A lucky Escape

Thursday 5^th October

Thursday 5^th October

Day Thirty-Six

Blurgh! 6.30am and time to rise for school and it was another cold start to the day which made it even harder to get out of bed, if fact I was tempted to get back in after the shower having not woken up sufficiently and now cold again.

7.45am I needed another tea before leaving the house.

“Have you time? The bus leaves at 8am and there isn’t another one after that” Antonia helpfully pointed out as she left for school.

“Oh another 5 minutes will be alright” I called after her.

8am and I was sitting on my own some waiting for the bus to come. Had I missed it? Looking around I tried to spot any students that were heading to Paihuano and only saw people walking to the school in Pisco. Five minutes later and still so sign so I started to worry and thought I’d better think about hitching a lift soon. Several cars past, some full, others with young male drivers (in a Ford Escort which might explain why I didn’t go with them) who looked too careless and then the daily Calor gas van, none of which looked a good prospect. Finally a 4X4 with a young couple drove past and offered me a lift and drove me all the way to Monte Grande, the driver eating his breakfast ham sandwich all the way there.

8.07 Arrived at the school now incredibly early and went to sit in the square to wait for the other teachers to arrive.

8.17 The bus arrived

8.24 Another bus arrived

So much for Antonia’s warning I could have had more time in bed or another slice of the breakfast cake so now I was both tired and hungry.

I went to join the teachers in the office in the morning and managed to catch Anita before she headed off to the Liceo and asked for permission to go to Rapa Nui for a week, I also enquired if I could leave early to go and help Carmen Gloria with her presentation on a new school project to start in November. It turned out to be a smart move since she agreed and forgot about me going to the Reunion in Ovalle that evening, which I did not bother to remind her of. Skipping off to my first class with the 6^th Years I was already feeling less tired with the fear of a late night having been slightly lifted.

Lessons started with year 6 who were apparently allowed to play music in class via the portable CD player at the front. Having said that, it was absolute shite music not even as good as the rubbish rap I’d heard in other but was of the Headbanging Rock (rather than Queen) variety. Oh my God 90 minutes of this I thought and I will be banging my own head against a wall to dull the pain. Music in lessons is not something I am going to encourage, or at least not if the students get to chose it.

Today my role in class was that of Interrogator and I finally got to get my own back after having to listen to the crap music for what seemed like Forever. One by one the pupils were called to the front to answer my questions on the work they had done today on the use of Never, Sometimes and Always (e.g. I NEVER work at school, I ALWAYS talk and SOMETIMES I even ay attention to what I’m doing) It was very amusing for me since the ones that were picked on first were inevitably the ones making noise which immediately stopped when they had to come to the front and answer my questions, however it never occurred to one of them to try and be quiet to avoid being called forward in the first place. Trying to put others at ease I initially started with asking their name which unfortunately had the opposite effect, most stared blankly at the blackboard searching for the answer, others physically squirmed in front of me twisting their bodies and fidgeting with their hands and feet as they tried to think what it was I was asking. Seeing the need for them to practice listening to English I restrained myself from translating into Spanish and repeated the question till Bernie stepped in to save them and even then the light in some eyes never turned on fully. Their torture over momentarily the kids then returned to their desks and their previous conversation.

Break came followed by a much needed free period where I got to enjoy the peace and quiet of the staffroom with only a slight distraction from the 80’s music coming from next door. Here, for the first time in weeks, I was able to fully prepare my lessons for the next week and Bernie even leant me a clock for teaching people how to tell the time.

Bernie was also preparing her lessons and was copying her handouts – manually with this amazing contraction. It consisted of a regtangular board filled with some type of purplish wax on which was drawn, with the use of a type of carbon-paper I think, the pictures that you wanted. This having been done the paper was removed and a blank piece of white paper placed on the wax, rubbed over, and removed with the pictures now transferred into the paper. This could be done again and again and Bernie explained to me that she then had to wait a week before using the wax again with another picture or handout to be used. I was absolutely captivated watching her do this, as were a succession of teachers and students who came into the staff room that day.

Due to the 5^th Grade being out on a walk to Pisco with the Sports Teacher our English lesson didn’t start till they arrived back, half way through the lesson. With not much time to do anything the kids were then put through their paces to show me what they could remember in English. I went round asking each person their name and then immediately forgetting it as usual, with the exception of Lukas who was the son of one of Carmen Gloria’s friends. How I am going to remember names in 3 weeks is beyond me, I spent 6mths at Desborough and still didn’t know all the names. At least with younger kids you can label their desk and make them sit there easily. (In kinder their chairs are also labelled, which is so helpful).

