Today volunteering went well! More of the girls are starting to talk to me. Even though my conversation skills are mediocre at best, it’s nice to connect more and feel included. Having 2 whole days away from the crying and squeals made today a lot more enjoyable!
Today’s new experience was Spanish “class”. I have 3 weeks of classes set up for my time here and today was Day 1. My classes consist of me and my instructor in a room with a white board going over whatever I feel will help me most. Even though today was only an hour session, we went over the 5 different ways and situations to say “to become”. It reminded me of an accordion. “To become” does not sound complicated on its own in English but in Spanish you keep pulling it apart and it gets larger, and larger, and larger. When all was said and done, it was nice to have some sort of structured learning environment to return to today. I won’t go as far as saying I miss being at college, but I missed the learning atmosphere. Side note: I found the chickens on the roof today!! Mama would talk about sending you to sleep with the chickens and I just thought it was a figure of speech, but we actually have chickens on the roof! 😊
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Today was a pretty slow day once again. Woke up to a simple breakfast to be followed by a trip to church. This was a short walk of 2 blocks from my front door. Here there are many churches scattered around the city and the only ones I've seen have been Evangelist and Catholic. This aligns with the statistics that Christianity is a prominent religion in Guatemala. As I sat in the pews throughout the service, I may no have understood much of the readings, but the comfort of the familiar ceremony was much appreciated. How would I have felt if I were in a country where my religion was not openly accepted and/or practiced? After church came more lines in the kid's notebooks as they start classes tomorrow. So. Many. Notebooks! As the family left to attend their own church service for the night I returned to the rooftop and soaked in the sun while, you guessed it, marking MORE notebooks They're endless, but the family appreciates it and I can't think of another laid back activity for a Sunday afternoon so I did it anyways. Anything to keep Mama happy. :) Tomorrow is back to the orphanage and I start my Spanish lesson tomorrow so I am preparing to use extra brain power. Side note: If you haven't already, check out my GoFundMe page. Every little bit helps and the personal hygiene products I already delivered were very much appreciated! I will keep the account open until February 26th and donate the money to the orphanage in my last week there. Click HERE to check it out! The title pretty much sums up all that I did today. The 2 activities for the day were a barbecue on the roof and lots and LOTS of cards. I hope E. never gets tired of playing with me because having to listen to and explain rules in a card game is helping a lot with my language. Today's new game was King in the Corners or "K's en las Esquinas". I believe we're up to 5 or 6 games now and for an 8-year-old she is a quick study. It was a day well spent! The barbecue on the roof made me realize how much Guatemalan's climate affects their living. In town, almost all stores and stall are outdoors and each house has some sort of living space outside. In the house that I am staying in, they have the rooftop where they have an outdoor grill and table for cooking set up as well as wash lines for drying clothes. There is no dryer in the house. Also, when you enter, you come through a door built into the garage door and Honda CR-V is parked between their kitchen and the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms and living rooms. I have not seen any sort of climate control in the house yet and I don't believe there is any. There is also a skylight that can be seen from the first level from almost 3 stories up. A lot of natural light is used and energy is used sparingly especially with the 4-minute showers and earlier bedtimes. This consciousness of resources is something that I hope to bring back with me. A day at the BEACH!! In January!! Why go to a warm climate and NOT spend some time near the ocean? Today we went to Monterico which is a town on the Pacific Coast to spend some time relaxing before the kids go back to school. The day was filled with Papa telling us about how the tides change and the ecosystems within it are effected, as well as a great deal of swimming and wave jumping. Located on the beach were a few pools that we visited as well and all-in-all had a good time. Something new for the day was riding the beach on a horse which I NEVER thought I would do, but for roughly $1.25 who could say no? One thing I appreciated about today was Papa's point to teach everyone about the ocean and the things that live in it. He caught a crab and showed the different parts. We watched fishermen come in on their boats with last night's catch and dug for clams (at least I believe they were clams). When working in the orphanage I see the side of the equation where parents are not involved in their children's lives and this effort on a day of relaxation renewed my sense of confidence in the global community to teach the next generation. The rest of the night was spent driving, eating, and playing cards. The youngest daughter here hasn't let me put my cards away since I brought them out on the second night and I will say its helping with my language. We have a deal that if she helps me with my Spanish then I will help her with her Math and play cards once school starts again. I would say she has it a lot tougher than I do... Today my volunteering with the children passed with no problems. I'm starting to understand the routine of each day and it is getting easier. My language is still a barrier between the girls and me. There are a few brave souls that come and introduce themselves, but I still have to use "I don't know" a lot more than I like. Hopefully once I start my Spanish classes on Monday more of my vocabulary will come back from my previous classes. I just have to remind myself to keep putting myself out there and avoid complacency.
