Teaching Up a Storm

I’m officially a high school English teacher. I started co-teaching with my 4 English teachers yesterday and these first 2 days have been awesome! I love the students! Especially the octavos (means 8^th grade, which is the same as our 7^th grade). They’re so tiny and motivated and adorable. A little girl gave me a paper heart that she folded and a little boy gave me Manicho! Which is pretty much my favorite candy here- it’s chocolate with crushed peanuts.

I decided to lay down some rules right off the bat because I’ve found the discipline somewhat lacking here and I’m very easy to walk all over. So I printed and laminated these symbols to help them understand me and to keep them in check. It’s very hard for them to understand my English, even if they’ve been studying it for years because the accent is so different from what they’ve heard from their Ecuadorian teachers. So I have the symbols and I explained at the beginning of class in Spanish so it would be clear. There’s a book and pencil which are obvious- I’ll use them to ask the students to read or write something or to take out those materials. I cut out an ear to ask them to listen to each other and to the teachers. I showed a hand and said that it meant that I’m going to hit them when they get an answer wrong, to which they look terrified until I start laughing and say “Es un chiste! No voy a pegarles.” “It’s a joke! I’m not going to hit you.” The hand means that they need to raise their hands to participate. (They’re very accustomed to just yelling random things at the same time, which I can’t understand at all!) I cut out a mouth to symbolize speaking but also to tell them that they’re not allowed to laugh at each other. I explained that I will never laugh at them when they are learning English so they don’t need to be embarrassed about speaking in front of me or the class and that it’s okay to laugh at me because I already know that my Spanish is terrible but I’m also learning. I also used an index finger that they can use when I’m speaking too quickly or using words they don’t know. And finally I cut out a nose and told them it means that they stink and need to take a shower, which is also a joke and they love it. So the catch is- the symbols are like yellow cards in soccer. If they break a rule, they get one card as a warning but then if it happens again, red card! And they can’t play all the awesome games I have planned for class. I think it’s going to work. Keep your fingers crossed.

So I created 3 or 4 games just in the last 2 days that incorporate didactic materials, dynamic activities, and tactile learning, all of which are not often used in the classrooms here. I’ve been putting a lot of work in and really trying to encourage the teachers to get more excited about planning classes.

I’m also 100% healthy! (Knock on wood) After about 9 days of stomach problems, my first stool sample, and a pretty unsanitary experience at the lab, I’m finally peachy. And the weather has been gorgeous for the first time at site. There isn’t a cloud in the sky and you can see the Cotopaxi volcano perfectly from the windows in the classroom. The other volunteer and I went out for beers and a cheeseburger yesterday after school to celebrate.

So of course, in the Universe’s effort to maintain cosmic balance, a German Shepherd bit me today. I went for a run at the park and as I was walking by this big yard, 2 huge German Shepherds came running out and I did all the wrong things. They say if it’s s stray dog, act like you’re going to throw something at them and they’ll leave. If it’s not a stray, you’re supposed to stop walking, face the dog, puff up your chest a little and stare in their direction but not into their eyes. Considering I don’t have a badass bone in my body, I turned away, squealed, and jogged a little away from them. Number one rule is: don’t run! Ooops. So he just nipped the back of my thigh, probably just a warning bite to stay off of his turf. I have a small bruise but he didn’t break the skin. But man. I’ve never been afraid of dogs until I got here. This incident made the dogs I live with seem like Lose Tres Chiflados (the 3 Stooges).

Anyway, now I’m waiting for the water to get here so I can shower. The water comes into town through tubes and apparently runs out in the afternoons. Gotta love livin the EcuaLife.

Abrazos y besos.