Volunteer Story: Teaching in Bolivia
SEPTEMBER
1, 2011 BY LACY LEAVE A COMMENT
The following is a guest post from a volunteer named Kayleen, who just spent a year volunteer teaching in Bolivia.
Please read on to hear wonderful and
poignant reflections about the challenges of volunteering abroad, and
how the struggle is worth it in the end.
**
My
sister drove me to school on the first day I taught in Bolivia. On the
road ahead of us were mountains, the foothills of the Andes. Peaceful,
unchanging for hundreds of years. A place to hide from the rest of life.
Here I was, having just volunteered a week ago to teach fifth grade
at this international school, and all I wanted was to escape to the
mountains.
I
stood in front of my classroom, lips trembling, hands clammy, heart pounding as
I introduced myself. I have a degree in linguistics, and my experience
teaching consisted of throwing Spanish vocabulary cards on the floor and having
my students jump on them to learn their words. I felt (and was) clueless
as to how to lead twenty students in core curriculum for an entire
year.
My
first few months I was blissfully ignorant. I had no idea what I was doing
and that worked for me. I was young enough and fun enough that my
students liked me and were willing to learn unconventionally. Parents were
kind when their kids came home telling them that they could chew gum if it
helped them concentrate (not worth the help in concentrating, trust
me). However, after about two months of “teaching” it was time
to get serious.
I
was a volunteer who had stepped into a role only because no one else
would. I had no experience and few skills. And my class was behind
in our curriculum, behavior problems were surfacing, and I was losing my “first
time’s a charm” high. I loved my students, and to do what was best for
them, I needed to learn how to be a real teacher.
How
did I become a real teacher? I worked harder than I probably ever have in
my life. I woke up early, I went to bed late, and I ate, slept, and bled
fifth grade. My stipend was enough for me to pay rent and transportation,
but I ended up eating a lot of wheatempanadas,
a cheap street food there. My social life became asking
other teachers how to run lit circles or who was misbehaving during
music. I dove into a pool of volunteer teaching, and I wasn’t about come
up for air until I was done.
When
the year was finally over, I took a deep breath. I felt like I had just
finished a marathon—sore, tired, thirsty, but mostly numb from overstimulation
of every part of me. I had to ask myself two questions. First, did
the students even benefit from having me as their teacher? Second, was it
worth the sacrifice of leaving comfort and making myself exhausted for a
year? These questions were answered in two different
ways.
First,
did the students even benefit from having me as their teacher? Second, was
it worth the sacrifice of leaving comfort and making myself exhausted for a
year?
A
few days into vacation, one of my student’s mothers called and wanted to take me
out to lunch with her son. As we sat at one of the nicest restaurants in
the city and waiters piled meat onto our plates, she started telling me her life
story. Amazing stories of living in three countries, being chased in all
three by the common theme of love. Now she lives in Bolivia and devotes
her life to loving the underprivileged children there. Before we left the
restaurant, she looked me in the eye and thanked me for knowing how to love her
son that year. Worth it.
Two
months later, before I left Bolivia but after feeling had returned to my body,
mind, and heart, I finally got to escape to the Andes. My friends and I
climbed a huge hill that looked over Lake Titicaca—snowcapped mountains in the
distance and a beautiful harbor below. As I stood there taking in the
view, I realized how far I had come in one year. I grew in understanding
not just the cultures I was surrounded by, but also how cultures work. I
learned how be be an adult. I learned how to get hurt and keep
going. I learned how to keep going when there seems to be no one to move
forward for. Worth it.
This Web Page Created with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor