Catch-up...Field Trip to NEX

A week ago Erica and I took our 43 third graders to NEX Conservation Cat Refuge.  Click on the link to learn more.  They've just added dual-language to their website which is great!  We had a  phenomenal time albeit the day that my plauge began.

This field trip was like no one I'd ever been on with my class before.  Here are the top 10 reasons this trip could only happen when you teach at the American School of Brasilia:

1.  Vans

We took 5 little vans to the refuge because the final 30 minutes of our ride we off-roaded, well, more like country roads but in Brasil this means that the road was too rough to take a bus.  Needless to say I wasn't feeling so hot (gotta love my carsickness) but fun to ride with just a few kids and a dad in a van rather than all 43 together.

2.  Waterfalls

We would never do this in the states and it's definitely one reason why I do like teaching here.  We hiked to a waterfall and the kids went swimming in it.  It was safe.  They had a great time and it really helped to meet the needs of all of the kids because from the cats to the waterfall, there was something for everyone.

3.  Swimwear

 We all wore swimsuits on the trip since we went to the waterfall.  Sungas and bikinis were worn by all.  I do love Brasil for that too.  It's helped me to be more comfortable in my own skin a lot since everybody else is here.  Yes people, I even wore my swimsuit in front of my students and their families.

4.  Synthesis

 

Taking a group of 3rd graders to a cat refuge, cats that they've been learning about in their International Social Studies and Brazilian Social Studies classes and hearing them synthesizing the information the caretakers share is pretty amazing.  They were putting it all together.  Learning about the cats' awful stories, hearing how a jaguar had been declawed and kept on a chain for photos by a "vet" and hearing one child say, "But I thought vets were supposed to help animals,"  is pretty powerful.  It provided learning that could only happen on a field trip like this.

5.  Food

So we ate delicious food of course, but when have you gotten the opportunity to see a jaguar being fed?  This particular male was quite loud (so much he scared a couple of the kids) about his lunch.

6.  Joy

Hearing the kids sing songs on the van ride back.  Watching them splash around in the water.  Seeing them cuddle with their parents.  This trip gave us the education piece we needed but also the right amount of fun as well.  It's just not as uptight as other trips.  Something that's hard for a person like me to get used to but something I'm learning to appreciate more.

7.  Cause

Our trip was a fairly expensive one.  R$85 per child.  That's roughly $45 each.  R$25 went for each child's lunch and visit (aprox. $12.50) and the remainder for transportation.  It cost R$50 for each adult's visit.  The lunch was just a few reals of this amount and majority went toward supporting the cats' at the refuge.  Going to a non-for-profit organization, especially with a group of students who have so much in life, taught lessons for them about what's important, especially when it comes to their pocketbooks.  A trip like this, especially with the US economy would not be possible.

8.  Nature

When can you go on a field trip and see wild macaws?  There were four of them just sitting in a tree by one of the jaguars' cages.  The bird life here is pretty amazing.  As I write this the wonderful (but yet so annoying at 6 am) parakeets are back.  Being dry season the food they like must be back in my neighborhood.  Sigh.











9.  Opportunity

 

At EAB, we have a scholarship program.  This program provides a free education for our employee's children.  With that there's good, like for the two students in my class this year who otherwise  would not have the opportunity to English education, field trips and access to materials that they do.  There's frustrating...this small number of students have difficulty being accepted by their peers since they don't have the same socioeconomic class status of their classmates.  Some of them arrive with their parents at school at 7 am and don't go home until 6 pm.  Can you imagine?  Also, it's one child per family.  How do they choose?  I wrestle with it on a daily basis but what I do know is that field trips like this gave those children something they otherwise would not have had.  They wore this experience on their faces that day.  The joy, the learning and appreciation of it all. 

10.  Interaction

When we heard the awful stories about these cats and saw how the cats interacted with their caretakers, it was pretty amazing.  Some of the cats seem to know that without this place they would still be in those horrific conditions and situations.  It's remarkable.  It was mutual caring and respect. 

We're headed back next year.  A great way to celebrate our learning, swim a little and just enjoy being together.