This has been a BIG week for the kids here at NPH! In addition to it being the last week of classes, NPH’s very own orquestina left yesterday for a whirlwind 3 week tour in the United States! After weeks and MONTHS of planning – receiving passports and visas for all of the 20 or so kids, buying plane tickets, and mentally preparing, I don’t think anyone can believe that they’re actually gone! The kids left yesterday around midnight to catch their 5 am flight to Minnesota. While in the US they will split their time between Minnesota and Wisconsin, a trip that has been organized with help from our fundraising office in the States.
While there, the kids will be performing at churches, giving concerts, and having a special “Friends of the Orphans” Fundraiser to raise money for the home. It is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the kids and we wish them all the best of luck while they’re there! If you’d like to read more about the orquestina and their trip, you can find it here: http://www.nph.org/?page=page.php&lang=en&page=page.php&path=news/archive/2010/guatemala/orquestina.php
Thursday, October 7, 2010
So much to learn…
Last night at my section the girls were doing there “aseos” (chores) and one asked me for help hand-washing her socks. “I would love to help but I have no idea HOW to properly hand-wash ANYTHING.” Enma proceeded to show me the correct form for using a pila while demonstrating proper hand-washing techniques for clothing.
After washing all of her socks she told me to wait outside for a minute. (Did I mention it felt like 10 below 0 outside??) She came back with a dirty rag for me to wash. “Primero, necessitas enguajar la cosa” – first you need to wet the object. “Next, rub the soap all over it.” Sadly, THIS was where my horrible form started to show. Apparently I’m not capable of using enough soap to even wash a dish towel rag. Perfect. After Enma had fixed my mistakes, she showed me how to rub the clothes on the ribbed pila to clean it. I was quite scared I was going to rub the skin RIGHT off my fingers, but she was an EXCELLENT teacher, taught me the ropes, AND kept my fingers intact :) – good lesson, but it made me VERY happy that we have working washers and dryers here…
After washing all of her socks she told me to wait outside for a minute. (Did I mention it felt like 10 below 0 outside??) She came back with a dirty rag for me to wash. “Primero, necessitas enguajar la cosa” – first you need to wet the object. “Next, rub the soap all over it.” Sadly, THIS was where my horrible form started to show. Apparently I’m not capable of using enough soap to even wash a dish towel rag. Perfect. After Enma had fixed my mistakes, she showed me how to rub the clothes on the ribbed pila to clean it. I was quite scared I was going to rub the skin RIGHT off my fingers, but she was an EXCELLENT teacher, taught me the ropes, AND kept my fingers intact :) – good lesson, but it made me VERY happy that we have working washers and dryers here…
3x the projects, 3x the fun
Sometimes, I’m not the brightest bulb. Like when I cancelled one of my projects last month because I thought I had pneumonia (ps. Turned out to not be true – just a cold? Still not quite sure…) REGARDLESS. Ok, maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. But cancelling that project and rescheduling a week later meant that in the course of one week I was going to have 3 projects. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING???
Projects aren’t really a stressful thing – in fact, I think they are a LOT of fun, and an excellent way to get to know a bunch of the kids here on a more personal level. And I really like that :) I’m still trucking through learning names, but when there are 350 of them and one of you…it can be a little difficult.
Anyhoo! The time came for me to plan 3 projects at once. Now it’s hard enough to think of something for a group of kids to do together based on their ages and genders, but doing it 3 times in 7 days is a FEAT! Especially with very little input!
Project 1:
Project 1 was with Zulma and Johana – two girls in their early teens. Pretty adorable, yet pretty quiet. We spent a lovely evening making popcorn, watching “The Prestige,” and eating food from the comedor. VERY low key. And a perfect beginning to my week of projects.
Project 2:
Next came the Guitz-Tian Family – MargaritA, MargaritO, Mercedes, and Marta. Also the only family that told me pre-project what they wanted to do – bake a cake and watch a movie. When asked why they wanted to bake a cake, two of the girls told me that it was Margarito’s birthday during the month of October and they wanted to be able to celebrate it together as a family. HOW ADORABLE ARE THEY! Sounded good to me!
Now Margarita, the oldest, lives in the Bachillerato in Chimaltenango, roughly 30 minutes away. I made sure to call A WEEK ahead of time to make sure she was fully informed about our project…and again the morning of…but that didn’t seem to matter. At 10 am she was nowhere to be found, and her brother and sisters were slightly restless. We decided it would be a good idea to bake the cake and start the movie without her…good thinking. I kept look out at the window to the English room which faces NPH’s entrance, but it was no use. No one showed up. Every time they heard screeching tires each of the kids would jump up and run to the window…I kept trying to call the bachillerato again, but to no avail :(.
