Day 1: WOW! 

What an experience this has been so far! I started my day by flying out of EWR to DFW (Dallas, Texas). I had a layover for several hours, so my friend and her husband were kind enough to pick me up and take me out for pizza and ice cream. Except, this wasn't any ordinary pizza place, they continuously walk around and bring you different slices each time. You can request more of what you like and pass on the ones you do not want to try. It's like a buffet at your table. It was amazing. After we hung out, they dropped me back at the airport where I met up with some of the other Fulbright grantees. That is when it became more real. It was so encouraging to see them in person again and to feed off of each other's energy and excitement. We flew to Brazil for about 9.5 hours. We met up with more of our group and were excited all over again. From there, we had to catch our connection to Uruguay. That flight was another 2.5 hours. Upon arrival, we went through customs and received our luggage. All of us got our luggage within minutes-it was magical! We were met by a shuttle that took us to our hotel. Immediately, we put our luggage to the side and were served lunch. Then, we had a slight break before attending a security briefing and a presentation on cultural expectations in Uruguay compared to the United States. It was very informative. After this, We had another break before heading over to the local mall to exchange dollars for Uruguayan pesos. It was about 40 Uruguayan pesos for 1 U.S. dollar. They also have many familiar brands like H & M and Zara, along with totally different ones. Their fashion is amazing. I might have to go back to do some shopping. :) Now, I am sitting in my hotel room before we have to meet for dinner. So, as you can imagine, it has been one exhausting day-in the best of ways! Still, I wanted to pop on here and give a little update. Stay tuned! 

Day 2: La familia. 

If there was one theme for today-it was family. The day started with sunrise near the water. Although it has only been a few days, our cohort has bonded over this experience already and feels like a collegial family of like-minded humans that care deeply about education and it serving as the avenue for systemic change. After our morning walk, we had three sessions with various speakers and esteemed leaders in education here in Uruguay. What was consistently clear was that educators and families had a voice and that voice was heard. 

When the need arose for a middle school in a rural town that was witnessing a high dropout rate post-elementary school, families planned amongst themselves, got educators and politicians involved, and now certain rural areas have a middle school for the first time, not only impacting the drop-out rate, but the community at large. In one area, an adult school was opened, and an 89 -year- old student enrolled. Many parents are now going back to school where their own children attend for night classes because when they were growing up in that town, there were no schools to attend. They understand the importance of an education-no matter what stage of life you are in. There is an emphasis on education and high value put on learning other languages such as Italian, Chinese, and English. Given Uruguay's geographical location where they are quite distant from English-speaking countries like the United States and Canada, and being from a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking continent where knowing or understanding English is unnecessary, they still seem to value the learning of English for purposes of entering the job market and being able to compete in it with the rest of the world. All of this while not abandoning their own culture, language, and customs. 

A key part of their culture and customs is the family unit. Schools take the time to learn about the families in their communities, their beliefs, cultural norms, political leanings, etc., to try and inform their teaching strategies. As an American teacher, when we are told that we are teaching the "whole child", I wonder...are we? Can we teach the whole child if critical parts of who they are or what influences their approach to education, like religion and politics, are considered taboo to discuss in the classroom? Therefore, it was interesting to see that when they referenced the whole child here, they also included the spiritual aspects of who these students were and that was also being given space and consideration. I also understand that that is easier to do when the majority of the students are the same religious and cultural background as was the case in the school I am referencing. But it was something that stood out to me. 

The evening ended with the Director of Fulbright in Uruguay hosting us for dinner. It was absolutely beautiful and so humbling to have someone in such an esteemed position invite us into her home. This is the level of hospitality we have seen from everyone we have encountered here. She asked us to reflect on our favorite part of Uruguay so far, and I responded that it was learning all the things I didn't know (Did you know that you get a DISCOUNT for using your credit card here?) and the warmth of the people. A few of us felt like a late-night treat so We ended the night with a McFlurry with TOBLERONE and watching a live game of rugby in the park. I am pretty sure the McFlurry is also fueling me to write this blog. Thanks for sticking around!

Stay tuned.

Day 3: Estudiantes.

