Flight home

Back home,

I wonder how many of you thought twice when brushing teeth and letting the water run, or the toilet paper?  Cold water in the shower? We stayed long enough to start feeling the island.

The pictures are for you guys,

gracias por  la experiencia.

You may be wondering… our last day in San Andrés

We have been disconnected for some days.  It is because finally the students have time off to explore on their own.

Last Friday, we went to the library of the “Universidad  Nacional”  and students researched on their topics .  

On Saturday we had another full day with the community, in the morning with the Raizal, and in the afternoon with the continental.  They were able to observe the contrast with each population and dance traditional music.

Sunday, we celebrated Afua’s birthday with a “Rondón” traditional plate from the island.  Monday through Wednesday was dedicated to go to the beach, do some homework and one scheduled interview with the department of health and the secretary of education. 

Last evening was our last important commitment, and students felt very important.  We were invited to the office of the San Andrés governor.  All well dressed, we met her and told about our experiences on the islands.  We showed her pictures and brought her something from Oneonta State.  She surprised us with a beautiful gift from San Andrés to each one of us and was very happy to see us again on the island.  The intention of building a permanent bridge between both communities is serious and official.  I left my last business card with the governor and have the assignment of delivering a message for Dr. K. in our college.  Please Oneonta be prepared San Andrés wants us back and they also want to meet us in the cold north. 

I believe a little of Caribbean sun is healthy for us at Oneonta.

See you all tomorrow, we will be leaving tonight.  We already miss home.

Last day at Flower Hill, Visiting the Special Education School and the Irish Concert.

Thursday was our last afternoon at the school.  It was the children’s last day of school before a 2 week vacation, too. (Their school year runs January - December.)  Everyone was celebrating and we were invited to a classroom party by the sixth graders.  It was hard for most of our students to leave behind these kids that just clung on them looking for love and attention.  Our students were touched by just a few days spent with them and it was hard to say good bye.

In the morning we went to the special education school, and for some of the students to see the children with disabilities was also hard.  However, the interaction was dynamic: they played cards and bingo in the cafeteria; swung and slid at the playground.

In the evening Colleen expressed how hard had been the day for her.  Too many emotions, but I found a way to reward them with a concert: “We Banjo 3,” an Irish group here in San Andrés.  We had a nice evening, students identified with the music, and they danced all their energy out.

Today Friday, they spent the morning researching at the university library and the afternoon was FREE, so they cannot complain anymore about me not having a sense of “free time”.

Attaching to the community

Yesterday was our last visit to the nursing home.  We got them the other items collected from our Oneonta community.  Conversation and dancing were flowing, and Carol and I were chosen as dancing partners; however, he liked Carol more.  He said that he prefers “Monas” (blond in Colombian dialect).  Students are actively researching now that we have met, and they observe with a purpose.

Nobody is invisible for them anymore, the woman at the coffee shop, the clerk at the supermarket, the bus driver or the “Moto taxi” (motorcycles that serve as personal taxis); all of them may be the parents of the kids from school.  Students are observing roles, behavior, attitudes, and ideologies maintained by the people of San Andrés.

Today is our last day at “Flower Hill” (the school).  We were invited to a farewell party by the children, with small hand written notes (in English/Creole and Spanish) from a group of 6^th graders.  Everyone is preparing a celebration since today they start their mid-year one month break.  It will be hard to say good bye, our students are already attached to these little kids and adolescents that need love, attention and a good education.

La piscinita

Our island bus tour ended at La Piscinita, a gorgeous swimming spot with crystal clear waters, colorful fish, diving boards and a water slide. We took advantage of everything!

Navigating San Andrés by public transportation

Our scheduled activity for a Holiday Monday in Colombia was to tour around the island.  We had a shuttle bus just for us, and an authentic tour guide “Patricia”; she belongs to the Raizal community and gave us all the insights of the issues in San Andrés.  We asked her questions that go beyond the touristic attractions.  As we passed by the North end, she pointed to one of the best hotels on the island, the only one with the best private beach, and told us the story behind it.  The Raizal community owned this property, and it used to be their ancestors cemetery.  They were displaced to the South end of the island and today there is a pool and a bar for tourists in a hotel that is owned by an international corporation.

Students were able to see the most affluent houses of San Andrés by the west north side; we kept going south on the west side until we arrived at the “Casa Museo”, a beautiful replica of the way of life of the early residents on the island.  There, we also learned how to dance the “raga raga” and “calypso”.  Later we visited an ecological park and observed all the plants that grow on the island and the domestic animals.  We saw more folkloric dances and end up on a high trampoline and toboggan.  It was a wonderful natural light blue pool with lots of fish.  I jumped again, this time not so much due to peer pressure, but because of the heat and need to cool down.

All wet and stinky, we went through the south point and rode back north through the east side. We passed the university and the botanical garden where we are planning to go at the end of the week.  We also passed by the Raizal neighborhoods where we will be this coming this Saturday morning.  The bus passed our Posada and students decided to continue down town.  Carol and I stayed at the Posada; we needed a fresh shower to continue with our afternoon riding on local buses with the people of San Andrés.  We managed to find a restaurant out of the tourist area, then took another bus to the North end where the tourist stay, and sat peacefully to feel the breeze and drink some Colombian coffee by the beach.  All by public bus transportation, we were very proud of our selves. Students are also riding the island on their own; we have finally gotten a sense of orientation.

