Last Day in Matagalpa

Today was the last day with the teachers at NCA Matagalpa. Each of the teachers took their turn to teach a 'mini-lesson' in their area of specialty. We had a variety of activities targeting different learning styles. Following each lesson the teachers reflected on the learning strategies used in the lesson. I had to balance how much I pushed my culture on them as we tried our best to stick to a schedule in order to get 7 lessons in today. This activity took most of the day, but I it went super well. It was a great learning experience for all of us. I'm so excited to hear how the beginning of the school year goes. I know this group of teachers is competent, ready to learn, and energetic to start the school year. 

The first day of school is on February 4. There are many details that need to be taken care of yet. The classrooms are still under construction and void of anything that might indicate it is a classroom, the curriculum is still in 'camino' (on its way), desks and bookshelves are still being made...etc. Praying that all these details will fall into place and that the teachers and administration will feel a sense of peace as the school year begins. 

This evening I'm travelling back to Managua to spend the weekend there visiting with friends. 

The crew I spent time with this week.

Learning to make books.

A few things that made me smile

I think I've been away from Nicaragua too long. I seem to have forgotten some of the crazy things I see people do and say. Here are just a few examples from the past couple of days:

1. Yesterday Carey, Patricia, and I went shopping for classroom supplies for the teachers. Earlier in the day one of the teachers had asked me about a poster with multiplication tables on it, but I hadn't brought one down. While out shopping I saw one, so I put it in with our other supplies. When we got back to our house, Carey saw the purchase and said, "Oh no I should have told you to look for mistakes on it before buying it..." Only in Nicaragua :)

2. Today I had the teachers participate in an activity which they could do in their classrooms with students. The idea was that I would give someone a topic and they would have to talk about it without stopping for 30 seconds. They could say anything related to the theme, but had to keep talking. The first person to go talked about foxes. She proceeded to tell us about different types of foxes... "and then there's a skunk. A skunk lets off a horrible smell which is very good to breathe in because it prevents you from getting a cold..." Now that's something I didn't know...

3. Before beginning our teacher training today one of the ladies was telling us that her doctor told her to wear a scarf everyday for a month or longer. This was the prescription for her persistent cough. She's come in the last couple days with a warm fuzzy scarf and a sweater over her polo shirt because her doctor suggested it. Did I mention it's about 30 degrees here?

Tomorrow is my last day of teacher training in Matagalpa. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing and hearing ideas from this great group of teachers. The plan tomorrow is for everyone to teach a 10-15 minute lesson which I've asked them to prepare incorporating specific components we've talked about throughout the week. Following each lesson, the teacher will reflect on the teaching experience and the participants will do a peer-evaluation. The purpose of the activity is to provide a form of evaluation for the teachers to use in the future. I'm just not sure what the 10-15 minute time limit will actually translate to in Nicaraguan terms.... tomorrow is going to be a very fun and interesting day.

Teacher Training in Matagalpa

I have been in Nicaragua for 5 days now. This week I traveled to the new NCA campus in Matagalpa. I've been working with the teachers in the mornings and helping with the library and other details in the afternoons.

Here are three of my favorite moments from teacher training so far:

1) By far the most exciting part of the training thus far is when I modelled a lesson. The teachers were my fourth grade students and I taught them about angles. They were highly motivated, eager to learn, and enthusiastic to participate. I had to remind them that they were 4th graders! The best is when I "assigned homework" several of the teachers wrote down the assignment in their notebooks.

2) One of the teachers has been coming into the 'library' each afternoon before he leaves for his house. He returns the book he took the previous day and selects a new one to take home to his girls. Children's picture books are not a resource that is accessible to most of the population in Nicaragua. Watching this teacher already utilize the books in this library, demonstrates to me the great impact the school will have in this community.

3) Today we shared with the teachers the resources we brought down for them to decorate their classrooms. They were  like children in a candy store as they looked through teaching resources they have never seen in their lives. Some of the teachers held up posters, pictures, and cut-out letters to examine and look at them very closely. Although the resources we took down are minuscule in comparison to the resources available to us in North America, to this group of teachers they hit a jackpot this morning. Tomorrow I hope to talk about how to utilize visual aids in the classroom and then have them begin to think about how they will decorate their own classrooms.

Below are a few photos from around the school:
 

Teachers at NCA Matagalpa looking through teacher resources

Patricia Bouma setting up the school library

View from the school building

First phase of the NCA Matagalpa campus

Back to Nicaragua

It's hard to believe that a year and a half has already gone by since I moved back to Canada; so much has happened in my life the past 18 months but also in the work in Nicaragua. Thankfully with easy use of the internet, I am able to keep up with some of the ministry in Nicaragua. Ministries continue to sweep the nation from north to south and east to west to help meet the physical, emotional, spiritual, and academic needs of the people.

Nicaragua Christian Academy continues to grow as well. In just a few short weeks, the doors of a third school will open. This school is located 3 hours outside of Managua in the city of Matagalpa. The director of this school is Carey Franklin under whom 8-10 local teachers are making preparations for the first students to arrive.

