HydroElectric Energy and Camaraderie

-


 Shanna, Kathleen, Allie and I: Salto cohort.

The last two days were the weekend so this provided a different level of learning about Uruguayan culture. We spent time some quality, uninterrupted time with our host teachers getting to know them and their families. Our tome together included a tour to the hydroelectric dam and a soak in the local Thermal Hot Springs.

Spending time outside was a welcome respite to a lot of bus travel. When they say rural, they mean rural. Imagine Lewistown; MT as your main town and then all those little towns around it are the schools that we go visit every day- most 1 to 2 hours away. 

One of the things I’m learning most about Uruguayan Spanish is that they have many words of their own that are not used anywhere, but here, Argentina, and Chile. They chuckle sometimes when I use some of my words because they mean something completely different here than they do in Mexico!

One of my overall research components, while here has been to compare and contrast how well the educational systems of Uruguay and the United States do to encourage climate activism and sustainability.

One thing for sure,  Uruguay is far ahead of the United States when it comes to sustainability. I’m sure partly it’s because of size, but there are many moments where I see evidence of this throughout the country. And one of those moments was today at the hydroelectric plant. This is a one of a kind (UTE) hydroelectric plant that shares energy between two countries. Literally, the middle of the Rio Plato separates the two countries but the hydroelectric dam is a joint effort between the two countries to provide between 40 and 60% of the energy for both of their countries.

We stuck with the water theme today and enjoyed the thermal waters that are an abundant entity in this area. Although it is late Autumn here, weather is much like Montana in our fall season, one day can be exceptionally warm and the next exceptionally cold. Today was one of those warm days, so we embraced the sunshine, the warm breeze, the plant life, each other and spending the entire day outside.

Aparey Thermas



Equivalent to a torta , but called Tortillas. This one eggs with French fries, I 


Happiness with our host teachers Inez, Virginia and Pablo

Local rural market- best orange of my life!

These are everywhere- evidence of attempts in recycling.

Rio Plato and Argentina behind me.

UTE power- one of 14 zones 

Maite; Uruguayan Fulbright Scholar; teacher extraordinaire- and our main host. She is coming to be one of my new favorite people on this planet.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uruguay - Aquí vengo! Here I come!

-
Image
  Familia y Amigos(as)- In just a few days, I'll be heading to Montevideo and Salto Uruguay as phase 3 of my Fulbright fellowship journey! It's been an amazing year of growth, both personally and professionally, and I'm excited to continue learning in South America throughout June. The focus of my Teacher Global Classroom Fulbright program is to provide training, experience abroad, and course work that encourages teachers (and in this case, me) to bring more international perspectives to my classroom and school. I truly thought I was already doing this in my classroom, but after this program, I realize I had much to learn and still do! Next fall I will launch my website with comprehensive tools, resources and personal experiences. For now, I'm adding to my toolbox by immersing myself in Uruguayan culture and Spanish language. Heading to Uruguay this week is what my cohort and I have been working towards all school year. We are a group of 16 from all over the United St
Read more

School Visits Start!

-
Image
Started the day with my hat on and in a T-shirt by afternoon. We started with a visit to one of Montevideo’s larger (1400 students) and lowest income schools for ages 12-any age. Let me explain more. Grades 6-12 come from 8:20 - 14:20. Then, from 15:00 to 17:00 students can come for what would be the equivalent to our GED. At 18:00-23:00 the school is open to any adults 18 and older to work on Associate type degrees. This school focused on CTE (Career and Technical Education) with emphasis on sewing, shop, metals, FCS mixed with social sciences and language classes. This type of programming has become the focus in many regional schools for those students who will not be able to afford or access universities or colleges.  Some big differences from this school and US schools: the VERY tiny libraries and the cement ping pong tables that are the main attraction at recess, no heat, so students are all wearing their coats, and many hats and gloves and sadly no classroom technology to be seen
Read more

Full Days ~ Educational Awesomeness!

-
Image
These last days have been so full that I haven’t gotten to make a post! Nothing like bringing 16 absolutely amazing humans together and allowing them to learn and grow professionally as their only objective each day. We have had so much fun visiting schools in Montevideo and our rural placements. It seems like every spare moment is spent comparing and contrasting schools here to Montana, by brainstorming ways to improve our own classrooms by connecting with teachers here in Uruguay. Several of the days in Montevideo, We met with the ministry of education and other educational leaders for what is the equivalent of their department of state. What we learned is that well thought out programming is in place and altruistic motivations exist to provide the best for all kids in education. However, Jim ust like the United States, the on the ground reality looks very different than what is planned at the nation’s educational office (ANEP). One of the really grand objectives is that 4% of the Ur
Read more