First day of school at EA!

Today, Friday, August 20th, ends our first week of school at Escuela Americana for Cole. It is good for Cole to be getting into the routine of school, integrated more to the culture/language and with kids his own age in a structured learning environment. In the afternoon on Friday, we met up for a play date with one of the moms (and EA board member), Rebecca, and her son, Matteas, who is in Cole's class. She told me this morning that when she asked her son who he has made friends with at school besides Andres (Carolina's son who we met up with last Saturday and a former classmate of Matteas) he said "Cole" and that was nice to hear. The two boys ended up playing great together - and they liked the same kind of play: rough.

Cole started classes on Monday and was excited to be wearing his EA uniform, but also a bit hesitant about school and being with kids who "don't speak my language." The first picture I took was one I had to sneak in as I went around a corner on our way out of the complejo and it looks like he's about to grab me! (cheeky that fella) He was dressed in his P.E. uniform (3x/week) - cotton t-shirt and shorts with white athletic shoes. The formal uniform (2x/week) is a button down white shirt and blue pressed shorts with black athletic shoes. Personally, I really like uniforms - it makes the daily dress routine so easy, not to mention being an equalizer among the kids. In another picture, you can see he was immediately taken under the wings of the teachers and teacher assistants - with hands on him and his hair (Cole's blonde hair is quite the attraction here). The communications person, Gilberto, took some pictures that very first morning and sent on a couple to Rich (who forwarded) - a perk of being staff at EA. Cole has a beautiful smiling face! When I picked him up (the picture with him running towards me with open arms) and asked him about his day or when others asked, he replied: "good" - and he would tell you otherwise or not speak at all - so indeed it was a good day!

Cole's homeroom teacher is his Spanish Teacher, Mrs. Lucy (a lovely name the same as that of my smiling, beautiful grandmother Lucy), who is kindly and wonderful with the kids. Cole's other teacher is his English teacher, Mrs. Claudia, who along with Mrs. Lucy will be with him daily. Mrs. Claudia is great - good sense of humor, no nonsense and very good for Cole. During the week, Cole will also have library, P.E., music, and arts & crafts. EA follows the traditional American model of education.

I know it cannot be easy for Cole to be with kids who all speak another language. At this point in time, the kids don't know English and on the playground, etc...they will be speaking Spanish. There is the universal language of play along with Cole's pro-social, outgoing manner that will go a long way, but there are times when the words are needed and not there. Generally he seems to be getting along fine and his teachers report that he is doing well, but we have also seen signs of the difficulties he is facing (cultural adjustment and new environment) and try to leave open that conversation for him to talk about it. Cole is excited about learning Spanish and uses Spanish words mixed in with English. He will say bano, vamos, gato, perro, gracias, adios, buenos dias, por favor, manzana, "yo puedo" (I can) and other words. End of June, Cole attended a Spanish & Dance camp in Colorado and he likes to listen to those CDs in the car (one song is about going to the mar and playa). AND that (excitement about Spanish) is really wonderful - all that I could want for him at this point in time. The rest will come - quickly, I believe - and by December I will not be able to keep up with him; and his classmates will know some English too. In time, he will learn the language, find friends and settle in...and so will I!

Tin Marin and Lago Coatapeque

New things every day...

I referred to it in the last posting, but it is truly amazing how each day there is a new thing to encounter - of course with moving to any new place and job that is true and so then you add on a new culture, foreign country, and language it must go up exponentially. That leads to the highs of seeing new places and having new adventures and the lows of being drained emotionally/mentally (from frustration, expectations, not knowing - language, social cues, perceptions, etc..., and feeling alone...). Here is one simple and fun example of a cultural food difference that I learned last night - Salvadoran enchiladas are nothing like Mexican enchiladas, they are more similar to our Mexican tostadas (in shape/structure at least); Salvadoran tacos are rolled up and I suspect fried like Mexican tacos (learned this from talking/signing with Haydee); Salvadoran pupusas are made out of maize flour and are more thick than a Mexican corn tortilla and often are filled with frijoles, queso, and/or some sort of meat. The last two nights Haydee has made us pupusas and enchiladas (fried, thicker corn tortillas with chicken, lettuce and a slice of tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and queso on top) ~ it was very delicious - muy deliciousa! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa

