It had been more than a year since I last taught a face-to-face TESOL class. Thanks to the titanic effort of a group of educators and professionals of other areas who still believe that quality education in Venezuela is possible and worth investing in, a new institution is now opening its doors to the people of Cumaná for a variety of classes that initially are meant to be short-term language courses, but that aspire to include other areas and mid-term programs.

I have just joined this team and have already started a Saturday English course for begginers. I could not be happier, even though we have many obstacles to tackle and challenges to face.

The Institution is called IFIE (Educational Training and Innovation Institute by its Spanish acronym) and it will have its headquarters in this old colonial house that is being restored with upmost care to try to preserve its former glory.

Most of the roofing, ceiling, columns, doors,and floor have been restored to appear as it was 200 years ago, but it has not been easy and some structures have been modified to fit new materials and more practical purposes.

The patio will allow students a resting area from which they can contemplate our emblematic fortress, San Antonio de la Eminencia Castle.

The facade has preserved its colonial structure and it couldn't look better. Hopefully, the proximity with the Governor's House will allow us some safety to work without having to deal with the fear of crime and/or violence that plagues the city. This, and other issues, makes it difficult for any private education project to succeed here because students and parents have to bypass a lot of obstacles to commit to a regular schedule (public transportation, gas, Covid-19 regulations, etc.).

That's why we will be combining online and live classes, which poses new challenges for my generation; too used to face-to-face interaction, too comfortable with traditional teaching methods, and now facing the prospect of adapting to the digital age or perishing. Even though we are implementing virtual classrooms, tech issues are preventing students from interacting as they should in between class sessions.

I still think we have a long road to go before we deem personal interaction obsolete and I plan to enjoy teaching English the best way I know for as long as I can.

Thanks for stopping by