We gave a computer class in the Solar Center yesterday, and I discovered something about learning and teaching. With twelve students, seven computers, and six teachers, we introduced people to touchpads, mice, double-clicking, shift buttons, click-and-dragging, word processing, powerpoint presentations, and excel spreadsheets.
Many of the ¨students¨ had already used computers, fortunately, and used the hour to practice typing and work in powerpoint. Others were learning to use touchpads by moving the cursor over a picture until it was visible and by clicking and double-clicking to destroy cartoon fish. A different game had letters (both uppercase and lowercase!) falling until they were typed. I´ve gotten quite good at that game. Curse the lack of an ¨ñ¨ on my American keyboard.
Well, after playing the mouse and keyboard games for a while, I opened up the Spanish version of Open Office and said ¨Check it out, you can write stuff!¨ Only to realize how boring and pointless that was. Look, the tab button can do indents. Woo-hoo.
But wait!
All of my time spent playing (pointless) computer games and creating (pointless) powerpoints about friends for my Communications class rushed to mind. All of my time in Spanish classes here and at UD talking through (pointless) situations came back to me! Oh, all of the (pointless) creating and destroying of folders and documents and pictures that I had done, at home and in computer classes! Why, the best way to teach might be to give a (perhaps pointless) assignment and be around to help!
Anyway, that was how the other volunteers were doing it, so I followed suit :-) I like the method, as long as the assignment is reasonably enjoyable.
On that note, I´m looking forward to helping Frederlinda create a powerpoint about her family. Anna suggested it to Frederlinda during the class, and Frederlinda´s excited to learn more about Powerpoint, Excel, Word, and everything else from Anna.
Wicked sweet!
Hasta luego,
Pete
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Las Clases
Spanish classes every morning with Prof Chico are going well. I have nearly mastered the past tense. The imperfect, present perfect, and future tenses will be the next ones to fall. I see them, waiting with bated breath, wary of their approaching conjugation.
I´m really curious to see how much my Spanish has improved since I´ve arrived. After a while, we´ll have oral interviews to be officially ranked as Intermediate-Low, Intermediate-High, Advanced-Low, or wherever we land. Wish me luck in a few weeks.
Work is progressing with the solar autoclave (more about the projects soon!) and I´m wicked excited that Vince and Lori are here--Vince for the weekend and Lori until the cows come home...
Hasta muy pronto,
Pete
I´m really curious to see how much my Spanish has improved since I´ve arrived. After a while, we´ll have oral interviews to be officially ranked as Intermediate-Low, Intermediate-High, Advanced-Low, or wherever we land. Wish me luck in a few weeks.
Work is progressing with the solar autoclave (more about the projects soon!) and I´m wicked excited that Vince and Lori are here--Vince for the weekend and Lori until the cows come home...
Hasta muy pronto,
Pete
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Granada
I spent last night sipping piping hot sweet tea, relaxing in a hammock under the stars in Granada, full and content after a chicken quesadilla and a chilled mojito from a nearby bar.
Just wanted to let you know that it´s vacation weekend.
I would write more, but Vince, Anna, and Dan are in the pool, and I have my swimsuit on.
Later!
Pete
Just wanted to let you know that it´s vacation weekend.
I would write more, but Vince, Anna, and Dan are in the pool, and I have my swimsuit on.
Later!
Pete
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Para relajarme
Work is progressing. There are ceiling and roof tiles being replaced, a solar cooker being constructed, and a plan for gutters coming together. I´m glad to claim a small part in each activity.
To relax, I´ve been thinking...
Things I´ve learned since I´ve been in Nicaragua:
1. Vegetables are edible.
2. Shirts should not be off for long when there is sun.
3. Shoes should be worn while playing soccer to prevent injury.
4. Food takes a long time to prepare.
5. A corn tortilla is much easier to eat after it is wrapped around moist food.
6. Plantains need to be eaten with a jug of water nearby.
7. The @ sign is ALT-6-4 on the numeric keypad (haven´t seen @ on a keyboard yet).
8. Photovoltaics are expensive and inefficient.
9. Solar cookers are expensive and aren´t used for much here.
10. Vicente Fernandez is amazing.
11. The internet is difficult to explain in a foreign language.
12. I take Wikipedia for granted.
13. I have no idea what separates ketchup from pasta sauce.
14. Hugs are incredible and necessary.
Things I´ve craved since I´ve been in Nicaragua:
1. A Blooming Onion from Outback Steakhouse
2. Water (It´s easily available; I just find myself desiring it a lot)
3. A hug
3. Frederlinda´s soy cakes with ketchup on top
4. Fresh lemonade (so delicious... I drank the entire last pitcher.)
5. Pepsi and Coke
6. An ice cream cone from the Eskimo man (he answered my prayers yesterday!)
7. Solar-roasted coffee
8. Real pasta sauce (not just a mix of ketchup and barbecue sauce)
With much love and appreciation (Thank you for reading my posts!),
Pete
P.S. I´m taking Spanish classes!