Now on to the highs of traveling and encountering new places, people, and experiences in El Salvador... Tin Marin ~ is a wonderful children's museum in San Salvador (capital city). On Saturday, August 14th Cole and I met up with Carolina, a Salvadoran secondary school counselor at EA, with her son, Andres, who is in Cole's class. We had met before and were planning to get together and then at the pre-K orientation on Friday I learned that Andres and Cole were in the same class - and so I went to work setting up a play date before school started on Monday, so Cole could know one classmate.

We went to Tin Marin - where I have been wanting to take Cole and have heard great things about. It is only a $2 admission and it is better than some children's museums I have seen in the states. The best part is that nearly every station had at least one or more personnel to walk you through it (perhaps due to relatively inexpensive personnel costs). It was nice for Cole to be with another kid at Tin Marin and also for Carolina to translate when needed. Cole and Andres had a good time together, even though Andres only speaks Spanish. Here is a little taste of what they experienced: large play volcano where you can go inside along with a cave, waterfall, and trees with Central American wildlife (fake of course); painting an old VW Bug with their hands; learning and mixing colors; dress-up area; life-sized train engine and car made in the US in 1925 and a video tour of the country; life-sized airplane with talking tour; and bubble land (area to make and play with large bubble-making). And there was much more! I was impressed and we will be back. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=634967

Lago Coatapeque ~ this was our Sunday excursion and we finally made it there via maps, a "wrong turn" (which led us to see a cool old lava flow area) and a few stops for questions/preguntas. The lava flow was along the CA-1 highway. Cole is really in to anything nature, so it was a highlight for him to see a lava flow and take a few of the volcanic rocks as souvenirs. Rob, who we met and went with on the golf-swimming outing, is a geologist and Cole calls him the "mad scientist" ~ soon we will visit his home and see his rock collection. On Friday, we had checked-out a Volcano DVD from our great library which he watched later on.

The Lago Coatapeque is a beautiful crater lake and I will quote another EA traveller for the description: "This is a natural phenomenon unsurpassed in El Salvador. The crater lake is truly beautiful and serene. Although the majority of the frontage on the lake is privately owned, you can get right down to the lake by heading left on the road that runs alongside the lake (it is a bumpy ride, but worth it). There are a number of hotels and restaurants along the lake shore. They often offer boat rides out on the lake. A nice afternoon can be spent relaxing on one of their piers." http://www.lakecoatepeque.com/ We did find one of these restaurants - Rancho Allegro and had a nice lunch along the lake shore and went out on a 30-minute boat ride, which proved to be a great way to see the lake and surroundings (again, given the privatized nature of the lake). Cole loved the boat ride! There are some very beautiful homes along the lake and a few public spots to hang out, swim and fish. The water is clear and clean enough for swimming (no bilharzia like I had to worry about in freshwater lakes of Africa) - I think!

Hasta Luego - until next time!

Chloe in the sea and starting/gearing up for work/school

Greetings! I am a bit behind on posting and one of these days I will take some time for more reflection on the culture, learning/operating in a new culture/language, technology, etc. I am remembering how much energy (mental, emotional) it takes when first coming into another culture, language and country where even the most basic things take longer and so much is new. Being a family and experiencing this all together has its pros and cons. The benefit is definitely that you have ready support and companionship versus being solo. A challenge (with a child) is that you are not only dealing with your own adjustment, but are primarily focused on the child and their transition/adjustment. A benefit (one of many) is that in a culture where the family is so important - children are a ready "in" to meeting/greeting people. "What enables disables, what disables enables." - Native American saying.

