Barranquilla, Colombia

We worked at Fundacion Pies Descalzos, the school started by Shakira in her home town. The school was just in its 2nd year of existence when we started there, so everything was still new and exciting, but also disorganized and being created on the fly. This included our English as a Second Language program, for which we were provided no curricular materials and little adminstrative support from the school. WorldTeach was great in their support and so was the host organization, Volunteers Colombia. We had some significant problems with our living situation, which compounded the challenges we faced in classrooms of 40 or more students living in poverty each day. However, this was the experience we signed up for and it was extremely rewarding because it was challenging. And living and working in Colombia was a dream fulfilled for me. I loved the country, the people and the opportunity to get to know both.