After an hour I began to lose hope. She must have forgotten. I took one last glance out the window and saw 2 girls talking. One was Yecenia, the Ano de servicio in my section, but the other I couldn’t distinguish. Trying not to get the kids hopes up, I turned and told them there was a girl standing on our street. They immediately pushed all their chairs aside and flew to the window. “ES ELLA ES ELLA” – that’s her that’s her! They screamed for her to come to the English Department and 5 seconds later all the kids were immersed in a sea of hugs. Did I mention how adorable this family was?
The rest of our project was fantastic (with the exception of me watching “Fame”…again) and the kids were just SO excited to spend time together. It was definitely one of my favorite projects since I’ve been here :).
Marta, Mercedes, and Margarito hard at work
What an adorable fam! Marta, Margarita, Mercedes, and Margarito
...with me!
Project 3:
My last project of the week was with Georgia and Annllie Perez. Care to guess how you pronounce “Annllie?” Well, if you said it like ANGIE – you would be correct. Go figure!
Our project started yesterday at 5pm. I was informed 2 hours prior that at 4:30 the orquestina was going to be having a dress rehearsal for their trip to the states (more on that later…) and that all of the sections would be there. I showed up at 5 ready to go, but the girls wanted to stay for the performances. SO! We watched the orquestina until about 5:40, then headed to the comedor for dinner. After that we dropped our things off at the English Department and headed into Parramos so the girls could buy a little something for themselves with their 5Q each. I did NOT realize how long walking to Parramos with two teenage girls was going to take! They bought bags of chips, lollipops, and what could only be described as “Valentine’s Day Cards” but for every day purposes. Oh dear. Afterwards we went to a panaderia so I could buy a small “pastel” for one of the tias in my section to celebrate her birthday. That turned out to be an awful idea. All I had to buy the cake was one bill - 100Q (roughly 12 dollars) but the cake only cost 3…and of COURSE they didn’t have change. HOW SILLY of me! I had to go to 4 different tiendas (shops) before I could find a place that would give me change for my 100, THEN we had to walk back to NPH and THEN we started a wonderfully horrible movie, “Sky High.” Needless to say it was the LONGEST project ever at almost 4 hours, but still, quite fun. The girls were VERY talkative and seemed to have a great relationship :).
Georgia and Annllie :)
So what did my week FULL of projects teach me? That projects are one of my favorite things about being at NPH and that a little spontaneity can be a lot of fun :) although I don’t think I’ll be scheduling 3 projects for the same week again anytime soon.
Projects aren’t really a stressful thing – in fact, I think they are a LOT of fun, and an excellent way to get to know a bunch of the kids here on a more personal level. And I really like that :) I’m still trucking through learning names, but when there are 350 of them and one of you…it can be a little difficult.
Anyhoo! The time came for me to plan 3 projects at once. Now it’s hard enough to think of something for a group of kids to do together based on their ages and genders, but doing it 3 times in 7 days is a FEAT! Especially with very little input!
Project 1:
Project 1 was with Zulma and Johana – two girls in their early teens. Pretty adorable, yet pretty quiet. We spent a lovely evening making popcorn, watching “The Prestige,” and eating food from the comedor. VERY low key. And a perfect beginning to my week of projects.
Project 2:
Next came the Guitz-Tian Family – MargaritA, MargaritO, Mercedes, and Marta. Also the only family that told me pre-project what they wanted to do – bake a cake and watch a movie. When asked why they wanted to bake a cake, two of the girls told me that it was Margarito’s birthday during the month of October and they wanted to be able to celebrate it together as a family. HOW ADORABLE ARE THEY! Sounded good to me!
Now Margarita, the oldest, lives in the Bachillerato in Chimaltenango, roughly 30 minutes away. I made sure to call A WEEK ahead of time to make sure she was fully informed about our project…and again the morning of…but that didn’t seem to matter. At 10 am she was nowhere to be found, and her brother and sisters were slightly restless. We decided it would be a good idea to bake the cake and start the movie without her…good thinking. I kept look out at the window to the English room which faces NPH’s entrance, but it was no use. No one showed up. Every time they heard screeching tires each of the kids would jump up and run to the window…I kept trying to call the bachillerato again, but to no avail :(.
After an hour I began to lose hope. She must have forgotten. I took one last glance out the window and saw 2 girls talking. One was Yecenia, the Ano de servicio in my section, but the other I couldn’t distinguish. Trying not to get the kids hopes up, I turned and told them there was a girl standing on our street. They immediately pushed all their chairs aside and flew to the window. “ES ELLA ES ELLA” – that’s her that’s her! They screamed for her to come to the English Department and 5 seconds later all the kids were immersed in a sea of hugs. Did I mention how adorable this family was?
The rest of our project was fantastic (with the exception of me watching “Fame”…again) and the kids were just SO excited to spend time together. It was definitely one of my favorite projects since I’ve been here :).
Marta, Mercedes, and Margarito hard at work
What an adorable fam! Marta, Margarita, Mercedes, and Margarito
...with me!
