LPV & The Mystery Fruit

Image 1: The view of P---- from our apartment.

Image 2: Warren eating huevos con tomate y arepas for breakfast. He's eating so well, I'm fairly sure he'll never eat my vegan food again. For lunch he had a traditional potato and chicken soup with fried arepas and avocado, and tonight he had slow-cooked barbecue pork with fried plantains and of course, una cerveza. I shouldn't complain, though. I had fruit and fresh-squeezed orange juice for breakfast, salad, avocados, rice, and fried arepas for lunch, and beans, rice, fried plantains, and salad for dinner. We've also both snacked on fresh mango, and we're about to indulge in a little pineapple as well. YUM!

The day started early. Too early. The culprit behind this much-too-early morning? A bird. Specifically, some kind of loud parrot that squawks and screams loudly right outside my window. I hate birds.

Despite being woken by a bird thirty minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off, it was a very good day. We ate a yummy breakfast prepared by D-ita and then Andrea picked us up and drove us to the school, LPV. This time, our drive was relatively uneventful, and it was fun to see all the different parts of P---.

Of course, most of our day was spent at LPV, and thank goodness. The place is practically a resort! Palm trees line the sidewalks, lilies and hibiscus color the grounds, and all the buildings are made of bamboo. The school has a pool and an ecological park (where the older students apparently like to make out). It also has cute little courtyards with incredible trees, two playgrounds, and a number of courts for soccer and volleyball. Only the office building and the library have windows; the classrooms are all open air. It's so beautiful, it is hard to describe. If American children went to school at LPV, they would think it was vacation. (To the right: a 1st grade classroom.)

LPV is a bilingual school, so the students learn both English and Spanish. Today Warren and I observed a lower level class. The teacher spoke entirely in English, but the students could ask questions in Spanish. Usually, answers had to be given in English. They study language arts, math, science, and some social studies in English. They also learn Spanish and study some history in Spanish. In addition, the students have swimming class and P.E. (To the left: a view of the "cafeteria" from the elementary school. It's open air, and I was told people rent it out for weddings. Can you even imagine someone renting out your elementary school cafeteria for a WEDDING?)

The students are very eager and absolutely adorable. At first, they were very shy around us. During their recess, a number of them would stare at us and then whisper to each other. Eventually, a few of them would ask a very simple question, like "Do you speak Spanish?" and then after receiving an answer, they would run away. This continued for awhile. We figured out that they would huddle together, come up with a new question, practice it, and then come back and ask questions. It was really cute, but both Warren and I started asking them questions to make the conversation a bit more... less rehearsed. It worked really well, and the kids got really excited about us. In the afternoon we began learning about the W-APT test which we will be administering. It's a proficiency screening test, and it looks interesting, but the information is rather tedious. While we were reading the material, a group of students gathered outside the windows and stared at us. We began talking to them, but they were mostly just interested in looking at us. We went outside and I told them I felt like I was in a fish bowl and they were all staring at me! They laughed, and after we talked for a few minutes they went back to their work. (Above right: one of the playgrounds.)

We rode home on the bus with the students. It was a lot of fun. One little boy, Justin, sat near us and talked to us for a very long time. He's really cute, and he has excellent English. Actually, most of the students have very good English, but they are all quite shy.

Tomorrow we begin our Spanish-English exchange. I'm really excited. The bio-chemistry teacher is going to teach us Spanish and we are going to help him with English. It's a great opportunity, and I hope I can learn enough to at least converse with D-ita! (I think I stress her out a bit because I don't speak Spanish.)

Today I noticed a much clearer division between the rich and the poor here. Few places look "middle-class" but lots of homes looked really expensive. Sadly, we also have seen a few slums. They are cramped together, and the roofs are made out of sheet metal and often look like they have been patched over at least a dozen times. I have to admit that I feel like the Pereira I am living in and working in is much different than the lower-class Pereira, and I hope my view of Colombia isn't too skewed because of it.

Mystery Fruit.... This is a very unusual fruit that I had as my "after school snack." D-ita had to show me how to eat it... basically, she cracked it open like an egg and then scooped all of the insides into a cup. It tasted sort of like a plum, but was very slimy and full of seeds. Does anyone know what it is?

BUENAS NOCHES!