Installment #3: On the Job in San Miguel
What a busy first day! A wonderful welcoming ceremony was held in the University auditorium with all of the academic authorities and deans present. The El Salvadoran anthem was played and everyone there sang. There were introductions and many speeches in Spanish thanking us for presenting an English workshop, and praising our willingness to make personal sacrifices to help teachers in El Salvador. Our translator did a wonderful job of explaining all of this and also translated my speech. Each of the four volunteers on our team also gave remarks – they all speak Spanish to some degree but asked the translator’s assistance to get their message across accurately.
After a short visit with the dignitaries, the teachers in the workshop and our team were shown to our classrooms. We have two rooms on the 5th floor of the main building where we can see the beautiful scenery. …and we have airconditioning! It took some time for the morning instructor Sr. Ernesto Ascencio and I to take attendance and figure out who was present, who was missing and who appeared without being registered. The contact liaisons will call teachers on our waiting list to attend since some who were registered could not come after all. Then while Ernesto got on with his lesson, we volunteers were given a nice tour of the campus. There is a copy place where the University will make copies for us; a computer lab where we can take our teachers, check email, etc.; and a cafeteria with good food, good prices, and table service!
After a quick lunch, we returned to the classrooms for our first afternoon session. We were ready! We introduced several kinds of activities to practice using English. We had the teachers doing partner work, participating in small group activities, and sharing information in the large group format. They were so interested and motivated that teaching was a pure pleasure. The three hours flew by.
After class we were invited to appear at the University Academic Council meeting for another opportunity to talk with the officials who were very interested in knowing more about this project that appeared in their midst. We again had a translator, but there were only a few speeches this time. Apparently they were impressed that all of us were retired but still so actively involved in education. One dean commented that often their teachers were “put in a box” when they retired, never to be heard from again. Snacks were served including wonderful fresh juice. Before we left so the Council could get on with its business, we were invited for a formal lunch the next day. After extended farewells, we finally were on our way back to the hotel after a long but fulfilling day. We rested a bit, had dinner, and debriefed the day’s activities. Each of the four volunteers has interesting perspectives that really help me think about all aspects of our presentations. Then it was another cold shower and to bed.
Next Installment: The Adventure Continues!
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