Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Peter Pan!
Last weekend the NPH Theater Company (Ok I just made that name up but it sounds official…) presented “Peter Pan” to the family of NPH. Julissa, one of the girls from Bachillerato, thought of the idea and pitched it to Meghan back in March and the process began. A bunch of us translated the script from English to Spanish, which was then adapted to Chapín Spanish (aka Guatemalan) by one of the tios. After that, the kids began auditions and practices for the play. They practiced 2-3 times a week every week and, with the help of a bunch of the volunteers, they created sets, made costumes, received donations, and worked incredibly hard. After all that work (and 3 very long months) they put on 3 awesome performances of the show :). Congratulations to everyone involved!
The audience getting revved up!
Wendy (Rocio), Peter (Oscar), and Peter's shadow (Angel)
Smee (Jonathan) with a fellow pirate (Iris)
Smee and Captain Hook (Elmer)
Some of the Lost Boys
The Indians capturing "Juan" (Alejandro)
Tiger Lily (Suceli), Smee, and Captain Hook
Smee, Captain Hook, and Peter
The Lost Boys and the Indians getting together
Tiger Lily, Peter, and the Indian Chief (Cesar) after bringing Tiger Lily safely back home
Peter reading a ransom note!
Peter arguing with Campanita (Tinker Bell...aka Darling)
Some of the Lost Boys and Wendy and Miguel (Kevin) after being captured by the pirates
Peter and Captain Hook!
Some of the cast after their last performance :)
Monday, June 27, 2011
Día del Maestro
June 17th was the last day of school before the kids here at NPH left for a week of vacation. Approximately half our kids were able to go home to spend a week with their families, while the other kids at least got a week off from school. Friday also marked the day to celebrate “Teacher’s Day” here at NPH.
The day started off with presentations from each of the Básico classes for the teachers. There were traditional dances, songs (including one that Hugo sang to the music teacher entitled “I’m in Love with Your Daughter” now THAT was awesome!), skits, and competitions…including the one that I got roped into. They asked for 2 male and 2 female teachers to go to the front and after hearing my name from the audience I was corralled to the front for the presentation. Our task? To be the first contestant to pour soda from a bottle into a balloon…and then drink it out of the balloon. The challenge? The men got Pepsi…the women got some sort of weird soda concoction that tasted like a combination of 7-Up and cough syrup. Needless to say…I didn’t win…but I was ok with that…because the winner had to do it again! (My hands were also dyed red for a good 5 hours afterward…)
Traditional Guate dress
Girls doing a traditional Guatemalan dance
Hugo and Company singing "I'm in Love with your Daughter"...so much passion!
Racing to finish our soda!
A segundo class singing to the teachers
Acting the fool...aka completely drunk making fun of the Gym teachers
Anyhoo! After the presentations, each of the teachers was assigned to a classroom where the kids had prepared something special for them. In our classroom the kids had brought in the materials to make everyone sandwiches: bread, ham, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise…not exactly what I would have picked…but how can you say no? We ate our sandwiches and then it was time for all the English teachers to be judges at the festivities for Primaria.
The kids preparing our meal
Now when I hear “Día del Maestro” I’m thinking – awesome – a day for the teachers to have fun and relax, right?? WRONG. Instead of having fun and relaxing and doing nothing, the English teachers became judges for the Primaria games…and I got stuck with the stupidest game I’ve EVER seen ANYWHERE (and I’ve seen some pretty stupid games here…) Basically there was a huge bucket filled with water. The students were given sponges and told to fill a tube that was COVERED in holes (including a huge one on the bottom) with water so that a golf ball would pop out the top. Doesn’t sound THAT awful does it? Maybe you’ll change your tune when I say the tube was about 3 feet long and had roughly 100 holes in it. AND GO!
Trying to make the longest line of clothes and people...
Alphabet volleyball
The world's worst game.