Day three was my favorite so far because it was the first time we interacted with students. The first location that we visited was an organization that worked in Special Education, specifically focusing on deaf students. They shared the resources they have available and the curriculum they are developing for deaf students in Uruguay. We learned that one of the challenges here is that many families and students are not aware of the fact that these types of resources are available because when a baby is diagnosed, they are working with doctors and the focus stays on medical treatment as opposed to also working with educators to provide the child with tools to assimilate. Something else we discussed is how there is no universal Sign Language. This makes it more challenging for deaf students to connect with other students. People who speak different languages can use a translator or applications like Google Translate but those convenient resources are not as readily available for deaf children. In Uruguay, Sign Language is considered their first language, and Spanish would be their second language. The thought being put into this to create a shift in thinking was a beautiful conversation to be a part of.

After that, they took us to a middle and high school where the students come from very challenging backgrounds. some students live alone or are coming from environments of drug abuse and gang violence. What was still uplifting were the moments they were just being kids: running around, creating chaos- there was so much energy and excitement from friends meeting each other. Of course, many eagerly asked us questions like, "Estados Unidos?" I tried to explain that I was from Nueva Jersey, but they were more familiar with Nueva York. Don't worry, I am going to keep trying to get New Jersey in there! :) 

The dropout rate after elementary school was so high in this town since the kids needed to work or had no family at home to hold them accountable. They started this technical school to offer them another pathway so they could enter the job market if they needed to. They offer cooking, different trades, sports, robotics, etc. Their cooking class surprised us by preparing lunch for us. They were in chef's hats and we even had our own servers! They served us our drinks, our meal-everything was considered. To witness these kids, who had such difficult upbringings, serving us, was the most humbling reminder that gratitude is a choice. These kids could have been resentful or angry-why should they have to serve us? Who are we? But they took the time to give us that respect. They chose that option. By the way, the food was delicious. AND THEN we went to an elementary school-now that's my vibe. 

The elementary school was in a rural area-it took us two hours to get there. The school was tucked between beautiful fields. The principal of the school actually lives there with his wife. His grandfather (Or great-grandfather?) built the school and one of the teachers attended the school as a child! You can imagine the sense of community and family they must have at this school. You could feel the passion, the enthusiasm. Yes, a lot of it was part of a presentation and everyone was on their best behavior, but you could tell that the underlying feeling was genuine love for learning and that was refreshing to see. The principal split us into groups with a student guide. He said, "I trust my students" and let us go on the adventures they had planned for us. We measured trees, took temperatures, calculated distances, and experienced their butterfly garden and greenhouse. They are actually participating in a competition with NASA-so cool, right??? 

That same night I had to catch a 12:30 bus. Yes, 12:30. At night. How long was the bus ride? seven hours. That's right-seven. My new friends and I made the best of it and SLEPT. The bus was so comfortable and cozy that sleeping was not a problem. 

Stay tuned for what happened when we arrived on day 4! 

Days in Rivera, Uruguay

Whew! What a journey this has been. Due to our packed agenda, blogging has been a challenge, but I'll do my best to share some highlights. After our seven-hour-overnight-bus trip, we finally arrived in Rivera, Uruguay. We checked in to our beautiful hotel and went straight to our first school visit where the students were in their choir class. One of the other Fulbright teachers is a chorus teacher, so he taught a lesson to the Uruguayan students which was informative to watch. After this, we went to go visit a teacher training institution where we spoke to some of the students and professors. I was thrilled to see that they were learning about alliteration, similes, and metaphors-all concepts that Hillside students learn too! We strolled the local streets and saw Brazil across the street! Yes, Brazil and Uruguay are only separated by one street. The borders are open, so we are able to cross back and forth without any issues. The next day, we had what was probably my favorite school visit in Uruguay. This was a school in a rural area of Rivera that took us about an hour to reach. The majority of the way was one dirt road and kilometers and kilometers of fields. It was one of the most scenic drives. The school is like its own little world, functioning as its own society. The students eat breakfast there, they brush their teeth after every meal, and they also have a garden outdoors where they grow their own vegetables. On Wednesdays, the teacher, Lidia, holds cooking classes as part of their science lessons, and they use their school-grown vegetables to make the meals. This is an eight-student schoolhouse, so you can imagine the family feels that are created. The ages of the students range from 3 to 11. During meals, the older students serve the younger students. 