 

Island bus tour - día de fiesta

Schools and shops were closed yesterday for a "día de fiesta.¨ I learned from our friends at the posada where we're staying that Colombia has lots of those. When I asked if it was to commemorate something they said, "We'll have to look at the calendar to see." Cute. Some of our students misunderstood and thought it was a ¨día de siesta.¨ Cute again.

We used the day away from school to take an island tour, with commentary by our old friend, Patricia Bowie. We worked with her last time, and then one of the students from that trip, Diane Mancini, came back on her own and stayed with Patricia while doing some research here. It was great spending time with Patricia again. She's knows everything about the island. One of the stops on our guided tour was at the Casa de Cultura, which included lessons on traditional dance here. The students, as always, were good sports, and eagerly volunteered to learn some.

Today, we're scheduled for TV interviews in the morning, and then back to school in the afternoon.

Weekend beach time on Johnny Cay

It's not all work here, but we do learn no matter what we do or where we are. Sunday we did like so many Colombians: we shuttled over to Johnny Cay, about a 10 minute rough boat ride from the San Andres waterfront. You can see the boat in the bottom photo here--with my goofy face. The shuttle operation is both amusing and perplexing to watch. Starting at 9 a.m. ("Colombian time"), crowds of people loaded on to dozens of these boats one by one. Vendors with last minute beach cover-ups, water shoes, bottled water (or course)... Your group's name gets called, and you all pile in. Then you bounce across the waves, water splashing in your face (welcomed in the blazing sun, even in the morning), and then you arrive at a concrete pier, shoving in after the last boat that just dropped off 20 some passengers. 

We spent the whole day there, in the water, on the beach, feeding the very large iguanas, napping... the usual beach activities (except for the iguanas). You have to stay the whole day until your boat returns. Everyone got sunburned despite our best efforts with 70 SPF, hats, cover-ups, shade, etc. You just can't avoid the sun here. Just about everyone was in bed and asleep by 9:30 last night. 

Today, we're on land all day for our island bus tour.

Santa Ana, our first community afternoon

Yesterday, we went to “El barrio Santa Ana”.  It is one of the poorest neighborhoods on the island.  Two years ago we painted a mural with the same kids, this year we recovered it and added more to it.  All, children, teenagers, mothers, community leaders, and our Oneonta students were engaged.  The weather was nice, everyone seemed happy.  This was definitely an event for the children of Santa Ana.  I am eager to reunite with our students and hear about their perceptions of our first community visit.

Living on Colombian time

We have quickly adapted to what we affectionately describe as, "Colombian time." Schedules are only loose guidelines, and we have adjusted very well. If a "scheduled" activity gets canceled or postponed, we can always use the time for something else. Our days are very full, and sometimes it's nice to have some time to catch up on the reading and writing assignments associated with our courses. This morning is one of those times. As I'm sitting down in the courtyard, I can hear students on the balcony above collaborating on a Spanish exercise, and I watch students one by one meeting with Dr.  Montoya to discuss their final projects.

At the nursing home

Can you tell how much our students enjoy this visit? Both of the residents pictured here were at the nursing home the last time we visited, too. The table displays all the donations we brought for them--many of which you contributed. They were very much appreciated.

Carol

Working

We had our second day of work at the school; still understanding how education practices take place in this island. It has been rough, but I believe we are all learning about life, cultural differences, and how people survive on a daily basis in a manner that only this place can show it to us. As the instructors and leaders of this experience we are being challenged. The good thing is that Carol and I are together in this and make a balanced team. We are the two cultures interacting, which provides us with strategies to make the experience manageable and meaningful.

First day of teaching

Like being thrown in the deep end of the pool without a lifesaver! Wow, 3 SUNY students and I were introduced to this class of about 30 6th graders--all by ourselves, for about 2-1/2 hours. Thinking on our feet how to teach English to them. We're exhausted--well, at least I am. Our first impression from our brief visit here last year held true today--it is very noisy. Boisterous, lots of shouting, and with the windows and doors always open to let air through, there is also a lot of noise from outside. What an experience!

Back to San Andres and internet!

And away from the invasion of the crabs! This photo doesn't come close to showing the sea of crabs we were greeted by our last 2 days on Providencia. The archipelago of San Andres/Providencia/SantaCatalina  is the only place in the world where this happens! Our hotel was in their path from the mountain to the sea, so they would sidle through the dining room, scurry into corners to hide...even in bathrooms. They are funny to look at individually, with their claws up in the air like you just said, "stick 'em up!" But in hoards...ewww. It's an important event though, and if the winds and the currents don't lead the baby crabs back to the islands, then there will be no more crabs on the island. What a research project for some biologists!

