. His/her first teacher was [name]. He/she would like to dedicate this degree to [God, family, friends, etc.]. [Name] hopes to do [more studying/set an example for younger family/get a professional job and be independent/get a high-paying job to help their family]."
After the ceremony, everyone in attendance (students, family, faculty, etc.) was fed dinner. We had chicken, rice, pasta salad, rolls, and Coke. I only ate the pasta salad, rolls, and two bites of chicken. I was very much not hungry, and the chicken was incredibly greasy and the grease had saturated everything on the plate. It was quite the affair!
Sitio Arqueologico Tazumal
I have about 40 minutes to write. Let's see if I can cram in a blog about my day! I feel like I keep taking hours and hours to write one blog, which often ends up with my having to save drafts and continue writing over a few days. I'll try to keep 'em shorter and sweeter from now on!
So today was another great day! Isaac, my hired driver, came to the house at 9am to pick me up and take me to the Ruinas at Tazumal. The first few minutes in the car were slightly awkward: I felt like we both wanted to say something to the other person but weren't sure what to say. After a while, he asked, "¿Vamos a las ruinas de Tazumal?" or something like that. He spoke really fast, so I said, "¿Como?" and he repeated himself. I nodded, and then he asked, "¿Hablas español?" (Do you speak Spanish?) "Sí, pero entiento mejor si uno habla más despacio," (Yes, but I understand better when one speaks more slowly.) "Ahhh!" He said, smiling as he understood. We then started talking and we had a great time all the way to Santa Ana, which was the city right by the ruins. We talked about my family, his family, the weather, the driving conditions in El Salvador, his desire to learn English and my desire to practice Spanish and how we should help each other to learn the two languages, etc. Good talk.
When we arrived at the archaeological site, Isaac told me that he was going to park and stay in the car. He said I could take as much time as I wanted at the ruins, and he'd just sit there and listen to music. I'm not totally sure why he stayed in the car, but either way I wound up walking up the street to past tons of street vendors to the park entrance by myself. I was pretty nervous about going to a tourist site by myself, since the U.S. Embassy sent me an e-mail yesterday about the rising homicide rate (10 per day between Feb, & April 2014), and there was also a note that many tourists are mugged at tourist sites and so they should hire only certified guides and whatnot. The park seemed pretty empty, though, so I just explored the ruins on my own! I set my camera on a broken fence post, set the timer, and took a few pictures! I then hiked up the stairs and walked around the ruins. I also went to the museum and looked at some artifacts and read about the history of the site. It wasn't too thrilling all by myself, but I tried to learn something while I was there.
Description of human activity at this site
Restoring the ruins to their former glory
So, yeah! I went to some Mayan Ruins for the first time in my life. These were probably a ceremonial center of a Mayan civilization. I still have hopes of one day visiting Macchu Picchu, which is a place I decided I wanted to visit when I was in third grade.
After we left the ruins, Isaac took me to Juayúa to the gastronomic festival! I'd already been to Juayúa last Thursday with Moises, but I was happy to get to go again! We visited a lot of the vendors who were selling souvenirs by the city center. I finally was able to tell a vendor "No, thank you," and walk away, but then I was suckered into buying a bag at the next stall. I'm awful at haggling and saying "no" to vendors. Ugh. Anyway, I got a cool new bag and some earrings for my sister. I wanted a bag like this one, anyway: it's the same kind of hand made bookbag that a lot of the students at the school have. I just didn't want to spend the money on it on this particular day; I'd had my eye on a coaster set at another stall, but after buying the bag (she even offered to knock a $10 bag with "El Salvador" embroidered on it down to $8, but then I bought a plain bag for $6 instead), I only had $6, and that was not enough to buy the $10 set. He'd only go down to $9. Shucks. Oh, well!
I wasn't very hungry, so I had an ice cream cone for lunch. I was ridiculously happy to be sitting in the central park of Juayúa, eating an ice cream cone that, at that moment, was the most delicious ice cream I'd ever tasted. There was music playing at the festival, and I started dancing slightly and smiling with my ice cream. A man with a beer in hand walked by at that moment and came over and started talking to me in slow English. "Hello! How are you? I am fine. What country are you from? What city? I used to live in California. I worked at Carls, Jr. Do you remember Carls Junior? I learned some English, like hamburgers! Welcome to my city! Do you understand?" Haha. It was a decent conversation. I stick out like a sore thumb here in El Salvador, and this wasn't the first time a stranger has approached me and tried to speak some English. It was, however, the first time someone had such a long conversation in English with me. Most people have just memorized "Hello" or "How are you" and don't understand a lick beyond that, so I'll switch to Spanish and usually they'll move on.
