Following My Teaching Roots

For the longest time, I've avoided becoming a full-blown teacher, despite the fact that many of my relatives are or were wonderful teachers and had rewarding careers. I've always been attracted to the profession though and all it has to offer. I love helping people of all walks of life and from all over the world. I love learning languages and other topics and sharing what I've learned with others. I enjoyed creating my own lessons in Ecuador when I taught English to young adults (even though I had no training). I loved co-teaching middle school girls a color guard routine for the Salty Sea Days Parade back in high school. I currently enjoy solving different grammar mysteries or sharing helpful community resources with the adult immigrant and refugee students I advise.

While I was in Ecuador this last trip in March (before I got horribly sick with a strange form of something like "Atahualpa's Revenge"), I was told that I'd be a great teacher. I decided to look into this idea further and finally follow my roots. First I had to find out what it would take to become a teacher in Washington State. Three months later and after reading oodles of paperwork and websites, I found a few programs that fit what I'm most interested in, which is teaching ESL, Spanish and bilingual education. It's quite a complicated process to become a certified teacher in Washington State, but teaching in the K-12 system was recommended to me by an experienced community college teacher and friend who thought there'd be more a chance of getting a full time position in the public schools. (Getting a full time position teaching ESL in the community colleges is nearly impossible.)

One amazing program at Seattle Pacific University is for a Masters Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, along with a K-12 teaching certificate in ESL. If I decided to go with this program, I could also take a few extra classes in order to get my Spanish teaching endorsement and possibly Bilingual Education endorsement. The MA TESOL plus teaching certificate program takes 2-3 years to complete in the evenings after work. A wonderful aspect of having my MA in TESOL is that I would have the ability to teach in the community colleges (at least part time) or abroad and I would also have my teaching certificate to be able to teach in an elementary, middle or high school. In our current economy with numerous hiring freezes, having more options sounds like the safer way to go.

I haven't decided what age group I would prefer to teach though. I really enjoy working with different age groups. I taught an Earth Day lesson in my dear friend, Julie's adult ESL class this past spring. I've taught young military adults English in Ecuador. I've worked with middle school girls before. I observed recently at the dual language elementary school, Woodin in Bothell in the Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade classes and absolutely loved seeing the American and Latino children reading in Spanish!

Gaining literacy in your native language and a second language is such an important issue to me. And there's a really neat program on Bilingual/Bicultural development for Preschool through Elementary school at Goddard College in Vermont. It's a low-residency program, so I would only have to go to Vermont twice a year for a week and then work on my own the rest of the semester with a faculty advisor. Goddard focuses on social justice and progressive education which sounds excellent to me and a great way to incorporate cultural competency in my teaching! The flexibility of the program--working on my own versus commuting to class several times a week would cut down on time, but I would also have to be very dedicated and not procrastinate. I think the program would probably take 3 or 4 semesters, but I still need to find out if there's a way to get certified through Washington State, even though the college is in Vermont.

Western Washington University also has a great program for a Masters in Teaching Secondary Education, where I may be able to get my Spanish teaching endorsement, but in order to get an ESL endorsement, I would have to go to Bellingham (3 hours north of here) or study at a different school for the endorsement. I also have to translate my syllabi from the classes I took in Ecuador 10 years ago to find out if those classes would count towards the Spanish teaching endorsement requirements at WWU.

So my big debate is deciding between focusing on teaching ESL and/or Spanish to various age groups versus teaching both languages in a bilingual elementary school. Unfortuantely there aren't very many dual language schools in the Seattle area, so jobs may be hard to come by. I'm planning on volunteering in the classroom more regularly next school year to help me decide. The biggest difference between both interests is that teaching in a dual language elementary school usually requires an elementary education teaching endorsement. If I study in the SPU program, I would have an ESL endorsement but not an elementary education endorsement. The elementary education endorsement requires a wide variety of classes, from lab science to math so I would probably have to take more classes. And my main interest is teaching languages.

I found an exciting 4 day course at the Washington Academy of Languages in Seattle, near SPU, that is offered this summer on Teaching World Languages. I'm hoping to get funding to take the class through Professional Development funds at my work. This will also help me to see if teaching Spanish is more my passion. I'm really fond of all of these areas--teaching ESL, Spanish language and bilingual education. But it might be smarter to focus on one of these so I can complete my degree faster and then be able to start teaching!

This month I'm going to start teaching my very own adult ESL class through Hopelink as a volunteer on Tuesday nights in Bothell. My class will be a level 1 class of Spanish-speakers. I'm excited for the challenge and to be able to plan my own class again! Hopefully this experience will also help guide me to the best path in teaching.