My students in New Jersey had written postcards and colored pictures to share with these students, so I was able to distribute those and the Uruguayan students started to write back. It was very meaningful to watch. After this, I was able to share my presentation about my family, my students, my school, what I do for fun and what some Americans like to eat. The kids were intrigued by Thai food. So much so that after we left, Lidia told us that they showed an interest in wanting to cook some Thai food. I will be asking my students for some recipes that we can share. The Uruguayan students will make the meal and share the photos/videos with us. I am hoping some of my students will want to use the recipe as well! When they served us lunch, they had a delicious brownie with m&m'sfor dessert. The most impressive part was how every student was expected to finish their meal before they would get dessert and every child followed those rules. No one complained, no one asked for less or more; they were appreciative of what they were given. Fortunately, they all got some brownies. SO DID I! :) 

I just happened to mention if there was horseback riding in that area since there were so many fields of sheep, cows and horses and she mentioned that the parent of one of the students would bring her horse because that is how they go home from school. On horseback! so cool! They were kind enough to let me take a ride on the horse and it was very exciting! I left my whole heart with this little schoolhouse. Lidia deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for the AMAZING work she is doing as the sole teacher, and principal, of this school. She is absolutely incredible and I am so humbled by her.

That was just our visit to one of the schools that day. Stay tuned for more. 

Wrapping up our time in Uruguay

So it has been some time since I Have blogged, but I am now safely home and am so excited to share the rest of my time in Uruguay with you. Since the last time that I blogged, our host teacher treated us to a night out of live music. Silvia has amazing energy and a contagious spirit. Her students are lucky to have her. The next day, we went on a scenic tour and saw different landscapes and greenery. We found a "Rivera" sign, which we posed with, of course. We also firmly believe that every city should have one of these for tourists like ourselves to pose with. haha. 

Following this, we went to go watch the U20 futbol (soccer) game at a restaurant and they won! Uruguayans were the U20 world champions. That was an incredible accomplishment to witness; the energy in the streets was unmatched. People were singing and dancing while blasting loud music. It was a memorable vibe. For dinner we had delicious empanadas, some of the best I had, along with papas fritas (fries) that came drenched in hot sauce-exactly how I like them!  

As we continued on our school visits the next day, there was a quote painted on one of the walls of one of the libraries that stood out to me. It was, "Los libros son amigos que nunca decepcionan", which translates to "Books are friends who never disappoint", which resonated with me as an ELA teacher. 

I delivered more of the postcards that my students in New Jersey had written, and watching the Uruguayan students read them and start drafting their replies was a magical experience. It seemed surreal. One moment those postcards were in the hands of fifth and sixth graders in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and the next moment they were in the hands of students in Rivera, Uruguay. Something about the physical delivery of the letters felt more impactful.

We then visited a high school and this was where I Facetimed two teachers at my school in New Jersey (Shout out to Mrs. Geiger and Mrs. Ponsi!) so that the students from New Jersey were able to participate in a live discussion with the high schoolers in Uruguay. They were discussing safety on the internet and when using social media. The high schoolers were welcoming of their ideas and the teacher was very generous for letting me use up some of her instructional time. What was evident in the Uruguayan classroom was that there was a deep trust between the teachers and students because the teachers had the kids use their phones for everything. They were using it to do research and to use Canva to create posters about internet safety. From there, they would Whatsapp their teacher the link for their work and the teacher would project that link for the whole class to follow along. This means that the students have their teacher's phone number (probably a work-associated one), but that level of trust and communication was interesting to see! 

I had mentioned to one of the host teachers, Lidia (I mentioned her previously), that I wanted to try some churros, so she took us to this cart, and when I tell you that I had to STOP in my tracks to process how delicious it was, that is what happened. The churro was filled with Dulce de Leche and it was THE most delicious treat. This was also the day that one of the students asked me if I was a Kardashian. It became a joke throughout the trip among us travel buddies. It doesn't help that my name starts with a "K". Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie...and Kiran? haha 

Something else that I noticed throughout our school visits was the use of outdoor space: Tires being used as containers or raised beds, greenhouses being maintained, and an emphasis on the environment within the curriculum. There was also a huge emphasis on performance, theater, and music. One of the private schools that we visited had a performance they were practicing and showed us what they had so far. Afterward, the whole school came out to the courtyard and sang for us. They sang for us in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It was not like one was prioritized over another. It was a natural flow between all three languages. What a beautiful appreciation for language. 

