Another Day, Another 22.5 Pesos

Hey folks - So I spent yesterday shadowing Natalia through her workday. It began for me at about 10:30 AM, when she picked me up and walked me through the process of taking the bus to he school. (I'm being hand-guided gain today, but tomorrow, I'm on my own at the bus stop.) We rode over to Liceo #9, which looks like this:

Natalia gave me a tour of the grounds, which are smaller than one might expect. That’s because not all of the students are there at any given time – there are two half-day “turnos”, or shifts: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. “School”, then, happens twice, identically – and in some cases (including the case in Liceo #9), three times, because there’s also a night shift – for people who work, and are trying to finish up their high school degree. Here are some pics of the grounds:

This is the cantina, where kids can buy food during their five-minute passing time. (Though the kids don't actually move much - the teachers, rather, go from room to room.) I took this picture because I liked the name of the treat in the middle: "Choco y coco".

Natalia didn’t teach Monday – she was in school to attend the meeting for the faculty, held every Monday and which all faculty must attend. It’s a lot like a faculty meeting in the US, though the number of faculty is smaller, and the atmosphere is a lot more “Hill Street Blues” – they talk about things that are going on that same day, as well as planning for the not-too-distant future. The room was cold, though they did fire up an overhead heater. I was happy, I have to say, that Natalia decided not to have me do my “American schools” presentation for them that day, but rather scheduled it for next Monday, because I was more nervous than I would have thought.

Impressions: Uruguayan teachers dress in a way that’s casual without entering into slobbishness. Jeans, but rarely tennis shoes; no ties, but lots of sweaters. The colors are subdued, lots of grays and blacks. But hey, it’s winter. Who feels like wearing fucsia.

Meetings are professional and cordial, without being tyrannical – there’s not a need for absolutely everyone to be silent the moment the head honcho starts to speak. Whatever natural conversation has to gradually peter out, does so, without anybody getting bent out of shape. They’re a nice mix between cordial and professional, and common-sense, it’s-only-thirty-seconds-of-talking-come-on-calm-down. I was warmly welcomed, and then set off with Natalia to talk with all the English teachers, and organize when I’d be visiting each of THEIR classes. With which I have absolutely no problem. Im probably not going to be able to actually project my Power Point presentation, but oh well. They can crowd in close to the computer.

Here they all are, meeting in the student cantina post-faculty meeting: 

We then headed to Natalia's Institute, as she calls it - It's IECO, short for "Institute of English and Two Things That Start with C and O", and is housed in a former private residence. There are several English teachers who work there, giving small, private classes to students whose parents want them to pay particular attention to English. Here are some pictures:

 And I am done talking smack about the “cold” here, by the way. Natalia claims to be friolenta, but I was shivering by the end of the day, and she was not. I’ll be buying some more sweaters here pretty soon. Hey, when in Rome. Here's the space heater they use in the classes:

The largest group of students she had was 10. (There should have been 11, but one didn’t show.) They range in age from 10 to 17, and they were shy at first, but somebody in ever group (I saw three) always managed to find the courage to ask me questions. I tried to be entertaining and to speak clearly, and I think I mostly managed.

Impressions: In-class behavior is not an issue, and when little things do crop up, Natalia is masterful at keeping a lid on things, but keeping it positive at the same time. They teach from a textbook that is determined by a board that sets up the various national tests in English; she has very little freedom in her curriculum, even at the private institute.

Post-Institute, we bussed it across town to have dinner with Natalia’s parents, two of the nicest and warmest hosts you could ever hope to meet. Lots of conversation about everything – Uruguay’s days in the dictatorship, the scars from that time that are still visible today, President Mujica’s idiosyncracies (all wonderful), the ironies of Uruguay – including a prison called “Cárcel de la libertad” (Freedom Prison), a river called “Arroyo seco” (Dry Riverbed), and a hill called “Cerro chato” (Flat Hill).

Bus to the hotel, and to bed. Wow! I covered the whole day! Today’s going to be a long one – we tart in ten minutes, and then we go go go until 8:30 PM tonight. Wish me luck!