Teaching on Earth Day

I had the fortune of being invited to teach a mini-lesson in my co-worker and friend, Julie's adult ESL class recently and the day of the lesson happened to fall on Earth Day, so I decided to go with it and make that my theme. I found that I really enjoy teaching about protecting the Earth and sharing ideas with others. I wanted to share some of the students' ideas with you here on my blog.

Ever since I went to Ecuador this last time (a quick but delightful trip) in March, I've been looking into different teaching certificate and Masters programs in the area. I'm interested in teaching Spanish and English as a second or foreign language in the public schools and possibly at the community college level. I have wanted to learn more about bilingual education for many years now and I'm excited to finally be pursuing this interest. I feel lucky because I currently work in a community college and if I study in a program that is state-supported, I can study for free through the tuition waiver program! I have been collecting a lot of information about the different teaching programs in the area and how to become endorsed or certified in ESL/ELL/EFL, Spanish and Bilingual Education. I plan to put all of this information on my blog as well, because I have found it more difficult than I had first imagined to find basic information about studying to become a language teacher north of Seattle.

But first, I'd like to share some of what my dear friend, co-worker and travel companion, Julie's Level 3 (beginning-intermediate) adult ESL students wrote about Earth Day and what they do to protect the environment. I found what they wrote very inspiring and it gave me hope to read about what they are already doing. They also had wonderful, simple ideas for helping the Earth. I'm going to leave what they wrote as is, with grammar and spelling errors and all, for authenticity purposes. (Some students may have used those little electronic translators to write their sentences. It's quite obvious.)

"I usually go to the market with my mom to buy food and I use my bag to put on it"

"If my son buys soft drink, he always throws can or bottle in the Recycle."

"I never thow the garbage into ocean or in rivers"

"My family and me recycle at home, all the time."

"I turn off the light, when I don't need it."

"I usually take the bus to work everyday."

"My husband goes to work with 3 of his friends."

"I buy food in bulk 1-2 times per month to reduce packaging"

"I separate glass, plastic bottles, aluminum, and paper from the garbage everyday."

"I throws my new papers in the recycle."

"My husband throws the food container in the garbage every day."

"I shall take away rubbish from apart recycle"

"is very important for the future for our descendant have a good enveroment conmingle garbaje what can back used as: glass, paper, carboard, bottles, plastic, bag an box"

"too no utilize (Detergentes o soap) what is no good for the contamination of sea aqua, lakes and low floor, do no utilize car for go to a localities close."

"My children and I pick up the garbage in my yard every weekend"

"I drink beer then put it in bottles in Recycle Box."

"...we are totaly vegitarian and our all food is organic..."

"My mother-in-law through garbage with carefully. She sought out it beautiful way-cardboard, waste bottles, batteries, and all waste material throughs in Recycle dustbin."

"my aunt plants tree and any plants (flowers) every year."

"my grandfather very like eat onion, dill and more vegetebels for his garden."

"I buy organic, eggs and milk every two weeks...My husband buys organic fish."

"I plant vegatables every spring."

"I buy something incide more plastic bag and put those bags in the garbage"

"My son drink milk in bottles every day."

"I buy new paper "Time" every day, my husband reads and puts it in the recycle."

"I buy organic fruit and I'm separate carboard and garbage...I'm refuse to use plastic bag...I trying to use as little water as I can and I plants tomatoes and tomatillos strawberres cucumbers"

"I put the can and box, bottles and I separate paper, and grass, I never throw paper on the way."


Some of these really make me smile, but I was so impressed by all the creative things the immigrant and refugee students are doing to help the environment. I hope to help out in Julie's class again before the end of the quarter. They were really fun to work with and very enthusiastic!

A Week in Enchanted Ecuador

Next week I'll be taking my 10th trip to mi lindo Ecuador! And I can't believe it's already been a little over 10 years since I first went to Ecuador as a junior at the University of Washington! This trip will also be the shortest trip I've taken to Ecuador, only 7 days, but I'm planning on making the most of my time there by relaxing on the beach, playing beach volleyball, buying local jewelry made from nature at the artisan market by my favorite yellow church, spending time with friends, going to a beach wedding, and eating plenty of fish ceviche, encebollados and other favorite Ecuadorian foods, plus a Pilsener or two! I usually spend two to three weeks in Salinas when visiting, enough time to feel like I live there again, like old times, which I love but then it's really hard for me to come back to the states, so I think this week-long trip will turn out to be a wonderful, decadent tropical vacation! I can't wait! And I'll be celebrating my birthday on my first full day in Salinas, so I'm thrilled to think of being in my favorite place on Earth then!

Celebrate what's beautiful in the world

Celebrate what's right...and beautiful in the world!

I watched a short film last week called "Celebrate What's Right in the World" by a National Geographic photographer named Dewitt Jones and it inspired me to take more pictures this week of the amazing sunny winter week we've had in Seattle.

