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Paris (late April, early May 2017)

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Paris (late April, Early May 2017)

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Puerto Rico, December 2014

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Puerto Rico, December 2014

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August 2014, Santiago, Chile

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Cartagena, Colombia. May 31 - June 4, 2014. (2/2)

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Cartagena, Colombia. May 31 - June 4, 2014. (1/2)

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Students in my English class at SENA Agroindustrial videotaped their questions for my Argentine friend Julie.

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Peñas Blancas, Quindio, Colombia - April 6, 2014

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Valle de Cocora, Quindio, Colombia. April 4, 2014.

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Cali, Colombia. March 22-24, 2014.

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Parque de la Vida

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Confidence from the Start

Colombians, amongst many things, are forward. 

I was a combination of overly excited and overly nervous for my first ever class as a teacher. My confidence was rather high starting with one of my favorite camp counselor games.

Each person in the circle must say their name plus an adjective or verb that starts with the same letter as the first letter in their name. For example, Dancing David or Singing Sara. Each person must also act out their word.

This game was great for learning English because it helped identify who already had a decent level of the language and it taught those who had few English skills new vocabulary by watching others act out their words.

The majority of my classes (3 thus far) have had minimal knowledge of English which meant I had to give suggestions for most of the students. However, in my final class of the week Friday afternoon, I came across a student who did not lack confidence. 

When her turn came around she started with, "My name is Isabel..." so I started thinking of action words that start with the letter "I" but before I came up with one she finished with "... and I'm irresistible." 

To put it mildly, I was taken aback but I also wasn't too sure she knew what the word actually meant. I asked her, "But what is your action?" 

Turns out she definitely knew what it meant.

Not sure what my expectations for the second week of classes should be.

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Day after I arrived in Bogota, Colombia, spent the morning taking what turned into a tough hike up Cerro Monserrate which is quite similar to Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago. 

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One of my last sunsets in Guatemala. 

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