Project 3:
My last project of the week was with Georgia and Annllie Perez. Care to guess how you pronounce “Annllie?” Well, if you said it like ANGIE – you would be correct. Go figure!
Our project started yesterday at 5pm. I was informed 2 hours prior that at 4:30 the orquestina was going to be having a dress rehearsal for their trip to the states (more on that later…) and that all of the sections would be there. I showed up at 5 ready to go, but the girls wanted to stay for the performances. SO! We watched the orquestina until about 5:40, then headed to the comedor for dinner. After that we dropped our things off at the English Department and headed into Parramos so the girls could buy a little something for themselves with their 5Q each. I did NOT realize how long walking to Parramos with two teenage girls was going to take! They bought bags of chips, lollipops, and what could only be described as “Valentine’s Day Cards” but for every day purposes. Oh dear. Afterwards we went to a panaderia so I could buy a small “pastel” for one of the tias in my section to celebrate her birthday. That turned out to be an awful idea. All I had to buy the cake was one bill - 100Q (roughly 12 dollars) but the cake only cost 3…and of COURSE they didn’t have change. HOW SILLY of me! I had to go to 4 different tiendas (shops) before I could find a place that would give me change for my 100, THEN we had to walk back to NPH and THEN we started a wonderfully horrible movie, “Sky High.” Needless to say it was the LONGEST project ever at almost 4 hours, but still, quite fun. The girls were VERY talkative and seemed to have a great relationship :).
Georgia and Annllie :)
So what did my week FULL of projects teach me? That projects are one of my favorite things about being at NPH and that a little spontaneity can be a lot of fun :) although I don’t think I’ll be scheduling 3 projects for the same week again anytime soon.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Fun with Onomatopoeia
Since the arrival of October, it’s been QUITE cold here at NPH. Wait a minute. I LIVE IN GUATEMALA. Shouldn’t it just be hot hot hot??? False. I may live in Guatemala, but I also live in the MOUNTAINS of Guatemala. Aka – It’s cold.
Last night I went to my section to hang out with my girls. One of them asked me for help washing dishes so we headed outside to the pilas (sinks) where I proceeded to say “BRRRRRRRRR” about 800 times. EVERY time – it made her giggle. I guess I would find it funny too to see a foreigner shivering up and down and saying a made-up word I had never heard before.
Last night I went to my section to hang out with my girls. One of them asked me for help washing dishes so we headed outside to the pilas (sinks) where I proceeded to say “BRRRRRRRRR” about 800 times. EVERY time – it made her giggle. I guess I would find it funny too to see a foreigner shivering up and down and saying a made-up word I had never heard before.
Tell me something I didn't know...
Every day in my Tercero Basico (the equivalent of 9th grade) my students write in their journals. They are allowed to write WHATEVER they want in English, I correct it, and give it back to them. For the last day of school, I asked the students to write whatever they wanted, either in English OR Spanish, telling me what they liked and didn’t like about the class, what they would change, and what they would keep. Most of the entries were very sweet and about how the children really enjoyed this class, how they felt they learned a lot, etc. And then there was Ever’s. He didn’t have much to say and some of it WAS nice…some of it…
One of the smartest kids in my class and a member of the Liderazgo (leadership group), he wrote: “tienes que aprender más español porque casi no entiendes el español o lo que hablamos.” Translation? “You need to learn more Spanish because you almost never understand our Spanish, or what we say.” I thought I WAS learning more! As if I didn’t know that I hardly ever understand you. THANKS EVER – I’M WORKING ON IT!
One of the smartest kids in my class and a member of the Liderazgo (leadership group), he wrote: “tienes que aprender más español porque casi no entiendes el español o lo que hablamos.” Translation? “You need to learn more Spanish because you almost never understand our Spanish, or what we say.” I thought I WAS learning more! As if I didn’t know that I hardly ever understand you. THANKS EVER – I’M WORKING ON IT!
This looks familiar…
I have seen WAYYY too many bad movies WAAYYYY too many times in the past few weeks. In the past week, all of my classes have watched at least one movie AND I’ve had 3 projects which all included movies. In addition, I had to watch them BEFORE my classes/projects because I wanted to make sure they were children/age appropriate. I mean, we’re talking: Fame (4th time this week…), Sky High (2 times), etc. Basically, that means that I’ve seen tooooooooo many horrifically bad movies this week to count.
Roman Numerals are HARD
This week is the last week of school (WOO!) so all of the kids are in the middle of their final exams. Last night I went to my section to help my girls study for their exams. What I learned (or rather remembered) is that Roman Numerals are REALLY hard. I mean…what were these Romans trying to pull? If there’s a 4 or a 9 you need to subtract the lower number from the bigger? I mean come on. How is a 9 year old supposed to get that?? I barely get it now. Why can't you put 4 of one symbol on there?? Why couldn't they just add all the symbols together?? And why couldn’t they just use NUMBERS? Que ridiculo.
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