hellllllllo lovely people of my life!!!
i hope all is well over there in the united states.. oh quite a day today. May God rest the innocent souls whose lives were taken this horrid day. And may God rest all the innocent souls whose lives are taken every day as a result of war, genocide and violence in our world. I hope all is going as it should in rememberance of these lives today and every day.
Important people of my life, I am glad you are still alive and well. I wish you all health and love and contentment and fulfillment in your lives today and every day with all the sincerity of my heart I can offer you.
Here in Guatemala things are going suuuper well!! That day that i wrote that blog last weekend, ooof, after that, my day was a little rough I´m not gonna lie. I was walking around with rebecca and talking to a whole bunch of people and everyone kept saying, how rebecca spoke muuuch better spanish than me and how i still need to learn more and blah blah blaaah. and she was hardly even talking, i was doing most of the talkinggg!! ohh man, it killed me. and after i heard it about 3 times, i was pretty much done with the day. i know that they say it all with love and they want to me to get better at spanish but whyyy sooo much thaaat day!! ah then something else happened with a very angry drunk man that i really don´t want to go into detail because it really made me sad to encounter someone with so much anger in his heart and anger towards americans. though, i do know some of the past politics of the US and some of it is really quite horrible, especially in guatemala and other parts of central america, and i could see how he could be angry at us for our social and political involvements. and for that reason, let´s sit and talk about the history of the politics between the US and guatemala, please, let´s discuss and i want to hear your experience and your knowledge. but as far as i´m concerned, it made me very upset as to how this man expressed his anger towards me. and when i told a few people of the pueblo, they were all very surprised to hear my story and they said that this man must have not been from el chol. and when i talked to my sitemate she told me that this has never even close to happened to her before. so this experience is hopefully going to be a solitary one, but it sure was both saddening and humbling for me as a foreigner living in a completely different community in a different culture who all have their various opinions of me and my country. it was humbling, to say the least.
anyways, after that day, it was only uphill because ooof that one was rough. the next day, i think it was the next day, there were dances at one of the schools with all these elaborate beauuutiful costumes and dresses. and each dance apparently tells a story about a different event or theme in guatemalan history. it was really coool. oh man, i´m getting these days all confundled. anyways since i cannot quite remember the days of last week, let me talk about this week... there´s just been so many activities!!
so mooonday, i had a class and we were learning how to give assertive messages involving explaining our feelings, our requests, listening to a response, finding agreement and giving thanks. and this is all in response to their overwhelming interest in learning better communication skills. but oooh man, it was much harder than expected! i made copies of a paper with these steps to assertive messages and gave them scenarios and 20 minutes to write their assertive messages but they had a million and one questions about this that and the other and one group turned theirs in but they didn´t do it right.. so next class we´re gonna spend the whole day on these assertive messages and scenarios.. and my directions are going to be super clear and direct.. because that´s what they are used to and that´s what is just more affective anyways. so i´m learning a lot about how to be a more effective teacher. so next year after vacations (vacation is from november until january), i can come in and be a better teacher for them!! wooohooo!!
so then the next day, i went to a few teachers and parents and a whole bunch of kids, packed in a minibus, and i mean PACKED IN A MINIBUS to Xemap, a mini water park with a couple waterslides and pooools to swiiiim in!!! ahhhh, so much fun!! we left at about 3 in the afternoon, and the bus was so packed that the majority of the people on it had to get out of it when we were going up some steep hills and help push the bus up! ohhh, quite an experience, it happened like 6 times, i´m not even joking! so we stayed over night in these open windowed ranches together.. first played basketball and soccer with the kids, ate dinner, talked, danced, listened to music and sleeept! woke up at sunrise, ate some eggs, beans and tortillas. and then played basketball and played on the jungle gyms and then swaaaam, sunbathed and swaaam some more! went down the waterslide about 30 times, teached some kids to swim a little bit, do handstands in the water and diiiive in!! it was really fun!!