A week of sunrises, colorful skies and hints of spring:






























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I am

I wanted to share a poem I wrote last week at an amazingly inspiring workshop created by the New Wilderness Project, a project to promote greater, more in-depth cultural competency around the country. The presenters and performers, Maketa and Benjie, shared and taught us many important lessons, but the key ones for me were the following:

• Think about your passions and how you bring them to your work and life
• Find balance with your passions and work
• Link creativity with nature/wilderness and social justice/equity work
• The importance of sharing our stories with each other as a tool for social justice
• It's about what we’re fighting for, not about what we're fighting against
• Speak your truth
• Remember anger comes from a deep pain
• There is no normal!
• Everybody has an interesting story
• The poet is in the poem
• Everyone is a poet…and a poem

Here is my poem:

I am from the era of iPhones, Facebook and reality TV
I am from the fun language of "Op" passed down by the women in my family
I am from the scent of raspberries and butterscotch at the neighbor's house on summer afternoons
I am from the kingdom of 5 cats and 1 dog, plus my mom and me
I am from Wednesday night dinners at Wendy's with my dad
I am from the wonderful day trips around the Sound that my mom took me on as a child
I am from the pristine waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and the Snohomish River
I am from the majestic Cascade and Andes Mountains towering above my homes
I am from the bustling Malecón in Salinas on a hot and humid evening
I am from the ceviche and patacones and canguil
I am from the swish of the waves all along the Pacific
I am from the sway of hips to salsa and merengue music
I am from the community of friends and family who take care of me while in paradise
I am from Everett...Ecuador

Living Abroad in Ecuador – an International Living Postcard

Living Abroad in Ecuador – an International Living Postcard

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Story-telling

I've decided to collect some of the funny memories I have from my amazing times in Ecuador right here in this blog. I will eventually put them in order but for now, I just want them here for safekeeping and for your reading enjoyment. :)

SMACK Went the Lizard:
One of the first times I visited the beach town of Salinas (back in Spring 2000), I was over at a friend's aunt's house in Salinas and I saw a little lizard or gecko crawling up the wall. Right as I was saying, "Oh, is that your pet?", the woman went SMACK and killed the little lizard with a shoe! (I have a hard time not chuckling while writing this now, but it was definitely a little disturbing at the time!)

Cucarachas in the Fridge:
Another somewhat funny-somewhat horrifying story was when I first moved into an apartment in Salinas way back in Fall 2001, I didn't have any furniture and no refrigerator, which is a little challenging in a hot climate. (My roommates and I pretty much bought the food we needed to cook for that day and didn't have leftovers!) Within the first month though, my dear friend, Andres lent us his uncle's fridge which he wasn't using and was being stored in his back patio. I was so grateful to finally be able to keep milk and other perishable items at home! But about a week later, I heard a scream from the kitchen and my friend and roommate, Alli came out running--there were multiple cockroaches creeping out from under the refrigerator!! (It still makes my skin crawl to think about it!! Ooh, I just got the shivers!) I guess storing a fridge, even if it's empty, is not a good idea in tropical places, because they become shelters for you-know-whats! Eeww! Luckily after the fridge incident, the cockroaches I saw were mostly outside, not inside, but I usually freaked out or got grossed out when I saw them outside too. You just don't see them much in the Great Northwest so I'm not used to them. (Although I did see a big beetle that was border-line cockroach size) outside my condo here in Kenmore this past summer...ahh, climate change!)

Taking Joy in Little Excursions

Ever since I was little, my family would go on little excursions somewhat close to home but far enough away to feel like we were tourists and getting a break from our "normal" life. I remember traveling with my mom to Friday Harbor, Concrete, Port Townsend (I loved the camping trips to Fort Worden!), Fort Flagler, all over Whidbey Island, Mt. Rainier (when my mom drove in the middle of the road so she wouldn't get too close to the roadside cliffs!), Vancouver (BC), The Dalles (Oregon), Point Roberts (a very tiny tip of Washington that requires entering and exiting Canada to get to!) and so many other places, which really showed me and taught me a love of travelling, no matter where you go.

My dad also took me on excursions as a child to places like Twisp in the heart of the Northern Cascades, Florence (Montana), a small town covered by an ancient volcanic eruption in Alberta, and a weekend road trip to Northern California (just so I could say I had been to California!). A very fond memory I have growing up (in my expanding geography world!) was planning and navigating a trip we took to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming--way before the internet and GPS devices!