To relax, I´ve been thinking...
Things I´ve learned since I´ve been in Nicaragua:
1. Vegetables are edible.
2. Shirts should not be off for long when there is sun.
3. Shoes should be worn while playing soccer to prevent injury.
4. Food takes a long time to prepare.
5. A corn tortilla is much easier to eat after it is wrapped around moist food.
6. Plantains need to be eaten with a jug of water nearby.
7. The @ sign is ALT-6-4 on the numeric keypad (haven´t seen @ on a keyboard yet).
8. Photovoltaics are expensive and inefficient.
9. Solar cookers are expensive and aren´t used for much here.
10. Vicente Fernandez is amazing.
11. The internet is difficult to explain in a foreign language.
12. I take Wikipedia for granted.
13. I have no idea what separates ketchup from pasta sauce.
14. Hugs are incredible and necessary.
Things I´ve craved since I´ve been in Nicaragua:
1. A Blooming Onion from Outback Steakhouse
2. Water (It´s easily available; I just find myself desiring it a lot)
3. A hug
3. Frederlinda´s soy cakes with ketchup on top
4. Fresh lemonade (so delicious... I drank the entire last pitcher.)
5. Pepsi and Coke
6. An ice cream cone from the Eskimo man (he answered my prayers yesterday!)
7. Solar-roasted coffee
8. Real pasta sauce (not just a mix of ketchup and barbecue sauce)
With much love and appreciation (Thank you for reading my posts!),
Pete
P.S. I´m taking Spanish classes!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
muy corto
Still kicking.
I´ve learned to enjoy the taste of tomatoes. They´re like a fresh, juicy piece of summer.
The coffee here is also amazingly appealing. I´ve only had a cup, but I´m warming up to it. I learned to brew the sweet stuff two days ago.
I walked to the fields with Frederlinda´s brother Amilcar this morning. He was plowing with the pair of bueyes that normally stand near the house. I walked down and back with him seven or eight times (about a half hour) and was tired. He was in the field plowing from 6am to 1pm today.
More later!
encantado escribir a ustedes,
Pete
I´ve learned to enjoy the taste of tomatoes. They´re like a fresh, juicy piece of summer.
The coffee here is also amazingly appealing. I´ve only had a cup, but I´m warming up to it. I learned to brew the sweet stuff two days ago.
I walked to the fields with Frederlinda´s brother Amilcar this morning. He was plowing with the pair of bueyes that normally stand near the house. I walked down and back with him seven or eight times (about a half hour) and was tired. He was in the field plowing from 6am to 1pm today.
More later!
encantado escribir a ustedes,
Pete
Saturday, May 31, 2008
el huracán
Hurricane Alma passed almost peacefully. I went with Amilcar and Maynor to visit Matt during the worst of the rain. We made it back to our house drenched but safe.
I´m kind of worried that I´m telling all of my good stories here and that I´ll have nothing left when I return. Grrr. Anyway, here goes.
I did make it to the swimming hole with Emily and others. After a good half-hour walk through trees and along a rocky streambed, we saw the little lagoon 30 feet below, over the edge of an enormous rock with all of the creek water flowing over it. Needless to say, it was a lovely 30'foot jump and the water was amazingly refreshing. Getting back up was challenging but fun. The second time in was also good.
Feeling not entirely challenged, Dan, Anna, and I took a trip up the nearby mountain-hill with Frederlinda´s son Maynor and two of his (and our) young friends. Maynor is 12; The two girls are about the same. The trip up was rocky and scary, but the view of Sabana Grande was amazing. It really is a plain surrounded by mountains. The trip down the other side of the mountain-hill was also incredibly scary; I was sliding down pine needles on the seat of my pants. I probably didn´t need to be quite that cautious (Maynor and the two girls were running), but it freaked me out. Dan says that he´ll be climbing a farther mountain soon. I think I´ll take off my flip-flops and put on my hiking boots for that one.
