Busy Boss Lady

Ay Dios Mio!

When I came back to UPAVIM a month ago, I hit the ground running.  In addition to still teaching Kindergarten and First Grade, I am now also the English Program Coordinator (for the whole program) and the new Volunteer Program Coordinator (in charge of ALL volunteers).  I have been saddled with the very SMALL task of creating a vision and writing curriculum for the whole future of the English program.  I am training and guiding our current teachers, and developing a teacher training for our new team that will arrive in 3 weeks.  I am the liaison between parents/community/board members/UPAVIMas and the English program, conducting interviews, writing assessments, and building partnerships with other schools. I am also in charge of behavior management and support during our English program hours . . . which is no small task with our behaviorally-outbursty kiddos.  I have added classes to my community English plate, and teach adults for 2 hours every day after school.

My Volunteer Coordinator hat has me being the sounding board for every problem within UPAVIM.  The women come to me to tell me all of their stress and preocupaciones about everything from the pain in their feet and their son's delinquent behavior, to problems at work and offensive tattoos of the volunteers.  The volunteers (who while individually can be interesting and smart. . . collectively have the maturity level of my 1st graders) come to me with their monton of annoyances at each other.  I have to solve cleaning issues, work issues, "she said this" issues, and "the water hasn't worked for 4 days and we smell like the slum" issues.   We also have a college group that's here for 6 weeks, and they are travel virgins.  They need hand holding for everything - and so I also spend my mornings teaching them how to work with kids, and my evenings teaching them how to cook beans and hydrate themselves.  A la gran PUCHICA!!!  I swear it never stops.  I go to bed at night and my mind still races 100 miles per hour, long after my body has surrendered.  I dream about sending important e-mails, and then in real life I am late in sending the actual e-mails because it feels like I have already done it.

But, with all of that chaos and running around like a chicken with my head cut off . .. here's a secret that all of my siblings will tell you - I really LOVE being in charge.  I think it's an oldest sibling kind of thing. . .but bossing people comes naturally :-) I used to plan elaborate school lessons, teach them to my siblings on our playroom chalkboard, and make them do their homework.  I would play church and plan homoly's with fruit juice and circles of bread, making them sit through the whole mass.  I remember forcing Elizabeth to plan every detail of her future - from her first-date outfit to the layout of her future house - that she OF COURSE was going to be sharing with me.

This is definitely the busiest I've ever been, and the most I've ever been in charge of.  But I accept and enjoy the challenge right now.  I have some really close and wonderful chicas here that I lean on for support, I jump on the opportunity to go out and laugh with the women, and of course I still make time to play with the kiddos because those moments of jump rope races and slobbery cheek kisses and chalk drawings are the things that hug my soul.