I don't know how it happened but my first week teaching is already complete! Time is absolutely flying by. Now that my students have the classroom routines down and we're settled in I can start some real teaching! We are still waiting on a shipment of math textbooks and science kits (I guess that's the downside to teaching overseas... mostly everything is ordered internationally and that means it takes forever to get here even when it's planned ahead). So for now I'm using the math worksheets that I spent hours and hours scanning in to the computer back in March when I was student teaching. I'm so glad I thought about doing that... it has saved me quite a headache!
During my time in Maracaibo, I have realized that this city of 3 million feels more like a small town sometimes. Last week I was at the supermarket standing next to a woman who was complaining about the bad quality of the bananas. I replied, "Si, claro" and then a guy standing next to her looked at me and said: "Are you American?" Haha, he picked me out from just two words! But we got to talking and found out that he lived in the States for 18 years, part of which he was in Bloomington, IL. He asked what I was doing in Maracaibo and I told him I worked at EBV only to find out that he went there when he was a child. We talked a little more and before we parted ways him mom said that if I need anything to please call her, and to come over for dinner sometime! We exchanged numbers and she asked where I lived and we discovered that they live in the building right next to mine. Small, small world. Since then I have been over to their place for tea and the son, Napo, took me to a park on the lake. Sometime this week she is going to take me to a plant store and help me pick out some flowers for my little window garden. I'm incredibly lucky to have met such a great family who wants to adopt an American girl in to their lives. :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
First day of school!
My class is REALLY great! They are sweet kids. I have 17 students, all of whom speak Spanish or another language (Portuguese and Italian for a few) as their native tongue except one. This was fairly evident and I know I'm going to have to work a lot on connecting their background knowledge to new vocabulary. I only have one student that knows hardly any English at all but luckily I got to spend some time with her during new student orientation so I know her a little better than the other students. She's also VERY shy so most of the talking she did today was whispering in my ear, haha.
The kids are not allowed to speak in Spanish or any other language during class time, but they can at lunch and recess. This is going to be a hard rule to enforce because even in one day most of the students asked me: "Miss, como se dice ___ en ingles?" (how do you say ___ in English?). I tried to have them describe the word but in some cases we might have to pull out the bilingual dictionary! So far my Spanish has really come in handy in introducing myself to parents and talking with the school staff that doesn't speak English, so it definitely motivates me to study and improve because I know my grammar is horrible right now!
The day went by SO fast! I overplanned, as usual, but I always prefer that to having a classroom full of students and not knowing what to do next. We did mostly community building and learning the procedures and rules today. Also, everyday the students have a special (PE, art, or music) and Spanish class so there's about an hour and a half cut out of my day. Plus they have an hour for lunch, and 30 minutes for morning snack and recess! My teaching time is fairly limited so I want them to get in the habit of routines and how to move from one activity to the next so we're not wasting time. So far my "disappointed" voice is working well... I always like that better than raising my voice anyway. ;)
Now that my first day jitters are out of the way I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the week and month and year! :)
The kids are not allowed to speak in Spanish or any other language during class time, but they can at lunch and recess. This is going to be a hard rule to enforce because even in one day most of the students asked me: "Miss, como se dice ___ en ingles?" (how do you say ___ in English?). I tried to have them describe the word but in some cases we might have to pull out the bilingual dictionary! So far my Spanish has really come in handy in introducing myself to parents and talking with the school staff that doesn't speak English, so it definitely motivates me to study and improve because I know my grammar is horrible right now!
The day went by SO fast! I overplanned, as usual, but I always prefer that to having a classroom full of students and not knowing what to do next. We did mostly community building and learning the procedures and rules today. Also, everyday the students have a special (PE, art, or music) and Spanish class so there's about an hour and a half cut out of my day. Plus they have an hour for lunch, and 30 minutes for morning snack and recess! My teaching time is fairly limited so I want them to get in the habit of routines and how to move from one activity to the next so we're not wasting time. So far my "disappointed" voice is working well... I always like that better than raising my voice anyway. ;)
Now that my first day jitters are out of the way I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the week and month and year! :)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Weird things that happened to me this week.
