Let’s start at the very beginning… when you sing you begin with ABC

Day 2 into class and I’m proud to say I know all of my student’s names! I made a supremely concerted effort to say their names as often as possible on Day 1. I also wrote all of their names down in my notebook and made notes to help me remember who is who.

As I guiltily wrote the word “skinny” next to one girl’s name, who is absolutely lovely and rather delicate looking, I thought about that episode of The Office when Michael Scott gives his secret to remembering peoples names. It involves associating some prominent and unfortunate characteristic of their physical appearance with other things he already knows so that he can eventually wind his thoughts back to their names. Foolproof, provided he never reveals his secret, which of course he does…

Feeling bad about skinny, I wrote “Drew” next to a guy’s name who looks like a cute guy my friend is dating back in the States.

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My condo-mate/colleague/friend, K, and I spent the afternoon on his sunny patio brainstorming some fun ideas for our classes. We decided to Set Precedent. (K just passed the bar.) We’re implementing a Journal Warm-Up to open every class, one mandatory Post-Break Game, and a semi-optional Closing Game to end class.

The students took a while to warm up to my Warm-Up today, but I’m hoping tomorrow will be better. K and I will be refining our Day 3 topic a bit more and I’m hoping for big results.

Our PBG’s went over like gangbusters! K did hangman with his students, who are the most advanced of our 4 groups. My level 3’s, the second most advanced, got to play ABC Aardvark and learn the ABC song. ABC Aardvark is a game we invented where the students all stand up in a long line at the board. The first student writes A on the board, says “A”, and passes the marker to the next person in line. The second student writes B on the board, says “A, B” and passes the marker. And so it goes down the line until all 26 letters have been written and said. Then I taught them the ABC song.

The only homework I’ll ever give them during these 6 weeks is to practice singing the ABC song at least once a day. I told them, “One time every day, you sing. I don’t care when. You can sing in the morning. You can sing at night before you go to sleep.”

“We can sing in the shower!” one student suggested.

And then, I made them raise their right hand and swear an oath to sing the ABC song one time every day.

Yes, I’m absolutely sure they all think I’m crazy.

But one day these hotel receptionists, travel agents and tour guides will need to fill out a form with a client’s information. And when they can say with confidence, “Certainly sir, and how do you spell your name?” – rather than experience the heart-racing panic that I feel when asked to spell or take down dictated spelling in Spanish – I’m sure they’ll remember me and my crazy off-key kids song with a smile.

Red Light? Cha-ching!

At most 4-way intersections, when cars stop at stoplights, people come out into the middle of the street – usually in the crosswalk – and perform. Most of the time they juggle or do acrobatics. At night the most interesting to watch are the fire jugglers. Some of them eat the fire too! During the day there are lots of small girls that are thrown up onto the shoulders of guys cheerleader-style. There’s a lot of aerial flipping and twirling. These girls tend to wear a lot of make-up and tight leotards with shorts. In Viña I saw some really terrific break dancers once.

The acts usually end when the cross traffic light turns yellow. The performers walk up and down the lanes and pleased drivers and passengers roll down their windows and give them money. It looks like mostly change, but there is a 500 peso coin which is just about $1 US, so it’s unclear to me how much money these people are actually making.

I wonder how this would go over in the States. I don’t think those people who sell candy “for charity” at street corners are very well received. And even less so, are those who just stand with a cardboard sign begging. Perhaps we’d be more inclined to roll down our windows and empty our pockets if we were getting a show?

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Another common “service” people can get at stoplights is superfast window washing. The light turns red and a team of people with clothes and bottles of waxy liquid disperse themselves among the waiting cars.

I’m always surprised when I see a driver nod and the washing begin. All the cars here have window washing fluid capabilities. And there are gas stations just as frequently here as in the States too. It’s not like people can’t wash their own car windows for free. Yet, they still pay the stoplight crews.

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These performers and washers are all ages. Most of the jugglers have a hippie sort of look to them. I imagine them having second jobs selling homemade woven bracelets or carved wooden things on a blanket in the streets. On one occasion I saw an acrobatics group that appeared to have just been let out of high school. No, generally speaking, none of these intersection moneymakers appear to be that poor or that homeless that they’d need to resort to such stoplight antics.

It perplexes me. Nevertheless, I have to respect them. They work hard for their money! They aren’t just standing in ratty clothes holding a crappy beat up sign and hoping for a handout. All these little moneymakers I’m encountering throughout Chile – the parking assistants, the people selling any number of things off of a sheet on the sidewalk, the stoplight performers and window washers – they all work for the monetas (coins) they get.

Slowly my perspective has shifted. Initially I thought of them as beggars, now they’re just the same old people that I meet when I’m walking down the street…