tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88090631367882706702024-02-19T01:00:05.981-08:00Estilo CosteñoChristina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-73280330801346976262013-10-04T08:13:00.000-07:002013-10-04T08:16:08.819-07:00Money Matters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Money and people who want it often get a bad rep—<i>that superficial, self-centered,
materialistic, Mr. Scrooge</i>. Likewise, those who don’t have excess cash get
the <i>dirty, stupid, and miserable </i>label.
People discriminate against socio-economic backgrounds different than their own
because of that--it is <i>different</i>. Unknown,
therefore scary and threatening. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I do not think that money or the desire to have it is always a "bad" thing; indeed money is often times crucial to people's livelihoods and to spark changes. Money and lack of it can have both positive and negative repercussions. But regardless if we all cannot agree on if money is “good” or
“bad”, I think most can say it is “bad” when a mom cannot afford food for her
children or when a highly motivated student cannot fund the education he/she
wants. The good/bad debate becomes complex when people choose to save or spend
their earned money in situations that clearly harm others’ wellbeing… to choose
to drive a Hummer when you know how polluted our planet already is; to choose
to save $10 to buy a shirt than you know was made in a sweatshop; to choose to spend
the little salary you earn on beers when you know your child needs a new school
uniform.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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We all do it, me included. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Money can be harmful when it is an excuse to not look at the
real person, the real problem or the real situation, and furthermore, when it
creates power, respect and validation in people and circumstances that
otherwise would have none.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>- - - - - </o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Neither “development” nor my Peace Corps objective is to
help poor people become rich. Instead, the aim should be to ensure that
people’s basic needs (food, clean water, security) and rights (to education, to
a job, freedom of expression) are met and moreover change larger societal
structures that hinder these needs and rights (conflict resolution, political
corruption). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The “When I Grow Up Project” has been a large part of my PC
work, especially recently. It gives hard-working and talented students at my
school a shot at a higher education degree that they want and deserve. Money
has played a “bad” part in this because lack of it inhibited students from even
applying. <o:p></o:p><br />
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But now, we officially have 36 students enrolled in a
preparatory course and furthermore signed up for the University of Cartagena’s
entrance exam! The majority live below the poverty line. However low their
family’s income, it is important for each to try to pay for a portion of the
entrance exam’s cost so that arguably they will study for and value it more. The
exam cost is 100.500 pesos, or about US $53 dollars. Most of the 36 paid 40%, while
a few 20%, and the WIGUP funded the rest. In the end, five could not come up
with 20.000 pesos (US $10), and, after it was obvious that they tired, the
WIGUP paid for 100% of the cost. Most of these students do not live with their
family, and getting relatives to send money from another town proved too
complicated or the money just did not exist. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A group of us traveled to the bank to pay for all 36
entrance exams. From there, students individually signed-up online, which,
because I have a laptop, I helped several to do. Seeing the poverty of my
students in writing and numbers never ceased to astonish me… I’ve always known they
were poor, but filling out the form for one who I have become especially close
with and typing-in that her family of 3 only makes 300.000 pesos, or (US $150)
a month, makes her poverty seem more real. Writing down that another lives only
with her 20 and 12 year-old brothers and they get no outside financial help
takes her family’s finances from rumor to reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>- - - - - </o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Across time and place, the “others” are dehumanized to
justifying their further alienation. Look at how conquistadors called the
natives, how slave owners spoke of their slaves, and how we often speak of
those (richer or poorer) outside of our socio-economic class…<o:p></o:p></div>
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The poor are animals and the rich are robots.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite living and working here for two years, it shocks me
how “normal” my students are despite their extreme poverty, which just goes to
show how deep our judgments of the poor (and rich) are rooted. After my family
visited my school they replied “they are the same; kids will be kids”—a school
without resources or in Colombia doesn’t change that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>It could be me.</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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That is the shock.</div>
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That message that has been ingrained many times over is
wrong. Get them in a polo and a North Face backpack (and teach them English),
and they would just be another student at my old high school. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The group during our visit to the University of Cartagena (their first time at a university!)</i></div>
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<i>The Linguistics professor, Udiluz, teaching students during </i></div>
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<i>one </i><i>of our 11-week preparatory course sessions.</i></div>
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<i>Four of the 36 students showing-off their receipts p</i><i>roving </i></div>
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<i>that they ARE signed up to take the university entrance exam!</i></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-92182063523639210672013-08-14T15:46:00.001-07:002013-08-14T15:46:30.192-07:00"Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me, I'll understand."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Babies. Route to school turned obstacle course; the street marked
with children and whatever trash they have reinvented as a toy. As the school year
goes on, many of students become pregnant and mothers of such infants that overflow
from the houses and take over the neighborhood streets… the cycle of young,
single mothers and surplus babies is reinforced. Over the past two years, as a
part of our “Chicas Lideres Inedsoristas” program, we have done a lot with
sexual health education. We don’t teach that it is wrong to have sex and get
pregnant, however aim to help girls stay safe and plan for children when they
are ready, professionally and personally. Last year girls from the program
taught fellow 10<sup>th</sup> graders at our school about HIV/AIDS prevention.
It was a huge success and we have been looking to do more peer-to-peer
teaching. Being about to teach something truly demonstrates that someone has
learned it. With the help of a friend and a foundation on Tierra Bomba Island,
off the coast of Cartagena, our girls were able to go there and teach a group
of 30+ locals about pregnancy prevention in adolescence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tierra Bomba is a large island with four towns. Inhabitants
live in extreme poverty, some of the most extreme cases I’ve seen. Babies galore. I have been to the island about 10 times, and despite
their lack of possessions, adequate housing, and sanitation, among other
issues, nevertheless the people that live there are unified and happy. I always
enjoy my time there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While Cartagena is a large city of a million, there is
little movement within and inhabitants stay-put in their neighborhood. We love any
opportunity to take students into other sectors. Tierra Bomba was another
chance to see and meet more of Cartagena and its people. Furthermore, our girls
were able to interact with people who have even less money than them, something
that can be hard to come by. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At school, we worked preparing materials and activities for
the presentation. Girls were grouped, each responsible for its own subtopic. Neither
the social workers nor I would participate in the presentation in Tierra Bomba;
it would be completely up to the girls to teach. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally all was ready and, accompanied by family members and
teachers, 28 of us took a 45 minute bus ride followed by a 10 minute boat ride
to get to the island where we were warmly welcomed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The presentation took about an hour and a half and consisted
of a variety of activities. I anticipated success, but the girls blew us all
away. They were SO confident and practiced and knew what they were teaching, speaking
in detail and responding correctly to questions. Maybe most remarkable is that four
months ago they did not know any of this—none knew what an ovary was and many
thought that drinking beer after having sex prevented pregnancy… Now look at
them!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Introduction</div>
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Ice-breakers</div>
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Reproductive parts</div>
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Functions of reproductive parts</div>
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Fertilization process</div>
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How a fetus grows</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbPHMnePyCrhd9j3dk3xu5Bt835UaZ-JIh_625p2AAdUO-KTwsA5i7z3fZSNHdQZ69oJI3diJsJCQQweliVvgVR0plxZtKBEN8CToFIouD7EVNe3j_fj6EQ7J-xR62OiMLXiDDDfNmO3E/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbPHMnePyCrhd9j3dk3xu5Bt835UaZ-JIh_625p2AAdUO-KTwsA5i7z3fZSNHdQZ69oJI3diJsJCQQweliVvgVR0plxZtKBEN8CToFIouD7EVNe3j_fj6EQ7J-xR62OiMLXiDDDfNmO3E/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cultural reasons why people don't use anticontraceptives</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJo6iNKu7pg_YH97K9CHAbv7yF6lLVEY4GAsyAvx7iomo9PPLVyt4DMJwuVexJhyphenhyphen7Wlm3f1cr81fmsjiarL_FWH4yG6vmjX05Mb09-fhWuHBwfD5xn4jLn3sVL-fbSYogElDyn39JE8nM/s1600/IMG_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJo6iNKu7pg_YH97K9CHAbv7yF6lLVEY4GAsyAvx7iomo9PPLVyt4DMJwuVexJhyphenhyphen7Wlm3f1cr81fmsjiarL_FWH4yG6vmjX05Mb09-fhWuHBwfD5xn4jLn3sVL-fbSYogElDyn39JE8nM/s320/IMG_0590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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How to use a condom</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7XPZYTq4DmQlVmCk7nh54mwXppV1Wuq7kCmqfmEqT8Nxoeqisf8_3Va0EguIYrPGWA9K_4LfBf0rcvV0tMrVfmcZqM8rE3BD0e7i1KuXili5mlmUpiFNUqymLk_soJIZVEgO3meSv9Hl/s1600/IMG_0594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7XPZYTq4DmQlVmCk7nh54mwXppV1Wuq7kCmqfmEqT8Nxoeqisf8_3Va0EguIYrPGWA9K_4LfBf0rcvV0tMrVfmcZqM8rE3BD0e7i1KuXili5mlmUpiFNUqymLk_soJIZVEgO3meSv9Hl/s320/IMG_0594.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Other methods of birth control</div>
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Pregnancy myths</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfC9H7T4E3zBUI4bguBWzMrsuhlwZZpco6wgAWjvCPozIWkphR-WDGEGDbl_lzarR__MQ70JyIPiq7ee2bCthmCTvUqDo42a60YuJY3f-FtrgwGC7ZknfrTF5qLhOJLk_QsTP0xnjrH0W/s1600/IMG_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfC9H7T4E3zBUI4bguBWzMrsuhlwZZpco6wgAWjvCPozIWkphR-WDGEGDbl_lzarR__MQ70JyIPiq7ee2bCthmCTvUqDo42a60YuJY3f-FtrgwGC7ZknfrTF5qLhOJLk_QsTP0xnjrH0W/s320/IMG_0595.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Review</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJj6-useKc3cKf5SLCT7zQYTUvMR0CAIyQbWdMrRUO2UU2csBmrgm4mkpSubzhPEEY3GlMKegsCYEUrTpuLWenF9Fj9PnlmD03TXbeNT41LwoClRXNB9w3B9tgh9iE-eshbpBQwoh7DY1/s1600/IMG_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJj6-useKc3cKf5SLCT7zQYTUvMR0CAIyQbWdMrRUO2UU2csBmrgm4mkpSubzhPEEY3GlMKegsCYEUrTpuLWenF9Fj9PnlmD03TXbeNT41LwoClRXNB9w3B9tgh9iE-eshbpBQwoh7DY1/s320/IMG_0600.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jeopardy</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bmxqliLSQctq8v8qEJdrn5EyCPYueMqvaBDOQTATid3lUERWJtqNk6FUKxDfop3T9tTHRXUZaFJVQPlw4IAGoDQIJfh8j9vqbS1Q2FvpmZPWmtg8rhxbRS8DnK-t7zlQLNQrLqgoN300/s1600/IMG_0615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bmxqliLSQctq8v8qEJdrn5EyCPYueMqvaBDOQTATid3lUERWJtqNk6FUKxDfop3T9tTHRXUZaFJVQPlw4IAGoDQIJfh8j9vqbS1Q2FvpmZPWmtg8rhxbRS8DnK-t7zlQLNQrLqgoN300/s320/IMG_0615.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our group!</div>
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The foundation gave provided lunch for all and finally everyone
went to Playa Linda, a beach on the island to swim and play soccer and kickball
together. All in all a special day and very empowering for our girls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTANPHCKbV1Bl2higYobuImRCkZwqvQzYMcE9bZpgQBRfha4BSMvmq1l53daCJIKglM36t0b0pA8Do61Hm12ENmhyojreOl08IrUG62tSqRFeFTXIm-dFVJcwn-N79IdeqePRC41hUmVCk/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTANPHCKbV1Bl2higYobuImRCkZwqvQzYMcE9bZpgQBRfha4BSMvmq1l53daCJIKglM36t0b0pA8Do61Hm12ENmhyojreOl08IrUG62tSqRFeFTXIm-dFVJcwn-N79IdeqePRC41hUmVCk/s320/IMG_0616.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJxMIZKEHPqJZRGgSHmXu93hOxXV_1oOw08x6kyiOy71Dr6eFn4Hy29efFosJ288tfZLQLH6jDyldtBZd-DATSTtndUzon5jBePX9qQB0ipujnF8FXnrL0BLVAHWZU_Yl60nzOfKAZHcr/s1600/IMG_0620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJxMIZKEHPqJZRGgSHmXu93hOxXV_1oOw08x6kyiOy71Dr6eFn4Hy29efFosJ288tfZLQLH6jDyldtBZd-DATSTtndUzon5jBePX9qQB0ipujnF8FXnrL0BLVAHWZU_Yl60nzOfKAZHcr/s320/IMG_0620.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-41489571477873187472013-07-19T11:15:00.001-07:002013-07-19T11:21:57.986-07:00Full Speed Ahead!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The When I Grow Up Project is officially up and running!!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Two professors from the University of Cartagena are teaching the
preparatory course for 11 weeks, educating our 39 select students on test
taking strategies for the University entrance exam. We have high hopes that
more graduating students will apply to the University and be accepted! This
week students took a 2-3 hour diagnostic test, the results giving professors
awareness on students’ current knowledge and what concepts need more focus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_K4mi_iPQ5bPBJZd9oqMLM7OtjEKi3BKHhuX0l7nE9MiR1qoKB4HXdRbJszUZ1mu-Eq2G88Ab-2Z9k3fqIE-DBdmcOGaxHeux7BEPDjO8_cboQnmlMjYGSzZsHEd6VttbmmX5c31RihH/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_K4mi_iPQ5bPBJZd9oqMLM7OtjEKi3BKHhuX0l7nE9MiR1qoKB4HXdRbJszUZ1mu-Eq2G88Ab-2Z9k3fqIE-DBdmcOGaxHeux7BEPDjO8_cboQnmlMjYGSzZsHEd6VttbmmX5c31RihH/s320/IMG_0409.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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What started as an idea last year has now turned into a reality! Thank
you again to the NBC Children’s Fund, the NGO who is supporting the project,
and to all donors. Lives are literally being changed; opportunity is
widespread. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Many people are involved now, and finally it’s not me overseeing all
aspects. It has not been easy to put everyone on the same page. I have learned
a lot: despite feeling costena in many ways and living in my barrio for 2
years, my appearance still gives the impression that I have copious amounts of
money. Everything is negotiable (our final, negotiated cost for the 11 week preparatory
course is almost a fourth of what was initially proposed to us) and furthermore
do not assume that everyone’s motives are pure
when you’re dealing with large sums of money. That being said, the best
in people has come out, and I am indebted to the social workers at school for
their extra effort and dedication despite not gaining anything monetary in
return. Much love to Dayra and Mariela! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A principal challenge has been selecting students, amidst so many.
