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Ahh. Spring in North Texas. Ninety-five degrees yesterday; 64 this morning after the requisite 30 minutes in the tornado shelter while the rotation tried to decide whether to drop down for a visit. More storms to come through the week, but the temperature change will be less dramatic.
 
This shelter where I go has volunteers come down and teach crafts, mostly to the kids. So I’m thinking, what if the shelter people, especially the moms, already know how to do crafts and just need supplies?
The NGO has $$ but I wanted to try it out first before I asked them for anything. Brought down some wool for knitting and a friendship bracelet kit, with some extra beads and stuff (I don’t like “kits,” but you gotta start somewhere), and turned it over to the moms. Not sure if the knitting is going anywhere but the bracelets were a hit.
So I got to thinking, there’s only one “loom” in that bracelet kit, isn’t that like a bottleneck? don’t we need more looms? I don’t know from friendship bracelets, just that the kids like them. I spent HOURS online looking this stuff up and trying to make it work with my two left thumbs. Come to find out all you really need is a piece of hard cardboard and a butterfly clip. or a piece of tape. or a safety pin. LOL the 8-year-old boys are better at this than I am. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: When you google something, you don't necessarily get the simplest answers first.
As for the moms it’s hard to know how best to back them up because they are SO polite and retiring. Almost none of the volunteers speak Spanish, including the top dogs. I don’t think the residents are used to us talking to them at all. It’s awkward. (Also, my Spanish still kind of svcks. Turns out real humans talk different from people on TV shows.:oops:) They’ll do ~anything you ask them to whether they want to or not. And they don't seem very inclined to ask for anything.
The last crafts volunteer I saw down there got a migraine halfway through because she found it so stressful that the little kids kept trying to talk to her even though she already told them she doesn’t speak Spanish. The NGO bosses just sort of dumped her in the main hall and didn’t help her at all (I translated a little). And they wonder why people quit.:rolleyes:
My “inventory” task (aka the Augean Stables project) is going slow as molasses b/c I am getting 0 cooperation and the volunteers with more seniority have to piss on the fire hydrant and show me who’s not boss. The bosses keep trying to drag me into admin tasks and I keep saying oh hell no. The relationships are like walking on eggshells. Hey, if I wanted this kind of gnarly touchy stuff I would have joined the fvcking Foreign Service.
The Mexican managers are super nice but also super busy. I am trying not to be the kind of volunteer who’s all “hey look at me I brought cookies did you like my cookies hello I’m still here are you sure you don't want another cookie,” but at some point I’m gonna have to get their attention to help me figure out what I can do down there that’s actually useful.
Not today though. Today we get visiting dignitaries, so the NGO bosses want me working even though it’s not my usual day (“we would never want to STAGE anything [but please come down and be the performing monkey]”) (honestly, how dumb do I look).
I HAVE to get through this stage without losing my temper. This NGO seems to practically own that shelter. And I’m pretty sure the NGO bosses are also involved in everything else in this tiny town.
Bribing myself with the promise of ice cream. Lots of ice cream.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
 
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Keep learning a new word every day! Make the kids responsible to teach you a word in Spanish and in return you teach them one in English. Make it a game to see how many times in a day you can use it in conversation. Try to build the previous day’s word into the sentence/conversation as well. It will make the time together more rewarding and fun for everyone. Carry a dictionary just to make sure the kids don’t get you in trouble! Lol!!!
 
B, that is exactly the sort of ideas I need! Once the Augean Stables are done, I'm sure I'll be doing ESL tutoring. (I mean, what else do they need that I could do?) I'm looking for exactly those sorts of low-stress, fun ideas.
Trading a Spanish word for an English word is perfect.
 
Do not forget to include sign language into those vocabulary lessons!.Our fur children can also quickly learn to understand sign language. I hate to have to listen to neighbors yelling at their dogs to get them to obey. A barking dog is bad enough without the owner constantly yelling at the dog day and night.
 
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Do not forget to include sign language into those vocabulary lessons!.Our fur children can also quickly learn to understand sign language. I hate to have to listen to neighbors yelling at their dogs to get them to obey. A barking dog is bad enough without the owner constantly yelling at the dog day and night.
Make an investment in matching bark collars for barking dog and barking man. They'll figure it out.
 