Carol

Our weekend in providencia

Today Tuesday, I returned earlier to San Andrés with Charlie and Kayla B.  Carol is arriving later this afternoon with the rest of the students.  We had a wonderful weekend in a paradisiac island: Providencia.  It is a place to visit with family and friends.  The students had a blast. Friday we went around the island on a dancing bus “La Chiva”, Saturday we climbed up to “El Pico” one of the highest points on the island.  The children from the swimming team came with us.  Sunday, we observed presidential elections in Colombia, had a long walk from our hotel to down town Providencia and then took a boat to tour around the island on water and snorkel.  Students were happy and active.  Monday we visited a small school with only 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders.  They played baseball, danced and elaborated bracelets and other crafts with us.  At the end the girls were fascinated with our female students and braided their hairs, painted their faces and hands and exhausted them.  It was fun, funny and a great experience for us and for them.  Children were asking us when we were coming back to play with them.  In the afternoon we ended our activities on the “lovers” bridge, swimming with the children’s swimming team, playing games, and dancing under a beautiful sunset.

If I can get this internet connection to load pictures I will post some.

I also had a meeting with the director for social development and made a few important contacts.  Oneonta must return, and not only Carol and I, all of you who can teach different subjects on this paradisiac island.  Ah, we were just at the right time to see the crab migration.  It was amazing; they were thousands walking by us going from the forest to the sea to lay their eggs and back to the forest.  YOU ALL HAVE TO SEE THIS WONDER BY NATURE.

Today we went to the school "El Flower Hills".  We went through each classroom introducing ourselves, in English and Spanish.  They were celebrating the Afro-Colombian heritage and there was a braiding competition.  We were chosen as their judges.  It was difficult.  Later the entire school celebrated with a beauty queen and king pageant.  It was interesting and different for our students.  They continued discovering diverse cultural practices.


We ended the evening with a meeting with the teachers and after some short introductions, the teachers showed great interest in having us in their classrooms.


Tomorrow we will go to another island in a small plane: "Providencia"


I also keep going to meetings. Today I had an interview with the president of the university in San Andrés and our relationship is formalizing.  We have future here for our Oneonta students and important partnerships with this community.

First day for Students

The first day for the students was full of emotions, first impressions, and discovering what is "normal" on the island.  They were eager to get into the seven colors sea, and they did.
Last night we had a wonderful welcome by "Mis Licy".  She offered us some "coco loco", gave us coconut leaf hats, brought the artisans that showed us how to make it and ended the evening with live music from the Colombian continental coast.
Students are amazed.

|Estamos muy emocionadas!

On my second day I had an important visit to the secretary of education.  Finally for the first time, I found echo in San Andrés officials.  It is very difficult here to get a social education project without the complications of politics and bureaucracy, so everything we have done so far has been through personal contacts and people who believe that we can act and take initiatives over passing bureaucracy.

I found a woman, a continental one, who told me insights of the obstacles found in San Andrés to proceed officially with our program and make it grow into the future.  She is our ally now, and she will be with us at Flower Hill every day following us, documenting our experience and make it official and valid for the government of San Andrés.  She is even looking for ways to bring us back to teach English to educators in San Andrés.  An Idea that Carol and I have considered for a long time and did not know how to approach.

I am happy because I think this second time we are making progress and San Andrés is officially opening doors for more Oneonta students and faculty to come and grow mutually.

M. C. Montoya

Almost there!

Our flight from JFK was about 20 minutes delayed departing, so instead of 1:45 a.m., it was after 2 a.m.--way past my bedtime! It was the first ever flight for two of our students, and they got to experience some pretty scary turbulence, the kind that makes you pop out of your seat, and say, "Whoa!" I envy these students for being able to sleep anywhere, though. I'm drinking grande espresso and they're sleeping. Gotta love 'em!

Diario #1

Going to San Andrés through Panamá this year has been an easy travel experience. The international airport is beautiful and people are more accustom to deal with international tourism.

I arrived at San Andrés on Monday May 19th, at around 10:30 am and felt the Caribbean heat immediately.  After a nice soup that resuscitated me from a long day and night without sleep, I went to visit the Posada Licy, where we will be staying.

The owner “Mis Licy” is a nice lady, “vivaracha” and a wonderful host.  She has the most beautiful Posada, and takes care of it very well.  She just wants us to feel comfortable and take care of the place the same way she does.  The house is a family property passed through generations.

Later I went to the school to plan our collaborative work, and its director “Paulina Bowie” was very special in accommodating.  I came out of the school with my head spinning and eager to create a detailed schedule for us.  I am having difficulty finding free time for the group, but remember that we are not on vacation; we are on an academic journey of experiential learning.

Today I will arrange details for pick up tomorrow at airport.

I am so excited to see you, to see your sweaty faces upon arrival and your big open eyes.

I already love you all.

MC

Colors of San Andres

Dr. Montoya arrived on the island yesterday, and has been busy taking photos. Here are some colorful  views from around our posada, and one from Flowers Hill school where we'll be working soon.

Buen viaje!

We're almost there! Dr. Montoya arrived today, and the rest of us leave tomorrow.
Estamos muy emocionados!