Ludoteca

Ludoteca

Author - Amy Kundinger

January 23rd, 2013

To live in San Pancho for four months took two years of active planning, saving, and goal setting.  One of my main goals was to volunteer at EntreAmigos, specially in the Ludoteca (toddler) area that has recently been added to the community center.  What I envisioned, was helping prep activities for Karin to lead.  But as I am learning, that isn't exactly how it's going ... yet ... but it will.

Karin is 16 years old and the mother of 7 month old boy, Nelson.  She is very sweet and kind-hearted.  She works in the Ludoteca from 2 pm until 6 pm Monday thru Friday.  She comes to work on time and does all her tasks, like washing down the toys 3 times a week; she does this very well.  She is also very shy and reserved.  In fact, I didn't notice until I got this picture that Karin sat up on the bench rather than down on the floor with the other mom's and children for the activity time. 

Nicole, the founder and director of EntreAmigos, requested that I work with Karin (who speaks no English and I speak no Spanish) to engage the children that come to the Ludoteca with organized activities.  She asked that I lead a few activities that Karin could watch and then start transitioning the activities for Karin to lead them. GULP.  Me lead?!?  There were no activities planned so I could choose what I wanted to do myself...which was both wonderful and scary.

Those of you that know what I do for Best Buy, know that I absolutely love my work in communications and supportive processes.  My role focuses on communications for the US Web (Dotcom) where I regularly get to present to large audiences, lead trainings, and assist the company's senior leaders with communications out to the massive network of our employees.  I've heard that public speaking is the #1 fear for most people, ahead of even dying!  For me, it ranks #1 for things I really enjoy doing but yesterday, I was sweating like I was in a hot yoga class rather than speaking in front of some toddlers.

Why so nervous? 

For starters, the  activity was to be in Spanish.  I don't speak Spanish.  Nada.  Since arriving in San Pancho, I have taken 3 of my 6 lessons in beginners Spanish where I have started to learn basic phrases and numbers.  But conversationally, I got nothing.  I gave myself one week to plan for the activity.  I wanted it to be simple:  provide an idea to the children, then ask them questions about it and get them engaged in an activity.  It involved reading the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  What do you see? And then doing a magnet board activity with colors and animals.  I thought to myself, this book isn't long and I already know it...in English. 

This is where my very involved relationship with Google Translate begins.  We are definitely BFF's!  I wrote out every line in my notebook (I love my notebooks!!) and then entered each sentence into Google translate to hear how the words were pronounced. Then, I rewrote the sentences phonically so I could wrap my brain around how to actually say the words.  Example:  Caballo (horse) is pronounce Ka-bye-yo.  I practiced reading out loud. A lot.  First to myself, then to Andy (who kept correcting my pronunciations in an annoying Alex Trebek voice) then to Arlo, then Alden.  I wrote out questions that corresponded to the story and practiced those.  I learned 20 animals and all my colors.  I tried to anticipate questions the kids would ask me so I could respond with some simple Spanish phrases.  I practiced hand motions for each animal.  I wanted the kids to think I really knew what I was doing and not clumsily getting through each line of the book sounding like Frankenstein.   To my surprise, this took me many hours.

As Tuesday approached, I got more anxious.  So many questions: What if no one showed up?  What if the kids couldn't understand me?  What if I blanked on the questions I had taught myself?  What if they weren't interested?  What if I said something I didn't mean to say, like the time a little boy introduced himself to me as Pedro and when I said it back it sounded like Perro to him....which means dog (still having trouble rolling my r's).  He cried.  His sister told me "He thinks you think he's a dog."  Not one of my finer moments in my three weeks of trying out Spanish.

As I pedaled up to EntreAmigos, I thought of my mom who taught for decades and rounded out her career dedicated to pre-schoolers at Mayflower Nursery school in Green Bay.  When I was in college, I would visit her classroom and marvel at how, seemingly without effort, she engaged twenty 3 years old's in three hours of learning & fun.  I thought about my sister-in-law who runs a delightful in-home daycare where she fills the days with creative and thoughtful art projects.  She moved to the States from the Philippines after marrying my brother.  She tackled English beyond the conversational aspects she knew, the Wisconsin cold, and started her own successful business.  They are very good at what they do because they love it.  Surely I could tackle Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  What do you see? en Espanol.  I began to relax, envisioning the fun of it rather than getting it "right."

