New schedule....no students?

We started the new schedule this past week, but with the kids busy going back to school, our numbers have been down. We're told that in the very beginning it takes a bit for the students to re-adjust to the new schedule. Saturday's and Sunday's we have full days, but the past two days most students have failed to show up. I also think it can be difficult to get them to come out on the weekends, especially Sunday. I think many adults work through Saturday, but if they can have Sunday's free, it's for time spent with family. After my last class today I went out to get some yogurt for smoothies tonight, and the streets were packed. It can get pretty busy at times during the day, but weekends are crazy. There's so much to see and smell, and so many noises that it can be overwhelming. The roller coaster of smells is sometimes too much for the nose to handle. You might pass by a delicious smelling bakery, and then many food stands along the street, but then you pass by random heaps of trash or animal waste and then it's all ruined. You also always need to keep your eyes open for sudden holes or cracks in the pavement, or wandering dogs or children--they do not look out for you. I will attempt to get some photos of the main road "quince" sometime, but probably not when it's extremely crowded. 

As far as classes are concerned, yesterday was fun and eventful, and today was more low-key. On Saturday, I helped teach an English class and an Art class. Then I led a dance class and an adult English class. I enjoyed getting to help out in both the English and the Art classes, getting to spend more time with individual students. One of the new volunteers has Art experience, so she has taken over those classes. We made 3D animals out of that "fun foam" material. However, dance was immediately after art, in the same room. So we quickly transformed an art room into a mock dance studio. I decided to be goofy to entertain the kids, so I wore my bandanna like a sweat band, gym shorts and knee-high red socks. I was going for a look of "the tackier, the better". We stretched for a bit and then did the silly "banana song" and then learned the Cupid Shuffle. It was a fun class, but way to hot to be dancing around inside with no air conditioning for 45 minutes. Afterward, we decided that we'd extend art and shorten dance class by 15 minutes. The most rewarding part of the day was during the final class, English for women. The students were very enthusiastic and had lots of questions. I really love my children's classes, but there's a lot more discourse and (generally) no behavioral issues when you're instructing adults. One student in particular was so gracious to receive the lesson and was very adamant in asking about the proper pronunciation. It's interesting because a few words that she inquired about would be correct in the way that she said them, in British English. So it's not that the way she said it was incorrect, but we had to explain that there are ways that we speak in the United States and other ways, like British English. It's also funny at the time being because one of our new volunteers is from England, and we've had debates about English from the states being incorrect and British English being correct. As if explaining English grammar wasn't difficult enough, going through various dialects and accents only further complicates things. 

Today's classes were pretty laid back. There was a small attendance in each class, but there was more time to connect and teach one-on-one with the students. However, for such a quiet day we had a few small mishaps...two cuts and one bloody nose. None of which were from fighting, thankfully. I almost felt more like a nurse and a babysitter than a teacher today though. But I'm sure many teachers would claim to hold all three roles, and more at times! Now I'm relaxing at home with a quiet house. I think I'll turn in early tonight because my stomach's not been itself and I'm sure some extra sleep could help (one can only deal with so much peptobismol!). The excitement for the night--smoothies(!) when the other volunteers return from class. Smoothie of the day: banana berry (a berry called sauco, plum, and of course banana). That's all for now!