Jan 29, 2017 - Acajutla El Salvador

Sunday, Jan 29, 2017 Acajutla El Salvador Our tour today was set in the mountains where the temperatures are a bit more moderate. El Salvador is new to the tourist trade and this tour demonstrated a need for improvement. The group was too large for only one guide and the bus was so big it had trouble turning right or left on the narrow streets of the old colonial towns. As we drove along the main highway, we noticed remnants of train tracks. There was an old narrow gauge engine at an intersection. El Salvador abandoned the railroad 25...

Dec 19, 2015 - 12-19-15 Saturday

12-19-15 Saturday We all appeared at breakfast, pretty much ready for the van back to Sn Salvador to pick us up at 8:30. Several friends dropped by last minute to wish us a safe journey and to say thank you one more time for the T2T project. We were on our way a little before 9am. We stopped for a stretch break at a mirador (viewpoint) near San Vicente, and arrived in Sn Salvador about noon. I scheduled departure taxis for our team: one Sunday, one Tuesday, and 2 of us on Wednesday. I’ve been terribly behind on the journal so I worked on...

Dec 18, 2015 - 12-18-15 Friday

12-18-15 Friday Several teachers have asked for copies of the class activity photos taken over the course of the 3 weeks, so I went over early to help get them onto flash drives. At 10:30 I met with the liaison’s right-hand man who helped me deliver Christmas gifts to the UNIVO authorities, after which we would go check out the projector for this afternoon. Gift giving went quickly – 3 of them were at a morning graduation, and I had a nice visit (through an interpreter) with the Vice-Rector. He insists that UNIVO will find a way to get...

Dec 17, 2015 - 12-17-15 Thursday

12-17-15 Thursday What a curious day! The van picked us up early so we could meet our teacher/friend “at the white cross” in her hometown of Guatajiagua, the place where black pottery is made. I’m especially interested in the art by Sarbelio Vasquez Garcia, world famous potter. We hiked up and down the hilly streets and visited various townspeople who were making the greenware, and firing the clay. After visiting several shops and heading out of town, we found the Garcia store. I didn’t need any pieces but found a nice one for a friend – a...

Dec 16, 2015 - 12-16-15 Wednesday

12-16-15 Wednesday Our day began with a special treat – a meeting of some of the participants from the last 10 years of T2T. There were spokespersons from each year. It was humbling and very emotional to hear how their attitudes and methods of teaching changed because of information and examples they experienced first hand. Of course there were refreshments and lots of pictures. Times like these with wonderful teachers and friends make it hard to shut the project down. In class we did another session of correlating activities with syllabi –...

Dec 15, 2015 - 12-15-15 Tuesday

12-15-15 Tuesday Time marches on! Today we started correlating T2T activities with the required MINED syllabi for various grade levels. Everyone worked in small groups of same-grade level teachers, and they were immediately into doing creative thinking as to how they could enhance their regular lesson plans. We also completed 2 rounds of stations with games dealing with Body Parts. These are great ways to work on vocabulary, pronunciation, math skills, cooperation and positive attitude. Tonight we were successful in going to El Taurino. We...

Dec 14, 2015 - 12-14-15 Monday

12-14-15 Monday Back to the street market this morning – one more trip looking for “yellow pants” for the friend of one of our volunteers. Success! Before there weren’t any – today they were everywhere. One vendor, eager to make a sale, said size 32 would be ok even though size 28 was needed. “No, they must be 28.” “OK, I’ll be right back.” The vendor returned with the same pants but with size 32 crossed off and size 28 written in. “See, they are the same!” We saw an adorable baby in a box near one of the vendors. Mom was pleased to have us...

Dec 13, 2015 - 12-13-15 Sunday

12-13-15 Sunday Today was beach day! The UNIVO van with 3 of our UNIVO friends picked us up and, after a quick stop for ice, we were on our way to Cuco, which is on the coast south of San Miguel. I guess the wonderful day can be summed up as a quick walk on the beach, snacks, swimming in the ocean, lunch, reading in the hammocks, more swimming, more walking on the beach, and a tired but happy group traveling back just after sunset. The pictures don’t do it justice!

Dec 12, 2015 - 12-12-15 Saturday

12-12-15 Saturday This Saturday was our “make up day” since we began on a Tues. rather than Mon. of that first week. The team helped get everything that we will need for the last week over to the classroom. 18 of our 31 participants were able to attend. We worked on several activities that would otherwise have to be skipped, and got some wonderful “thank you” letters for the US Embassy and the Rector of UNIVO. Again, a “telephone conversation” activity where partners create a short vocabulary list on a specific topic and then pretend to be...

Dec 11, 2015 - 12-11-15 Friday

12-11-15 Friday Welcome back to the trip journal! Time got away, so these next 3 days will just be a brief catch up. We’ve had a great time with a great group – it’s me that’s having trouble keeping on top of everything ☺ We handed out our main grammar reference book, Lo Basico, and spent some time getting the participants familiar with the table of contents and how to use the diagnostic test that is included. The first group presented their Fairy Tale play today – and it was a huge success. I think the other groups are now inspired to...

Dec 10, 2015 - 12-10-15 Thursday

12-10-15 Thursday My goodness, what a day! We were taken at 8am to visit EPITUR, the private school a friend has, and also to meet the scholarship students who are part of the Bilingual Leadership Program that is housed there. This is the 7th year for the program, and it’s so heartwarming to meet the students who are now completing the program as well as those who are just beginning. The goal is to help worthy students from poor economic situations get extra education in English, values, and technology skills. Several parents were there...

Dec 9, 2015 - 12-9-15 Wednesday

12-9-15 Wednesday Quick early exercise today as I walked the colored paper over to UNIVO for the morning class to use – should have done it yesterday, but… If I don’t use my head, I use my feet! We couldn’t get through to our volunteer who is in the hospital, so went off to work not knowing if she’d come back to the hotel today or not. Today started the series of drama activities leading up to performing fairy tales. The team got their groups well into the stories and we’re off to a good start. After the break, we needed a break from the...