Jerseys and Junk and all that Jazz

Alright! So I had my first week of work this week. Here's what I wrote for the school's blog about the experience:

This week I began my work in Punta Ballena. I left Montevideo at 6:30 in the morning on Monday and I arrived at the school around 8:30. I began the day with the third year students, children 11 or 12 years old. Then, I had class with the first years, 5-year-olds, and after lunch, I finished the day with the second year, 6-year-old kids. On Tuesday, I had classes with fourth, fifth, and third years. All the classes were an hour (more or less), and we passed the time learning introductions and the most basic things, the colors, the letters of the alphabet, etc. The majority of the students do not understand anything of English, and the most advanced students only know basic concepts. Students of the same age have different levels and the result is that some are more timid than others. I think that this is going to be my biggest challenge.

The school functions very differently than schools in the United States. The schedule could be called "flexible". The children generally arrive between 9 and 10. The rain of Santa Rosa (a storm that comes at the end of each August) began yesterday in the morning, and today, Wednesday, only five students of more than 50 attended school. The result was that the children watched Tin Tin and drew for the day. The plan on Wednesday for the English classes is to do a class with all the students and the music teacher in the morning and a class with the preschoolers in the afternoon. But today, there were no preschoolers and there was no music teacher. I have hope that with time, the situation is going to improve and come to be more peaceful and regular.

The two nights, I stayed in the house of Martin, a friend of some parents of students. He lives in a cabin next to the forest, a comfortable and small house. He has a kitchen and a small living room, bath and bedroom, with a room above which I stay in when I am there. There is a fireplace in the living room. It is a very tranquil and pretty place. Martin is a man of good vibes, he has travelled in all parts of South America, much of it by bike. He has interest in clay house construction, astrology, and other quite unusual things. And he likes to cook a lot! I like that he will be my host and I expect that we will know each other better despite our different languages (he speaks almost no English).

More next week!

So, I'm feeling better about the whole thing now that I've begun to experience it. Still not sure where I'm going to go with my classes, or how much I'll really be able to teach these kids. But, I'm hopeful and I think it will only get better, as long as I keep my patience. I think it will be very good for my Spanish, too, because it is almost complete immersion. The children's English skills are very basic and the same goes for the other teachers and my host. There are only two people I know there that speak English pretty well.

I finally went to the feria last Sunday!! It was everything and more than you can imagine. We got there around 2, so it was already winding down a bit, but you can pretty much buy anything imaginable there. Clothes, new and used, antiques, food (produce as well as canned and dry goods, bread, etc.), household goods, electronics, books, and pets! Such cute rabbits. It's like a giant flea market/supermarket/produce market/etc. I bought a mate and bombilla (the mate I bought has a hole, but I'm hoping to be able to fix it, or otherwise buy another one), a packet of cumin, 2 kilos of tangerines (for the equivalent of 50 cents!), and some kind of Chinese balm for headaches. Oh, and a pretty tasty empanada! Pretty surprised I made it this week, after the house party I went to the night before. I'd like to go earlier next time, if I can manage to get out of bed before noon...