The teams would try to achieve their task as a team together for roughly 3 of the 10 minutes they were supposed to be playing…and then they would forget about that impossible idea and instead begin pelting each other with the dripping wet foam sponges and trying to steal the hose out of my hand. I ended up completely soaking wet and covered in mud. Not exactly my idea of a fun way to celebrate teachers…
The day started off with presentations from each of the Básico classes for the teachers. There were traditional dances, songs (including one that Hugo sang to the music teacher entitled “I’m in Love with Your Daughter” now THAT was awesome!), skits, and competitions…including the one that I got roped into. They asked for 2 male and 2 female teachers to go to the front and after hearing my name from the audience I was corralled to the front for the presentation. Our task? To be the first contestant to pour soda from a bottle into a balloon…and then drink it out of the balloon. The challenge? The men got Pepsi…the women got some sort of weird soda concoction that tasted like a combination of 7-Up and cough syrup. Needless to say…I didn’t win…but I was ok with that…because the winner had to do it again! (My hands were also dyed red for a good 5 hours afterward…)
Anyhoo! After the presentations, each of the teachers was assigned to a classroom where the kids had prepared something special for them. In our classroom the kids had brought in the materials to make everyone sandwiches: bread, ham, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise…not exactly what I would have picked…but how can you say no? We ate our sandwiches and then it was time for all the English teachers to be judges at the festivities for Primaria.
Now when I hear “Día del Maestro” I’m thinking – awesome – a day for the teachers to have fun and relax, right?? WRONG. Instead of having fun and relaxing and doing nothing, the English teachers became judges for the Primaria games…and I got stuck with the stupidest game I’ve EVER seen ANYWHERE (and I’ve seen some pretty stupid games here…) Basically there was a huge bucket filled with water. The students were given sponges and told to fill a tube that was COVERED in holes (including a huge one on the bottom) with water so that a golf ball would pop out the top. Doesn’t sound THAT awful does it? Maybe you’ll change your tune when I say the tube was about 3 feet long and had roughly 100 holes in it. AND GO!
The teams would try to achieve their task as a team together for roughly 3 of the 10 minutes they were supposed to be playing…and then they would forget about that impossible idea and instead begin pelting each other with the dripping wet foam sponges and trying to steal the hose out of my hand. I ended up completely soaking wet and covered in mud. Not exactly my idea of a fun way to celebrate teachers…
Star of the Moment
So I’m not exactly sure why I never did this in the past, but it’s about time for it to happen. Today’s “Star of the Moment” is dedicated to one of my favorite kids here at NPH, Hugo. Hugo is an INCREDIBLE kid. He’s in my Primero Básico class and is an excellent student – he’s always respectful, always raises his hand, and always gets good grades. He’s also just an overall sweet guy – always surrounded by friends, a great sense of humor, wonderful singer, and always laughing and having fun. Hugo is one of the handicapped children here at NPH. While I’m not exactly sure what happened, he walks on crutches. But he never asks for help and he never complains. Instead, he always has a smile on his face…like I said – an amazing kid :). And so for these reasons and so many more, I dedicate this post to Hugo :).
Excursión de Básico
Last Thursday (June 16) all of the teachers went on an excursion with the students of Básico to Esquintla, an area of Guatemala about an hour and a half south of us, to hang out, relax, and go swimming! A few of the teachers had been to this finca (farm) before and agreed it would be a great place for the kids – swimming pools, tons of open land to play on, basketball courts, lots of walking paths through a forest/jungle, and located on a river – perfect!
We set out at 8 am in 3 buses and arrived, drenched in sweat, and ready for some fun. I’m not going to lie – at first I was incredibly nervous. I mean, most of our kids don’t know how to swim and the pool was fairly deep (and the current in the river pretty strong), but once we got there, I knew it would be a great day to just relax and hang out with our kids (and amazingly most of them could reach the bottom of the pool – perfect!) We spent the day wandering around the jungle (after crossing the world’s most rickety/scary bridge), swimming in the river and pools, and eating what were supposed to be hamburgers… (and I also spent the time reading Bridal magazines – thanks for the latest one mom :) and answering questions about my favorite topic – my wedding! Woo!) Overall it was a really relaxing day and a lot of fun :).
The world's most rickety bridge...
Martin swimming in the river
Iris, Odelia, and Daniela
Hanging out by the pool
Corinna and I walking in the jungle!
