Christmas has arrived to Colombia

Today was the official start of Christmas in Colombia and it definitely felt that way.

At my school, today was el día de fraternidad.  Every year in the first week of December the whole school is divided into groups and we travel throughout the city to visit homes for the elderly.  We spend a month collecting food and money to buy gifts that we then bring with us to share with the folks living in these homes.  We only spend about 3 hours at the homes, but the time is very special.  There are not really words to describe the beauty of children and elderly people singing, talking, laughing and interacting.  We share in a tradition of novenas and gozos, a series of prayers in songs (a week early).  Then the students pass around Christmas pictures and colored pencils for the elderly folks to color and make Christmas cards.  Some just want to talk, and there's a lot of that too.  Before we leave each person is given two gifts - a bag of Christmas cookies and a winter hat.  I didn't end up getting pictures of this because I was busy talking with the people in the home (I could actually communicate with them this year - very exciting!) and encouraging the students to initiate conversations.  My fifth graders were very nervous in the beginning but by the end of our time there had made some friends and were telling me all about the amazing people met and the stories they heard.  So special!

In the evening, my friend Natalia invited me to her house to light candles with her family.  The 7th of December is the official start of Christmas in Colombia.  On this night, families get together for dinner and to light candles outside their homes, in the windows, etc. to light the path for the Virgin Mary on her way to Bethlehem.  It is a beautiful tradition as it brings together the family and the community, as everyone is outside lighting candles.  It is also beautiful to see all the candles lit as you walk or drive down the streets throughout the city.  Additionally, there are fireworks.  It's a big deal.

I don't have official family here, which can be difficult especially on days like this one, but Natalia's family has been kind enough to adopt me.   We all helped Natalia to decorate her apartment for Christmas (many families wait until this day to decorate), we ate arepitas with hogao, and then we went outside, lit candles, said a prayer, and listened to some Christmas music.  Later in the evening, I rode with Natalia when she took her aunt and mother home.  The city was gorgeous and there was a peace that you could feel and see as families and in some cases neighborhoods were sitting outside together with candles lit.

Natis' Christmas tree

I made the bow for the door. :-)

Arepitas y velitas...Christmas begins Colombian-style!

I love traditions, as I mentioned in my Cookie Day post, and this tradition is one that I might have to continue whether I am in Colombia or not.

Los Llanos with my Students

I spent all of last week, Monday through Friday, traveling with 44 of my fifth graders and 5 other adults.  Phew!  It was exhausting but it was also AMAZING.  As I wrote about last year, when I traveled to Santander with my 6th graders, at my school, every grade goes on a week long trip each year.  The fifth graders go to Los Llanos.  Los Llanos are the plains to the east of Bogotá, between the mountains and the Amazon rainforest.  It is flat, flat, flat, hot, hot, hot, and suuuuuuper humid but also beautiful.

Each day the students got to experience different aspects of life in Los Llanos.  Monday we stayed on a farm.  We went zip-lining through the forest (and saw monkeys!) but we also learned (kind of) how to lasso a cow and milk a cow.  The milking a cow part has been on my bucket list, after doing I have no idea why (it's kind of gross), but I did it and can now check that off my list!  

On Tuesday, in the morning we visited a local school and worked with the students there to re-paint one of the buildings with classrooms.   We then traveled a bit farther to a place where we camped for two nights.  The roads to the campgrounds are horrible so we had to take a Chiva.  A Chiva is like a party bus.  The seats are around the edges of the bus and the middle has a dance floor.  There are flashing lights and the music is blasting - the kids LOVED it...the teachers a bit less.  When we arrived the kids learned how to set up a tent AND set up the teacher tent for me and my friend Mariana (Sweet!).  We then ate dinner and played charades.  

On Wednesday, we walked to a farm of rubber trees and learned how latex is collected from trees.  We even got to collect some of the latex and create what looked like rubber band balls.  The material smell absolutely wretched but it was fun.  We then got to cool of in a nearby swimming hole.  My intention was to just get wet, cool off, and get out but there was a dock to jump off of and I think every student asked me to jump with them...it was a much less relaxing activity than I'd anticipated but fun all the same.  In the afternoon, I got to relax and read while the kids participated in a scavenger hunt.  That night we had a campfire and reflected on the trip.  

