The world is just a bunch of bubbles

Statistics are a funny thing. We look on wikipedia or read articles that cite numbers and percentages that represent an entire group or region. Sometimes the numbers are shocking and draw drastic conclusions but when looked at in a more defined context they take on a completely different meaning. Tools, such as excel, help researchers recognize patterns in the data set over a longer period of time and they tend to be much more positive.

My favorite example is (duh!) development. It always gets such a bad rap. So many programs fail and these countries seem like black holes for money. I think we forget though that growth takes time. The redwoods didn't grow over night. Hans Rosling, a Swedish professor of public health, created one of the coolest programs for statistics. Watch his TED talk yourself because his energy is contagious. Besides the awesome animation and data presentation the coolest part about his talkis that change has been happening and it looks positive! Watching the progressive move of countries over the decades across a trajectory previously or simultaneously traversed by other countries considered more developed is epic. It reveals that really are changing and getting better. Although the change may not be as quick as we hope it is in fact moving. A super nifty feature of this program is that that stats can be broken down from region to country to cities or even smaller demographics. Since data varies from context to context this allows for evaluation of disparities within each sector as well as identifying where the problem might actually be.

From an educator's standpoint: I think this is a really neat tool because it really visualizes everything. Instead of having to imagine the patterns and the movement when looking at an excel spreadsheet you can really see it happening. This helps students really understand that stats should not always be taken as face value because they are not a true representation. It is also a generative learning tool it that it encourages students to continue asking questions regarding changes in stats.

Anyway here is a link to one of his Rosling's talks. There are a few so if you are as intrigued as I am I encourage you to keep watching. Also go play around with the website yourself. gapminder.com

Hans Rosling's GapMinder <<<< Watch here!

Hole in the Wall Development

 Development is a unique discipline in that it does not have a right answer. It is solely based in theory and evaluations of other people’s attempts at making a difference. As a student it can be frustrating because I find myself settling to a certain perspective, belief or ideas for development only to read about a different theory that seems better. After reading so many evaluations of “failed” programs and criticisms of theories I find myself feeling quite dejected. Can development really happen anymore? I spend a lot of time thinking about the appropriate and least aggressive way of introducing technology into education to aid development of a schooling system. I have started to truly believe that it is impossible or pompous of me to think that I can drop technology into a “less developed” community school where resources are limited and electricity is scarce and expect it to stick. Then I discovered this TED talk. Sugata Mitra’s study has been very eye opening and renewed my faith in technology. One thing I have learned during the past few months is that there needs to be an end to “we” and “them” thinking. “We” are not saviors or deliverers of knowledge. “They” have knowledge that has helped them survive their context for hundreds of years. Anyone who is an educator or parent or has spent a significant amount of time with children know that they surprise us everyday. They are more capable and more intelligent than many of us give them credit for. Mitra’s study reminds us to shake our preconceptions about ability. This has renewed my faith in educational technology as a tool for development in rural communities. Watch it and let me know what you think!

Sugata Mitra's TED Talk <<< CLICK HERE!!

One foot in front of the other.

Four flights of stairs have been climbed several times daily.
Classes have been attended.
Tours have been taken.
Bars have been hopped.
Brooklyn pizza has been eaten.
Subways have been ridden.
Rats have been spotted.
One month has passed since I moved to New York.
And almost one year has passed since I last blogged. I know there are some people out there who are curious about what I have been up to. So in an attempt to avoid telling the same story 500 times I will revive this little peep hole into my "la vida loca".

Luckily the move turned out to be an easy transition. My room is small but large by New York apartment standards. My barrio is packed with bodegas and restaurants and cafes. Guys set up tables along the sidewalk selling books or inviting passersby to play a game of chess (which many surprisingly do). My school is only a 15 minute walk away which is very convenient especially when winter time comes. The professors in my program (and I assume all other programs as well) are well pedigreed and totally impressive! The same can be said about the majority of my classmates. I really question sometimes how the hell I got here! However, the opportunities are incredible and just seeing some of the job openings that recruit Columbia grads makes me anxious to graduate.

Now don't think that homesickness hasn't reared its ugly. I have had my moments of feeling lonely and wishing I were with the people I love. But I know this is where I belong because I haven't felt this alive since Guatemala. My head has been cracked so wide open sometimes I think my brain is going to pour out. It feels so good to fall asleep after a day of mental exertion.

Anyway, I could probably go on and on about the things I have done in the past month which would end up being a novel of an entry. SO starting now I will record some of the cooler things. I will leave with one story!