Initially, we presented the project to students above a certain grade point
average, and those interested had to complete an application and three essays.
Some applicants were easy to eliminate because essays were not well written;
however, the majority were thorough and thought-through. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is my second year working with these students. Those selected for
this project have always struck me as impressive and I have known about many of
their challenging home environments, but reading their essays made it an
amplified and tangible reality. Most kids come from households that make less
than $250 a month to support a plethora of people. Many expressed that they
have the emotional support of God and family, but they cannot count on families
to support them financially. There are also those who at 16 years old have to
run an entire household themselves. Nevertheless, they have excelled
academically at our school and want to continue their education. They will seek
scholarships, work extra, and do whatever else it takes to gain a higher
education degree. And why? Because they want to return to help their families
and community: their single mom, their grandmas who has raised themselves and 4
other siblings, their neighbor who took them in when there was no one else… <o:p></o:p></div>
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They are SO excited to be in this program. Somehow I don’t remember
being as thrilled to go to my SAT tutor?<o:p></o:p></div>
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If they are accepted in the University, they will be the ones who will
return and impact the poverty and inequality that is so prevalent in Cartagena.
They are familiar with its harsh realities, do not take opportunities for
granted and understand that hard work produces results, despite their
socioeconomic class or ethnicity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They are pioneers, they are motivated, and now they are in the When I
Grow Up Project. There is no turning back… they will be applying to the
University of Cartagena!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
You can read more about our project and watch our promotional video on the NBC Children Fund's website:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://nbcchildrensfund.org/">http://nbcchildrensfund.org/</a></div>
If you want to help finance the cost of the University's entrance exam ($60 per student) for these 39 students, YOU CAN!... simply donate in the website above and make an impact. Thank you again to all those who have donated!</div>
</div>
Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-21130242393095250852013-06-16T19:08:00.001-07:002013-06-16T19:15:38.072-07:00Spanish/English Video Exchange with Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Last
year each of my ninth grade students got a pen-pal in Colorado. On both ends,
students received letters and pictures from their pen-pal and sent the same
back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrZqTNVRYlXNlczubzBTs5tG_s5ESxFEk3Fvr7-d8lJQAFcILg35_rb7xW9cBnmygvrTb7MSXzsX2qHdsxs0quQ2Fls3K9StsyDHZEhqjTzT7zNYP1CsaLutLc117nFcSQt5mFp00YIFx/s1600/P9210395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrZqTNVRYlXNlczubzBTs5tG_s5ESxFEk3Fvr7-d8lJQAFcILg35_rb7xW9cBnmygvrTb7MSXzsX2qHdsxs0quQ2Fls3K9StsyDHZEhqjTzT7zNYP1CsaLutLc117nFcSQt5mFp00YIFx/s320/P9210395.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHXTuWk6Fjm0IHkIxbynw_gVw7BoSJfS77_fhI8FYC44YDZo4xvLQtV7Uylx55o5ZRqYXIgbRzMNR6hPNpspibIYwL8TTfCJWDHDR5aJuG8_YAd7fHF1lBjqnrx9c3Y9spq4VezYwdxbQ/s1600/P9210397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHXTuWk6Fjm0IHkIxbynw_gVw7BoSJfS77_fhI8FYC44YDZo4xvLQtV7Uylx55o5ZRqYXIgbRzMNR6hPNpspibIYwL8TTfCJWDHDR5aJuG8_YAd7fHF1lBjqnrx9c3Y9spq4VezYwdxbQ/s320/P9210397.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">This
year we did a video exchange instead. When I was home in Colorado for Christmas vacation, I met with my old high school Spanish teacher, Dan Gilden,
about his idea. It turned out to be a success! My 11th grade students loved seeing kids in
my old high school stumble through Spanish (as they themselves do in English)
not to mention how different the students, school and dress-code appear. We
selected participants for our video by rewarding students who got the highest
scores on an English vocabulary test. They did a great job!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;">Unfortunately</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> the video from Colorado is protected and therefore cannot be seen </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">publicly.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> But at least here is our video from Colombia to Colorado. It's a decent representation of my [chaotic] school and some of my awesome </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">students. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Enjoy! </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">We’re hoping after vacation to
start again with more video-exchanges.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Here's the video:</span></div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/65652916">http://vimeo.com/65652916</a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-17595501889952158012013-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:002013-06-16T06:48:32.248-07:00Planning for the Future and Higher Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year I surveyed most of the 220 graduating students about their plans for the following year (as the school has no
records concerning what students do after graduating). Many indicated interest
in higher education, however only <i>7 </i>were actually enrolling in a public university...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>WHAT?!</i></div>
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SO many of my students are capable and would excel at a
university. Lack of intelligence, motivation or hard-work is not the problem. So what's up?...</div>
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Most cannot rely on economic support from their families and
therefore will have to work in addition to study. It can be expensive and difficult
to pass the university entrance exam. Their low scores on this exam do not
accurately reflect intellect; students lack test-taking strategies and do not
have funds to hire a tutor. Excluding finances, other factors
inhibit university enrollment. Students know few university graduates and
therefore about professions that require a university degree. They have never
stepped foot on a university campus. And let’s not forget about the power of
stereotypes: universities are full of rich, well-dressed, private-school kids
and not ones from a “poor, dirty, ghetto, trashy” school. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The “When I Grow Up Project” (see earlier blog posts) is one
of our projects aiming to get more students applying to and enrolling in
university. In addition, over the past month we have focused on goal setting/planning for the future/higher education with “Chicas
Lideres Inedsoristas”, our girl’s empowerment and leadership program. I have
become very close with this group of 25 young girls, many of who are at the top
of their class and highly ambitious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We started the unit identifying values and personal strengths. The girls presented a professional, familial and personal goal and how they picture themselves five years in the future.
Finally, they selected a goal for the remaining school year
and detailed how, when and with what resources they would complete it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yeinis and Dayra, the social worker who has been the biggest help with both </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Chicas Lideres Inedsoristas and the When I Grow Up Project</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5_nj0geGyKn9ALqd_32FqCd0Go1N__7lsU49ZW43rBIbBYlstGU4x3ugKjXPRS0mgLVSihxv4-bcXFRWGzxyRV4cOM_4K1P8vnSzNp2Y-7dE28aF02rgcQLaiikY8G0Uc4Sny8hEipqt/s1600/IMG_0946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5_nj0geGyKn9ALqd_32FqCd0Go1N__7lsU49ZW43rBIbBYlstGU4x3ugKjXPRS0mgLVSihxv4-bcXFRWGzxyRV4cOM_4K1P8vnSzNp2Y-7dE28aF02rgcQLaiikY8G0Uc4Sny8hEipqt/s320/IMG_0946.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next it was off to the University of Cartagena!—again, the
first time any had been on a university campus. We spoke with university
professors, took a tour, met with an admissions coordinator, and went into
classes (including one with human brains and bones laid-out on tables—undeniably the number of girls wanting to study medicine was significantly increased).
Four hours later and no one wanted to leave; the prospect of studying there was contagious, not to mention excess
giddiness due to a plethora of university boys.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We brought in current university students who were also graduates of Soledad Roman
de Nunez, our high school, as guest speakers. Poised and composed, they spoke of how rewarding and challenging their experience has been. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Based on which jobs girls in the group had interest in, we
give them information about various professions in addition to bringing in
professional adults from some of those fields. They explained to the girls what
they do in their job and what they had to do/study to become a professional. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Learning about being a masseuse</span></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-51225414657321086112013-05-23T19:16:00.001-07:002013-05-23T19:16:12.219-07:00Inside Out Cartagena Photography Project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A returned Peace Corps volunteer put me in contact with
Arturo, a Colombian-American professional photographer living in Boston. His plan
was to return to Colombia to do a photography project with impoverished youth. After a few months in
contact with him, he finally arrived to Cartagena, thereafter giving cameras to
ten of my students.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gnEJ9CuMpzOPVHvuNIL1Yl91nj0rF-plPIMsFLkhrU_vppZlByJk8TUHrcnqAv51yD-Pj2MRXQTHUDJvwYzv7Yl_m0Y6us7On1cEQngFW_3kMatvNC52RHI1jrivaVYLMFl4TWISj-2Z/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gnEJ9CuMpzOPVHvuNIL1Yl91nj0rF-plPIMsFLkhrU_vppZlByJk8TUHrcnqAv51yD-Pj2MRXQTHUDJvwYzv7Yl_m0Y6us7On1cEQngFW_3kMatvNC52RHI1jrivaVYLMFl4TWISj-2Z/s320/IMG_0576.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ultimate aim of the "Inside Out Cartagena" photography project was
to expose the faces of leaders from the inner-neighborhoods of the city,
simultaneously giving a voice to the youth who took their pictures. My students
were instructed to think of leaders in their communities, people who combat and
defy problems on a daily basis, and take their picture. After printing the pictures,
we gathered in the historic/touristic/wealthy area of Cartagena, or the City
Center, and walked around with the photographs, finally finishing at Cuidad Movil,
an art and cultural center, where the pictures were exhibited for the following
week. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-37251929129108952272013-04-01T14:22:00.000-07:002013-04-01T19:38:23.233-07:00Colorado Meets Colombia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's ‘bout time my separate realities collide!<br />
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Colombian Caribbean
culture is not one for the timid—it’s in your face, loud, spontaneous, hot and
humid, energetic. Just after leaving the airport, you’re in the hustle and
bustle of motorcycles, blasting salsa music, poverty, bright colors, exotic
people and foods. The Kuntz’s undertook it all head-on, and I loved
re-observing the Costeno culture I’ve grown so accustomed to as my Colorado family confronted
its strange and particular aspects… unheard of fruits, bus
rides along the beach, tongue-twisting Spanish, resource-less schools, excess
soup consumption, people everywhere in the streets, the lack of processing and
packaging of materials, everyone hugging and kissing you. A mix between familiar
and unfamiliar. </div>
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Plus, I didn’t mind taking a break from my peso-pitching Peace
Corps salary: taking cabs instead of buses, eating in restaurants instead of
oatmeal for the 4<sup>th</sup> time that week, and staying in hotels with
air-conditioning!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Often described as a mix between Spain and Cuba, we started
here, in the historic center of Cartagena. The layout, architecture, fortress,
and wall surrounding the city are testaments to Spanish colonization. Cartagena
was also one of the most prominent slave trade centers in the Americas, and its
Spanish and Caribbean cultures are fused with African dance, music, food, and
people, thus making Cartagena’s historic center unlike any other. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Next it was straight to the barrios—that’s right, only one
day to “settle in” before confronting the very different and arguably more
“real” side of Cartagena that few tourists see. The center is just one small
part of a sprawling city. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My Cartagenian family is comprised of about 25-30 people
(give or take; I’m still not sure how everyone is related) who live on my
street, but in my house itself it’s just me and the abuelas. My Colombian
grandmas turned giddy teenagers—giggling about how gross eating a cow’s tongue
or a turtle was to my family, thrilled that my mom learned how to cook fried
plantains, using their best china and cooking special meals for us. They even
swapped nightgowns for their best dresses. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Taking my family to my school was also incredible. Being
teachers themselves, my parents noticed how “kids will be kids” and
similarities in students uphold despite the stark differences in resources available.
Colleagues were met, students realized they could communicate with people who
knew very little Spanish, and finally my family met “Chicas Lideres
Inedsoristas”, the girls’ empowerment and leadership group. I had four expat friends living in Cartagena come and present to the girls about how women
in their culture live, giving the girls a chance to meet foreigners and broaden
their mindset (and taste twizzlers and jolly ranchers). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Next we traveled to Santa Marta, with a short lay-over in
Barranquilla to have lunch with my family who I lived with during three months
of Peace Corps training prior to my service. We ate some chicken soup, played
cards, exchanged gifts, walked around in 105 degree heat. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tayrona National Park is located right outside of Santa
Marta. Being Semana Santa (or Easter/Holy Week), I opted to take them on
a path less-traveled in order to avoid the tourist craze. Well, 3.5 hours of
straight mountain climbing later, we arrived at Playa Brava, pitying the
donkeys that had to make that trip every day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Back in Santa Marta, we visited with Henry, Angelica (a
colleague and great friend), Sebastian and Laura Guzman and stayed at Henry’s
military hotel where he lives. The “hotel” turned out to be a resort, complete
with a pool, farm, pond, spa, restaurants, and hundreds of Colombian Generals
and their families on vacation, plus us four random gringos. The Guzmans
couldn’t have been more hospitable or kind. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally it was off to Isla Rosario, a national park with 20+ islands off the coast of Cartagena. It’s aesthetically overwhelming; a
place you’ve only seen in postcards and paintings. After enduring the trek in and out of Playa Brava with us, we met up again with
Jose, my boyfriend who works on an island as a scuba dive instructor. Through
him I’ve become increasingly inspired and amazed by the coral reef that hides
so close to Cartagena and right underneath the water surface; however, the rest of
my mountain-dwelling family had never experienced anything like it. It’s feels like you're on another planet: the strange animals, the detailed coral, how delicate, intricate and interconnected it all is, the
sensation of breathing underwater... Amazing! The pool lying, beach swimming,
hammock napping, and excess eating weren't too bad either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Having my Colorado life-line experience Colombia for
themselves confirmed that this amazing life of mine actually DOES exist. I am
so lucky for my family and Colombian life that I have haphazardly been given.