We set out at 8 am in 3 buses and arrived, drenched in sweat, and ready for some fun. I’m not going to lie – at first I was incredibly nervous. I mean, most of our kids don’t know how to swim and the pool was fairly deep (and the current in the river pretty strong), but once we got there, I knew it would be a great day to just relax and hang out with our kids (and amazingly most of them could reach the bottom of the pool – perfect!) We spent the day wandering around the jungle (after crossing the world’s most rickety/scary bridge), swimming in the river and pools, and eating what were supposed to be hamburgers… (and I also spent the time reading Bridal magazines – thanks for the latest one mom :) and answering questions about my favorite topic – my wedding! Woo!) Overall it was a really relaxing day and a lot of fun :).
Monday, June 20, 2011
DON’T EAT THAT
Last Wednesday Katie, Meghan, and I went up to the comedor to grab lunch – rice, beans, and carrots…pretty standard. But when we were walking out of the comedor, Yeimy (the librarian) ran up to Katie, whispered something in her ear, and then ran to sit down again. On the way out, Meghan and I started nibbling on our carrots until Katie told us “Don’t eat that.” Turns out, there were little beechos (aka beetles) in our lunch! (Don’t worry – not in the carrots!) When we got home we examined our plates a bit closer and, sure enough, they were covered in dead little baby beetles. They were so tiny, that if I hadn’t been told, I would have mistaken them for herbs and spices….which two of the other volunteers had already done and had eaten the whole thing… and which also begs the question…how many times has this happened since we’ve been here…and how many baby beechos have I already eaten??
I guess it’s no surprise why I just had parasites for the third time since being here…
I guess it’s no surprise why I just had parasites for the third time since being here…
Teaching a real lesson
Sometimes teaching English here at NPH I feel like I can’t get my point across. Either the kids don’t understand why they need to learn English (or pay attention or be respectful), or they don’t feel like listening, or on some days, they flat out just don’t like you. It happens.
Last Tuesday I was just having one of those days – the kind where you can’t help but feel like everything’s going wrong. I went to my fifth grade class and everything was more or less alright, but one of my best students, Rivaldo, was misbehaving. After class I asked to speak with him and he kept giving me the cold shoulder, wouldn’t listen, and walked away from me. After a little goading from his 5th grade teacher, he finally came outside to speak to me. I asked what was going on and how he was feeling and he immediately got defensive and said he didn’t do anything wrong. I said something to the effect of: “Rivaldo – you are a really smart boy and you are one of the best behaved students in the class. I would really like it if we could work together to improve your behavior,” and the like…this went on for a good 5-10 minutes…
Now, I’ve had this talk many times in the past few months with various students trying to get to the root of a certain problem…yet none of them has ever responded the way that Rivaldo did. He looked at me, almost with a tear in his eye, and told me that he was going to change his ways…and that he was a good student…and that he knew he could do better. And that was that.
A lot of kids here at NPH are completely unaffected. They don’t understand the impact that their words and actions have. They don’t understand that they are really good kids and that they can choose the way they act and the way that others perceive them. They don’t understand how they affect other people, and a lot of times, they don’t receive positive individualized attention when they’re having problems. A lot of times here I feel like I’m not making any sort of difference in these children’s lives. But then something like this happens, and I remember why I’m here.
Last Tuesday I was just having one of those days – the kind where you can’t help but feel like everything’s going wrong. I went to my fifth grade class and everything was more or less alright, but one of my best students, Rivaldo, was misbehaving. After class I asked to speak with him and he kept giving me the cold shoulder, wouldn’t listen, and walked away from me. After a little goading from his 5th grade teacher, he finally came outside to speak to me. I asked what was going on and how he was feeling and he immediately got defensive and said he didn’t do anything wrong. I said something to the effect of: “Rivaldo – you are a really smart boy and you are one of the best behaved students in the class. I would really like it if we could work together to improve your behavior,” and the like…this went on for a good 5-10 minutes…
Now, I’ve had this talk many times in the past few months with various students trying to get to the root of a certain problem…yet none of them has ever responded the way that Rivaldo did. He looked at me, almost with a tear in his eye, and told me that he was going to change his ways…and that he was a good student…and that he knew he could do better. And that was that.
