so summer is in full effect in paraguay. today its not too hot but other days have been 110 degree temps with about 150 percent humidity! it gets unbearably hot here! its so hot that you can´t really do anything during the day but hang out and drink terere, read a book or take loooooong naps.
its nice because it is now summer break in paraguay. school´s out. the last workshop i did at the highschool was the very last day of classes i did it on hiv aids. it was soooo much fun! i had a blast doing it! i would say it was the first of its kind in my school. i wouldn´t say the students haven´t talked about sex before in the class room, outside the classroom its dominates alot of the convos, not any different than american youth. but i digress, the week before the hiv aids workshop i was watching the seniors give their final presentations on a multitude of topics ranging from youth participation in politics to teen parenting. one of the soldier students gave his presentation on STIs (sexually transmitted infections, for those of you who don´t know!). he talked about hiv aids as one of those STIs one could get. but it was such basic information, he didn´t talk about contraceptives or other ways you can pass hiv to another person besides sexually. so after his presentation the other teachers in the room starting making their comments saying that you can get hiv from bed sheets at the local motel or sharing razors. now one, no one should share razors but it is hiiiiiiiighly unlikely to spread hiv this way. and i know that the local motel is full of essence of auquaboogie but that does not mean that you can hiv from the bed sheets! i had to knock some heads. it was quite apparent that myths about this particular STI are still running amock! i put myself to work afterwards and prepared my workshop on hiv aids to coincide with World Aids Day (dec 1st).
It all went super well. the kids were a bit terrified or uncomfortable when i did the condom demonstration using my host cousin´s fingers, but hey, it had to be done. i wanted to be prepared. i did lose a lot of my girl students which was unfortunate, but i think it would have helped to have a paraguayan female counterpart to assist me, but ya live and ya learn. i would love to continue to do sex ed workshops in the school but i really need a community contact to help me out. it has been extremely difficult getting the teachers to work with me on projects. so this summer i am working on putting together a plan on getting the teachers to work with me better. i have some ideas from my old job, companion care, back in the states. i plan on working on professional and personal goals in the job place. i would also like the teachers to come up with a mission statement and classroom rules and regulations to post up in every classroom in the school so that the kids and teachers know what is expected of them.
but this summer has been pretty slow. i have been travelling a lot the past 3 weeks but now i would like to spend more time in site and figure out what i can do with the kids in my barrio. i was hoping that the community sports center would be finished by now but there is some issue with money. so hopefully once that is finished i can start a basketball team and we can go around kicking butt!
that´s the plan...
Stephen
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Lesson plans
so the adventure is still alive and well. a little too much adventure can cause one to lose their mind and leave site for a lil bit. this is what i had to do not too long ago. let`s just say i met someone who i`m crushin on but who frustrates the hell out of me!!! i had to leave, reflect, recollect and now ya boy is back in the game!
i hate travelling. is that a good thing to say when you`re so far away from the states? well, i just don`t like travelling a lot. there, that`s better. i mean i like seeing the sights and the new faces but i just feel like i`m missing out on stuff going on in my community. i mean, i really did need this break, but i missed my community a lot while i was away. i missed a bday party at the principal`s house, missed classes, missed fam time. i missed a lot in two days being away from site. i missed being in site too. i missed being with my people.
this dude i met is real cool. i can`t say too much about him because he`s not out. has never done anything with a guy... but the interest is there. i see that. the thing is can i elevate my game to really pull this off? or will this be like some other crushes that kinda just crumble? that`s why i love this adventure and hate it at the same time. i can`t just run off to my group of friends and get their advice because not too many people in site know that i`m gay and none of my friends in the states know this guy nor the culture. its just hard to get advice and kinda figure things out on your own. the only people i have told about him are peace corps volunteers. trying to get their input. they have been real helpful! i rely on them a lot these days. i mean i do have gay friends in site but i can`t tell them because this dude is not out and if other people in my site find out, it definitely won`t happen. that word patience comes into play again. i have to remain patient. focus on being successful in my job.
in my job description it says that the people of paraguay come first. i gotta put paraguay ahead of my personal needs and desires. but i put it like this: how can i be successful in my job, project, community, whatever, if i am not personally invested? If i am not feeling the work that i am doing or am feeling detached from my community, how can i run a successful project? i`m not saying that i`m putting paraguay on the back burner and my personal needs in the forefront, but i feel like they kinda go hand-in-hand. i don`t know. i`m not putting all my eggs in one basket as i used to do. i`m learning how to have fun and just talk to a bunch of different people... but i`m rooting for this guy...
