A clausura is a closing ceremony of sorts, and we had one at the Estancia about two weeks ago. The 6th graders were officially promoted to middle school (colegio), there were a few student performances, and some awards for academic excellence. The picture is of me giving the award to Emerson for being the highest achieving student in the 3rd-6th grade classroom. After the ceremony, we ate nacatamales, a traditional Christmas food. They are tamales that include meat, rice, and veggies. Usually they are made with pork (and sometimes even pork lard) but we used chicken in these. The day before the clausura I helped make them. It took all day, but it was fun to be part of the process. We also ate (and I helped make) torrejas, which are sort of like french toast that is then soaked in a sugary syrup. They are pretty good but a bit too sweet for me to eat more than one of them.
This clausura was a little different because it was Alex's last day with students as well. A lot of the children cried, and even one of the moms. Two weeks later, they are still asking about her but have also already developed a relationship with me. I can't even say I have big shoes to fill because I hope that my role at the school will be very different than hers was, and I have different goals for myself. The students have accepted this and been very welcoming to me, so I haven't felt bad at all during the transition. More than anything it makes me already sad that I will someday have to leave--and that even after five busy months of being in country, it still seems that I have not even begun my service.
Last week, my project manager, Sandra, came to Danli and met with me and my counterparts from the Estancia and the school district. First we went over my accomplishments from the first few months, then Sandra asked my counterparts to pretend that if I were Santa Claus, what would I accomplish with them in the upcoming year. This part of the meeting was definitely the most overwhelming, as it included not one, not two, but THREE different requests for English classes of various sorts. I, unlike many of my fellow volunteers, am not opposed to teaching English in site--in fact I think this mentality is one of the main reasons why I was placed in Danli as opposed to a different site. However, THREE different English classes, apart from all of my current and proposed work at the estancia, is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, the final part of the meeting was reorganizing these requests and highlighting which ideas would actually be feasible to do in the upcoming year. My current (possibly genius) plan is to do TEAM 1, the program for teaching English to teachers. Before I taught lessons to the teachers, however, I would do all the activities with students and staff at the Estancia to get practice and see which activities are successful. It will also give me a lot more credibility in leading the other class, because I will be able to speak from experience.
This clausura was a little different because it was Alex's last day with students as well. A lot of the children cried, and even one of the moms. Two weeks later, they are still asking about her but have also already developed a relationship with me. I can't even say I have big shoes to fill because I hope that my role at the school will be very different than hers was, and I have different goals for myself. The students have accepted this and been very welcoming to me, so I haven't felt bad at all during the transition. More than anything it makes me already sad that I will someday have to leave--and that even after five busy months of being in country, it still seems that I have not even begun my service.
Last week, my project manager, Sandra, came to Danli and met with me and my counterparts from the Estancia and the school district. First we went over my accomplishments from the first few months, then Sandra asked my counterparts to pretend that if I were Santa Claus, what would I accomplish with them in the upcoming year. This part of the meeting was definitely the most overwhelming, as it included not one, not two, but THREE different requests for English classes of various sorts. I, unlike many of my fellow volunteers, am not opposed to teaching English in site--in fact I think this mentality is one of the main reasons why I was placed in Danli as opposed to a different site. However, THREE different English classes, apart from all of my current and proposed work at the estancia, is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, the final part of the meeting was reorganizing these requests and highlighting which ideas would actually be feasible to do in the upcoming year. My current (possibly genius) plan is to do TEAM 1, the program for teaching English to teachers. Before I taught lessons to the teachers, however, I would do all the activities with students and staff at the Estancia to get practice and see which activities are successful. It will also give me a lot more credibility in leading the other class, because I will be able to speak from experience.
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