Through both of my parents's travel nurturing spirits, I became fearless in my travels as I grew older and I ventured to Ecuador multiple times to study and work abroad. Now that I think about it, one thing I missed at times while living and working in the small coastal town of Salinas were the weekend excursions. I didn't have a car and taking the bus could be difficult sometimes. I do have great memories of the excursions I did take--a visit to the Chocolatera where the water churns so much it looks like a chocolate maker, the beautiful wooden church at Colonche in the interior coastal forest north of Salinas, quick trips to Montanita were always a blast, and most recently going with a friend, fondly nicknamed "Abuelo," to the San Vicente thermal hot springs where I bathed in mud! Of course, I went on many other trips while in Ecuador to places far away, but really during my time living in Salinas, I could only afford the little excursions, which I still cherish.

Most recently, since I have been living in the United States for 5 years now (so hard to believe!), a way I cope with my "travel bug" and not being able to travel that often is by going on little excursions, sometimes to the same places my mom took me to years ago! I've found that it's really helped me get through stressful times at work or the nostalgia I feel for Ecuador and the relaxed lifestyle there.

Just this past weekend, I ventured up to Vancouver, British Columbia, where I hadn't been since high school when my mom and I went up to see a play. (Before that, when I was in elementary school, my mom and I took the train up to Vancouver to see Expo '86--and my mom would remind me to add that we left the tickets to the Expo in the freezer (don't ask me why the tickets were in the freezer) so we had to go a second time! :-)

Last month, my three college roommates and I went up to see the tulips in Skagit County and stayed in Anacortes. We didn't find tulips but the daffodils were in bloom and we had a wonderful time window shopping in La Conner, Fairhaven and Bellingham that weekend. And since I didn't get to see the tulips, my mom and I went up to see them later that month (in April) and had a great day trip, just like old times!

Even on a boring Saturday recently, I didn't have any plans so I decided to go to Snoqualmie Falls and because I had a coupon for a local brewery there, I ate dinner in the little town of Snoqualmie after hiking down to the foot of the falls for pictures and relaxation. I love day trips!

Last fall, in an attempt to have a trip to look forward to during a stressful period at work, I decided to go to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, a small Bavarian town in the Cascade mountains, and had an absolute blast! I mean, how can you go wrong with a beer festival?! I plan to return this fall.

My love for little excursions was also enhanced when I got a summer job in college as a tour guide/activities coordinator for students coming to Seattle on a short-term study abroad program. I absolutely loved showing the students around and inventing different places to take them! I also enjoyed seeing the places I'd visited as a child through my young adult self's eyes.

All of these experiences combined have taught me to cherish the interesting places where you live and go and enjoy them! As I was just talking with a co-worker who said I'd been on a lot of little trips recently, she also commented that I'd probably be happy wherever I travelled. So true--the act of travelling itself makes me happy! And spending time with those I love.

Awakening the Dreamer--Changing the Dream!

Recently I attended an amazing, awe-inspiring workshop called "Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream" at my workplace on a special day dedicated to building community. The workshop was created by the Pachamama Alliance, originally inspired by the Achuar people in Ecuador and later continued by a group of people from across the globe who inspire others to work toward environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment. I would like to work on reducing my global/carbon footprint and on inspiring others to the same.

Environmental Sustainability:

• My first plan is to somehow get a composting bin for my workplace and if possible, for my home. So far I haven't heard back from the recycling guy at my work, so I need to contact someone else.


• My second plan is to not buy new things as often. For example, I have started buying clothes at consignment stores, not department stores.


• I support organic farming by receiving organic fruit and vegetable deliveries twice a month from Full Circle Farm in Carnation, WA (check out the Full Circle website to sign up) .

Social Justice:

• My current work as an advisor in providing almost free English classes to immigrants and refugees so that they can feel empowered in the community and obtain better jobs here in the U.S. is part of my fight for social justice.


• I also attended a workshop recently on the New Paradigms of Social Justice, facilitated by Theryn Kigvamasud'Vashti and hosted by the Northshore/Shoreline Community Network and CARE (Cultural Awareness Resources and Education) Team. We created a quilt which represented what social justice means to each of us. (The picture of the quilt is above.)
  

Spiritual Fulfillment:

• I take joy in being outside and I enjoy hearing the birds sing, watching the squirrels climb up trees, feeling the breeze in my hair, smelling the lilacs in bloom, touching the soft pussy willows before they turn into beautiful pink flowers.


• Currently I'm reading a great, short book by John Perkins called The Stress-Free Habit which explains how people around the world meditate and I plan to try meditation soon. First I have to figure out a good time and place.

I will continue updating this blog with more ideas for nurturing our relationship with the Earth, with Others and with Ourselves.

Playing For Change | Peace Through Music

Playing for Change is such an amazing and inspiring project! Here is their first song, created by a collaboration of street musicians worldwide:

Playing for Change-Stand by Me

The project is also creating a documentary which will come out this Fall and you can read more about it on their blog at:

Playing For Change Peace Through Music Blog