Posts Tagged ‘Education’

September 2nd, 2010 - 10:43 am § in Around Town, Culture, Day in the Life, News, Uruguay

Strike Season

The blossoms are starting to bud; spring is on the horizon. Uruguayan president José Mujica has entered his 6th month, and legislators are wrangling over the five-year budget. This is strike season. ¡Paro! There are occasional strikes here anyway, mostly of the transit kind, and mostly in response[...]

August 24th, 2010 - 8:43 am § in Dominican Republic, In the Field

How Duplication of Efforts Can Lead to Division

I feel ridiculous to be engaged in such a competition where two groups fight over one marginalized neighborhood rather than separating to cover more underserved ground.[...]

August 16th, 2010 - 4:30 pm § in Around Town, Chile, Culture, Day in the Life, In the Field

Life in the Classroom

Up to this point, all of the kids in my class at Colegio Anakena have been between the ages of three and four, which is of course the most adorable age and size kids come in. Most of the children have some minor learning or behavior problem, but they all also have some sort of [...][...]

July 13th, 2010 - 9:58 am § in Event, Good Ideas, Guatemala, Tips & Resources, Volunteer

When it Comes to Fundraising, Be Persistent

I have been volunteering with the preschool classrooms at San Pablo la Laguna for two years, and with the Ayudame a Pintar Mi Futuro (APMF) project in San Pedro for over a year now. Every six months, I buy a lot of the work of local artisans and weavers and take it to my [...][...]

July 5th, 2010 - 5:00 pm § in Chile, Culture, Day in the Life, Volunteer

Those Final Few Days …

Like Kent posted just a couple of weeks ago, saying goodbye is something nobody really prepares you for. (Kent, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience.) I’ve been struggling with saying goodbye, too. “Goodbye,” “Adiós,” “Chao,” “Nos ve[...]

June 21st, 2010 - 6:00 pm § in Chile, Culture, Day in the Life, In the Field, Volunteer

Ironies and Self-Indulgence

When a fight breaks out at school,  as a volunteer you neither really know what is happening nor are able to do anything about it.  It’s a bizarre feeling to be such an unwilling and powerless observant. It’s these times, and those when I’m particularly cold, hungry, and exhausted, that for [...]

June 7th, 2010 - 2:47 pm § in Chile, Culture, Day in the Life, In the Field, Tips & Resources, Volunteer

Reconstruction & Breaking In

Each day I can’t help but to continually question myself as to what I can do, how I can help, and what I might be able to achieve here in Chile. I keep searching for what might help the most – small steps that are achievable in what I can see is going to be [...][...]

May 18th, 2010 - 12:53 pm § in Good Ideas, Tips & Resources

Hunting for Inspiration: Recommended Reading

There is a sense of camaraderie among communities of aid workers, travelers or international volunteers. Like-minded people have traversed the same corner of the world you have and kindred spirits will continue to serve there after you leave. Their stories infuse life in the field with a sense of p[...]

May 14th, 2010 - 9:03 am § in Careers, Costa Rica, Day in the Life, In the Field, Tips & Resources

The Horrible Things I Do to My Students

I gave a bottle of wine and two cans of beer to a twelve-year-old girl Monday night. This is not a bad Tom Waits song. This was teaching past simple in my class. Here’s how it went: We practiced asking questions about the past: “Where did you go?” “What did you do?” And so on. I brough[...]

May 13th, 2010 - 12:22 pm § in Around Town, Careers, In the Field, Uruguay

Goldfish and Golden Sunsets: Life in Montevideo

“And you’ve never been to Uruguay before?” people would ask, when they learned why I was fleeing Boston mid-winter. No, I’d tell them. Although when feeling more expansive I’d amend: well, for one day back in 2003. I hopped over from Buenos Aires to Colonia by myself, ate a ch[...]





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