After arriving in Pavones a little over two weeks ago, Raphel and I have spent many-a-night squinting at a multicolored Excel spreadsheet filled with dozens of names, grades, and school schedules trying to make sense out of it all. The beginning of an Escuela Camino Claro school year is about as fun as doing a Rubik's Cube- frustrating and seemingly hopeless, but all of a sudden the sides match up and it clicks into place! Organizing kids' schedules around their precarious public school classes and trying to fit students into their appropriate groups is just as exasperating. Aside from all the exhausting mind game puzzles, though, we are raring to go. Today finally is the day all the sides seem to match up and we are passing our first full day of classes with flying colors (no pun intended). There are lots of new faces and many returning students, but it's back to the same lively energy we've been missing during the last few months while in Oregon. Despite the somewhat bare walls and impossible-to-keep-clean tile floors, the school- especially the seven newly purchased desks- is ready for some action.
We've discovered several new resources for finding new students, the first and most important source being high school dropouts. Many youth, regrettably, opt out of continuing their education at the district's colegio, grades 7-12, and instead stay behind in Pavones to, well, accomplish not a whole lot. These adolescents are often intelligent and good-natured but don't have the positive reinforcement to keep going. Not to mention the fact that the local high school is two dusty hours away on a crowded bus- not incredibly enticing for anyone. By attending ECC's classes, we hope they will be motivated again to learn and at least gain the skills necessary to move up in the world. The other good resource we've found is local businesses associated with tourism and customer service: restaurants, internet cafes, the grocery store, the hardware store, etc. Why we didn't target these industries more at the beginning beats me... but we learn a little more every year, right? This venue is proving to be very successful because these people will benefit a lot from learning English and many foreign employers are eager to sponsor them. Recruiting students is a task in itself, I can assure you. But with a working vehicle (bicycle) and a good wingman (Raphel), all of Pavones and surrounding areas are covered.
I am swelling with pride as I write you this newsletter from inside Escuela Camino Claro. Our community education center is sure progressing nicely. In the first classroom I can hear Raphel and her students laughing about something during their first day of class. I just peeked in and saw they are cutting pictures out of National Geographic and, yes, speaking English to each other! A few workers are in the second room, building our long-awaited bodega (indestructible cement storage area). The third classroom is now set up with new shelves full of books and comfortable cushions, which will be our "student lounge" and homework area. Lastly, next week we will set up a computer lab in the fourth room with our four donated laptops, intending to utilize the slow, but functioning wireless Internet we share with the caf'e next door. Did I mention that the two teachers moved out of the school building? This was a crucial move, as you can see, and now we can transform the rooms into more important things.
I will close by expressing my gratitude to all of ECC's supporters, especially those involved in the Pura Vida Fundraiser last month. I am forever indebted to you, Eugene, Oregon. You sure do know how to party with a purpose. This year will no doubt be an exciting one, as we are already off to a good start. Raphel and I eagerly look forward to the challenges and triumphs the 2009 ECC school year will bring.
Que se cuiden, ustedes y sus familias.
Gracias por sus abundantes bendiciones y apoyo.
~Haley