then on the way back, we ran with the torch with the kids and parents through pachalum )where tiara is living, and then through saltan (where ryan is living, another volunteer) and then through granados (where rebecca is living), and then finally arrived to el chol at about 8 in the morning, tired but still happily energized with endorphins, to run through el chol... then there was a ceremony to thank God and all the participants for coming and then we ate hot chocolate and tomales!!! then yesterday one of the schools put on folklore, dances and plays in the afternooon. that was fun to watch, there´s been activities in the afternoon every day this week and some of last week to celebrate 15th of september coming up, which is there independence day of guatemala!! sooo, another school is presenting today!! and tomorrow i´m going to Xemap another time with one of the high schools i work with for the day to hang out with them and run through all the towns and ours another time to traer la antorcha (bring the torch). and then i´m going to another waterpark this wweekend to bring the torch with one of the middle schools at work at!!! we´re getting back monday night at 11 p.m. and then there´s a dance til odd hours of the night! and then the next morning is independence day!! ahh, it´s really fun, these activities!! i´m soo happy to be a part of them and get to know every one involved from the community!!
well it´s time to go eat lunchhhh.. i hope you all are happy, safe, healthy and content on this friday! i wish you all pleasant and fulfilling weekends! i love you all very much! and can´t waiiiiit to seee sommmeee ooffff you for two weeks in december and january!!!!!!! woooooooooooo!!!! mucho mucho amor!!!!!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
sorry!!
sorrry all!! i can't download photos right now-- it's taking foreeeever!! i'll be showing you all fotos in the near future.. stick arouuund!!! i love you all enjoy your dayyyyysssss!!! : )
wooooahhhH!!!
ohhh man!! just saw the biggest flying beetle i've ever seen in my whole entire liiiife!!!!! ohhh maaaan!!! i couldn't stop screaming, thank god i live with a family because i start screaming when i see a spider or a cocroach and they come and help me get it out of my little house!!!! aaahhh, i hate seeing these bugs move around. it's one thing to see them sitting on my walls, but then when they move, booooy they move sooo fast!!! ahhh soo scarrry!!! it's unearthly their speeed!! ohh man. quite the experience! saw my first scorpion last weekend in pachalum.. luckily i haven't seen any in my house!! only biiig spiders and maaad cochroaches!! harmless, they say, but oh man they still scaaare the bigjeeeezes out of me!
anyways, enough with the bugs!! so my friend rebecca is here, she's another volunteer living about 30 minutes away! sooo i'm using the internet here, thanks to her!!! soo we've just been hanging out!! the past three weeks, don robert (the head of the household in the family i live in), well his brother and wife and 3 kids (who were born in canada) are visiting from canada! they've lived there for 20 years, so they speak really good english! so we've all been hanging out a lot! it's their last night tonight, so we were sipping on atoll (a drink made out of milk, corn and lots lots of sugar) with them and don robert's neice and her 3 kids! oh man, it's a full house around here! and tonight there's gonna be another party for saying goodbye to all of them leaving tomorrow morning! so it'll quiet down around the house here again, just three brothers- juanfra, anthony and abner, and dona chayito and don robert.
but there's a lot of bussstle in the town. it's their independence day the 15th. it's a reeeally big deal around here! all the schools go on different trips, some for the day, some for a couple days, so they all go different places around guatemala! so two days ago, i went to the zoo and a kids museum in guatemala city with like 70 little elementary school kids (they call them chicatitos) and their parents and teachers, all packed like chickens in a big school bus!! ohh man!! it was so much fun though!! we left at 3 oclock in the morning-- wait correction-- we were all waiting from 3 in the morning until 430, when the bus actually came to pick us up! i'm really learning a lot about patience here, let me tell you! soo then we left, went to the zoo.. it was so cute, it was smaller than in the states but it was soo cute with all the decorations and beautiful trees (thank god there was so much shade! i feel like its impossible to find shade in the zoos in the states, but here, there was soo much shade!!).. soo yeah then we went to the kids museum which was sort of disappointing compared to like the boston children's science museum which is like the coolest thing ever, right? but yeahhh it was fun for what it was!! i had a fun time with the kidddos!!! then on the way back, our bus broke down at about 9 at night in the middle of nowheeere! so we waited about an hour-- the bus driver fixed it! and we're off again- apparently this happens A LOT hereee!! so we returned and we all got out the bus a little outside of el chol and ran with a torch screaming and woo hooooing through town to the park. (the whole tradition here to go on trips with your school and then upon return, you run and scream into town holding a torch celebrating your school and your trip of the day!!) soo yeah, that was that!! it was my first experience of it!!
