The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Okay, let's start with the bad and the ugly.

No luck on attending computer classes this week at the school. And, more delays on our library project. There are two walls being put up in two classrooms so that the two classrooms that are held outside can now be held inside. This is good, I guess, but that means one of the classes is using the computer lab for the week, hence no computer classes, and this project needs to be completed before we continue with the library (for some unknown reason). The easy fix to the classroom problem would be to set up the school schedule like most schools around the country, hold half the classes in the morning and half the classes in the afternoon, utlizing the space that we already have. Well, not so easy. Today I found out that all the classes for all nine grades (kindergarten through ninth, ten classes) are held in the morning because transportation is more difficult for everyone in the afternoon, i.e. most of the teachers. By the way, classes are now held from 7:30am to noon. The education system here definitely needs some work. Anyway, I live in a unique community because we're so close to the pueblo, the bigger city of Santa Rosa, and many people who work at the school live there or in the surrounding area. In many smaller communities, teachers live where they work, but that's not the case here, therefore transportation is an additional weight on our school's schedule.

Silva, the little ladrona (theif) stole $20 from me, the second time. Now, I'm sure it's her. I figured it out yesterday and I was furious. I now keep my bag locked away and she's not allowed in my house. She doesn't know this yet though, so I still have that hurdle to climb. I talked to my neighbor Sandra about it and she told me not to let her in anymore and that she is a theif, the second confirmation of this. I'm now about $80 in the hole on a $300 budget. I've got to do something with these kids.
And finally, I think the man who owns my house, Don Alfredo, is in trouble. These gang banger types keep coming to look for him. A few men came to my house last night, yelling outside my door for him. I was afriad to go out, so I didn't answer. I feel pretty safe here, with neighbors that are so close. It wasn't too late, but I waited till they were gone and went to my neighbors who live closest to the front of my house to see who these guys were. They told me they were just looking for Alfredo, but I thought it was weird to come at night. In either case, they now know he doesn't live in my house so hopefully they'll stay away. Everyone is telling me not to worry, that I'm safe. Hope they're right.

Now for the good.

I went over and spent some time with my neighbor Sandra yesterday. She has three girls and a boy. The oldest is Milk, then Madai, and the baby Kailey (just like my little neice Kaley; only a few months apart!). Oh, and then there's the three year old little terror named Modesto, who is adorable. They're a great family and I hope to spend more time with them. Had dinner there yesterday with them and Jenny, my other neightbor and the girls' cousin. Anyway, it was nice to be surrounded by such wonderful people after feeling so disappointed that somone had stolen from me.

I like to call this next story the Breakthrough.

I went to the school today to attend the computer classes everyone has been bugging me to teach. All the kids keep asking and so do the teachers and the director. Here's the issue though. I don't want to be the computer teacher. I'm part of an organization that works on sustainable development. If I teach classes for two years, what happens after that? I leave. The end. It's a concept that I've tried explaining, but isn't really working. What I've been telling everyone is that I'm going to observe the classes this week and see if I can bring in new programs or help better the classes by working with the teachers and the students. I guess they're okay with that for now, but guess I'll have to wait for the classroom construction to subside to start this.

So here's the good stuff. Since I couln't attend the computer classes this morning I began talking with a few of the teachers about what I could do in the school. Of course they started pushing the computer classes because that's what Missy did. Yeah, went down that road again. Anyway, I was explaining to them the same old, "I don't want to teach them, I want to help you guys (the teachers) succeed with them." Then, I continued explaining that my boss put me here in La Chorrera to replace Missy because I have a different skill set than her and I want to do different things. I would like to start reading programs in the library, for example. I told them that I wanted their feedback too. Then they really started to understand. They wanted to know what my specialties are and what new things I could bring in. Finally! Then, they began telling me that they wanted to learn English. This was incredibly exciting! Something sustainable! If I can train the teachers than they can teach the kids! They also explained that the kids are having trouble with math, so I suggested coming into the math classes and helping the teachers and tutoring the student. They loved that idea, and so did the Nina Xiomara, who teaches math and science for the tercer ciclo (the third cycle, students in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades). So, because of all this excitement we bugged the director, Don Armando, to have a meeting with all the teachers tomorrow to throw around ideas. I'm definitely taking this opportunity to continue explaining what I want to do in the community and that it is DIFFERENT than what Missy did. And, I think people will be excited about what I have to offer.

This whole experience is full of highs and lows, on a daily basis. Today, I feel like I finally made some real progress, especially in regard to certain difficulties I've been facing, but who know s what tomorrow will bring.