Today was spent visiting the private sector of the Colombian education. Los Nogales and Los Robles are both private schools with preschool to high school students. The schools had low enrollments but again classes are taught both in English and Spanish. The students that attend the private schools are provided with a much structured curriculum therefore assumed he/she will be successful in the future.
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RIO DE LA VIEJA
Again on a Willy Jeep ride, we headed 12 miles northwest from Armenia to reach the town of Quimbaya, where we were able to navigate the river on slow-moving bamboo as we gazed upon the soft mountainous landscape of Quindío. The experience was quite relaxing and therapeutic as our river guide maneuvered the bamboo raft quietly down the canyon. Along the way, we saw a waterfall, several herds of cattle, monkeys swinging in the trees and local villagers fishing for their daily catch. At lunch we were treated to a delicious traditional peasant lunch with chicken. Salento is a traditional town with amazing landscapes that is nestled in Cocora Valley. I don't know if it was the shared willy jeep ride from Salento to the Valle de Cocora or the thin, towering Quindio wax palms or riding a horse through the cloud forest but today was wonderful! Cocora Valley itself is a beautiful creation by Mother Nature, a place that will take your breath away, make sigh, and even ponder over the wonders of the wild. The wax palm is the national tree of Colombia. These world's tallest palm trees look like slender giants and could be seen emerging atop green mountains. Did you know that the Quindio wax palm can grow up to height of 200 feet (60 meters)?
This morning my fellow TGC fellows and I had to present to the student body at Normal Superior School. This group of students are enrolled in the pedagogical program and are studying to be teachers. Before I left for my international field experience, I had to create a powerpoint of who I was. Through this powerpoint I was able to share with the Colombian students my Navajo culture. Everyone in the room was not aware that America had indigenous indians and were amazed at how beautiful our culture was. I am proud of who I am, where I come from and to be able to share it with others was a wonderful feeling. As an indigenous indian traveling to a foreign country I had my share of challenges. Not being able to communicate was a huge barrier for me. I made a promise to myself that when I returned home, I would continue to study and learn Spanish. Like I mentioned, the students who attended the presentation are being educated to be elementary school teachers and they are in their 4th or 5th semester. Each of them are in the process of learning to speak English themselves and their proficiency level is very basic to intermediate level. Just like our students, the ones that are successful are the ones that dedicate themselves to their studies. Nancy, my host teacher also teaches these students and I must say each and everyone of them are lucky to have her as a teacher. Toward the end of the session, my traveling partner, Julie was able to share some songs with them and the students were able to participate. They had a great time. I wish them the best and one day in the future, they will also have their own classroom with students to teach. A thumbs up to them! Here is the link to my presentation: prezi.com/view/GuVNqu7F3kzIyt8BQjGP/ The next set of pictures are students from the post secondary school. We met another teacher, Teresa from America that was doing her fellowship as well but through another program. These are her students who completed a project-based assignment as part of their finals. The project-based assignment was creating a summer camp where students had to vote on which one they wanted to attend. Each group had to present in English and I must say they did an awesome job!
After we were done presenting, we were treated to some homemade colombian tamale. One of Nancy's coworker, Melissa opened up her house and her heart where we enjoyed the delicious tamale. Afterwards, she drove us to the famous Filandia Town where we were able to enjoy the evening strolling the quiet and quaint little town. The landscape was incredible,
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AuthorLisa Toney is an educator eager to expand the wings of Navajo students. Archives |