Colimilla and Rancho Cordova Kids
26 February 2009 | Barra de Navidad
Gabriellas grandapa
What a wonderful day and change from the mundane life of cruising the Gold Coast of Mexico. I finally got the elementary school from Colimilla(which is a small community on the peninsula across from Barra de Navidad) hooked up with my Princess' school in Rancho Cordova for a video conference. I had to go up the day before and hook up the computer to make sure I could get Skype working properly. Then I had Grandma Pat in Sacto run through the process using her Skype connection. Then the day came and just like clockwork it was off and running. I think the kids here were a little intimidated by the large class at St. John Vianny and did'nt know what to ask. But after a little hesitation, they were getting into it. In fact, towards the end I had to keep telling them to quiet down so we could here the questons and answers. Here in Colimilla, we were fortunate to have Joanna, who is a fourth grader and has lived in Modesto for a few years, interpret for us. She did a fantastic job and was very excited about the whole event. I know Mrs. Reali(Gabriellas first grade teacher) did a lot of footwork to help pull this off......A big THANK YOU to you Gloria. The school here is a lot like a one room school in the country. There is one teacher and she has all the students from 1st grade to 6th grade. There is a total of 30 students and they are broken down to 1, 2, 3, and 4th grades in one room and the 5th and 6th grades in another. Then they have a computer room, thanks to a gringo couple from California who live here in a very nice house in Colimilla for about 7 or 8 months of the year. They invested in wireless internet hardware so they can transmit to the anchorage. We cruisers then pay them a fee to use the wireless from the ease of our boats. That money goes to the kids at the school and cruisers donate old computers and other school items. If it wasn't for the generosity of John and Vicky, these kids would have little or nothing to help them with their education. Next year we get to paint the complete school the right way so it will last at least 5 years. I could say more about the lack of government support for these outpost schools, but I don't think it would be to anyones benefit. Again, THANK YOU St John Vianny first grade class for participating in this cultural exchange expedition. The blog photo is of some of the students here and the pose was influenced by Gabriella.