1. My run-in with the Army
I saw a big truck full of about 20 Army guys parked across the street when I went to lunch one day. One of them waved so I waved back and then suddenly ALL of them were jumping and hollering and waving at me! The Venezuelan girls I was with quickly ushered me in to the restaurant saying "Why would you do that?! You can't wave at them! They know you're not from here!" I told them I didn't think waving was bad because they're the Army and they are respectable and all of them chuckled and rolled their eyes. Ignorant American party of one, haha. The Army is pretty corrupt here, and as the girls explained to me there are quite a few Cubans in the Venezuelan army due to the relationship between Castro and Chavez. So not many people trust the Army because often they abuse their power by making people pay to pass on a road, get help when stranded, cross the border, etc. and the money just goes in to their own pockets.
2. I spent four hours at the bank and three hours at a cell phone store
Waiting in long lines is just something I will have to get used to because it happens everywhere. A staff person from the school took us to the bank to open an account and get a debit card. We got there at 8am, 30 minutes before the bank opens, and already there were about 25-30 people lined up outside. By the time the bank opened the line was around the building, through the parking lot, and down the street. Even though we were relatively close to the front of the line we still waited about 3 hours to meet with a banker, and then another hour to make a deposit in our accounts. The next day we went to a cell phone store and it took the three of us us about three hours to wait in line and get a sim card for our phones. There were seven people working in the store and about 20 customers, and all of us seemed to be there for about the same amount of time. Life just moves at a slower pace here! I will be a very patient person by the end of two years, haha.
3. I pretended to be pregnant to use a bathroom
While we were waiting at the bank I had to go to the bathroom, but alas there are no bathrooms at the bank. I walked across the street to a Burger King with one of the assistants, but it was closed for another hour. There was a guy inside mopping and a security guard (every place here has a security guard, from restaurants to grocery stores to apartment buildings) and they said I couldn't go in. Then Andrea started talking to them through the door. It was very stormy that day and the wind was super strong, so my dress was billowing all over. The security guard asked if I was pregnant (which I understood and was about to deny) but Andrea said "Yes yes and she needs to go very badly!" and then they let me in, haha. I'm sure they were a little disappointed when I stepped inside and my dress fell flat!
4. I saw a taxi start on fire.
There's not too much else to say... it was a super old car (like 60s or 70s) so it was about time that it died. The guys sitting in the back of the taxi just got out and walked away and the poor driver was throwing handfuls of dirt in to the engine to try to put the fire out. The police here really don't attend to stuff like that and we left shortly after he put the fire out so I'm not sure what happened.
5. I bought a fan for $70
Electronics of any kind here are ridiculously expensive but I caved and bought it anyway, even though it would have cost about $15 in the States. I'm still getting used to converting bolivares to dollars and I'm surprised by the cost of somethings, both cheap and expensive. For example, a jar of peanut butter costs more than my monthly cell phone plan. A full tank of gas is cheaper than a half gallon of milk. For the price of my fan, I could have bought 8-9 bottles of wine. Every time I shop I'm surprised by the prices... I'm already making a list of things I want to buy in the US in December because it's too expensive here!
I saw a big truck full of about 20 Army guys parked across the street when I went to lunch one day. One of them waved so I waved back and then suddenly ALL of them were jumping and hollering and waving at me! The Venezuelan girls I was with quickly ushered me in to the restaurant saying "Why would you do that?! You can't wave at them! They know you're not from here!" I told them I didn't think waving was bad because they're the Army and they are respectable and all of them chuckled and rolled their eyes. Ignorant American party of one, haha. The Army is pretty corrupt here, and as the girls explained to me there are quite a few Cubans in the Venezuelan army due to the relationship between Castro and Chavez. So not many people trust the Army because often they abuse their power by making people pay to pass on a road, get help when stranded, cross the border, etc. and the money just goes in to their own pockets.
2. I spent four hours at the bank and three hours at a cell phone store
Waiting in long lines is just something I will have to get used to because it happens everywhere. A staff person from the school took us to the bank to open an account and get a debit card. We got there at 8am, 30 minutes before the bank opens, and already there were about 25-30 people lined up outside. By the time the bank opened the line was around the building, through the parking lot, and down the street. Even though we were relatively close to the front of the line we still waited about 3 hours to meet with a banker, and then another hour to make a deposit in our accounts. The next day we went to a cell phone store and it took the three of us us about three hours to wait in line and get a sim card for our phones. There were seven people working in the store and about 20 customers, and all of us seemed to be there for about the same amount of time. Life just moves at a slower pace here! I will be a very patient person by the end of two years, haha.
