The days started early in our English school in Naranjo, Piribebuy. At first light a strong bright sun burst into life. If that was not enough to waken everybody in their tents and huts then the sound of the chickens getting going for the day certainly was.
Once outside a quick wash to open the eyes and a queue for the toilet and all were soon ready for the day ahead.
First stop the kitchen to light a fire to boil some water for the morning drink. Coffee, or if someone felt adventurous, cocido, Paraguayan style.
That done we had then a little time to sit and enjoy breakfast. Also the ideal time to remember where today’s props and lesson plans were and to chat through who was teaching who before the children started to arrive.
That happened very soon after breakast as with schools starting early the children are used to getting going in the morning. They came from throughout the surrounding area. Some walking half an hour to be taught a little English.
The children gradually all turned up arriving in little groups and like every day all there ready to go long before the hour of the class.
This morning there are three classes going on in various rooms around the school and I have the younger ones. Six to ten and all very eager.
With this younger class, which as always numbers in double figures, reading and writing are not the main objectives of the class. Several of them would not yet be able to read or write and it is for the Paraguayan schools to teach that.
Instead spoken English is the focus. This leads to a rather loud but very enjoyable type of class. For them there are also plenty of pictures to look at. All those props prepared yesterday and always a good bit of singing.
The younger ones do love to sing and it is such a good way to get them in the habit of hearing and speaking English.
With all this activity going on the lesson plan is vital. It makes sure that all that was intended for the lesson is there and that the right amount of time is spent on each part of it. If the classes only ever covered the first item on the agenda before time was up no one would ever get anywhere.
Then with time flying by the end of the class arrives and the children all have their new collection of notes and pictures.
As this is somewhere they want to be rather than have to be there is no rushing of home after the classes. Instead they say playing or running around the field slowly drifting back home for lunch.
Once all but the last of the stragglers have departed it is time for us to cook lunch. Not everyone is the greatest cook and no one wants to do the washing up so for the sake of fairness all is covered by a strict rota.
Lunch for us teachers is cooked on the wood burning stove in the kitchen. As that has little in the way of temperature control and as the food must be cooked in bulk it is generally boiled up in huge cauldrons. This does limit the number of different dishes that can be cooked, but what comes out is always just right and someone has always prepared a salad to go with it.
After lunch there is an hour or so to relax before the afternoon classes begin. Schooling here is only half a day so there are always children of all age groups both morning and afternoon.
There is time to tidy up a little and find the correct lesson plans before the children who have school in the morning and come to us in the afternoon start to arrive.
Again they are all ready long before the hour of the class.
This afternoon I have the next age group up. Between the ages of about ten and fourteen. As with all the classes their numbers are in double figures and there are roughly the same amount of boys and girls.
These older children are more used to reading and writing. Much of their schooling involves copying text from the black board and being nominated by teacher to read to the class. Therefore there is much more written work done, writing in their notebooks and working from the photocopied pages of text books.
Other than the singing and dancing being replaced by reading and writing the formula is much the same as it is with the smaller children and like them they are pleased to have the school to go to and enjoy being there. These children get little tests each week and revision sessions at the start of each class to help what has learnt be remembered.
Like their colleagues in the morning there is no rushing home with them instead just drifting away in twos and threes once there is nothing left to do.
With then all the classes done for the day, exept for the days when there are evening classes for older students everyone can now unwind.
It is the time to read a book, do a bit of washing or just have a quiet lie down before supper.
Supper is a much simpler meal than lunch, often just bread rolls. Then once that is over and the washing up stacked away it is the time to write lesson plans to prepare for tommorow’s classes.
This never takes until beyond mid evening which with this not being all work and no play is the time to head to one of the local houses that has set up a bar on their terrace for a beer or two and maybe the odd round of pool.
Later in the night once everyone is fully unwound it is time to head of to bed in the various tents and huts before starting all over again tommorow.
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