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.
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.
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