Why do I like where I work?

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This year is the 40th birthday of San Benito! While I’ve only been here for a few months, it’s been phenomenal to be a part of. The last weekend of August, the school had a 3-day long party to celebrate. Some of the monks from the US, whose monastery has been part of the school for decades, came down to visit. There were performances of all different types, and all sorts of food tents.

On the first day, the students and alumni of the school performed for the families, teachers, and monks. Scheduled to last until 11 at night, we didn’t finish until about 1:45 in the morning. Thankfully, it was overwhelmingly enjoyable all the way through. There were bands, dancers, sketch performances, and even a play written by the seniors here. The most enjoyable thing to see was the play, although it came last in the scheduling. A story about love that started in high school, it wasn’t too earth-shattering in the complex and thought provoking story-line department, but they had dances and songs scattered throughout, which they performed phenomenally. The best, a recreation of Greased Lightning performed by all the young men in the senior class. I can’t get videos uploaded here, but it was darn near flawless in comparison to the movie.

The next day started with a volleyball tournament. The teachers had a team (it was great to cheer for them and the students from the sideline), and every grade along with some alumni had teams as well. I helped the brothers who were working the food ticket booth during this time as well. One of the most interesting parts of the whole experience was that the school had printed their own (fancy) currency for the event instead of using the standard, church festival type of food ticket.

The evening hosted a lecture from one of the American priests who had lived here for a few decades as well as a mass. Following mass, we walking out the the sport courts, and listened to a phenomenal mariachi band while drinking canelaso, a hot, spiced, sugar water concoction (sometimes spiked – but no one knew if it had been that night…)

The final day, named Dia de la Familia, was to celebrate and enjoy the family (makes sense, right?) It was about equivalent to a church festival, with different types of home-style and delicious food, vendors from the neighborhood, and families of the school, a stage for live music all day long, and activities brought in like bungee bouncing and a mechanical bull. Fun place to be for the day.

So we ate food, talked with everyone (monks, teachers, students, and families), and played the games. We even tossed a football around with the adventurous students.

In all, a weekend full of activities meant to provide a place to enjoy the people around us and the gifts they have. And that was not the only unique thing the school has done since we’ve been here.

One day all the teachers and staff at the school switched places. Un dia en los zapatos del otro – a day in the shoes of the other. Meant to inform our teachers about all the tough work the maintenance and service staff do here, and to reward those people with a fun day of teaching and a pass to leave earlier than they usually do (2-3 hours earlier! They work much more each day than us teachers have to!!!)

It was an awesome experience and everyone had fun with it. A newfound respect for the talents and endurance of those staff was instilled in just about everyone. And the students loved having a change in their schedule as well.

We also had a workshop day for all the teachers, but classes were still held. Who were the teachers?? The entire eleventh grade class. The star pupils in each subject replaced the teacher who chose them. With a ceremony and all, the teachers handed over their power to the oldest students, hoping all went as planned. (By all accounts it did.) Us teachers had a fantastic time as well; playing soccer, listening to discourses from a variety of our coworkers, and enjoying a picnic.

But that’s not all the school has done to change things up. We also had a day called Colombianidad. Basically, this day served the purpose of informing the students and whoever they talked to about the biggest issues relevant to every Colombian in their country. The students researched issues as a grade and prepared a classroom-sized display, a presentation, and a parade exhibition. Issues ranged from mineral and energy resource harvesting to drugs and para-military violence. In the displays, the students had posters, pamphlets, costumes, and lively speeches to share all they had learned. After every presentation and discussion finished, we all prepared for the parade. I accompanied the sixth grade group in the middle of our column as we marched through our neighborhood banging on pails and reciting chants relevant to change in our area. The students in each grade went all out dressing in costumes, creating numerous chants, and even some performances of dance and other choreography. It was a hell of a display and well worth the sunburn I had at the end. (I was still learning that sunscreen is always necessary here when you may be outside for more the 30 minutes -> thin air + altitude = no bueno)

Lately, we had the week of Culturarte – three nights of the arts: paintings and drawing, music, and dancing. And damn are these students talented! I was able to bring mom and dad to the night of music where every grade was represented by a band that performed 4 or five songs in Spanish and English. Although it was a long night, it was super enjoyable. And the students showed they not only can ace their tests, but have talents unrelated to typical school studies that they have perfected. And it’s across the board, not just a select few students.

We have, of course, had some field trips as well. But these were the type of field trip which would never be allowed in the States. The first was a hike to a mountain park. It started with guides for each grade and a hike to explain the plants that live and natives who had lived in the area. Halfway through, we had a lunch where the students were left to themsleves while all the teachers dined in a different area – in the middle of nowhere the students were allowed to roam free. Trust I had never seen given throughout my time as a student or working with children. And no one was hurt or lost. Then even more surprisingly, the students were allowed to hike back up the bugger of a mountain by themselves or with friends. And once again, everyone made it to the top without being herded by the teachers. It was a good hike.

Then the ninth grade class invited the gringos to accompany them on their trip to hike another mountain trail and visit some museums in the city center. We saw a lot of great things that I hadn’t known existed, and learned a lot about the city and national history.

Other small things that I like a lot:

• San Carlos feeds all our teachers every day, for free, and the meals are massive as well as tasty.
• Every week, the school starts with an assembly among all the students and teachers to remind them of why we are here and build community.
• The teachers are super friendly and active in the school. With us, they talk about everything. One of the best parts is although they are all very talented and professional, they still enjoy eachother’s company, teasing and making jokes that are funny. It’s not a bunch of people preoccupied with loooking professional at the expense of enjoying the time together.
• In any given week, the students have some sort of sports tournament during the breaks. Classes go great follows those breaks if your class won, but after a loss, even those who didn’t play are upset. It’s always a serious and important event to be in those games. We have even had a few that went into class time because the winners just needed to be decided.
• Lately, we had two championship teams in volleyball as well. Some of the best excitement I have had, both the boys’ and girls’ teams won the whole league championship. What made it even better to be at – we were the only school where teachers came to support the student-athletes. It wasn’t just the gringos who had nothing better to do that day, but many of the real teachers were there to support the students. There wasn’t a single teacher from another school, showing me how much different our school is and how much the teachers really do care for what they do here.