Stephen.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Paraguayan hour is killing me!
so if there is one thing that i should talk about is how my peoples are accustomed to being on time. We are a culture that moves fast. We have people to see and things to do. Our lives run on time. If you are not on time, we get deeply offended for not respecting our time. We can even lose our jobs for not being on time. Time is a concept that is deeply rooted in our culture and what keeps us moving quickly and efficiently. Here in Paraguay no es así (It´s not like that).
In Paraguay time is not a factor to the culture. It´s not important. It doesn´t offend anyone if you are late to events. You don´t get kudos for being on time or early either. In fact, you might be sitting in a cloud of awkwardness while you wait for other people to show up to a meeting or function. The directora at the high school told the teachers in a meeting today that they should really try to be here on time. School starts at 7am. But still there are no penalties if you are late. It was merely a suggestion...
I´ve been really getting frustrated with the paraguayan hour lately. I have an english class that starts at 5 30pm on mondays and thursdays. Well its supposed to start at said time but a lot of times it doesn´t get started until 6 or 6 20. So the last class I got kinda upset with the class and was like you guys really need to try and be here on time because I don´t like sitting around for half hour to an hour waiting on you guys to get here. they seemed confused so i had to explain a lil about my culture and how we get offended if people are not on time. i felt myself getting upset. they promised that they would try to be on time. well, today its raining so i know for a fact that no one is going to go to class because the rain is a deal breaker that paraguayans will not go out in the rain! so i won´t be able to see if my lil talk with them actually worked until thursday.
Then, the paraguayan hour struck again on friday when we had movie night. i had a small crew of really cool paraguayans that helped me set up everything. like we had a legit movie theater going in the high school. we had huge speakers, projector, music playing, and good food. the directora finally got electricity for this part of the building that has been out of electricity for a while. but when it came to show time...no one came.....we waited an hour, only one student showed up. so the directora told me it was time to call it quits and pack everything away. then an hour and a half later 5 people show up. 10 minutes later, 10 people show up. I will be damned that 2 hours after the event was supposed to happen a huge crowd of folks showed up. but by then we had already taken everything down. and if we would have started the movie on time they would have missed the ENTIRE movie! i was super bummed. frustrated with my community. felt unwanted, unproductive, useless.
but then i started analyzing those feelings. i felt super unsuccessful and came to the conclusion that my upbringing, my culture had sparked those feelings within me. We are supposed to be pumping out good working products or events for the greater good. And these events are supposed to start on time. in paraguay, i have to learn to play by different rules. the people here don´t care what kinds of goods and services you are putting out there. Character, family ties and laid back style is what is important here. that is something in my two years i am not going to change. paraguay is never going to be on time for me. things will always start later than planned. no one is going to think that i am lazy or unsuccessful because no one came to my movie night... i have to find a way to work within the framework of paraguay´s culture. I have to find a place where i fit in, where i can feel successful in my work too. In retrospect I don´t feel like movie night was a complete disaster because I have identified members in the high school and the neighborhood who i know will help me set up a project, will participate to start a project and who just might see the value in creating a better community here in the city of paraguarí.
In Paraguay time is not a factor to the culture. It´s not important. It doesn´t offend anyone if you are late to events. You don´t get kudos for being on time or early either. In fact, you might be sitting in a cloud of awkwardness while you wait for other people to show up to a meeting or function. The directora at the high school told the teachers in a meeting today that they should really try to be here on time. School starts at 7am. But still there are no penalties if you are late. It was merely a suggestion...
