How not to teach and art fun

Hello from the cupboard where I am pumping quarters to keep the computer alive. Apologies for lack of blogs, part laziness, part occupation, part intolerance of being at the back of the video store, where my companions are normally hormonal boys downloading porn, eating gross food and so on whilst the propietor furiously sprays air freshner, which combined with cheese and hormones makes me feel a little queasy.

So an update on the last few weeks - 2nd March to now, wow it´s the 23rd. Goodness

Week of 2nd March- On Mon 2nd, After having visited a couple of schools to teach in, I went for my first week of ´training´at the Academia Europa, a chain of language schools over in CA. Our trainer was a woman caled Carla with a yellow tooth, "Ok c´mon guys, let´s go!" she yelled at us as we filed off to the classroom. The other trainees were Salvadorean, a French girl and a Taiwanese guy (he was over in ES selling wedding dresses). This is how Carla says you should teach. To teach the word ´open´walk up to the door and open it and yell at the top of your voice "OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!" (Phase One- ´Introduction´) "I need you guys to be really dynamic" she said, which seemed to manifest itself mainly in shouting. "Why do we shout?" she asked, ignoring everyone´s replies, "So the students lose all their inhibitions!" she informed us. Phase Two was ´Role Play´- Walk over to the other side of the room and ask yourself (if you are Carla) "Open the door Carla" then scream WAIT! and ask what are you doing Carla?" then go to the other side of the room and answer yourself "I am opening a door". The next phase was called ´Attack´, and seemed to consist in yelling again at your students to open the door, then screaming WAIT! at them asking each of them what they are doing. Apparently this method is foolproof for teaching any word. "Attack your students! Attack your students!" Carla urged us, looking up between texts. I felt so depressed and fearful of having everything I remembered and learnt previously about teaching washed away by Carla´s belows that I could not face going back after Wednesday.

On Monday 2nd I also started helping out at an art workshop for kids in a community here. I met a friend of A and B´s at an exhibition here and asked if I could help her out, she´s an art therapist and twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons we go into a community in the middle of town and do art things with the kids. It is brilliant and I love it. You never quite know what´s going to happen, who´s going to turn up and so on, how the children will get on... The kids range from about 3 to 12ish. Some are quite wild and crazy and others are so orderly, tidying, fetching water, looking after other kids etc..very sweet. When we arrive we have to go and look for the key to open up the room where there are some desks. Its pretty hot and sticky and often smells of sewage. The houses are all made from corrugated iron sheets but seem amazingly study. Then the kids come in over the course of the next couple of hours, they try out using whatever material it is- crayons, watercolours, charcoal and pastels so far, to create storybooks, paintings, and so on. Sometimes their mums have come along. It can be a bit crazy as things can descend into chaos quite quickly, lots of children shouting at you, attacking each other, sometimes stealing from each other or running around, getting up and running out type things. Last week a 12 year old boy asked me to help him spell his name, and there are some that cannot write beyond spelling out their name. It´s nice to be able introduce them to the paints and things and see them having fun, and I feel lucky to be have the opportuity to hep out, they are all so friendly and great and happy to see you and run up and hug your legs when you arrive which is so sweet.

On Tuesday 3rd, Amber was part of an exhibition here called ´10 words by 10 artists´, it´s the second one she´s been part of while I´ve been out here and it´s very exciting to see her work up and exhibited and doing well. Speaking of which she´s just been accepted into a prestigious art auction in June in Guatemala. Well done Bambi!

On Friday 6th March I went with Amber to have her 4 month scan which was quite amazing. Seeing the little human who´s become a person no longer a jacket potato as in the other ultra pics I saw. He (we think its´s a he as Amber´s older bro, also present, said he saw something larger than the cursor on the scan.) At the end I realised I had wheeled my chair right up to the screen as it was all a bit entracing, like when they put the hearbeat on, seeing the baby doing what looked like smiling, on the screen, all happening inside Amber. Her ultrasound doctor is nice and took lots of time explaining everything. her other baby doctor sounds a little more traditional- we´ve just had elections here, and he asked Amber if she was eligible to vote, if she knew how to vote and then advised her to ´vota con sabiduria´the slogan of Arena, the (now ex-) incumbent party here. Oh no, not what you want at your ultrasound is it? I am learning lots about being pregnant while I´m here which is interesting. Apparently according to Amber´s other brother you need to take straws with you when you go into hospital (drinking in difficult positions).

The weekend of 7th and 8th March I went across the country with B´s family to the mountains near the Honduran border. A place called Montecristo in Chalatenango in the North West. It is fairly high up there and was my first experience of proper cold since January which was very weird. I went with B´s family (His mother, Elsa, His sister, Patty, his sister´s husband, Toyo, their daughter Alejandra, her boyfriend Carlos, Alejandra´s daughter Sofia, Baltasar´s neice, Reina, and Patty´s other daughter Esmeralda, oh and her husband Mario and their son Fernando, and his nanny (Fernando´s). I got to experience a large Latin family excursion which was fun and interesting. It was beautiful up there, and looked a bit like nice bits of England, with some pines and flowers. We first of all went to visit Reina´s family- her younder sister, Genesis, and her cousin Alejandra, as well as her grandmother and great grandfather who live up there. The house we visited was very simple, with an outside shed with a hole for a toilet, a trough where you have to go and fetch water to do washing up and so on. The people up there are lighter skinned and have rosy cheeks. We had a great lunch with Gallina India style chicken soup with rice, vegetables and cujada (salty white cheese) and some Central American cake with lots of crazy coloured icing. I sat outside and thought about how urbanised I was and tried to imagine what it would be like living there, but my brain is too urbanised i realised. At night we stayed in a hotel where I shared a room with Reina and Alejandra. It was freezing 3 degrees proper cold! The next day we went to visit some flower and veggie plantations, where I brought A&B a camomile plant which looked great but is now on the way out i think, i don´t think they like being inside. We ate some spinach pupsas and then started the slow windy trip back, via La Palma, an artesanal town on the way back. Lots of traffic coming back to the city meant a diversion down a totally unlit road off the main one. It was amazing to see during about 40 minutes, every minute in total darkness someone driving cattle, walking with their family, people cycling, teeneagers walking along alll in total blackness, no one looked scared they might be run over.