Chloe in the Sea ~ Saturday, August 7th - we traveled to a different spot along the coast called Costa del Sol and this time we took Chloe (our labrador retriever) in search of a spot where we could introduce her to the ocean. As we travel around to these natural areas, we are finding that much of it is privatized (private owners or businesses) and it can be difficult to find many "public spots" to access nature (makes me appreciate our national, state and local parks); along Costa del Sol it was no exception with many hotels along this prime beach area. After going into a couple hotel/resorts, we found one that would let us in to access their beach for a cost of $15/adult which included an "all-inclusive" buffet meal (except for any drinks - ha!). It was fine enough and again it gave us a place to park our vehicle and go onto the beach --- and the best part was a side path that allowed us to take in Chloe (and that was worth it!). Chloe was rather hesitant at first, although she enjoyed getting her hot paws wet; but once I got a stick and started throwing it into the waves it was all over. There are not many places to take dogs here, so we were glad to find a spot where we could enjoy some play with her and give her some exercise. We will be scouting around for more places to take her, but I also appreciate that the "dog culture" here is different and I suspect some of the exclusion is due to stray dogs (plentiful and can pass along mange and other diseases to Chloe), a culture of "guard dogs", and people who may not pick up after their dogs (poop in parks = not fun/sanitary). I have also learned that to assume anything in another country can lead to some wrong conclusions based on a different cultural lense, so these are my initial impressions that I will have to check out.



Starting and gearing up for work & school~ the Monday after this excursion I started work and luckily Cole was able to hang out with the Melendez kids next door (for the first 3 days of the week) and the ladies who work in our homes provided an adult presence and the ever important food. The older kiddo - Eric, 8th grade - was in charge of Cole as he is a very responsible and caring boy and with Cole's limited Spanish it did not make sense for him to be alone in our home with Haydee. Cole loves Eric. Thursday, most of the kids started up school (kindergarten and pre-K being the exceptions), so I worked from home while Cole played quite nicely and in the afternoon we met up with a couple other moms and kids (from the US Embassy) for lunch/play at, yes, Pizza Hut and then Cole went to the Rose family home for a couple of hours. Things are a bit piecemeal right now - but we are working on a comfortable and enriching structure for Cole as we head into the school year.

Cole will be attending pre-K (started on Monday, Aug 16) located in the EA Lower School with an orientation to his class and teachers the previous Friday. We were not sure if he would start kindergarten or pre-K, but after an assessment and dialogue we are following the school's recommendation to start him in pre-K. I think it will be good for him in the long run. My own personal observation (and that of others) is that boys in general take longer to develop the type of skills that are required for success in school - and he has a later birthday. The school also seems to have a higher level of expectation for their kindergarten than in the states (and older students) - especially as it concerns the writing, coloring and other fine motor skills. Cole definitely does not have the interest or readiness for fine writing/coloring/etc.---- his coloring is much more "ish" like (I love the children's book Ish), which is fine in general but when I saw the expectations on the assessment (thorough/good assessment according to Rich) for tracing, drawing dots, etc... it was evident Cole is just not there yet. I spoke with two other mothers (US Embassy) with kids of similar age and both have their kids (boy and girl) going into a different grade than they would have in the states. Pre-K does mean that it is half day (7:45-12:15), so that is the part that we are figuring out how to provide some structure and enrichment for Cole in the afternoons. I also have some flexibility with my work schedule. Look for pictures in the next posting (or so) of Cole's first day of school!

Amy's work ~ Sharon/Mom: "So, Amy, what is it again that you are doing at the school?" This is the famous question in my family and finally they were figuring out what it was I did in my last job! As I described my current "postion" to one of my RPCV (Return Peace Corps Volunteer) friends, he said: "Oh, sounds like you will be a PCV in a school community." And that probably sums it up well for the time being. What does that mean? Basically, and similar enough to my past work, I have a set of skills that I match to the mission and needs of the community I am working in to enhance/build capacity for better outcomes. These skills typically involve participatory assessments, planning, implementation and evaluation. I am working out of the Main Office and serving the needs of the school and General Director.