And fun it was!!

To my delight, 12 children participated for the first activity time.  I introduced myself and instantly heard back a dozen little voices say "hola."   My heart sang.  I asked if they would help me read a book.   Again, the excited little voices piped out "Si! "

Encouraged, I opened the book and jumped in. 

I read "Oso pardo, oso pardo, que ves ahi?" (Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?) at a steady pace gaining confidence with each word.  I asked my first question "Se puede hacer un sodindo como un oso?"  And immediately a little boy and little girl stood up with their arms over their head and fingers pointed down like claws and growled at me.  I wanted to do a back flip I was so excited.  I just asked them if they could make a sound like a bear!!!  With each page, I asked a question of the kids and they were eager to participate.  After the book, I moved to the magnet wall and was instantly surrounded by the children!   They all wanted a chance to put an animal on the wall!

From start to finish it was just 20 minutes. 

20 minutes of pure fun.  One little girl even asked me if I was going to come back next week.  I told her "Si" and she did a little excited hop. Flattered, I did a little hop as well.  Karin also seemed excited and we are going to meet once a week to share ideas and begin the process of transitioning the activity time to her.  Activity time will be every Tuesday at 5 pm.

Volunteering has this funny way of giving back more than the giver provides.  It is a natural self-motivator.  Sharing with kids (your own and the millions of other kiddos out there) of your time and focused energy is beyond valuable, yet costs nothing.  It is the positive intent and eye contact that is more meaningful than getting every last detail perfect.  I was struck by the simplicity of a smile and how easily it translates in any language, inviting people to participate and partner. 

But most importantly, I see that if you put yourself out there you are much farther than where you were before.   Que ves ahi?

Amy Kundinger: Why? (Friday, January 18th)

por qué?

When Andy and I started telling people about our plans to move to a little fishing village in Mexico we'd always get this question:  "Why?"

Before we left the comforts of our home in Minneapolis I had answered this question many times with enormous optimism and starry visions of  a simple and dreamy way of life.  It was going to be just perfect. Now that we have been here for two and a half weeks I have new perspective that is far more meaningful and realistic.

Our reasons to "why" before getting to San Pancho were simple and have remained the same.   We wanted to:

• Consciously shift our gears.  
• Live simply with less but experience more together as a family. 
• Get Arlo in a Spanish speaking school and Alden exposed to as much Spanish as possible. 
• Focus on using my time and skills to volunteer at EntreAmigos, San Pancho's amazing community center.  
• Recharge our minds, find creativity and innovation by challenging ourselves with a new way of life.  
• Connect with new people 
• Learn first hand the challenges and joys of living in a small rural town by the ocean.  

I naively thought since Andy and I had visited San Pancho many times before that all the planning I had in spreadsheets and journal entries would magically come together on our arrival.  It has not...yet...but we are getting there. 

Instead the first two weeks have been an amazing adventure in what people here call "the adjustment."

When you vacation you do not experience "the adjustment" but when you live somewhere you do....and boy oh boy did I get an adjustment that I wasn't expecting.

I hadn't planned well enough for the challenges of getting into a new routine and it definitely shook me up.  By the second day I was really rattled.  The kids weren't used to the new house and made me a nervous mess with all the climbing, pulling, durability testing and hiding they were doing in the new space.  Not to mention the amount of breakables in the house (glass coffee table, enormous glass vases....clearly this house was not child ready.)  Alden was sick.  Arlo got a huge bug bite.  It rained continually.  It never rains in January.  We had no car (by design) but we also hadn't gotten bikes yet and it was very challenging to get anywhere with the kids.  I wasn't sure where to get food or how to prepare it.  The stove scared me as I had never used a match to start a burner or oven before.  The washing machine labeled in Spanish was very intimidating.