It’s amazing to feel so in love with life (from the people in it, to my job)
and to have my achievements and decisions recognized by my family. Here’s to
all the rest of you visiting and seeing it for yourselves…!<o:p></o:p><br />
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On a separate but somewhat similar note: J Balvin, one of the most popular reggaeton artists in Colombia, just made a new music video filmed in the neighborhood right next to my school and where I live, called Olaya. <i>Represent! </i>It's also where Granitos de Paz, the local NGO that is collaborating with us on the When I Grow Up Project is located.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HWyEEj2pSt0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Wanna help these kids reach their higher education dreams and potential? <b>YOU CAN!</b> Donate to the NBC Children's Fund (the US-based NGO helping with the project, along with Granitos de Paz) using PayPal credit card services or sending a check. A little bit goes a long way! And make sure to watch OUR video... Visit this website and click "DONATE": <a href="http://nbcchildrensfund.org/good_news">http://nbcchildrensfund.org/good_news</a>).</div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-35162847899908243282013-03-12T20:35:00.000-07:002013-03-12T20:35:00.117-07:00Nice to meet you, WORLD!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I know, I know… it has been too long. I haven’t intended to
keep family and friends out of the loop (not to mention readers I don’t know… indeed,
the blogspot application allowing me to view where my audience lives can seem a
bit strange—helloooo out there, you Dutch, Ukranian, and French readers). I don’t
blame laziness for my negligence; really, more than anything, I’d deem the
culprit my current infatuation with life. I’m LOVING it and am busy trying to
live this life to the fullest. I love my job. I love the people. I am never bored. I have worked hard
to get here and am proud of myself. I know that the best is still to come in my
Peace Corps service. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To briefly wrap up the past 2 months of our new and improved
girls’ empowerment and leadership program, I should start by saying that the
grant through the US Agency for International Development and Peace Corps that
I wrote (for daaaays) and received has made this year that much easier and interactive.
Instead of using my Peace Corps salary (which was already hard enough to support
just myself on) to buy food, photocopies, and materials last year for the
program, we now have grant money for that, plus more to buy extra supplies,
pay for transportation to bring in community members and take the girls out of
our neighborhood, and pay for materials for projects, among other things. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have 24 girls in the program, aged 14-17. I am still the
one designing our activities, establishing contacts, creating community service
projects; however, Mariela and Dayra (the two social workers at my school)
continue to help enormously and come every week to help out with the activities
planned. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our latest “topic” has been learning about the lifestyles of
other women in the world, aka life outside of our Colombian neighborhood. One
particularly exciting project we completed was to paint a monstrous 12 foot map
of the world in our school. Many students do not know which counties boarder
Colombia, let alone countries outside of Latin America. Furthermore, when in my
pursuit of a world map, I had to go to about six different stores in two cities
until I found one that cost US $40—hmm, there’s a reason no one seems to know
geography... world maps just don’t exist. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My sincerest apologies to those countries that were left
out, especially Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe… it’s not perfect. BUT at
least when students see this map, regardless of a few mistakes, it may make
them think about how much world there is outside of Colombia, let alone our
neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-85438660828144866092012-12-26T23:13:00.004-08:002012-12-26T23:17:28.192-08:00When I Grow Up Project--DONATE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The "When I Grow Up Project" is officially up and running! Well, half way there--working on setting up an an account in Colombia/with my high school so that Colombians can donate (in the end, this is maybe the most </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">important</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> aspect). The ultimate goal is to
get more low-income students to attend and graduate from university. I
believe 100% in this project. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I work at Soledad
Roman de Nunez, a large, public high school in Cartagena, Colombia. Most of my
students come from the lowest socio-economic conditions of extreme poverty.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">However, despite challenges and
temptations (gangs, racism, displacement, malnutrition, violence, and a
struggling school system, among others), there are students who rise above
these circumstances. They define “inspirational”. Highly intelligent and
driven, they will excel in higher education. They want to attend university,
not just for personal profit, but also to help their families and communities,
confronting issues that they understand and are empowered to change. However,
regardless of overcoming </span><u style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">so</u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> much, many capable students do not even
apply to university because the entrance exam fee alone is too expensive. Furthermore,
if they do enroll, many will not be able to pay for transportation, new clothes,
or lunch in order to save money for school supplies and tuition. In the end,
lack of money is what stops them from reaching their "When I Grow Up"
dreams, nothing else. The cycle of poverty endures. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRMMzY1MNRiWzzan3HhuRSLMEp6VyMY4voosIQI6UylGRN6PGvfWPatd-wCwID_b6VjBX3lAPaNU6LEEsxZKRWNMLbyaX5qXCP8UGjBwKnh4sKsj1u-ettCxznLWcwCAwad5dfD8W9dgi/s1600/peace_corps-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRMMzY1MNRiWzzan3HhuRSLMEp6VyMY4voosIQI6UylGRN6PGvfWPatd-wCwID_b6VjBX3lAPaNU6LEEsxZKRWNMLbyaX5qXCP8UGjBwKnh4sKsj1u-ettCxznLWcwCAwad5dfD8W9dgi/s1600/peace_corps-300x200.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After months of
designing the project with teachers, social workers, and university
professors, we have partnered with <i>NBC
Children's Fund</i>, an NGO started by a returned Peace Corps Volunteer,
Carolyn Carpenter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Together, we hope to give
these children the opportunity they deserve and to stop the cycle of poverty by
funding the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. To offer a
preparatory course to help students pass the University of Cartagena entrance
exam. (Cost per student: $20)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. To cover the cost
of the entrance exam fee for those students who pass the preparatory course
described above. (Cost per student: $50).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. To finance 75% of
the first year’s tuition at the University of Cartagena. (Cost per student:
$500).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">To donate:<br />
1. Visit NBC Children’s Fund’s website and donate via pal-pal.<br />
</span><a href="http://nbcchildrensfund.org/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://nbcchildrensfund.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. Send a check to <i>NBC Children’s Fund</i>, specifying the
“When I Grow Up Project”, to the following address (therefore 3% of donations
will not be lost to </span><a href="http://www.causes.com/causes/808401-when-i-grow-up-project/about" title="Click to Continue > by Browse to Save"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">credit card</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">companies):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">NBC Children’s
Fund<br />
211 Roslindale Ave. #2<br />
Boston, MA 02131</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRI-kaSe-HCw832sSe6gknV-9PLPxW3y9rrM4GxbC6GSx1YKFBeZeXzAYT1iaw4NaD2CNeKQUrVMco7YwQEfSLnddscq_5HUrlcp0vzplXHtQQXk9NIQuPDZA49oLScLg4cLOJs3ascWU/s1600/Transfer_101.3074318_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRI-kaSe-HCw832sSe6gknV-9PLPxW3y9rrM4GxbC6GSx1YKFBeZeXzAYT1iaw4NaD2CNeKQUrVMco7YwQEfSLnddscq_5HUrlcp0vzplXHtQQXk9NIQuPDZA49oLScLg4cLOJs3ascWU/s1600/Transfer_101.3074318_logo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The goal of the
project is to have 20-25 students from my school take the preparatory course
and apply to the University of Cartagena in addition to financing 75% of the
first year’s tuition for 2-4 students. Only students from the lowest
socio-economic classes are eligible. At least 50% of participants will be
female and 20% of Afro-Colombian descent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">If sufficient funds
are raised and the goals described above are met, additional public high
schools in Cartagena where a Peace Corps volunteer is present may also receive
funding, therefore incorporating additional students and making an impact
throughout the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Finally, the “When I
Grow Up Project” and all its donations are in honor of my mom, Joan Kuntz. Passion,
altruism and determination are traits possessed by Joan and many students at
Soledad Roman de Nunez. People with these qualities have the potential for
positive impact, whatever their nationality, socio-economic status or culture.
Joan exemplifies that taking the risk to be the change she wishes to see in the
world can make all the difference in one’s own life and that of others. She
embodies the importance of education and, like many students at Soledad Roman
de Nunez, is an inspiration to her family, friends, colleagues, and students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Make sure to check
out our video on the NBC Children’s Fund website or on youtube:</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://nbcchildrensfund.org/">http://nbcchildrensfund.org</a></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zkTkr1hlg&feature=youtu.be"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zkTkr1hlg&feature=youtu.be</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6zkTkr1hlg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">*Make sure to click CC for English subtitles*</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Also, if you have
facebook, like and join our cause:</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.causes.com/causes/808401-when-i-grow-up-project?fb_action_ids=696277053218&fb_action_types=causes:recruit&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7b%22696277053218%22:461230690607258%7d&action_type_map=%7b%22696277053218%22:%22causes:recruit%22%7d&action_ref_map"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.causes.com/causes/808401-when-i-grow-up-project?fb_action_ids=696277053218&fb_action_types=causes:recruit&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map={%22696277053218%22:461230690607258}&action_type_map={%22696277053218%22:%22causes:recruit%22}&action_ref_map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">=[]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The holiday season in particular is
a time to realize how fortunate we are and to give back. Want to give a gift
that can truly change a life?—Please donate to the “When I Grow Up Project” and
share it with other family and friends.</span></div>
</div>
Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-77742344520200758482012-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:002012-12-15T16:10:14.552-08:00SPA Grant Proposal Approved!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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SPA, or Small Project Assistance, is a grant available to
Peace Corps volunteers. Seems pretty simple: come up with an awesome,
sustainable project that addresses a community needs, gain community support, write
up a grant, present the proposal, and waaala… money in da bank. What’s not to
love…?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, I tell ya. </div>
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Seventeen pages of Spanish essays and
graphs, countless drafts, trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to get people at my
school to help me write it, a presentation in front of PC Colombia staff,
re-writing essays in English, getting a new bank account, and on and on and on…
it wasn’t so simple. Furthermore, being the “guiney-pig” is never easy and as the
first volunteer to apply for and receive a SPA grant in Colombia since the
program reopened, it has been a learning process for the office staff as well
as me, note the extra re-writes/corrections and last minute details or trips to
Barranquilla. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But, needless to say, it is FINISHED! Kaput! Chicas Lideres
INEDSORistas, a girls empowerment and leadership project in my school/neighborhood,
has been going on since May, 2012, but it is about to get a new makeover with
the couple thousand dollars we now have thanks to the SPA grant and community
contribution. I couldn't be more pumped about the need and potential for a
program like this! </div>
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We plan to start next school year, so end of January 2013
with 20-25 girls from 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> grade (the oldest
students). We will continue learning about topics regarding sexual, emotional,
and physical health every week for two hours. Now, in addition, we will be bring
in professionals to talk to the girls about their jobs, thus hopefully opening the girls' minds to career possibilities other than what they know: selling phone minutes on the
street, making empanadas, or unemployment, for example. Furthermore, we will
bring them to universities and help them to understand the application process
and eventually to apply. Finally, the girls will analyze their school and neighborhood’s’
needs and, with our help, design community service projects that they will later and
carry-out in the school and outside in their neighborhoods.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On a final note: to end this school year, the girls presented to all of 10<sup>th</sup> grade (about 230 students) about HIV/AIDS
prevention. It takes guts to put a condom on a dildo in front of all of your
classmates, and they did it, not only with confidence, but correctly! I’m so
proud. Amazing girls. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-62718821787550033702012-11-14T20:07:00.003-08:002012-11-14T20:07:55.475-08:00Cartagena Carnival: Disorder. Debauchery. Dancing.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">November 11<sup>th</sup> is
Cartagena’s Independence Day. But why celebrate for one day when you could for
two weeks?</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
Beauty pageants are one of Cartagena's most infamous events. There
are two. The"Reyna Nacional" includes ladies from around
Colombia, usually from very affluent families, and the winner continues onto
the Miss Universe pageant. The second is the "Reyna Popular,"
where ladies from Cartagena's various neighborhoods and socio-economic strata
compete. Gorgeous people takin’ over!</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
I think that pictures describe my experience best. I, however, managed to take zero photos,
naturally. Photo credit: Random neighbors, Kristy Ellis, Samantha
Merkle</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">In October, as queens were
selected for the "Reyna Popular" pageant, neighborhoods threw massive parties with hundreds of people, concerts, fireworks, and drinks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, for Halloween Nicole
and I represented winners from our respective neighborhoods: Miss Los
Calamares and Miss Escallon Villa. We borrowed a neighbor's dresses, found
crowns and fake eyelashes, made sashes... and BAM!--after caking on some
make-up and molding some fake boobs and badonkadunks, the resemblance was
uncanny. Needless to say, I received more cat-calls that night
than any prior thanks to the 15-odd tshirts I shoved into the back of my
shorts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, we did consider "political correctness"; however, all fears were
put to rest when the host family/neighbors thought it
was hysterical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We also celebrated Halloween in several of my classes, although I opted to not come as Senorita Escallon Villa. One can only do so much cultural integration at a time...<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Classes were out the week
of Carnival (November 2-12). In the days prior students came to school, but
classes were replaced by pre-carnival celebrations. </span> </div>
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<i>Teachers in Colombia colors</i></div>
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<i>Carnival season begins at school</i></div>
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For the "Reyna Nacional" pageant, events were underway the entire week.</div>
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There were parades</div>
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Getting interviewed on TV with my partner in crime for the week, Kristy. Check out her Cartagena tourism website: ticartagena.com. It's fantastic! Needless to say, Kristy knows everyone and everything about the city and let me tag along as her +1 to some pretty awesome gigs. </div>
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Fancy dinners</div>
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Nightlife and dancing</div>
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<i>Sammy came all the way from Santa Marta to celebrate my birthday/carnival! </i></div>
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Costumes galore</div>
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Fireworks, foam and water being thrown AT people (seriously scary--I do not like this aspect of Cartagena's carnival). In my neighborhood this also included urine, paint, and bags of water. Gross.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">And finally...
