Geckos, Iguanas, Cats, and Students...

Wednesday, 7/23/2014

Today we went to the school for an orientation and I saw my classroom for the first time.  School starts on August 4th so there's a lot to do!

For anyone interesting in learning more about the school, check out www.ciplc.org.  J  I’m a fan already, and the school year hasn’t even begun!

We had a traditional breakfast at the school today:

Arepas con carne, queso, frijoles, y huevos – arepas are a sort of corn flatbread that is a Venezuelan staple.  You’re supposed to split it open with a fork or knife so that it forms a pouch, and then you stuff it with the other side items.  We had beef, cheese, black beans, and cheese in ours.  Rice is usually provided as well.  They are amazing!

When I came home from work, I found my house gecko chilling on my stairs, his favorite hangout spot when he’s not sleeping in the Harry Potter closet:

I chased him around for awhile before I could actually get a decent picture of him – he is FAST and could give those huge iguanas a run for their money! He’s also an incredible jumper – he jumped from the stair rail and back down onto a step at one point, which was about 3 feet below where he was.  This is pretty impressive considering the little guy’s only about 2 inches long!

7/24/2014

Here’s what we did for our second day of staff orientation:

7/26/2014

We’ve spent the past few days at school for meetings and time to prep in our classrooms.  Yesterday I met my classroom aid, Jezebel, who I’m so excited to have with me this year!  She is studying to be a teacher and is enthusiastic about everything, so I think we’re going to work well together!

After work was over, we went out for drinks and dinner.  We ate at an outdoor semi-permanent restaurant right along the beach, which is where I found…..

HEINEKEN!

(not Stella….)

On the night when I found him, the family who owned the restaurant said that he hung out there all the time and didn’t belong to anyone.  His ears are a bit split open from past fights, and he was clearly hungry that evening. 

Heineken is extremely friendly, and he was so cute that I had to give him a home!  I named him “Stella” at first because while we were at the bar, a few of the girls ordered Smirnoffs.  Wondering if they had other imports, I asked if they had Stella Artois as well.  Everyone else thought this was HILARIOUS (although I didn’t think I was that out of line!)  and joked about that for the rest of the night, so when I found the kitten on the same evening, it was only appropriate to name her Stella….until “she” became a “he.” (We were all calling him Stella until the vet informed me several days later that “Stella has big balls!” )

Heineken must have been bored with the house cat life because one day when I came home from school he was gone, and he hasn't been back since.  He was cute while I had him, though!

7/27/2014

Crash Course in Venezuelan Customs:

·      It is Venezuelan law for businesses to host at least 4 parties for their employees each year.  I knew I liked this place!

·      When you first meet someone, it is proper to shake hands.  When meeting from that point on, women give “air kisses” to both men and women while greeting them.  Men maintain their space.

·      It is always polite to chat before getting down to business.  This includes in text messages.

·      Personal grooming reflects self-esteem and is very important to Venezuelans.  Emily says that she can tell a difference in the way she is treated depending on whether or not she wears a bit of mascara and lip gloss. 

·      There is a definite separation of classes in VZ.  Cashiers or other service workers will appear guarded until you say hello first because there is internal conflict between classes.  Once you show friendliness to them first, they will drop their guard and open up.

·      The availability of products is cyclical.  Generally what may or may not be available are the staple items that the government controls. 

8/2/2014

The past week has been an intense work week between prepping for school, keeping up on my own classwork, and taking Heineken to the vet for 3 evenings due to an infected cut on his leg (Thanks so much to Adriana, who recommended an excellent vet and even drove me to serve as my interpreter!).  We had staff meetings, team meetings, and classroom time this week, all of which was productive.  I did take a break on Thursday evening to enjoy wine and pasta with a few friends, and another one this morning to go to Erin’s for a mani-pedi before heading into school for the rest of the night.  I also went out for Arabic with the Mancusos’, Bryce, Joe, and Katie.  Tomorrow I’ll finish up the last few touches of my lesson plans and do my own homework assignment for the week, and then it’s the first day of school on Monday!

Wine and pasta night at Adriana's with her, Ale, and Erin

Welcome to CIPLC!  My room is on the 3rd floor.

8/6/2014

School began on Monday!  I absolutely love my class.  They’re extremely energetic and excited to learn.  Most are from Venezuela, but some have backgrounds from Spain, France, Italy, Argentina, and Portugal as well.  I am going to learn just as much from as they will from me!  Right now we’re working on a “Diversity Quilt:”  The kids started to draw symbols of their unique culture and background on a piece of paper (with an explanation on the back), and when they’re done we’ll “sew” (a.k.a. hole punch and string together) all of the patches together to make a huge quilt for parents’ Open House night.  

Can you guess what our fourth grade theme is?  The kids LOVE this word and totally bought into our discussion about why it’s important to believe in themselves.  We created a huge BELIEVE sign for our door, which they can tap as a reminder on their way out the door.  They also wrote the word on their name tags and as a part of our Community Agreements (class rules),and now they even write it underneath their names on papers.  It’s so cute, and even more important! I’m so proud of them!

8/16/2014

We spent last weekend in Los Altos, a cute mountain town outside of Puerto La Cruz (more photos on Facebook).

 We went to the most amazing pottery store and a few other artisan's homes.  

















We sampled local sweets such as parchita pie (passion fruit is my new obsession!

This was our view from the restaurant we stopped at for lunch.

On Sunday, we went to Los Llanos to celebrate this lovely lady's birthday.  Happy 27th, Bryce!  I can't wait to share in your new year's adventures with you!