February Daily Schedule

It took me a bit of time to get this schedule ironed out so I could keep my various commitments in the city, but I think I´ve done it:

8 AM: Morning run

9-10 AM: Morning hammock: journal writing

10 AM-12 PM: Work at Proyecto Rocas

12-2 PM: Lunch, Internet, & errands in town

2-3:30 PM: Teach an English class at Las Tías

4-5 PM: Teach my English class at the Casa de Cultura (for my former professors)

5-7 PM: Afternoon hammock: Studying español

7 PM: Dinner at the fritanga (street stall) of a woman named Flor de Maria

7:30-9 PM: Evening hammock time: Studying and reading

9-11 PM: Go with friends to hear live music at a bar or just hang out

Midnight: Bedtime for this boy

So both Proyecto Rocas and Las Tias are before/after-school programs in the barrios in León. (The children have a split schedule here: half go to school in the mornings and half in the afternoons.) The idea is that these poor (and in some cases abused) children are not well-served by the current public education system: They need a place where they can get some more support and instruction, do their homework, take part in cultural activities, play games and sports, and most of all find extra help, supervision, and role models. At Proyecto Rocas I help the kids with their homework, doing math and reading stories to them. At Las Tías, I teach an English class and play games with the kids. (At both schools, there is a range of ages but the average age of my students is about 10 years old.) And at the Casa de Cultura, I am continuing the English classes with the professors that we began last month.

So that´s what I do here. I spend about four hours a day in my hammock so I´m obviously enjoying life right now and feel quite content with my schedule.