English teaching: Outdoor classes in Mallasa zoo

As part of my English teaching role as a volunteer for Up Close Bolivia I have recently organised some outdoor classes in the local zoo for my students. Mallasa zoo or "Zoo Municipal Vesty Pakos" covers 22.4 hectares, is dedicated to the conservation of wildlife, and has approximately 500 individuals of 78 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Most of the animals are representative of the major economic regions of Bolivia as well as elsewhere in the world. Animals in the zoo include jaguars, lions, pumas, spectacled bears, condors, llamas, deer, monkeys, snakes and armadillos.

The idea of the outdoor class is for the English students to benefit from a stimulating environment and to put their new English vocabulary and translating skills to the test. The challenge was for the students to observe the animals and translate the zoo information signs in the zoo from Spanish into English. I asked them to translate information for each animal in to appropriate categories e.g. habitat, diet, location, habits etc. 

An example of an information sign in the zoo for the Andean Fox

Once they had completed this for a few animals (which was definitely a challenge given the specialised vocabulary involved) each student then had to present their animal profile back to the group which they did very well. We had 11 students in total for the first class, which I was very pleased about, even if they did turn up 45 minutes late! For the second class we had 5 students to a ratio of 3 teachers; an invaluable experience for all involved!

English students with an Ocelot in the background!

The aim is for our English students to perfect their knowledge of the zoo animals in English, practise speaking about their animals and then give a tour of the zoo to English tourists. I am hoping that this will be a good challenge for the students, in order to apply their knowledge of English to a practical situation, to improve their confidence in speaking English as well as to promote local tourism and the practical uses of learning English in the community.

Teachers and students during the outdoor class

Las Cebras de La Paz: Introducing the road safety Zebras!

Last week we had the unique opportunity to be road safety zebras for the day on the streets of La Paz; a very surreal and entertaining experience!

Conceived in 2001 as part of Citizenship Education, the Municipal Government of La Paz introduced Zebras as playful and artistic elements on the streets to sensitize the public, drivers and pedestrians of the importance of using zebra crossings. When they were first introduced 11 years ago, people used to fight and kick people wearing zebra costumes in the streets. However it is now a respectable profession for young people in La Paz to be zebras - you wear a full zebra costume and bring positivity and friendliness to the streets of La Paz! Zebras help pedestrians cross the roads at traffic lights, help the elderly catch the right bus and generally aim to try and make the streets a happier place! http://www.facebook.com/lascebrasdelapaz?ref=ts&fref=ts

The zebra philosophy requires zebras to devote their best efforts for the benefit of society, imparting drivers to have consideration for children and the elderly, as well as promoting values ​​such as respect and tolerance. We had a full training induction and physical warm up to get us in to the spirit of the zebra character including lots of ridiculous stretches, facial expressions, hugging and basically making fools of ourselves to make us completely lose our inhibitions. They told us that we have to exaggerate all of our actions when we are zebras and be extra polite to people. We were paired up with a working zebra and then skipped off down the streets (literally!) to find our set of traffic lights. 

Me and a fellow zebra after our shift, working on the streets of La Paz

It is amazing the reaction we got on the streets; people waved and smiled at us and kids came and hugged me all the time! You have to be full of energy and dance around, waving people across the zebra crossing when the traffic lights turn red and thank drivers for waiting behind the crossing.

Me infront of San Francisco cathedral

The hardest thing about the job is definitely wearing the zebra costume; it is boiling and you wear a full padded zebra head which restricts your vision totally, apart from a small hole for your eyes, giving you restricted tunnel vision!!! This makes it very hard to see people, let alone the traffic lights which are generally suspended high above the road! It was a great experience and I have new found respect for the zebras I see dancing around in the hot sunshine for hours on end on the streets. They are doing a very unique and important job; I think most cities in the world could benefit from having some polite, respectful, energetic zebras to brighten up their streets!