A lot of kids here at NPH are completely unaffected. They don’t understand the impact that their words and actions have. They don’t understand that they are really good kids and that they can choose the way they act and the way that others perceive them. They don’t understand how they affect other people, and a lot of times, they don’t receive positive individualized attention when they’re having problems. A lot of times here I feel like I’m not making any sort of difference in these children’s lives. But then something like this happens, and I remember why I’m here.
Last Kermes!
Last weekend (June 11th…I know…I’m behind again) was my last Kermes ever here at NPH. Needless to say, I wasn’t too excited about it (although I was THRILLED that it was the last one!) They’ve definitely been flops in the past and I wasn’t too enthusiastic over the theme – “Carnival.”
I was assigned to the group for the water balloon toss and thought…alright. This could definitely be worse. I showed up last Saturday afternoon ready to fill water balloons and was amazed to find all the kids excited to play all the various games that were set up. Among them we had: ring toss, a relay race putting on different clothing and running across the comedor, a new version of musical chairs (music played and when it stopped the kids had to be the first to grab an empty soda bottle in the middle), toss the beanbags, and of course, the water balloon toss.
Maria tossing a bean bag
Playing "musical chairs"
There was a major different between this Kermes and others in the past. Usually the tios and tias bring all of the kids and they play games in sections. In addition, the kids are normally herded between every station according to a set schedule. Instead, this one was completely free – kids could come and go as they pleased and play whatever games they wanted…and what we thought would lead to disaster actually lead to a really fun day!
Michael with Yay yay doing his monkey impression
Luis Fernando aka "Weecho" aka adorable baby!
My station started out INCREDIBLY hectic – kids grabbing water balloons from all angles, stealing them, taking one and having their partner take one so they could continue to play even after they got out, etc. It was exhausting (especially while trying to take pictures at the same time!) But after a few minutes we figured out how to get ourselves organized and everything went smoothly. The kids stood in line, respected the rules, didn’t push each other, stopped stealing the balloons, and waited for their turn – it was amazing (and unheard of!) The kids had a great time playing and we had a constant influx of visitors :).
Water balloon toss!
Yeimy and Jhoselin didn't really understand the balloon toss...but I think that might make them more adorable...
After each round/game, the winners were given tickets with their name and section on them to be put into a raffle prize drawing. Normally at Kermes kids play in teams and the whole team gets little prizes like key chains or pencils. This time around, however, the kids played individually…meaning the prizes were a LOT more awesome than normal (aka games like Connect 4, soccer balls, beanie babies, books, marker sets, etc.) The kids were soooooooooooo excited about winning something for themselves that they had earned and everyone had a wonderful time – it was seriously an amazing Kermes!
The kids ready to get at the prize table!
I was assigned to the group for the water balloon toss and thought…alright. This could definitely be worse. I showed up last Saturday afternoon ready to fill water balloons and was amazed to find all the kids excited to play all the various games that were set up. Among them we had: ring toss, a relay race putting on different clothing and running across the comedor, a new version of musical chairs (music played and when it stopped the kids had to be the first to grab an empty soda bottle in the middle), toss the beanbags, and of course, the water balloon toss.
There was a major different between this Kermes and others in the past. Usually the tios and tias bring all of the kids and they play games in sections. In addition, the kids are normally herded between every station according to a set schedule. Instead, this one was completely free – kids could come and go as they pleased and play whatever games they wanted…and what we thought would lead to disaster actually lead to a really fun day!
My station started out INCREDIBLY hectic – kids grabbing water balloons from all angles, stealing them, taking one and having their partner take one so they could continue to play even after they got out, etc. It was exhausting (especially while trying to take pictures at the same time!) But after a few minutes we figured out how to get ourselves organized and everything went smoothly. The kids stood in line, respected the rules, didn’t push each other, stopped stealing the balloons, and waited for their turn – it was amazing (and unheard of!) The kids had a great time playing and we had a constant influx of visitors :).
After each round/game, the winners were given tickets with their name and section on them to be put into a raffle prize drawing. Normally at Kermes kids play in teams and the whole team gets little prizes like key chains or pencils. This time around, however, the kids played individually…meaning the prizes were a LOT more awesome than normal (aka games like Connect 4, soccer balls, beanie babies, books, marker sets, etc.) The kids were soooooooooooo excited about winning something for themselves that they had earned and everyone had a wonderful time – it was seriously an amazing Kermes!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Getting my nails did
Last Thursday we English teachers got an interesting proposition from one of my students, Alexander:
“How would you like to get a massage and manicure right now?”
