#4
I didn’t need to worry about San Miguel! The Salvadoran coordinator picked us up in San Salvador and brought us to San Miguel (2 1/2 hours each way,) arranged good hotel accommodations, helped get all of our boxes of stuff to the 5th floor classrooms at the university, and even served snacks for our first afternoon session.
The first day has come and gone in a flash. There was a very formal opening ceremony with many speeches and singing of national anthems. The translator had my script ahead of time so it could be translated as we went along – I’m not brave enough to try saying anything important in Spanish. I might say something offensive and get us all thrown out of the country!
The volunteers are wonderful – they jumped right in getting to know the teachers and helping them practice English. The teachers are wonderful also. They are all here on their vacation time, some of taking long walks or bus rides to get to the city.
We had several absent – quite typical for the first day. I hope they show up today so we can get rolling along with the curriculum. One lady didn’t “realize” that she had to come back in the afternoon – yep, that’s what “all day” means!
There is quite a range of ability to speak and understand English. Two of them really didn’t understand much of anything, but the first day is stressful and difficult – today will be easier and we can assign them extra help. Others think they know it all.
So, we’re off and running. It’s VERY good to be teaching again!
Till next time,
Daphne
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