Tuesday (now of last week) August 11th I facilitated an off-site all-day staff retreat for one of the sections of Escuela Americana called the Trojan Learning Center (pictures below). It was held at a beautiful restaurant spot in an area outside of San Salvador (35-40 minute drive) in Comasagua. http://www.elmiradordelagiralda.com/ The owners are a Salvadoran couple with the wife as the chef (delicious food flavored with herbs from Europe) and the husband as the entertainer (guitar) in the evenings as his "hobby" - his day job consists of several hats that position him high up in the country for environmental work including travel to Switzerland. Rosie, his sister, is the one below that I am looking towards and is a TLC-EA staff person. I enjoyed the work, the surroundings and the pleasure of knowing more of the excellent EA staff.

I will likely be "marketing" myself to more Division Directors and working with the General Director and board of the school (nonprofit, independent school). I will also be doing "special projects"/odd jobs, such as assisting with the text for the revamped website and ongoing use of collaborative technology. Most importantly, in these next few months, I will be focused on Cole and making sure he is happy, healthy, and transitioning well.

Augostino - excursions and new friends

"Augostino" is a national holiday celebrated on Thursday and Friday of this week - and is a week of holiday for the school. My understanding is that every town has a patron saint and the day of the saint is celebrated annually; San Salvador's patron saint is Jesus Christo which is being celebrated now. This week we have had a few adventures and some good hanging time in the Complejo and at our home - all of which has included connecting with international teachers and other EA staff. All of the international teachers have been coming in this week, so we have been meeting & greeting more people - one couple who also met in Peace Corps in an African country.



Monday, August 2nd we went with a group to the coast - Diane, Ken and their visitors and Carol (Director of Trojan Learning Center at EA). On the way, we stopped in the town of Libertad at a fish market along a pier. We will definitely be coming back here to buy fresh fish! This time Cole and I came prepared for our trip to the beach with the bug container - ready to catch a few sea creatures. At the beach we made our way to a rock outcrop and caught two small crabs and snails. Later on in the showers I found a larger crab (about the size of my palm) and eventually we were able to rescue/capture the crab (largely unscathed - crab was fine and I got a small nick on my finger from the pinchers) into our make-shift atrium and release it. Once the larger crab was on the rock outcrop we were better able to see it - muy grande and bonita (red and purple in color). Rich caught a few waves - we will get a boogie board and surf board (may be) down the line...

Tuesday we joined other staff at EA to drive up to El Boqueron (national park of the San Salvador volcano) and hiked up the top portion to look down into the crater. El Boqueron is our view, so it was nice to experience it up close and personal. The Director of the Middle School (Bob) and Carmen (MS Assistant Director) set up the trip and brought their families (spouses and/or kids) along with the EA Librarian (Sherrie), Diane, Ken and their visitors. We had a really nice time on this outing getting to know folks outside of the school environment. BTW - the library at EA is really wonderful - we have already checked out books for me (Daughters of Fortune by Isabelle Allende) and Cole (bilingual fairy tale books and nature books) and nature DVDs. After the morning excursion to the volcano we went to a restaurant on the way down - the grounds were spacious with a playground, mini-soccer field, playhouse.... and a beautiful view of San Salvador. Carmen's son Daniel showed Cole around and played with him and we met some other kids/families from EA there as well. Connections...being made...


Wednesday, Rich and Cole joined Ken, Diane and visitors on another outing (we appreciate their inclusiveness with their excursions/visitors) to the Mayan ruins, while I met up with Carol to talk about the staff retreat that I will be facilitating next Tuesday and get a few supplies. One of the spots they visited was Joya de Ceren ~ one of the most notable archeological sites in the country. This is the Pompeii of Central America. An entire village buried beneath a volcanic eruption about 400 years before the Spaniards arrived. http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbruhns/cihuatan/othersites.htm

And...perhaps the biggest news for the day was a significant step forward for Cole in swimming. We went to the pool across from our house in the complejo and Cole was jumping in the water on his own and swimming underwater and on the surface to Rich. He is primed for swim lessons - and we know there are a couple of options that we can do here - now that the readiness and timing (settled in a place) are there.