After volunteering, I came home to outline more notebook pages for school and wrap books. This is definitely a long term task. After getting a few notebooks done, I went with a former volunteer with the family to Central Park. The Guatemalan Central Park is a little different than the one you will find in New York. Here, Central Park is a collection of shops and stands selling items like clothing a knick-knacks, less food like one might find in the market. Similar to the market there were very few marked prices and negotiation was expected with each purchase. Central Park is a short 15-20 minute walk from home and I will definitely be returning for a few souvenirs! This morning was the morning Mama and I were going to hike the mountain. We did not make it far... About 5 minutes in, we decided the mountain was for another day and toured the nearby shops instead. At 5am, Xela is very calm with the only traffic being garbage trucks and buses getting ready for another day of driving. One would never be able to tell it is a city of 400,000 people. Something new for the morning was that we carried batons to scare off the street dogs looking for scraps. This is one thing I would not have worried about in the United States, but for Mama it is a habit.
After volunteering in the morning, I come home to yet another Guatemalan meal and the family is preparing for school to start again on Monday. They do one thing different here for school supplies. ALL of the notebooks and work books are wrapped according to the assigned color for each subject then labeled with each child's name, level in school, and subject. Once the books are wrapped, every page needs to be outlined where writing is acceptable. This is quite a timely process that has a whole table devoted to it for all 3 kids. This family is lucky that they have extra hands to help these next couple days. Today was also my first experience in a Guatemalan market. Mama gets all of her food here and must bring a bag to carry her purchases. (Sorry, for no pictures. I was too worried about getting lost or left behind!) The market is a collection of stalls, canopies, and tables. You can find anything from elaborate clothing, fresh fruit, food stands, and other housewares. There are no marked prices and it is common for items to be sold by weight. One thing I noticed was that the food had very little packaging. This may decrease sanitation, but after seeing the litter that piles up on either side of the roads, I positively embrace the small amount of waste that the market contributes to. Today was my first day of actually volunteering after leaving Minnesota 2 days ago. I will say it was well worth the wait. First thing this morning I was escorted to the orphanage and introduced to the director before being directed to the nursery. YAY babies!!
One surprise today was that the babies in the nursery were not court ordered to this orphanage like the other girls there but born to the girls there. The girls placed in the orphanage are all under the age of 18. In Guatemala it is not uncommon for women to have 3 children before they turn 20 and many times they do not keep their children. I have been asked multiple times if I have children/boyfriend/husband and I catch myself being taken aback each time, but this is the cultural norm. Tomorrow morning Mama wants to "hike the mountain" before I leave to volunteer so no sleeping in for this chica! Today is the first day I woke up in a new country! It was a little shocking to wake up in January with my window open, but it happened. I thought Guatemala was supposed to be warm! No such luck. Sweatshirt and pants it is for the day of traveling.
After 4 hours on a bus, I finally arrived in Xela (SHAY-luh) Guatemala! After a quick orientation with my in-country contact I've been emailing for the past few months, I was introduced to my host family. The rest of my day was spent taking in the new language and catching up on sleep. I used to wonder why exchange students slept so much when they got to a new place with so many new things to experience...now I know. My host mom, hereto known as Mama, made sure I ate a true Guatemalan supper of rice, beans, and tamales before going to bed once again. And tomorrow I go to the orphanage and get a taste of what my mornings will be like for the next 2 months! You never realize how seldom college students see children and babies until you're faced with 4 hours STRAIGHT of holding babies and can't contain your excitement! ^.^ Today was my last sight of the snow in Minnesota. Hopefully, when I return the gross white stuff will be gone! First step was to arrive at the airport for my early morning flight. Coming from a girl who has not boarded a plane since 5th grade, this was no small task and today I was taking 2!! Needless to say that I would be experiencing customs, baggage claim, and meeting my pick-up volunteer for the night was a little daunting. I arrived in Guatemala City early in the afternoon and, with a little help, I met my first contact who is housing me for the night before I continue to Xela, Guatemala tomorrow where I will be volunteering in an orphanage for 2 months. So far I have conversed with my first family here in Guatemala and my Spanish isn't as rusty as I thought it would be so fingers crossed tomorrow goes just as well! |
Liesel Theusch
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