The School by the Lake
LUCY HOLDSWORTH VISITS A MENDOZA SCHOOL IN THE MOUNTAINS
It’s 8.30am and my first day at school. I’m nervous, what if the kids don’t like me? My friend Silvia is a teacher at the school in the mountain village of Potrerillos, and is about to start teaching English to her class of 12 year olds. She believes that being presented with a real life English person will interest them more with the language. I’m a gringa show and tell.
My first day at school as a student may have been many moons ago, but I do remember that the journey to it didn’t involve any horses or mountain ranges, the sky was probably not perfectly blue and my alarm clock was undoubtedly not a rooster. Just off the main Route 7 to Chile, Potrerillos’ new village and school was built to make way for the man-made reservoir. The community is overjoyed with their new homes and the new Capitan de Fragata Carlos Negri School which has 100 students.
“They are outraged on my behalf”
Silvia greets me at the gate, reminds me I’ll be needing to use my Spanish and wishes me luck. I walk into the class and am met by 19 shy, smiling little faces. I take my seat at the front of the class & Silvia introduces me as Lucy from London, does anyone have any questions for her? And then there’s a terrible silence which lasts for seemingly eternity until, hooray, one hand goes up.
“Te gusta cerveza?”
Do you like beer? So they do know about the English. “Yes”, I cautiously venture, “but I prefer wine.” Although talking about alcohol wasn’t quite what I had envisioned, I’m happy to run with
“How much is wine in England?”
I tell them that the cheapest bottle is about 30 pesos and they are outraged on my behalf.
“And cigarettes?” asks a little voice from the back. I hazard a guess at 30 pesos, and again there’s uproar. And we’re off, fortunately steering away from potentially addictive and life threatening subjects and onto Princess Dee and Prince Carlos. It takes a second to realize who these exotic royals are before agreeing that yes, wasn’t it sad and no I haven’t met him but I’m sure Carlos is a very nice man. That I once met Keanu Reeves has ingratiated me with the girls and that I don’t support Manchester United with the boys. Everyone has crowded around, girls playing with my hair and the boys with my Ipod. The girls want to talk boyfriends and the boys can’t think of anything worse.
“I try my hardest to pretend I love yerba mate”
When the bell rings and our time is up I’m mortified. But then I’m in for a surprise, they have made me gifts. One by one they present me with handmade cards and pictures of Potrerillos so that I don’t forget. I’m showered in kisses and given a speech of thanks for coming and being so nice and to please come back.
I’m finishing up with Silvia when there’s a knock on the door and they’ve returned to ask if I would spend their morning break with them. I’m thrilled and led away to the recreation room where everyone gives me their biscuits and yerba mate and I try my hardest to pretend I love it.
I promise to come back and help them with their next English class and I look forward to it all week. The following Tuesday the rooster goes off and I spring out of bed eager to see my favourite gang. As I round the corner and see my class a cheer goes up and I’m greeted like a long lost sister.
“Their generosity and energy is contagious”
Their lesson today is how to introduce yourself in English. There’s much hilarity over “how do you do” and getting to grips with pronunciation. The alphabet is pronounced differently in English so the kids stare at my mouth and mirror my A E I O and U. They’re becoming hysterical and I’m getting jaw lock so we compromise and write out sentences phonetically. ‘Nais tu mit u tu’.
A lot of the kids will go on to work with their families horses giving riding trips to tourists. To be able to speak some English will undoubtedly help and Silvia believes it will benefit the community as a whole. I ask if any English is picked up from music or television but apparently not. Most of the T.V is South American and films are dubbed. It’s also clear from the lack of recognition with my Ipod that English and American music isn’t very well known. I realize my arrogance in presuming it would be. I wasn’t sure about going initially having always been a little wary of children but I am so glad I did. Their generosity and energy is contagious. I’m not sure we were as enthusiastic when we were 12, it probably wasn’t considered cool. I was welcomed into the community in Potrerillos. The people and scenery are good for mind, body and soul. They would love to meet people from different countries and learn about their cultures. To go and talk to some of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, contact Silvia Scilipoti on 155266860.
