Conference in Buenos Aires

This year's regional ETA conference was held in Buenos Aires. We had a chance to meet all our compatriots from Brazil, Peru and Argentina while exploring the beautiful capital across the Rio de la Plata.

Typically theatrical, the Ateneo bookstore is housed in an old cinema with a cafe space onstage.

We also headed out into the countryside to enjoy a taste of the gaucho lifestyle.

The week would not be complete without a tango lesson, at which we Uruguayans of course excelled.

But I blush to say that a couple of us got roped into watching the Argentina - South Korea World Cup match in partisan territory.

Uruguayan hinchas, remember--all the things we do, we do in the interest of intercultural exchange.

(Photo credits to Natalie Alm, Argentina ETA, for the latter two pics)

Grandparent's Day Celebration

On Monday I was invited to School 99's celebration of Grandparent's Day. Every class prepared and presented a skit, song, poem or dance for the grandparents who were in attendance.

I know having favorites isn't the diplomatic approach, but the Kindergartners came out wearing caps and sunglasses to perform a rap. It was absolutely cute and they did a great job. Other acts included a dance for Uruguay's soccer team, sharing posters made in English class, and a waltz with the grandfathers and their grandchildren.

Our time in Salto is nearing the end and I will miss all the students and creative teachers at this school.

More football

Here we go! Mundialito (little world cup) got going this week with students and professors from the CeRP forming teams and coming out to play under the lights at the Salesianos' school in the middle of Salto.


Passes off the wall of the cathedral are ok.


Spectators keep warm by cheering their classmates on or playing a quick game of ping-pong or volleyball.

Futbol!

In case you are living under a rock, the World Cup is almost here. And if you didn't know that, you definitely haven't visited a school in Uruguay in the past two weeks! Students from elementary to high school to college are talking about teams and matches and anything related to the game. Which means, I'm finally learning a thing or two about Uruguay's national pastime.

Today the third grade students at School 99 started practicing the World Cup song in English. Their teacher, Maria Alicia, helped them understand the meaning of the words and together we worked on pronunciation. Personally, I think our English classes are always interesting, but the enthusiasm today was noticeably higher.

We sang, and sang, and SANG some more! The students' pronunciation was fantastic, and they were even bold enough to tell me to get out of the way because they didn't need my help. They were right! They sounded great.


So learning about the World Cup has been entertaining. In addition to learning the song with the 3rd graders, the 5th graders wrote descriptions of their favorite players so I could learn their names, dates of birth, height, and and weight. I have to keep studying so I'm ready for Uruguay's match on Friday.


In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more English classes like this. Look at those smiles!

The Messy Side of Cultural Exchange

Last night we were invited to High School 5 to share a typical American snack, but...

plans don't always turn out the way you expect.

What IS that????


We're also not exactly sure what impression we left with the class.

Yet, despite understandable hesitation to try our strawberry flavored Rice Krispie Treats, the students were great sports. Some even stuck around for seconds. Brave!

At the very least, I think it's safe to say our surprise visit was definitely a surprise. I haven't laughed this much since coming to Uruguay. I think it's also safe to say it was a memorable cultural exchange.

UTU Visit

Today we had the chance to introduce ourselves to two 2nd year classes at the UTU.

After listening to our introductions, the students asked questions in English to learn about our favorite sports, singers and actors.

The thank you cards were awesome!

Mostly it was exciting to be a guest in the CeRP students' classrooms.
We are glad we could assist in one of your lessons.

High School #1

We got to visit a new class today. They've been traveling the English speaking world--England, South Africa, and today we invited them to the States.

With our trusty US map, we introduced them to some geography and famous places. But they were much more interested in learning about our homes and families. A great group!

Book Day

Wednesday the 26th is Book Day in Uruguay!

All the English classes recognized the day by reading stories.

Here, the Morning Kindergarten class at School 99 is working with Goldilocks.

The older students listened to the story and filled in the missing words.

The morning 3rd grade class at School 99 did a great job listening and repeating!

Salto Grande and Body Songs

The sixth-graders got to visit Salto Grande Dam one day when we weren't in school (lucky kids!), so we brought an activity to compare Salto Grande and Hoover Dam.


Then in first grade we're working on using songs and games the kids already know, like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and Simon Says, to get the parts of the body straight.



This handsome fellow was a collaborative effort on the part of the kids. Check out the detail on the fingers and the strapping shoulders he has there, keeping the arm bone connected to the neck bone.

Jazz Chants for Children

Jazz chants are a unique way of linking the rhythm of natural spoken language to the rhythm of music. Jazz chants were first created by Carolyn Graham, undisputed queen of the genre, over 30 years ago. Carolyn was teaching ESL at New York University by day and working as a singer/piano player in bars at night when, as she has said, she ‘stumbled upon’ the brilliant idea of connecting the natural rhythms of spoken American English with the rhythms of traditional American jazz music in order to help her students develop speaking skills.

I learnt about jazz chants early on in my teaching career and quickly discovered what a wonderful way they are to develop speaking skills both with adults (who I was also teaching at the time) and children. I soon found myself inspired by Carolyn to create my own chants to reflect the natural rhythms of the variety of English I speak i.e. British rather than American English, and have been writing them and using them with my classes regularly ever since.

The main feature of a jazz chant as opposed to a poem or rhyme is that there is no poetic licence or artificial change to the stress and intonation patterns of natural speech. Jazz chants also often take the form of an interchange or dialogue which display the natural give and take of everyday spoken language.

-- from http://carolread.wordpress.com/

Our American Lives - Humor

Last week, the theme of our conversation night was humor. For the final activity, we gave each group of participants a bag of objects and a task: to create a skit using all of the items in the bag. We think the skits were fantastic, and they all produced the desired effect - a lot of laughter. Props to all of the participants for their creativity and bravery!

CeRP Matters

Here's the Friday class we always look forward to, with Emita's Fourth-year students at the Centro Regional de Profesores in Salto.

To conclude our presentation of some American regions, we had them try a little contra dancing.

Busy as they are with practicing in high schools and preparing for all their big international exams coming up, they're so enthusiastic and a delight to work with.

Fun times over at School 98

I'm joking. This is an old sign in Paysandú. Assisting at School 98 has been a great learning experience.


Interacting with the students, it is always refreshing to see their pride in their school. Here they are at the assembly commemorating Las Piedras.


And how they love going to class--it's like the fountain of youth!


Oh, to be young and have a dinosaur toy...

Oh, by the way

Just some adorable things we forgot to mention--


The first day we visited School 99, the kids sang us 'We are the World' and then an amazing version of the murga 'lo que el tiempo me enseñó,' complete with little costumes. We teared up.


It was the most beautiful of first impressions.

Kindergarten Celebration

I really enjoy working with the Kindergarten students at School 99. Their teacher Adela always has them working on projects and making them think hard.




Today the students invited their mothers to class to celebrate Mother's Day. First they surprised their mothers with handmade flowers. Then they sang two songs with Nicolas, the music teacher, including their favorite song about animals. Later, their English teacher, Maria Celia, and I helped them recite a short poem in English. Finally, Adela read a short story about magical mothers to the group.

It was a lovely celebration! I'm glad that I was invited to be a part of it.

Look Familiar?

Some Salto signs caught our attention because they look like home.

But on closer inspection, you see the differences!

Camping gear, anyone?