Third Session of volunteering

Wednesday Oct 3rd was my third session of volunteering at Adams school. I worked an a project for the secretary sorting some documents that had confidential information. She needed the help and she could not have the usual parent volunteers sort them as the information pertained to the children who went to school there. I was able to do this since I do not have children who attend the school. When I was done with that I assisted the kindegarten teacher with a project of laminating some flip chart sized pages. She said the children tend to get rough with them so laminating them protects them. The pages contained photo's of items with the Spanish word that pertains to that item. There were several pages that took the photos and words making them into a sentence. She had used something similar when I shadowed in her room last week. I finished that task and moved onto assisting one of the aids with a project of cutting out shapes that the children would be using to make a collage of sorts. I visitied with the aid. He is from MN and has worked at Adams for a couple of years. He works with the teachers to break down where the children are on the learning scale. He shared with me that some children come in and are very comfortable in the bi-lingual world. Others have had little or no exposure to Spanish, but the parents want the children to learn the language as some of the culture that goes along with learning a second language. This can be a good thing, or it can be extremly difficult. There are some children who are also on the complete opposite end and have little grasp of either language. This is where he comes in. He takes on some of the training of the children who need the extra help. I asked if he liked his job and he said yes, it is one of those jobs where while working with children who are struggling only to have them have a break thru and to see how far they can come in one year is rewarding. It was nice to hear that he enjoyed his job and is there as a positive resouce for the children.

Next week Oct 9th will be my last time at the school. I am sad, as I have met some very interesting people. Each one has a unique story of who they are and has been willing to share something about themselves with me.

Food yum

I went out for lunch with niece yesterday to El Loro. The food was wonderful. I cannot wait to go back. I had two chicken enchaladas with rice. Their salsa was tangy with no too much onion and garlic. With my touchy stomach I am always a little worried that I am going to be sorry after the fact.

The staff was so very nice. I know they have several locations in the cities, so if you get a chance, give them a try.

War over Tomatoes

In Saturday's Star Tribune business section there was as story about how Mexico and the United States are spating over tomoatoes. The mile high view is - in 11 years the fresh tomato production in Mexico has grown from $412 million to $1.81 billion and American farmers want a bigger piece of this pie.

I will bring the article with to class on Tuesday.

While reading the article I moved back and forth between whose side I was on. I support the American farmers but I also support the Mexico farmers as the quality can at times be better and we know the price is better. If the American farmers win the cost will increase significantly for the consumer and the wealth will increase in the pockets of the big American tomoato growers. I do know that I really do not want the price to increase significantly for tomoates. I thought with Tuesday's topic being about Tommy Tomato we could discuss this as well.

The article also hints that if this goes thru that there maybe retaliation in other area of imports on the Mexico side. The products the US currently exports to them could drop causing an econmic domino effect here which again effects the consumer not the company that makes it.

Here is the link to the article.
http://www.startribune.com/business/172916331.html

Mexican Street Corn

I wanted to make something new for dinner last night with a Mexican theme to go with the steak we were having. My husband is quite picky when it comes to vegetables and spices. I found this recipe, I did change one thing ( used sour cream instead of mayo as I HATE mayo). We both liked it. I will be making it again when we have guests.

Mexican Street Corn
Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Corn Oil
3 cups Whole Kernel Corn; Fresh, frozen or canned
½ cup Mayonnaise
¼ tsp Chili Powder
1 Small Jalapeno Pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp Garlic Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
Zest of 1 Lime
2 Limes, quartered
Cilantro Sprigs

Directions:

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet and add corn. Pan roast 4-5 minutes until corn is golden and hot. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, chili powder, jalapeno and garlic salt, then stir to combine. Add to roasted corn and heat through. Top with zest and ground pepper, then serve with lime quarters and cilantro.

I personally really liked the lime and cilantro flavor mixed with the corn.

Enjoy

Tuesday Oct 2nd class

Tuesday's night class was a very good night.

Not only was it a beautiful night, but we went on a field trip to the market. I had not been in a market like this one before. It was so different from the stores I shop at. The store was very nice, they had items that I do not see in the big box markets I shop at. I bought a strawberry empanada. It was delicious. Nikol bought a salad/salsa that looked very tasty. I am going to have to meet one of my nieces at the market for lunch some Saturday and try something off the menu and get another empanada (maybe a pineapple one).

We did a report/reporter session. Nikol is my partner. When I asked her what she had experienced the last week, she was excited to tell me about the movie she watched on Friday night. It was called A Better life. She throughly enjoyed the movied even if it made her cry. I asked her to give me the high level plot of the story, which she did. It is a story about an illegal immigrant who wants a better life for his son. There are many trials and tribulations for him, but he finally finds a way to make it happen, only to have the hope dashed. While working to get the better life back, his son and him embark on a journey that brings them closer together. I asked how it ends; she did share it with me (I will not post it just in case you do not want to know. The end was sad and while sharing we both became emotional (yes those pesky tears). She said the movie really gave her a look at what people will go thru for their families.

