Winding Down Student Teaching

Wow!  I cannot believe that I am nearing the end of student teaching.  It seems like yesterday since I arrived in Managua, placing my suitcase on the floor and breaking down into tears.  My, how much I've changed since then! 

Although 1st grade started a little rough, I'm really starting to enjoy it.  My cooperating teacher is not in the classroom as often as my cooperating teacher was in 5th grade, so it really seems like I have my own classroom.  Their joy for learning is just incredible.  They are constantly making connections between math, science, and language arts.  They are just so thirsty for knowledge.  It's really incredible to see. 

My patience has never been tested as much as it has in the 1st grade classroom.  Patience is something I continue to work on and I have definitely seen a change since the beginning of my placement.  I still have students coming up to me during instruction asking to go to the bathroom, strange objects rolling across the floor (along with children), and much more, but I'm constantly reminding myself, "Hey!  They are only 7 years old!  Give 'em a break!"  Patience is a virtue as they say, and I hope to continue becoming a more patient person.

With Semana Santa just around the corner, this week is going to be a little crazy.  This is the last week I will be full-time teaching, however Thursday is a field trip involving a short nature walk and worm exploration (a personal favorite of my younger self) and Friday will be a pool party in the morning.  Rough week in 1st grade, lemme tell ya!  Although the school days won't be very stressful, I am trying to get a few job applications in before break as well as packing and preparing for our trip to Costa Rica and Panama.  I've been counting down the days for so long, but I can't believe it's finally here! 

My neighbor found this in her toilet after school  :/

"When you have a bad day, know in your heart that you did something to affect a student in a positive way."

El Volcan Mombacho

I've been back in Nicaragua after a quick break for a few weeks now and am starting to get back into a routine again.  I can't believe I have less than 6 weeks here!

First grade has brought forth some challenges that I really wasn't expecting, including but not limited to:

• My patience (or lack thereof it seems!)
• A difference in intelligence/understanding
• New discipline methods/reasons for discipline
• Communication with my cooperating teacher

First grade is definitely putting teaching in a new perspective for me.  I think my mind is made up about what grade levels I would prefer to teach, but I don't want to give up on teaching the young ones just yet.  I start teaching full-time tomorrow, so we'll see if my mind changes or not!

A few exciting things have happened over the last few weeks, including a booked trip for Semana Santa (Spring break)!  Me and a few friends are traveling by bus to Costa Rica and Panama.  I'm really looking forward to visiting these countries and snorkeling, zip lining through the rain forest, visiting chocolate farms, laying by the beach, and seeing Panama City!  

On Saturday, a few of us took a trip to Granada to trek up el Volcan Mombacho.  Boy, was this quite the trek!  Although I can't tell you the difficulty level of this volcano compared to other volcanoes, I do know now that it is not normal for people to hike all the way up it like we did!  At the bottom of the volcano, we were given the option to hike up it on foot or take a large 4-wheel drive vehicle.  Feeling a little adventurous (and cheap), we opted to hike up the volcano.  About 20 minutes into the hike, we began to realize why no one hikes, and about halfway up we wondered if we were as crazy as all of the construction workers we passed thought we were.  Yes, it was extremely steep (sometimes walking on all fours seemed just a good of an option as walking on just two feet), but the sense of accomplishment once we reached the top was amazing.  The view was nice, yes, but saying that I hiked, on foot, all the way up the great el volcan Mombacho made it all worth it.  Sighting monkeys and snakes along the way was cool, too.

That night, I slept the best I ever have; going to bed at 7 and waking up at 7.  A solid 12 hours that hasn't happened in years!  I can now check "hiking up a volcano" off of my bucket list!  Now time to zip line over a rain forest!

Distant view of el volcan Mombacho

View of the islets and Lake Nicaragua from the top of Mombacho

Why Is College Only 4 Years Long?

Having this week off was wonderful but also a little harmful to my mentality.  I try not to sugarcoat my situation too much, but I cannot say that I love living in Nicaragua.  I am trying my best to stay positive about living here, but honestly, it's not the most fabulous place I have ever visited.  It has lowered my expectations, however, which should make it easier to find my own place once I'm back in the states!  Even though the country has a few shortcomings, I truly do love the school and the people/students I have met here.  Just 7 1/2 weeks left!

Seeing family, friends, and my boyfriend was more than wonderful though.  I am just so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful friends and family and so lucky to have a boyfriend willing to fly home just for 5 days to see me. Keeping this in mind will surely make it easier over the next couple of months!