turning 25! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I spent the day at my
house with Colombian and ex-pat friends and family...ate some food, plowed our
way through 3 cakes, drank some beers, and watched a parade pass by. That night
we went out of dinner, avoided "busca-pies" or the firecrackers that
explode at people's feet as we meandered our way through crowded
streets, and eventually ended up at a salsa bar. </span></div>
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<i>The cake Lila, a teacher from school, brought over</i></div>
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<i>Some of the family/neighbors</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZZ8RqMeQl2_Riu8yg98B8TWgDSg1uYnOeOo1QfWU7U8HNm2hOCpmeWUVuis6weHWc-zQiQMuBIKZHaI5S_eodGyGhlo_jZbAn-PbCI0LXqgUi2AE1p_7-7CXgiySzp609lMrE1LsDYM3/s1600/IMG_1626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZZ8RqMeQl2_Riu8yg98B8TWgDSg1uYnOeOo1QfWU7U8HNm2hOCpmeWUVuis6weHWc-zQiQMuBIKZHaI5S_eodGyGhlo_jZbAn-PbCI0LXqgUi2AE1p_7-7CXgiySzp609lMrE1LsDYM3/s320/IMG_1626.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Three US friends and Edith, one of my Colombian grandmas... welcome to my world</i></span></div>
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In all: great people, great times. I caught myself laughing as the Peace Corps, jungle, hut-dweller image I initially envisioned faded as I took another bite of shrimp and looked out from the rooftop onto the beauty pageant parade below. However, writing this from the comfort of my little neighborhood, I can say it's good to be back. As crazy and disorganized as my Peace Corps lifestyle is, Cartagena's carnival just raised the bar. It's all about getting a new perspective anyways, right?</div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-55605620015336102112012-11-04T12:28:00.000-08:002012-11-12T21:47:23.154-08:00A Cartagenian Funeral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jairo, a very close friend, lost his
brother Jorge this week. It was a confusing and terrible loss. Jorge was a adored,
happy and considerate man. Jairo has, yet again, has astounded me with his
selflessness, always prioritizing others' needs first. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is my second funeral since arriving in Cartagena,
although I am closer with this family. How a community deals with death is
indicative of its culture, Colombia as no exception. The Colombian strong sense of community and interpersonal reliance
has been particularly noticeable this week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The day he died, the vigil was in a “funeralia”, or building
where families rent one of 16 rooms. While in the US this usually happens at
home or at a small funeral house with only the close family and friends,
hundreds of people came throughout the day to be with the family and cried openly
in front of strangers. The following day was the funeral service at the cemetery,
which was overall pretty similar. After the funeral, the family continues to
morn for seven days. Of course in the US people visit with the family, call, send cards and flowers, and cook
dinners, among other gestures; however, we also give the grieving family space and don't “bother” them too much. On the contrary, people here continue to call every day and the
house is full with guests. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Differences in "family life" also create contrasts in how people deal with death. In Cartagena, families are large, and all members live in the same city, if not in the same house or
right next door. People spend time with their parents, siblings, nephews/neces, children, aunts/uncles, and grandparents daily; few have to fly or drive in from other locations. Dealing
with death during and after the nine day morning period together seems only
natural. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-20799140927885094602012-10-20T13:28:00.003-07:002012-11-12T22:22:34.384-08:00Celebrating ONE YEAR!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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That’s right, folks... 365 days of pure Colombian living. Read it and weep. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Volunteers reunite! The first 2-year Peace Corps group in Colombia since 1981, I am so fortunate to be a part of such a diverse, supportive, intelligent,
and fun mix of people! Volunteers from near and far joined us Cartageneros on our home-turf to celebrate the occasion!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9J3TxGxTPLrBYTwluGrPhiXDpU6jOwg4XOEawpp17x6ToL48yhR24PPUibNjj9MzFDvPmsgmK-bSBkBwioblT-WwpteBh5YQhoJJvwiZhWQDnO-tNAg4dXBycOF-Hp64hyFEnhGprXZa/s1600/12827_10151899163196542_1962492491_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9J3TxGxTPLrBYTwluGrPhiXDpU6jOwg4XOEawpp17x6ToL48yhR24PPUibNjj9MzFDvPmsgmK-bSBkBwioblT-WwpteBh5YQhoJJvwiZhWQDnO-tNAg4dXBycOF-Hp64hyFEnhGprXZa/s320/12827_10151899163196542_1962492491_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>ONE YEAR!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4w7K6pLZHwBrbr_NySbqYlxNQjvmonPwSn3jCMP-pgI8NkVNPTt-zvoBsAfjYj-B-WVPKYkglj3UwTgvHwJ-V8uZJHVv3gqBU4_1vleFlfZ57F5Rm8EaNph4dK6_3J10DUrIQY4qnSlv/s1600/561860_10151899168826542_1343848668_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4w7K6pLZHwBrbr_NySbqYlxNQjvmonPwSn3jCMP-pgI8NkVNPTt-zvoBsAfjYj-B-WVPKYkglj3UwTgvHwJ-V8uZJHVv3gqBU4_1vleFlfZ57F5Rm8EaNph4dK6_3J10DUrIQY4qnSlv/s320/561860_10151899168826542_1343848668_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i> Mike's family friends hooked us up with their too-good-to-be-true apartment in the middle of Cartagena, complete with rooftop pool and all. Love me my "posh corps" moments!</i></div>
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To start out the week, some of us visited near-by Palenque, the first, free, ex-slave colony in the New World, founded some 400 years ago. Today, Palenque still maintains its own language (a creole mix of various African languages, Portuguese, Spanish...), its own religious beliefs (mixture of Christianity and African religions), traditional herbal medicines, its own social organization (no need for police, for example), and music/instruments brought over from Africa. The feat of creating and defending a tiny colony against the Spanish army and slave owners is inspiring. Seeing the preservation and pride of their African heritage is equally incredible. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINrA7S-HKKsykQ8itRmyYnREt1_Ylg_w_yWtqMpss0h8uDghaYjVbhjaM6OyhREFOavmt-GLvFCVMrHDlSPhWlX8tuPD7iXTKfYXHvzYCzBp4iV8J_qp67kkYCMmcDW-18vrm10Un53Tg/s1600/416867_10151899157636542_114692514_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINrA7S-HKKsykQ8itRmyYnREt1_Ylg_w_yWtqMpss0h8uDghaYjVbhjaM6OyhREFOavmt-GLvFCVMrHDlSPhWlX8tuPD7iXTKfYXHvzYCzBp4iV8J_qp67kkYCMmcDW-18vrm10Un53Tg/s320/416867_10151899157636542_114692514_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pelenquero language</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IEYL9CpahP84HXq-T5s8DOLT1dIgI7FiULA7GDgLLACC_E2UQSmkVfGdMEHzA4-kdi5oP1uCOYIiyv_-I7OXc_GoFjCujOKSwtd2Sc9ZDF_3dPjrO1ZPnQKw6ZpeqIJYYHhjWeYzG9Nq/s1600/562018_10151899156441542_607969536_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IEYL9CpahP84HXq-T5s8DOLT1dIgI7FiULA7GDgLLACC_E2UQSmkVfGdMEHzA4-kdi5oP1uCOYIiyv_-I7OXc_GoFjCujOKSwtd2Sc9ZDF_3dPjrO1ZPnQKw6ZpeqIJYYHhjWeYzG9Nq/s320/562018_10151899156441542_607969536_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I may still be abroad, but my previous year in Turkey couldn't contrast my new-found Costeno ways more. I no longer teach at school with a plethora of resources and to students from the wealthiest families. Instead, my classrooms now often lack desks not to mention textbooks and free photocopies, and my students come from some cases of extreme poverty. What was once Allah is now the Virgin Mary. Pleated khakis and conservative turtlenecks
have been replaced by see-through spandex and cleavage. I live with three grandmothers. Whereas I traveled to
16 countries the year before, I have not left Colombia once. Another stark difference: travel costs are not well sustained on my new-found volunteer salary. I got everything I wanted to out of Turkey: met amazing people,
gained professional experience and traveled immensely. But now, finally back in Latin America, I’m
getting those cloud 9/”life high” feelings, smiling to
myself randomly on a crowded bus because I realize how awesome my life is </div>
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I love this place. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My job is to create as much positive change as I can. Pretty awesome. I interact with genuine people, dance with my neighbors, speak Spanish, and completely make my own schedule. Feeling frustrated is a daily occurrence: waiting for 3 hours to do a 30 lesson plan, sleeping without a fan in 100 degrees temperatures because the power is out yet again, trying to teach students who don't come to school with a pencil or notebook, or having a five day work week never, ever, ever happen. But, at the end of the day, I feel energized and motivated by a job that challenges me and where I am my own boss rather than going through the motions, waiting for the next weekend or vacation. </div>
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Yes, excitement abounds at the thought of being home over Christmas break (CAN’T FREAKING WAIT!!) and seeing people I love and miss immensely. As much as I try to remind myself that I have the rest of my life to “settle down”, to have a family, to be responsible for other people, and to not eat rice for the seventh time this week, being away from loved ones is undoubtedly the hardest part and my lows here have always been centered on feeling isolated (<i>remind me again, why the hell did I move away from everything familiar and comfortable</i>?).</div>
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_l61OOZGJcIiOtGOPCkC67vDvfsgY0wHvMk52FM7fpZjBYz-y" /></div>
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<i>I'll be home for Christmas! </i></div>
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<i>(And snow... haven't experienced temperatures below 80 degrees in over a year)</i></div>
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To end on, I have been able to
read so much since I arrived in Colombia. Life is good. Here are some that I can remember...<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Power of One” by
Bryce Courtenay<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall
Smith<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Little Bee” by Chris Cleave<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The World According to Garp” by John Irving<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal” by J.K. Rowling<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw” by
Mark Bowden<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Banker to the Poor” by Muhammed Yunus<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Reader” by Berhard Schlink<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Velocity” by Dean Koontz<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do” by Michael J. Sandel<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Hunter Games” by Suzanne Collins<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Open Veins of Latin America” by Educardo Galeano<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="ES-CO">“Relato de
un Naufrago” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Kitchen God’s Wife” by Amy Tan<o:p></o:p></div>
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“El General en su Laberinto” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez</div>
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“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Psychopath Test” by Jon Ronson<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Hangman’s Daughter” by Oliver Potzsch<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="ES-CO">“La Casa de
Dostoievsky” by Jorge Edwards</span></div>
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“Blindness” by Jose Saramago <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-81534813741874504842012-09-25T16:42:00.001-07:002012-11-12T23:02:39.826-08:00Tackling Teenage Pregnancy with CLI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Saying that teen pregnancy is a big issue where I live is an understatement. Students as young
as 12 years old are pregnant and rates only increase with age.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Girls here become teen mom for various reasons, although as
far as I can tell there are 3 main ones:<br />
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<li><u>Culture.</u> The girls’ moms, aunts and neighbors
were also teenage moms. Family sizes are big; there are little, naked babies
running allll over the place. Social stigmas prevent girls from using birth
control or getting tested. Machismo manifests not only the men’s lack of respect
for women, but it also perpetuates traditionalist female roles of housework and
raising children.</li>
<li><u>Poverty</u>. A girl who knows that she is able to attend
higher education and has dreams of becoming, say, a doctor, waits to get
pregnant more often than a girl who plans to sell phone minutes on the street
after graduating from high school.</li>
<li><u>Lack of knowledge</u>. There is no sex education, and
so although condoms, medical clinics and the internet are at students’ disposal,
they know nothing. Students learn appropriate sex behaviors not from reliable
sources but based on what they hear on the streets.</li>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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How to even begin to tackling teen pregnancy
when it is so prevalent and so intertwined with other issues? With “Chicas Lideres INEDSORistas,” or CLI (the girls’ leadership and empowerment group that I started for girls at my school), we
started with the basics. First we discussed "sexuality" followed by reproductive parts and functions. Right from the get-go, I was blown away by the
girls’ lack of knowledge. Not only did they know next to nothing, what they thought they knew usually was incorrect. There is no sexual health education offered to youth in my school or neighborhood.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGaP9Zid6n4g41irTgisn9sKnkAKY5vUbZ4oQnffNScLNXgMbqb7T1drW_haTT5OE0K212TYQ9_BV9YUGQ4iudaCmB2QM0ItN_LxhHHrYxyJc3i5DdLZFLEwlealI5kLITsJfyUo4XMir/s1600/P8160390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGaP9Zid6n4g41irTgisn9sKnkAKY5vUbZ4oQnffNScLNXgMbqb7T1drW_haTT5OE0K212TYQ9_BV9YUGQ4iudaCmB2QM0ItN_LxhHHrYxyJc3i5DdLZFLEwlealI5kLITsJfyUo4XMir/s320/P8160390.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Labeling female reproductive parts</i></div>
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The following weeks we learned about menstruation and
fertilization. Again, background knowledge was next to nothing. The girls literally shrieked
as they put tampons in cups of water and watched them expand. Hilarious. Tampons do exists
here, but women exclusively use pads. Now the
girls at least know how to use one and therefore can go swimming or do
other activities when they are on their period that they couldn't before. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next week we capitalized on the fact that Olga, Peace Corps' project
manager, was in town by holding a guest speaker presentation. Along with Olga (who was a teenage mom), Jairo (a teacher at my school who had his daughter at
14) spoke to the group from a male’s perspective about the realities of being a teen parent. In addition, Gabriella, a current, pregnant
11<sup>th</sup> grade student spoke to the group about her experience. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmzTc3OnL1zB5hQFODnTH5fhtU-6LCo0ZlOoP6yvIi8ylnnt3ewfhPVVh8BC2GSm-Yv2vt7ZsdDcGDtxjs4mG3MyyB3kKyH4QemlfcLoQhyphenhyphenHzx8CbEj89rqSdpyMKv2yi1tBqpF_kh4t5/s1600/P9060210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmzTc3OnL1zB5hQFODnTH5fhtU-6LCo0ZlOoP6yvIi8ylnnt3ewfhPVVh8BC2GSm-Yv2vt7ZsdDcGDtxjs4mG3MyyB3kKyH4QemlfcLoQhyphenhyphenHzx8CbEj89rqSdpyMKv2yi1tBqpF_kh4t5/s320/P9060210.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Gabriella, Jairo and Olga talking about their teenage pregnancy experiences</i></div>
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Finally, it was time for pregnancy
prevention methods. But again, how...? Realistically condom use is not a likely
option. Sure, the supermarket next to my school sells
condoms, but at 15.000 pesos, or around US $7, for a pack of 6 condoms. Not
happening; waaay too expensive. More influential however is machismo. Men don't want to wear them and although cheating and having multiple significant-others is widespread, if a women asks to use a condom, it means she must be sleeping with others or doesn't trust her husband. </div>
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So we started with pregnancy prevention methods currently popular in the neighborhood. I compiled a list of common practices that people from school and in my neighborhood told me about and gave it to the
girls. </div>
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Here are some examples:<br />
<i>Women cannot get pregnant the first
time they have sex or on their period. </i><i>Washing out your vagina, drinking hot
beer, drinking excess water and urinating, “pulling out” before ejaculation,
taking a bath, and drinking plant juice with lemon are all effective methods of
preventing pregnancy. Furthermore, if a girl does not bleed the first time she
has sex she is not a virgin and people who are sexually active commonly have
curved legs.</i><br />
All are false (to a ridiculous extent for those of us who didn’t
grow up in poor Cartagena, yes?), but nevertheless to girls in CLI,
many were thought to be true. Some even protested when we told them a
particular practice was ineffective, saying they knew of people who did the
method and swore by it. (High teen-pregnancy rates are much more understandable after realizing that people think that they cannot get pregnant if they drink coke mixed with wine afterwards...)</div>
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Although condom use is a difficult behavior to
implement, I thought it still a valid topic due to its effectiveness in pregnancy and STD prevention. The following week we learned the seven steps of how to put on a condom, with the help of 30 condoms and seven wooden dildos
borrowed from the Peace Corps office. None of the girls had ever touched a condom before. The US drinking game “flip cup” was recreated where girls got in
two teams and raced putting on and taking off a condom. Furthermore, the multifunctional dildos were made into microphones to judge the condom races and even a little karaoke-esque
singing.</div>
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This week we are moving onto other types of birth control,
such a pills and injections. Although not as effective in protecting the girls against
STDs, realistically these seem to be what the girls may actually use. Moreover, these forms of birth control give women more control. To finish off the sexual health unit, the plan is to learn about STDs
and HIV/AIDS prevention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Teen pregnancy, lack of education, poverty, violence, gangs and
drug use in my neighborhood will continue with or without my presence. It drives me crazy to see a woman take back a homeless, inept man who she knows has other wives and girlfriends and who has provided nothing but an abusive, alcoholic image of men to her children. It is
overwhelming and daunting at times, especially with so much need but no pre-existing programs in
place to educate people about these issues. Empowering girls and women may be one of the best ways to make
my neighborhood, and the world really, a better place. Girls become moms who
head families and pass their beliefs onto future generations. A woman who
understands the value of an education will see to it that her children study
hard. A mom who knows the importance of nutrition will find a way to feed her
kids a healthier diet.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a group, CLI has already gone through some trying
situations. I am awed by the actions some girls took to protect the others.
