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| Cartagena from Kayla's apartment |
Cartagena de Indes: We ventured back to the mainland this past Saturday with the other volunteers for a pool party at a former Santa Ana volunteer’s new apartment. Later in the night we all had drinks and some snacks on top of the old Spanish fort that encircles Old Town, overlooking the Caribbean. Micah felt kind of stupid for coming all the way to Colombia and ordering a hot dog from a street vendor, but this was no ordinary hot dog (and yes they call them perros calientes)-- started with a grilled hot dog on a buttered and grilled bun, topped with queso, ketchup, fry sauce (just like in Utah!), tiny deep fried onions and potatoes, and relish – crunchy and delicious. We stayed at Hotel Marbella, which had amazing old Moorish architecture and was right on the ocean. We wouldn’t recommend it to most, but it worked on our volunteer budget. Next time we’d bring our own sheets! Overall it was a good break before starting a busy school week.
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| Caribbean View in Cartagena |
Micah Dice (Says):
I’m exhausted. I’m teaching 25 hours a week but my days have been starting with canchas (assemblies) or staff meetings at 7am, followed by classes of 9-11th graders, which is the equivalent of 10-12th in the U.S., and finishing anywhere between 3:30 and 5:30pm. My school, Fundacion Educativa Instituto Ecologio Barbacoas, started the day after we arrived in Santa Ana last week and we still do not have set teaching schedules, which has been one of the most frustrating things about adjusting to working in Colombia.
With that out of the way, the highlight of my days has been the kids. Teaching high school is not easy but so far they have been excited to learn English and receptive to my lessons. My co-teacher, Raimundo, speaks English very well and I think we complement each other’s teaching styles.
Other than school life, I finally got to Playa Blanca on Friday for some much needed rejuvenation. I hope to spend much more time there over the coming year. Santa Ana is a town of very contrasting elements. At first glance, it looks run down and sad yet the people are full of life and incredibly friendly and welcoming. There is an ever-present thump of music – sometimes latin, sometimes reggaeton – always loud. There is a casita around the corner that sells homemade deditos con bocadillo y queso (fried breakfast pastries with guava paste and cheese) for about .50 cents USD. I wish I could eat them every day!
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| A classroom at Micah's school (the campus where we live) |
Steph Dice:
I have had a much different experience than Micah so far. My school, Institucion Educativa de Santa Ana, is the public school and Micah’s is a private charter school. 6-11th grades are held from 6:30am until 11:30am and primary school is held from 1-6pm. There are 3 other volunteers at the same school. The first week we arrived every day at 8am for staff meetings, which never actually started until closer to 9 and we were usually excused after only an hour or two. All meetings are held completely in Spanish, as I am the only profesor that doesn't speak Spanish (for now!). Since I was finished by noon every day I was able to go to the beach Monday and Thursday afternoons last week, in addition to Friday with Micah and the rest of the private school volunteers. My first trip was very crazy, as I have never been on a motorcycle and to get to the beach we ride 2 people per moto, behind the driver. It’s hot and sticky, but the breeze is refreshing and it’s really not as scary as I anticipated. The government is actually sponsoring the paving of the one and only road that goes through the island to Playa Blanca so it will be interesting to see the changes that causes to the island. It will be the only paved road on Isla de Baru.
Yesterday was the official first day of school for me, and today was my first day teaching. In Colombia they have a grade called Transicion, which comes between Jardin (kindergarten) and 1st grade, so teaching 3-5th grades is the equivalent of 4-6th grade in the U.S. I just learned this yesterday.
I did get to meet many students today and yesterday, which was so fun! The volunteers are the only white people most of them ever see, since many don’t have tvs or the luxury of visiting Cartagena frequently (it cost us about US$4.50 each way). Juli and I felt like celebrities. They all wanted to touch us and hold our hands and show us that they could say “HelloTeacherHowareyouI’mfine,thankyou” (really fast in one long word). I’m not sure if they think there is something wrong with me or if they’re just fascinated, but they can't get over my green eyes. They kept staring and wanting to look closely. It was funny and really cute. If you teach in the U.S. never take for granted the resources provided to you. Photocopiers, laminating machines, textbooks, even markers and pencils are a rare commodity here.
I can agree with everything Micah said about the town of Santa Ana – it really is a place of contrast and although I’m not as brave as Micah when it comes to trusting the cafeteria mystery meat or drinking the water…ok I won’t even brush my teeth with the tap water…I feel safe and welcome here.
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| Several classrooms at Steph's school |