It’s 8.30am and my first day at school. I’m nervous, what if the kids don’t like me? My friend Silvia is a teacher at the school in the mountain village of Potrerillos, and is about to start teaching English to her class of 12 year olds. She believes that being presented with a real life English person will interest them more with the language. I’m a gringa show and tell.
My first day at school as a student may have been many moons ago, but I do remember that the journey to it didn’t involve any horses or mountain ranges, the sky was probably not perfectly blue and my alarm clock was undoubtedly not a rooster. Just off the main Route 7 to Chile, Potrerillos’ new village and school was built to make way for the man-made reservoir. The community is overjoyed with their new homes and the new Capitan de Fragata Carlos Negri School which has 100 students.
Silvia greets me at the gate, reminds me I’ll be needing to use my Spanish and wishes me luck. I walk into the class and am met by 19 shy, smiling little faces. I take my seat at the front of the class & Silvia introduces me as Lucy from London, does anyone have any questions for her? And then there’s a terrible silence which lasts for seemingly eternity until, hooray, one hand goes up.
“Te gusta cerveza?”
Do you like beer? So they do know about the English. “Yes”, I cautiously venture, “but I prefer wine.” Although talking about alcohol wasn’t quite what I had envisioned, I’m happy to run with
“How much is wine in England?”
I tell them that the cheapest bottle is about 30 pesos and they are outraged on my behalf.
“And cigarettes?” asks a little voice from the back. I hazard a guess at 30 pesos, and again there’s uproar. And we’re off, fortunately steering away from potentially addictive and life threatening subjects and onto Princess Dee and Prince Carlos. It takes a second to realize who these exotic royals are before agreeing that yes, wasn’t it sad and no I haven’t met him but I’m sure Carlos is a very nice man. That I once met Keanu Reeves has ingratiated me with the girls and that I don’t support Manchester United with the boys. Everyone has crowded around, girls playing with my hair and the boys with my Ipod. The girls want to talk boyfriends and the boys can’t think of anything worse.
When the bell rings and our time is up I’m mortified. But then I’m in for a surprise, they have made me gifts. One by one they present me with handmade cards and pictures of Potrerillos so that I don’t forget. I’m showered in kisses and given a speech of thanks for coming and being so nice and to please come back.
I’m finishing up with Silvia when there’s a knock on the door and they’ve returned to ask if I would spend their morning break with them. I’m thrilled and led away to the recreation room where everyone gives me their biscuits and yerba mate and I try my hardest to pretend I love it. I promise to come back and help them with their next English class and I look forward to it all week. The following Tuesday the rooster goes off and I spring out of bed eager to see my favourite gang. As I round the corner and see my class a cheer goes up and I’m greeted like a long lost sister.
Their lesson today is how to introduce yourself in English. There’s much hilarity over “how do you do” and getting to grips with pronunciation. The alphabet is pronounced differently in English so the kids stare at my mouth and mirror my A E I O and U. They’re becoming hysterical and I’m getting jaw lock so we compromise and write out sentences phonetically. ‘Nais tu mit u tu’.
A lot of the kids will go on to work with their families horses giving riding trips to tourists. To be able to speak some English will undoubtedly help and Silvia believes it will benefit the community as a whole. I ask if any English is picked up from music or television but apparently not. Most of the T.V is South American and films are dubbed. It’s also clear from the lack of recognition with my Ipod that English and American music isn’t very well known. I realize my arrogance in presuming it would be. I wasn’t sure about going initially having always been a little wary of children but I am so glad I did. Their generosity and energy is contagious. I’m not sure we were as enthusiastic when we were 12, it probably wasn’t considered cool. I was welcomed into the community in Potrerillos. The people and scenery are good for mind, body and soul. They would love to meet people from different countries and learn about their cultures. To go and talk to some of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, contact Silvia Scilipoti at 155-266-860.