Tomorrow, January 11, I will fly out for a short trip back to Nicaragua. I'm excited to welcome the sites and sounds of Nicaragua, but most of all I look forward to seeing the people. After spending the weekend in Managua, I'll be driving to Maltagalpa on Monday to spend the week with Carey and the new teachers. I look forward to seeing the new school, facilitating teacher training, and helping teachers prepare their classrooms.

It is my prayer in the coming week that an easy connection will be made with the new teachers so the training sessions might be dynamic and fun. I also pray that the many details needed to fall into place in the coming weeks might happen smoothly so that students will be ready to fill the rooms in the school. If you're able, please join me in praying these next couple weeks for the opening of this school.

Reacquianted with Spring

Here are some pictures I took as I biked home yesterday; love the signs of new life.

Speaking of....

It's been far too long since I've written a post and I really have no excuses; it's just one of the things that often gets pushed to the bottom of the "to do" list. If I did make an excuse, course work would make the top of that list. Speaking of school... I'm well over halfway through the program and am really hoping that I'll have enough energy and brain power to finish strong. This continues to be one of the more stretching and demanding challenges I've signed up for. I know that a lot of prayer has been helping me through. Speaking of prayer... God reminded me through three different people in three days that "People are praying for me". This was a great source of encouragement to me and something I certainly could not do without. If you are one of those people than I'm very, very thankful for YOU!

The weather has really been affecting me lately; we've had many grey and rainy days. I'm really hoping for a sunnier Spring. Speaking of Spring... I've been watching the flowers push their way up and out. I'm going to take my camera tomorrow as I bike to class as proof of Spring in BC.

What signs of spring have you encountered this year already?

A Gift Bag Full of Joy and Love

In the holiday season it's almost natural to find yourself reflecting on the past (2011) and looking ahead to the future (2012). My trip to Grand Rapids over break gave me the time to reflect on these two points in time. When I look at 2011, I see God's grace and faithfulness flow through many of the events that occurred. When I look ahead to 2012, I have the confidence that I will continue to see this in the coming year as well.

It was last year at this time that my decision to leave Nicaragua was not only an idea in my head, but it became more of a reality as I shared it with others. The last half of the school year I completely embraced and savored my 'last' events in Nicaragua: last 4th grade play, last 4th-6th grade retreat, last chance to see Somoto Canyon, last trip to the beach, last bike ride, last chance to bike around Conception on Ometepe, last gallo pinto, last glass of cacao, last late night chats with friends, last service in a Spanish church, last meal in a Spanish home... (or at least for the time being).

At the time of my transition I didn't share a lot of on this blog. Upon reflecting on that time I would have to say it was the most difficult transition I've made, but with God's strength, grace, and provision I've been affirmed that the decision was in step with His will for my life. At times I feel myself sort of bargaining with God: I'll leave a country, community, and job I love, but You need to fill in the details that go with it. As far as I can see we have both been keeping up our end of the bargain. I still think about Nicaragua often and I would give anything to sit down with my Nicaraguan friends to share an evening of talking and laughing together.

In September I moved to Langley, BC to begin studying for my Masters in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages). The program runs one year making everyday both valuable and intense. We started as a cohort of 13 and spend every day together in class and every night together on Skype. The program follows a problem-based approach to learning which in short means that we spend hours reading up on a topic and discussing with other members in our group and then share our findings with the rest of the cohort.

This school year is proving to be one of the most mentally challenging tasks I've put myself up to, but I'm enjoying the learning aspect and believe that not only the knowledge I'm learning will be of benefit but the process of being a student again will make me a very different teacher. My cohort has become a big part of my community. I believe the friends I've made here are the answer to a prayer asking for community in Langley. We are a very diverse bunch coming from various cultural and religious backgrounds; I learn something new from them everyday.   

Christmas break came just in time to give us relief from 4 months of gruelling work, in order to refuel and refresh us for the next lag of the journey in 2012. I'm so thankful for the time I was able to spend with my family just doing the traditional events we normally do at this time of year. Which of course always includes Aunt Aimee figuring out the instructions for the new boards games received at Christmas and spending hours playing them. As I mentioned above it also included a trip to Grand Rapids where I got to spend less than 48 hours with by buds Kate and Rachel. What a blessings to catch up and chill with great friends!

The end of my stay at home was marked with a special gift from my niece Annika (age 5). She handed me a bag and prefaced it by saying, "You're probably going to laugh, but I have wanted to this for a really long time." The top of the bag had some decorated papers in it and then the rest of the bag was empty. She was quick to explain that the bag contained joy and love inside. "I even laughed in the bag," she assured me. It was one of my favourite gifts this Christmas for sure. That is what I wish for all my friends and family... much JOY and LOVE and living life to the fullest in 2012! Happy New Year!

First time at Krispy Kreme with Rachel and Kate

A bunch of Bootsmas

Annika and I on the one and only snowy day