Alex and I were playing a game this afternoon where we bounced a coin off a wall and tried to land it within hand´s reach of the other guy´s coin. It is fantastically easy to amuse Maynor and the other kids here. I have a little LED which has a strobe setting, and I freaked out Maynor and Marlen with it at night. It really is freaky to see somebody´s strobing face creeping and then speeding toward your own. I also freaked out Marlen (and Marisela) with a frog that was sitting by the porch. I´ve never caught anything larger that a firefly before, so I didn´t know what to expect. Fortunately, the frog-toad-thing had a nice backbone to grip. I was afraid that it was exploding when I first grabbed it (I nearly dropped it!), but it was only croaking.
The food here continues to be delicious, and I did find another egg in my window. It was part of my lunch today. Scrambled, not sunny-side-up. I´m looking forward to helping Dan construct his solar cooker and (most likely) replacing one or a few tiles in the solar center´s tiled (they´re called tejas) roof. Matt and I will also probably be planning a gutter system, even if it doesn´t end up being constructed this summer. There´s always time.
ciao!
Pete
I´m kind of worried that I´m telling all of my good stories here and that I´ll have nothing left when I return. Grrr. Anyway, here goes.
I did make it to the swimming hole with Emily and others. After a good half-hour walk through trees and along a rocky streambed, we saw the little lagoon 30 feet below, over the edge of an enormous rock with all of the creek water flowing over it. Needless to say, it was a lovely 30'foot jump and the water was amazingly refreshing. Getting back up was challenging but fun. The second time in was also good.
Feeling not entirely challenged, Dan, Anna, and I took a trip up the nearby mountain-hill with Frederlinda´s son Maynor and two of his (and our) young friends. Maynor is 12; The two girls are about the same. The trip up was rocky and scary, but the view of Sabana Grande was amazing. It really is a plain surrounded by mountains. The trip down the other side of the mountain-hill was also incredibly scary; I was sliding down pine needles on the seat of my pants. I probably didn´t need to be quite that cautious (Maynor and the two girls were running), but it freaked me out. Dan says that he´ll be climbing a farther mountain soon. I think I´ll take off my flip-flops and put on my hiking boots for that one.
Alex and I were playing a game this afternoon where we bounced a coin off a wall and tried to land it within hand´s reach of the other guy´s coin. It is fantastically easy to amuse Maynor and the other kids here. I have a little LED which has a strobe setting, and I freaked out Maynor and Marlen with it at night. It really is freaky to see somebody´s strobing face creeping and then speeding toward your own. I also freaked out Marlen (and Marisela) with a frog that was sitting by the porch. I´ve never caught anything larger that a firefly before, so I didn´t know what to expect. Fortunately, the frog-toad-thing had a nice backbone to grip. I was afraid that it was exploding when I first grabbed it (I nearly dropped it!), but it was only croaking.
The food here continues to be delicious, and I did find another egg in my window. It was part of my lunch today. Scrambled, not sunny-side-up. I´m looking forward to helping Dan construct his solar cooker and (most likely) replacing one or a few tiles in the solar center´s tiled (they´re called tejas) roof. Matt and I will also probably be planning a gutter system, even if it doesn´t end up being constructed this summer. There´s always time.
ciao!
Pete
Saturday, May 24, 2008
un huevo
Yesterday, I found an egg in the window. Today, I had rice, beans, vegetables, and an egg for breakfast. Then I shooed a chicken out of my room. Leaving the door ajar was not brilliant.
I´m back in Ocotal, the nearby city. It´s about 10 miles from Honduras, and an 8-minute bus ride from Sabana Grande. The buses here are from the States; there are still signs inside marking emergency exits. Every bus has religious icons in the front; I´m not certain why. Anyway, the last two rides to Ocotal that I´ve had were standing room only. On the way back to Sabana Grande, I should be able to find a seat.
Emily, one of the other volunteers here, is going to take a few people on a hike this afternoon. I´ve been given to understand that there´s a swimming hole involved. If I can, I´m going in.
Pete
I´m back in Ocotal, the nearby city. It´s about 10 miles from Honduras, and an 8-minute bus ride from Sabana Grande. The buses here are from the States; there are still signs inside marking emergency exits. Every bus has religious icons in the front; I´m not certain why. Anyway, the last two rides to Ocotal that I´ve had were standing room only. On the way back to Sabana Grande, I should be able to find a seat.
Emily, one of the other volunteers here, is going to take a few people on a hike this afternoon. I´ve been given to understand that there´s a swimming hole involved. If I can, I´m going in.
Pete
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