More than just a way to gain knowledge, the group is a support system. Especially
when there are very few organized activities outside of school for youth
(especially girls) to partake in, the group gives them something constructive
and fun to do. The girls come back to school every Thursday night not because
someone else makes them or gives them extra credit. They come because they want
to be there. This has been one huge factor in the group’s success—the girls who
do show up are truly motivated to change themselves and their neighborhoods for
the better.</div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-68337206544823473842012-09-08T15:53:00.003-07:002012-11-13T20:32:47.471-08:00Candy's Quinceanea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A girl’s 15<sup>th</sup> birthday, or quinceanera, in
many parts of Latin America, including Colombia, is a big, big deal. While a
boy’s 15<sup>th</sup> birthday is also celebration-worthy, for girls, turning 15
is serious, quasi wedding-esque business. We’re talking the whole shebang:
full-blown reception, gowns and tiaras, dinner, professional photographers and videographers,
cake, dancing, bands, and guest list. Wealthier families can afford bigger, more
lavish parties, but even those with economic strains go big and pride themselves
on throwing their daughter an amazing party. </div>
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I have been to three 15<sup>th</sup> birthday parties in
Colombia, but this last one was extra special. Candy lives next door to me and is
a part of the big family that has adopted me into theirs. She is one of my
favorites and many a night we sit in rocking
chairs as she explains the intricate happenings of scandalous Colombian reality
TV shows to me. </div>
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Guests (140 of them) arrived and one-by-one male friends and
family took turns dancing with the birthday girl. </div>
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Next guests watched a
slide show complete with lots of Celine Dion music, ate cake and drank champagne
until the Mariachi band arrived (Mariachi bands are originally from Mexico but
appear at all quinceaneras I’ve been to...?).</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="text-align: left;">Candy with the Mariachi band</span></div>
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Back to more talking and champaine until… “La Hora Loca!” My
favorite! “The Crazy Hour” is a 60 minute dance-fest upon the arrival of another band,
complete with booming drums and trumpets. Everyone, from infants to grandmas
gets their groove on. And I mean everyone--the neighbor with terrible arthritis was even hoisted up in her chair. Being the "gringa", I pulled into middle and forced
to “sacalo, metelo”, aka partake in awkward hip thrusting movements that no white-girl can pull off. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The three ladies I live with: Aura, me, Celia, and Edith</i></div>
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<i>Candy and cousins</i></div>
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<i>I live with a bunch of party animals...</i></div>
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<i>Gringa getting down during "la hora loca"</i></div>
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The next day/night, about 40 family members
made their way (usually just down the street) to my house where we prepared
sancoho soup. Sancocho is a common, traditional soup of potatoes, corn, yucca,
yam, beef, chicken, and carrots (whatever's in the pantry, really) that was created by throwing together scraps of
extra food and leftover animal parts to make a hardy meal for African slaves. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-6194713894650193602012-08-25T12:36:00.002-07:002012-11-12T23:12:47.701-08:00Aprendizaje del Ingles! Whoops, I mean... Learning English!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Classes in public schools go from either 6:30am-12:30pm or 1:00-6:30pm.
The separate schools are called “jornadas”, each with distinct students and
teachers. The only similarities are the facilities and principal. At my high school,
Soledad Roman de Nunez, I work in both the morning and afternoon jornadas. Each
has four English teachers, so total is eight. Each semester I work with four teachers,
two from the morning jornada and two from the afternoon. <o:p></o:p></div>
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English teachers from the morning jornada (L-R: Carlos, me, Olga, Angelica, Bladimir)</div>
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English teachers from the afternoon jornada (L-R: Bladimir, Eduardo, Eleana, Mauricio, me, Jairo)</div>
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I am fortunate in many ways. Teachers are all fantastic
people and have become some of my best friends in Colombia: extremely welcoming, happy, loving, funny, and light-hearted. They invite me to their houses, on vacations, and to celebrations. They are all extremely open to my suggestions and want to work with me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Many other Peace Corps volunteers have a total of 2-5 English teachers. I was placed at the largest school, and although I
much prefer too much work over too little, the hardest part has been feeling
spread-thin with so many teachers who want my time, plus more. Planning
lessons for four separate grade levels and trying to remember students from 16
different classes (each with 30+ students) is challenging. Working with only
2-5 teachers makes sense; I feel like I could make a bigger impact if I could
focus on only one or two teachers a semester. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The current curriculum is wholly based on grammar, emphasis
on no vocabulary. A teacher’s instructions of what to teach for the entire
semester will be as detailed as “present progressive.” Students learn complex
grammar structures for zero-conditional and meanwhile don’t know numbers,
colors, or basic vocabulary such as what “I” means. They memorize that “went”
is the irregular past tense form of “to go” without even knowing what “to go” or
“went” mean.</div>
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So, this semester I am attempting to start “theme based
teaching” with all four teachers. Each has decided on a theme for the
semester that is NOT grammatical. First we teach vocabulary based around that
theme and afterwards incorporate the grammar. For example, with one teacher, the subject they must teach for the semester is “comparative and
superlative adjectives”; however, we now also have the theme “Who Am I?”. We
learned parts of the body (see pictures below) and adjectives such as “tall, small,
skinny, strong”. <i>After</i> this, we
taught comparative and superlative adjectives, using the vocabulary words
students had learned (for example: Jarladis is skinnier than Jhan Carlos.), meaning
that students actually know the meaning of what is on the board. Saying that
there is a long way to go would be an understatement; however, for some classes
and teachers in particular it really seems to be working.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lightbulb moment when students learned what "face" meant... <i>oooooh</i> <i>facebook. </i>Check.</span></div>
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I established last semester that I will never enter a
classroom unless the teacher and I have prepared a written lesson plan
beforehand (something unheard of). First of all, so that I know what I am doing and being in a
classroom is not one, big improvisation. <i>Today,
Christina is going to say the list of 100 past tense verbs on the board and you
will repeat… for 2 hours. </i>Secondly, it is not the co-teaching but the
co-planning where I see myself having the most impact. If I will not come to
class without planning beforehand, teachers make time in their schedule to
plan. Furthermore, written lesson plans and saved materials can be used in
future years. Each teacher has a binder with lesson plans for each individual
class and any handouts or materials we used are stapled to it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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None of this should be interpreted as teachers and students
at my school don’t try hard or are unintelligent. Lack of resources and not being
exposed to teaching styles different than lecture and memorization-based ones,
in addition to living in a culture where being late for class, not showing-up
with a pencil, not studying or not doing homework are acceptable all contribute
to students not learning English. As I said, teachers are more than willing to
work with me and listen to my ideas, and furthermore have some great ideas of
their own. After all, they are the ones who understand how Colombians think and
how public schools function. Moreover, there are always those students, who,
despite all this, are passionate about English, want as many songs and books
and materials as I can give them, and spend hours watching English TV,
listening to music, or talking in online chat rooms. Students may not know colors, but they have every word of Rihanna and Linkin Park songs down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On a totally separate note, the 30 (supposedly) Peace Corps volunteer
newbies arrive on Wednesday. <i>Are you
reading this? Hellooooo out there!</i> Although I won’t be able to be there for
the meet and greet, I can’t wait to get to Barranquilla sometime soon! Live up
your last few moments of sweaters, good beer, Mexican food, and driving before you're life turns full-Costena.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-13835402305311518112012-08-14T21:11:00.000-07:002012-10-28T16:17:59.184-07:00Making My Own Successes (with CLI)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Society teaches that,
not necessarily for free, but with effort, it is all possible. Therefore, if
success (in terms of work, relationships, appearance, social status, money…)
can be achieved, people also take the forefront of blame for being poor, ugly,
unemployed, or single. A “looser” is someone who failed where they could
succeed, lack of effort usually deemed the culprit. My reading disability
growing up meant that no matter how much time I practiced lines beforehand I
still stumbled horribly reading aloud in class; I saved up and bought a
designer shirt so I could fit in with my wealthier classmates yet still felt
out-of-style; I wore sports bras because my boobs made me feel fat. I was
especially anxious and self-conscious when I made efforts to change yet the
supposed outcome from studying more or wearing certain clothes was not my
reality. There is a correlation between a society that tells its citizens that
they can achieve anything and one where they feel like “losers”. I could have spent
a lot of physical and emotional energy on things that I was good at instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You try and be
realistic, but who joins the Peace Corps not somewhat idealistic, romanticizing changing the world? The reality is working and living in poverty and inequality
means change and achievements come slowly. 27 months and you have little to
show—<i>loser</i>. In Cartagena, instead of
focusing on, no matter how hard I try, the English my students do not speak,
the teachers who did not show up for the meeting, the NGO that doesn’t want my
help, I have found that I am most successful/fulfilled when I put my energy
into creating my own projects and therefore things that I directly control and
depend on how much work I put in. After seven months of being in-site, I can
say that it is all starting to come together and get easier. Many ideas and
projects are getting off the ground; however, the one I have spent the most of
my energy has been this girls’ leadership group…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<i>Chicas Lideres Indesoristas</i>” (INDESOR is the name of my school), or CLI, as
the girls have named themselves, has been a big success! With ten weeks under
our belt we still have a group of 20 girls who are coming back every week to
spend time together and to learn and grow as young women and leaders. Goes to
show how far hard work and personal connections can go even without resources
or funding. I do wish I could afford more supplies for my girls or take them
outside of school, but with the (expected) funding from a Peace Corps grant
that should kick in soon, this group is about to become incredibly legit. The
possibilities unlimited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We finished our “body
image” unit with a Zumba class! Ervelyne is woman-extroidanire: professional
translator who on the side is a scuba diving and Zumba instructor. (Zumba
started in Colombia and is an exercise/dance class.) I am a regular at her free
Zumba classes and thought of her infectious charisma and energy as perfect to
drive-home the importance of exercise to my girls who live where female sport/exercise culture are basically non-existent. She agreed to come to my
neighborhood, or “barrio” to give a class. Not only did she drive over an
hour to make it here, but it was nevertheless her birthday. The girls were a
bit shy at first, but in no time their Colombian roots won over and they were
dropping their booties and shimming like they had been brought up to do.
Amazing. We were all a sweaty mess at the end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The experience was so positive
for all that we hope to invite Zumba to our barrio every couple of weeks. Furthermore,
every Sunday the normal studio where we dance is replaced by a crowded, outdoor
plaza in the center of Caragena and with 100 people either dancing or watching.