Today was my first day in first grade!  I was a little nervous to work with the little ones, but they are already growing on me.  It's hard to since they are so adorable!  I miss my 5th graders dearly and got a few big hugs today when they found me and realized I was back.  Some even tried coming into the classroom!  Disruptive, but so cute.  A few observations I noticed from day 1 in first grade:

• Parents. Are. Rediculous.  Today is spirit week, which means the kids can dress up (similar to homecoming week in the states).  Some students had faces painted like tigers or costumes and would come in late, parading in while their parents were taking videos and pictures while my cooperating teacher was teaching!  Couldn't believe this. 
• First graders trust people much faster than 5th graders.
• The classroom is MUCH hotter than the 5th grade classroom.
• The students fight about who's pencil is who's instead of cyber bullying, name-calling, and racial slurs
• I think there will be more to come, but since I still feel like I'm in "vacation mode" and I've only been in the classroom for one day I don't have very many observations yet.

Please put in some prayers for me as I begin the dreaded job search!  Also, happy St. Patty's day on Thursday!

Last Day for Placement #1

Today is my last day with my 5th graders.  I am so very sad to say goodbye to them, even though I know I will still be able to see them around school every once in awhile when I'm with the 1st graders!  It's so cute watching them whisper and plan the party for this afternoon which I "have no clue about."  Some of them have been acting really sad today while others are the same as every other day, which is good.  It's weird knowing that for some of these kids, I really did have an impact on them even though I was only here for two short months.  This impact might only last a week, a  month, a year, but I'm just glad that for some of them I made a little bit of a difference.  If anything, I know I have helped my cooperating teacher through some challenging times as she has had to deal with a few strokes of bad luck.

I wish I could just write all of the wonderful moments that happened with the 5th graders, but there are far too many.  There are a few in particular that I would like to share with you:

• One student wrote me an email after my first day of teaching and said I did a great job and that he wants me to continue to teach the class (wish granted for awhile!)
• One girl came up to me and asked if they were all coming with to 1st grade too
• One child tried very hard to hook me up with her older brother
• After informing the class that I had a boyfriend, they asked me "Are you getting married tomorrow?  At Disney World?"
• The countless hugs and smiles
• Having students still acting out their human body scripts they performed over two weeks ago
• FINALLY cracking the one child I thought was impossible to crack and really getting to know him

Overall, my experience with 5th grade and my cooperating teacher, along with the school and the other faculty has been so amazing.  I am glad that I will be teaching here for my 2nd placement as well.  Wish me luck with the little ones in two weeks! 

For now, I will be traveling back to the frozen tundra (Iowa) for a week of (first) scrambling together things needed to apply for a job that is only available until March 7th and then relaxing all week long with friends, family, and my wonderful boyfriend!

The Country Under My Skin

I just finished up my final week of full-time teaching, with about 3 1/2 weeks under my belt.  I can't believe how much I've learned over the past month and a half!  The students have probably taught me more than they will ever know and more than I have probably taught them!  They are such fun characters and I just can't believe I only have two short weeks left with them!  The students are finishing up their science unit over the human body and are nearing the end of a short poetry unit.  I've been getting more comfortable teaching, especially when it comes to classroom management, so I have been giving the students more and more time to work in groups and with partners than I was in the beginning.  I just think they can get a lot more ideas when they work with one another (usually anyways!). 

As I've already mentioned several times, I continue to be blessed with an amazing cooperating teacher and other teachers.  They are all so open and have so much knowledge to share.  I've also learned so much more about the culture through them since they have lived here for so much longer.  This experience abroad has given me such an amazing outlook on life in general.  I miss the U.S. very much, but there's no way I would have gotten half of the knowledge I've gained here than if I was in the states.

This weekend I had a great opportunity to travel to Granada for a little R&R and celebrate some friends' birthdays.  The hotel we stayed at was so nice.  I enjoyed lounging by the pool, having a few drinks, and taking a nap in a hammok. It was just great to get out of Managua and off of campus for awhile.  The only downfall was that I started to feel a little sick on Thursday night and it carried into the weekend.  I'm hoping the bacteria or parasites or whatever has decided to bother me will soon be over!  Even though I didn't feel well, I still managed to have a blast.  The trip was truly unforgettable as we lounged by the pool, went out for dinner, danced the salsa to live music, and hung out with some locals. 

While we were in Granada, there was a poetry festival going on.  A very famous poet by the name of Gioconda Belli was apparently in town for the festival, as we saw her on Saturday at breakfast!  I am currently reading one of her books, The Country Under My Skin about the revolution, so it was really exciting to see her in person!  It's just amazing to read about this country while I'm experiencing the culture and living here.

Unfortunately just when I think I am getting over the shock of living in a third world country, I see something that brings me back to the first moment I arrived in Nicaragua.  When eating outside along the streets of Granada, many vendors walk by trying to sell you things.  Although this isn't the most pleasant experience while you're trying to enjoy dinner, it really isn't that big of a deal.  Seeing children high off of glue, however, is another matter.  In order to curb hunger, some children sniff glue to get high.  This child was maybe 8 or 9 years old.  I just couldn't stop thinking about this child and comparing him to the privaledged students at ANS.  How in the world can there be such a difference in socioeconomic status?  Yes, I realize there are poor people in the United States, but this is a different level.  There's not much of a middle class here, but there are the richest of rich and the poorest of poor.  This child hasn't left my mind since I saw him on Friday night.  I know I can't dwell on this and need to except the fact that this is normal for poor countries, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept.  I'm really starting to see (both positves and negatives) how this country is getting under my skin and becoming a part of who I am and who I will always be.