So today was another great day! Isaac, my hired driver, came to the house at 9am to pick me up and take me to the Ruinas at Tazumal. The first few minutes in the car were slightly awkward: I felt like we both wanted to say something to the other person but weren't sure what to say. After a while, he asked, "¿Vamos a las ruinas de Tazumal?" or something like that. He spoke really fast, so I said, "¿Como?" and he repeated himself. I nodded, and then he asked, "¿Hablas español?" (Do you speak Spanish?) "Sí, pero entiento mejor si uno habla más despacio," (Yes, but I understand better when one speaks more slowly.) "Ahhh!" He said, smiling as he understood. We then started talking and we had a great time all the way to Santa Ana, which was the city right by the ruins. We talked about my family, his family, the weather, the driving conditions in El Salvador, his desire to learn English and my desire to practice Spanish and how we should help each other to learn the two languages, etc. Good talk.
There are a lot of religious billboards here (ESPECIALLY in cities like San Salvador). This one says "Receiving Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, in your soul is the most important decision of your life."
When we arrived at the archaeological site, Isaac told me that he was going to park and stay in the car. He said I could take as much time as I wanted at the ruins, and he'd just sit there and listen to music. I'm not totally sure why he stayed in the car, but either way I wound up walking up the street to past tons of street vendors to the park entrance by myself. I was pretty nervous about going to a tourist site by myself, since the U.S. Embassy sent me an e-mail yesterday about the rising homicide rate (10 per day between Feb, & April 2014), and there was also a note that many tourists are mugged at tourist sites and so they should hire only certified guides and whatnot. The park seemed pretty empty, though, so I just explored the ruins on my own! I set my camera on a broken fence post, set the timer, and took a few pictures! I then hiked up the stairs and walked around the ruins. I also went to the museum and looked at some artifacts and read about the history of the site. It wasn't too thrilling all by myself, but I tried to learn something while I was there.
This is a cashew tree! See the little red bell thing on the branches? The cashews are under that fruit.
Pottery
more pottery. This is a ceramic called poli-something that means "many colors."
After we left the ruins, Isaac took me to Juayúa to the gastronomic festival! I'd already been to Juayúa last Thursday with Moises, but I was happy to get to go again! We visited a lot of the vendors who were selling souvenirs by the city center. I finally was able to tell a vendor "No, thank you," and walk away, but then I was suckered into buying a bag at the next stall. I'm awful at haggling and saying "no" to vendors. Ugh. Anyway, I got a cool new bag and some earrings for my sister. I wanted a bag like this one, anyway: it's the same kind of hand made bookbag that a lot of the students at the school have. I just didn't want to spend the money on it on this particular day; I'd had my eye on a coaster set at another stall, but after buying the bag (she even offered to knock a $10 bag with "El Salvador" embroidered on it down to $8, but then I bought a plain bag for $6 instead), I only had $6, and that was not enough to buy the $10 set. He'd only go down to $9. Shucks. Oh, well!
I wasn't very hungry, so I had an ice cream cone for lunch. I was ridiculously happy to be sitting in the central park of Juayúa, eating an ice cream cone that, at that moment, was the most delicious ice cream I'd ever tasted. There was music playing at the festival, and I started dancing slightly and smiling with my ice cream. A man with a beer in hand walked by at that moment and came over and started talking to me in slow English. "Hello! How are you? I am fine. What country are you from? What city? I used to live in California. I worked at Carls, Jr. Do you remember Carls Junior? I learned some English, like hamburgers! Welcome to my city! Do you understand?" Haha. It was a decent conversation. I stick out like a sore thumb here in El Salvador, and this wasn't the first time a stranger has approached me and tried to speak some English. It was, however, the first time someone had such a long conversation in English with me. Most people have just memorized "Hello" or "How are you" and don't understand a lick beyond that, so I'll switch to Spanish and usually they'll move on.
Isaac and my heavenly ice cream cone. It's leche con chocolate (milk and chocolate).
I bought a jade pendant at Tazumal. It was one of the things I couldn't say "no" to the tourist trap lady. I should have asked how much it cost before I asked for all the info about it. Anyway, it is pretty cool. It's a carving of the mayan calendar symbol for my birthday. I'm a No'j, which apparently means that I'm wise and intelligent. It's the day of making decisions and giving advice. I like the idea of that description, but clearly I need to wisen up to deal with street vendors like some of the pushy ones I met today! Wow, were they pushy.
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