Back to school- August 21

Didn’t I just finish school? What, I have Spanish classes and homework? Ok, so it’s nothing like college and mostly the homework consists of asking our host families how something works or what the traditions are, but it is class no less. We’re learning slang and cultural norms in the living room of a host family or while walking around town. We are sent to the streets to ask people the meaning of words, phrases, or for directions. With only four of us in one town, we’re getting to know each other and our Profesora very well.

On Tuesday we actually went to school. In many public schools in Nicaragua the students either go to school in the morning or the afternoon, but not both. For training our group is split into two, with two volunteers working in the school for a few hours in the morning and my group working the afternoon. The four of us and our profe met the director of the school and the teachers in the morning. With sixth grade we will plant and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises, otherwise we are working with either fourth or fifth graders.

In the afternoon we returned to the school so that I could meet the teachers I will be working with. Our visit was simply intended to meet the teachers and get their schedule, returning for to do an icebreaker activity and meet students on Monday. However, I entered the classroom and was greeted by about 30 students as the Profesora introduced me to the entire class. Nervous and thinking hard, I introduced myself in Spanish and also explained right away that I was still learning Spanish which is why I would make some mistakes. Then, the Profesora invited me to stay to watch presentations. In the end, we all watched a dramatization by the fourth grade students on obesity. My nerves subsided as I watched smiling faces glance at me and I remembered that kids are kids no matter where in the world they are and I love to work with them. I left energized and excited to work with the fourth graders.

It has been a whirlwind of a week feeling as if we were thrown into a lot of experiences. It is not in my nature to walk up to someone and ask for directions on the street, let alone in Spanish in another country! But getting outside of my box helped me to see that it is truly all a part of integration and becoming comfortable with this community. I am once again gaining confidence with my Spanish skills, although Nicaraguans use quite different vocabulary than Chileans so it may take a while. So although I have returned to school in many ways, I am glad for the experiences both in and outside the “classroom.”