You Read What?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

What a week! Someone forwarded my blog to the boss.

He was a little miffed to say the least. I know that I should have seen it coming, but sometimes I am really not that bright. It took no small degree of groveling to convince him that I was an asset and should be kept on one more year. It was a harrowing experience and one I do not wish to repeat. Therefore, my blog is now password protected. Only those I want to have access can have access.

The experience took up my Tuesday and Wednesday last week, a hell of a lead up to my birthday. Thursday we celebrated my birthday in the classroom. We had cake and cookies and juice and cupcakes and chips and WOW! We had fun. It was a good way to release some energy.

Saturday Carrie went to the beach with some folks from work. Zman and I headed off to the International Club for a going away party. The Mexican family from my class is moving back to Mexico. I will miss them; they are great people. Sunday I recovered from the event.

We are now coming to the end of the last full week of school. Tomorrow Carrie and I get to have yet another meeting with the bosses in order to discuss my anger issues and how they might be resolved. It is a conversation neither of us really wants to have, but we have no choice. I have to try and keep my mouth shut, opening it only to say, “You’re right, boss!” I’ve been practicing all week.

This experience forced me to go back and read many of my older posts. I must admit, they are pretty whiney. Why is it so easy for me to see the negative? The other thing I try not to dwell on is; who would send that to the boss without talking to me about it first? I think the IT guy must have found it and forwarded it as no one else here really cares.

Things are a bit tenuous to say the least. Now I really can’t wait to get out of here. At last count, five of the ten elementary teachers will be leaving at the end of the year next year. One would hope that would send a message to the administrative team, but I don’t think it will.

Okay, well, gotta go…you’re right, boss, you’re right boss, you’re right boss…

MJR

Lunches and Economic Lessons

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Well, let’s see…what’s been happening these last two weeks? Not much, really. Last weekend we had lunch with the parents of students and celebrated Mother’s Day with a group of Mexicans.

Saturday was spent at the home of a Brazilian family. Carrie has the older boy in her class and I have the younger girl in mine. They live in a beautiful apartment clear over on the other side of town. We enjoyed Brazilian cocktails and a fabulous sea food lunch.

Dad is the head of a large pharmaceutical company here. He runs the plant where the drugs are manufactured. He had an interesting observation about Venezuela. I had commented on the fact that there were always shortages of things like milk, flour, eggs, coffee. He said that before Chavez only twenty percent of the population had any disposable income. Since taking office, Hugo has redistributed wealth and made it possible for more people to purchase more things. Overall this is a good thing except that the infrastructure of the country can’t keep up.

Suddenly, sixty percent of the population can start buying stuff. Unfortunately, the factories aren’t capable of keeping up. Even if they could keep up, there are no trucks to deliver the goods. Even if there were trucks, there aren’t really any roads. Even if there were roads, there are no warehouses for storage. Even if there were warehouses, the markets aren’t designed to house the goods. The ports and airports too are woefully behind the times, making it all but impossible for supply to keep up with demand.

When put that way, things started to make sense. It also means that the problem won’t be fixed anytime in the near future, especially considering the fact that nobody is actually working to fix it.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. We went to a picnic at the International Club. The parents of one of my students are from Mexico. Mom has made it a point to identify the other Mexican families at the school. They get together on occasions such as this to celebrate together. One of the mothers there asked me how Zman was fitting in. I told her that since he didn’t speak Spanish, he was finding it difficult. She told me that it was not the Spanish; her kids also had difficulties fitting in. In fact, all the Mexican children were having difficulties, mostly because the Venezuelans are not open to outsiders.

That was a bit of a relief; to understand that it isn’t just him, but the culture that offers the challenge. It fits in with what we know already, but it doesn’t make staying here another year any easier. I am still dreading that.

I have been working to focus on the positive aspects of next year. I believe that what I need is some perspective. I am hoping that this summer will provide me with enough distance for enough time to help me feel better about wasting a year here. We have been casually invited to Nicaragua for Christmas; that would be fun. We have also talked about other places to go to help us escape the city/country for longer periods.

I am super excited about Peru this summer. I have always wanted to see Machu Picchu for myself and now I get the chance. I have been trying to walk the hills around here two or three times a week. It is hard; the hill is really steep. By the time I get to the top I want to die. After I have made the circuit and come down I feel better. If nothing else, I will sweat off a few pounds. I have also arranged for a road trip with my brother. We are moving the family piano from Seattle to Austin. He will fly up and help me drive down. It should be a good time.

Fourteen more work days and we can flee this place for two whole months!

MJR

Lions and Horses and Tremblors

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Last week we performed the Lion King. This was a play that Carrie directed. I worked as the stage manager. It went off really well. Everybody loved it; especially the administration. It was a ton of fun, but also a lot of work. I am glad that it’s over so that I can focus on other things like standardized testing for instance.

We had Friday off for Labor Day so we spent the weekend with some friends at a posada near here. It was very relaxing. We wanted to go horse back riding, but in the true nature of Venezuela, they did not want to accommodate us. They had the horses, the equipment, and the guide, but apparently they did not want us near the animals. Zachary was excited to try too, even though he almost got kicked! No matter, we hiked, swam, ate, drank, and lazed about in the sun.

We got back home on Sunday. The internet was down and the gas was still off (it’s been a week now since we have used our stove/oven). We crawled into bed around ten only to be awakened around three by a storm. The power went out and the wind was blowing rain up against the side of the building. Carrie ran around and closed everything up and settled back in only to be awakened around five by an earthquake. I woke up because the bed was shaking. It took me a minute to figure out what was happening. When the realization hit that I was on the top floor of a cement building with only one way down, I turned a little pale. Fortunately it was mild for us. It was only a 5.3, centered 25 miles south of Caracas (about 150 miles from here).

