Teaching – and Learning – in Guadalajara

by Lauren Shick, OSU intern at Francis Bacon School in Guadalajara, Mexico for winter 2008 term

     When I arrived at Francis Bacon School, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I had been anticipating that first day for months. I first met with Ms. Betty Ann, the English coordinator of the school. She gave me my daily schedule and showed me around the school. She had a meeting during the morning that day, so she introduced me to Silvia, the English Aide. I immediately loved Silvia. We had a great connection and she was a very welcoming person. She took me around to each of the classrooms and introduced me to the teachers and the students, which I thought was really nice of her. For the rest of the day, I helped her in the teacher’s room repairing books and completing miscellaneous tasks. I remember being very excited to get to working in the classrooms on the following Monday.
      Ms. Betty Ann said although I had requested to work with the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade classrooms, she wanted me to see each of the grades, which ended up being a great experience because my opinion changed about the grades I originally thought I wanted to teach. 
     My responsibilities at Francis Bacon varied. Teachers would often give me tasks to complete such as assembling and correcting worksheets, reading composition notebooks, finding activities on the internet, preparing supplies, etc. Other days I would read aloud, read with lower level readers, and lead math or spelling activities. I substituted for different grades as well as practiced with the Spelling Bee contestants from each grade. I always tried my best to be dependable, responsible, and efficient when completing tasks for the teachers at Francis Bacon.
     My favorite part of working at Francis Bacon was when I was given the opportunity to prepare and teach my own lessons. My lessons included reading about Martin Luther King, teaching comparative adjectives to 5th and 6th grade, teaching verbs to 5th and 6th, teaching ABC order and a dictionary activity to 1st, and a lesson on Presidents Washington and Lincoln to all grades. For me these were the most educational and fun days. During each lesson, I felt like I was in my element. I always felt happy and comfortable in the classroom, and successful after. My lesson on verbs was my favorite because it was an interactive PowerPoint-like presentation for the SMART board the school has. Ms. Angie was very complimentary of my work and I felt proud!
      The support from the people at the school as well as my host families was amazing. Everyone always assured me that they would be there for me if I needed anything. I immediately formed a close relationship with Silvia. She asked me questions about my life, family, etc. and we talked about anything and everything each day I was at Francis Bacon. She was a great source of comfort and a great listener if I was having a difficult day. I felt like she was my temporary Mom while I was there. It was definitely nice to have someone to talk to freely and in English everyday.
     Throughout the internship, my successes were definitely mixed in with challenges. My first challenge was adapting to fact that English is the students’ second language. At first I would attempt to explain something in my normal language, immediately realizing when I saw the students’ blank looks that I would need to simplify my language much more.  Culturally, I felt like the classroom atmosphere was much different than the classrooms I have observed in the United States. The students talk constantly. While substituting was the most difficult challenge at Francis Bacon, it was also one of the most valuable experiences because I learned classroom management and discipline skills first hand. In addition, this was the time when I got to know the students and bonded with them.
     Both personally and professionally, the internship taught me skills that I know I will carry with me in my future as a teacher. My experience in the classroom gave me a greater sense of confidence as well as techniques important for teaching that I could not possibly learn in a course at Oregon State. Being faced with challenges and minor bumps throughout the internship gave me a glimpse into what being a teacher is like. Most importantly, I learned that I have chosen a career that I love. Personally, the experience was equally valuable. The personal growth that I went through is difficult to describe because I think I benefited from the experience in so many areas. I definitely learned that it is important to be flexible and able to adapt to new situations both professionally and personally.
       Being immersed in a culture different from my own was an interesting experience. The people in Guadalajara were amazingly welcoming, generous, and compassionate. Everyone I met was interested in my life and greeted me with open arms. In addition, the people were extremely interested in the fact that I was from the United States and loved to ask questions about life and culture there. Just talking about life in the United States made me realize how amazing it is. I think being away from my home taught me a greater appreciation for my family, the beautiful state of Oregon, and the all around structure and culture of the United States. Although I was never homesick, describing my family, friends, and home state gave me a sense of pride.
      My language adequacy was worse than expected when I arrived in Guadalajara. However, I quickly learned that most people speak English, but I think that being constantly surrounded by Spanish speakers improved my listening and comprehension skills.  
     Overall, I am so grateful to have had the experience I had in Guadalajara. I was blessed to live with three wonderful families who showed me beautiful parts of Mexico such as Puerto Vallarta and Mazamitla, and whom I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life. I was incredibly lucky to work at a school where I learned many techniques and lessons valuable for my future as a teacher. I never regretted my decision to leave the United States, and I came home with a greater confidence and appreciation for my life at home.

