Plan Ceibal was an initiative sponsored by the Uruguayan government to make sure every child had a laptop no matter whether they lived in the campo or Montevideo. It started in 2008 with the campo since it was easier to start in the less populated areas. It sent a message that they cared about the people in the campo. For some children, it might be the only laptop for the entire family. This organization is not part of the government, but works long with it. Ceibal stands for "Conectividad Educativa de Informática Básica para el Aprendizaje en Línea". The symbol of Plan Ceibal is the ceibo, a typical Uruguayan tree. While there, we learned about its implementation, challenges, and future endeavours.
When we returned, our Uruguayan hosts were waiting for us at the hotel, and we had lunch together and caught each other up on what had been going on. It was so good to see my host. The last time we were together was in February in Boston when she was leaving to go back home to Uruguay. After lunch, we got together to share our experiences with the first half of the exchange and our hopes for this one. Then, it was time to bring the gifts I brought for my host's school. I bought all sorts of educational/cultural things like a picture dictionary, flashcards, educational games and more.
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| Playing around with the laptops |
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| Felt like Santa Claus! |
Here is a picture of the group before we headed out towards Montevideo.
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| US-Uruguay Educator Exchange 2012
Here are a few more pictures from the rest of the night. We ate some dinner together, and then went out to the theater to see "Perdidos en yonkers". It was good because I understood most of it except when the little boy was yelling. It was nice to see theater. It has been ages since I've seen something in English or Spanish. A great way to start my weekend.
 
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