OMG everybody in this organization trash-talks everyone else. And here I am trying to keep a straight face and go "uh huh" ... I go to a meeting and the bosses are saying all this stuff that, after spending a few days at the shelter, seems apeshit nuts to me, and people are looking at them earnestly and taking actual notes. Beam me up Scotty. And they schmooze the hell out of their favorite people, while to me, and this monster job they gave me that I'm actually doing instead of just talking about it, they can barely pay attention for a minute. Their favorite person just has to work into the conversation that he went to PhD skool, too.:rolleyes: You expect them to break out into air kisses any minute.
On the plus side, I don't think I have to go to any more meetings (what are they gonna do, fire me?) and the fact that they don't give a xit means that it may actually be possible to get rid of this huge pile of useless stuff, without people second-guessing and procrastinating -- after which there may actually be room for a couple of horses in the Augean Stables. At the ripe old age of 70 I might finally learn to ask forgiveness instead of permission.:rolleyes:
Now that the junk books, which were most of them, are gone, so what's left is manageable, the kids are actually coming in without being prompted and asking if they can borrow a book. Of course you can! Take two, they're small! They're bright and bored and I wish I could do more for them. Trying to get around in this organization is like walking on eggshells in a snakepit. But hopefully with time ... and with the @$$hats going north for the summer ... something will work out.
SORRY TO GO ON AND ON THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
 
dog.jpgturtle.jpg
My favorite mangy dog from the shelter (there are at least half a dozen), and the shelter turtle. Those kids do love their stickers, they'll put them anywhere. The kids all asked me when I was coming back. No seriously, how flattering is that??? (I think they just like me because I give them stickers.) I couldn't very well say NEVER, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT RUN THIS JOINT SUCK MONKEY BALLS. I really have to learn to not ask permission for every little thing and just barge in and do it. Some people learn that by age 30. Oh well. A good adventure more than not.
 
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My favorite mangy dog from the shelter (there are at least half a dozen), and the shelter turtle. Those kids do love their stickers, they'll put them anywhere. The kids all asked me when I was coming back. No seriously, how flattering is that??? (I think they just like me because I give them stickers.) I couldn't very well say NEVER, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT RUN THIS JOINT SUCK MONKEY BALLS. I really have to learn to not ask permission for every little thing and just barge in and do it. Some people learn that by age 30. Oh well. A good adventure more than not.
You're doing great work for kids that need someone doing great work. I'm glad you're actually doing the work. Because to be honest, my focus is on other things, but it makes me feel happy someone like you is helping.

You might not need my encouragement. But you have it. And my respect.
 
I am laughing my head off this evening. I just went to the HOWA Facebook Group page and now after every posting if you click on comments the comment pinned at the top of all responses is from Meta AI.
I am not seeing that being used on other Facebook groups I belong to so it must be an option that someone in HOWA decided to add to their group page. Maybe it will stop wrangling over who is right or wrong in the responses?
Nah that won’t do anything. Maybe HOWA admins should ask the META AI why people want to join a social media group instead of just using an AI to find answers to their questions.
 
Well, hopefully now that the Augean Stables Project is almost done (finishing touches tomorrow -- didn't get permission so just gonna go ahead and do it, howz that for the new me?), I can hopefully do something more for them than reach the topmost board game down from the shelf for the umpty-umpth time and shamelessly hand out too many stickers. It's a shame that the whole teaching program (such as there is, not much) is drowning in politics and I'm not trained or confident to teach. I HOPE there will be enough space for me to learn as I go and none of these massive shaky egos pulls the plug on me. If not, there's always stickers! I could get into stickers...
 
^^^if you want training it is available for free online. But of course it takes effort to seek it out and then stick to actually using the lesson plans as well as implementing them with students. Plus getting agreement with managers to use those methods. But if you want it to happen you will find the way to achieve it even if it takes compromises.
 
It definetly feels great heading into the longest sunlight hours of the year!

Northern Arizona weather is now lots of sunny days without any rain. Of course that will change by the end of June when the monsoon season begins to change the weather pattern which will continue on until the end of September. But for now it feels just about perfect as long as there is a breeze and some shade to enjoy in the mid afternoon when it gets too hot for being comfortable inside my travel trailer. Today was not too hot, but a mini heat wave with a couple of 90 degree days is on the way for next week. I will put up with it where I am as I am not yet ready to head towards the Flagstaff higher elevation areas.

