Today we went back to our volunteer grind. We woke up early and surprisingly it was actually a little chilly which I think was the result of the rain. We got to the school and actually ended up waiting for about an hour or so because other students had some difficulty with the buses and woke up a little late. Finally we headed towards our volunteer locations and today we helped the kids decorate eggs in an arts and crafts setting. Surprisingly, not a lot of students were present in class today, including Diana, which was a littler disheartening. During their recess we had a meeting with the headmaster of the school as she explained to us that she wanted some of the rooms painted with some new drawings and decorations. This seems to be our new job so we hope to progress this and complete at least some of it before our time here is over. We then arrived back to the school and then had class and following our Spanish class dance class. Honestly, I think I am getting better at dancing although I certainly will not be pursuing it in any way, shape or form once I return back to the states. Tomorrow will probably be similar!
Well after an exhausting day yesterday, today was certainly a bit more manageable. Although the bus this morning was cramped and such a long bus ride. There was even an actual chicken on the "chicken bus" which was certainly a first for all of us. Then for our culture class today we had a guest speaker, who is a professor from the United States that lives in Guatemala and is very very knowledgable about most things related to Guatemala. As a result we were able to ask him any questions we had about Guatemala and he gave us a very informed answer most of the time. Following that session we had lunch and then class. On the way back, we took the bus again and I was fortunate enough to sit next to a local from Guatemala. To make things even better, we had a small conversation on the bus just about general things and I was not only able to understand him, but he was able to understand me as well! It made me feel good knowing that people other than my friends and professors were able to understand the spanish that was coming out of my mouth. Feeling accomplished getting off the bus, I headed home to eat dinner and call it a night.
Happy Mothers Day again, this time to everyone in the United States! Today ended up being one of the longest days yet. We woke up and headed to Antigua at around 7am because a few students were running a local 5k race. The race ended up starting a little later than expected so all of our friends resultantly finished later as well. Once they had finished we got on the bus at around 10am and headed towards Chichicastenango, which is about a 3 hour drive through the mountains. I had slept through the majority of the ride but the times I was awake, the surrounding area looked a lot like very rural farm land with only a few stores every 20 miles or so. We finally got to the town, which is famous for it's farmers market, and stopped and ate lunch at a local restaurant. Once we finished eating we hit the market, and boy was it an experience to say the least. This market was the largest I have ever seen and man were the vendors agressive. Just by looking at their items would trigger them to come over and ask you to buy something. One lady even followed me from one end of the street all the way back to the start because I entertained the idea of buying her product for a little bit. I clearly learned my experience after that. After our interesting market experience we headed for El lago de Atitlan, which was about an hour back the way we came. Once we got to the lake we took a boat to take us to a near by puebleo on the other side of the city lake. We climbed to the top of the city (which was certainly not an easy walk) to the church which presented us with a gorgeous view of the city and lake all together. Finally we headed back home and got home at around 10pm at night to hit the bed out of exhaustion and get ready for the next day of classes. The view from the top of the city over lake Atitlan
Well Happy Mothers Day here from Guatemala! Actually in Guatemala they celebrate the holiday a day earlier than in the United States and seem to take it much more seriously. We were woken up by fireworks and music multiple times throughout the early early morning. Regardless, today we headed over a local coffee plantation and Mayan music museum. It was really cool to see how the musicality of the Mayan culture has progressed throughout the decades as well seeing how much work and care is taken into preparing their coffee beans and plants. One things I learned was that one coffee plant can make up to 32 cups of coffee! I was rather astonished with that fact! Following the tour we spent the rest of the day in Antigua, where we tried our luck out at bartering with the local people. One thing I learned quickly was that I needed to ask for an initially low price that way the vendors would meet me at a much more reasonable middle ground to buy the product. Today I came away with a US Soccer Jersey for about $7, which I would certainly say is a great steal. Afterwards we came back home and I was exhausted to the point where I had to take a nap. After the nap we ate dinner with our lovely host mother and even gave her a gift from us (which I think she really ended up liking)! Tomorrow is another early day so it ended with us hitting the bed early (certainly a recurring theme)
Today we were lucky enough to wake up a little later than usual because we didn't have to volunteer and only had our culture class with Sra. Rodriguez. Following the short class I, beat the game 2048 (which was quite the accomplishment in my book) and then headed over to a local place known as the "Sky Cafe" which had an absolutely gorgeous view of the city. Here I indulged in some good ol chicken wings to satisfy my craving from back home. Good thing I ate there because the food that my host mom packed was actually something I didn't like for once. I wasn't sure what it was but to me it seemed like a mix of an omelet and fish.... personally not exactly the most appetizing combination for me. Then I had class which involved having an interview with another professor in the school. I always enjoy these so much because it just allows me to have conversations with other native speakers and learn more about them and have them pick up on things that I can improve on as a student of the language. Following the 30 minute break, my professor along with another professor and her student went to the best hotel in Antigua known as "La Casa de Santo Domingo" which is a 5 start hotel that is integrated with the remains of the spanish ruins. In my opinion this was such a unique experience and such an awesome hotel which had the perfect balance of culture, history and luxury. It was incredibly well done and great to explore the city and learn about it with my professors and the knowledge that they have of the city being native to the area. We finally came back and finished class by learning some sayings and commonly used phrases in the spanish language. I really wished that I could've learned more of these expressions throughout my spanish career because I feel that knowing these really make speaking the language much more casual and real, not as proper and correct as the language taught by the book, I mean we don't speak english properly. The slang we enquire gives it our own personal touch and makes the language more fun in my opinion and I wish I could do that with the spanish language. Following class we headed back home to call it a day after a long and hard week. A picture of the fountain that is the centerpiece of the hotel and the ruins. What I thought of as a good example of where old meets new in society
