TFABB: Take Three

TFABB now has three focus schools. Welcome to the family Barranco! Not only a new school, but a new Peace Corps Volunteer. Yay Laura! This visit was two weeks long, visiting each school so I’ll start where they started…
@ Santa Teresa
Marie, Kathie, Mica, and Kevina all came to my school on Tuesday. Half the school was on its way to Punta Gorda for the District Finals Football Competition. I was sad to miss the game, but we had a very successful day of touching base and planning for the week. Mica stayed with me Tuesday night and we were able to visit both Jenny and Xena (two girls she knew from the school she worked at during her Peace Corps service. Funny how they both are now in Santa Teresa.) This was after taking the girls to where they would be staying- the adventurous Blue Creek Lodge. We’ll just say everything does not go as planned and just around the corner is not always just around the corner and sometimes there’s a reason the doors are shut at 4pm and the kids are outside and not willing to go get their father. Ha ha! I’m still curious as to whether or not the couple Kathie was telling us about is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. Oh brother!
Wednesday-Friday Kathie and Marie did some model lessons for each teacher and Marie also led a Professional Development Workshop on where writers get their ideas Thursday evening. I once again was reminded how awesome the staff is here at Santa Teresa and tried not to think about the possibility of half of them leaving. Friday afternoon we had lunch with the teachers and village leaders. Anne explained again the TFABB focus for the next few years and asked for help with our most recent project, getting shelves for each classroom to set up a small library. The books will soon come, but once they do, they’ll need a home. The PTA Chairman along with another PTA member, the village chairman, and the alcalde all went to the school after lunch to measure for an idea of what lumber would need to be purchased. How exciting! I love how on top of it they were, even saying now is a good time for them to build since they’ve just finished planting. I’ll be happy to give you an update. When they start building, maybe I’ll get to help and put my handy skills to work. Oh how proud Rick and Dan from Sack Lumber would be. I spent the weekend home, resting up for the week to come.
@ Barranco
Since Barranco is a new pilot school and Laura is especially new to her site, the visit there was only one day and very informal. I was happy to tag along. Kathie and Marie ended up doing some model lessons after our wonderful meal with the teachers and village leaders. We ate a traditional Garifuna meal, hudut which included mashed plantains, snapper, and a white sauce made with coconut milk. Very delicious. While the girls were modeling their lessons I went to the classroom that needed watching over and listened to Anne’s amazing bilingual read aloud. The Barranco school is quite small with an enrollment of 41, 9 of those students just came in January after their parents decided they wanted them to learn English. Although from Belize, they had been going to school in Guatemala, now they take a boat to Barranco for their education. Could you imagine? I always love to see the children on the water taxi when leaving Placencia early in the morning on a weekday, dressed in uniform. How fun. So yes, if you haven’t figured it out, Barranco is a Garifuna community right on the coast with an abundance of pumice stones. I brought back one the size of a cantelope and since I don’t have a comal I can use it for my feet. Pedicure anyone?
@ Silver Creek
We spent Tuesday –Thursday at Silver Creek and I have to say I really enjoyed going back to Kevina’s school especially since I had already met the teachers there. One even greeted me by name when we first arrived. Even some of the kids remembered me. Kathie and Marie left on the morning plane and Miss Kim was here ready to train. Kim had also already been to Silver Creek during the January visit. I loved how she was able to check back on some things, then say she would come again to follow-up. She encouraged the students to write during the summer and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did. A couple promised to write their stories and send them to me through Kevina. I agreed to write back some of my own, and if I listen to their requests I'll be writing some scary stories which might be a challenge. I don't write a lot other than journaling which is sad. How can we expect students to be creative and think up stories when we ourselves never do? I know I used to write pretend stories in elementary school, my favorite being about the Gold Rush and my journey West. You'd think with more life experience I'd be able to make up better stories. I'll give it a try.
I was able to observe Kim's lessons in a few classrooms and also some teachers doing their traditional read alouds and a language arts lesson. I must say, Kevina has some great teachers at her school and I'm sure they're all the better after having her work with them this past year.
My favorite part of the visit by far was the Standard III and IV students coming up to me after I had observed a lesson in their class, commenting on my po'ot uuq and asking if I could dance. I told them I would like to learn wondering if they had their own blouse and skirt and if they would teach me. (The traditional wear is important when dancing the marimba.) Their response, "Yes, Miss! Yes, Miss!" They even asked their teacher to bring his CD player and CD after lunch. I was surprised to see how many girls showed up after lunch with a po'ot uuq of their own, well, some had borrowed from their mothers I'm sure. They wanted to dance right away but we waited until afternoon break. It was so beautiful! Kevina had been telling me most of the women have the traditional Ke'kchi attire but are ashamed to wear it for some reason, then to see all these girls excited to share their culture, teaching a white girl to dance... this is something I'll never forget as it overfills my heart with joy every time I think about it.
Laura and I stayed one night in Silver Creek. We had a fun time at the creek washing and bathing after school for two hours. I loved how everyone goes to the same spot whereas in Santa Teresa we all have our own, except me, I spot hop. After we got back from the creek we had a mango party outside the back door. I couldn't believe all the mangoes. And since I told Kevina's host family there were no mango trees in Santa Teresa I was sent home with a bag of 20! Yum Yum! I also went home with a beautiful drawing a a princess (me) on the beach from the cutest Infant II student. She even gave me a blank piece of paper so I could draw one for her. My nickname from my overnight stay a few weeks before had stuck and was shared by the giver to his classmates, but that's okay because he also said, "I love the vampire." Oh how I look forward to my next visit to Silver Creek. My goal is to ride my bike there someday which would be quite the trek, but I think I could do it and it would be well worth the effort, but I can always take the bus, too. Loves and Hugs!