A 10 minute break was followed with Bernie’s least favourite class – the 7^th Grade (the school only went to 8th grade and then the children went to middle school). Here I met Matthias, Claudia’s son, and again the only one whose name I remembered. This class seemed ever so small in terms of numbers and then Bernie and I discovered that half the class had gone home for the day on the last free bus to Horcon that day. Wow, I wish I’d had that problem at school; Mum always got us to school even after the 1984 Tornado and numerous road blocks with trees or snow. On one occasion she was forced to return to school and take us back home as only 5 people had turned up and on another occasion the year group were forced to occupy one classroom as it was decided there were enough of us to do combined classes despite the heating having broken. As the headmaster in Forrest Gump would say

“Your Mother must think your education very important!”

With half the class missing, the other half (apparently the better students) were also not keen on doing any work and once the exercise was finished started to tear around the classroom pulling each others hair or punching one another. Bernie seemed completely unfazed by this and went on to explain that they had been badly behaved on another occassion and now she was too pissed off with them to bother trying. By the end of the lesson the kids were hyped up and had started a water fight which eventually spilled over into the playground. Some of the kids came in to hide having got extremely wet from the head down and came over to see what Bernie and I were doing. I think that must have been the best bit of English learning they had done all day as Bernie and some of the students were trying to think of Colloquiums and insults and translate them into English for my home-made dictionary. Ten minutes into this the sports teacher, Jorge burst in and called all of the students who were covered with water out into the playground. Interested to see what he was doing I followed and watched him berate the kids for behaving so childishly and then proceeded to get them to run round the playground several times. Bernie and I just sat and watched, amused at the sight of this kids now silently running round.

Filing back into the classroom Jorge then proceeded to lecture them on their behaviour asking who had started it. It seems Julio had, although he denied it Jorge pointed out that it was normally him every time (in fact he had started it), referring to Bernie and I he said that they should show more respect whereby Bernie chipped in that she said the same things to them before but they didn’t listen to a women as much as a man.

“No!” goes Jorge,

“Oh Yes” we reply, “It is true” a man generally gets more respect than a female teacher maybe its their self-confidence its something I’m trying to work out and some useful hints have been given in an excellent book that I’m still to read

“Why nice girls don’t get the corner office”

Although I still think being an attractive male is better, as the girls secretly fancy you (but don’t feel the need to yell out “Hello Gorgeous” as you go by) and boys automatically are more respectful (or more afraid) of a man.

Well Bernie was pleased that she had been backed up by another teacher and we left Jorge in charge, the last thing I heard being his threat to cancel their swimming lesson next Tuesday. Swimming mummm………

Leaving early that day, I wrote down the songs Bernie had been using earlier on in the week and borrowed one of the books before changing into my exercise hot pants and making tracks on the 45 minute hike home. Just before I left though I got to speak to Jorge and invite myself to Tuesdays swimming lesson at Pisco – now sport I can teach (well swimming and running and muscles etc) although I can’t remember how to play rugby, I very much doubt with the heat and hard ground here that it would get much of a following.

2pm I arrived in time to meet Carmen Gloria on her way to the dentists, along with Jose?

Both left before I could ask the reason for Jose being home and I was left on my own, dripping sweat and requiring the second shower of that day.

At 3pm Jose returned minus Carmen Gloria and I found out that after leaving the house this morning he had simply decided he didn’t want to go to school and returned home, much to Carmen Gloria’s consternation. I’m not sure how he avoided being forced back to school but decided to leave it, I had a feeling that when Carmen Gloria arrived back he’d soon be wishing he had stayed at school that day.

Expecting Carmen Gloria back at 3pm for us to do the pictures and finish off the Project presentation I was very surprised when she arrived back at 4.30pm.

Apparently when you get a dentist appointment it just means you need to be there at that time, not that you’ll be seen at that time, and thus Carmen Gloria found herself waiting behind 8 other people in line. So having travelled home in the heat of the day, I found I could have left at the usual time as we didn’t get round to sorting out the pictures etc till 10.30pm.

Having said that however, due to leaving school early I had inadvertently avoided being forced to go out that evening unlike Antonia who had an orchestral concert miles away and finally returned home at 4am the next day. Boy am I glad I’m not musically talented now!