Two posts in two days, you all should be impressed!! This morning was my first race in El Salvador and it was definitely an experience. I went to bed early last night for the early 5:30am wake up today. We left around 6am to get down there and get all warmed up. There were 5 of us running the race and Eileen and I talked before the race and decided that no matter what, we would stick together. We knew going into it that the first half was all up hill but I was not expecting the hills that we actually had. The whole first 5K was straight up hill and I mean BIG hills. There was a point that I was running and I wasn't sure that I was even moving (reminded me of my dad when we went skiing one time :). Well we finally made it to the top or what we thought was the top but it wasn't over yet. The second half was mostly downhill except for a few little hills.
We ran all over that part of the city which I haven't been to or explored too much so it was nice to have some change of scenery. There was a beautiful view from the top too and made all of the effort to get to the top of the mountain, yes a mountain, all worth it. Some of the intersections had police blocking them off and stopping traffic but some did not so we had to cross ourselves, across busy streets. It was an adventure. Overall, the race was pretty organized for El Salvador. I was impressed. We got a really nice shirt out of it too. Our time was 1:08 which I was impressed with because my goal was around 1:15 and considering all of the crazy hills, we did pretty well. I'm not so tired now either. I'm sure I'll be pretty tired later tonight though and tomorrow. Plan for today is to sit around, relax, and run some errands. This 3 day week shouldn't be too bad but I will have 4 extra little bodies in my class. The Exchange Kids from Virginia are coming to school all day Monday and Wednesday so I will have them with me. They are here in El Salvador for 10 days and then our kids go to Virginia in April. It will be an interesting experience, I'm sure but how fun for the kids! I have a professional development day on Thursday and then off on Friday. I'm not sure what I will do for the 3 day weekend. Maybe just go to the beach for a few nights or go check out another part of the country, who knows. Well hope everyone had a great weekend, Miss you all! Love you!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
First Rough week
I'll start with the PTO Turno last weekend because people were asking about it so much. I honestly didn't go for that long. It was Friday night and most of the day Saturday. Friday night was when it was busiest and I guess it was wild. There were about 5 or 6 carnival rides and then a bunch of different booths that you could play games at. I went down Saturday afternoon for about 45 minutes just to check it out and see what it was like. It wasn't very busy when I was there which I was happy about. I saw a few students and just took it all in. I'm sorry to say that I didn't even take any pictures but it was just like everything else at this school, unnecessary and over the top.
But this last week was a rough one. I spent last weekend just relaxing and sitting around, nothing too exciting. Monday came around and I was just feeling very burnt out from teaching and not wanting to be there. That attitude definitely rubbed off on the kids because Monday and Tuesday were very rough days. The kids were misbehaving like crazy and we weren't getting anything accomplished, I felt like a terrible teacher. Tuesday night I slept well and woke up Wednesday morning with a positive attitude that I was going to make a change and make things better! The rest of the week was 100 times better and we are back on track now. I just needed to change up some seats and being a little bit stricter to show them that I meant business. Yesterday they were like angel children so I'm not sure what's gotten into them but I'm ok with it :)
I got my grades from my masters class this week too and I got an A on my final paper and my presentation. The professor gave me some great feedback too and some kind words about how I'm going to be a great teacher. I was the only first year teacher in the class so I was kind of the "baby". This weekend I am just relaxing today and running an 11K race tomorrow with some other people from the Complejo. It's about 7 miles so we'll see how that goes, hopefully I survive. We went down to pick up our packets this morning and got our shirts and things. The shirts are very nice. I'm excited for the race...i haven't run one in a while. It's tomorrow morning at 7am. Well that's been the last week or so of my life. I'll write updates again after the race. Hope all is well at home. Love you all!