Umm where do I sign up??
Alex lead us to the Belleza – the beauty workshop – where the kids have been learning how to give hand massages, manicures, and pedicures. I plopped down in a chair and relaxed myself as another of my students, Jhoselin, got to work on cutting my cuticles and giving me a massage. Although it certainly needed work, she definitely earned points for diligence, giving me an almost 20 minute hand massage – it was great! After that she got to work painting my nails – a French manicure. Now…it was FAR from the best manicure that I’ve ever received, but I can certainly say she tried and that she had an excellent sense of humor about it. Every time she would mess up she would just look me in the eyes and say “borralo” (erase it) wherein I’d wipe my hands on the towel and we’d start over…it took us a while…and even after roughly 30 minutes it was barely presentable, but it was a LOT of fun to say the least – talking to her about life and her future, gabbing on like school girls about boys – you name it. While my manicure left something to be desired – she definitely had the “therapist-style” manicurist vibe going on :-p.
“How would you like to get a massage and manicure right now?”
Umm where do I sign up??
Alex lead us to the Belleza – the beauty workshop – where the kids have been learning how to give hand massages, manicures, and pedicures. I plopped down in a chair and relaxed myself as another of my students, Jhoselin, got to work on cutting my cuticles and giving me a massage. Although it certainly needed work, she definitely earned points for diligence, giving me an almost 20 minute hand massage – it was great! After that she got to work painting my nails – a French manicure. Now…it was FAR from the best manicure that I’ve ever received, but I can certainly say she tried and that she had an excellent sense of humor about it. Every time she would mess up she would just look me in the eyes and say “borralo” (erase it) wherein I’d wipe my hands on the towel and we’d start over…it took us a while…and even after roughly 30 minutes it was barely presentable, but it was a LOT of fun to say the least – talking to her about life and her future, gabbing on like school girls about boys – you name it. While my manicure left something to be desired – she definitely had the “therapist-style” manicurist vibe going on :-p.
A weekend away
Last weekend Nicole, Erika, and I headed out for a nice long weekend at the lake. We arrived Friday night at our “hotel” aka La Casa Amistad. I put hotel in quotes because it’s not actually a hotel…it’s an adorable home owned by Juan Carlos, a local Guatemalan, and Urs, a Swiss non-profit founder – quite the interesting couple! Many friends of mine had stayed with the two of them and their names were very familiar…and I felt SO lucky to be welcomed into their home with loving arms :).
Urs met our volunteer coordinator, Erika, a few years back on a random trip to the middle of nowhere Guatemala. The two became fast friends and Urs and Juan Carlos have since opened their doors to so many of the volunteers at NPH. Their home is adorable – complete with a floor plan open to the elements, hammocks in the hallways, an amazing rooftop, and an ADORABLE dog, Mona. In addition, they only take in friends or friends of friends…and they take a picture of every person who stays in a room and hang it up – so you can see all the people who have come before you! Won’t lie…it was a little creepy…but also really homey to see so many of my own friends adorning their walls. We gabbed for most of the night eating the DELICIOUS homemade dinner Juan Carlos had whipped up (veggies au gratin with soup and bread and rice…seriously. Amazing.) and talking about movies and politics and literally anything we could think of. It was really awesome to hang out and honestly feel like we were just talking with friends…not to mention feeling so safe and welcome in their home – it was an awesome experience to stay with them :).
We went to the lake with a lot of BIG plans for the weekend. Top items on our list? 1. Back strap weaving. 2. Spending a day lying at the pool. 3. Riding caballos (horses) to the nearest volcano and 4. Getting massages in San Marcos…aka THE place for relaxation at the lake.
Saturday morning we asked Urs if he knew a place in the next town over where we could take a back strap weaving class. Back strap weaving is a part of what Guatemala is known for. Women here create nearly all of their clothing (and definitely all their traditional clothing) by hand. The women weave their clothing by attaching their yarn to a tree to anchor themselves and then leaning back in a strap, which wraps around their bodies…hence “back strap weaving.” Urs replied, “My neighbor gives classes – do you REALLY want to go to the next town over?” Well OF COURSE NOT! Instead, he walked us straight over to his neighbor’s house, Manuela, and she agreed to take on Erika and myself as her newest students :). We got right to work taking strings of yarn and forming them into balls (to make our jobs easier for later)…
Winding up my yarn
After that, we began the process of winding it around a few poles that she had on her kitchen table to create the basic shape.