and wooo i'm going on 4 more trips this week and next week!!! i'll let you know how all of those go!!! i'm going with another elementary school to a sports morning in another aldea-- we're walking 10 km to get there!! wooo!! and then the next day i'm going to xemap.. a place where there's pools and monkeys and we're camping there with another elementary school!! and then a couple days later, i'm going back there with one of the highschools i work with for the day! and then two days later i'm leaving again at 3 am to go about 6 hours away to the department of el progresso and we're visiting a sort of waterpark place, apparently!! and then we're coming back late in the night that night!! and that trip is with one of the middle school i'm working at! soo it's gonna be a fulll weeek of trips with kids and teachers and parents from my town!!! and then on the days i'm not tripping with them- there's gonna be different dances, food tastings, folklores and plays in the park as cultural movements prepared for by the schools! soo it's a full week of cultural events, movements and trips!! i'm excited!! glad to share it all with you!!!!
mmm.. so as far as work goes, this is part of it!! which is pretty much the coolest job i could think of!! yeeess!! but as far as work in the schools- i had a week full of charlas last week- getting to the know the kids, having them work in groups to answer questions about their communities, their schools, their thoughts about education and things like that.. as sort of a youth analysis to base my future work in! soo last week was full of preparing and working in the schools!! i really enjoy the work that i'm doing, it's fun and i love getting to know the kids and i feel like we're all gonna learn alot in the classes!! i mean i learn a lot from the kids all the time and i know it's gonna be a neverending eye opening experience. and then they seem interested in the types of youth topics we're gonna be working with- and through conversation with parents and the kids- i know they need it too. so that's exciting!!
did i tell you i'm on a soccer team here? we've played 2 times and gotten second place (out of 3 teams, but wooohooo).. so we've travelled about an hour away these two times to other towns (aldeas, they are called) within the municipial of el chol on the back of a pick up truck with 10 girls about 14-17 years old.. they are my team members!!! and so we drive in the truck of another teacher, grace, whose also on the team, and her husband who is really cool too and verrry into the success of our team. it's funny. it's really fun and we're playing again tomorrow in el chol.. beginning the tournaments with other girls' teams in el chol! wooo!!
sooo that's about it over here!! i've totally been hogging rebecca's computer and i'm sweaty and haven't taken a showeer and it's soo hotttt here!! i'm gonna get going now!! it's been so fun to connect with you all, one-ended i know!! but i hope to see most of you on my trip back home for twwwwoooo weeeeekkkksss!!! woooooo yyayayayyayyyyy!!!! i'm gonna try to download some photos for you now!!! i hope you all the best of the best in everything that comes your way these days! i love you all very much and take care of yourself and others always!!! mucho mucho amor!!!! I LOVE YOUUUU!!! have a great day!!! : )
sarah! : )
anyways, enough with the bugs!! so my friend rebecca is here, she's another volunteer living about 30 minutes away! sooo i'm using the internet here, thanks to her!!! soo we've just been hanging out!! the past three weeks, don robert (the head of the household in the family i live in), well his brother and wife and 3 kids (who were born in canada) are visiting from canada! they've lived there for 20 years, so they speak really good english! so we've all been hanging out a lot! it's their last night tonight, so we were sipping on atoll (a drink made out of milk, corn and lots lots of sugar) with them and don robert's neice and her 3 kids! oh man, it's a full house around here! and tonight there's gonna be another party for saying goodbye to all of them leaving tomorrow morning! so it'll quiet down around the house here again, just three brothers- juanfra, anthony and abner, and dona chayito and don robert.