 On Thursday, we headed to another hotel.  The kids were able to play in the pool in the morning (good thing because I was having some serrrrrious stomach issues - one of the downsides of traveling to new places and trying different foods that my body is not used to...wah, wah).  In the afternoon, we took a truck out to a fish farm and learned how they raise the fish and we even got to do some fishing.  I caught nothing.  The second activity was kayaking.  It was perfect weather and there was a gorgeous sunset...and of course that is when the battery of my camera died.   The hotel transported a hot meal for us out by the lake so we had a dinner alongside the lake with Tiki torches.  When we returned to the hotel we were exhausted, but there was band waiting to play for us - joropo - typical music from Los Llanos.  They taught the students some dance moves as well.  When the evening was all over we were pooped.  But it was a great way to end the trip.

On Friday, we packed up and headed back home - but of course stopped for lunch at a great restaurant where we ate (way too much) picada with mamona (veal).  Very tasty but I then slept for 3 hours on the bus to recover.

Great trip - got to see a new part of the country, bond with my students, and learn quite a bit.

Advocate for Spark Microgrants

It is official.  I am an advocate for Spark Microgrants.  What is that you might ask?  I have signed up to help promote the organization and assist the organization in raising funds to provide microgrants to communities in Rwanda and Uganda.

I went back to school for my Masters degree because I was convinced I wanted to work in international development focusing specifically on education.  After studying development, I felt frustrated by how development projects generally are planned and executed and did not see myself working for any of the large development agencies, without feeling like I sold my soul.

What I love about Spark Microgrants is that is the locally community that identifies the problem or the need that exists, it is the community that develops that plan and how it will be sustainable, and it is the community that implements the plan.  These projects generally receive grants of $3,000 to $5,000.

So as an advocate by role is to promote the organization (of course I decided to start with my blog readers) and raise money as well.   The project I've chosen to support is a school hygiene project in Rwanda.    You can read more about it here.

To raise money for this school in Rwanda, I am recruiting my seventh graders.  I've designed a project that allows them to work with this real world situation while learning about how to use fractions, decimals and percents in communication.  They will be organizing, promoting, and tracking the progress of a school-wide competition between each class to raise money for the Rwandan school.  They will conduct research about Spark Microgrants, about the school and community we are serving and about the important of school hygiene facilities.  They will use this information to create messages that compel the other grades to donate money, hopefully through the use of data that they have collected.  For example, 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation that 40.9% of the world!  They will also use pie charts and other data to inform the grades on their current standings in the population.  This will be in conjunction with other classroom lessons on our current subject but I am SUUUUPER excited to be combining some of my personal interests with my teaching.  

Stay tuned for updates, pictures, and opportunities for how you can help as well.  

I am currently searching for interesting articles or data (that 7th graders can handle) to develop interesting and relevant practice exercises for my students.  If you have ideas or links, send them by way: KatharineCottrell@glm.edu.co.

Lessons Learned

In the afternoon, I happened to look out the window of my office as one of my fifth graders decided to flick off another student.  It was very dramatic.  He was on the second floor and the other student was already halfway across the field.  It raised his right arm high and stuck up that special finger.  Nice.  I casually exited the office and entered the student’s classroom where he had returned to finish packing his bag.  “Can you explain what you were just doing outside?”  He looked up with a shocked expression, “I wasn’t doing anything”.  I repeated myself, “What just happened outside?”  Again, “Nothing, I don’t know what you’re talking about”.  “I saw you.  Are you saying that I’m crazy?”  (very possible)  His reply “I didn’t do with my hand what you think...”.  Haha! Caught.  He still refused to confess after a minute of back and forth (I don’t have much patience).  I told him his lying was much worse than what he had done and left the room.

In the evening, I received this:

And the message that followed was:

Sorry for saying you lies. I did the finger rudness to JOHN DOE cause, few minutes before you came, he jus kick me without reason. I'm very sorry for saying you lies about that. I already reflect about that was not the method to solve this problem. I hope you understand my situation cause I was really, really mad with him cause he sticked a kick over my leg and got running.