But this last week was a rough one. I spent last weekend just relaxing and sitting around, nothing too exciting. Monday came around and I was just feeling very burnt out from teaching and not wanting to be there. That attitude definitely rubbed off on the kids because Monday and Tuesday were very rough days. The kids were misbehaving like crazy and we weren't getting anything accomplished, I felt like a terrible teacher. Tuesday night I slept well and woke up Wednesday morning with a positive attitude that I was going to make a change and make things better! The rest of the week was 100 times better and we are back on track now. I just needed to change up some seats and being a little bit stricter to show them that I meant business. Yesterday they were like angel children so I'm not sure what's gotten into them but I'm ok with it :)
I got my grades from my masters class this week too and I got an A on my final paper and my presentation. The professor gave me some great feedback too and some kind words about how I'm going to be a great teacher. I was the only first year teacher in the class so I was kind of the "baby". This weekend I am just relaxing today and running an 11K race tomorrow with some other people from the Complejo. It's about 7 miles so we'll see how that goes, hopefully I survive. We went down to pick up our packets this morning and got our shirts and things. The shirts are very nice. I'm excited for the race...i haven't run one in a while. It's tomorrow morning at 7am. Well that's been the last week or so of my life. I'll write updates again after the race. Hope all is well at home. Love you all!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
First field trip
Oh what an experience....I had NO idea what to expect but everything actually turned out to be really fun. Definitely very different than any field trip that I've gone on in the states. So we headed to Izalco Sugar Mill this morning around 8am. This country is so small that these kids rarely have to drive more than 45 minutes anywhere so for them an hour long bus ride was the end of the world! We boarded the bus and had the hour trip to the mill. A couple of the kids asked me where the security was because I think they were concerned but we had security in front of and behind the bus so we were just fine.
We got to the sugar mill and they had huge muffins and pop for the kids. Great, load them up on sugar right away :) Next, we listened to a presentation about the process of sugar and how it is produced. It was interactive, fun and the kids seemed to somewhat enjoy it. After the presentation it was time to go see the mill. Keep in mind, our school is up in the hills a little bit so it is a bit cooler up here but we were down in the sweltering area, VERY hot. So it was around 11am when we headed into the mill. We had to put on our hard hats, goggles, and masks before we could go in.
My group inside the mill.
Walking in you are blasted with a wave of heat. We went upstairs and downstairs and were VERY close to very quickly spinning machines that were very sharp and sparks flying near us. NEVER in the states would students and people be able to be this close to the machines but we just carried right along.
Another picture of the group inside the mill.
After our tour that lasted about 20 minutes, we had sweated enough so walked over to the big barn that had huge piles of sugar inside. The kids could take a small cube with them and they had fun playing around with it and trying it.
Most of my class (minus a few) in front of all of the sugar.
After the tour we went back and ate lunch, played games we had brought under a pavilion until it was time to go. The kids behaved very well for the most part and had a really good time. Before we got back on the bus, they gave the kids some more sugar in the form of popsicles so it was a very exciting bus ride home. They also gave each of us a really nice water bottle as a souvenir. I was in charge of controlling the back of the bus on the way home where all of the "popular" kids sat. 5th graders are so funny. They would just shout out a girls first name with a boys last name and then everybody would laugh. Then the boys would respond with a name too. They would get so embarrassed and laugh and clap at each other. They also decided that B-I-N-G-O was going to be their favorite song. We heard that probably 15 times on the way home. Overall, it was a great trip and the kids had lots of fun. Tomorrow is just a half day and then the weekend. We have a half day because this weekend is the PTA Turno which is a huge carnival that the PTA runs but it goes on right outside my classroom on the main field of the lower school so the kids will have zero focus tomorrow. Well that's all I got. Hope everyone is having a great week! Love you all!
We got to the sugar mill and they had huge muffins and pop for the kids. Great, load them up on sugar right away :) Next, we listened to a presentation about the process of sugar and how it is produced. It was interactive, fun and the kids seemed to somewhat enjoy it. After the presentation it was time to go see the mill. Keep in mind, our school is up in the hills a little bit so it is a bit cooler up here but we were down in the sweltering area, VERY hot. So it was around 11am when we headed into the mill. We had to put on our hard hats, goggles, and masks before we could go in.
My group inside the mill.
Walking in you are blasted with a wave of heat. We went upstairs and downstairs and were VERY close to very quickly spinning machines that were very sharp and sparks flying near us. NEVER in the states would students and people be able to be this close to the machines but we just carried right along.
Another picture of the group inside the mill.
After our tour that lasted about 20 minutes, we had sweated enough so walked over to the big barn that had huge piles of sugar inside. The kids could take a small cube with them and they had fun playing around with it and trying it.
