Under Construction - Preparing for JumpStart 2015 Camps!

We are thrilled to have more than 35 camp sites confirmed for January 2015! Please bear with us as we finish preparing a section for each camp on the blog so you can follow your favorite community, teachers and students. In the meantime, please follow us on Facebook for all the latest JumpStart news, or visit our main page, www.jumpstartcostarica.org, for more about the program.

Congratulations, future 7th graders of Amubri!

Well, JumpStart Amubri officially came to an end today so I'm gonna do one last post just to say... wow! So much can happen in 4 short weeks. It was awesome to be with the kids today, they were just bubbling over with positive energy and excitement. They put a lot of thought into filling out their final surveys about the camp and some of their comments really surprised me - like the thing that almost all of them would change about the camp would be...to start it earlier in the morning?! And it turns out that the singing that no one really admitted to liking... ended up being one of almost everybody's favorite activities!

I enjoyed sitting down with each one of the students individually as we recorded their final video interviews. But it was even more fun for me to watch them again just now, together with the ones that we made on the first day of class. It's great to see how much more English they can speak and understand but it makes me even happier to see how much more comfortable and confident they seem. I'm looking forward to being able to continue to support and teach these kids as they start their first year of high school...

 Hermana Cecilia Alvarado, principal of Amubri's elementary school, came to congratulate the students and to speak with them about the importance of continuing their education and taking advantage of the opportunities they've been given.

It was lots of work for everyone involved, but definitely worth it! Yay! Go JumpStart Amubri!!
So proud of each one of these students!

Cantando * Singing

We've learned a few songs along the way to help us learn vocabulary and remember how to pronounce new words. On one of the first days of camp, I asked the kids who liked to sing. They looked at me suspiciously and asked "Why?!" Almost all of them told me that they didn't really like to sing. But just take a look at their faces... they seem to be enjoying themselves! Which is good, since we usually start our days with a song, or two... or three. 

Hemos aprendido algunas canciones que nos ayudan a aprender vocabulario y recordar cómo pronunciar palabras nuevas. En uno de los primeros días del campamento, les pregunté a los niños a quienes les gustaba cantar. Me miraron con desconfianza y me preguntaron "¿Por qué?" Casi todos me dijeron que no les gustaba mucho cantar. Pero sólo tiene que mirar a las caras... parecen estar disfrutando! Lo cual es bueno, ya que por lo general comienzan nuestros días con una canción o dos ... o tres.

Good Morning! (canción de los saludos)

 

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes (canción de las partes del cuerpo)

Days of the Week (días de la semana)

Flying through the rest of week 2 and all of week 3!!

Where is the time going?? It seems like we had just started learning about the family at the beginning of week 2. And then suddenly, we started learning things faster and faster...and I kept thinking that I was going to come home in the evening and tell all about it on this blog. But then the days seemed to just start piling on top of one another... Now here it is, Friday, January 25 - week 3 is over and we only have one week left of JumpStart Amubri!!

Three heads are better than one!  Here, students work as a team to see how quickly they can make 5 correct sentences using all the words in their envelope. 


After becoming familiar with adjectives used to describe physical characteristics and personality traits, we had lots of chances to use them as we practiced writing and speaking about ourselves and our family members.

We started off week 3 with a new theme and a new song to go with it: body parts, along with "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".  It was funny because for as much as the students said that they didn't really like singing, they sure seemed to enjoy this song and its gestures. It got us all up out of our seats and moving. Especially once they got the instruction to sing it faster....and faster.... and faster! By the end, everyone was out of breath from moving so fast and laughing.

Here, we practiced drawing and labeling the parts of the face and body.

It got to be more fun once we had a chance to draw our monsters and everyone got to come to the front of the class to show theirs off and tell us what colors it was, along with how many eyes, arms, horns and tails it had.

We learned an incredible amount of new vocabulary this week, moving from body parts, to clothing, to talking about things that we like and don't like to do.

