4/24/08

Update #5

In this issue

• Directors update from Nicaragua

• Class progress

• Construction update

• Volunteer opportunities

• Current needs

Directors Update: Hello friends and family of Adelante. I am now completing the second week of adult English classes and they are going much better than expected. The interest taken in our accessible English education has been overwhelming. I have been asked to take over teaching for another English teacher at a high school, asked to give private lessons, and asked to permanently teach at the pre-school across the street from my house. I would love to fulfill all of these requests, but alas, I do not have the time and want to keep focused on Adelante's English class project. Now going on 23 days, I'm getting more used to being here permanently, though I still miss my family and friends back home dearly. For the past couple weeks its been between 93 and 97 degrees… At least it's not humid, the heat here is very dry as we haven't reached the rainy season yet, which starts around May 15^th. Once the rainy season starts, then the humidity will get very high and at time unbearable. I'm having a great time here with my host family and godson. In fact, last weekend we visited the beach, which was a nice break from the work and heat.

Class Progress: . Classes have been getting easier and easier. My biggest challenge thus far has been thinking up different, fun and appropriate ice-breakers to do at the start of each class. Students love the ice-breakers. They are so used to coming to class sitting down and copying down what the teacher writes on the board. It is a big change for them to actually participate in their education. Thus far I have received very good feedback from the students as far as how much they are learning and how they feel about the class. I have an average attendance of 9 people, and there are registered 11 people in the class. One student dropped out, as he just got a job that doesn't get out until 7pm. Although, he said, he really wants to attend, he must take the work that is offered to him. In class we have been working on greetings and present simple tense words, as well as working to translate a poem called, "Dream Big". Next week we will be doing mid-term evaluations as well as starting a second chapter. Close to the third week of the course, we are about ¾ of the way finished with the first chapter. The students seem to be enjoying the chapter and especially all the interactive activities.

Construction update: The board of directors is presently discussing how to progress with the construction. There are various options that we are looking at right now and plan to discuss it more in detail at our next board meeting which will happen this month.

Volunteer Opportunities: In the near future I would like to offer volunteer opportunities here in the school. This should be of particular interest to those that would like to either improve or start learning Spanish. Volunteering through Adelante will provide you with not only a valuable teaching experience in Latin America, but also with one-on-one Spanish tutoring and a homestay with a Nicaragua family. Spaces are available upon request and advance notice. There is a nominal fee which pays for Spanish lessons as well as food and lodging with the family¹. A minimum of a two weeks stay is suggested.

¹Price subject to specifics desired and length of stay

Current Adelante Needs: As classes begin we will be in need of more and more school supplies for students. The following items will be very helpful for teachers as well as students:

• 3x5 note cards

• Dry erase markers

• Spiral notebooks

• Stickers for pre-schoolers

• Pencils

• Sharpies and markers

These items can preferably be mailed directly to Nicaragua:

Mateo Garibaldi

De la Texaco Guido 2 al sur, ½ abajo

León, Nicaragua

Central America

If international shipping is too pricey you may also send it to Adelante at:

Adelante

16702 SE 11^th st.

Bellevue, WA 98008

Next update May 8th

Update #4

4/10/08

Update #4

In this issue

Directors update from Nicaragua

Class Progress

Construction Update

Volunteer Opportunities

Current Needs

Directors Update: Hola desde Nicaragua! Very recently I became fully aware of how truly hot it is here. I spilled a cup of water in my room the other day. I soaked a lot of it up with a spare dish towel I had laying around. I went into the kitchen and rung the towel out a few times and tried to clean the towel, and when I came back into the room, the water had already dried up… completely. Yes. It is hot here! Apart from that, the people are wonderfully nice as expected, the weather is hot and the cold showers are a welcome break from the day. I have begun the transition recently from purifying my water and buying bottled water to just throwing caution to the wind and drinking the tap water. Mistake or adventure? Well, if it’s an adventure I’ll be sure to write about it in the next update, if it’s a mistake I’m sure you all know what the consequences will be and I’ll spare you the gory details and refrain from telling you all about it. I’m optimistic though as I’ve gone about 3 days so far on tap water and have not noticed any unusual “activity”. I’m spending my days here developing the curriculum for the classes, filling my house with yummy goodies and furniture, and riding my host families bicycle around town. It’s taken a bit to get used to those o-so-comfy bike seats… ah yeah they’re not comfy, though I’ve mastered what I’ve called the “side-ride”, I’ll let you figure out what that means.

Class Progress: Our inaugural test class of friends and family shall begin this Monday in the classrooms that the pre-school across the street has graciously given us the use of during the evenings. In return for the use of the classrooms I’ll be teaching pre-schoolers for 1 hour a day, 4 days a week. This should be both challenging and exciting at the same time. I’ve not thought too much about teaching without using reading or writing, and as I was recently reminded they cannot read or write…ha ha. So I’ve had to drastically change the curriculum that I’ve been planning on using for the adults. Anyway I’m happy for the practice and experience that this is sure to provide me. For this first class there will be no charge to the small class of students as it will be a test run for me to get feedback from the students and plan more for when I open it up to the public. This will also be a shorter class running approximately 3-4 weeks, for 4 days a week.

