My new Guatemala life....
Trip Start
Nov 25, 2006
1
2
16
Trip End
Feb 17, 2007
Antigua,
Guatemala
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I am staying with a family, well really a woman called Christina and her daughter and the grandfather. Fortunately another volunteer is also living there, Amy. Who is awesome and fills me in on all the conversations that go way over my befuddled head. The house is ok, quite basic but I have my own room which is nice. The house is decorated with sunflowers. Literally every surface has bunches of fake sunflowers on. Is the weirdest thing, Christina doesnt like real sunflowers-she is too sad when they die so prefers these fake ones. Comedy. Everything she owns has a sunflower on it one way or another. Christina is nice, at meals she sits and makes funny Spanish small talk at me and Amy asking us stuff that we should know eg...names of our parents, our favourite colours, funny stuff. Reacon it will run out soon though and then will need to venture on to bigger topics. This morning we broached onto the love of fireworks...pyrotechnica in Guatemala. They let off fireworks anytime day or night. Scares the life our of me! The town Antigua seems great, cobbled streets, very colonial and surrounded by 3volanoes. One of which is active although I have seen nothing to prove this yet! So that is home...
The school and the project is very different. Each morning the volunteers, there are about 7 at my school, called Itzapa all get the local bus together from beautiful Antigua to the indigenous community about 45mins away. Journey there is very scenic, through the mountains. Itzapa is probably as you might imagine a very poor 3rd world community town to be. Corregated roofs, cows and donkeys and cowboys sharing the roads with you. Certainly lots to look at whilst watching your step! Once we get off the bus and walk up to the school the kids com running down, Seno Rebecca Seno Rebecca Buenos dias, from about 30little voices who all want a hand to hold at once. That is probably my favourite moment of the day. Its so odd their genuine excitement to see their teachers and then they drag you to school, running in the door. Bizarre!
The project gives these indigenous children schooling from the volunteers and pays for them to attend the local but not very good schools for the other half of their day. This week I have been helping to do classe 3 in the morning. About 15-20 kids aged between 8 and 12. Couple are really bright, all have big beautiful brown eyes. Sadly they are not all as innocent as they look. They were writing out their times tables and I was like wow, they are so good at them. Really fast....until i realised like any child they had found the answers on the back and were happily copying them from this! Made me laugh. At the end of each morning they get fruit and have bread when they arrive which is really good. I have noticed already that some come rarely because their parents need them to help work in the fields or in the home. Lots of them sit in school rubbing their eyes and trying to keep awake-they were up at 6 helping their parents then get 3hours break to come to school before they return to work.
I am learning the key spanish phrases for teaching fast...sit down, listen, copy from the board, respect each other, yes you can go to the toilet, stop hitting your friend.
I am spending my afternoons this week back in Antigua trying to crack spanish verbs. Apparently it is just not possible for me. Must battle on...
Comments
hola
hi bex -great use of the word befuddled -enjoyed that alot. My current favourite word is refulgent (shining very brightly) as in 'the sun is very refulgent today!' hope alls good -take care Kxx