Last Day in San Cristobal

School Visits (11-27-08)

Today I went to Liceo Naval in the morning to teach a short lesson. All I knew in advance was that the lesson was supposed to be on how to paint for high schoolers. After mentally preparing for the task, I took a taxi to the school ($1 to anywhere in the town I'm in… Puerto Baqerizo) with Arturo Keller, a professor from the University of California Santa Barbara who is travelling with us. Arturo worked his Spanish magic and found my class. My class of 6 and 7 year olds. Who couldn't use paint for fear of dirtying their uniforms. It was all for the best, though. We did a lesson where I had them draw a picture using colored pencils, and then I had to try to try what was in their picture in Spanish, and they had to try to say what was in the picture in English.

Overall, the lesson went well and was a huge adrenaline rush. Back home, I will DEFINITELY feel like I have something in common with students who don't speak English.

The biggest culture shock of the lesson wasn't so much that we spoke different languages, but more so it was the fact that they were 6 and 7 year olds. I have a 7 year old at home, but 1 Bailey is VERY different from a room full of 7 year olds. Even with the language barrier I could see familiar types of students… the rowdy boys, obviously, but also the kids who were keenly and intently focused on paying attention and doing a good job; the kids who needed extra attention and constant affirmation; the sweet kids who try primarily to please; the clingy kids who just want to be close to the adult.

It was a great eye-opening experience.

 

Cerro Terijetas (11-27-08)

After the school visit, I had a quick lunch (hamburguesa completa… a hamburger with a fried egg on top) and headed back to the general hotel area. We had a big chunk of free time, so I was painfully indecisive about what to do. I settled on just going for a short walk. I ended up at the beach where several other teachers were snorkeling. I didn't have snorkeling stuff, plus I had my camera and laptop in my bag, so I bummed around the beach taking pictures of sea lions until I found a trail. It was an unmarked trail, so I figured I would just follow it for a little while and then turn  back.

Once I started, though, the sights were too good to pass back. It turns out the trail was to the top of Cerro Terijetas (Frigatebird hill). On the way to the top, there was an old military cannon and several observation decks. From the observation decks, you could see out into the ocean and watch frigatebirds coasting in the air currents.

After the cannon was a statue of Charles Darwin overlooking the site where Darwin first set foot in the Galapagos. The statue overlooked a small cove that had crystal clear and blue water. From the top of the hill I could see to the bottom of the ocean. There were also several rock outcroppings/cave looking crevices as well as sea lions resting on the rocks. Simply amazing.

Another striking thing about the trail was how it was all over volcanic rock, and how on almost every step lava lizards would run away.

After an hours walk, I was back to the start of the trail. From there, it was back to Puerto Baquerizo.

 

The Town (11-27-08)

Coming back from Frigatebird hill, I met up with Sherri (a librarian from Utah) and Lena (a literature teacher from Balitmore) souvenir shopping. Sherri ducked into a shop, but we continued on past the end of the main strip (Avenida Darwin). This was the kind of view I've been looking for of San Cristobal. We walked down maybe 10 blocks or so through rows of small stores, markets, restaurants, and houses. We continued walking about five blocks away from the ocean and into the true residential areas of town. This is where the tension between people and the land is most evident. Garbage littered the ground by the bagful. Some houses were falling in, while others were in a serious state of disrepair with miscellaneous construction materials lying around. In this setting, you could also see luxury homes built up a hill and overlooking the surrounding areas. There were even some cases where the shaky single level homes that looked like they were ready for demolition shared a wall with multistory houses with ornate wrought iron gates and fences. There were lots of chickens, stray dogs, and a soccer game or two going on in a large compound labeled Association de Futbal.

Heading back towards the sea, there was a recycling center (possibly), a carpenter, and several other small stores.

Back by the sea on Charles Darwin Avenue some local fishermen were gutting fish and throwing out the guts, which caused quite a ruckus with the frigatebirds. We met Eduardo, John, and Renee on the peer and were almost knocked into the water by frisky frigatebirds.

 

Thanksgiving Dinner (11-27-08)

I made it back in to the hotel around 6:15, leaving me enough time to get ready for our dinner with the Galapaguenan school teachers. Our Thanksgiving meal was at 7, and we had turkey, gravy, pasta salad, and arroz con aceites. Muy sabroso. We were entertained by local dancers, and, thankfully, I wasn't pulled onto the dance floor like so many of my peers. While people were being pulled from the audience, Britta (science and art, Seattle), Michelle (science, Louisiana), and I were busy shrinking behind people and support columns, anything that would make us invisible. I was lucky to sit next to two people who claimed to be as rhythm-less as me.

After the meal, I came back downstairs to repack before we depart for the M/V Santa Cruz tomorrow morning.

Hasta manana!