B'ILI
English Education Undergraduate |
B'ILI
English Education Undergraduate |
I've been home for a little over a week now and Ive had time to reflect.
I LOVE WHAT I DO . I love teaching I love seeing the " AH HA " moment. I love the struggle to get to that point. I am currently student teaching in my last semester here at buffalo state. I applying what I learned in the Dominican such as patients and sacrifice to my classroom . Im still somewhat co-teaching but most days its me in the classroom teaching like how it was in the DR. I am so grateful to have went on this study aboard trip because it truly opened my heart and my minded. I can't really find the words to describe how I feel but three things I know are that I found my why, I found myself . Throughout this journey of me going study aboard I found myself in a sense of testing all of my capabilities. I nervous about how my cohort and I would blend. Im glad I went in optimistically because normally before this trip I don't like new people mainly because I don't trust them or their motives. Throught his trip and experience I learned how to trust and make good friends. I Tested my self in cooking. Almost every night I cooked for my house. This was meaningful to me because again I don't like new people , I also am negative and slightly insecure when it does come to my cooking. However, everynight my house was very excited for whatever was for dinner. SO excited it started to include other houses. One of our last nights , I made chicken Alfredo from scratch for the very first time everyone pitched in for ingredients ad we ALL ate and the reviews were good that made me feel good because as I've stated in previous blogs and vlogs I believe food really brings people together. All of my cohorts brought something different to the table. but what I loved most not a single person was stingy, or mean , rude etc. We had moments don't get me wrong but overall if someone short on pesos or food we gave them it and didn't really look for it in return ( I think in a sense we adopted the Dominican culture of sharing because like at the empanada stand he would always give me free pieces of his OWN food for HIS lunch and share it with me not looking fo anything in return. CHI CHI and SOry took us to the nail salon not looking for anything in return! They all just wanted to see us happy My b-2 fam( they put us all in the right house) , we grew very close very quickly. Keiayrrah, I thanked her almost every day for being my roomie , dealing with my shenanigans but most of all making sure I never felt alone. She defiantly helped be feel balanced out because she quite and Im EXTREMELY outgoing. I often don't like going out with new groups because I do like being the center of attention ironically enough because it makes me feel like im the joke and not the one telling the joke. She made me feel more comfortable. Anytime I needed something taste tested She'd be the deciding factor lol. I for sure built a great bond. As well as with Sam, Like I said food brings people together. Thank Goodness all three of us ended up in the same house because we eat so much and big meaty portions ( the other houses didn't really eat meat) SO this worked out for the better. But in B-2 we always made sure everyone ate everyone had enough and no one was left behind. We played pranks on each other, finished a Netflix series together that was a big part of me learning trust new people as well. This trip also taught me about love. Ironically enough my bilingual book was about love and self-love. But the love I learned isn't the same love I wrote about. I learned acceptance, unconditional love and respect. Not romantically but in a friendly way I grew to love Kassia. I didn't hate her at first or anything like that but she was simply someone I did not know. On this trip I watched her lead, grow and blossom almost. I also had a few heavy conversations both and non verbal were I grew to love her more. When I say grew to love, I mean respect , understand and complete value. Kassia and I are two completely different people from different worlds however she showed me how similar we are as well. I grew to love someone who I'd normally stereotype. But I took the time to actually understand someone who's different than me and I feel like I can't express how much I genuinely love and respect the person that she is and how she effected me. I feel like overall I learned about love differently in a since of being completely vulnerable and accepting others for who they are and not judging them for it. This impacted me as a person and as a teacher because everyday you will encounter someone different from you instead of assuming what they will do or think ask them and try to understand them. NO, I am not saying understand someone mean you have to agree with everything they think or like but understanding means you listened and you don't pacify them you acknowledge the difference and maybe try to see what they see and share both sides. Love is acceptencing each other differences and learning their love language , learning how to care for them and their differences , learning how to communicate. Not to be corny but this was my version of eat, pray , love but it was more like EAT , TEACH , LOVE. Thank you to Wendy and Tamara for this amazing journey. THANK YOU Alvaro for never leaving us stranded and being so cool !
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One of our last days in the Dominican, we observed at the Tres Montessori School. I had no idea, completely no idea what this type of schooling was until I learned about ti on this trip. I loved this school because it was very independent based. The learning was self correcting and self validating. I love it because it taught students from a young age to be independent and to n to seek validation from others. I feel that validation has become a huge thing in our society espaiecally since social media has become so popular. How many followers and likes you have makes you more valuable literally.