I´ve been really getting frustrated with the paraguayan hour lately. I have an english class that starts at 5 30pm on mondays and thursdays. Well its supposed to start at said time but a lot of times it doesn´t get started until 6 or 6 20. So the last class I got kinda upset with the class and was like you guys really need to try and be here on time because I don´t like sitting around for half hour to an hour waiting on you guys to get here. they seemed confused so i had to explain a lil about my culture and how we get offended if people are not on time. i felt myself getting upset. they promised that they would try to be on time. well, today its raining so i know for a fact that no one is going to go to class because the rain is a deal breaker that paraguayans will not go out in the rain! so i won´t be able to see if my lil talk with them actually worked until thursday.
Then, the paraguayan hour struck again on friday when we had movie night. i had a small crew of really cool paraguayans that helped me set up everything. like we had a legit movie theater going in the high school. we had huge speakers, projector, music playing, and good food. the directora finally got electricity for this part of the building that has been out of electricity for a while. but when it came to show time...no one came.....we waited an hour, only one student showed up. so the directora told me it was time to call it quits and pack everything away. then an hour and a half later 5 people show up. 10 minutes later, 10 people show up. I will be damned that 2 hours after the event was supposed to happen a huge crowd of folks showed up. but by then we had already taken everything down. and if we would have started the movie on time they would have missed the ENTIRE movie! i was super bummed. frustrated with my community. felt unwanted, unproductive, useless.
but then i started analyzing those feelings. i felt super unsuccessful and came to the conclusion that my upbringing, my culture had sparked those feelings within me. We are supposed to be pumping out good working products or events for the greater good. And these events are supposed to start on time. in paraguay, i have to learn to play by different rules. the people here don´t care what kinds of goods and services you are putting out there. Character, family ties and laid back style is what is important here. that is something in my two years i am not going to change. paraguay is never going to be on time for me. things will always start later than planned. no one is going to think that i am lazy or unsuccessful because no one came to my movie night... i have to find a way to work within the framework of paraguay´s culture. I have to find a place where i fit in, where i can feel successful in my work too. In retrospect I don´t feel like movie night was a complete disaster because I have identified members in the high school and the neighborhood who i know will help me set up a project, will participate to start a project and who just might see the value in creating a better community here in the city of paraguarí.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Learning to work together
I think most of you have heard the tale of me leaving the paraguayan friend 3 hours away by now for bad behavior and not listening to ya boy when I said I was ready to go!!!! well, he got left because he wanted to spend time with some yiyi he had just met and called his girlfriend! how u have a girlfriend after just one day is beyond me. but hey some ppl move like that. so it was sunday and time to head back to our city and i call the fool. hey its time to go. no stephen, let`s stay another day. i can`t stay another day i got things to do. so i`m leavin at 4 30 with or without you. no stephen, leave me some money. i`m not going to do that, you best come on! and he hangs up on me. i call him at 4 20. ok, i`m tellin you i`m gone get on that bus without u. noooo, give me 2 hours. there won`t b buses in two hours. i`m gettin on a bus in 10 minutes without you. he hangs up on me again. i call him at 4 30. you ain`t here at the bus stop and i`m mad at you. noo stephen, don`t leave, we gone stay till tomorrow. and he hangs up on me again. so i hopped, skipped and jumped on a crowded ass bus and left his ass there. i was soooo mad at him! you do not hang up the phone on me, if you know one thing about americans, that`s just something u don`t do. also, respect someone else`s time especially when they are doin nice things for yo stank self!
so the next day, i went to the school and he was there. i had to go up to him. he was like, are you mad at me? and i was like let`s go over here so we can talk. no, stephen are you mad at me? no i`m not mad at you, i`m just disappointed. thus, commenced the convo. it was the realest moment i`ve had in paraguay. he was expressing himself. i was givin him my point of view. he lied a lil bit, but for the first time, i really felt heard and that he was takin into account what i was telling him. he told me i had too many rules. i was like you damn right i got rules on how i should act. im a foreigner and a representative of the US of A. i have to have rules. that`s how u get successful, you gotta keep yaself in check! and i was like how are you going to join the military if you don`t like rules? he said that when he joins the military then he will live with rules. i told him that`s not possible. i said if you aren`t practicing how to live with rules now you aren`t going to live with rules in the future. you gotta practice today what u wanna accomplish tomorrow. i was fa real schoolin his ass! the men down here really need to know that the world ain`t there playground and that there are consequences to their actions. what i`ve observed for the most part is that males get to do whatever they want without consequence. if they do something bad, someone might yell at them but they can chose to stop or keep going. he didn`t believe me that he was gone get left. he thought he could disrespect me and i was still going to stay there and wait on his ass. that weekend taught him about consequences and responsibility. parts of being a man.
