Touuuuchmeeee

Well first of all, I officially have an "address" if you can call it that:
"Del Supermercado Salman 1/2 cuadra al norte,
o frente al colegio Jose Madrid (casa roja con blanco),
Barrio Zaragoza, Leon, Nicaragua"
...which translates to something like "half a block north of the supermarket Salman OR in front of the Jose Madrid school". Pretty sure postmen in Nicaragua have the worst job ever.

I´m getting settled in Lyon, it´s not a very overwhelming city and I´m pretty sure I´ve covered it all by foot in the past few days (either intentionally or by "accident" aka getting lost). The place that I teach is about 12 blocks away and I´m pretty sure I´ve walked a different way every time. Pretty much I just walk until I find a really ugly church (there are about 8 churches in Lyon but this one takes the ugly prize) and then I´m pretty close. Okay so the school....OIY. Basically I´m working in a zoo. A zoo of awesome kids but still...a madhouse. I teach one class in the morning before lunch, and one after lunch. The classes are COMPLETELY different.

My first class I have about 20 students, 18 of which are boys. My keen observation skills have noted that large groups of 13 year old boys who are hot and haven´t eaten all day are not as receptive to learning as one might think. The only english that the kids in this class know is "touch me", not joking. I´m pretty sure I hear that one about 40 times a day. "What´s your name?" "Touch me". It´s delightful. Most of the kids are really great though, despite their limited knowledge of the english language. There are a few that actually want to learn (3 or 4), a few that whisper the right answers but decide their time is better spent slouching and looking cool, and a few that like to sing and dance around the class but really just want attention. Of course there are 4 or 5 that sit as close to the back wall as their chair will allow and scowl at me the whole time. Lecturing is pointless, as is homework and in class writing excercises (no notebooks or writing utensils, and I´ve been warned that if I provide them, they´ll never make it to class anyways), but letting them fill stuff in on the whiteboard is awesome as are games involving candy prizes. I´m trying not to be a pushover, but I haven´t quite perfected my "stern" stare...generally it´s met with laughter or a kissy face. The last 10 minutes of this class are spent with me turning down multiple marriage and date offers, as well as avoiding questions concerning why I don´t have a boyfriend, why I don´t want to date a 13 year old, and why I don´t want a ride home on anyones bike handlebars. We´ve done the alphabet and greetings so far, and my lesson plans for this class include about a million activities because their attention spans only last about 45 seconds per activity.

My second class is after lunch, and I don´t know if that´s what makes the difference, or the fact that it´s only 8 kids, or the fact that it´s half girls. Whatever the reason, this class is a lot easier to manage. Granted they did get me to inadvertently teach them how to say "give me a kiss" in english, but once I realized my mistake I added "please" to the phrase...so at least they´re polite. Most of the kids in this class have a pretty good grasp of basic english, not saying full paragraphs or anything but easy verbs and general vocabulary. I´m having fun planning games for them because they can be a little more challenging and in depth/longer. I think I can teach these kids a lot...I hope.

So basically I emerge from my first class sweating and exasperated, and emerge from my second class a little more uplifted. I don´t really blame the kids for their...inappropriate behavior though. I mean walking home from the school men from the age of 15-65 hiss and whistle and call out "chelllllllla!"...and they´re probably very similar to most of these kids brothers, fathers and even grandfathers--so this is what they´ve been taught. The other women that work there don´t really pay much attention to me (well they pretty much ignore me), but I guess that´s better than someone breathing down my neck.

I started working with Quetzaltrekkers as well. I just spent a few hours repairing some tents with another volunteer that works there, but it was cool to be around people my own age. All the volunteers there seem very unique...one from alaska, one from nova scotia, on from sweden etc etc and have been there for various amounts of time. I think it may be a nice outlet to work there as well.

Sooo that´s about it. On a different note, I´m really getting to know all the different ways carbohydrates can be served in a single meal. Doctors all over America would stare in awe at Momma Miriam´s skills of high carb serving. For example, today for lunch I was served a heaping plate of white rice, with a huge side of pasta, as well as a tortilla and fried plantains. It was astounding, not to mention that I ate rice and beans for breakfast and probably will eat it again for dinner. Just thought I´d mention that for people that thought I´d be eating weird stuff like insects...nope, just rice.