Adding a class

The adults in the community of Centro Buen Pastor asked me to start a class for them, so we begin today.  After my high school students are done at 5, I´m going to give the adult class from 5:00 to 5:45.  Julio, the sisters´ driver, asked me if the class was going to be all about writing at ¨that grammar stuff.¨  I promised him it wouldn´t.  We´re going to focus on conversation and how to talk to Americans.  That is especially what they need to work with the American groups that come to help here and in future jobs they may have outside of Centro Buen Pastor.  Its going to be very basic to start, but hopefully we can get pretty far in the 8 months we´ll have class.

Sister Jean Gabriel is in the US right now.  She is taking vacation time and visiting the convent in Ohio, but she is also visiting churches that support the mission here at Centro Buen Pastor.  She will be in MA the end of this month.  On Wednesday, October 27, she will speak at Second Congregational Church in Boxford at 6:30 pm and on Sunday, October 31, she will attend mass at St. James Episcopal Church in Groveland and speak during fellowship afterwards.  She has a wonderful slide show that demonstrates how far the mission has come since they started working here in the 80s, including pictures of some of the babies that they were able to save who are now my high school English students.  It is pretty amazing what they have been able to do.  She will also have more information on how to support the mission and how to donate to the church, clinic, and school here.  If you want more information about her visit, let me know, or contact either church.

While Sister Jean Gabriel is away, I am watching her house and the cats and dogs.  I realized this weekend that without her here, I´ll be speaking a lot less English.  Besides my English classes (during which I always end up using Spanish to explain and help the students) the only English I´m speaking is to the pets (who are bilingual!) and with some of the adults who work at the center who have had a lot of English classes in high school and college, but generally they speak English to me and I answer in Spanish so we all get the practice we need.  Having Sister leave is almost like taking off the training wheels.  Now its time to see how I can really do here.

Janeidy jumping Chinese jump rope to practice directions

Afternoon studying and playing Uno 

Jairo trying to get his leg over the high rope for "Right"

My classes are still going very well.  I´ve run into some of my elementary school students walking around the neighborhood and they are always very excited to see me.  Its very sweet.  They are good kids, and they are having a lot of fun with my class.  They don´t have art or music class like elementary school students in the US, so I don´t mind incoporating a lot of singing and drawing into my English lessons, which help them with the language, but also let them be more creative.  Sister Jean Gabriel is really interested in starting a music program with instruments, but they need to get donations to cover the cost for that type of educational addition.  There are records for sale here, but the students can´t afford to buy their own, and the music and teaching hours would also need to be paid for by the school.  Hopefully it is something that can be added in the future.  She also said she´d really like some instruments for the older kids to play during church services.  Juan Francisco and Jairo, who are in my English class, play procussion instruments during mass at Centro Buen Pastor and at San Esteban.  Sister would like a new small bongo style drum for them to use during softer songs, because sometimes when they bang the large drum they have, it doesn´t fit with the mood of the songs.  They are very talented and it would be great to see them able to expand their musical knowledge. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Dios les bendiga,

Tina