We’re talking of bringing my girls to “Zumba en la Plaza” once a month, not
only to dance and connect to others different that those where we live, but
also to potentially ask for donations for the group.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am undoubtedly leading
the group, making connections with those in the community, reading through countless
materials, planning activities and discussions, organizing meetings (and being
stood-up), figuring out our budget, and writing the grant. The beginning is
always the most difficult; getting people to find your project important
between a myriad of busy and ever-changing schedules is challenging. It’s frustrating
and time consuming work, but seeing what these girls (who come from some poor families, dangerous neighborhoods and rough home lives) so happy and engaged makes it all worth it. Again,
it is finally starting to gain momentum and when we get the money, it’s gonna
be off the hook. Last week we started our unit on “sexual health” and it was
the first week where I planned none of the activities… progress. Yonathan, a
man I met who volunteers for an organization called “Gente Joven” and who I
brought to a week-long Project Design and Management Peace Corps conference in
July led the discussion of what defines and impacts sexuality. The girls seem
to be getting very comfortable around each other and spoke openly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is impossible to have
a society of people who all achieve the pre-established notion of perfection,
who all are ‘successful’. Regardless, do we want to live, breath and be a
cookie-cutter image? Hard work and effort are necessary, but we should base our
successes and failures less on the judgments of others and more on our own
values and personal capacities. A street vendor just as successful as a CEO. A supermodel just as valid
as someone obese. Spend less energy feeling anxious of our weaknesses and more
on using our strengths. “We should
not give up on our ideas of success, but make sure that they are our own… that
we truly own them.”-<span style="line-height: 115%;">Alain de Botton</span></span></div>
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Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-11418209224061631672012-07-21T12:49:00.001-07:002012-07-21T12:49:13.920-07:00Vacay-Time! To the beach and Medellin!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The first week of vacation I headed up to Santa Marta to
visit some other Peace Corps volunteers. Volunteer Carla really took one for
the team when she met her now boyfriend Ryan, great guy and owner of an amazing hostel (La
Brisa Loca) and restaurant (Uzo) in Santa Marta. We spent two nights at his
picturesque beach house, lounging in hammocks on a private beach and falling asleep
next to the ocean. We swam out early every morning to see the snow covered
Sierra Nevadas before the clouds rolled in. I haven’t seen snow in 16 months
but seeing snow covered mountains while swimming in the warm ocean surrounded
by palm trees was a definite first. Ryan also took us up a close-by mountain in
his Land Rover to explore rivers and eat cocao plant seeds (tastes nothing like
chocolate in its seed form).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cocao plant before it becomes chocolate</div>
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After being back in Cartagena for a bit, it was off to
Medellin. Medellin is famous as the “city of eternal spring” and therefore has 80ish temperatures/none
of this 115 degrees crap (I needed to know no more—count me in!) not to mention it
was home to the famous Pablo Escobar, leader of one of the most powerful drug
cartels and 7<sup>th</sup> richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine
(worth $24 billion) in the 1980’s. Medellin today it is a modern city, with a
main city center and residential neighborhoods that sprawl and crawl up the surrounding
mountains. People were helpful, friendly and cultured not to mention beautiful;
however, plastic surgery is booming and cheap in Medellin, so I never knew if
what I was looking at was completely for-real. It may be just a 50 minute plane
flight away, but the coast and the interior of Colombia are two different
worlds. I went with four other Peace Corps volunteers, and together we all
experienced our reverse culture shock… wow, Colombians <i>can</i> throw their trash away, read books in parks, exercise, and give
directions and advice that actually make sense. Revolutionary. I literally laughed out loud at the sight of goosebumps on my arms when I got off the plane. Wearing boots
and scarfs again, going to museums, using crosswalks, eating nachos, and riding the metro—<i>oooooh yeah, so this is
what it feels like to be a real person</i>. That being said, I did miss my
Costeno culture. Medellin may have temperature bragging rights, but the coast
is beautiful, with the happiest and friendliest people, and the dancing, puuulease,
even <i>we</i> blew the Medellin crowd out
of the water with our Costeno-taught salsa moves. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcv6FUwcXX2SC4CI7YSVZPmXNYiE3FfFiQ-5Gc20fo3CVqwMXyJP0EjlavnHLkYDd85duh9eBHhVFm4JOQ32HBTbLOYAjG5KLI9IpctRBlQzx4-j4ghMGeAGsDdlNK8i4w5oOYrDeVi6z4/s1600/P7020073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcv6FUwcXX2SC4CI7YSVZPmXNYiE3FfFiQ-5Gc20fo3CVqwMXyJP0EjlavnHLkYDd85duh9eBHhVFm4JOQ32HBTbLOYAjG5KLI9IpctRBlQzx4-j4ghMGeAGsDdlNK8i4w5oOYrDeVi6z4/s320/P7020073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fernando Botero is a world-famous artist from Medellin who generally paints and sculpts fat things, from people to animals to fruit, because, according to Botero, “it gives them sensuality”. Here we are in Botero Park and with some of his paintings. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErt7yBY9CWoU7LNrvJy59NDLQBknfPUmjrqU_HyGcIoiBOOmJ2JFzTay5vbLULEz7Wk6-uNFoZU33G6znlSfva65yozKx57eQJJTO822AcBdKWY4jFG0NndnkB41zOdjEKNmuTGpb29eV/s1600/P7010010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErt7yBY9CWoU7LNrvJy59NDLQBknfPUmjrqU_HyGcIoiBOOmJ2JFzTay5vbLULEz7Wk6-uNFoZU33G6znlSfva65yozKx57eQJJTO822AcBdKWY4jFG0NndnkB41zOdjEKNmuTGpb29eV/s320/P7010010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPJVBBSXQAUVtOfBeB8ezTp5h6529iYX4VIBgJsISzeIVEfnyZvjqxT70RUHUaCezSe1YUfwR4q4MrcnDMSHfS48LnMtdnNEdp2km-oaWjWDdSxDnEy5wFh7aMDy3_hHYprJO1bvrMIpB/s1600/P7050211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPJVBBSXQAUVtOfBeB8ezTp5h6529iYX4VIBgJsISzeIVEfnyZvjqxT70RUHUaCezSe1YUfwR4q4MrcnDMSHfS48LnMtdnNEdp2km-oaWjWDdSxDnEy5wFh7aMDy3_hHYprJO1bvrMIpB/s320/P7050211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsPtwG4yXrV-syDLIkjmEX_1DPOGWv47YrWKPAZ4vyr30_6sn0hfbAIX-reQEvkdusda3Z0zn2smteVPEY0co1siPDH_Yk_2ELW7PErjnmCRGVaKivsxvSwXie07MppB_TFkKpnxSMVnx/s1600/P7010024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsPtwG4yXrV-syDLIkjmEX_1DPOGWv47YrWKPAZ4vyr30_6sn0hfbAIX-reQEvkdusda3Z0zn2smteVPEY0co1siPDH_Yk_2ELW7PErjnmCRGVaKivsxvSwXie07MppB_TFkKpnxSMVnx/s320/P7010024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Parque de las Luces/Park of Lights, otherwise known as "Lightsaber Park" </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWy7YAjHOtuhQvKSCQ-YA3OebrN7y14j-Vm7pszJ-Vql7thM-9igUagmnaxHCLsqGgBJK-KYTNKoxVMt3VMIMxRAur8mGZlctXXcr5K-tyJuKhGYkZ7uLIrkmOWLHnBPzb3GzdJY07qMm/s1600/P7020076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWy7YAjHOtuhQvKSCQ-YA3OebrN7y14j-Vm7pszJ-Vql7thM-9igUagmnaxHCLsqGgBJK-KYTNKoxVMt3VMIMxRAur8mGZlctXXcr5K-tyJuKhGYkZ7uLIrkmOWLHnBPzb3GzdJY07qMm/s320/P7020076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Aside from the amazing metro system, Medellin also has cable cars and the world’s longest escalator, thus making the high-preached, poorer neighborhoods more accessible.</span> Can I do Peace Corps here? Great people, great food (see below)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROF4sBw6fGhy7ZsDgY4j6n7OLAaGxybTib0lNjsBBDMUR_tndBZiYyDzkXsMfKW4p5up2F4C6EjbG5kZo-YkTJZI0KBKjc0fhuRP0UrBjnX8_9-FTtozzpkkNoFmSU5L6IY3xOzOQgROG/s1600/P7020097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROF4sBw6fGhy7ZsDgY4j6n7OLAaGxybTib0lNjsBBDMUR_tndBZiYyDzkXsMfKW4p5up2F4C6EjbG5kZo-YkTJZI0KBKjc0fhuRP0UrBjnX8_9-FTtozzpkkNoFmSU5L6IY3xOzOQgROG/s320/P7020097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Introducing the "Bandeja Paisa", Medellin's typical dish. Rice, beans, fried plaintain, french fries, arepa, chicken, sausage, and fried egg. Domination.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMP0TCBiD_gjYH_Q1YdBPxp_y2Ye352SIp-gieHdXFJZ0881u05pBSSVfir0q0-tLOhqnd93NZX8u80QYmvK0myPZeIL1IO9lgzmmm4-SFbIP8Qt1yrzZ-W7n5DR2pfrEnqDs6__5PNHa0/s1600/318774_10151747440206542_960947371_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMP0TCBiD_gjYH_Q1YdBPxp_y2Ye352SIp-gieHdXFJZ0881u05pBSSVfir0q0-tLOhqnd93NZX8u80QYmvK0myPZeIL1IO9lgzmmm4-SFbIP8Qt1yrzZ-W7n5DR2pfrEnqDs6__5PNHa0/s320/318774_10151747440206542_960947371_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After filling out bellies, the next logical thing to do would be to get matching seahorse spray-on tattoos, of course.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We took a day trip to </span><span style="background-color: white;">El Penon de Guatape and climbed the 740 stairs to the top for an amazing outlook and ass workout. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnZBoI6dnDiGf2CVxdqGTWodLPjFcmY2sMaHJJjdAOeloRgykKF9J8YO2TLVrSYGLOiClLVVn-raefDY8w3zMnW3Wy04MpYIrBxqfUDfdYhYT0skwOwknnxuxGY4CBng35fViDNoOx7Ho/s1600/P7030167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnZBoI6dnDiGf2CVxdqGTWodLPjFcmY2sMaHJJjdAOeloRgykKF9J8YO2TLVrSYGLOiClLVVn-raefDY8w3zMnW3Wy04MpYIrBxqfUDfdYhYT0skwOwknnxuxGY4CBng35fViDNoOx7Ho/s320/P7030167.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnfBNCjeTCi8ySKS6Ev0RUC7wJQ1voH2Mk8BuzF5Jd2QF-JIhNjeuSE1Z5yY3qC_89bXTfoGDYWb5qRWvXbzLw3Je_06QcxBG_WNu074d_aRLKNEUxEneKvVfr5mMy20rW5lkCUkiWe6h/s1600/P7030106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnfBNCjeTCi8ySKS6Ev0RUC7wJQ1voH2Mk8BuzF5Jd2QF-JIhNjeuSE1Z5yY3qC_89bXTfoGDYWb5qRWvXbzLw3Je_06QcxBG_WNu074d_aRLKNEUxEneKvVfr5mMy20rW5lkCUkiWe6h/s320/P7030106.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9ZTl0AC1uou-YaXuCDp9rN8hUtP4IeMKvUWo-wwHoYeQPgzkbNqlMHc6S6qwQGHZC4bujgzUmB1nlpiZfGWXXV_7Vcwfnitd55okLBhBXyUTD2Ltgqu6vBc2VgiUOTsqMv7EnJTrYd1F/s1600/P7030128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9ZTl0AC1uou-YaXuCDp9rN8hUtP4IeMKvUWo-wwHoYeQPgzkbNqlMHc6S6qwQGHZC4bujgzUmB1nlpiZfGWXXV_7Vcwfnitd55okLBhBXyUTD2Ltgqu6vBc2VgiUOTsqMv7EnJTrYd1F/s320/P7030128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21gSNu8gSlrMf6FT_CeUMeas_pqgdF4dHoE0UaFSxTROj0wpTQ1hvcvmXbG0IX33Hcg_aLk4Fa34pYqVvn-U2SM-KqwzXvKE4jUZOrq8uNj2C69u0kxRn-mQh0vO4iLGUoNuiedWAvKvd/s1600/552671_3571232879318_86407181_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21gSNu8gSlrMf6FT_CeUMeas_pqgdF4dHoE0UaFSxTROj0wpTQ1hvcvmXbG0IX33Hcg_aLk4Fa34pYqVvn-U2SM-KqwzXvKE4jUZOrq8uNj2C69u0kxRn-mQh0vO4iLGUoNuiedWAvKvd/s320/552671_3571232879318_86407181_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The first night we stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant with, low-and-behold!, real Mexican food... tortillas, spiciness, Coronas, and all. Needless to day we went back another two times. Add that to the hot wings, ravioli, Dominoes pizza, and REECE's Peanut Butter Cups (see below--we got the last two in the store!), and I'm happy to say my US food cravings have been satisfied. Another 5 months of rice and bananas here I come!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHOY4OYoVyDP2F-kYLW0JAGzG-uuSKS-2ZKPI5y76cH3U020_5iS4GmPi46rhhhcAT6abXygMpuVBSov44tHFB9LTaj8dWRMqqySxIXkXm4nsXSEhKm7hlqvZH_thi1F8fD3i1OXsoyK7/s1600/426807_10151747468891542_372221543_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHOY4OYoVyDP2F-kYLW0JAGzG-uuSKS-2ZKPI5y76cH3U020_5iS4GmPi46rhhhcAT6abXygMpuVBSov44tHFB9LTaj8dWRMqqySxIXkXm4nsXSEhKm7hlqvZH_thi1F8fD3i1OXsoyK7/s320/426807_10151747468891542_372221543_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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</div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-63844049755873361272012-06-26T09:16:00.004-07:002012-06-26T09:16:59.551-07:00Secondary Projects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><b>Community English Class: </b></i></div>
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Tuesday nights I teach a beginner English
class for adults in my community. The “Costeno promise” gener<span style="background-color: white;">ally involves
repeating the greatness of the idea and your certain attendance, followed by,
low-and-behold, not coming. However, I am excited to say that the class has
been extremely popular, with usually 18-25 adults attending. Everyone has big
personalities, is super enthusiastic and avid homework-doers (a nice change).
Classes are fun; we play lots of games, watch videos, act, listen to music.
Cultural exchanges have included introducing me to Colombian rap artists and how
to dance “mapale” in return expanding their pop music knowledge from Rihanna
and Justin Bieber and how to dance the electric slide. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<i><b>English Teacher Classes:</b></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Every other Saturday two other Peace Corps volunteers,
Monica and Victor, and I hold a meeting for English teachers of Cartagena at my
school. The aim is not to improve English language competency but rather to
focus on methodologies and how to teach English more effectively. Topics have
included: planning curriculum, making and saving lesson plans, teaching to
students with different learning styles, and presenting successful games and activities
that can be used in large classrooms with limited resources. Getting teachers
to come on a Saturday has meant lots of “Costeno promises,” as mentioned above,
but the few attendees (we’ve had from 2-6 teachers show up) are very positive
about the class and furthermore working with teachers who are eager to learn and
change is reassuring and rewarding. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><b>Girls’ Leadership Group:</b></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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I saved the best for last! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wanted to do projects outside of teaching English and
furthermore was frustrated with not being able to find anything (indicatively there
is no translation of “to volunteer” in Spanish). So, I created my own project… instead
of participating in community service projects and volunteering by myself, why
don’t I create my own I can control and get students to do it with me?<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been hard at
times to live in such a machista culture where many woman stay with and seem to
get validation from being with a man, no matter if he is a cheater or abusive.
