Days one and two

Yesterday I was just too exhausted to write anything, and today I am even more tired but feel like I need to fill people in.

My first day went well. It started really early (bus comes at 6:20) with a lot of weaving in and out of Bogotá traffic before finally bouncing down the unpaved road to the school. Being on the bus with the kids wasn't nearly as weird as I thought it would be; teachers just sit up front, and there's a bus monitor lady to deal with any behaviors. It's actually on the bus that you first get a reminder of where we are and what the realities are here. Like my friend said the other day when we stopped at a military checkpoint, "welcome to life in a war-zone." Everyone gets their thumbprint scanned when they get on the bus. I'm not exactly sure why, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the risk of kidnapping for these kids of the Colombian elite. And today something was up because for many block of our ride there were military police with big-ass guns every five feet. I am not trying to be alarmist with this digression, but I think it's good for me to get these reminders of what's really going on in the country I live. It's too easy to be in a bubble. Thank goodness for the forensic anthropologists I met the other night and my human rights worker friends!

ANYWAY, I actually really enjoyed my classes yesterday and today. I have a tiny class (5 kids -- I told them we're going to call it a seminar because it sounds much more collegiate) for AP Modern World History. That's my 1450 (though we're actually starting further back) to 1914 class. It's going to be tough because that's where I am weakest on content. My Pre-AP Contemporary History class has 16 kids and is a whole different ball game. It's mostly 9th graders new to the high school and just generally a chattier bunch. There are a couple of kids I already have my eye on, including one girl who turned in her homework today -- after I watched her do the whole thing in class. We're going to have a little chat tomorrow. That said, there are some really motivated kids in there who are just lovely. I cannot begin to describe how far at the other end of the spectrum these kids are compared my little bandits at Gifford (who, by the way, I really miss). Side note: for those people lucky enough to know him, I told a great Bobby P. story today.

There are lots of little things that are a trip about the school. The lunches are out of this world, and you can eat at one of the tables outside under an umbrella. Of course, when the sun goes behind a cloud, the temperature drops 800 degrees, and suddenly being outside is a lot less enjoyable. What else? In the teachers' room they have fresh herbs for you to make herbal tea (mint, lemongrass, cammomile). The supplies lady is a very crotchety woman named Susanita. You REALLY need to be on her good side. I think I may have been overly solicitous when I practically got down on one knee to thank her for my ration of paper. (That's for all my printing and photocopying, by the way). It's so strange -- or maybe not -- but the school is in some ways a real microcosm of Colombia. For example, goods are really expensive here (e.g. my $45 drying rack), whereas services are super cheap (e.g. my $11 leg waxing done in my home). So at school, there are a million people working and taking care of things. We had a meeting after school today, and Mercedes the main kitchen lady served us snacks and tea or coffee individually. Also, there's a woman (an underling of Susanita) whose job it is to collect all copy jobs from all over campus. She comes to my office everyday to see if I have anything. At the same time, with all these people practically waiting on you, they ration copy paper as if it were WWII-era sugar.

I'm sure this is all the tip of the iceberg. I know I have a LOT to learn.