i took my host brother and another youth of 17 years to a workshop 2 hours away. we learned about how to do community projects. it went so well! we stayed in a hotel, ate good food, met super active paraguayans and volunteers and learned how to work together. there was a moment when they were actin up and some paraguayan girls were telling them. stephen may not be telling you this but he is observing everything that you guys are doing, how u participate in the classes, your behavior, all that. he can change community contacts whenever he wants to! you guys better get it together or you won`t be invited back to things like this. it was wonderful especially because it came from their peers!!! i told them that they have to complete a community project with me in order to get invited to other peace corps events. we are starting a youth group in september and have a movie night planned at the school!!!! rewards definitely help.
things have been great lately! i`m really starting to feel more and more at home here in paraguay. i do miss the states, but it isn`t an overwhelming feeling. it helps when i don`t feel so lonely. i kinda got rid of my other contact for being a jerk to me. he`s trying to redeem himself and i don`t know if i should give him a second chance or not. he said something very offensive to me and my culture. he keeps telling me i`m young and don`t know anything and that i`m stupid. i just don`t like ppl who are abusive like that. cuz i know that none of that shit is true. that he`s just sayin that crap cuz he wants to control what it is i do. i`m american! i don`t stand for that shit. i believe in revolution and i believe that i can make a difference here.
holla back,
Stephen
so the next day, i went to the school and he was there. i had to go up to him. he was like, are you mad at me? and i was like let`s go over here so we can talk. no, stephen are you mad at me? no i`m not mad at you, i`m just disappointed. thus, commenced the convo. it was the realest moment i`ve had in paraguay. he was expressing himself. i was givin him my point of view. he lied a lil bit, but for the first time, i really felt heard and that he was takin into account what i was telling him. he told me i had too many rules. i was like you damn right i got rules on how i should act. im a foreigner and a representative of the US of A. i have to have rules. that`s how u get successful, you gotta keep yaself in check! and i was like how are you going to join the military if you don`t like rules? he said that when he joins the military then he will live with rules. i told him that`s not possible. i said if you aren`t practicing how to live with rules now you aren`t going to live with rules in the future. you gotta practice today what u wanna accomplish tomorrow. i was fa real schoolin his ass! the men down here really need to know that the world ain`t there playground and that there are consequences to their actions. what i`ve observed for the most part is that males get to do whatever they want without consequence. if they do something bad, someone might yell at them but they can chose to stop or keep going. he didn`t believe me that he was gone get left. he thought he could disrespect me and i was still going to stay there and wait on his ass. that weekend taught him about consequences and responsibility. parts of being a man.
i took my host brother and another youth of 17 years to a workshop 2 hours away. we learned about how to do community projects. it went so well! we stayed in a hotel, ate good food, met super active paraguayans and volunteers and learned how to work together. there was a moment when they were actin up and some paraguayan girls were telling them. stephen may not be telling you this but he is observing everything that you guys are doing, how u participate in the classes, your behavior, all that. he can change community contacts whenever he wants to! you guys better get it together or you won`t be invited back to things like this. it was wonderful especially because it came from their peers!!! i told them that they have to complete a community project with me in order to get invited to other peace corps events. we are starting a youth group in september and have a movie night planned at the school!!!! rewards definitely help.
things have been great lately! i`m really starting to feel more and more at home here in paraguay. i do miss the states, but it isn`t an overwhelming feeling. it helps when i don`t feel so lonely. i kinda got rid of my other contact for being a jerk to me. he`s trying to redeem himself and i don`t know if i should give him a second chance or not. he said something very offensive to me and my culture. he keeps telling me i`m young and don`t know anything and that i`m stupid. i just don`t like ppl who are abusive like that. cuz i know that none of that shit is true. that he`s just sayin that crap cuz he wants to control what it is i do. i`m american! i don`t stand for that shit. i believe in revolution and i believe that i can make a difference here.