Please note the faux New York Times cover story with a picture of me, a picture of Pinocchio, and some other messages about lies being bad, truth being good, and the student being sorry.  Too cute!  God knows we’ve all reacted in anger without thinking before but this student went home and made this after thinking about what had happened (I like to think that he truly regretted his actions and learned from his mistake but he was probably a little scared as well because he never gets in trouble).  Perhaps I shouldn’t be so delighted by this but it was just so darn adorable, don’t you agree? 

El día de la fraternidad

Christmas has arrived in Bogotá.  The lights have been hung on every building and with the switch from November 30 to December 1, the feeling has completely changed.  This is good and bad.  For whatever reason Christmas lights and Christmas generate feelings of warmth and happiness deep within my core - probably connected to memories of Christmas pageants, opening up stockings at the foot of my parents' bed, and Cookie Day with my mom and her friends.  This time of year, however, also brings life to a level of hectic that I have never been comfortable with.  Schedules at school constantly change, there are too many parties to attend (usually on school nights when I have too much due the next day), and everyone wants to play Secret Santa (here, it's Secret friend....that's another story).  Still, while my school has been slowly driving this uber-organized gal (me) insane with the regular surprise additions in the schedule that result in canceled classes - this Friday's schedule change was a delight.

This Friday was the día de la fraternidad. I think translated it's "day of brotherhood (and sisterhood)".  On this day the entire school headed to the nursing homes throughout the city to bring gifts, music, and love to the "ancianos" of Bogotá.  My group was a group of about 150 students and we were visiting with about 150 elderly folks.  We arrived to this beautiful convent (supposedly most of these homes are NOT so nice, so it was nice to see one place doing things right).  The elderly adults were in a giant sunroom waiting for their guests.  I had no idea what to expect from the students but they were incredible.

First, they spread out the through the room simply saying hi and finding a place to sit.  Then the novenas began.  I think I might need to explain novenas in another post (next week when they officially begin in Colombia) but briefly - Novena de Aguinaldo is a series of prayers that Colombians say during the nine days before Christmas.  Because our school ends the day before the novenas officially begin, I think they've decided to get in an extra round of the novenas.  Each day of the novena includes a series of reading AND songs.  We spent about 20 minutes going through the reading and singing the song.  Thankfully it's the same song over and over and I had a student to help me learn the lyrics.  The songs are fun and the students brought guitars and tambourines to liven up the performance.

Following the novena, the students spread out again throughout the room and colored pictures of Christmas scenes with the members of the nursing home.  Everyone was laughing and telling stories and having a wonderful time.  I was so impressed by the kindness and the maturity of the students.

Our stay only last about 2 1/2 hours but it was an absolutely wonderful way to begin the holiday and to remind me of the things that really matter.  There will always be work and stress, but it is important to relish in these moments and take time to notice all the beauty, kindness, friendship, and love that does exist in this world - even when it's sometimes hidden by all the yucky stuff.

Cupcakes in Colombia

I have groups of students at my school.  They are called courses but that's kind of confusing.  Anyhow, two of the courses are 5th grade and two of the courses are 6th grade.  Each period the courses compete with the other course in their grade to earn the most points from Kate's Top Ten.  Kate's Top Ten is a list of things that I want my classes to do everyday.  Honestly, I kind of threw it together at the last minute in the beginning of the school year and there are some things that seem a bit redundant, but the students have complained and it seems to motivate them.  The winning 6th grade course won a class block off, in order to watch a movie in the library (we all hung out on the floor with pillows and watched Stand & Deliver).  The winning 5th grader course (because I see them only 90 minutes each week) won cupcakes.

I thought that would be easy...I was wrong.  Generally, I think in Colombia people make things from scratch - frosting, cake batter, things that in the U.S. we buy pre-made or in a manner in which they only require adding one or two additional ingredients.  After searching high and low I was able to find cake batter, chocolate frosting, AND sprinkles....thank you Betty Crocker!  I was not able to find the cupcake paper cups (I think there is a word for them...but sadly my English seems to be escaping more and more and possibly at a greater rate than my Spanish is improving.  Yes, I may be in trouble.)  Anyhow, my host mom assured me that we could just grease up the cupcake tins and we'd have no problem.  Oops. Wrong.