Getting my yarn ready to weaving
Then we began the REAL process of weaving. Manuela took our yarn, wrapped it around a tree, put about 5 wooden sticks in the middle of it, showed us the process a few times and told us to get to work for ourselves! There were so many steps….it was definitely a little nerve-racking!
Biting her nails as she watches Manuela...and realizing she needs to do it too...
Hard at work!
We sat in Manuela’s kitchen/backyard (basically an outdoor area behind a part of the house) and talked to her about her life and her family and well…everything. She told us that she has NINE kids and that she is very proud of the education that they receive. We met a few of them as they wandered in and out of the home…but spent the most time with Letizia – her youngest and DEFINITELY most outspoken! Leti really connected with Nicole (who had come to visit us for a while as we weaved) and told us all about her life and even sang us a few songs :).
Letizia :)
We spent the entire morning into the afternoon working. Manuela told us that the weaving could take as long as 4 hours…yet there we were on hour 4…and not even halfway done. WHAT? Around 2 pm it started to rain and we had to call it a day. We left Manuela’s house with promises to return the next morning and wandered off to find some delicious food. We had dinner with Urs and Juan Carlos again before passing out for the night.
The next morning we awoke to a DELICIOUS homemade breakfast of eggs and beans and platanos and fresh fruit – what more could you ask for? Erika and I then headed back to Manuela’s for the rest of our class. Three hours and a LOT of money later – we were both staring at our finished projects – our beautiful Fajas (traditional Guatemalan belts worn with traditional traje (dress).) It took us 7 hours to complete (she only told us 4 because she thought we'd want HER to finish it if we got too tired...yea right!) – but overall it was definitely worth it for such an amazing experience with such a wonderful woman :).
The beginning of Day 2: look at me go!
Us with our wonderful teacher, Manuela!
Close up
The finished product!
I wish that Erika and I could say we knocked everything off our “list of things to do at the lake”…but unfortunately that was the only one we got to…after all…we spent 7 hours making belts! In addition, a fast moving rainy season at the lake impeded a lot of our plans…but we still came out winners AND Erika and I are planning another trip to the lake for next weekend – so horses, pool (hopefully), and massages – here we come!
Urs met our volunteer coordinator, Erika, a few years back on a random trip to the middle of nowhere Guatemala. The two became fast friends and Urs and Juan Carlos have since opened their doors to so many of the volunteers at NPH. Their home is adorable – complete with a floor plan open to the elements, hammocks in the hallways, an amazing rooftop, and an ADORABLE dog, Mona. In addition, they only take in friends or friends of friends…and they take a picture of every person who stays in a room and hang it up – so you can see all the people who have come before you! Won’t lie…it was a little creepy…but also really homey to see so many of my own friends adorning their walls. We gabbed for most of the night eating the DELICIOUS homemade dinner Juan Carlos had whipped up (veggies au gratin with soup and bread and rice…seriously. Amazing.) and talking about movies and politics and literally anything we could think of. It was really awesome to hang out and honestly feel like we were just talking with friends…not to mention feeling so safe and welcome in their home – it was an awesome experience to stay with them :).
We went to the lake with a lot of BIG plans for the weekend. Top items on our list? 1. Back strap weaving. 2. Spending a day lying at the pool. 3. Riding caballos (horses) to the nearest volcano and 4. Getting massages in San Marcos…aka THE place for relaxation at the lake.
Saturday morning we asked Urs if he knew a place in the next town over where we could take a back strap weaving class. Back strap weaving is a part of what Guatemala is known for. Women here create nearly all of their clothing (and definitely all their traditional clothing) by hand. The women weave their clothing by attaching their yarn to a tree to anchor themselves and then leaning back in a strap, which wraps around their bodies…hence “back strap weaving.” Urs replied, “My neighbor gives classes – do you REALLY want to go to the next town over?” Well OF COURSE NOT! Instead, he walked us straight over to his neighbor’s house, Manuela, and she agreed to take on Erika and myself as her newest students :). We got right to work taking strings of yarn and forming them into balls (to make our jobs easier for later)…
After that, we began the process of winding it around a few poles that she had on her kitchen table to create the basic shape.
