Little Ones and A Village

2 cool events this week:

The Little Ones

(Lynea)

We've been asked to teach English twice a week at a pre-k school here in El Valle. There is a 3 year old class and a 4/5 year old class. After our first lesson, we came home confident that the 4 and 5 year old lesson went well. They learned 13 new action and greeting words/phrases!! Hello, How are you?, I'm fine, Goodbye, sit down, stand up, jump, run, stop, eat, drink, What is your name?, my name is. They loved it.

The 3 year old class was not as successful. It's difficult to teach English when they are barely speaking Spanish yet. Luckily half the class opened up and was willing to talk. A few, just stare at you like you're a zombie. However, this is their first week ever in school, so it's to be expected. Needless to say, we need to rethink our strategy for the little ones.

We need some help with this. We need music and books. If you have any good kids songs (esol, english, or spanish) you could email us, we would greatly appreciate it. Lyneaj@gmail.com.

I also need to buy some picture books. The school has a stack of books about 3 inches high and that's it. I bought a few today and plan on buying more next week in Panama city. If you would like to help us buy some, you can give money or a check made out to Lynea Mitchell to my mom (1531 Parker Drive, Mayfield, OH 44124). Sorry no tax credit.

The Embera.

(Kyle)

Got to hang out with some friends of David and Lisa this week, the Embera. They are an indigenous group whose land has been declared a national park. Though they still live in their traditional way, they have adapted to accommodate visitors and tourists. When groups come they give a presentation of their culture with music and dance, and also explain how they live, build, cook and create. The experience as a whole is pretty unreal.

Getting There

It's an hour long boat-ride in a 30 foot canoe, dug out of one tree. The boat was propelled by a motor (yes, the joining of the modern and ancient!), and it definitely helped as we went up river the whole way. Since the dry season is in full effect, we had to get out numerous times and push the canoe. Much fun!

In the Village

We arrived to a festive tune, played by the village folks on drums, shakers, and flutes. I guess the shocker is supposed to be the lack of clothes, but with all the National Geographic, Human Planet type shows out in all their HD goodness, it felt pretty normal, and we got used to it fairly quickly. I got the sense that everyone was comfortable in their own skin; nothing to hide or be ashamed of.

In situations like this I try to ask myself "what can I learn?" I got the feeling of hospitality and genuine care. They really absorbed every word I said, and they responded thoughtfully and without pretense (we were both speaking Spanish as a second language). I really enjoyed the simple lifestyle and the sense of community and sharing. No electricity, so bed time is when the sun goes down. Not a lot of laundry either (i joke).

Overall, super sweet experience, and I hope to go back and stay longer!

Click here to learn more about the Embera.

This is the main gathering area of the village. The first few huts are all housing. The last one is the community center/market where they sell their crafts.

We visited their village school, and walked around in the 2 classrooms. The school uniforms come off quickly when the proverbial bell rings.

The teacher let 3 of the students leave the classroom and show us a path in the forest.

Cooking lunch. Inside the hut, they build a little platform full of sand to build the fire on.

The women are very skilled at weaving baskets.