Once again, we ended our week with a visit from a local community leader. Eugenio Segura Almengor was born in Amubri and has been teaching Bribri language and culture at the Escuela Bernardo Drüg - Amubri's elementary school - for the past 13 years. He began his chat with a name game in Bribri where we each had to introduce ourselves and then everyone else in the circle. As he continued to speak, he spoke mostly in Spanish but frequently used words and expressions in Bribri. He spoke about his own interest in learning other languages and how important it is for these students to learn English. He mentioned having to leave Talamanca to complete his studies and how difficult it was for him. It was hard not only because he had to leave his mother, to whom he was very attached, but also because he lived far away, in Cartago, where it is cold and where he found himself surrounded by people who were quite different from him. He spoke of the kindness and hospitality that he encountered in Cartago and how, despite being immersed in another language and culture, he never forgot the importance of his own. He told these students how important it is to learn as much as they can about the outside world while remaining true to their own roots and traditions. Without coming right out and saying it, Eugenio, with his unassuming manner, was offering himself as a living example. It was a fitting end to week 3 of JumpStart Amubri. 

JumpStart Talamanca

Cruzando el Río Telire hacia la comunidad de Sepeque, Territorio Indígena Bribri

Primero hay que llegar a Bribri, pueblo principal del cantón de Talamanca. Después se coge otro bus para Suredka, donde se encuentran botes para cruzar el río Telire. Directamente al otro lado está el camino hacia Amubri. Tomando otro bote que sube el río y dura unos veinte minutos, uno llega a otro camino, el cual pasa por la comunidad de Sepeque. En estos dos pueblos rurales, ambos parte del Territorio Indígena Bribri, se están realizando campamentos de inglés como parte del JumpStart Costa Rica 2013. 

Estudiante en Amubri describiéndoles a sus compañeros un
monstruo que dibujó para practicar las partes del cuerpo

Aunque no se nota por lo esparcido que son sus casas y tiendas, Amubri es una de las comunidades más grandes de la reserva, con unos miles de residentes. Además de tres estudiantes locales, el campamento alli cuenta con seis de otras comunidades más pequeñas y aun más metidas, de los cuales niños algunos se están quedando con su familia mas cerca de Amubri durante el tiempo que dura JumpStart para poder asistir. Sus profesoras son Hannah, voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz, quien lleva casi un año como residente de Amubri, e Irma, docente del inglés en el colegio del pueblo. Desde el 7 de enero cuando se inició JumpStart, ellas han estudiado varios temas con sus 9 alumnos desde su aula en la escuela local, entre ellos: conversación básica, maneras de describir el humor, y las partes del cuerpo, tema que pasaron la primera parte de esta semana reforzando. 

Estudiantes es Sepeque armando una conversación.

Mientras que el campamento de Amubri está en su tercera semana, el de Sepeque está apenas empezando. Implementar allí JumpStart según el modelo típico, donde todos los participantes viajan entre casa y campamento cada día entre semana durante un mes de clases, no hubiera sido factible. De los 22 niños inscritos, 4 vienen de comunidades que no son necesariamente lejanas pero que no se pueden alcanzar fácilmente en vehículo. Para ellos, ¡JumpStart será un campamento nocturno! El colegio de Sepeque cuenta con dormitorios que ellos estarán usando. Para que esos niños no tuvieran que pasar la mayor parte de un mes fuera de casa, Anna, otra voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz, junto con su co-faciltador para JumpStart Sepeque, Danilo, decidieron iniciar tarde el campamento y hacerlo en dos semanas. Aunque será más corto que los demás, no será menos intensivo. Durante JumpStart Sepeque, los participantes estarán en clase todo el día.

     

Colegio de Sepeque, con los dormitorios a la derecha y el usúle, estructura tradicional, a la izquierda

Anna ayudando a uno de los maestros estudiantiles
explicarle una actividad al grupo. 

