Casa Xalteva
I taught ESL classes at Casa Xalteva during the mornings, twice a week. The school also teaches Spanish and administers other social programs in benefit of the community in Granada. The staff is a group of hard working people, and very happy to assist students, and volunteers. Once, Juan Carlos, one of the admins invited me for lunch at his house. The food was good, and I was very appreciative of his kind gesture.
At first, I had three students. Working with them was very nice, they really knew their stuff and were very enthusiastic about learning. We played word games, and the favorite one was hang man. with nouns, adjectives, and full sentences in different tenses. I think they lost only once or twice. They were also good at keeping me on track. I am not so good at coming up with games, so they helped me out. As usual, the teacher also learns from the students, and this makes the studying experience even better.
On my last two days I had a bigger group of students. One of their favorite activities was when we went across the world with Google Earth. I showed them pictures mostly of different countries and how to say their names. They were particularly interested in Asian and African countries, and I also found out they were fans of Derek Jeter. Also, some of them thought other countries were copying the names of cities and buildings in Nicaragua, starting with Granada and Leon in Spain. That was funny! On the day I left, I got a t-shirt with the logo of the school, and well, you can see the picture of it at the school lobby.
Quinta Los Chavalos, BNH School
In the afternoons, I went to teach at Quinta los Chavalos four times a week. The school is next to the lake in the neighberhood of Vista del Lago. Lots of kids from all school ages come here before and after their classes. In Nicaragua, at least in this region, classes for the first, second and third grades are held in the morning, and for other grades up to sixth are in the afternoon. So, the children come here during their free time.
In the same classroom, I had 8 and sometimes 10 children from different ages and grades. It was similar in Casa Xalteva, but here I had more students, so the differences were more evident. It was challenging to come up with lesson plans that would fit each student needs, but I managed. In real school classrooms, this is very common and even more challenging for teachers, especially with groups of 35 or 40. I was told that many children don't have books and other school materials, they rely on notes from the blackboard, and are often charged for work sheets, including exams at 10 cordobas each.
My students were able to write sentences with minor mistakes. Yet, they often didn't know the meaning of what they were writing. At first I had the idea I would teach them grammar and pronunciation in the way I had learned it when I studied for the TESL. Often, it is very effective to make the classroom an English friendly environment, and avoid the local language at all cost. But some formulas cannot be applied to everything equally.
After a few trials, I found a better way to help them out. I realized they needed more help with concepts. With this in mind, I changed the strategy and focused more on teaching them concepts and the logic of sentence structures. For example, they didn't have a clear understaning of verbs in the present tense for the third person (he works, she studies), demonstrative pronouns (this, that), adjective and nouns, and phrasal verbs (hold on, get up, etc). We spent a good deal of time studying this. In the process, they also learned some idiomatic expressions and greetings, which was fun. This was very effective because they were getting it, and I was extremely satisfied with that.
All my students from both schools were great. They really wanted to learn, and they also taught me many things. At their age, children can be silly, playful, always tyring to outsmart the teacher. Some of them are too hipper to pay attention in class, and others are too shy to participate. Sometimes they don't seem to know the right answer, but very often they do, it is just that they are afraid of making a mistake. In these cases what they need is constant encouragement, lots of patience, and the right words to give them confidence. At first I had some difficulties managing the classs since I had not done this in more than 11 years. Little by little I improved, and it was all thanks to them.
Teaching is defenitely a rewarding way to helping others find their way in life, on their own terms and with their own dreams. Jose, a 12-years-old sixth grader wants to learn English so we can work at a hotel some day. I wanted to learn English and travel some day when I was his age and living under similar circumstances as he does now. You do the math.
If you have an interest in helping Building New Hope with a donation or with volunteer work, or just to learn more about what they do, please visit their website for all the info you need by clicking on the link. The main contact in Granada is Donna Tabor. Her e-mail is in the website under contacts.
Barkeeper at the Bearded Monkey
Turned out, I am a good barkeeper. First day I got trained by Eric, a goodfella from New Orleans. Then came cara mia Roberta and mi amigo David. The four fantastic at the Monkey! For ten days, being behind the bar was a great working and social experience. I met more people in this time than in five months all together. Also, I learned to prepare Macua, the Nicaraguan mixed drink, which has the national rum Flor de Caña, OJ, guayaba (guava) juice, all in the blender with ice. Mauricio, Dennis and Cynthia approved my version of the Nicaraguan drink, which in turn was my official blessing. Cheers Mates!
Each night was different. Sometimes, when the bar was slow, I played some salsa and bachata, and had some dancing. Other nights were extremely busy, full bar and tables, and played heavy metal.... those busy nights were really good. Once I made close to 5K cordobas in sells and 600 in tips, equivalent to $220 and $27. Seems little to NY standards, but it's quite a good sell at a hostal in Granada at this time of the year.
The experience of working at a bar in a hostel is unmatched, particularly at the Bearded Monkey. I heard all kinds of stories, met lots of interesting and not so interesting people, and got to know about other places to travel I had not considered. Also, it is fun to see people getting drunk and the incredible things they do and say. The pace can be very fast and demanding, but extremely rewarding as well. And of course, I had great bosses and a team of coworkers I wish I could always have. They were the best of the best, with me, each other and the guests.
People, this is a great way to finance your staying while traveling, meeting people, and doing something really fun. This is not work, this is a mojo!
Photo album this week
VIVA El Monos!
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