I've been hired by a small English Language Institute. So far they've given me 10 hours of work per week, but if they like the way I teach, they'll give me more hours– up to a maximum of 30 per week. They pay $10,000 COP per hour which is the lowest wage I've heard of for teaching English in Medellín. The cost of living a very austere lifestyle here is about $1,200,000 COP per month. There are teachers who work full time at this institute and I think either they get paid more or else they know something about thrifty living that I don't. Anyway, I think this job serves as a step in the right direction. And I haven't forgotten that the whole reason why I'm teaching English (besides the fact that sometimes teaching can almost be sort of fun) is to allow for things to happen like these that follow:
I saw a guy with a duck.
For some reason, the process of preparing lesson plans tortures me. Although it has happened and no real consequences followed, running out of material while teaching a class and having no idea what to do is a scenario that plays out in my mind like a nightmare. While I was paralyzed with fear, starring at my Teachers' Edition English Language Book the other day, this moth landed right on my windowsill and stayed there while I took a photo of it. I found it reassuring.
I think the trick to avoiding running out of material while teaching a class is to bring lots of photocopies– even if they aren't relevant to the lesson. It will keep students occupied and give the teacher the appearance that she or he knows what she or he is doing. I just found out that my English Language Institute has neither a photocopier nor a printer. I suppose these are things the teachers are expected to pay for at copy centers out of their own meagre salaries. I discovered this today, which is El Dia de San Juan, and all the shops are closed for the holiday. I hope I can find one that's open early enough for me to make copies for my 6am class tomorrow!
This guy was playing some great music in his shop so I asked him what it was and he wrote it down for me on a piece of paper and gave it to me. I immediately lost it.
They call these bonanos verdes. They can be used for making patacones.
First you slice them.
Then you fry them. I think they're actually supposed to be deep fried, but my room mate insisted that I do it this way. I didn't document the next step, which is to smoosh them.
Then you put them in this bowl of salt water with smooshed garlic. I don't know why ours is yellow– maybe some turmeric got in there.
Then you fry them again. Mine fell apart, and I think that's because the pan-frying I did earlier didn't cook them as thoroughly as deep frying would have. Also, these had a powerfully astringent taste that I think deep frying would have removed. I'll have to wait til my room mate isn't around some time so I can try deep frying some patacones.
I'm setting my alarm for 4:30 am so I can put on my English-teaching costume, make photo copies, and walk to the language institute by 6:00. I know there are a lot of people who teach English and find it easy and stress free. I could really use another visit from a moth.
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