but there's a lot of bussstle in the town. it's their independence day the 15th. it's a reeeally big deal around here! all the schools go on different trips, some for the day, some for a couple days, so they all go different places around guatemala! so two days ago, i went to the zoo and a kids museum in guatemala city with like 70 little elementary school kids (they call them chicatitos) and their parents and teachers, all packed like chickens in a big school bus!! ohh man!! it was so much fun though!! we left at 3 oclock in the morning-- wait correction-- we were all waiting from 3 in the morning until 430, when the bus actually came to pick us up! i'm really learning a lot about patience here, let me tell you! soo then we left, went to the zoo.. it was so cute, it was smaller than in the states but it was soo cute with all the decorations and beautiful trees (thank god there was so much shade! i feel like its impossible to find shade in the zoos in the states, but here, there was soo much shade!!).. soo yeah then we went to the kids museum which was sort of disappointing compared to like the boston children's science museum which is like the coolest thing ever, right? but yeahhh it was fun for what it was!! i had a fun time with the kidddos!!! then on the way back, our bus broke down at about 9 at night in the middle of nowheeere! so we waited about an hour-- the bus driver fixed it! and we're off again- apparently this happens A LOT hereee!! so we returned and we all got out the bus a little outside of el chol and ran with a torch screaming and woo hooooing through town to the park. (the whole tradition here to go on trips with your school and then upon return, you run and scream into town holding a torch celebrating your school and your trip of the day!!) soo yeah, that was that!! it was my first experience of it!!
and wooo i'm going on 4 more trips this week and next week!!! i'll let you know how all of those go!!! i'm going with another elementary school to a sports morning in another aldea-- we're walking 10 km to get there!! wooo!! and then the next day i'm going to xemap.. a place where there's pools and monkeys and we're camping there with another elementary school!! and then a couple days later, i'm going back there with one of the highschools i work with for the day! and then two days later i'm leaving again at 3 am to go about 6 hours away to the department of el progresso and we're visiting a sort of waterpark place, apparently!! and then we're coming back late in the night that night!! and that trip is with one of the middle school i'm working at! soo it's gonna be a fulll weeek of trips with kids and teachers and parents from my town!!! and then on the days i'm not tripping with them- there's gonna be different dances, food tastings, folklores and plays in the park as cultural movements prepared for by the schools! soo it's a full week of cultural events, movements and trips!! i'm excited!! glad to share it all with you!!!!
mmm.. so as far as work goes, this is part of it!! which is pretty much the coolest job i could think of!! yeeess!! but as far as work in the schools- i had a week full of charlas last week- getting to the know the kids, having them work in groups to answer questions about their communities, their schools, their thoughts about education and things like that.. as sort of a youth analysis to base my future work in! soo last week was full of preparing and working in the schools!! i really enjoy the work that i'm doing, it's fun and i love getting to know the kids and i feel like we're all gonna learn alot in the classes!! i mean i learn a lot from the kids all the time and i know it's gonna be a neverending eye opening experience. and then they seem interested in the types of youth topics we're gonna be working with- and through conversation with parents and the kids- i know they need it too. so that's exciting!!
did i tell you i'm on a soccer team here? we've played 2 times and gotten second place (out of 3 teams, but wooohooo).. so we've travelled about an hour away these two times to other towns (aldeas, they are called) within the municipial of el chol on the back of a pick up truck with 10 girls about 14-17 years old.. they are my team members!!! and so we drive in the truck of another teacher, grace, whose also on the team, and her husband who is really cool too and verrry into the success of our team. it's funny. it's really fun and we're playing again tomorrow in el chol.. beginning the tournaments with other girls' teams in el chol! wooo!!
sooo that's about it over here!! i've totally been hogging rebecca's computer and i'm sweaty and haven't taken a showeer and it's soo hotttt here!! i'm gonna get going now!! it's been so fun to connect with you all, one-ended i know!! but i hope to see most of you on my trip back home for twwwwoooo weeeeekkkksss!!! woooooo yyayayayyayyyyy!!!! i'm gonna try to download some photos for you now!!! i hope you all the best of the best in everything that comes your way these days! i love you all very much and take care of yourself and others always!!! mucho mucho amor!!!! I LOVE YOUUUU!!! have a great day!!! : )
sarah! : )
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