PHOTOS from the Mid-Term Meeting Weekend can be seen by clicking on the title of today’s entry or by pasting the following address into your browser:
http://homepage.mac.com/rachelsair/fulbright/PhotoAlbum33.html
After breakfast at the hotel, all nine grantees and Karina walked over to the COMEXUS offices and gathered in a conference room where we shared presentations. Each was informative and entertaining, but especially fascinating is the variance among our experiences.
• Swimming, Swimming, In the Swimming Pool
Tim is with his wife and daughter in Durango where they seem to be flourishing as they integrate into the community; Talea is even taking swimming lessons there. Tim teaches in a “secundaria” and seems to really command the respect of the students and certainly appears to enjoy his position.
• Survivor the Family Edition
Esther is in Nayarit, and like Tim, is also with her family - FOUR children! Her experience sounds like a TV reality show: Each day when the family returns home, Esther has to bravely enter the house before the children and search for poisonous snakes and other unwanted guests. This location is a prime one since it’s next door to the beach. The downside however of being near a tourist spot is that imported goods that are already marked up throughout the country are even more so in Nayarit – a bottle of salad dressing costs $9 USD.
• Go Tell It on the Mountain
Gail is in the mountains of Oaxaca, so isolated that to receive a phone call she has to listen for her name over a loudspeaker that sits at the top of a pole right above her home. This doesn’t seem to help alert her, however, since the voice sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Even though Gail is teaching high school level, she has discipline problems similar to mine. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the luxury that I have of escaping to another world when the school day is over. When Gail does have the opportunity to flee the mountain life, she has to pay for an extra seat in the van if bringing luggage along and cope with unsafe road conditions.
• Hot Times in the City
Manya is surviving the heat in Sonora, it was 120º F when arrived at the beginning of August. The heat doesn’t slow her down for a second, as she has made a number of interesting “exchanges.” In return for English lessons, she has access to a car, another trade involves Manya teaching yoga and another has her discussing literature with a priest.
• Cool As a Cucumber
Lori is in a small town on the border of the state of Michoacan. Like Andi’s exchange, Lori’s seems relatively calm, or at the very least there’s no chasing snakes or students.
• The Potosinas
Miriam and Jeannie, both in San Luis Potosi, presented using a video. We were taken on a tour of their schools and were able to see the resources they have available or at least those that are around, like the computers in Miriam’s classroom. Miriam works with mostly adults, while Jeannie teaches in a university.
• Techno Geek
Lastly, I used the Mac program iMovie to give an idea about my school, by using photos and videoclips, with my narration recorded. I concluded by sharing my goals that I have set for the rest of my exchange.
- First, the students will learn enough English so that when I leave I can bring with me pen-pal letters for my students in Wilmette.
- I also want my school in Wilmette to raise money to help support the school here in Mexico, specifically to repaint the school. I hope to do the painting with students and their families so that they will value the school even more and take better care of it since they would have helped to improve it.
If you are interested in helping to improve the secondary school in Iztapalapa, Mexico, click the button on the upper right corner of this page that says, “Make A Donation.” Be assured that each cent received will be spent on resources for the school; I will update the list that appears below to let you know for what the money has been used.
Items that need to be purchased:
- Paint (high quality paint that will withstand the outdoor elements)
- Paintbrushes/rollers
- Tubs for the paint
- Toilet paper
- Soap
- Equipment (soccer balls) for use during physical education class and during recess.
- Tables and chairs to sit and eat during recess.
- Paper and poster board to post signs throughout the classroom.
- Spanish-English dictionaries and basic books in English for the classroom and school library.