I noticed the forest service has quit doing the prescribed burns as the fire danger has now gone into high risk status as the conditions are dry and very warm. High risk status is very normal for the month of June. But for the moment there is not a restriction on campfires in the Kaibab National Forest and that really astounds me. I do expect to see that change sometime next week.
 
^^^if you want training it is available for free online.
Not as true as you might assume. Random free resources of varying quality -- sure, like on any other topic on the interwebs. Usable training -- not so much.

There's a standard two-day training for volunteers, which AFAIK is still mostly offered in-person and IMO is not much use. The next step up from that usually runs 3-9 months and can cost a lot.

Even much of the paid training is not that great, and there is a lot of hype to wade through in choosing a program. For example, many of the "accreditation" claims, if the companies even bother to make one, are bogus.

(That takes bogus to a whole new level -- not just doing something bogus, or teaching in a bogus way, but runnning a bogus accreditation scheme. There seems to be a lot of money in bogus! And the English teaching field has definitely got its share.)

And in any case, as almost anyone who's spent time in classroom teaching could testify, the training is only about 1/10 of it.
Turning training into classroom skills is a huge learning curve.
Trying to do that without mentoring, double-huge.
In a toxic organization, triple-huge.
When the teachers are the most toxic people in the organization and have the total support of the boss, quadruple-huge.
And if the Mexican manager is already irritated at the US-side people (and if he could hear the icky condescending things they say about him in meetings, he'd be more so) ... what are we up to, quintuple?

IRL not so simple.

Not to say it can't be done. I still have a few cards up my sleeve. But like Kenny Rogers said, sometimes you do gotta fold 'em. Hopefully this won't be one of those times.

At least I got the Augean Stables done, so I feel like I've paid my dues and that's one good thing done even if I do have to walk away.

OK ENOUGH ABOUT THIS thank you all for listening.
 
Tomorrow morning I will likely get out all my shade cloth and start surrounding all but the north side of my trailer in advance of the 90 degree weather that does not have much of a strong afternoon breeze. Fortunately it is only a three day 90 degree event and that is not really leaving one of my favorite campsites for. If it gets too hot in the afternoons I can drive into the Grand Canyon Park and hang out at the air conditioned Maswick Food Court Cafeteria. It is a very big space with lots of tables. Not any issue from the staff at the park for using that as a cooling station as I do buy some cold beverages to drink while I linger. I can also go take a cooling shower at the Camper Services building while I do some laundry. This is not my summer first visit to the area to use those two ways of avoiding getting overheated. The park staff has their hands full rescuing tourist who do not know any better than to overdo it by hiking along the rim in the full mid-afternoon sun on 90 degree days.

Bit tight now I need a siesta. I went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a camp-mate so there is no other alternative but to do siesta time after that type of event 💤
 
Grew some arugula from seed in old greens containers. they're not really deep enough (should have 4") but it sort of works. you can make a little greenhouse by sticking two containers together, but they seem happier without the top.
so eventually you have to thin them. OK this feels a little like eating your pets. I would have sucked at 4H.IMG_20240602_175913012.jpgIMG_20240602_175937833.jpg
 
If it gets too hot in the afternoons I can drive into the Grand Canyon Park...
Have you had any problems finding a parking space in the park itself? We camped there for just two nights a few years back, and I really, really enjoyed the village-like experience, but seem to recall general parking was scarce.
 
Have you had any problems finding a parking space in the park itself? We camped there for just two nights a few years back, and I really, really enjoyed the village-like experience, but seem to recall general parking was scarce.
The parking near the shops along the rim and over at the Maswick food court can get very busy during the day after the shops open. One option is to park at the visitor center and take the free buses from one place to another. But there could be some walking involved. Those free buses run every 15 minutes.

Of course as required by law there are handicap parking spaces in front of most every location where there is parking.

I do not go into the park during prime time hours, I go in the morning before it gets hot and busy which means I prefer to show up around 8:00 am or earlier. I am also not after gift shop items so I only care that the grocery store and laundromat are open for business and both open early. The exception being I will go to the food court in the afternoon when the day gets hot to enjoy their air conditioning. But I go there well after lunch time and before dinner time. But I will still be lucky if I find a place to park in that lot. So I will generally end up walking a ways to get there unless I get lucky. The bus does stop there but it is on a one way loop which can make for a long bus ride over to one of the less frequented parking lots.
 

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