Construction update: Construction thus far has not begun yet, but is still planned to happen pending more fundraising. Many vital materials needed for building have pretty much doubled since we last priced them a year ago. Plus, we would rather not spend all our budget on constructing the classrooms right now, but wait a little while longer. Thus, giving ourselves a small financial cushion and taking advantage of the generosity of the school that is across the street from us.

Volunteer Opportunities: In the near future I would like to offer volunteer opportunities here in the school. This should be of particular interest to those that would like to either improve or start learning Spanish. Volunteering through Adelante will provide you with not only a valuable teaching experience in Latin America, but also with one-on-one Spanish tutoring and a homestay with a Nicaragua family. Spaces are available upon request and advance notice. There is a nominal fee which pays for Spanish lessons as well as food and lodging with the family¹. A minimum of a two weeks stay is suggested.

¹Price subject to specifics desired and length of stay

Current Adelante Needs: As classes begin we will be in need of more and more school supplies for students. The following items will be very helpful for teachers as well as students:

3x5 Note Cards

Dry Erase Markers

Spiral Notebooks

Stickers for pre-schoolers

Pencils

Sharpies and markers

These items can preferably be mailed directly to Nicaragua:

Mateo Garibaldi

De La Iglesia San Pedro Sutiava, 1 al sur, ½ arriba

León, Nicaragua

Central America

If international shipping is too pricey you may also send it to Adelante at:

Adelante

16702 SE 11^th st.

Bellevue, WA 98008

Next update April 24th

Update #3

Tuesday April 1st - Update #3
In this Issue:
Executive Director, Mateo Garibaldi Leaves for Nicaragua
501 (c) (3) Status Update
Last board meeting
Fundraising and continued need
Call the E.D.

Executive Director leaves for Nicaragua: On April 1st, I took off to Nicaragua. It was a very emotional departure as friends and family accompanied me to the airport to see me off. Now that I am in Nicaragua, I am reconnecting with old contacts and finishing off the curriculum that I plan to use for the school. There is much work to be done, but bit by bit I am prioritizing and completing the things necessary to open the school.

As I remembered, but still hit me like a ton of bricks, it is HOT here. I am only reminded for a brief second that there is no hot water here when I hop in the shower and my body is completely shocked by the freezing water. At first a small gasp of surprise escapes, but then quickly turns to utter enjoyment. It’s terribly hard to leave those showers, which may explain why I like to shower multiple times a day. I would say it takes about 10 minutes after I leave the shower for me to start sweating again.

Rice and beans (“gallo pinto” as they call it here) has once again entered my life…I fear to stay. It is the main staple here and is eaten often times for both lunch and dinner. I am slowly starting to let go of the sadness of leaving behind everything that I know and love, and begin embracing what is here to be my new home. Although it’s a hard concept to even wrap my mind around, I need to begin pushing myself in that direction. I have traveled and lived for short periods of time around the world, but have never made a move like this. It certainly presents many new challenges, one of which is decorating my house for a more permanently stay. Ha ha. Decorating, I would say, has never been a strong suit of mine, so this will be particularly hard. Therefore, if any of you come to visit I don’t want to hear any grumblings about how I chose to decorate, but instead would appreciate and and all suggestions.

Non-Profit Status update: We are still working with WAACO to acquire our non-profit status but are eager to expedite the process.

Last Board Meeting: Our last board meeting was very productive as we discussed issues ranging from fundraising to curriculum to how board meetings would be held in the absence of the Executive Director. One thing that we are already thinking about is the November fundraiser, even though it’s still eight months away. If anyone would like to help out with the event or volunteer in some way, please contact any of the board members.

Fundraising and continual Adelante needs: In our last update we let you all know about the fundraiser that we had at Leny’s Place, a local bar in Greenlake. The pool tournament was a great way for people to meet board members, learn about the organization, as well as contribute to the cause. In all we raised just over $200 in our first experience hosting a pool tournament. We are interested in doing this again, therefore if there is anyone that would like to co-host this event with another board member, please contact one of the board members.

As always, if anyone would like to host any sort of fundraiser, please don’t hesitate to forward your ideas along to any board member. We would be happy to provide you with any support and/or promotional materials that you would require.

ITEM NEED: An item that we are currently looking into acquiring is a projector. If you know anyone or you yourself would like to aid Adelante in acquiring this item, please feel free to contact anyone on the board (mateo.g@adelantenow.org)

Want to call the Executive Director? Well here is his number: 011-505-480-4213

Next update, Thursday April 17th