Guatemala Trip 2008

Rough Re-entry

2008-07-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Coming back from Flores-Tikal was rough for all. Though the flight was fine, the change of climate and the fact that we were thrown back into our intense classes has taken a toll on our group. Many students suffered mild cases of ¨montezuma´s revenge¨and some of us have chest colds or general tiredness or achyness. But today is the first day that it seems things are looking up.

The city of Antigua welcomed us back. It´s been clearer and sunnier the past couple of days than any days last week. It rains mainly at night, and it pours like the dickens, ringing off the tin roofs.

I know I´ve been feeling much improved in terms of my Spanish. I don´t crack my dictionary nearly as much, and I´ve been able to conduct meaningful discussions with my host family, though I can still only utilize the present tense. I´m just getting the hang of irregular verbs!

We have some small trips happening this week, mainly organized through the school, and we´ll be back in town before long. I´m sad to be going home soon, but I know many of the kids are homesick. This trip has been a real eye-opening experience.

Also, confidential to the Middleton family-- you have quite a cell phone bill coming at the end of the month!

Cheers, all!

TIKAL!

2008-07-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today is lunes (Monday) and we got back from our trip to Tikal yesterday. We flew from Guatemala City early Friday morning, to Flores, the small island-city where we stayed. The flight was about an hour, in a puddle-jumper, which made the kids really nervous. There was lots of hand-holding and nervousness!

We stayed at the Casona de la Isla, a nice hotel in Flores. Flores is a teeny-tiny island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza, and about an hour from Tikal. It´s in the Peten region of Guatemala. Flores is really just a collection of shops, restaurants and hotels aimed at the tourists who come to Peten for the weather or the Mayan ruins. Although the restaurants cater to tourists, we had to use a great deal more Spanish, as the people in Flores speak mainly Spanish.

The only disappointment during this trip was finding out how little our students know about restaurant etiquette. There was much yelling, snapping fingers at servers, refusing to speak Spanish and reticence regarding tipping. A note to our principal: we need to develop etiquette classes for MetEast!

On sabado (Saturday), we took a van to Tikal, leaving early in the morning. We had an EXCELLENT guide named Julio, who had the sensibility and sense of humor to reach our kids! Julio showed us not just the ruins, but a great deal of nature as well. The students were really exited to see spider monkeys, a toucan and some amazing trees, as well. The bugs were biting, but not too bad, and it was mainly clear the whole time we were in the jungle, with the exception of the end. It rained when we reached the tallest temple, but many of us climbed it nonetheless. In all, we climbed three temples and visited palaces, ball fields and el mundo perdido (the lost world). I felt great climbing the temples! The view from the top of the treeline was breathtaking. I can´t wait to post some photos, but they really don´t do justice to the view!

We learned a great deal about the Mayans from Julio. Of interest-- the game that they played, similar to football, was played with a rubber ball with a wooden center, which weighed 7 pounds, and they had to play with every part of their bodies except for their feet and hands. The games would last for days! It´s like playing hacky-sack with a bowling ball! Then, at the end, the best players would be sacrificed to the gods. Amazing!

I think the students all enjoyed the jungle very much, and they dealt well with the tropical heat and the exercise. They were happy to return to Flores, however, and to jump into the hotel pool after our excursion. The pool was one of the most important parts of this trip, for the kids.

Also, I must rag on Sabriel, who insisted before we left that only an idiot would lose his passport, and then lost his own in transit to the airport in Flores. Luckily, Mr. Levy found it, but my prediction that Sabe would be the first to lose his was proven correct!

It was good to get back to Antigua, especially because I missed Mayra so much! We´re back in the swing of things with classes and whatnot, and the time is flying so fast!

Day 3.5

2008-07-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love the women who are helping me learn Spanish. Mayra, my house mom (I misspelled her name in my last blog-- disculpe me) and Angelica, my teacher at the Spanish school. These women are amazing. The amount of patience, humor and intuition that they have displayed is unbelievable. Today, I said that Zac was under my chair during my Spanish lesson, meaning to say he was behind me, and Angelica made me feel NOT stupid, which I think is near impossible, just by the gentle smile she gave as she corrected me.

