With my computer tucked away in a drybag and my cell phone charged, I head off to the school. I gingerly step down the leafy stairway and try to hop across all the rocks to the other side of Quebrada Puerto Frio. I’m usually not that successful, so I luckily have gotten in the habit of rolling up my pant legs before attempting it. The problem is that only this family uses this creek crossing due to the location of their house. None of the rocks are stable. In fact, after the last heavy rain, a couple of them in the middle got carried away. I have better luck crossing Quebrada El Congal as everyone who lives in the 20 houses of this sector has to cross it here. (When there’s been a lot of rain, all bets are off. I waited over an hour once for the water to drop about two feet. Even then it was up to my mid-thigh, so you can imagine I got wet.)
I then walk down the trail alongside the baseball field bordered by a few neighbors and a tienda. I meet the main road with a right turn and pass by the Catholic Church and another store before reaching the school. All in all, it’s only about a five minute walk. Pretty nice commute, huh? At school, I change my shoes or all my clothes depending on how high the creeks were and how wet I am.
I head into the computer lab where I’ve been spending most of my time. It’s the only air conditioned room in… well, the whole town. So in an equatorial country at 300m above sea level, AC is welcome. Plus, there’s a dehumidifier, so I feel assured that any humidity my computer or other electronics have gathered over the night will be dried out a bit. Other teachers come in throughout the day to take a break from the heat, so I’m hardly ever alone in there.
I have two classes a day of Informática, aka Computers. I make it up as I go along. What doesn’t work with one class, I try to adjust my explanation and try again with the next one. I started out with Preschool through sixth grade, but that wasn’t working. I dropped the little monsters that couldn’t keep their fingers off the power buttons and now have first through sixth grade. I think telling one of the four main parts of the computer was called a “mouse” scared some of them away, as they will barely touch it and just tap the sides with their finger to get it to move. I tell them it doesn’t bite, but I’m not sure they believe me. (Laura and any other lefties, you still use your right hand for the mouse, don’t you?)
So we’ve been working using the mouse with a couple programs I bought here in Panamá. One program calls out directions like “Put the red square to the right of the yellow circle.” It sounds easy, but when third graders have trouble with their rights and lefts, and some are still working out the differences between a square and a triangle, it gets pretty tricky. Other programs from that same company focus on science, math, and reading. I haven’t used the reading one much as fourteen computers talking at the same time with no headphones for any of the students would drive me crazy during the 40 minute period.
I’ve now started them on a typing program from Typing Tux. It’s a free program from the internet and still has some bugs. Just getting the kids to use two hands is my goal. Like the mouse, they hit what they need to and then put their hands back under the table. I feel like bringing in a roll of duct tape to ensure they keep their hands in position. Muhuhaha.
In my off time before and between classes, the principal has been keeping me busy with digitizing forms. I don’t mind recreating the tables in Excel that much. There is a lot of information that I’ve wanted to find out, like the correct spelling of teachers’ names, the number of boys and girls in each class, etc. However, when he asked me today to type the names, birthdays, parents’ names, and social security numbers of all 244 students, I told him he could use the same form I made for the preschool student census. He wasn’t too happy with my response and after half an hour had two names inputted. We’ll see if I cave in. I don’t know the kids’ names and want that info eventually. I’m just busy with some other stuff right now.
I’m typing up a lot on environmental education, especially from Project WILD and friends. Since my four main guides are in English, I’ve been translating to Spanish which takes longer than just typing word for word. My goal is to have a guide on how to complete our Peace Corps goals, from teaching lessons in the schools to implementing environmental action plans. All the info is already there in my guides, I’ve just got to compile it all, adapt it to Panamá, and of course get it into Spanish so community members can use it after I’m gone. That’s the plan at least!
I spend my Tuesday and Friday afternoons with the tourism group. I’ll usually catch the tourist on their way out of the school and then pasear with the group at their marcadito (little market of handicrafts) while the American AARP members waddle through town with their walkers to eat lunch with families. They come back to peruse the local wares, and then we have a meeting. I’ve got a friend down at the granja (organic farm) where I go about once a week. Depending on the week, I might have a meeting with the leadership of the town, the PTA of the elementary school or middle school, the woman’s baking group, or the aqueduct committee. As you can imagine, the woman’s group is one of my favorites. This weekend I hiked to the toma de agua which is gorgeous despite our intermittent water supply. So that’s what I’m up to!
I’ll be home over the Forth of July whether my bosses like it or not: technically I’m not allowed to go, but I already bought my ticket! All my other friends here are getting together the same week for an adventure on Coiba Island and to celebrate our one year anniversary of being sworn in as volunteers. One way or another I’d be out of site. Can’t wait to see ya’ll!
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