Monya’s Mexico Chronicles: Guadalajara

written by Monya Lemery, Latin America Regional Director

The city of Guadalajara is a very large metropolitan area in the state of Jalisco. The population is somewhere between 4 and 8 million, depending on who you talk to. It is the second largest city in Mexico and a very important business center. It is a colonial style city with traditional Spanish architecture. Boasting a warm climate and palm trees, the city feels safe and the people are friendly. Learning to take the bus proves a challenge at first for many interns, but later on they describe it as an adventure. Guadalajara is modern with traffic problems, large shopping malls, all kinds of activities, and great craft markets, museums, and weekend getaways. The coastal city of Puerto Vallarta is only about 6-7 hours away and makes for a do-able weekend trip.

Teaching Internships in at Private, Bilingual Schools in Mexico

I visited the four schools in Guadalajara where we send interns: Francis Bacon School, Ker Liber School, John F Kennedy School, and Colegio La Paz School. These are all private, bi-lingual schools who have been receiving interns through the IE₃ Global Internships Program and Lane Community College for at least 10 years. It is possible for interns to work with kids at any level between pre-school and high school. As well, the schools offer free room and board with a homestay family in order to offset the costs of interning abroad. This makes these internships very affordable – generally less expensive than living and studying at your home university.

I visited with 3 current interns: Kristy, Lauren and Sarah, who all had a marvelous time in Guadalajara. Kristy worked with groups of middle and high school students to improve their English at Colegio La Paz. Lauren worked as a teacher’s aide in several different English classes at the primary level at Francis Bacon School. Sarah worked as an aide to the art teacher at John F Kennedy School. They learned a lot about Mexican culture and about teaching. They all hope to pursue a graduate degree in teaching and a career in education.

American Chamber of Commerce offers a great internship opportunity for majors of business, international business, trade, economics, and marketing, event planning and similar areas. The staff is small, but mostly young professionals and there are often Mexican interns also working in the office. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about business and gain experience, but also to learn about how business is conducted in Mexico and Mexico/US trade relations. Interns improve their Spanish and learn business-related vocabulary while being fully immersed in a Spanish speaking work environment. They love IE₃ interns and hope to receive more in the future.

Monya’s Mexico Chronicles: Oaxaca

This was my first visit to the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. Oaxaca is famous for it’s bright colors, craft markets, modern art, indigenous culture, cathedrals, museums and it’s exquisite cuisine. I was stunned by the color and beauty of this colonial city of about 500,000 inhabitants. The large zocalo, or central square, is filled with people and surrounded by several outdoor cafes and a cathedral. There are lots of activities to take part in during your stay in Oaxaca, including lots of fun weekend excursions. Oaxaca is the center of modern Mexico’s art scene and as such, there are many workshops available in a variety of medium – including painting, textiles/weaving, pottery and others. Nearby archeological sites and craft markets attract a lot of US and European tourists. Outdoors sports and recreation abound – rock climbing, ecotourism and other activities are available. If one travels about 7 hours to the coast, the surfing community of Puerto Escondido awaits. I did not notice any of the political unrest that struck the city in 2006. In sum, Oaxaca would be an amazing place to spend several months.

CFHI Cultural Crossroads in Health Program
IE3 Global Internships and Child Family Health International (CFHI) offer a joint program for 10 weeks to IE3 interns to participate in Spanish language classes at Becari Language School and to participate in medical rotations at a variety of public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the city. Interns spend about 4-6 hours per day on their rotations and 2 hours a day in Spanish classes. They also live with local, middle class host families. I was able to visit a few host families and sit in on a Spanish class, and visit a couple of the clinical sites.

Students also get to participate in some lectures about healthcare in Mexico in order to gain a broader understanding of the local healthcare system.

In Oaxaca, interns get exposure to various aspects of the Mexican healthcare system and get the opportunity to see the vast difference in care between the public and private facilities. There are opportunities here for almost any interest. I have had several inquiries about internship opportunities for pre-dental students and I learned that this would be a fantastic site. The Centro de Salud or public Health Center offers dental services and they are quite busy. This would be an ideal setting for a pre-dental student. As well, the Centro de Salud would be great for students of public health, as they offer health classes and training on-site and in rural areas surrounding the city.

There is fantastic on-the-ground support through the local Medical Director, and the two directors of Becari Language school who arrange the language classes and homestay families.

I was also able to visit the Casa de la Mujer Rosario Castellanos, which is a small NGO dedicated to women’s rights and serving women, especially the young, indigenous women of Oaxaca. We are hoping to be able to offer an internship at the Casa de la Mujer for IE3 students. There are several faculty members at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University who have an on-going relationship with the Casa de la Mujer and we would like to be able to extend the opportunity to students to be able to work with this amazing organization.