En todos los campamentos JumpStart, pero especialmente los de Talamanca, procuramos proveer una experiencia que prepara a los participantes para el colegio en general, que tiene el inglés como uno de los varios enfoques principales. La taza de deserción es más alta en las reservas indígenas que en el resto de Costa Rica. En Amubri, una iniciativa que han tomado Hannah e Irma para mejor hacerles llegar a sus estudiantes la importancia de la educación es una serie de presentaciones de líderes de la comunidad, como el director del colegio, presentaciones que ellas han incorporado al campamento. En Sepeque, Anna y Danilo han reclutado a 6 colegiantes para ser maestros estudiantiles. Ellos podrán mejorar su inglés; y los niños a los que apoyan saldrán del campamento sabiendo que alguien les cubrirá la espalda en el colegio.

Hannah con sus estudiantes en Amubri

Al preguntarle por qué se había incorporado a JumpStart, Irma, co-facilitadora del campamento en Amubri, contestó, "me da más ideas para cuando reinicie el año escolar de nuevo en febrero." Kenya, una estudiante de JumpStart Sepeque, ofreció una respuesta más sencilla. "Es divertido," dijo. Eso es lo que JumpStart pretende ser, un programa que enseña el inglés y a la vez quita los nervios, tanto hacia el aprendizaje de otro idioma como a la idea de que se produce miedo al pasarse al mundo desconocido de la secundaria. 

El Resto de la Semana uno y Lunes de la Semana Dos en Amubri

Bueno , si la primera semana empezó despacio y cauteloso, con nerviosismo y voces ronca, desde luego no termino asi, seguimos construyendo momentos importantes , y ganando nuevos estudiantes y adquiriendo muchos palabras nuevos así como va pasando la semana, nuestro cinco estudiante ha crecido hasta ocho el Martes y después paso a ser diez el Miercoles.Como cada uno llego a conocer sus compañero, los estudiantes se volvieron mas cómodos con sus compañeros y con nosotras y ya no se reían tanto y susurraban cuando los llamaban para hablar en frente de los compañeros y profesores.



Cuando era tiempo para jugar(charade) con las profesiones, los estudiantes querían hacer sus equipos niños contra niñas y de repente ya nadie sentía vergüenza, jugando en equipo en contra de cada uno, eso hizo que cada uno tenga espíritu de competir, ellos estaban tan ocupado riéndose y tratando de hacer la mímica como el astronauta y ama de casa, para pensar sobre que tenía que actuar y adivinar en Ingles.

Por ahora todos saben que significa cuando tomamos la bola, es tiempo para contestar y hacer algunas preguntas. No necesitan preguntarles dos veces para que se levanten de sus sillas pararse en círculos en frente de sus mesas.

Viernes en la mañana empezamos compitiendo con el juego con el mata mosca, una vez mas jugamos en equipo niños contra niñas pero esta vez endulzamos el tazón con un premio para los ganadores. Los niños les encanto jugando y fue una forma grandioso para repasar el vocabulario, practicar pronunciación y demostrar entendimiento entre el y ella , yo les preguntaría” quien es un granjero? o “quien es una ama de casa ? y los estudiantes tenía que golpear la foto de la ocupación y responder con (él o ella es un granjero) o ella es una ama de casa). Ellos realmente disfrutaron jugando y eso los ayuda a consolidar lo que ya han aprendido.



Luego nos movemos a contar y todo pareciera disfrutar escribiendo en su pequeña pizarra cuando estaban practicando los números.






Hicimos líneas de preguntas para practicar haciendo preguntas y respondiendo lo que han aprendido,- Ejemplo Como está usted? Como se llama usted? Que hace usted? Donde vive usted? Cuantos años tiene usted?

Nosotros terminamos nuestro dia el Viernes escuchando a el Señor Cayetano Salazar hablar sobre su vida y experiencia personal , el hablo sobre como tenia que empezar la escuela como un joven, que solo hablaba Bribri , cuando todos sus compañeros fueron enseñado exclusivamente en Español . También menciono que difícil era para el asistir al Colegio porque en esos tiempos, no había Colegio aquí en Amubri , y el tenia que ir hasta el Cruce de Puerto Viejo para ir al Colegio ya que era el único colegio que estaba mas cerca, eso le tomaba tres horas para ir al colegio y tres horas para regresar a su casa. Ese era la única forma si el quería seguir estudiando, Hoy Don Cayetano es el único Maestro y Director de una pequeña Escuela en un pueblo llamado Alto Kachabli , fue muy inspirador no solo para escuchar sobre sus sacrificios, pero también para aprender que el ha dedicado su vida a la carrera para promover su comunidad y la vida de aquellas que están a su alrededor.