What was supposed to be a quick, 24 cupcakes in the oven became an emergency rescue mission.  Mission:  Create a presentable treat for 5th graders with the cupcake pieces that did not stick to the insides of the tins.  Thank God for Colombian ingenuity and the fact that my host mom is the craftiest woman on the planet.  Without even hesitating, my simple cupcake-making project became her baby.  She jumped right in grabbed as much as should could of one cupcake out of the tin, rolled it up into a ball and I just stood by and watched the magic happen.  Olga melted chocolate, covered cupcake balls in chocolate, then in sprinkles, and created the most delicious chocolate covered cupcake ball I have ever had.  We proceeded to make enough for my class, laughing (I had tears in my eyes the whole situation was so ridiculous), and doing our best to uphold a conversation in Spanish.

Needless to say, the cupcake balls were a hit.  The students were so impressed that "I" made them...and one fifth grade, who's a little crazy but also crazy smart said, "Kate, these are so delicious because they are made with love".  Augh! Too cute!

Informes - A New Approach to Grading

This week students did not come to school.  It was the end of the first term and so they had a break while the teachers spent the week completing grades.  For some people this post might be SUPER boring, but I thought others might be interested in the unique way grades are done at my school here in Colombia.

At Gimnasio La Montaña (GLM) students do not receive a letter grade or a number grade.  There is no such thing as an A or an F, an 85 or a 65.  At GLM, the report cards that students and parents receive are very detailed.  Students are still given a rating of Superior, High, Basic, or Low but these ratings are much more subjective.  For every course the student takes, the report lists the large objectives or learning goals and the individual indicators or skills.  For every student, for every indicator, teachers have to determine at what level the student is able to perform the skill and then provide feedback explaining the strengths and weaknesses the student is demonstrating for each overall objective.  Additionally, as teachers we then provide general feedback about each student's behavior and socialization in the class.  It is a LOT of work but after completing reports on each of my 113 students,
I have a very clear understanding of each my students and their needs for this next term.  It is truly amazing.

In addition to the valuable information that these reports provide to students, parents, and teachers, there is great bonding that takes place among teachers during this week.  All our desks are in one large room.  Normally we are all coming and going, following our individual teaching schedules and there is limited socialization between the teachers during the work week.  During this week of grading we are all in it together.  For 8 hours a day, for 5 days, we are all plugging away at this important task, and while it is an arduous, time-consuming activity, we know that we are not alone.  On Friday, we celebrated our work by having a pot-luck breakfast with fruit salad, meats, cheeses, breads, marmalade, and more.  For the first hour of the day, we all just sat around a table and told jokes and laughed and relaxed.

Overall, I've learned more clearly the value of objective tracking on a new level.  It is something that we talked about all the time in the United States but it was always at a very numerical, black and white, objective level.  Here the performance of each student, for each objective is know at a deeper level.  The reports are descriptive and provide suggestions for how the student can improve.  This is something that "80% mastery of objectives" or an A in the class simply does not offer.  Awesome learning experience.

5-Day excursion, Day 5: Back to Bogota

A great city but nothing is as good as being outdoors and watching young people surpass the expectations they had for themselves.  Perhaps working with kids outdoors is what I should be doing.... :)

5-Day excursion, Day 4: Coffee plantation and rafting

We had a chance to sleep until about 6:30am today (woo hoo!) and then began another fun but busy day.


First we visited a coffee plantation.  The weather was perfect.  We had the chance to pick coffee beans and then see the entire process of how they turn it into a product ready sell.  The students had fun and Nata (another teacher and my partner in crime for the week) and I got to enjoy some excellent "tinto"(coffee).

After lunch we went rafting.  This was not as crazy as rafting in the Nile in Uganda but perfect for sixth graders.  It was about an hour and half trip and we got to swim in the river...VERY enjoyable for all.