3. I pretended to be pregnant to use a bathroom
While we were waiting at the bank I had to go to the bathroom, but alas there are no bathrooms at the bank. I walked across the street to a Burger King with one of the assistants, but it was closed for another hour. There was a guy inside mopping and a security guard (every place here has a security guard, from restaurants to grocery stores to apartment buildings) and they said I couldn't go in. Then Andrea started talking to them through the door. It was very stormy that day and the wind was super strong, so my dress was billowing all over. The security guard asked if I was pregnant (which I understood and was about to deny) but Andrea said "Yes yes and she needs to go very badly!" and then they let me in, haha. I'm sure they were a little disappointed when I stepped inside and my dress fell flat!
4. I saw a taxi start on fire.
There's not too much else to say... it was a super old car (like 60s or 70s) so it was about time that it died. The guys sitting in the back of the taxi just got out and walked away and the poor driver was throwing handfuls of dirt in to the engine to try to put the fire out. The police here really don't attend to stuff like that and we left shortly after he put the fire out so I'm not sure what happened.
5. I bought a fan for $70
Electronics of any kind here are ridiculously expensive but I caved and bought it anyway, even though it would have cost about $15 in the States. I'm still getting used to converting bolivares to dollars and I'm surprised by the cost of somethings, both cheap and expensive. For example, a jar of peanut butter costs more than my monthly cell phone plan. A full tank of gas is cheaper than a half gallon of milk. For the price of my fan, I could have bought 8-9 bottles of wine. Every time I shop I'm surprised by the prices... I'm already making a list of things I want to buy in the US in December because it's too expensive here!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
One week already?
So far time is flying by. I spend all day at school in meetings or preparing my classroom but I still feel like I haven't accomplished that much! :\ At least my classroom is finally in working order and I'm ready to start planning tomorrow. It's a little terrifying that school starts on Tuesday and I don't have a whole lot put together yet in terms of lessons. Eek.
I have been eating out a lot this week trying to a) explore my neighborhood b) take advantage of invitations when I get them from my Venezuelan co-workers! Every elementary classroom has a full time bilingual assistant, and all of them are so sweet and welcoming! Most of them are about my age so it's great to talk with them and ask them questions about what they like to do, what they watch on TV, where they hang on the weekends, etc. It's also great to go out to eat with them knowing that they can help translate if I need it! This week we went to a couple of American places (McDonald's and Subway) and a couple of local places. Subway is nearly exactly the same except they don't have cheddar herb bread or shredded cheese, haha. But you can get plantain chips! McDonald's has a smaller menu but generally the same items, right down to Big Macs and McCafe. At the local places we have been to I've been able to read the menu and order pretty much on my own, which is reassuring! At one restaurant I found THREE vegetarian sandwiches. It is officially my favorite restaurant ever.
I don't feel like I've learned a whole lot of Spanish yet... I'm still wiping away the cobwebs with the occasional reference to my Spanish-English dictionary. I hope to take classes starting in about a month so that will be a tremendous help! Today we went to buy internet modems and try to get our connections set up. The school hires a driver to take us around for errands four days a week, so he drove us there and came in to the store with us. He doesn't speak a word of English but he is good at translating in the sense that he can break down what they are saying in to simple terms and say them slowly. I understood enough to know that my building doesn't have the wiring required for a cable connection, and my friends' building needs to put in a request to allow them to install it so we have to go back in a few days. Luckily in this instance, as with others, everyone has been patient with my struggles and able to laugh with me at my mistakes.
I have been eating out a lot this week trying to a) explore my neighborhood b) take advantage of invitations when I get them from my Venezuelan co-workers! Every elementary classroom has a full time bilingual assistant, and all of them are so sweet and welcoming! Most of them are about my age so it's great to talk with them and ask them questions about what they like to do, what they watch on TV, where they hang on the weekends, etc. It's also great to go out to eat with them knowing that they can help translate if I need it! This week we went to a couple of American places (McDonald's and Subway) and a couple of local places. Subway is nearly exactly the same except they don't have cheddar herb bread or shredded cheese, haha. But you can get plantain chips! McDonald's has a smaller menu but generally the same items, right down to Big Macs and McCafe. At the local places we have been to I've been able to read the menu and order pretty much on my own, which is reassuring! At one restaurant I found THREE vegetarian sandwiches. It is officially my favorite restaurant ever.