Now I am back at work wondering how I am ever going to get through another year here. My students have had issues with bullying, but have received no assistance from the administration. I have one student who has missed ten percent of the school year; a clear violation of policy yet no action was deemed necessary. Last week two fourth graders got busted pushing around second graders with no consequences. Yet, when I request permission for a birthday party at the end of the day, I am told that that is against policy and I will not be allowed to make that happen. Selective application of policy really pisses me off, especially when the unenforced policies affect students’ safety.

I will persevere and make it home to an apartment without gas. The company that supplies our building has been taken over by the government. It seems they are having difficulty procuring propane. So now we are suffering a gas shortage in Venezuela; an OPEC member nation. Such fun times…is my life really exotic?

Enough whining, I need to do something to hasten the end of this day. It would be great if I could focus on something positive, but that is a bit challenging right now. Instead, I will focus on avoiding my boss and accomplishing little.

MJR

Sense of Humor, Anyone?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Thirty-two days and counting; I will have to try and keep my humor to myself…

My friend Al sent out an email that suggested we buy fruit baskets for the new teachers arriving next year. He asked who would be interested in participating in such a thing. I sent back a reply to all that voted my assent, but I thought maybe we should buy whiskey instead. My boss pulled me aside to ask if that was a joke. When I said yes, she told me that it was inappropriate as some might be offended by it. Okay, so scratch the humor then.

Yesterday was International Day at our school. This is essentially a big carnival with tons of food and games. It’s a big event for which the Mother’s Club does a tremendous amount of work and the elementary staff and students run all the games. The kids love it. To kick the event off there is a parade. Students choose what countries they wish to represent. They are encouraged to dress in clothing from that place and they march with a teacher and a flag from that country to the field. Teachers are assigned arbitrarily to supervise different groups.

We practiced the whole thing on Friday morning. We were told at the beginning of the rehearsal that each country would be read off and alphabetized in English. The parent who ran it only spoke Spanish. This meant that at least half of the elementary staff had no idea what was going on. There were an equal amount of students in the same boat. We sort of guessed and stumbled our way through the whole thing until we were finally lined up properly.

I stood with my Russian student, waiting for instructions when the Director walked up. He was agitated by something and he put a whistle in his mouth and blew, but nothing happened. He tried twice to no avail. I said, “Hey, looks like your whistle’s broken, maybe you need a new one!” As he is still recovering from a bout with Bell’s Palsy, he took offense. He called me into his office later and asked me what that comment was all about. I told him I was just commenting on the fact that he blew the whistle and nothing happened. Dang people, lighten up!

The day was good fun with plenty of tasty food from around the world. I ate till I could eat no more and then bought more to take home with us. Zachary’s teacher ran a game that involved a bunny so we are now the proud new owners of a bunny named Bugs. He is white and cute and he poops all over the floor, but he’s friendly and Zman likes him so I guess I’ll get used to him.

Thirty-two days; that’s not really so long, is it?

MJR

Spring Break With the Boys

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Sorry to leave you hanging like that, I had to go away for a while. I am now quite refreshed and ready to tolerate my employer once more.

Conferences went off without a hitch. Carrie and Zachary took off on Friday morning for Florida, I played poker that night, and fled the country the next day.

I was beat on Saturday having played poker till three the night before. I woke up, cleaned the house, packed my bag, dropped the car off at school, and caught a cab to the Valencia airport.

My flight was two hours long. I was excited to be flying alone; I had my iPod and a cheap novel. I sat down on the aisle next to an old lady. Before I was really settled, she asked me how to put on her seatbelt. She couldn’t quite figure out how to adjust it for her size. I got her squared away, put on my headphones, and went to sleep.

I awoke to Grandma poking me in the arm! She had her meal sitting in her lap and she was letting me know that there was lunch. Now that I was wide awake, I put my tray down and took the food. She immediately started pushing on the seat in front of her, trying to get the tray down as well. I helped her get set, although I was ready to slap her for waking me up. I read the rest of the flight.

It fascinates me that people stand up as soon as the plane stops moving. Where do they think they’re going? The door isn’t even open yet. I usually sit and wait at least until the line starts moving before I stand. Then I push my way in and head out. As soon as everyone stood up, Grandma poked me in the arm again to tell me that everyone was standing up and I should too! It’s a good thing she was old, that’s all I can say…

At the airport I met my friends and we jumped into the shuttle van to our hotel. It was a pretty nice place considering it’s right next to the airport. Sunday we flew to David and caught a cab to Boquete. We found a little hotel that had two rooms for us. They charged us $15 for the single and $22 for the double. What a steal!

Boquete is a beautiful little town up in the mountains. It’s very clean and quiet and peaceful. We explored the area on Monday, went and rode the zip line through the trees on Tuesday, and hiked to a hot springs on Wednesday.

Thursday we flew off to the beach town of Bocas del Toro. It was very touristy, but quaint. Some of the folks there were a little more aggressive about trying to peddle their wares, but for the most part we were unmolested and got along fine with everyone. We took an awesome boat ride out to look at the dolphins, snorkel, and hang out on a beautiful, white sand beach.

It was a completely relaxing trip. The three of us got along great. The fact that it was just the boys made it all the better. I will definitely put Panamá on my list of places to go back to.

Tomorrow I get to see my kids again; that’s great. Unfortunately, I also have to see my boss again; not so great. There are only eight weeks left; may I get through them without telling The Man what I really think of him…

MJR