We returned to our hotel and had a chance to explore the town of Barichara with a game of "Amazing Race".  The students were in groups and had a packet of questions to answer by asking people in the town.  Barichara is recognized as the most beautiful town in Colombia and is a national monument.  Because of this they work hard to maintain the original architecture.  My favorite part of the city was that there was honeysuckle everywhere.  There it is called "caballero de la noche".  Honeysuckle is quite possibly my favorite smell, to me the town smelled of heaven - absolutely intoxicating.  Warning:  I might move here and never leave.


We ended the game at the top of the hill where we all had a chance to reflect on the trip.  The students talked about how beautiful their country is and they hope the school would invite other foreigners to come work and see Colombia so that they could truly understand what Colombia has to offer.  (If you're interested in teaching, let me know!)  I couldn't agree more.  I know Colombia has a bad reputation but the people are loving and welcoming and the country itself is like something out of a picture book or a movie.  I feel so lucky to be here and to know that this is just the beginning.

5-Day excursion, Day 3: Leaving Chicamocha

Bridge out of Jordan

Breakfast!

After a less than comfortable night's sleep, we woke up at 6:00am for a breakfast of cereal, milk, banana and juice.  We stretched and the began our assent out of the canyon.  The distance was less but the sun was out after raining all night so it was very hot and very humid.  There was quite a bit more complaining, some vomit and some tears (not from me though!) but again beautiful views, an incredible level of camaraderie and support among the students and int he end we all survived and made it to the top where lunch was quickly made and inhaled. 

We had a 3-hour drive back to our hotel (all were completely passed out in the bus) because we had to drive around the canyon this time.  The hot shower was very much needed.  We had dinner, played some games and made it an early night.

We hiked down that mountain in the background yesterday!  Seems crazy.

5-Day excursion, Day 2: Chicamocha

 So cute!  Chicitica!

They're ready!

Tuesday was the beginning of a 2-day hike into (and out of) what the students kept calling Colombia's Grand Canyon - Chicamocha.  This hike was an absolutely incredible experience.  The climate in Santander is hot and humid and the hike was with 60 12-year-olds and still it was a great success.  The first day was into the canyon - all downhill.  Tough on the feet and knees but GORGEOUS.  When we began I had no idea what to expect but around every bend was a view more spectacular than the last.

We were lucky enough to have a cloudy day (not as good for the pictures but good for survival!) that kept the heat level down.  In fact, it was a bit chilly when we started our trek.  We all had packs with food, water, our sleeping pads, a sheet, and our clothes for the next day.  Additionally the guides from Off Bound Adventures had extra supplies (food, water, and medical kit) as needed. 

On my way into the canyon

Taking a break with students

We took many breaks along the way

I had several students with me throughout the hike.  We practiced Spanish and English, sang songs, and the students were so strong and positive - encouragin each other along the way.  Adorable. 

We had lunch around 2pm along a river with our feet in the water...ahhhhhh.  About a half hour after lunch, we arrived to the town of Jordan, population 25.  We were welcomed by the school there - students come from all over the canyon.  They had a presentation prepared for us and then the students paired up and got to know each other a bit.  After that they worked together for about 45-minutes to help with the restoration of one of the walls in the town's center.

Lunch along the river

Dance performance by the school

Painting the wall in the town square

At this point everyone was thoroughly exhausted and famished but we also were all craving a shower.   The boys and girls stayed in separate buildings.  In the courtyard of the girls' building there was a giant tub of water.  To bath, each girl put on a bathing suit and then a teacher would slowly dump a bucket of water over them as the quickly scrubbed away all the sweat, smell and dirt.  It was certainly a bonding experience and we all felt a bit better afterwards.

Dinner was meat, potato, plantains, arepa (like a grits patty) and agua de panella (kind of like iced tea or lemonade sweetened with panella which comes from sugar cane and is similar in taste to molasses) served on a banana leaf.  No utensils.  Delicious.  We all devoured the food.

To end the day the students came together to reflect on the highlights and what they learned.  It was great to hear from them.  Some of their reflections included their surprise at their own strength and how thankful they were for all they have.  One student pointed out how she felt ridiculous for some of the stuff she has complained about in the past after meeting the students at the school and Jordan and realizing just how much she has.  Hearing these reflections emphasized the power of this trip.

Was exhausted but wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Beautiful view of the canyon

After lunch on our way to Jordan