Times Square & view from our room

Downtown NYC from Top of the Rock

Top of the Rock with Central Park behind me

Last weekend I had the pleasure of entertaining a visitor from AZ (my first since I have been here!). We stayed in Times Square which gave us an opportunity to really explore downtown New York. I found it funny because locals never go to this part of the city and now I know why! Although the area is really only a few blocks it is CRAMMED. There are so many tourists it is unbearable. Worse than Disneyland. They are all being drawn, like moths to a flame, to all the bright lights and tall buildings. Interesting factoid: all of the buildings facing in toward Times Square are required to be 80% bright lights and signage. So we did the tourist thing and spent three lovely hours on a tour bus seeing parts of the city I didn't even know existed. It was a great way to get acquainted with the city but it left me incredibly overwhelmed. How am I going to see all of this before I leave New York?! Its going to take years!! We spent another day walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoying some very tasty ice cream in the Brooklyn Bridge Park, which was packed with couples and families with the same idea. We went to the top of the Rockefeller Center (86th floor) and spent some time trying to take in the city. It's like looking at the Grand Canyon. It is so vast that your eyes can't quite take it all in. One of my favorite things that we did was taking the Staten Island Ferry across to (duh!) Staten Island. It goes right past the Statue of Liberty which was perfectly highlighted by the setting sun right behind her. On our way back to Manhattan we got a perfect view of all the downtown lights. It was breathtaking.... and FREE!!! That word doesn't exist in NYC vernacular. We rounded out the evening with a visit to the top of the Empire State Building and a delicious candle lit dinner at one of the hundreds of restaurants in Hell's Kitchen. I'm quickly learning why this city is so addicting.

city skyline from Staten Island Ferry

Brooklyn Bridge

Us with Manhattan behind us

Lady Liberty

Well expect many more updates and rants about my ideologies as I figure out where I'm headed on this crazy road of mine!

Halloween brings out the weirdos

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!! As many of you may know Halloween is my favorite holiday. My annual Halloween party is tomorrow night and I am really excited to see all my friends. My favorite part of this holiday is that I get to see how creative people can be when coming up with costumes. Even if it is a simple character some people really get into it and go to great lengths to delve into it. I am especially excited about this Halloween because I missed out on last year's celebrations since I was in Guate.

Anyway, as many people often say Halloween brings out the weirdos and somehow they always find me. Last night while sitting at the library trying to stay awake long enough to catch up on homework a man approached me. "What are you studying?" I looked at him confused and answered "Poli Sci?!" I assumed he had thought I was someone he knew considering my head was down and I waited for embarassment to sweep his face as he had a moment of realization that I was not, in fact, who he thought I was. However that look never came and the conversation continued. He asked to sit down and we chatted for about 10 min. He said he was a junior studying math, he had transferred from San Antonio, he was from Nigeria (which explained his African accent) and that he had been here a year and a half. He asked to bring his lap top over and being the push over I am I said "sure!" even though in my head I was thinking "I just want to do my homework!" While he was gone gathering his things I laughed to myself because when I first sat down in the library I momentarily wondered "do people ever meet in the library? do boys appraoch girls that are studying?" Well, apparantly boys from Nigeria do!

He returned shortly with his laptop and I immediately realized he had no intention of studying so I gave up on homework for the night. He admitted that he had lied about being a math major and confessed his true profession. He is in Tucson as a 2nd year medical resident at the TMC. WHAT?! He showed me his idea and business card so I had to believe him. We talked for about an hour before I started falling asleep. We exchanged numbers and he asked to walk me out to my car. I had no reason to say no. We walked and chatted some more. Once I got my car, however, he gave me a hug good bye and as I came out of the hug he, to my great shock and surprise, planted a big kiss. WHOA!!!! I stood there in shock not really knowing what to do. I sort of chuckled awkwardly and said "well it was nice meeting you." He continued "oh you are so cute, I saw you and just thought you were so cute." Then he tried to kiss me again but I dodged them. I quickly got in my car and peaced out. He said something about calling me Sunday so we could go see a movie. It was sooooo super weird! Why do the weirdos always find me!

Moral of the story: Don't talk to boys in the library, even if they do approach you!

Ants in my Pants

I'm antsy. I need an adventure. Thank Lydia for San Antonio this weekend.

I am in class at a computer and so I decided to create some goals for my weekend. They are as follows in no particular order:
- Befriend a cowboy.
- Meet a sexy doctor to be.
- Survive hurricane Ike.
- Write my fulbright purpose of grant statement.
- Finish at least 3 bottles of wine with Lydia.

I don't think this is asking too much.

What are you trying to prove?

