Last full day in Guatemala today. Wow. Where did the time go. One benefit today was waking up a little later than usual! It felt good to be rested and head to school much later than usual. We got to school and man did it seem empty. There was like no one there in regards to both students and teachers. Definitely a different feeling. Regardless, I had my final class today and with that came my last test. It was by no means hard and my teacher Sandra helped me when needed. Afterwards we went through our normal routine of reading and discussing and just discussing topics in general. Before I knew it, time was up and that was that in regards to my time and La Union. Sandra was honestly, the best spanish teach I have ever had in regards to the language. Her just caring and professional approach made learning the language a passion instead or a chore, like other classes. I was certainly going to miss her and all of the fun talks we had. After saying more good byes to other administrators at the school, we took our last ride home on the Chicken Bus. Finally, we got home and then had our last supper with mama Rosa. It was a great one (as usual) and with that I packed my bags and went to sleep for the last time in Guatemala. The next morning I woke up, ate my last meal cooked by mama Rosa and then headed to the airport. I could not have asked for a better host mom that was loving, caring, understanding and really made her home feel like ours. I would not have asked for it any other way. And with that ends my time here in Guatemala. For me, this has been one of the best, if not the best, experience of my life and I would do it all over again if I had the opportunity. After being abroad for an extended period of time, I wholeheartedly recommend that others do the same, it truly will develop your appreciation for other cultures and what you take for granted back in the United States.
Well, today was the start of many goodbyes. For one, we headed to volunteer for our last day at Brillo de Sol. We ended up finishing another room upstairs, which was considered the "space room". Towards the end of our time there, we were all taken outside and the kids and their professors had a good bye/thank you ceremony for us. At the end of that, all of the kids had made us cards and gave it to us along with bunches of hugs and departing words. It was absolutely precious to say the least and really made me realize how much these kids warmed up to us and really did love us being there. Following that we headed back to the school, which for the majority of people, was their last class. We took it pretty easy for the most part, and the only this I really had was an oral exam, which was fun and easy as always. By the time the bell rang 6 everyone was rather sentimental! We still had one last dinner with everyone but once they got on the bus it was nothing but good-byes and hugs and exchanging information for back in the states. For me and Austin, it was rather sad to see the majority of people leave who we had grown so close to over the past four weeks. The same can be said for a lot of professors that we wouldn't be seeing tomorrow as well. They too had become friends to us over time and it was sad to say our goodbyes to them as well. As the end of this trip comes to an end, I still hold the belief that saying goodbye is never an easy thing, especially when you don't know if you'll ever see these people again.
Today we yet again headed over to Brillo de Sol to finish up our painting. Today though, Sarah had an awesome idea to make a sun (el sol) using all of the hand prints of the students and teachers there. As i helped her with this task it was so exciting and refreshing seeing how happy the kids got just doing something different and how much fun they had contributing to a project that would stay on their walls forever. On top of that we even finished one of the rooms, only leaving two rooms left! Following our volunteering we then headed back to the school and had lunch and class. Today I had my presentation, which I was a little nervous about seeing as how the last one went but stayed positive nonetheless. Surprisingly, it went well! Maybe it was the fact that I had a good grasp on the material (or at least much better than healthcare) and that I was just much more calm, but I seemed to have regained the flow of speaking that I normally had. Finally, proceeding class today we had our "graduation ceremony". The faculty and administrators there had organized a dinner where all of our teachers and host families came to support the finish of our time here. Even though we all still had one day left (I actually had two) this was the most fitting date for that. It was yet again a great experience, but certainly a little sentimental, especially when people like Irvin and Karen spoke about how they felt towards this group. It really did hit home and made me realize how great these people really were and that they truly did welcome us with open arms.
Today we returned to our beloved brillo de sol for the final week. Although this week instead of working with the kids, we focused on painting up the rooms so that they would look a bit more themed and friendly for the kids. A few of us had been drawing designs on the walls the previous week and this week was the attempt to try and close it all out. I had actually never painted anything before (in regards to a wall) so this was a learning experience for me in and of itself. After a few slip ups I seemed to have gotten the hang of it no doubt but by no means an expert. We got a good start on one of the room and hope to finish the that and another one tomorrow. We returned to the university and then had class. The best part about class today was that 30 minutes in we headed to a restaurant called "El tenedor" which is on top of a hill and is a rather fancy restaurant. Once we got there I could already feel the fancy ambiance and there was a lot more than just a restaurant. There were plenty of birds to see and interact with, a church, multiple art exhibits and even a zip lining course! We met up with other students from our group there as well and then all headed back together. When we finally got back we had just about killed all but 30 minutes of class, which was totally fine with me! Not that I dislike class but an unexpected break is always a pleasant surprise in my opinion. Afterwards, instead of going to dance class I worked on my presentation for the following day and then headed home afterwards to call it a night. Haz clic aquí para modificar.
Well today was the start to our last week here in Guatemala! Now that was something hard for me to wrap my head around right from waking up. Regardless we took the bus as always and had our last culture class as well today! Ending early we had some time so I finished the majority of the quiz we had to turn in and then headed to our normal class which was great and fun as always. Following class we came home and called it a day.