I don't feel like I've learned a whole lot of Spanish yet... I'm still wiping away the cobwebs with the occasional reference to my Spanish-English dictionary. I hope to take classes starting in about a month so that will be a tremendous help! Today we went to buy internet modems and try to get our connections set up. The school hires a driver to take us around for errands four days a week, so he drove us there and came in to the store with us. He doesn't speak a word of English but he is good at translating in the sense that he can break down what they are saying in to simple terms and say them slowly. I understood enough to know that my building doesn't have the wiring required for a cable connection, and my friends' building needs to put in a request to allow them to install it so we have to go back in a few days. Luckily in this instance, as with others, everyone has been patient with my struggles and able to laugh with me at my mistakes.
Monday, August 9, 2010
"Maracaibo is like one big frat house"
One of the teachers that's been here for a few years said this in the sense that people do whatever crazy stuff they want to and no one's going to stop them. The drivers are nuts; it's optional to stop at a red light, pedestrians don't have the right of way, and it's normal to drive the wrong way down a one way street if it means you'll get there faster. I've only been in one taxi so far and it was ok, but we've been around the whole city in one of the school's buses and witnessed the insanity. There are police but they break all the traffic laws too so there's no enforcement. Another thing that might take some getting used to is that people don't like to wait in line. Rather, they will kinda push their way forward until they can slip in front of you. This also happens with traffic! ;) Something else that stands out to me is that there's also a lot of graffiti... everywhere. I live in one of the "nice" neighborhoods and there's still some here. Sometimes residents will spray paint messages ranging from "No Mas Chavez" (or "Viva Chavez" depending on their politics) to announcements like "Please Don't Dump Garbage Here." Also, politicians running for office spray paint with a stencil on some concrete walls... probably with permission? Who knows. Lastly, there's plenty of swearing! Even the little kids do it because they don't know any better. I don't know all the words yet, haha, but some of the teachers have told me the ones to look out for so I can remind the students that it's inappropriate.
Yesterday the school took us on a city tour and we got to see all the touristy things: the lake, the basilica, the plaza, an artisan market, the huge mall, and the historic district where the old Spanish-style houses still stand. After the tour a few of the other teachers and I went to the pool for the afternoon. The water was unexpectedly hot! It was like taking a bath basically, haha. I'm guessing they probably don't have to heat it with year round temperatures of 95 degrees. We got lunch at the pool and the options were grilled chicken or hamburger. I explained that I didn't eat chicken or beef and the waiter paused and said "Quiere hamburguesa?" I said no, I just wanted a cheese sandwich with lettuce and then he looked really confused and replied "Hamburguesa con queso?" I explained again and then he seemed to understand (but didn't know why anyone would want just cheese, haha). I ended up with a ham and cheese sandwich. In all fairness ham was not on the list of meats that I told him I didn't eat! He was probably just trying to be nice and give me something more substantial, hehe. If there is one thing I have found so far it's that the people in Maracaibo are very forgiving, compassionate, and willing to help!
The internet is a little too slow right now to add pictures but I will do that when I officially get internet in my apartment!
Yesterday the school took us on a city tour and we got to see all the touristy things: the lake, the basilica, the plaza, an artisan market, the huge mall, and the historic district where the old Spanish-style houses still stand. After the tour a few of the other teachers and I went to the pool for the afternoon. The water was unexpectedly hot! It was like taking a bath basically, haha. I'm guessing they probably don't have to heat it with year round temperatures of 95 degrees. We got lunch at the pool and the options were grilled chicken or hamburger. I explained that I didn't eat chicken or beef and the waiter paused and said "Quiere hamburguesa?" I said no, I just wanted a cheese sandwich with lettuce and then he looked really confused and replied "Hamburguesa con queso?" I explained again and then he seemed to understand (but didn't know why anyone would want just cheese, haha). I ended up with a ham and cheese sandwich. In all fairness ham was not on the list of meats that I told him I didn't eat! He was probably just trying to be nice and give me something more substantial, hehe. If there is one thing I have found so far it's that the people in Maracaibo are very forgiving, compassionate, and willing to help!