holla back,
Stephen
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
hasta ahora
so i am currently in villeta, where i was raised in paraguay with the old host fam. i have really missed my old host fam. but ya know, i really do feel like things are different. i can definitely have a conversation with my family now and its really exciting from when i first arrived here and i would just point to things i wanted and told a lot of stories with my hands and police academy noises. so its cool. but now that i`m working in my site... i actually miss it.
so i am here to hang with the family but also to get more training in language and technical. i mean the training isn´t half bad. and its nice reconnecting with the others i haven`t seen in a while. its just different. i mean earlier, i couldn´t wait to leave my site and hang out with the other volunteers. but now things are different. i long to be in my bed and hangin out with my lil buddies and host family in Paraguarí. things are starting to change... and its def a good thing!
i think what really initiated the change was one cold cold night in the capital when i went with my contact and met other volunteers. my contact and i went clubbin that night and had a good good time. then it was time to return to the hotel. we were cold...and wet...and the bed was uncomfortable and the fire alarm kept beeping all night because it needed a new battery. that night, all i wanted was my bed.
then, something else happened. i was having problems with my host fam. i didn`t think they liked me very much. i would spend a lot of time out of the house and out of my neighborhood just hanging out downtown. but then i got sickly. i was on my death bed. and my family took soooo good care of me. they would check on me to see how i was doing and making sure i was fed and gave me some yuyos to help me feel better. yuyos are herbs that they use. kinda like herbal remedies that they put in tea or terrere. terrrere is like cold tea that is usually shared in groups. to terrere is definitely a very social activity. (there now ya´ll learned alil bit about paraguayan culture). even my bro came in and checked on me, even tho he said he was in there to borrow something... yeah riiiiiiiiiiiight. then, i got better and our relationship just became sooo much better! like we really became a fam.
then, with the winter camp, it really gave me a good base of kids to hang out with and keep me busy. we play sports, mostly football which i am terrible! but i just talk a lot of trash and they love it. i gave the kids draw on tats and had a waterballoon fight that day. we just have a lot of fun and they make me feel like a big kid. i told them last week that i was going to villeta for the whole week and they were all like, why you gotta go there, you coming back? and then we really gonna miss you. man, that really hit me that finally i have some friends! now i just like my work is really going to take off!!!!!!
also i`ve become super close to my bro who is military. i am learning a lot about bein super macho. haha. well, i´m learning a lot about living around military ppl. its really interesting. he wants to visit the states on his vacations, which will be right around when i`m heading home. sooo ìm def going to try my hardest to get him to the states. it is very difficult for paraguayans to enter the states. most ppl get denied visas and the visas are super expensive! but if there is a will there is a way babay!!!!!
so i am here to hang with the family but also to get more training in language and technical. i mean the training isn´t half bad. and its nice reconnecting with the others i haven`t seen in a while. its just different. i mean earlier, i couldn´t wait to leave my site and hang out with the other volunteers. but now things are different. i long to be in my bed and hangin out with my lil buddies and host family in Paraguarí. things are starting to change... and its def a good thing!
i think what really initiated the change was one cold cold night in the capital when i went with my contact and met other volunteers. my contact and i went clubbin that night and had a good good time. then it was time to return to the hotel. we were cold...and wet...and the bed was uncomfortable and the fire alarm kept beeping all night because it needed a new battery. that night, all i wanted was my bed.
then, something else happened. i was having problems with my host fam. i didn`t think they liked me very much. i would spend a lot of time out of the house and out of my neighborhood just hanging out downtown. but then i got sickly. i was on my death bed. and my family took soooo good care of me. they would check on me to see how i was doing and making sure i was fed and gave me some yuyos to help me feel better. yuyos are herbs that they use. kinda like herbal remedies that they put in tea or terrere. terrrere is like cold tea that is usually shared in groups. to terrere is definitely a very social activity. (there now ya´ll learned alil bit about paraguayan culture). even my bro came in and checked on me, even tho he said he was in there to borrow something... yeah riiiiiiiiiiiight. then, i got better and our relationship just became sooo much better! like we really became a fam.