Finalmente esta mañana Lunes 14 de Enero 2013 nuestro pequeño campamento estaba tan contento para verse otra vez y socializarse y lo que le hemos preguntado en diferentes ocasiones para recordarnos todas las reglas del aula # 1 Cuando uno habla los demás escuchan! Hoy estamos aprendiendo hablar sobre nuestra familia ahora todos saben que esperar en la semana # 2 es un gran comienzo.



Traducido por Irma Brown Forbes

The Rest of Week One & Monday of Week Two in Amubri

Well, if the first week started slowly and cautiously, with nervous glances and hushed voices, it certainly didn't finish that way! We kept building momentum, gaining new students and acquiring lots of new language as the week wore on... Our five students had grown to eight on Tuesday and then topped off at ten by Wednesday. As everyone got to know each other, the students became much more comfortable with each other and with us and didn't giggle and whisper quite as much when they were called to speak in front of the class....

When it was time to play charades with the professions, the students wanted to make the teams boys against girls and suddenly no one was feeling very shy any more! Playing on teams against each other brought out everyone's competitive spirits - they were too busy laughing and trying to act out "astronaut" and "housewife" to think about the fact that they had to make all their guesses in English.








By now, everyone knows what it means when I take out the little ball - it's time to answer and ask some questions! They don't need to be asked twice to get up out of their seats and stand in a circle in front of their desks.   




Friday morning, we kicked things off to a competitive start with a boisterous game of "Flyswatter". Once again, we played in teams - boys against girls - but this time, we sweetened the pot: winners got a prize! The kids LOVED playing and it was a great way to review vocabulary, practice pronunciation and demonstrate understanding of the difference between "he" and "she". (I would ask ask questions like "Who is a farmer?" or "Who is a housewife?" and students had to swat the correct picture, and then respond with "He (or she) is a farmer (or housewife)", depending on the picture. They really enjoyed playing and it helped them to consolidate much of what they had learned so far.

Then, we moved on to counting and everyone seemed to enjoy getting to write on their own little whiteboards as they were practicing their numbers...

We made "question lines" to practice asking and answering all the questions we had learned so far - How are you?
What is your name? What do you do? Where do you live? How old are you?




We ended our day on Friday by listening to Cayetano Salazar talk about his life and personal experiences. He spoke about having to start elementary school as a young boy who only spoke Bribri when all of his classes were taught exclusively in Spanish. He also mentioned how difficult it was for him to attend high school, since at the time there was no high school in Amubri and he had to travel 3 hours each way, all the way to Puerto Viejo, if he wanted to continue his education! Today, Don Cayetano is the only teacher and the principal in the tiny mountain village of Alto Kachabli. It was very inspiring not only to hear about his struggles and sacrifices, but also to learn that he has dedicated his life and career to improving his community and the lives of those around him.

Finally this morning, Monday, January 14th,  our "little campers" were so excited to see each other and socialize that they were asked on a couple of occasions to remind us all of Classroom Rule #1: Cuando uno habla, los demás escuchan! (When one person speaks, the rest of us listen!)

Today, we were learning how to talk about our families... Now everyone knows what to expect and week two is off to a great start!