The internet is a little too slow right now to add pictures but I will do that when I officially get internet in my apartment!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Avocado is not a Spanish word
The school has taken us out to eat a couple of times so I'm getting some good practice in learning what is vegetarian and asking questions of the veteran teachers when I need help with the menu. Last night I had an avocado, tomato and palmito salad [which is how I learned that avocado is actually aguacate in Spanish... who knew?]. Palmito is one of my new favorite veggies! It's a white stalk sort of thing. It has a similar texture to asparagus because it's a little fibrous... with some salt and oil on it it's very good! I also had some onion soup, which was probably made with chicken broth but I'm over it, haha. As long as I can get by without eating chunks of meat I'll be a-ok. ;)
We're going off to the mall now so that should be interesting! I will post some pictures when I can get internet in my apartment. Adios!
We're going off to the mall now so that should be interesting! I will post some pictures when I can get internet in my apartment. Adios!
Friday, August 6, 2010
I made it!
I'm here in Venezuela safe and sound. I don't have a lot of time to be online today {it might take a while to get internet in my apartment... and Facebook is blocked at the school}. BUT everything has been great so far!
My apartment is HUGE! I have three furnished bedrooms and three bathrooms! Also, there is a "maids room" and another bathroom off the kitchen. It is the only part of the house that is not air conditioned. Poor maid! So those rooms will not be used at all. I also have a kitchen, dining room, living room, TV room, and another extra bedroom that's empty. So... five bedrooms and four bathrooms in all! I hope someone will come visit me so I'm not alone in this huge place! [hint ... HINT, haha] So far no cockroaches [some of the girls had to deal with those last night!]
I had an interesting conversation with the customs guy last night. For some reason they had to go through ALL my luggage! :[ So while he was doing that he came across my Spanish grammar book and we had a short conversation in Spanglish. He gave me his phone number and said if I need anything or if I get lost to call him, or to call him if I want to be his language partner so we can learn together! He's like 70 years old so it was really sweet. :} Then he told me to be very careful, haha. So far everyone has been incredibly friendly and patient with my shortcomings in Spanish, plus most people I have come across know a little English so we can muddle through it together.
Ok, time to get to work!
My apartment is HUGE! I have three furnished bedrooms and three bathrooms! Also, there is a "maids room" and another bathroom off the kitchen. It is the only part of the house that is not air conditioned. Poor maid! So those rooms will not be used at all. I also have a kitchen, dining room, living room, TV room, and another extra bedroom that's empty. So... five bedrooms and four bathrooms in all! I hope someone will come visit me so I'm not alone in this huge place! [hint ... HINT, haha] So far no cockroaches [some of the girls had to deal with those last night!]
I had an interesting conversation with the customs guy last night. For some reason they had to go through ALL my luggage! :[ So while he was doing that he came across my Spanish grammar book and we had a short conversation in Spanglish. He gave me his phone number and said if I need anything or if I get lost to call him, or to call him if I want to be his language partner so we can learn together! He's like 70 years old so it was really sweet. :} Then he told me to be very careful, haha. So far everyone has been incredibly friendly and patient with my shortcomings in Spanish, plus most people I have come across know a little English so we can muddle through it together.
Ok, time to get to work!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I'm waking up in 2.5 hours
My flight leaves Appleton at 6am today! After layovers in Chicago and Miami, I will be in Maracaibo at 7pm.
I'm excited nervous happy anxious curious... and a little nauseous, haha. I don't think I can sleep but I'm going to try to nap for a few hours before I need to wake up and start getting ready. I don't know how long it will take to get internet in my apartment but when I have that luxury I will be sure to update and add some pictures if I can!
Adios, amigos!
I'm excited nervous happy anxious curious... and a little nauseous, haha. I don't think I can sleep but I'm going to try to nap for a few hours before I need to wake up and start getting ready. I don't know how long it will take to get internet in my apartment but when I have that luxury I will be sure to update and add some pictures if I can!
Adios, amigos!
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