Then we began the REAL process of weaving. Manuela took our yarn, wrapped it around a tree, put about 5 wooden sticks in the middle of it, showed us the process a few times and told us to get to work for ourselves! There were so many steps….it was definitely a little nerve-racking!
We sat in Manuela’s kitchen/backyard (basically an outdoor area behind a part of the house) and talked to her about her life and her family and well…everything. She told us that she has NINE kids and that she is very proud of the education that they receive. We met a few of them as they wandered in and out of the home…but spent the most time with Letizia – her youngest and DEFINITELY most outspoken! Leti really connected with Nicole (who had come to visit us for a while as we weaved) and told us all about her life and even sang us a few songs :).
We spent the entire morning into the afternoon working. Manuela told us that the weaving could take as long as 4 hours…yet there we were on hour 4…and not even halfway done. WHAT? Around 2 pm it started to rain and we had to call it a day. We left Manuela’s house with promises to return the next morning and wandered off to find some delicious food. We had dinner with Urs and Juan Carlos again before passing out for the night.
The next morning we awoke to a DELICIOUS homemade breakfast of eggs and beans and platanos and fresh fruit – what more could you ask for? Erika and I then headed back to Manuela’s for the rest of our class. Three hours and a LOT of money later – we were both staring at our finished projects – our beautiful Fajas (traditional Guatemalan belts worn with traditional traje (dress).) It took us 7 hours to complete (she only told us 4 because she thought we'd want HER to finish it if we got too tired...yea right!) – but overall it was definitely worth it for such an amazing experience with such a wonderful woman :).
I wish that Erika and I could say we knocked everything off our “list of things to do at the lake”…but unfortunately that was the only one we got to…after all…we spent 7 hours making belts! In addition, a fast moving rainy season at the lake impeded a lot of our plans…but we still came out winners AND Erika and I are planning another trip to the lake for next weekend – so horses, pool (hopefully), and massages – here we come!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Winding Down
It’s true what they say. As your time here starts to come to an end it feels like life drifts into hyper speed. It feels like only minutes ago I was saying to myself (and anyone who would listen) “I STILL HAVE 3 MONTHS HERE HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE???”…which quickly turned into – “Wow only 8 weeks to go – that’s pretty crazy!” and is now rapidly approaching – “Oh my gosh I’m leaving in FIVE weeks – I have so much left to do!”
So here I am, in hyper drive, looking forward to the future and what lays behind the next door…while dreading allllllllllllllll the things I still need to accomplish as a volunteer in the short 36 days that I have left in Guatemala! Entonces…here is a running list of everything I need to complete before it’s time to move on to my next big adventure…wish me luck!
1. Finish planning and teaching the 43 classes I have left! WOW!
2. Plan a week of lessons for the incoming teacher
3. Turn in 3 sets of grades
4. Write a letter to the incoming teacher about my classes/ students/ schedules/ discipline systems/ homework/ everything-that-goes-into-teaching-classes-at-NPH…
5. Write up what it is to be an English Teacher at NPH for any new incoming volunteers
6. Create a volunteer testimonial for the NPH website
7. Fill out the “End of the Year” Evaluation
8. Finish all my last minute shopping in Antigua (yes it’s true – there ARE still Guatemalan things that I haven’t purchased yet…)
9. Have my despedida (aka a going away party with the girls in my section)
10. Write every memory that’s worth writing about in the 24 journals of the current volunteers who I have been living with/working with/laughing with/suffering with/learning with for the past 6 months to a year.
Oh boy it’s going to be a quick 5 weeks.
So here I am, in hyper drive, looking forward to the future and what lays behind the next door…while dreading allllllllllllllll the things I still need to accomplish as a volunteer in the short 36 days that I have left in Guatemala! Entonces…here is a running list of everything I need to complete before it’s time to move on to my next big adventure…wish me luck!
