Motivational days should motivate and empower you, well so I believe, In truth this one has made me wonder seriously why I am here! This school gives the impression it has been and still is, in trouble and that this 2 day event was designed as a way to get every one pulling in the right direction, by everyone I really mean the local staff and teachers since the event took place in 95% spanish and english teachers, and I wasn't alone, who didnt understand or couldn't keep up with the rapid fire commands felt isolated and in effect differentiated against. Considering the drive we kept hearing was for Bi-Lingualism they missed something really important in this event in my opinion. I did manage to speak to some members of the Juanta.( pronounced HOONTA ) Its strange how that name brings up strange feelings, not every one will associate it with war, unless your old enough to have remembered the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands, but for those that do it has a tinge of uncertainty about it. Its literal meaning is "Board" as in board of directors and the ones I spoke to appeared open and genuine in their desire to see the school become a true BiLingual school and a leader of education in their area, but what I have to remember is that these guys are business men and the school isn't just about education but also about money, and they control the purse strings. Technology is a perfect case in point they want the technology classroom to be a leader in the region, they want Robotics to be taught and classes to compete on an international world stage but they havent put any money into it and as you can see from my class room pics earlier they havent exactly made the facilities suitable for such a challenging idea. I was honest with them I told them to give me the resources and I'll give them the department they want, leave me with limited resources and facilities and they will still get the best quality experience we can give the kids but it wont be in robotics. They seemed to genuinly believe that both classrooms will be ready to walk into tomorrow and therefore ready to start teaching in the following day Tuesday - I am still to be convinced I know when I left on Thursday the school, not just my classroom looked like a building site and was easily 2-3 inches deep in dust. However we'll see tomorrow.
The Hotel we stayed at was in a town called Paipa some 4 hours drive from Bogota it is a small town slightly higher up than Bogota which had its own problems as far as being there. I still havent fully managed to adapt to the altitude, and its strange looking at mountains very similar to what you see in Scotland but whose tops are shrouded in clouds.
The scenery on the journey to the Hotel was very varied, and pretty.
The first port of call was at a small bridge in what is effectively a valley surrounded on 3 sides by high hills. In the middle is a small stream and over the stream a small bridge. It looks very picturesque especially when you notice the statue of Simon Bolivar close by. It turns out the Independance of Colombia was sealed in the last battle here at this very bridge that has been preserved to commemorate the event. (Its so small and insignificant you can almost imagine the two opposing generals meeting on the bridge to arm wrestle).The Spanish apparantly expected the army of Bolivar to attack from the south, Bolivar instead led his troops commando style down the 3 sides of the surrounding hills and took the Spanish by surprise.
The Hotel we stayed at is probably 3 star and is part of a group of hotels that use natural sulpher hot springs to heat their outdoor pool, watching the steam rise off the water at night gave an almost spooky hollywood effect, apparantly its very good for you though I hadn't brought a swim suit so didn't partake. Partly as you can see due to the weather. (Though it didnt stop others from going in at all hours!).
Overall with 1 day, Monday, to prepare (assuming we have classrooms to work in) we could really have done without the 2 days away to be demotivated
Oh final point on a Positive note !!! I discovered Ice Cream served with Grated Cheese - yes Grated Cheese its a sweet course here, I had never come across before but its bloody lovely.. seriously if you get the chance try it. (I know it sounds terrible but I now need to go buy Ice Cream and a Grater, better get some mild cheese too though.)
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