Lima Again

I spent the second part of this trip to Peru working, working, working in Lima (not Lima, Ohio btw).  These were interesting days to be there, since July 28th was independence day and the inauguration of president-elect Ollanta Humala.  I caved in and paid for a Mirabus tour of Lima at night, which was honestly not worth it since I happened to pick the same night that they re-inaugurated the national stadium, complete with a visit from the Peruvian soccer team, who recently placed 3rd in the Copa America.  This resulted in lots of crazy Peruvians roaming the streets dressed in their red and white (and earlier, way too much honking of car horns).  Congrats to them, but ugggh to the noise!  The tour went through Miraflores to the centro historico of Lima, where we got to see the Palacio de Gobierno, the catheral, plaza de armas, plaza de San Martin, and other buildings where we didn't even stop long enough to take pictures.  There was also an hour-long stop at the Circuito Mágico del Agua, part of the Parque de la Reserva, where they've spent I don't remember how many millions of dollars creating a complex of fountains that are lit up at night.  I couldn't help but wonder, in a city of 10 million people, if they all have running water in their houses.  I'm betting not.  Anyways, it'd be a nice place to visit when there are less soccer fans around and when you're not being herded by a tour.

Plaza de Armas and the cathedral

Plaza de San Martin

 

Arequipa Tastiness

After almost a year of not traveling to Latin America, my first workshop stop in Peru was Arequipa.
The best part about Arequipa?  The food!  How long had it been since I'd walked down a street and felt forced to stop at a restaurant because it smelled so delicious?  The last I remember is Chicken Rico in Highlandtown (which not coincidentally is Peruvian), and although it's good, holds no candle to the food in Arequipa.  I was warned about the good food by the lady sitting next to me for several hours at the gate in Miami.  All of that weight I lost while my husband was on vacation, let's just say it came back in the four days.  I had my first meal watching Peru beat Colombia in the Copa America, seco de cordero.  So big that I didn't eat dinner, although at 2300 meters digestion was not an easy feat to accomplish.    

Alfajores, with chocolate from La Iberica in the background that didn't last very long

The second best part of Arequipa, known as the "white city," is the fact that it is beautiful.  The view of the mountains, the volcano, all combined with buildings made out of sillar, a white volcanic rock. I spent a morning in the Santa Catalina monastery,  which covers various blocks in the centro histórico of Arequipa.  Even the airport was made of sillar.  I'd forgotten how dry it is there (flew through last year as well), how hard the sun hits (the teachers I worked with were complaining about the rising rate of skin cancer there), and the fact that buildings are not heated.  It was a great place to try out my new alpaca coat!

Shout out to Peruvian Airlines and the flight back to Lima.  The captain was a great tour guide!  And thanks for not charging me more as a foreigner than you would for a Peruvian (unlike LAN). 

View of El Misti from the plaza de Yanahuara

Entrance into Santa Catalina

Looking down into Santa Catalina

Plaza de armas

View from the airport

2 Weeks Left

The end of my first year teaching with Baltimore City Public Schools is quickly coming to an end.  I'm glad to be back in a job that I enjoy, even though I'm definitely ready to have a lesson planning break.  Maybe some day I'll redeem my Sundays from my all-day planning sprees. 

This summer I won't be traveling as much as I'm used to, but I will be going to Peru for two weeks as an English Language Specialist and teaching another online course that stretches into October.  And who knows, maybe I'll break down and use all those Taca/Avianca miles I've been hording to head off to Honduras with the esposo (or maybe I'll save them until next year when I've vowed to actually take a vacation).

North Carolina or Ohio?

After two and a half months, I finally have some choices to make.  ESL in Ohio or Spanish in North Carolina?  Neither job is at the university level, which in the end I think is okay, since the uni positions don't seem to pay much, have any benefits, or be in decent places to live.  I would really like to stick with ESL, but here's the problem...