08/01/2013 - JumpStart en Amubri de Talamanca

Hoy todos los alumnos llegaron temprano y con ganas de seguir con las clases de Inglés , ayer eran cinco alumnos y hoy se les unió tres estudiantes mas , Hannah y mi persona repasamos lo que vieron ayer y todos contestaron están muy motivados , hasta los últimos tres que llegaron al principio estaban un poco nervioso como todos pero en un abrir y cerrar de ojos ya estaban contestando las preguntas que le hacíamos , repasamos el ejercicio de conversación y la mayoría paso al frente a presentar la conversación con su debido compañero , después de las clases me quede un tiempo más con Hannah y estábamos conversando como estaban aprendiendo tan rápido, en total tenemos ocho estudiantes y para mañana creo que viene uno mas . Los estudiantes están muy motivados y contento, y los Profes también.

- Irma Brown Forbes

English camp in Amubri, off to a whispering start...

The past couple of days - and especially the past 24 hours - have been crazy!! Trying to contact all of the students, many of whom don't have phones; trying to find a new cook after the person we thought was going to cook decided not to at the last minute; trying to get the keys to the school's main gate and kitchen before the cook and students started arriving...

All the while trying to keep calm and act like a Tica, getting upset doesn't usually help the situation so instead I just took another deep breath and waited for things to work themselves out... and guess what?? They did!

At 9 o'clock sharp this morning, Irma and I were all ready so we ventured outside to round up our little campers... Amubri is probably the biggest and most developed town on the Bribri indigenous reservation of Talamanca. Although a couple of our students live in Amubri itself, the majority of them come from surrounding villages, including Soki, Kachabli, Alto Kachabli, Suiri, Alto Urén and Duriñak. Soooo, we went out to invite our students in... and found 4 anxious teenagers waiting for us. Yeah, that's right: 4. Out of the 14 students that registered for JumpStart in Amubri, only 4 showed up to camp on time. *sigh*  Another one came rolling in at 9:45. Another one's father called mid-morning to report that his son was sick and to ask if it would be okay if his son started camp a week late. Yet another one's mother showed up after school to explain that they'd gotten things confused with the transportation, but that her daughter would be showing up on time tomorrow and from here on out.

Meanwhile, Irma and I just plunged right in, introducing ourselves and trying to get to know our students a little. At first everyone was very nervous, including us! A couple of the students were so shy that they wouldn't speak louder than a whisper and one initially refused to speak at all. While Irma was explaining the camp rules and getting everyone started on their student surveys, I took the students out one by one to record their initial oral assessments. With patient smiles and a few words of encouragement, all of them are beginning to open up... slowly the ice is being broken!  

By the end of the day, everyone was speaking louder than a whisper. Everyone had smiled and laughed at least a few times. And when they were asked, at the end of the day, what they thought about camp so far, they were unanimous and LOUD in their response: Yes, they liked camp! Yes, they thought it was fun! And yes, they wanted to keep coming!

Irma doing what she does best...

Hard at work on the first day!

Coming Soon / Próximamente

This coming January and February, here you’ll find regular updates on JumpStart Amubri from the Peace Corps Volunteer (USA) in charge, Hannah, and the local English teacher with whom she'll be facilitating the camp, Irma. In the meantime, feel free to open the Google map to the left to see where JumpStart Amubri will take place and learn a few other details on the camp. Additionally, we ask that you please consider donating to CRML to help us raise the remaining funds we need to make the JumpStart camps being prepared for Amubri and 13 other communities across Costa Rica a reality for the roughly 300 students who have signed up to participate. For information on how to help, see the column to the right. Even a small contribution makes a big difference!      
 

Este próximo enero y febrero, usted podrá encontrar en esta página las últimas noticias sobre JumpStart Amubri de la voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz (EE.UU.) a cargo, Hannah, y la docente del inglés con quien estará facilitando el campamento, Irma. Mientras tanto, lo invitamos a abrir el mapa de la izquierda para ver dónde tendrá lugar JumpStart Amubri y aprender algunos otros detalles del campamento. Adicionalmente, solicitamos que por favor considere una donación a CRML para ayudarnos a recaudar los fondos que todavía necesitamos para hacer los campamentos en Amubri y otras 13 comunidades alrededor de Costa Rica una realidad para los 300 niños que se han inscrito a participar. Para información sobre cómo ayudar, vea la columna de la derecha. Una contribución pequeña hace una gran diferencia.