Moreover, there are pregnant girls as young as 6<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup>
grade at my school and after coming back from a week of intensive Peace Corps
HIV/AIDS training, the lack of awareness of sexual health seemed all the more
evident. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, with the help of the school’s principal, the morning and
afternoon social workers, the psychologist, and Nicole (the previous Peace
Corps volunteer at my site who is a close friend and decided to stay in Cartagena
after finishing her service) our girls’ leadership group has taken off and
going strong for 5 weeks now!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have 20 girls, all 10<sup>th</sup> graders, and meet
every Thursday night. We are finishing up our first unit on a healthy body
image/healthy lifestyles. We’ve had some interesting discussions and last week
the group made pamphlets on obesity, anorexia, and bulimia that are now in the
resource center. I take dance classes twice a week and my teacher is coming to
give a dance class to the girls for our final part of the unit. The plan for
the next topic is sexual health and pregnancy prevention. I have been writing a
grant with the Peace Corps to get funding so that larger-scale projects, trips,
and guest speakers outside of the school can be possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The overall goal for the group is to support the girls to
become leaders of their own bodies and in the community. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our three objectives are as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 1. </span><!--[endif]-->To raise girls’ self-esteem through gaining
self-awareness: emotionally, physically and sexually. More specifically this
means identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, dealing with stressful
situations, thinking through decisions, and making goals for their future,
among others. We gave the girls a list of possible topics and what we discuss
Thursdays is largely based on those which they selected. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 2. </span><!--[endif]-->To start the considering options after
graduating, specifically entrance to university. This means bringing in
professionals from various careers to talk to the girls about their job, visiting
universities to see how students live, and working on applications, resumes and
interview skills. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 3. </span><!--[endif]-->To think of other people and issues in the
communities of Cartagena and to participate in community service projects that the
girls themselves design. The girls have started to discuss needs and problems
in their communities (such as lack of space for youth to hang-out and play,
gangs, familial violence, disabled people, and trash). The ultimate goal is to
have the girls identify an issue they are interested in and then, with our
help, to go into neighborhoods of Cartagena and create and implement projects
to combat the problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-38580948800659764492012-06-12T15:45:00.000-07:002012-06-26T09:11:11.422-07:00Combating the Facebook Perception<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Although it is flattering that so many people check facebook
to see how my life in Cartagena is working out, alas it seems they are getting the wrong
impression. </div>
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Most pictures are taken when Peace Corps volunteers get together,
and although my lifestyle does look pretty awesome, it does involve more
that drinking beer, playing in the ocean and dancing with other Americans. In fact, most of my time is spent at school and in realizing that there is a lack of pictures with the Colombians who I work with and are most influential to my experience thus far, I took my camera to work for the day. Below are the teachers and some of the 11th graders.<br />
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Maybe I'll take some pictures of my neighborhood next week; however, photographing people who are showered and at the beach or a colonial castle seems more tempting than sweaty people surrounded by trash, graffiti and stray dogs getting it on...</div>
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</div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-10200524594682775672012-05-29T12:19:00.002-07:002012-05-29T12:21:06.997-07:00If at first you don’t succeed…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Whether it’s planting sustainable crops, building latrines, developing a classroom management plan, or getting people to wash their hands, almost
every Peace Corps job comes back to <u>behavior change</u>. And what it comes down to
is behavior change is <i>really</i> hard to
accomplish. Add doing so in a different culture and it can seem next to
impossible. Not only am I trying to help people change their behaviors, but I
am also trying to get people to understand why change is important. Double whammy. Changing your eating habits, for example, to a healthier diet is
already difficult, but at least most people know that eating healthy is important
because it will help you feel better, look better, think clearer. Now try
getting students to do their homework when it has never been important and
furthermore they have 10 years’ experience of not doing it. Not happening anytime
soon, sorry ‘bout it. </div>
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Sunday night rolls around and I eagerly think to myself <i>wow, this week I will actually have a whole
5 day work week! </i>Last Monday we had off for the anniversary of, some 2000
odd years ago, Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the Tuesday before was Teacher’s
Day, and the Monday before that was Labor Day… but alas, what do you know, this
week there is a teachers’ strike on Wednesday. Other things come up too… last
week all students who still had not bought the school uniform were
kicked out, meaning that less than half were present. Early May I went all week
to Barranquilla for extensive HIV/AIDS prevention training. Students show up
half an hour late to class, morning prayer time runs over, classes are canceled
so that teachers can celebrate birthdays… the list goes on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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… and then I shake my head and remind myself that although
I’m becoming used to this, I have a long way to go if I’m still assuming a 5
day work week. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So how does one go about getting a sense of accomplishment in work that is based in behavior change, especially in a different culture? Well, it can
happen, it’s just takes an extra dose of <b>patience</b>,
<b>acceptance of rejection</b>, and <b>coconut rice.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Patience</b>: stop
fighting and resisting the culture but go with it. Many things I just cannot
change and complaining will not make them go away. And sometimes, in the most
challenging situations, I can only laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all…
I am wearing black jeans and tennis shoes, teaching 40 students who understand
0 words I’m saying, it is <i>literally, </i>I
repeat <i>literally</i> 109 degrees outside,
and fifteen, sixteen seventeen beads of sweat just rolled down my back. So tragic,
it’s kinda hilarious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Acceptance of
rejection:</b> Tuesday nights I teach a community English class that is now 26
adults strong. We started with 4. This Thursday night officially starts my
Girls’ Leadership Group (updates to come!) for 10<sup>th</sup> grade girls from
my school. We had 70 girls take permission slips for their parents to sign; 16
have come back. Give 100% to the people who do show up, even if there’s only
one. Furthermore, if you have a good idea going, stick it out, but let it go if
it is ruining your day and/or mood. If a teacher blows me off time and time and time again, I stop
working with him. Working with people who are open to new ideas and change is
easier, more fun, and will have more impact. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Coconut rice</b>: is
my favorite Colombian food. Furthermore, for almost every event a Colombian has
invited me to, coconut rice appears at some point. Visiting families, going to
birthday parties, getting lunch together, and generally taking the time to get
to know a person is the ultimate way to change behaviors and it’s amazing how
much more people will listen to and show up for you. Spending the first minute
of a conversation asking how someone is doing instead of getting right to
logistics or favors is something that Americans should do more often. In
general, figure out what the people want and what motivates them and you’re one
big step closer. For me, I’ll even go to your daughters dance recital if I know
there’s coconut rice afterwards. Knowing that Costenos love dance and music and
incorporating those into whatever, from study habbits to condom use, will spark
interest. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-78200598944272416352012-05-03T11:10:00.001-07:002012-05-03T11:10:25.047-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>What Happens in Cartagena, Stays
in Cartagena</b>: 10 Things that are not Coming to the US Anytime Soon<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 1. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Old,
healthy people<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s like walking around Palm Beach, Florida,
old people are everywhere. And I mean </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">old</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">.
Both families I’ve lived with have several members in their 90s and some in
their 100s. And unless dirt is the newfound elixir of youth, it’s definitely
not the water they’re drinking. I attribute it to something more along the
lines of lack of stress. Take the three ladies I live with now: how stressed
can you really be when your biggest problems for the last 30 years have been re-sowing
ripped nightgowns, a lack of chairs when too many family members are at the
house, and power outages cutting into your soap opera time?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I have yet to meet and have only heard of two
people with cancer whereas many in the US have an immediate family member or
close friend affected. I’m puzzled why… either the rate of diagnosis is higher
in the US or it’s all those things we use and consume (from cell phones to
processed, hormonal induced food) that are the culprits.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 2. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Lack of
political correctness</i></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Super Kike is everywhere. Below is the paint
store, Super Kike. There is also a Super Kike hair dresser around the corner
along with a Kike Auto, and Kike Mattress store.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uiXEjYgHzGlOGzqwijLszUY202_H5pLAKDaNXCielPRatA7ljNZGmddlqL3gAQzemQXkd51KRgdqAp2t4t4dhRQLvmRFr__gLjOwtJReGj0swGmXrrqpcWtpt86yEHD8rATGDfErGM_W/s1600/PC170319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uiXEjYgHzGlOGzqwijLszUY202_H5pLAKDaNXCielPRatA7ljNZGmddlqL3gAQzemQXkd51KRgdqAp2t4t4dhRQLvmRFr__gLjOwtJReGj0swGmXrrqpcWtpt86yEHD8rATGDfErGM_W/s320/PC170319.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Hitler parades through the streets at Carnival.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM-s6Hr_Ph8cfLltaJrbGOf2g4ywjLH22z_k_a6ZvDVh-aVGqxT0TK_5mwY9V7fLyJvZiCp_cXKgmzcroKhMWX574nd78L8vxSIyO2XwxMdcGZLS-5IJirwY5m6Egdt6WH0F8EZfw_Afk/s1600/396219_10100587144599338_2732546_53102200_823530871_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM-s6Hr_Ph8cfLltaJrbGOf2g4ywjLH22z_k_a6ZvDVh-aVGqxT0TK_5mwY9V7fLyJvZiCp_cXKgmzcroKhMWX574nd78L8vxSIyO2XwxMdcGZLS-5IJirwY5m6Egdt6WH0F8EZfw_Afk/s320/396219_10100587144599338_2732546_53102200_823530871_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Blackface also appears at carnival. But the
racism doesn’t stop there; they also howl and move like apes and monkeys. </span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUi228zppY0vgbZbJ6lDtVhTYpEvqz6CKXSXfHQfM7k1yVwr9ssqy55WfHvBQorpufkM-Lnxoz1yNKfLMuiZylxjYBvBOIeKdSpVKNbm1dIIRhpZ2PR-mjp6NEVg7hBrzO5ta8hu-nvN_/s1600/P2180518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUi228zppY0vgbZbJ6lDtVhTYpEvqz6CKXSXfHQfM7k1yVwr9ssqy55WfHvBQorpufkM-Lnxoz1yNKfLMuiZylxjYBvBOIeKdSpVKNbm1dIIRhpZ2PR-mjp6NEVg7hBrzO5ta8hu-nvN_/s320/P2180518.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">When I want something from the food stand at
school, I ask the lady “Negrita, yo quisiera…” or “Black lady, I would like…”
Everyone refers to her as La Negrita; I have no idea what her actual name is.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 3. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Soup<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s 95 degrees and humid outside and every
single lunch what do people prefer?... a boiling bowl of soup.</span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Wow, it is possible for me to sweat even
more.</i></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s 4am after a night of dancing, and instead
of eating a pizza or hamburger where do my Colombian friends take me?... to get
a hot soup. </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Hearty…</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">not</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> <i>4. </i></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Machismo</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is</span> rampant in the coast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Not to imply that cheating happens more in
Colombia, but it is much more out in the open. Often, a married man proposing
an affair acknowledges his wife and children. Wives are aware that husbands
have entire other families. A guy will get a girl’s name, find her on facebook
and ask her out, even though his facebook says he’s engaged and has pictures
with his fiancé. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The macho-ness is balanced out in surprising
ways. Men get manicures, shave their armpits, and gel their hair. A common go-to
for clothing is a tight Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister t-shirt, usually
bedazzled with rhinestones, and tight jeans, usually faded. Men often drink
light beer and Smirnoff Ice. The mountain man, bearded, baggy pants type would be
mistaken for a homeless bum (or deadlocked, smelly backpacker—clean cut,
perfumed Costenos are grossed out by these dirty tourists).</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 5. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>High-expectations
of my responsibility</i> have plummeted<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Whenever I forget to do something or complete a
task incorrectly, it’s never my fault. “You poor, confused gringa who didn’t
understand Spanish, ay pobrecita.” Furthermore, nodding, smiling and/or
responding “si” over and over again will get me through anything.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 6. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Clothing
styles<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Graphic-t’s in English are all the rage, no
matter what they say. To my neighbor’s quincienera birthday party one guy wore
a t-shirt that said “FUCK YOUR CLIQUE” while another’s said “CLUB 69 SEX”. T-shirts
can also be less obvious and slightly more confusing such as “I CAN SLEEP”, “I AM
HONEY COOL”, or “NEW YORK AWESOME CHICK FLIRT.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you’ve got it, flaunt it. “It” can mean
anything, from a six pack to beer belly. Tight clothes are in. And these people
have got some curvaceous figures, so we’re talking serious skin clenching
constriction. No shame: thunder thighs stuffed into white spandex, love handles
above and butt cheeks below booty shorts, cleavage galore. Canadian tuxedos, or
jean top/jean bottoms, are also very popular, skin-tight of course. I’ve got to
hand it to them on their self-confidence; I think that it’s great. Body image
in general is so different here. Whereas in the US when someone comments “you
look skinny” it is always a compliment, in Cartagena it goes something like
this “you look skinny… are you sick? What’s wrong with you?” One of my personal
favorite people watching activities is “arepa belly or pregnant?” The game is
simple: look at the skin-tight shirt on the women walking by and try and determine
if her stomach underneath is a fried food baby or if she’s actually with child.