Plus, there are lots of new noises like coconuts that fall from trees in the dead of night that you would think a bomb went off, beat blasting Mexican music that would permeate even a sound proof room, firecrackers that make loud banging noises that local kids set off in the streets, competitive roosters and chickens that start their "cockadoodledo" sing off at 4am every single morning, trucks that roll through town announcing, in a loud repeated jingle via a mega speaker, what they are delivering (water, gas, furniture, mattresses, fruit, shrimp, fish, etc.)

Then there is "San Pancho Life" that takes getting used to.  Like:

• Bugs, lots of new and very different bugs, lizards, and other various critters, stray dogs and poop seemingly everywhere.  
• Electricity that goes out for no apparent reason and the common practice of 1/2 power where some of the power is cut off in the house and some outlets work at reduced levels.  
• Spotty, if any, wifi coverage in the house or in the town in general.   
• Phone coverage that goes out for the whole town from time to time 
• The only cash machine in town working about 2 days a week and businesses don't take credit cards 
• The huge amount of time spent getting, prepping, and cleaning up food.   
• The boys boycotting things they aren't familiar with, like just about everything I tried to feed them.
• Acclimating to school for Arlo, which was a two week process of eeking up to a full day.  
• Not having any daycare for the first two weeks for Alden and when we did, he cried the entire first hour he was there.  
• Like not being able to volunteer at the community center yet because we hadn't found our routine yet.  
• and a language barrier to boot 

You know, little stuff.   

Needless to say I didn't account for this in my planning.  I spent the first 48 hours wondering what the hell I was thinking bringing our two little boys here for an extended stay.  I even looked up flights to come home thinking it would be better to cut our loses now than go through more misery.  But Andy said each day would be better and he was right. 

Each day is a gift of finding out what we CAN do.  I'm realizing that what you do shapes you.  If you do the same thing you will remain in that same space.  That the only way to grow and experience more is to welcome change and realize you will be humbled, uncomfortable and exposed to your limitations.  But this is also where you will flourish. 

I can feel we are starting this evolution and it feels beyond amazing.

We moved the furniture around so that we all sleep in the same room where we close the door at night and put a fan on so we can sleep through the rooster and chicken sign off.  The kids are healthy and the bug bites come and go.  Days have been cool and dry a perfect way to ease into our new surroundings.  We got bikes and a carrier which has made getting around town so much less difficult (the cobblestone streets still make for a popcorn popping like experience but we are very lucky that our main route to Arlo's school is pretty flat.)  I stop at the fruit and veggie truck every day.  I found the tortilla factory and buy their amazing tortillas, totopas (chips) and salsa nearly daily.  The little pasta restaurant in town will makes me a veggie sauce once a week that I add over noodles,  I found Juanita, a lady in her 70's, who makes amazing tamales, and the little rotisserie chicken stand....all of which my boys absolutely gobble up.  With a little guessing, I figured out the stove and washing machine and have successfully cooked meals and cleaned clothes without injury or disaster.  We are all getting familiar with our new surroundings...when Alden hear's the chickens he almost always says "crazy chickens!"  We have all become accustomed to the phrase "ver la caca" ...."watch for poop" ...when we walk anywhere in town.  We are in the practice of washing our hands and taking off shoes immediately on entering the house.  Arlo had his first full day of school today and Alden is bringing home cute projects from his 3 hours at daycare.  The boys LOVE Mexican music and dance to it almost the instance someone presses "play."  They have also learned the truck jingles and even tell me when the water truck is coming.  We eat only at the kitchen table to reduce mess and critter attractions.  We know what to do when the power goes out and got flashlights for back up.  I will be leading my first toddler activity at the community center on Tuesday.  Things are coming together!

We go to the beach about two times a week and there I always remember why we came to San Pancho in the first place.  The beach is where Andy and I can take in the amazing surroundings and get into great conversations. The boys love playing in the sand for hours making castles and "roads" and to have the waves "tickle their toes."  We see baby turtle releases, watch amazing sunsets and meet the friends we are making here.  We don't have a TV.  We aren't checking our phones.  We use our "manpower" to get everywhere.  We are connected in a much deeper way - to each other.    It is one of the answers to "why" we came.  I am glad we are here.