We then made our way back on the seven-hour bus ride to Montevideo from Rivera, and once we dropped off our bags at the hotel, we went to go watch a friendly match between Uruguay and Nicaragua in the same arena that hosted the first World Cup ever. It was a very exciting experience to watch a game at that location. Comparing it to an American football game, I noticed that it was very calm. There didn't seem to be too much alcohol being consumed, but mate (tea) seemed to be the drink of choice. 

The next morning, we took a walk and explored more of the neighboring areas in Montevideo since we did not get too much time to do that when we first got there. Local parks, etc. Following this, our groups had a very brief debriefing session about our experiences in our respective cities. To end the evening, we attended a ballet performance of Sleeping Beauty. It was a stunning play and felt like dessert for the eyes with all of the bright candy-colored costumes. The next day we shared our group presentations where we were asked to present about our experiences as a group. Basically, what did we do? What did we learn? That was an enlightening conversation. 

We got to do some souvenir shopping at a local market and it was a unique experience because as you walked around if you wanted to purchase something, one of the employees wrote a slip for you and kept it at the register, that way you did not have to carry anything around with you while you were shopping. It was also fun because you did not really remember what you already picked out. It's like when you get an Amazon package and you don't remember what you got-it's a fun surprise each time but you know you're guaranteed to like it since you're the one that picked it. 

Finally, we had a reunion with our host teachers for dinner. Remember, we had left the small city of Rivera and were back in the capital city of Montevideo, so the teachers that hosted us in Rivera met us in Montevideo for a reunion dinner. It was basically a big networking event. I have to give a huge shoutout to Martina. She was our tour guide, our sister, our friend, our mom. She kept us on schedule and advised us on everything. She made sure we got all of our flights, trains...everything. We cannot thank her enough. 

Another unique experience was when we went grocery shopping. There were free lockers for you to store your items so that you were not walking around with anything in your hands. I found this to be really convenient so you didn't need to lug anything around with you. Also, when you got your receipt there was a container to put the receipt in if you wanted it to be recycled instead of just thrown out.

Our flights home were chaotic in that there were many changes, delays, and cancellations, but thank God it all worked out. I started reflecting on my first few days by saying this and I'll end with this as well: the emphasis on family and community throughout my time in Uruguay was so clear and the notion that loving your students is the priority and what will ultimately get through to them over everything else. 

Fulbright required us to have a guiding question to focus us during our journey and the question that I landed on was, "What do I know to be true?" So much conflict is rooted in the belief that one's truth is the only truth. I wanted to know if there would be things I observed that were true for both the United States AND Uruguay, and potentially, globally. I jotted down notes on the fly throughout my travels and here is what I observed: 

Fun stationary is a great conversation starter. 

Calendars in primary grades are a must. 

Music is a great way to learn anything.

Community feels different in different places. No matter what definition you go by-it has a positive impact.

Diversity is layered and no matter which layer you are part of, whether it’s used as a strength or a barrier, is a choice. 

Teachers are the best humans on earth. 

When there is trust between teachers and students and teachers and administrators, it’s a whole new experience. 

Policy and government often clash with the status quo. 

To make a change, people will usually find fault in it first. 

The ones making the change are usually not the majority. 

Gratitude is key.

Ego and pride are different. Those working from a place of pride but not ego, seem to have the most contentment and openness. 

There is space for all religions races and sexes- if you want there to be. 

You don’t have to agree to coexist. 

Sunrises are serene everywhere. 

Playtime is a universal language.

Dessert has a separate stomach everywhere.

Children are not the problem. 

If you have any to add-I would love to hear them. Thank you to everyone that has stayed with me on this journey. If you have any questions, you can find me on Instagram at @missmasud.