The 9th March week was more art workshops, more great pilates with Elio and 1980´s style Salvadorean ladies, and in search of a different school after the Academia Europa brainwash experience. I met someone at AnB´s civil wedding who was involved with a bilingual Spanish-English school here and who took me to speak to someone at the school. Whilst there I also met the headteacher Mrs Arias, who looked like a very scary bird, she looked my casual attire up and down with a face that said ´wrong clothes´ and I was worried I was going to be expelled or something. "We´re very demanding of our teachers" she threatened me, and walked out. The school´s motto is "knowledge, morality, discipline" which pretty much chimes with my own values so I thought I´d fit right in. It all seemed very formal and a bit traditional for me so I put off working there until last week when I started. Will update later.

Saturday and Sunday 15th March - Saturday I went for a run with a group called the hash house harriers who are a group that are round the world who run and then booze and are all a bit macho boys club. I didn´t realise til I got there that it was an orienteering run, since I have trouble with a map, let alone without one this was my worst kind of run. It was fun running through the hills (more walking getting lost really) but the legs managed to get all cut and itchy again from the plants. After the run everyone went to go and play drinking games and sing songs where people are brought into the middle of a circle to be taken the piss out of. I dont like this kind of thing so I didnt like this. On the plus side, the legs of the year are coming on, with doggie and mozzie bites, all over scratch effect from the grasses complemented by descreet lascerations on the heels from my new sensible school shoes.

Sunday 15th was elections day out here and the left party, started by former guerillas during the civil war, have just got in. Bit of a shock to the country after couple of decades of the right. Controversial vicepresident, a guy called Sanchez Ceren a former guerilla involved clearly in some horrendous killings in the war. Although clearly that can be said of many people who were involved in the war which is a fair few people given it ended less than 2 decades ago. Some who were for the incumbent reçight paty are worried that Chavez is going to take over central america- 2 of ES neighbours Nicaragua and Honduras are perceived to be communist. Most people seem to just want a change and are interested to see the changes that wil happen. The next president here is a charismatic guy called Mauricio Funes and his slogan was ´un cambio seguro´and clearly lots of people wanted a change after so long of the right. Its a couple of months til he takes power and everyone´s a bit curious to see what´ll happen. There´s talk of going back from the dollar to the old currency The Colon amongst other things. What would this mean Sarah Bullock, economics expert?

Week of 16th March - I started teaching at the end of the week, I have 5 different classes I think although Ive lost count. The classes are big some 30 plus and the first day was a demonstration of my total lack of ´classroom management´skills. The kids are teenagers from 12 to 16. Argh!! On my first day they asked things like where are you from? what are you doing here? do you have any children? and, my favourite, "Mrs Marietta, Mrs Marietta, have you seen Austin Powers?" When I replied yes, Danny a particularly chatty student said "Beacuse you speak just like that". I have been assigned spelling class, I´m trying to make the most of this my not especially favourite and a touch dry subject. It´s all chaotic in a different way to the art workshops, as I try and figure out hw to teach in a way to get the students interested and active. So far it is chaos though, lord knows if anyone´s learning anything and I feel like a total beginner in the classroom again. This week I also managed to get sunburmt swimming 1.5km in the midday sun with so sun protection on my back. Dont do this it hurts. I got to sample some San Salvador nightlife on Wednesday which was fun to see, although I don´t think I´ll make it as a latin woman anytime soon with my lack of tacones, tight clothes, done up hair and make up. I was out with Alejandra and her friend Lupita. We had our pic taken for a magazine here, which wil be the second time I´ll get in an ES magazine, which is funny and how it is in smaller places

The weekend, Saturday 21st went down to the central cemetary downtown here with Amber. Graves here are more cheerful than in the UK, all turqoise and pink and bright colours. We then went to the market, which has a reputation for being a bit dangerous. All was fine though. there were lots of people screaming on the way out, it turned out there was a big rat running around one of the food places, that people were trying to kill with a broom. Sunday 22nd, went up the Boqueron volcano with Amber to eat tacos, great. It´s peaceful up there

So I´ll be teaching for the next couple of weeks, then things close up for Holy Week when Im hoping to go to Nicaragua. Love and send news! I feel far away from everyone now. Will add photos soon of reent activities xxx

Other
Pippy, films I´ve seen Revoutionary Road (very good I thought, scary portrayal of domestic trappings and stiflings), a docufilm about the maras (gangs) here called La Vida Loca that showed you a horrendous side of life in parts of the city here with lots of premature deaths, a French film at a film festival here called ´Ne le dis à personne´ which was a scary thriller where lots of people were killed and i tried to keep up by reading the Spanish substitles so got a bit confused.

Also, enjoying many bad tv movies of an evening such as something about aid workers with Angelina Jole and Clive Owen where Clive Owen just talked really fast throughout the whole thing in his portrayal of maverick stressed aid worker, a terrible film called Silent Cry about a hospital where there was a baby stealing racket run by doctors who had to keep killing people, both films badly entertaining.

Better books- Reluctant Fundamentalist was good (Thanks Sach) I liked the way it was told through a one sided conversation, and Unbearable Lightness of Being weird and dystopian with the author butting in to say things and the Hound of the Baskervilles which was a bit of fun about someone using a big scary dog to scare people. Must read some Spanish books...