And with that horribly sad story, I will share some pictures of the past week's activities!

Science Stations!  Students make an organ out of play-doh

Students are working out their muscular system!

Hotel Con Corazon in Granada

Getting some much needed R&R

Stephanie, Laura, Alex, and I

Ants, Turantulas, and Mice; Oh My!

As you can see from the title of this entry, there have been a few unwelcomed guests creeping into the apartment at night.  We borrowed the neighbor's cat last night to deal with the mouse issue, but I don't think that problem was resolved.  Just another thing to get used to I guess!

School this week seemed unfortunately slow, but it started to pick up on Thursday.  I feel more in the swing of things after the second week of full-time teaching, but I'm a little sad about having only one more week of it.  After next week, I will only be partially teaching and then observing.  My cooperating teacher was commuting to school each day last week (1-2 hour drive) in order to live near her mother in law, but that was quickly ended because her car got hit by a horse!  No one was hurt, but the car was damaged and the horse was pretty injured.  I guess car accidents caused by cattle is pretty common here!  I didn't find out that my cooperating teacher wasn't going to be at school until 10 minutes til class began, but the day went really smoothly and I enjoyed the time with the students! 

By Thursday of this week I was starting to get a little stressed out with thinking about applying for jobs, planning lessons, and my TWS so Laura and two other friends and I went to a little cafe to have a salad (not common here) and just get away from the school for awhile.  The taxi we took wanted to stop and pick up 2 kids from school which would have been fine, except for the fact that there were already three of us in the backseat and one up front. We stopped anyways and picked up the two kids from school and they just took a seat on our laps!  After dinner we went to a movie (The Green Hornet) which was really good!  Movies here are in Enlgish and have Spanish subtitles.  They also only cost $3.00.  I'm not really sure why people who can't speak English go to these movies, but oh well!

Friday was Laura's birthday so we went out for some delicious sushi at restaurant in a hotel located in Managua.  I was cold for the first time last night, even though it was still probably 75 degrees out!  Our taxi ride home consisted of a "pimped out" SUV, which compared to the taxis we normally ride in (no door handles, can't shift to make it up hills, no a/c, etc) it was quite the ride! 

This morning we went to a local marcado and got fresh produce.  I finally got more bananas!  Plaintains are common here, but bananas aren't located at the grocery store we visit weekly.  Laura and I also bought 4 lobster tails for five bucks... total.  I think we'll be having quite the feast!  This weekend hasn't been too eventful, but a few friends and I have been starting to plan spring break.  Spring break (also called Semana Santa) is April 16th-25th.  We have been looking into going to Costa Rica and traveling to Puerto Viejo where there is snorkeling, bike riding, and hiking.  From there, we are tentatively going to Panama to Bocas del Toro, where there are beautfiul beaches and a international park.  We are looking into this great hostel called Bocas Bound.  From there, we are going to Panama City.  There are greyhound buses that travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica to Panama every day.  It will be a lot of traveling, but I think it will be well worth it!

One Month in 5th Grade

I have officially been in Nicaragua for over a month and have been in the 5th grade classroom for 4 weeks!  I have been teaching for the past 7 days and have enjoyed it.  There have been some rough moments, with bullying issues, too much chatting, and students not turning in their work, but I'm learning that these moments will come with teaching anywhere.  I still love going to the classroom every day, even if it is at 6:15 in the morning! 

My cooperating teacher and 5th grade team continue to be such a blessing.  They are not only helping me with the work in school, but they are also giving me advice about life, the job search, etc.  Their words of encouragement and support are so helpful and appreciated. 

In science, the students are working on the human body and the systems.  This is a really fun unit, and since there isn't a textbook, my cooperating teacher and I are coming up with some really creative ideas for the unit.  They've done body systems projects and will be doing a play later in the week.  I actually enjoy teaching science, even if it is the same lesson 3 times a day!  All of the kids are different though so each class is very unique. 

The lack of transportation in Nicaragua and the lack of sidewalks has started to become a bit frustrating.  I would really enjoy a safe transportation system and/or the availability to walk places, but that isn't advised in this country for foreigners.  I enjoy Nicaragua, but I miss the ease of travel in the States.  This weekend we were able to travel to the Laguna again, and each time I am just amazed by how beautiful it is!  We are also going to an internet cafe to work on lesson plans and the dreaded teacher work sample.  The next few weekends will be more adventure-filled, so hopefully my next update will be more exciting.

Below are some pictures some of my students presenting their projects and a picture of us at the Laguna!