Well waking up today was also rather rough, seeing as how late we stayed up the night before. But we got up and got ready and headed to eat breakfast. Something I realized that was different from this part of Guatemala compared to Antigua was how hot it was! And man was it really really hot and humid making it almost unbearable to be walking around for more than 10 minutes before you're either exhausted or overheated. Regardless after breakfast I went to take a nap while others either laid on the beach of in the pool. After that we headed to lunch and then checked out of the hotel to head home. This time on the way home I wasn't tired and decided to look out the window. As we drove away from Montericco I saw so many poor families and stores and road side stands. I realized that these were most likely their primary source of income, which could not have been much seeing as how barren the area was. I came to reflect upon all of this and came to asking the question, "if there was one thing that we could provide for all 3rd World Countries that would aid them the most and provide allow them to really help the majority of their impoverished slums, what would it be?" While I couldn't answer the question I figure it was good to have that mindset and try and ask others what they think the answer to such a questions is. Finally we arrived back at La Ciudad Vieja and called it a day early, seeing as how we had just completed one of the most tiring, but by all means the most fun weekend yet! View from Montericco Beach
Well today starts our long and adventurous weekend! We woke up early to have the bus pick us up to first head towards the volcano Pacaya. The drive was about an hour or so and from there we had a guide take us to the top. The total distance we hiked was about 5 kilometers, but the altitude changes and steep gradient definitely made the trek more challenging. Some people even took horses, which I thought was not nearly as cool as walking up the entire thing. Once at the top the view was absolutely incredibly. I certainly can't say I've ever encountered a view quite like that in my life. I thought it was only fair to take some time to just soak in the view and where we were and I'm certainly glad I did that because I think it enhanced my experience even more. We finished our lunch and then made the trek down to the bottom of the volcano, which was definitely easier than the way up, but by no means a walk in the park. We then got on the bus and headed towards the city of Montericco and the black sand beach that came with it. Most of us were exhuasted by the time we got on the bus so we slept through our ride there and arrived at the beach and our hotel. What I did realize was that this town was rather impoverished to say the least and that the beach was probably the most beautiful aspect of the town. We all settled in, got into the pool and then headed to dinner afterwards. Once back from dinner the majority of the group hung out and really got even closer to each other. We even headed to the beach at night, which was yet again, another absolutely beautiful scenic view. I had to take a moment by myself to reflect and really appreciate al the natural beauty I had absorbed today. By around 2am we finally concluded our longest day yet. A picture from the top of the Pacaya Volcano
Like most Friday’s, I was pretty exhausted getting up today but we made it happen and went to our culture class. The group that presented today actually did a really good job and I really appreciated their presentation and learned a lot! Following their presentation we had a bit more free time to ourselves. One of the professors, knowing I was a philosophy major, gave me a copy of the book called The Alchemist. The whole thing was in Spanish but I started reading it with the extra time I had today. To my surprise I could definitely understand a lot of the book, although there were certainly parts I didn't understand as well. This really made me feel good about my reading ability in Spanish. Although as soon as class started my confidence seemed to back down again because of how my oral exam went. For some reason I was making a lot of really basic errors in my speaking and I think the compounding of these errors made me frustrated and no longer calm while speaking. I’ve come to realize that when I am calm, my Spanish seems to flow a lot better and I make fewer mistakes or I am at least able to catch my mistakes. I certainly did not let this bother me and after the break we ended up going to a local art gallery instead of staying cooped up in the classroom. It was a great break, especially towards the end of such a demanding week. Finally, we came back to the classroom and played bananagrams yet again. While I did not win, I got closer this time! We then headed back home where I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed!
Today at our volunteer locations I yet again was copying over homework for all the kids for pretty much my entire time there, which made it a rather boring day. On top of that, our favorite student Diana wasn’t there either, which both Austin and I found rather, odd that she didn’t come once at all this week. We thought about asking but figured it may not be our information to have so we just hoped that the next week she would be there. Then we had class and I had an exam today, which was not hard at all. Once that was out of the way we continued class and after our break, instead of studying we played a game called “bananagrams” which is very similar to scrabbled but had a few different quirks to it. And of course all the words had to be in Spanish and not English. After class we headed out for our last Thursday on the town as a group and man was it a fun one. We even met up with some of the other student volunteers that worked with us at brillo de sol, which was really cool seeing them outside of work setting. Finally we came back home late even though we had to wake up the next day.
Today was another early morning where we woke up, took the bus and then headed to our social work. Today was a rather slow day because all I did was copy over homework assignments for all the students while the teacher taught them. Diana wasn’t there again but more of the other students were present and it only made me hope that Austin and I would see her by the end of the week at least once hopefully. We returned back to the school where I had to do some research for a presentation I was giving later about the healthcare systems in both Guatemala and the United States and how they were similar and different. After finishing this I actually found out that I had a new professor for the day because my typical professor actually had something come up. As a result, my new professor, Paula, taught me and really we just talked and got to know each other throughout the majority of our class. After our small break I had my presentation with two other students. It certainly was struggle, not because of the presentation part, but primarily because every time the professors would ask me questions about the different systems I wouldn’t always know the answers. As a result I would be searching my head for the answer in English and not be focusing on my Spanish so when I spoke it, it came out much more erroneous than usual. This was a good experience for me because I was able to realize that I actually have a lot of room to improve and grow as a Spanish speaker even though at times I feel like I can speak with no problems. In regards to more complex topics I realized that I still have a lot of work to do. Following class we just ended up going home and calling it a night.
|
|