After our field trip we went back to the classroom to discuss NAFTA. Working for a company that profits from NAFTA has me torn. Products my company produces in Mexico are brought back to the US and put into our warehouse in Indianna where we then sell the to customers all over the world. The price is better by having the manufacturing in Mexico, but does it help the Mexican people at all. I know that Donaldson is a good place to work here in the the US, I can only hope that the workers at Donaldson Mexico are treated as well.

I went to Adams school today for my next volunteer session, I will post more on that later.

I am looking forward to next week.


This is all for now.

Culture

Culture as a whole is like a maze. A maz that you can navigate only by experiences and an open mind. You have to leave assumptions at the door or you may not see what a new culture has to offer.

Experiencing a different culture can be exciting and a learning experience. I traveled to Belgium last spring. I discovered that their culture includes french fries with every meal and that meals can take hours. I took photos of all my meals as they all were lovely, it was a presenation on a plate that tasted wonderful. In the US if you choose to stay and visit at the table when you are finished with your meal, you feel the pressure, you know that the extablishment is just waiting to turn your table. The sooner you leave the sooner someone else can be seated therefore making more money. Resturants in Belgium encourage you to linger, enjoy the courses (there are always 4 or more for each meal) and the company of the people you are with. I found that food tastes better when you get to taste it and saver instead of inhaling so the next person can have your chair.

Culture can also take on an ugly side. When cultures clash the positives are hard to find. An example would be muslim women who choose to hold onto wearing berkas and sandels. If this is your choice then do not take jobs that require you to wear pants and steal toed shoes for your safety, only to scream discrimination when you show up and are told you must adhere to the dress code. Its not that the company is discriminating towards you, they have the rules in place for a reason, your own protection. When I heard this story my first thought was WTF! Did these women think they were special? I never heard how the story ended, but I curious to know how the judge ruled on this case.

In Harvest of Empire it states that when the first immigrants from Europe came here, they wanted a new life and they were willing to drop their old culture and make a new one in the new world. Today that does not happen and although we need to make room for all the new cultures that are coming into the US, those people also need to respect what is already here. It is a two way street.

I understand culture and its maze of practices, actions and relationships. How to get everyone on the same page towards different cultures (basically playing nice)is a whole nother maze. I guess if everyone took on the idea that a different culture could enrich your life the world might be at peace.

My second session of volunteering

This past week I returned to Adams Spanish Immersion school to volunteer. Nikol had arranged for me to sit in with three different classes and observe. I was excited to see the differences in the classrooms.
My first class was Srita Eide in kindegarten. This was the third week of school for the chicos. Srita Eide was very patient with them. To me it was like hearding cats. Once the chicos were settled she took out a book that had a matching CD that when played the book while someone sang the word. The class sang along while she pointed out the different words to the matching pictures. She them did a matching session asking the class if the picture matched or did not match.
My next class was with Srita Peters. My time in class with with second graders. They were making making a tree with fall leaves by tearing construction paper instead of cutting the shapes. The question was asked why can't we cut them in english and answered in spanish because trees and leave are not straight lines. When the demonstration/instructions were complete the chicos headed back to the tables and began tearing and assembling their trees. I was able to walk around and observe them. I found that each of the treesdifferent as what each one of them saw was different as well as the skill level of the chico. I enoyed my time in this classroom and I think the chicos enjoy art with Srita Peters.
My next session with with Sr Casey in first grade. In kindergarten the class sang a song while pointing to the pictures that are associated with the words. First grade does the same thing. I concluded that by singing the chicos much learn quicker. Sr Casey was going to read to the class. He asked for ideas of which book to read. The class chose a story of a big black dog that was to protect a little boy. I enjoyed the story by the photos (I couldn't see the words). There was a pause in class when one chico's lunch came back up. Mr Casey handeled it well. I should have asked what the spanish word is for puke.
When my classroom time was done, I went back to the volunteer room. There are three aids that work at the school. I was able to spend sometime with one of them (I forgot how to spell her name..I will ask again this week). She is 20 and from Spain. She was telling me about Spain and how much she loves it there. She said that with her time here in the US as an aid she will be able to get a job that will pay much greater than not having the experince in the US. She said that English is taught in the lower grades in Spain, but not mandatory once you get out of grade school. She found it intersting that in the US that unless you attend an immersion school that a second language is not taught until high school. She said she personally found a second language comes easier when you are younger. I believe her, as I took French in high school for one year and I found it difficult to get the correct enunsian. From what I have seen singing is a big part of teaching a second language to younger chicos. I had to laugh as I could not see high school students singing to learn.
I enjoy my time at the school and look forward to my next session.