Thursday we had a relaxed day - joined Carol and her husband Rob at their club on a lake where they (including Rich) went golfing. Cole and I joined them for the first 9 holes and then went to the swimming pool...and had a great time. Who's that cool dude in the shades?

Friday and the weekend will be less travel and more hanging out with folks at the complejo. Our neighbors - the Melendez family - arrived Thursday night and they have three kids (Elise - 1st grade; James - 4th grade; Eric - 8th grade) and Cole is psyched. Friday Cole went swimming with them and spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out and playing. Friday evening a group of us went to a Fair within walking distance (at the Convention Center) from where we live and checked it out --- it reminded me a bit of a state fair (amusement rides, food stands, various items being sold, music...) without any farm animals and was interesting culturally to see and taste the foods, "people watch", and experience a Salvadoran celebration.

Tour of towns - squares, churches and markets

The new international (typically from the United States) teachers of Escuela Americana arrived last weekend - and so this week they have been doing some of the things we have been doing (paperwork, banking, shopping for the house, settling in, being shown around/welcomed...) as well as school-orientation trainings, lesson planning and a few fun outings. As part of this new crew, Cole and I have been joining in on the fun. As I mentioned in the last posting, we went to the coast and had a good time walking along the beach, picking up abolone-type shells (or as Cole says "shiney shells") and sea glass and watching hermit crabs. There was also a kid pool with a slide that Cole enjoyed playing/splashing-around-in. We have all enjoyed getting to know those in our same cohort and also the "welcome committee" who are the more experienced teachers to answer questions and guide us around living/working in El Salvador (so helpful and generous with their time as well as many others at EA). Rich and I agree that the U.S. teachers remind us of Peace Corps Volunteers (and some are RPCVs) and we are looking forward to getting to know everyone better and living in this community.

Saturday, July 31 - Rich, Cole and I went on a trip to the west of San Salvador with the group of new teachers. We visited three different towns ~ Nahuizalco (markets of arts and crafts, produce, foods and a church); Juayua (visited markets with clothes/shoes/etc..., crafts, food and a town square wtih horses and church); and Ataco (shops with arts and crafts, weavers, and produce market) - each with their own special something. We enjoyed exploring the markets especially - including the arts and crafts, food (fruits, vegies, live and dead seafood, tortoise eggs...), clothing/local items, etc... Cole had a good time looking at different items and tasting a few items --- and the vendors enjoyed him as well. Cole tried a lychee fruit (a bit smaller than a lime; soft, spikey and red on the outside; a white, soft fruit on the inside) that was given by one of the vendors - it was quite good; and then sugar cane - in Kenya kids (typically) would chew off bits and chew them to get the sweet juices (the fiber would be spit out). I haven't seen the same in El Salvador so I cannot say for sure - they may only use it for cooking. In the pictures you will see him carrying around a wooden snake that we got from the market - that's Cole! (He loves snakes/reptiles, but also is typically finding something to carry around with him be it a stick, piece of red cloth, rock, etc...).




It is interesting to have lived for 5 years in a different part of the world (Kenya and Uganda) with a similar economic development status and climate to El Salvador. There are similarities and differences I see as I scratch the surface...such as the food items grown and how they are used; public transportation (bus drivers are crazy and skilled throughout the world and matatu-like public transportation); markets (produce, food, clothing, arts/crafts...); towns/infrastructure and businesses; churches; clothing/dress; music and celebrations; etc...

One of the last places we visited was a very nice restaurant between two of the towns (Apaneca and Ataco). It is beautiful as the name El Jardin de Celeste suggests http://www.eljardindeceleste.com/ - and we enjoyed eating the gourmet and authentic foods of El Salvador to the sound of classical music and view of their beautiful gardens. As you walked in there were large stone containers where they put water and flowers...so lovely. Cole enjoyed a playground and a tree house as well as the pathways through the gardens and various animals in pens (goats, geese, ducks, etc...). The first picture below is not in the gardens/restaurant, but at a church in Juayua - and is the only one with the three of us.