The students in this school barely used technology. They were trusted with certain jobs such as being a greeter. They were handling glass everything. Everything about this school to me was so well thought out. Even to the point were its quiet almost all the time. No one yells no one screams except when they play and its not because they are forced not to yell or controlled in any way its because everyone is literally focused on themselves MINDING THEIR OWN BUISNESS! I LOVED THAT PEROSNALLY. While observing I noticed things that would've helped my brother and I growing up being that we work best when we are independent and learning things hands on. I feel like we would've flourished in this school versus the catholic school we attended were we were strictly taught how to be of a certain standard not really allowing us to explore ourselves and be who we wanted to be but we had to be what they wanted us to be. ( Hope that makes sense) While Observing I met JOsé again. I didn't recognize him. SO I started signing again think he was someone else but he was the same person that I met in the nail salon. We signed back and forth briefly but had to remain selective because he was suppose to be working. He would smile at me here and there and wave at me. When we were in the library he came over to the window and attempted to sign his name. I knew he was finger spelling but I couldn't tell what he was saying because it want how I learned it. I picked up a scrap paper and a writing untensil and he began to write his name. After he wrote his name he signed it again and what I noticed what that he signed what the letters looked like as apposed to signing what they actually were in sign language. This moment was small but I think it was the best moment of my entire trip. I taught im how to sign his name in ASL. I managed to explain that he was signing what it looked like instead of the actually thing. That was amazing and I kept the paper we wrote our names on. After that interaction I had to think. I was like are there any schools for the deaf here? Who can teach them sign language? José must have so much more to say well past his name but how would he communicate that. How would he learn? After that experience, I think I decided that I want to finish learning ASL and Spanish, I wan tot be able to teach people how to communicate. That why I got into teach int he first place how ever this trip seems to have remind me of my purpose. Emma our caterpillar volunteer! Took us on our very first empanada walk. The original crew was Emma, Sam, Keiayrrah and I. We would go every day after our first set of classes. One day Emma wasn't there but we walked by ourselves and communicated with the empanada people by ourselves. This experience was small but it was meaningful to me because it brought me closer to being a local in the Dominican. Everyday we would come so late we could miss the meat empanadas , so all that would be left is egg and cheese. The man and woman who freshly made our empanadas were so nice and worked with us knowing we clearly didn't know Spanish but we still found a way to communicate. In America , my local store the empanadas aren't made fresh and to my liking. Back home they sit in the heater all day and I still get charged $2. In the Dominican for an entire meal ( 2 empanadas and a freshly squeezed juice) it would cost barely a total of 20cents. On this walk , I got to bond more with my cohorts. Im a firm a believer in food brings people together. I looked forward to our walks every day I got to experience something outside of the classroom that my students in DR experience and do all the time. It was one of the ways I took a step into their world. My emotions are literally everywhere. I’m happy to go home but I can’t help but know I’m leaving behind another home. My students are my world and have changed my life a many ways. Today was definitely the second saddest day of my life but in my heart I will always be happy because I know that I made a difference❤️Imma miss my babies. I feel like I keep saying over and over how much they taught me and changed my life but its the truth they have. I feel like because am just so grateful for this experience that's truly all I can say. Have you ever went to sleep and you had a dream that was so amazing but you woke up? I know I have! Have you ever tried to go back to sleep and see if you can continue it? Me too!
1. You don't know everything and that's okay
2. Think on your feet 3. Repeat, Rephrase,Redo These are three things I learned while teaching grades 9,10 and 12 English over he past week and a half. In the beginning I under estimated the knowledge of my students. I assumed they didn't know any English that was a big misunderstanding. Once I said hello , they replied " Hello how are you ? " I was like oh okay !! I was excited to see what they knew and to build on it. So after observing the 9th grade English class I figured out how I was going to build with them and tech them new words. I also noticed how majority of their interaction was direct interaction I wanted shake things up in a big way. The first day I taught I taught 12th grade, 10th grade and 9th grade while my other cohorts taught in either 1 or two classes. This was by accident but I am happy it happened because it gave me a wider range of perspective. In each class there were 2 to 3 strong English speakers. They were very essential in helping me translate instructions. For my classes I did a twist on the game HEADS UP! I had English words on index cards and I taught students the word by using body movement , showing them the card and saying the word all at the same time. There would be time where students would already know the word or the strong English speakers would help out. For example, I had the word Optimism in the cards. The students saw the card and said " Optimismo" I was like Yes ! This game was very successful as an Ice breaker and kind of a bench marker. Students love this game so much it was good to see them in teams moving around, acting things out, being loud, making sounds and saying the words in English. I was great to see my quiet one stepping up and out of their comfort zones. One of the many things about people notice about me is my nails. I always have my nails done and they are normally very long and have different designs. BUT STEPHANIE she did my nails perfectly and we did not understand each other at all. However, we used body language and with the help of Julissa to understand each other. The Mariposa girls also were the main reason we were able to get this done they made the appointment for us and helped translate for us. Our nails came up to be so cheap and Stephanie even offered to lower the price. Like for instance one fo my cohorts GEL manicure came up to 4.50 in American money. The shape and crispness of that manicure was worth so much more. I told Stephanie to do whatever she wanted to my nails and I got a pedicure as well. She filed my nails down so nicely from their chunky shape. Then she did a fill in for my nails, painted , and did 3-D art !!! In America my entire mani / pedi would came to close if not more than $100 and it would been poor quality , poor service and taken forever . IN the DR for the fantastic shape, artistry , service and design. She charged 700 pesos which in American money was like 15 dollars. 15!! This was another time where my cohorts and I bonded some more. We were in this nail shop with only two people working for hours and it didn't feel like it we were all joking and laughing and having a great time. That's the I first met Jose. Stephanie's younger brother I think name is Jose and he came in the shop because his friends the girl who did my feet works in there as well. He came in and Stephanie started to do a type of sign language with him. and I picked up on it. I took sign language at buff state and My father also speaks sign language ( however a never finished teaching me) But I do know how to communicate well enough on my own. SO I began signing ASL ( American Sign Language) . José looked at me strange. I said does he not speak sign language and then it came up that he found a way to sort of make his own. I addition, I also took into account that he may have learned a different version of sign language. Sacrifice, Sacrificó.
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AuthorI am from Staten Island, NY. I am Senior in English Ed. ArchivesCategories |