I had dinner with some friends last night, one of which is student teaching this semester. She was telling me all about her experiences in preparing her 2nd graders for the Arizona standardized testing. As an education student I have learned so much about the inequalities of education especially towards ELL students. But after talking with my friend it really took meaning.

She was describing one of her students who is categorized as an ELL student. She is one of the highest performing students in the class but because she is ELL she needs assistance with reading directions. The rules of the standardized test is that the teachers cannot read the questions or directions to the students. For this one student, this means that she will perform much lower on the test because she will not be able to understand what the question is. In turn her low test scores will reflect poorly on my friend as a teacher as well as the school's overall performance grade. The school's grade will be published in the newspaper which will greatly influence public support. The truly unfortunate part of this is that all of the numbers reported are highly inaccurate since the test does not properly convey the student's knowledge.

This made me so frustrated! I feel sad for the student because she is being told that she is failing when in reality she is the top student in her class. The more I learn about standardized testing the more angry it makes me. What I don't understand is why there needs to be standardized testing at all? I can see the benefits of conducting an assessment exam to see where students are at the end of the school year in order to tie up loose ends but I don't think that it should have as much value as it does. The scary thing is that schooling is becoming more and more about testing rather than classroom experience and learning.

Semana Santa

So during my time living in Guatemala I always said that I wanted to experience the world renowned Semana Santa festivities in Antigua. My friends Lydia and Mike both wanted to visit Guatemala as well so we decided to make it happen. $300 later we were in Guatemala about to embark on the greatest Spring Break ever. Our logic was that since it was our last spring break (Lydia starting med-school in the fall, Mike starting law school and me finishing my thesis) we should throw ourselves as far into debt as possible and have the best time. We did just that and we didn't get into too much debt either!

We arrived in the afternoon and my friend Alvaro picked us up. He made us an amazing dinner that night and then we went out to catch up with some old friends of mine. The next morning we woke up to catch our shuttle at 4am. Ouch!! We were a little groggy but slept the entire 1 hour to the city. The shuttle first dropped off some women at the airport and then he headed to our bus station. When we arrived I realized that my backpack, containing everything I owned (including my passport and credit card), was gone but there was a similar looking backpack left behind. We realized that one of the women took my backpack by mistake when we dropped her at the airport. HEART ATTACK!!!!

So we wove in and out of traffic to get to the airport. We ran inside and after 30 minutes or so airport personnel were able to locate the woman. She had checked my backpack to go to El Salvador with her. They had to pull my bag off of the plane! With only 15 minutes before our bus left we sped back across town to the bus station. Miraculously we made it in time and to this day I wonder how we got onto that bus before it left. 2 different buses and 7 hours later we were in the beautiful Semuc Champey. I knew exactly where to go thanks to my previous travel experience. I led us directly to El Retiro, a travelers paradise widely unknown by American travelers but quite popular with the numerous European and Australian backpackers. A true bohemian hideaway with bungalows dotting the hillsides surrounding a rushing river tucked away within the jungle, El Retiro offers the most diverse travel experience.

Sadly after 3 short days but many new friends from Germany, Holland and Ireland, we headed back to Antigua to partake of the festivities. It was an Antigua I did not recognize. It seemed that 1 million people were crammed within a town that is approximately one square mile. Insane! Nevertheless, Semana Santa was better than anyone had explained to me. Beautiful processions lasting for 13 hours consisted of entire neighborhoods walking the streets dressed in black robes, burning unholy amounts of incense and carrying 2 ton, hand created floats while somber music bellowed from the trailing band. Between the passing of such processions residents created "alfombras" or carpets in the streets. The designs usually religious in nature are made of any available materials normally fruits, vegetables, flowers and colored sawdust. I was in aw of the intricate details these alfombras contained. Yet it was sad to watch as the processions destroyed them in one quick sweep. Even more surprising was the speed in which residents began a new design once the procession passed.

In an attempt to maximize our time in Guatemala we decided to take a day trip to Lake Atitlan. I couldn't have wished for a better day to show off the lake to my friends. There was not a cloud in the sky and the weather was just cool enough to spend some time kayaking in the warm sun. On our final nights we spent some time with my Guatemalan friends and family. However, one week was definitely not enough time to show off this country that I love. Still I believe that my friends got a great taste of the magic that Guatemala possess and I hope that this will only encourage them to return and explore its treasures further.

During our time there I couldn't help but reminisce about my time there and share stories about my experiences. My friends quickly started referring to me as their tour guide and when answering the popular question "What brings you to Guatemala?" they lovingly turned to me. Over hearing one of our conversations, one woman suggested I write a travel book with all of the information that I have collected through my own experience. A funny joke indeed but it got me thinking.... why not?