then, with the winter camp, it really gave me a good base of kids to hang out with and keep me busy. we play sports, mostly football which i am terrible! but i just talk a lot of trash and they love it. i gave the kids draw on tats and had a waterballoon fight that day. we just have a lot of fun and they make me feel like a big kid. i told them last week that i was going to villeta for the whole week and they were all like, why you gotta go there, you coming back? and then we really gonna miss you. man, that really hit me that finally i have some friends! now i just like my work is really going to take off!!!!!!
also i`ve become super close to my bro who is military. i am learning a lot about bein super macho. haha. well, i´m learning a lot about living around military ppl. its really interesting. he wants to visit the states on his vacations, which will be right around when i`m heading home. sooo ìm def going to try my hardest to get him to the states. it is very difficult for paraguayans to enter the states. most ppl get denied visas and the visas are super expensive! but if there is a will there is a way babay!!!!!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
starting to feel like home...
So yeah at first i was a lil nervous about winter break like what am i going to do and i am going to be soooo bored! but i must admit winter break has been the best thing to happen to me! so i started a winter camp in my neighborhood! i was soooo super stoked about it because i had sooo many games planned for the kids, then the first day of camp, it rained. if there is one thing that you should know about paraguay is if it rains, the whole country shuts down. ppl don`t go to work, they don`t go to school, they don`t do anything... so the first day we didn`t do anything. i was soooooo bored in my house, i was going mad! i wanted to get outta there!
but then the second day, some kids showed up. we started with four kids, had a march through the neighborhood and picked up more kids to play with us. so a group of four turned into a group of 20 plus kiddies! it was a success. we played sports. i finally got out there and played soccer! it was super fun! i am a terrible soccer player and i def won`t b playing with the adults any time soon. heh.
then my peace corps friend came the next day. we were just about to get up, freezing and he said to me that we should just sleep in cuz it was too cold and the kids weren`t going to come. i was like, maybe they will. so i got my ass up. i opened the door and them kids just came out of the cracks from all sides and attacked my ass! they were like, Stephen`s up, come on guys!!! it was the coolest thing. i totally had one of those celebrity moments like, they love me!!! they really love me!!! ya know? so that day we climbed 3, count them, 3 big ass hills. i mean i think at least one of them could classify as a mountain! u have to know that i was sooooo sore after that! o to the m to the g! those kids worked me. when we got to the top of the mountain we screamed and howled like wolves! it was very liberating! that day a group of brats...myself included, became a pack. haha. so we left the mountain and told my host family what we had done. they were upset with me because i took kids up that mountain. they said it was too dangerous. i was like hey, those kids wanted to go and i couldn`t do anything about it! plus, i think it proved just how tough kids are. like yeah, we can climb mountains, and what? i love the kids here. i must be honest with my fellow readers. there was a time when i did not like kids. like fo real. i would avoid them like the plague. but honestly they are growing on me...like fungus. but honestly some of my best friends here and biggest supporters are under the age of 10. for some reason its easier to make friends with kids than it is with adults. adults here act like i´m super weird for being here. they don`t understand why i would leave the states. they don`t understand the idea of volunteerism. i think the kids here get me more, which is cool cuz it makes my job a lot easier haha!
so winter break has been extended for another week. and we have more winter camp to come. on monday we are going to visit the museum, play some more sports. i also want to do a movie night. it should be warmer next week. so we could just put the tv outside with some blankets and popcorn and watch some kids movie. super stoked about that!
so this week i have been super sick and on my death bed. it was very sweet because my family took very good care of me. plus, i never want to get the flu shot again. ever since i`ve been getting it, i`ve gotten the flu! wtf? but even my bro came in to check on me even tho he said he was just looking for something. peh! so i really bonded with my fam this week and know that they really do care about me. its weird its just like we clicked all of a sudden. humf, bout time!
ok one more thing, i know i`m writing a novel. there was a youth group meeting in my city last night. the first of its kind! i am super stoked about it because they want to raise money for the youth`s to go to college, which is really cool but at first it was all business. then, i was like hey if we`re going to have a youth group we gotsta bring the fun! and i was like we should play games together, go out together, go camping and bond. also, they were talking about equality within the group. and i was like it is one thing to say that we are all equal and another thing to put systems in place to maintain the equality. so i told them that i could put some charlas together about la igualdad! super stoked!!!! plus i met a cute guy there! oh snap, crackle, and a pop and i am through!