Plus, Maxie, my boricua, has been helping me by correcting my grammar. For those who don´t know Maxie, she´s one of my students, and she grew up with a family who spoke Spanish. She´s been getting no end of joy from my awful Spanish. At least when I correct her English, I don´t laugh at her. Maxie still has a few things to learn about teaching...

Today one of the girls who are usually so shy at the table started speaking up at dinner, using her dictionary to ask questions of Mayra. I was impressed. The lunch was delicious, as all Mayra´s meals are, and all the students chowed down.

I´ve agreed to give Mayra´s sister, Leticia, a Spanish lesson today. I´m excited and more than a little nervous. I told her that I have never taught English to a non-native speaker (except Isamal, who will always be my favorite student), but that I was willing to give it a try. I´m nervous because Leticia speaks her Spanish very quickly, and it´s very, very difficult for me to understand her. I hope that I´m able to give her something valuable during the lesson.

The rain has almost let up entirely, so I think it´s a good time to wrap this up and head over to the libreria (sp?) and the phone cafe. I will write more soon. Guatemala is continuing to rock my world!

It begins...

2008-07-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's day 2.5. We arrived on Sunday afternoon, and it's Tuesday.

Our homestay is with a lovely family, la madre = Maia. The houses in Guatemala are all partially open to the air, and seem to all have lots of rooms. The doors are wrought iron and everything is made to circle an open courtyard. From the outside, the houses are squat, discreet buildings (edificios) with short, thick wooden doors and little revealed to the outside world. But inside, the families are warm, welcoming and sweet. Maia fills us with good, tasty food every day and won't let us speak inglese at the table. I'm staying with 5 students from MetEast, and we were joined by Lars, from allemagne, today. Maia works hard to fill the silence at the table. Maxie, Lars and I work to speak Spanish with her (it's harder for some of us than others) and I hope the other girls will begin to be less embarrassed soon and take some chances at conversation.

The school is basically a big courtyard, with tiny white tables for each maestro y estudiante. We are working in very small classes (1-3 students) and the learning is lightning-fast. Between school, studying and speaking Spanish at home, I feel like I've learned more of this language in 2 days than I learned of Italian in the three months I was in Rome. Last night, as I tried to sleep, a salad of Spanish words (palabras) was racing through my head. It was incessant! But I realized that I've gained so much knowledge! And yo tengo hambre! I want more!

The weather is interesting. It's cool sometimes, in the morning and at night, and it gets pretty hot midday. It rains every day, and the time and duration of the rain are unpredictable. The rain comes usually after lunch sometime, and can be light or medium, and last 10 minutes or an hour. It also rained at night on Sunday. The sound of the rain on the rooftops was very pleasant.

Being here with 13 students is no small challenge. They seem to be adjusting very well, however, since they found a McDonald's with internet access. To them, it is the holy grail in a foreign country. My speech on the evil ubiquity of global corporations falls on deaf ears. I am really impressed with most students, as they seem eager to learn, enjoy school, and are excited about the city. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a huge change for them, and they each need to take it at their own paces. Today, I actually have some time to myself, and I'm realizing how much I really needed it. At night, I have been too mentally tired to enjoy my solitude, but now I can revel in it! It's 3:00 in the afternoon. I'm at a cafe in plaza mayor and I'm free until 4:45, when my salsa & bachata lesson begins! As soon as I finish at the cafe, I will squeeze in some shopping. Souvenirs and post cards needed immediately!

This weekend, we head to Tikal to see the Mayan ruins. I'm really excited, and I hope that the kids will like them as much as I do. Also, we are staying at a hotel with a pool, and I know that will be a big hit!

I will write again when I have a chance. I am afraid my blogging will not be as creative or scintillating as usual, as all of my brain power is centered on maintaining a sense of balance and trying to communicate orally at the moment. Bear with me. Things are always getting better!

My love to all at home, and I can't wait to see you.

--Jennifer