1. Finish planning and teaching the 43 classes I have left! WOW!
2. Plan a week of lessons for the incoming teacher
3. Turn in 3 sets of grades
4. Write a letter to the incoming teacher about my classes/ students/ schedules/ discipline systems/ homework/ everything-that-goes-into-teaching-classes-at-NPH…
5. Write up what it is to be an English Teacher at NPH for any new incoming volunteers
6. Create a volunteer testimonial for the NPH website
7. Fill out the “End of the Year” Evaluation
8. Finish all my last minute shopping in Antigua (yes it’s true – there ARE still Guatemalan things that I haven’t purchased yet…)
9. Have my despedida (aka a going away party with the girls in my section)
10. Write every memory that’s worth writing about in the 24 journals of the current volunteers who I have been living with/working with/laughing with/suffering with/learning with for the past 6 months to a year.
Oh boy it’s going to be a quick 5 weeks.
Projects in June
A few weeks back we got our June assignments for projects. When we find out what projects we have, we’re each given a sheet of paper with the all the kids’ info (their name, in what section they’re in, and sometimes their age/birth date). If it is a larger family (aka 5 kids or more) or the project involves any of the “especiales” who live in the Castillo Mágico then 2 volunteers are needed and there is only one sheet written up for the two volunteers together. This month I didn’t get any volunteer sheets, meaning I had 2 shared projects, and I was eager to see who my projects were with! Thayer told me that we would have project together with Magdalena (from my section) and her brother, Juan Carlos, who lives in the castillo. Both of them have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and are QUITE the handful, but regardless I was excited to have project with them :). Alright – one down one to go…but what about my other project? I asked nearly all the volunteers if I had project with them and they all said no…interesting… I finally tracked down Meghan (the volunteer in charge of projects) when she had her computer to find out about my second project and…turns out…she never assigned me one! I had been looking for a paper that didn’t exist! Instead, Meghan gave me a “freebie” for my last project! Crazy to think – my last project! So! After all that searching, Magdalena and Juan Carlos became my last project…and it was one of my favorite projects that I’d had all year :).
Magda can be a handful on her own. Now add her brother who loves to scratch, hit, sometimes bite, and absolutely LOVES to steal my glasses and throw them on the ground – definitely a combination…so it was with excitement and some apprehension that I went into our project.
Magdalena told us that she wanted to bake a cake and play cards, so the 4 of us headed to the English Department to make our glorious creation :).
Magdalena, Thayer, and Juan Carlos making the cake!
Working on the cake!
Working hard!
After mixing the batter, Thayer went to put the cake in the oven and things got a bit chaotic. Juan Carlos started grabbing anything he could get his hands on, Magda started wandering around taking things off the shelf and that was my cue to say “We’re going on the swings!” The three of us then headed outside to hang out on the swings, sing “The Wheels on the Bus” and shout as loud as we could. The cake was done about 30 minutes later and we all sat outside in the shade eating, talking, and taking pictures. After, we headed back onto the swings where we looked for animals in the clouds for a solid 30 minutes – it was very laid back, a lot of fun and one of my favorite projects I’ve had since being here. Overall it was a great way to finish one of my favorite parts of working at NPH - family projects :).
Juan Carlos and Magda :)
Magda can be a handful on her own. Now add her brother who loves to scratch, hit, sometimes bite, and absolutely LOVES to steal my glasses and throw them on the ground – definitely a combination…so it was with excitement and some apprehension that I went into our project.
Magdalena told us that she wanted to bake a cake and play cards, so the 4 of us headed to the English Department to make our glorious creation :).
After mixing the batter, Thayer went to put the cake in the oven and things got a bit chaotic. Juan Carlos started grabbing anything he could get his hands on, Magda started wandering around taking things off the shelf and that was my cue to say “We’re going on the swings!” The three of us then headed outside to hang out on the swings, sing “The Wheels on the Bus” and shout as loud as we could. The cake was done about 30 minutes later and we all sat outside in the shade eating, talking, and taking pictures. After, we headed back onto the swings where we looked for animals in the clouds for a solid 30 minutes – it was very laid back, a lot of fun and one of my favorite projects I’ve had since being here. Overall it was a great way to finish one of my favorite parts of working at NPH - family projects :).
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