It’s much more difficult than you’d think. Another popular pastime is “real or silicone”,
and applies to both boobs and butts.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 7. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Cold, cool
or even warm temperatures</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Nothing new in terms of still feeling hot when
it’s 100 degrees outside; however, cold is now 75 degrees. It’s true, when at a
hotel in Barranquilla recently, I had to turn up the air conditioning as it was
set at an uncomfortably cold 24 degrees C (aka 75 degrees F).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And heaven forbid you are confronted with a
temperature below 75! After working out I am not allowed to take a cold shower (hot
water does not exist) before waiting at least 30 minutes. It is also frowned
upon to open the refrigerator and get myself a glass of cold water, and instead
someone preferably gets it for me. The change in temperature would make me sick,
obviously.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 8. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Rattails and
mullets<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 9. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Brutal
honesty<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Why do you always wear black, are you depressed
because you left your family?” “Let me bring you some medicine that works great
to get rid of that disgusting zit on your face.” “Do you want me to find you a
boyfriend since you can’t?” “Your arm looks really fat in that picture, you
shouldn’t stand like that anymore.” “Why are you still so pale?” I’ve never
liked passive aggressiveness and am often too blunt myself, but this really
takes it to a new, brutal level.</span></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> 10. </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Noise</i>
and the complete obliviousness to it. It’s very entertaining for me to imagine
the freak-outs Americans would have in the following situations:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s 5am, the sun has not risen and a group of
20 are doing exercise aerobics in a park. All houses in the surrounding 5 block
radius are subjected to the BLASTING techno music. And if it’s not techno music
at 5am it’s something: horns honking, chickens clucking, the neighbor making
breakfast and singing Rihanna at the top of her lungs…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">My neighbor is mentally disabled. His name is
Jesus and is an incredibly sweet, endearing boy; however, it is not so endearing
when people bring him horns or noise makers for presents. Whyyyy?!? We’re
talking 6am-9pm of CONSTANT, loud horn sounds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">There are at least 700 students in the school at
one time. The facility is not that big and all classrooms are filled, usually
with 30-40 students. There is no open space except for the triangular, concrete
area in the middle of all classrooms. This is where PE takes place. You try
making conjugating the verb “to be” more exciting than watching the kickball
game outside.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Parties are almost always accompanied by LOUD
music, usually via gigantic “picos” or large speakers that boom into the
morning. My old landlord Patty would be up to her ears in noise complaints. In
such cases, people cannot talk because the music is so loud, thus meaning they
sit there, gaze at each other, drink, and eventually dance. Nevertheless, this has
advantages for my gringa-self as it’s a break for my brain from Spanish and
furthermore gets more liquid confidence flowing through my veins so that I can
dance. </span></li>
</ul>
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</div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-57500487075277912772012-04-19T15:18:00.000-07:002012-04-19T15:18:51.968-07:00Choosing to do the Peace Corps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><i>“Does a society seek to promote the virtue of its citizens? Or should law be natural toward competing conceptions of virtue, so that citizens can be free to choose for themselves the best way to live?<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">--“Justice” by Professor Michael J. Sandel</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I’ve been asking myself for the last 6 months why Peace Corps. </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">You psycho, get out now… the land of Chipotle, English and jackets is just a plane ride away. </i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Even I don’t really understand why I moved away from comfort and normality, from people I’ve spent years building relationships with, and to a country I’d never been and knew no one… Part lack of direction, part carpe diem, part gut feeling I guess. Some may call it a midlife crisis, stupidity, or it was probably just my stomach growling. You may call this blog entry excessively cheesy, flower child syndrome, I-have-to-much-free-time condition, philosophical gibberish, or whatever, but after reading this quote here’s how I now better conceptualize the attraction of the Peace Corps. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Latin American cultures tend to be characterized as “collectivist”, arguably more a reflection of the first type of society described in the quote, whereas Westernized, “individualistic” cultures may be more similar to the latter (generally speaking… wide-encompassing societies and legal systems have aspects that fall into both categories). Looking at religion in Colombia and the US as an example… the church is prominent in Colombian society and suggests a virtuous life based on the bible’s teachings. Jesus appears almost everywhere: from the back of buses, to schools, to supermarkets. Meanwhile, the US has separation of church and state, and Americans practice and discus religion on a much more private, individual level. This is not to imply that the church doesn’t play a major role in the US or that Colombia does not value all religions and beliefs; the point is that religion is used in distinct ways based on two contrasting notions of how society should be.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Maybe an ideal, just society promotes both collective virtue and individual freedom. Supposing the most important virtue is the golden rule and the most important freedom is choice, therefore the ultimate, just society is one where citizens make their own, individual decisions, so long as they don’t harm others. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">So why do people become Peace Corps volunteers and moreover why do they continue to do so for 27 months? It’s being part of a just society; a combination of the golden rule and individual choice; an incorporation of collectivist and individualistic ideals. The Peace Corps is transnational, fluid and cross-cultural because it promotes virtues that aren’t only societal, but global: peaceful diplomacy, human rights (in my case, the right to a good education), empowerment and sustainability, walking a mile in someone’s shoes before you judge him or her (Colombian <i>or</i> American), and that it is not physical appearance (materials, skin color, gender, or age) but what is on the inside that matters. When applying to the Peace Corps, I could have gone to 75 countries and been welcomed into thousands of communities. That, if nothing else, proves a global virtue. On the other hand, joining the Peace Corps is a personal choice that I made as an individual. In a past blog entry I wrote about how crazy volunteers are to <i>choose</i> this lifestyle. Crazy, probably. Choice, undoubtedly. I am not tied down to a controlled lifestyle or job and I am not going through the motions; I chose my work hours, my vacations, my friends, my food, when I go to bed and wake up. I am also giving my students the power of choice, for with English more possibilities will potentially be available. Actively interacting with a worldwide value system and simultaneously creating my own life and beliefs… that is why I joined and choose to stay in the Peace Corps. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div></div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-7175381247613827712012-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:002012-04-12T21:27:21.725-07:00Semana Santa, Holy Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Easter is just one measly day in the week long celebration that is Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Why celebrate one day when you could for seven? I went with three other friends to the town of Mompox, a calm colonial town on the Magdalena river with friendly people and tons of rocking chairs. In exchange for the Easter Bunny, I got my fill of bloody Jesus statues on floats; no chocolate this year, but instead little cups of mango, coco, pineapple, and beans (yuck!) mixed with sugar; and instead of spotting Easter eggs, we floated down the river on the lookout for iguanas and monkeys. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lhpRFdJMKd5FPrXMSecq8lZet0QrHg0dc4fx5Z0fKduZBcWNp02beWkjPZrT-q1g4ONj7Wm1IkdtCtHQznAF4wCKdXU7TP6L68s_3hBq046DKjCeZYOdPucs0VD86hgpQ6w7jhV46Nmg/s1600/P4040160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lhpRFdJMKd5FPrXMSecq8lZet0QrHg0dc4fx5Z0fKduZBcWNp02beWkjPZrT-q1g4ONj7Wm1IkdtCtHQznAF4wCKdXU7TP6L68s_3hBq046DKjCeZYOdPucs0VD86hgpQ6w7jhV46Nmg/s320/P4040160.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiiD1WFvag09A5pUN8cYhoV-aZh9XT4Uda5osvspduwOoV-s8CVqE5JbRbxnqwEgHfpH91zAx5GlQB5DV8IAHfhsfiQPGPUGiqqeS2qhr9CICLJpLjDqijRs5iKl_AgPSnJJxUYa9GEwA/s1600/P4040175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiiD1WFvag09A5pUN8cYhoV-aZh9XT4Uda5osvspduwOoV-s8CVqE5JbRbxnqwEgHfpH91zAx5GlQB5DV8IAHfhsfiQPGPUGiqqeS2qhr9CICLJpLjDqijRs5iKl_AgPSnJJxUYa9GEwA/s320/P4040175.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wednesday night people went to the cemetary and lit thousands of candles for the dead</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While the trip there took 5 hours, the 11 hours it took to return was another whole adventure in itself. After taking a cab and fishing boat and waiting 3 hours for a bus that would never leave, we got into a van and waited another 2 hours. It’s going to be so strange to return to a land where reservations can be made and furthermore upheld. Along the way, the driver did some personal errands, one woman got out to talk on her phone for 15 minutes where there was service, and a baby threw up and had to be changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8809063136788270670.post-47528948651285078432012-03-28T21:19:00.000-07:002012-03-28T21:19:33.964-07:00Yes, a blog post actually mentioning "work"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 8<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, International Women’s Day, commonly raises gender inequality awareness. In my community this was not the case, at all. Women’s Day consisted of food, food and more food, a mariachi band, and male teachers reading poems in addition to telling sexist jokes and super-imposing female teachers’ faces onto bikini models. International Men’s Day is November 19<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>; however, in Colombia it is celebrated on the 19<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of March (Husband Day, supposedly?). Not to mention the day off of school, female teachers similarly prepared copious amounts of food and held an after-school teachers dance party with Shakira, aka when a representative from “Colombia tiene Talento” (a knock off of the “America’s got Talent” TV program) came in a gold bikini and blond wig (pictured below with the cook at the school). As if that wasn’t sexy enough, male teachers went loco for her beer belly and lap dances. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite how this blog may portray it, I promise that your tax dollars are going towards more than beer and mangos and that I am in fact working (although it was a slow start). My primary job is not as an English teacher but instead working alongside Colombian English teachers introducing methodologies and strengthening competency. Having my own class would be far less sustainable than working with Colombians who will teach here 5, 10, or 20 years from now. I work with four English teachers this semester and a different four next semester. Co-planning and co-teaching have been both successful and frustrating. All teachers, English and from other departments, are fantastic, happy individuals and so welcoming. Teachers have never written and saved lesson plans, but after developing a system with each individually, all four teachers I work with now have a few. The ultimate goal being not only understanding the importance of planning lessons <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i> walking into the classroom but also to organize and save plans for future years. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers need little help with English grammar, which is awesome because my capabilities in that area are borderline nonexistent. Most lessons involve exclusively grammar exercises, one problem being students’ limited vocabulary. Although they may know the structure of a modal verb sentence, they have no idea what modal verbs “could, might, can” mean, not to mention the meaning of “I, you, he, she, it, we, they” (some students have taken 5 years of English and still do not know the meaning of ‘we’). One of my main aims has been figuring out successful ways to introduce vocabulary into the lessons. I am fortunate that all teachers are very open to and receptive of my approaches and activities while simultaneously have their own, good ideas on how to teach grammar. Having my time split between four teachers is challenging and I wish that I could assist more of each one’s classes; implementing changes takes even longer than it otherwise would. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaQ_BT6oDmAjEw_yyhmD2-5eF5BacIz0bYp4L1SZ5iogVlIv7NZj9y6IUDsjaloodeAjNBMVA4uY1d7nlPK_74xJta5KSnbis48kNlHgbZTEcgcFOoFmd95mpOITWlmperuXFhnHuNpaT/s1600/429402_10150859204714937_814069936_12697222_584700954_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaQ_BT6oDmAjEw_yyhmD2-5eF5BacIz0bYp4L1SZ5iogVlIv7NZj9y6IUDsjaloodeAjNBMVA4uY1d7nlPK_74xJta5KSnbis48kNlHgbZTEcgcFOoFmd95mpOITWlmperuXFhnHuNpaT/s320/429402_10150859204714937_814069936_12697222_584700954_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbuGcearKII79xFHwURDW2n0bq2x9K1yrauI0BMKY_joY1deFNcFrO-N8InC90GLTloM9hp_0T8_3cDj0Nr5ba5xZbk5Bn6Ax7Bj33VPcjrseERH6VUXkEMftk5b6yYz-tJsMxRLFF4LS/s1600/423763_10150859209119937_814069936_12697251_320307368_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbuGcearKII79xFHwURDW2n0bq2x9K1yrauI0BMKY_joY1deFNcFrO-N8InC90GLTloM9hp_0T8_3cDj0Nr5ba5xZbk5Bn6Ax7Bj33VPcjrseERH6VUXkEMftk5b6yYz-tJsMxRLFF4LS/s320/423763_10150859209119937_814069936_12697251_320307368_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6fjre0fiGi8sXpQpcSg_s8yAy4AddJnzhIUvqpetQcFp7Dvkh8akSwircpmLlqzB50BC1PDdJKPIUQB8Gti21TesoAlaL5iIP4kGsw6kEj4OuXgMhAN4BDIYHPux7Qfy2PT0v1ts0ZVW/s1600/P3210083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6fjre0fiGi8sXpQpcSg_s8yAy4AddJnzhIUvqpetQcFp7Dvkh8akSwircpmLlqzB50BC1PDdJKPIUQB8Gti21TesoAlaL5iIP4kGsw6kEj4OuXgMhAN4BDIYHPux7Qfy2PT0v1ts0ZVW/s320/P3210083.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My first effort in getting the whole school more bilingual has been making English signs to for various areas. Secretary, Teacher’s Room, Physics Lab, and Men’s Bathroom, among others are currently labeled in Spanish. With the help of an art teacher, I bought 25 blocks of wood, paint, and nails. Students, teachers and my host grandmas helped me paint the wood and drill the signs into the school walls so that beneath each Spanish sign is an English one! Below is a picture with 2 English teachers and "Teachers' Room" sings in Spanish, sign language (there are a ton of deaf kids at my school-who don't take English-, and in English).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9MX2j7ZE5Br1na7jdb3Ub_3X5lqpFk213bU0RXkKqAXDhkVECm1cGrLo14ZpUSgKJHvitqyE1L4PY2vIXWvl2f3CHtZWh1E63GBBm1tDq-YrOginIdGkRgkTHnbX3jJ0yim17tBBUFWx/s1600/P3230144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9MX2j7ZE5Br1na7jdb3Ub_3X5lqpFk213bU0RXkKqAXDhkVECm1cGrLo14ZpUSgKJHvitqyE1L4PY2vIXWvl2f3CHtZWh1E63GBBm1tDq-YrOginIdGkRgkTHnbX3jJ0yim17tBBUFWx/s320/P3230144.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaL8OY_ufMOQxavAU8vHJoXCi02SaKNfTN04F5ZMx42ZhZPWqu0IuIbKJcLun__Q6V4nNuB26XFXRwfqlqNCbe99imsMMKLzSFSpGB_gq4nVOuCg9CgHpNqPVIQ0PWdkRsARfkjQ4CeUIM/s1600/P3230146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaL8OY_ufMOQxavAU8vHJoXCi02SaKNfTN04F5ZMx42ZhZPWqu0IuIbKJcLun__Q6V4nNuB26XFXRwfqlqNCbe99imsMMKLzSFSpGB_gq4nVOuCg9CgHpNqPVIQ0PWdkRsARfkjQ4CeUIM/s320/P3230146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I made it out to Tierra Bomba, an island off the coast of Cartagena where another Peace Corps volunteer, Mike, is placed. Despite the plethora of water and therefore potential beachable spots, trash and pigs for the most part had taken over…</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1858Ym__XBbyosyIzFdiPU-RM47zWTBvSn7dMC-MHY-AdhYu49UYH21Dp0ZyxPW_U0q0uCkBnoVNXg_hn1AeAdlxFMMtcV0xyFARZCOQl4HVBwSskaSJ9EamXreA1KujG8Kp4W-jRDA6o/s1600/P3190050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1858Ym__XBbyosyIzFdiPU-RM47zWTBvSn7dMC-MHY-AdhYu49UYH21Dp0ZyxPW_U0q0uCkBnoVNXg_hn1AeAdlxFMMtcV0xyFARZCOQl4HVBwSskaSJ9EamXreA1KujG8Kp4W-jRDA6o/s320/P3190050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div></div>Christina Kuntzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18151744463023362098noreply@blogger.com0