A Driver for Supplies?

As a science teacher who has taught in numerous locations, I’m all too familiar with the never-ending battle of acquiring lab supplies in a timely and convenient fashion while trying to minimize expenses for myself initially and the school ultimately. Here in El Salvador, my science department is extremely well-equipped with the most organized and complete chemistry storeroom (bodega) I’ve ever seen and a physics bodega that would leave most schools drooling. However, after deciding to introduce my new students into the world of Whole Class Inquiry (having the class work together as a unit to solve a problem) I realized that I had neither baking soda, vinegar nor a sufficient number of ziplock baggies to accomplish this task. Of course, I decided this the night before I wanted to do the lab, and it was dark meaning I could no longer walk to the store to purchase these materials due to safety precautions.

While going door to door in the complejo trying to scrounge up enough for my first period before being able to walk to the store, someone mentioned to me that one of the drivers at the school will be happy to take me during my prep period. I figured, great, but I’m sure they need a certain amount of advanced notice, or some special form completed or signature obtained before this could become a reality. To my astonishment, I emailed the Transportation Coordinator requesting a vehicle and driver to take me to the grocery store at 11:45 that day for lab supplies. He replied, no problem, the driver will be waiting for you at the front of the school. I was cautiously optimistic that this lab just might happen.

My cautious optimism transitioned to unabashed giddiness when I came down the stairs from my classroom to find the driver there waiting for me, on time, with the door opened to greet me! Jorge, the driver, questioned me about where I needed to go and what I wanted to buy. Thankfully, I’d made note of the packaging from the baking soda to know that it was carbonate in Spanish so I was able to tell him that. But the process of me trying to remember the Spanish word for vinegar, resulted in Jorge being under the impression that I needed to by either wine or alcohol which didn’t seem to concern him in the least. After zipping around the grocery store in the most efficient manner, we determined that the first place didn’t have enough baking soda, so we bought what they did have and went on to a second location to complete the expedition. Jorge and I had a great conversation and got to know a lot about each other during this 40 minute excursion. The whole time I was practicing my Spanish and he was practicing his English and we definitely helped each other out when we got stuck!

When we returned to the school, Jorge helped me carry the 4 gallons of vinegar up to my classroom and I tipped him as is customary in the Salvadoran culture. Not only had he been a great driver and efficient store guide but we also had great conversation that was mutually beneficial for our second language acquisition! I proceeded down to the high school office where I was able to put my name and “Science Department” on the receipt and give it to the secretary and supposedly that’s all I need to go to get repaid. The efficacy of this last part of the process remains to be seen, but all the previous steps pretty much rocked my world, and I’m tickled to report that after the whole surprisingly simple process, the lab even went well! :)