Today was actually the first rainy day here in Guatemala that we got to experience. The thunder and rain were so loud that it actually woke me up a few times during the night (and i'm typically a deep deep sleeper). While the rain had calmed down a bit when we left for the bus stop I definitely had to bring out the rain jacket. When we volunteered at the school today the kids were even more excited to see us! Today we helped them make their mother's day gifts which actually is celebrated on the 10th instead of the 11th here in Guatemala. While most of them had no problems making the gifts, Diana certainly did which certainly upset me a little but she was so happy once it was done, which definitely warmed mine and Austin's heart. During their recess we also played soccer with the kids which, in my opinion, is a cultural must when in central and south america. We left the kids until next tuesday and returned to the university. I actually had a test today which I hope went well but after it was more talking and discussing, which I always appreciate. Following class we went out for our night on the town and left Antigua around 11:30pm for La Ciudad Vieja
Yet again we started the day off bright and early and headed over to brillo de sol. Today though I felt that the kids in the class were much more fun and energetic towards me and Austin. They were making jokes with us, giving us hugs and high fives left and right. They even had gym class today in which we went outside and did some organized activities. Here I had to help Diana jump over obstacles (due to the splints on her legs and the difficulty she had when walking) and every time I helped her jump she gained the biggest joy as well as showed the biggest smile on her face. Seeing this absolutely made my day and made me really be grateful for not only my healthy state of mind but also my healthy body that can do the most basic tasks such as jump. Following gym class, the kids then had recess and by no means were out of energy! Austin and I decided to play soccer with the kids which then turned into a piggy back frenzy seeing as how the kids loved them. It was by this point that the kids had really warmed up to us and I felt that I officially had a connection with all of them. We then went back to the school where I was able to take a little nap. Although the session of classes that came ended up being my most frustrating ever. Having a little trouble with a grammatical concept I found it hard to always agree with what my professor was saying and I really did feel that not having a language barrier would have helped my learning of this concept. This really was the first time I felt that the spanish language had proven to make an experience difficult more or less. I did get through it and the second part of the class was a round table discussion with a few other students and their professors. This was much easier for me and I
Well today started bright and early. Probably almost early then when I had to wake up for organic chemistry. Regardless, we headed to the school and from there we went to our social work locations, mine being at brillo de sol. Austin and I chose a class with kids ranging from ages 7-11, most of which having some learning disability or another. Two girls in particular were even more handicapped than the rest of the class, to the point where they could not even keep up with the pace of the class. So Austin and I were each paired with one of the girls, mine whose name was Diana. At first it took me a little adjusting to understanding her spanish but within a few hours I was able to realize that the majority of her needs were, basic, and her questions and sentences, simple. There was then recess time where we ended up playing with the kids and I felt at this point I was really starting to get close to Diana. At the end of recess they introduced all of us volunteers and Diana hugged me the entire time, which I figured was probably the start to a good friendship. We then departed for the university and after eating lunch I made the long journey to send out the postcards I bought. By the time I got back I was exhausted and needless to say, class was a struggle. I hadn't been this tired in awhile so getting through all of the grammar was tough and forming sentences was even tougher. I trudged through it only to have a dancing class after our academic studies. We danced for our hour (which seemingly went about as well as last week) and then headed home for the night. http://brillodesol.org/Espanol/
for a little more information about the services this place provides Today it was time to get back into the swing of classes and an ordered schedule. We started with our culture class where it was actually our day to do the group presentation. It went really well I would say! We split the rest of our class up into three groups and formulated questions to mimic a jeopardy style game. Following the class we had a little more time than usual so I went and exchanged money, bought postcards (be on the look out university honors!) and then had our normal stint of classes. Today was a bit more of a struggle than usual, which I probably attribute to the weekend where we didn’t use much Spanish. Regardless, tomorrow we officially start our social work that is definitely exciting but calls for an early end to the day.
Today marks one week that I’ve been in Guatemala! Wow has that gone by quick and I have by no means become sick of it (which I would say is a good thing). Today we were able to wake up a bit later and headed to and area known as San Antonio to experience a Mayan wedding. On the way there we learned that the volcano had actually erupted the night before and we were able to see the lava on the volcano! This was such a new experience and a bit of a culture shock. From back in the US a volcanic eruption usually makes us think that lava will engulf an entire city (similar to Pompeii) although that is certainly not the case here and most likely with most countries with an active volcano. We finally got to the small town and entered a lady’s house where the entire ceremony took place. Before this, ceremony though she showed us how they make their craft which are knit clothes and clothing. According to her some of these can take up to 9 months and this is with working 8-9 hours a day on these items! We were all definitely in shock about how much effort was put in but it was certainly clear seeing how beautiful the intricate designs on the products were. Following this presentation was the wedding ceremony. I was actually chosen to be the father of the son so I was lucky enough to get dressed up in authentic clothing along with other students in our group who were picked. Then came all of the actual procedures and customs which were much different than an American wedding, but in my opinion all very cool. Following the ceremony we had to dance and then eat authentic food, which was delicious as always. Even more, we got to make our own tortillas which was a really cool experience being able to make one of the most common foods in Guatemala. After the wedding and shopping through some of the products they had made, we went to Antigua to spend some of the day exploring the city. Finally we came back home to call it a night early. the happily married Mayan family
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