Holla Back,
Stephen
but then the second day, some kids showed up. we started with four kids, had a march through the neighborhood and picked up more kids to play with us. so a group of four turned into a group of 20 plus kiddies! it was a success. we played sports. i finally got out there and played soccer! it was super fun! i am a terrible soccer player and i def won`t b playing with the adults any time soon. heh.
then my peace corps friend came the next day. we were just about to get up, freezing and he said to me that we should just sleep in cuz it was too cold and the kids weren`t going to come. i was like, maybe they will. so i got my ass up. i opened the door and them kids just came out of the cracks from all sides and attacked my ass! they were like, Stephen`s up, come on guys!!! it was the coolest thing. i totally had one of those celebrity moments like, they love me!!! they really love me!!! ya know? so that day we climbed 3, count them, 3 big ass hills. i mean i think at least one of them could classify as a mountain! u have to know that i was sooooo sore after that! o to the m to the g! those kids worked me. when we got to the top of the mountain we screamed and howled like wolves! it was very liberating! that day a group of brats...myself included, became a pack. haha. so we left the mountain and told my host family what we had done. they were upset with me because i took kids up that mountain. they said it was too dangerous. i was like hey, those kids wanted to go and i couldn`t do anything about it! plus, i think it proved just how tough kids are. like yeah, we can climb mountains, and what? i love the kids here. i must be honest with my fellow readers. there was a time when i did not like kids. like fo real. i would avoid them like the plague. but honestly they are growing on me...like fungus. but honestly some of my best friends here and biggest supporters are under the age of 10. for some reason its easier to make friends with kids than it is with adults. adults here act like i´m super weird for being here. they don`t understand why i would leave the states. they don`t understand the idea of volunteerism. i think the kids here get me more, which is cool cuz it makes my job a lot easier haha!
so winter break has been extended for another week. and we have more winter camp to come. on monday we are going to visit the museum, play some more sports. i also want to do a movie night. it should be warmer next week. so we could just put the tv outside with some blankets and popcorn and watch some kids movie. super stoked about that!
so this week i have been super sick and on my death bed. it was very sweet because my family took very good care of me. plus, i never want to get the flu shot again. ever since i`ve been getting it, i`ve gotten the flu! wtf? but even my bro came in to check on me even tho he said he was just looking for something. peh! so i really bonded with my fam this week and know that they really do care about me. its weird its just like we clicked all of a sudden. humf, bout time!
ok one more thing, i know i`m writing a novel. there was a youth group meeting in my city last night. the first of its kind! i am super stoked about it because they want to raise money for the youth`s to go to college, which is really cool but at first it was all business. then, i was like hey if we`re going to have a youth group we gotsta bring the fun! and i was like we should play games together, go out together, go camping and bond. also, they were talking about equality within the group. and i was like it is one thing to say that we are all equal and another thing to put systems in place to maintain the equality. so i told them that i could put some charlas together about la igualdad! super stoked!!!! plus i met a cute guy there! oh snap, crackle, and a pop and i am through!
Holla Back,
Stephen
Thursday, July 1, 2010
education in paraguay
Let me start out this post by saying that i do not want to put another culture on blast or say that i come from a better culture or anything, but...c´mon!
The education system down here def needs help. i work at an elementary/high school with an impressive backdrop of natural beauty, mountainous ranges. The architecture of the building is pretty modern too. But how kids are being taught there is a bit unimpressive.
