Bitter & sweet

Time has obviously gotten away from me here. And I was doing so well keeping up with the blog! Let's just say that there has been a LOT of reading, grading, and meeting going on -- all tempered with a sane dose of apartment-fixing-up and mimosa drinking on a few Sundays in a row.

But today I had a truly priceless episode of cross-cultural communication. I described something I was going to give my students as "dorky," at which point I totally lost them. So what ensued was a 10 minute conversation in which I tried to explain -- using both English and Spanish words -- the meaning of the words "dork" and "dorky." It was fantastic (and, I think, moderately successful). That's the "sweet" in the title of this post.

The "bitter" is that I continue to be struck by and struggle with some of the class issues that are laid bare here in a way they aren't always in the States. It's pretty much all school-related. I see it especially on the bus in the morning (and sorry if this is redundant), when the kids' maids carry their backpacks before they see them off -- usually without a word of good-bye or thanks. When they get on the bus, they often don't respond to the greeting of the driver or the monitor, who invariably greets them by name. I've never seen a kid at school acknowledge any of the cleaning or maintenance staff. I really think these people are invisible to these kids. And they are the people who clean up after them, take care of them, and feed them. They are the people who keep our campus and these kids' homes immaculate. It's really difficult to observe day in and day out. But I know it's not just the kids. Our school supports some low-income public schools with tutoring, administration, and supplies. This weekend the kids from that school are coming to campus, and today we got an e-mail reminder from the prinicpal to lock up all our stuff in our classrooms. I know things disappear whenever outsiders come to a school campus, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sorry this is kind of a downer! Next post should be much brighter; I am going away this weekend to a place called Villa de Leyva that is supposed to be beautiful.

Now: my heaps and piles of Spanish homework, which this week includes a 10-minute oral presentation.

School days

The slow process of figuring things out at school continues. The panic about it ebbs and flows. Yesterday I was freaking out about one thing -- thinking I hadn't done something I was supposed to -- but found out I was totally off the hook for it. It was a huge relief, but almost at the same moment I found out about two other things I am responsible for; I had had no idea about either of them. That back-and-forth is kind of par for the course these days. Nonetheless, there are cool moments of levity, like when the kids are allowed to blast salsa music on the outdoor speakers during Friday lunch time. It was kind of awesome to be working in my office with that playing in the background.

As far as the kids and my classes go, things are pretty good. I remembered the other day that teenagers are teenagers. It doesn't matter if they are privileged Colombian kids or special ed kids in Boston. Fortunately, for the most part, they crack me up. Unfortunately, one of my classes has figured out that that's a good way to get me off track. There's one kid in particular who gets me every time. For example, he is very insecure about his English skills, and I am forever on his case to quit speaking Spanish. But, of course, I have slipped a couple of times, and as soon as I say something en español, he is on my case. The other day I had the class do this assembly line simulation thing as we're studying the Industrial Revolution. I was the line boss, and the name has stuck. To three of the boys in that class, I am no longer Sarah; I am "boss."

Nearby

So it turns out that one of the most picturesque and hip neighborhoods in Bogotá -- Usaquén -- is just a twenty minute walk from my apartment. What a great discovery to make yesterday with a few friends! There's an open air market on Sundays and holidays (yesterday was the Feast of the Assumption), plus a zillion cool, different restaurants and small boutiques. The sun actually shone all day yesterday (never happens), so we just walked and walked and walked. It felt so indulgent, but I had gotten up at 6:30 to work on school stuff and had already logged a few hours by lunchtime.

Now it's back to work. It's nice to have a four day week, though. Of course, inevitably thjat means cramming five days of work into four! On the bright side, one of the things I have to do this week for school is watch the movie "Fast Food Nation," which should be great!

Lazy Saturday

After way too long here, I finally went on a much more thorough exploration of my hood today and made some good discoveries. I found an awesome fruit and vegetable supermarket, a gym (that ripped off the Boston Sports Club logo), a tailor, a good hardware store, an electronics store, a mediocre ceviche restaurant, and a glass cutting/framing shop. (I need that last one to replace the glass in ALL of the large frames I sent since they got broken in transit). I felt extremely productive.

I've been thinking about how time works so differently and inconsistently here. On the one hand, I dropped off three pairs of pants to be altered this a.m., and they will be ready on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday -- the Feast of the Assumption). Similarly, I called my cable company about my messed up TV, and they sent a guy out today. On the other hand, I have been trying for three weeks to get the password on my phone reset, so I can use the voicemail. Oh well, what are you going to do? This is also the place where, as I found out today when I scheduled one for a friend, walking tours of the historic center may be cancelled for heavy rain or demonstrations.

Winding down week one

I am so tired today I can't even tell you. I have been waking up before 5:00 for the last several days and am just not sure if it is sustainable. I am going to have to figure something out.

ANYWAY, things are still going pretty well. Work is really starting to pile up as I get into my classes and into my other responsibilities as department coordinator. But my coworkers continue to be just lovely, helpful, patient people who don't seem to take offense when I ask their name for the hundredth time after they tell me for the tenth time where the teachers' room is. God, I feel like an idiot most of the time.

I am definitely liking the kids a lot. Most of them are really darling; I am lucky to have some who are really good students who clearly want to do really well. Of course, some of them are a little difficult, but it's just very garden-variety, low-level, not speaking in English (which they are supposed to do in my class at all times!) disruptiveness. I'm confident we'll work it out. Maybe I should mention that in my last job I physically restrained kids.

And I am continuing to navigate the funny things about the school, like the delicate art of getting my supplies doled out to me by Susanita, the bookstore lady whom I think I've already mentioned. Yesterday I went to officially get my stuff. (She puts together a meticulously inventoried plastic bag of things for you). I had one of those forehead-smacking moments of operating in a foreign language when I asked for some post-its. I launched into this rambling description of "the small yellow, square papers that stick to things." She said, "Oh, Post-Its?" (pronounced post-eets). Yeah, Susanita. I mean post-eets.

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.

Big night out, big day tomorrow

Last night I went with a bunch of my co-workers to a Bogotá institution that can best be described as a steakhouse/carnival/dance club. That is to say, this place is almost impossible to describe. It is beyond packed. The wait staff wear cowboy-inspired (I think) leather aprons. Straw hats and sashes get passed around. You can get your picture taken with two guys who carry around a mannequin leg with a garter on it, and they hold it up in the air/over a guy's shoulder to make it look like it's your leg and that you are in a very compromising position. My mojito came in a hollowed out gourd. They play great Latin music and cheesy American and British 80s and 90s pop. Needless to say, it was a great time, and I promise any visitor that we will go there.

Today on the other hand has been hours of poring over the year-, semester-, and week-long lesson/ course plans of everyone in my department. Now, as I try not to go completely mental stressing about my first day at school with the kids tomorrow, I will do my homework on Indian Ocean trade routes starting circa 500 C.E. It's going to be a long afternoon and evening, and the bus comes at 6:20 tomorrow morning.