Most of my class (minus a few) in front of all of the sugar.
After the tour we went back and ate lunch, played games we had brought under a pavilion until it was time to go. The kids behaved very well for the most part and had a really good time. Before we got back on the bus, they gave the kids some more sugar in the form of popsicles so it was a very exciting bus ride home. They also gave each of us a really nice water bottle as a souvenir. I was in charge of controlling the back of the bus on the way home where all of the "popular" kids sat. 5th graders are so funny. They would just shout out a girls first name with a boys last name and then everybody would laugh. Then the boys would respond with a name too. They would get so embarrassed and laugh and clap at each other. They also decided that B-I-N-G-O was going to be their favorite song. We heard that probably 15 times on the way home. Overall, it was a great trip and the kids had lots of fun. Tomorrow is just a half day and then the weekend. We have a half day because this weekend is the PTA Turno which is a huge carnival that the PTA runs but it goes on right outside my classroom on the main field of the lower school so the kids will have zero focus tomorrow. Well that's all I got. Hope everyone is having a great week! Love you all!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
First folklore week
If I were to post pictures of my life in the last two weeks it would be me sitting at my computer, working. These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of craziness. I am now done with the first master's class so can come up for some fresh air. It wasn't THAT terrible, just kept me very busy. I had school all day, then class from 3:45-6:45 and then would come home and have work to do, go to bed and do it all over again. I finished on Friday though so have been relaxing and enjoying this weekend!! School is still going well, but these last few weeks were challenging at school because I was so exhausted and not motivated. I'm ready to get back on track this week though!
This past week at school was Folklore Week so each day one of the grade levels did some kind of activity or presentation that they presented to the rest of the school. 5th grade was on Thursday and the students talked about how corn is produced and all of the steps that it goes through and then brought in food for all of the other grade levels to try. They had a great time with it and did really well. They presented all in Spanish and it's still so funny for me to hear them speak spanish.
This is a picture of the students presenting their research to some of the younger students.
Today I'm heading over to the embassy to watch the super bowl so that I can see all of commercials. I'm sure it will be on here but I would prefer to watch it in English and I wouldn't get all of the commercials, which are clearly the best part. Plus the embassy is having some kind of party so why not? Other than that, this week coming up on Thursday we are going on a field trip to a sugar mill. It will be fun and definitely a new experience. We take a bus like in the states I think, except we have to take security guards with us on the bus. Not that we are going anywhere dangerous but just to be safe.
Next weekend is the PTA Turno which is a big carnival, festival that the PTA puts on with carnival games, rides and things. The kids are all VERY excited about it. Not sure what to expect with that. If it's anything like the Bingo the PTA put on, I'm a little nervous haha. Well I hope everyone is enjoying all of the lovely snow you are having, I am still enjoying the lovely weather we are having here :) Be careful shoveling and i'll try to write more often now that my class is finished. Miss you all!
Love you!
This past week at school was Folklore Week so each day one of the grade levels did some kind of activity or presentation that they presented to the rest of the school. 5th grade was on Thursday and the students talked about how corn is produced and all of the steps that it goes through and then brought in food for all of the other grade levels to try. They had a great time with it and did really well. They presented all in Spanish and it's still so funny for me to hear them speak spanish.
This is a picture of the students presenting their research to some of the younger students.
Today I'm heading over to the embassy to watch the super bowl so that I can see all of commercials. I'm sure it will be on here but I would prefer to watch it in English and I wouldn't get all of the commercials, which are clearly the best part. Plus the embassy is having some kind of party so why not? Other than that, this week coming up on Thursday we are going on a field trip to a sugar mill. It will be fun and definitely a new experience. We take a bus like in the states I think, except we have to take security guards with us on the bus. Not that we are going anywhere dangerous but just to be safe.
Next weekend is the PTA Turno which is a big carnival, festival that the PTA puts on with carnival games, rides and things. The kids are all VERY excited about it. Not sure what to expect with that. If it's anything like the Bingo the PTA put on, I'm a little nervous haha. Well I hope everyone is enjoying all of the lovely snow you are having, I am still enjoying the lovely weather we are having here :) Be careful shoveling and i'll try to write more often now that my class is finished. Miss you all!
Love you!
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