This morning was pretty standard for the routine that we have gotten into. I got up at 5:30, got showered and did some reading before breakfast. After breakfast, it was more going through the protocol booklet and making stuff to go along with it. We got most of the forms made that we will need throughout each survey week, although I am sure that there will still be a few more.
Right before lunch, Kelley and I were working in the garden, my absolute favorite place in the compound, when Alex came up and gave me the best news I had heard in a few days – we were having hamburgers and french fries for lunch. Now, I know that we have only been here for a few weeks but I am, at heart, a red meat lover. I am pretty sure that the few foods that I will really miss are going to be steaks and burgers, done just on the dark side of medium. Mmmm. It’s not that there isn’t red meat here, but I get the impression that it is just generally not prepared for these purposes so, in any case, my mouth started watering at the mere thought.
Alex is a liar. We did not have hamburgers and French fries.
Our lunch was great, but the disappointment overshadowed the actual food. During lunch we were informed that Alex isn’t a complete liar, but merely misinformed. I think he tried to talk to Alicia and, since he doesn’t speak Spanish nor does she speak English, confusing ensued. As it turns out, hamburgers were going to be for dinner.
After a 30 minute siesta, Kelley, AJ, Jose, and I headed back out to the bilingual school. We needed to talk to some more of the students there in order to let them know what they will be doing and to tell them about a get-to-know-you and training session that will be on Saturday. They all seemed relatively excited. I am really looking forward to working with them.
We got to the school just before it got out, so we hung out and talked with AJ and Jake for a while afterwards. I talked to them about the school, the curriculum, the students, and many other things. What I found out what both enlightening and also disappointing. I was told that they are lucky if they have any books in the classrooms and that, when AJ donated books to be used, it was like Christmas in the school. They told me that they often feel lucky to have a teachers edition of the book, and they lamented on the difficulties of teaching American History (think about memorizing all of the US presidents, a recent assignment in the 5th grade class) without any books to read from. They said that everything had to be written out on the blackboard and that, since the kids didn’t have books to bring home, they could only read information they scribed in class. They also told me that the curriculum that they follow uses dispensable books, so that the students can write in them, but that these books must be replaced on a yearly basis. It seems that this only contributes to the lack of books, when every student needs a new book every year.
They told me about the college prospects of these children. Many of them are smart enough to go to college and, as long as the school adds a grade per year as planned, will graduate with a high school diploma. Even with this, they said that college is still out of the picture for most of them, because housing alone in a big city is more than they could ever afford. On top of that, many Universities base college admissions on the stature and power of the family applying, not the actual person applying.
They also told me of the sponsorship of these children through their school years. They said about 80% of the kids are sponsored, in which a person donates the money to cover their tuition. It costs about $300 a year for children to go to this private school and, without these sponsorships, many of the children wouldn’t be there. They told me that, while they hoped children would go to college, it was difficult enough to get sponsors for the children at the school, let alone the much more expensive prospect of sending children to University.
It was a very interesting conversation, but the mixture of hope and despair left me confused. The school is doing great things but, at the same time, Jake pointed out: what is the advantage of being bilingual coffee farmer?
We went back to the compound, back to work, and joined Alex and Derek working on protocols. We got work done for a few hours. However, as dinner approached it was obvious that none of our minds were into it—all we could think of were hamburgers. A few minutes before dinner, some of us ran to the fruit stand and bought cokes in glass bottles. We walked around town for a little while, so that we weren’t sitting around waiting, but then it was time.
They lived up to my expectations. The patties were not the big, juicy ones you would get at Chili’s, but rather the thin type you would see at Blimpie Burger. Some lettuce, tomato, mustard, may, sesame bun, french fries, and a Coke later, and we finished our American meal more than satisfied.
Not too much else to report the rest of the night, we just stayed on the patio and got work done until about 10. Some writing and a little relaxing, and it is definitely time for bed. The entire group gets here tomorrow, and there are still quite a few things that need to be done by the time they get here. Until next time, adios.
Patrick
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