What is a normal school day? well, let me tell you. The kids come to school at like 7 30 in the AM. get recess from 8 45 to 9 45 (sometimes even longer) and go home at 11 30. Then in the afternoon there is just elementary school with different students from 1 to 2 30. Then recess from 2 30 to 3 30. then they go home at 5. So its like the kids only get 4 hours of learning a day...if that!
How it works? When the kids get to school they go to their classrooms and sit there and copy information off the board for HOURS! like it is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper boring. You are lucky to actually have discussions in the classroom. The activities are super basic and easy. The homework is not always done and the kids can pass their classes without doing the homework. Walking around the school you will often find students running around playing or students that have found a corner to socialize in. There is no discipline. During tests, the students often look off each other´s papers openly and the teacher´s don´t give them zeros or nothing. its like its ok or something. If a child fails an exam, they can retake the exam as many times as they want until they pass it.
Who benefits? The sad thing is that a lot of these kids dont know where africa is or think that the US is on the other side of the world (across the ocean). They do not know how to be independent thinkers. They dont have confidence in their work. They lose their creativity. I once was in a class and i asked the question what do you want to be when you grow up. Half the boys said they wanted to be soccer players and the girls said they wanted to be doctors or lawyers. But the fact of the matter is there was no variety in answers and then i asked what do you have to do to become a doctor or lawyer and they didnt know. Personal goals are hard to dig out of the regular paraguayan child. and i wonder if they are just saying that they wanna be someone big but in actuality they will continue working at the carwash down the street. So who benefits? well, no one.
The education system is in dier need of a makeover down here. its heartbreaking. i really want to whip these teachers into gear! they need it! i was teaching an english class the other day in the elementary school and a soccer game for the world cup came on. Well the teachers brought out the tv in the hallway and instead of learning anything all the students ran out of my class to watch the game. Paraguay wasn´t even playing in this game... Super frustrating! But right now, this is my reality. The job is hard. Its not that im just here to talk about my culture. i´m also here to change minds. and honey, that ain´t easy.
Church,
Stephen.
The education system down here def needs help. i work at an elementary/high school with an impressive backdrop of natural beauty, mountainous ranges. The architecture of the building is pretty modern too. But how kids are being taught there is a bit unimpressive.
What is a normal school day? well, let me tell you. The kids come to school at like 7 30 in the AM. get recess from 8 45 to 9 45 (sometimes even longer) and go home at 11 30. Then in the afternoon there is just elementary school with different students from 1 to 2 30. Then recess from 2 30 to 3 30. then they go home at 5. So its like the kids only get 4 hours of learning a day...if that!
How it works? When the kids get to school they go to their classrooms and sit there and copy information off the board for HOURS! like it is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper boring. You are lucky to actually have discussions in the classroom. The activities are super basic and easy. The homework is not always done and the kids can pass their classes without doing the homework. Walking around the school you will often find students running around playing or students that have found a corner to socialize in. There is no discipline. During tests, the students often look off each other´s papers openly and the teacher´s don´t give them zeros or nothing. its like its ok or something. If a child fails an exam, they can retake the exam as many times as they want until they pass it.
Who benefits? The sad thing is that a lot of these kids dont know where africa is or think that the US is on the other side of the world (across the ocean). They do not know how to be independent thinkers. They dont have confidence in their work. They lose their creativity. I once was in a class and i asked the question what do you want to be when you grow up. Half the boys said they wanted to be soccer players and the girls said they wanted to be doctors or lawyers. But the fact of the matter is there was no variety in answers and then i asked what do you have to do to become a doctor or lawyer and they didnt know. Personal goals are hard to dig out of the regular paraguayan child. and i wonder if they are just saying that they wanna be someone big but in actuality they will continue working at the carwash down the street. So who benefits? well, no one.
The education system is in dier need of a makeover down here. its heartbreaking. i really want to whip these teachers into gear! they need it! i was teaching an english class the other day in the elementary school and a soccer game for the world cup came on. Well the teachers brought out the tv in the hallway and instead of learning anything all the students ran out of my class to watch the game. Paraguay wasn´t even playing in this game... Super frustrating! But right now, this is my reality. The job is hard. Its not that im just here to talk about my culture. i´m also here to change minds. and honey, that ain´t easy.
Church,
Stephen.
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