North Carolina is MUCH more organized when it comes to teaching in public schools.  In Ohio, I've spent the WHOLE time I've been back trying to figure out what I need to do to teach here.  It's a pain and $$$$, to say the least.  So if I go with the place in NC, I automatically get a lateral entry license and they lead me through the process of what classes I would need to take.  The school would pay for the first 6 semester hours, and the rest would be reduced tuition.  This is great, since NC is WAAAAAAY cheaper than Ohio anyways!  I might even be able to get some of my teaching experience to count.  And, to top it all off, the school has TEACHER HOUSING!  So, I'd get to live in a new apartment complex, only with other teachers. 

And for Ohio.  UC took way too long to tell me how to even take classes again.  Each three quarter hour course is $618, and I would need to take at least 6 of those (around $4,000 for 18 quarter hours) to get the coursework that the Ohio Dept. of Education says I need for the alternative license.  If I listen to UC, I would have to take 27 quarter hours, plus 6 more of ESL K-12 methods for the endorsement.  And, the school doesn't seem to understand what alternative licensure is.  I could be on sub pay for a long time (although I have to clear this up).  And I don't know how much I would make, and I'd have to live in the Nati again, even though I love the area and students I'd get to work with. 

At either place (although not sure this applies if I'm a sub all year) I can get my Stafford loans paid off, something like $5,000 for every year that I work, up to $17,500.  That's awesome!  But honestly, I'm not sure that I trust UC, or Ohio.  In NC, it's warmer, way close to the beach and DC, and they know what they're doing.  Sigh, decisions. 

On Applying to Teach For America and Alternative Licensure

In today's NY Times, there's an opinion article  discussing teacher education programs and the relationship between teacher pay and performance (Room for Debate: Do Teachers Need Education Degrees?, http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/education-degrees-and-teachers-pay/ ).
In my job search, I've applied to universities mostly, but I've been thinking about teaching at public schools.  When I was working on my M.Ed. in Teaching ESL, I was sure that I would never want to teach in a public school, let alone work with youth. Four years abroad working with teens and public school teachers changed my mind.  I don't know how many times I've looked at the Teach For America website, and then decided not to apply, including this year.  But according to the Ohio Department of Education, there's no path for me to alternative licensure without being hired by a school district first.  I have all the content and methods classes I need for both Spanish and ESL (and probably technology, too, even though I didn't have them look at that).  I just need to take the Praxis for both areas which I'm planning to do in September, and 12 semester hours more of classes.  I'm looking for a new challenge and new experiences, and really, for some stability. 

But, a job. I could live at home, substitute teach, and see if something works out.  However, I have no desire to live in northwest Ohio, or even in Ohio.  I could go back to UC full-time and pay out of my pocket for more than a year of classes in education, but seriously, I'll be paying for my undergraduate education for years to come and don't need to add more loans on top of that than I have to.  This is where Teach For America starts to look good.  Yes, I'm already an educator, but not a public school educator.  I would love to live in many of the regions of the country that they're in, and be closer to universities that I could (and actually want) to do my doctorate at in the future.  I've been applying to schools in North Carolina (highly recommended by various VIF program teachers who worked there and loved it) hoping to be able to find one that would accept me through lateral entry, but I think it's the wrong time of year.  I know that T.F.A. has a lot of skeptics, some of who managed to dissuade me from applying before, but in the end I think it could be a good option for me.  

 

Going back to the article, it mentions that the director of teacher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education said that of the nation’s 1,300 graduate teacher training programs, only about 100 were doing a competent job and “the others could be shut down tomorrow.” The first year I was in El Salvador, I went to visit one of the other fellows that was in Xela, Guatemala and to present at a conference there.  She had done her Master's at Monterey Institute of International Studies, and two of her professors were also visiting for the same conference.  I'd always known that my Master's program wasn't everything that it should have been, but listening to my colleague and these professors, both well-known in the field of TESOL, talk about the good ole time at Monterey, my fears were confirmed.  That was also about the time that I decided that a doctorate was for me, but that I needed to choose carefully. 

There's so many things that I would like to do, and that I wished I had planned for, but now I know.  I had imagined another year in Colombia, but being back here has opened my eyes. I'll keep trying, and when it happens, it happens!