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FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2011
Ode to the Manna House
by: Jodi Murphy
So before I go I would like to say
a few words as to why I love you all,
and after this I will go and help
clean piñata spew from out of the hall.
clean piñata spew from out of the hall.
Kat, yours was the first name I learned
upon finding that I was coming here.
You handled my questions and made us feel at home
with your wonderful Kat Mueller cheer.
Elle, yours was the first face I saw,
and you're the one who has surprised us the most.
You've taught us all that the sweatier the place,
the better the time it will host.
Jaydon, your shameless interjections
brightened our every day.
Thanks to you I will never think
of the Midwest the same way.
Rachel, after spending a month
sleeping across from your face,
I am sure that there is no one better
to be with in this place.
Karen, I am sure that you are
the best Baker that there ever has been,
but I guess when your mom is an astronaut
it is hard to do anything but win.
Ginny, you have a "grrreat" attitude,
and you light up the room with your song.
Your warmth and your enthusiasm
helped us to feel we belong.
Jared, you were the cause of my best laughs
with stories of near death and fire.
Despite the many times you should have died,
it's your adventurousness I admire.
Hudson, you're one of the nicest men
that I may ever have met.
I hope that your business takes off;
you deserve everything that you get.
Dana, I am glad to have found someone
Jaydon, your shameless interjections
brightened our every day.
Thanks to you I will never think
of the Midwest the same way.
Rachel, after spending a month
sleeping across from your face,
I am sure that there is no one better
to be with in this place.
Karen, I am sure that you are
the best Baker that there ever has been,
but I guess when your mom is an astronaut
it is hard to do anything but win.
Ginny, you have a "grrreat" attitude,
and you light up the room with your song.
Your warmth and your enthusiasm
helped us to feel we belong.
Jared, you were the cause of my best laughs
with stories of near death and fire.
Despite the many times you should have died,
it's your adventurousness I admire.
Hudson, you're one of the nicest men
that I may ever have met.
I hope that your business takes off;
you deserve everything that you get.
Dana, I am glad to have found someone
who shares in my love of dance,
and if it had not been for you,
I would have died pooping my pants.
John, you were the last to arrive,
and sadly, you're the first one to depart.
Thank you for the guitar serenades
and for being my best work of art.
I can't believe that it is coming to an end,
after three of the best weeks I've had.
I will try to think of the good times and smile,
rather than letting myself feel sad.
I loved staying up late, drawing tattoos
and spooning six people on the floor.
I loved the times that we went out dancing
and left Guatemalans wanting more.
You've given us the opportunity
for both meaningful work and play.
I hope that each of you will stay in my life
and come to see me some day.
John, you were the last to arrive,
and sadly, you're the first one to depart.
Thank you for the guitar serenades
and for being my best work of art.
I can't believe that it is coming to an end,
after three of the best weeks I've had.
I will try to think of the good times and smile,
rather than letting myself feel sad.
I loved staying up late, drawing tattoos
and spooning six people on the floor.
I loved the times that we went out dancing
and left Guatemalans wanting more.
You've given us the opportunity
for both meaningful work and play.
I hope that each of you will stay in my life
and come to see me some day.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011
Best Day Ever
by: Rachel Haltiwanger
I can't believe this is my last blog post here in Guatemala. Of course, time flies when you're having fun, and here at the Manna House we do know how to have fun. Someone says "this is the best day ever" probably an average of once an hour. Possible causes include: a really successful class, yummy food, the cat chasing the laser pointer around the room, and telling funny stories around the dinner table. Perhaps we have low standards for what constitutes the best ever, or perhaps we build off of each other and make our own fun.
Last night, on a whim, several of us stayed up far later than we intended to playing cuarenta (an excellent card game) and giving each other temporary tattoos and sharpie tattoos. We laughed until we cried for hours and hours and just enjoyed spending time with each other. Best day ever.
My science camp this week was the best ever (and the kids seemed to really enjoy it too). We solved a crime, attempted to suck an egg into a bottle, and made goo. We made messes and learned a little and just enjoyed learning and being together. The kids were well behaved, attentive, and engaged, and that made it so much more wonderful to teach them. Best day ever.
I hiked a volcano this past weekend. My legs almost don't hurt when I walk up hills now. Best day ever.
In short, Guatemala has been a country where it has been easy to see the good and beautiful things in life, and the people I've become friends with here have certainly encouraged that even more, and it's been a wonderful and unexpected lesson to learn here.
________________________________________________________________________________ by: Rachel Haltiwanger
I can't believe this is my last blog post here in Guatemala. Of course, time flies when you're having fun, and here at the Manna House we do know how to have fun. Someone says "this is the best day ever" probably an average of once an hour. Possible causes include: a really successful class, yummy food, the cat chasing the laser pointer around the room, and telling funny stories around the dinner table. Perhaps we have low standards for what constitutes the best ever, or perhaps we build off of each other and make our own fun.
Last night, on a whim, several of us stayed up far later than we intended to playing cuarenta (an excellent card game) and giving each other temporary tattoos and sharpie tattoos. We laughed until we cried for hours and hours and just enjoyed spending time with each other. Best day ever.
I hiked a volcano this past weekend. My legs almost don't hurt when I walk up hills now. Best day ever.
In short, Guatemala has been a country where it has been easy to see the good and beautiful things in life, and the people I've become friends with here have certainly encouraged that even more, and it's been a wonderful and unexpected lesson to learn here.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011
Nearing the End...
by: Jaydon McDonald
Today concluded both my mini-camp and my time teaching in the schools. I am very sad that it is over. I just started to really get to know the kids and now I have to say goodbye. I would do anything to be able to stay and spend more time with them. But, as the wise Dr. Seuss said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
I am so very thankful for the opportunity to come to Guatemala. This experience has truly been life-changing and I encourage everybody to take time and reflect on all the blessings they have in their lives. I have been blessed with so much and I can only hope that I touched the lives of the kids here even half as much as they touched mine.
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TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2011
Mind Over Matter
by: Elle Harvell
These past few days have surely been the most epic of all of my adventures in Guatemala. On Saturday, we all traveled to the nearby lake town of San Pedro. As you approach this town by boat, a massive volcano peak rises from behind it on the far left-hand side. In true Guatemalan fashion, most of our time in this quaint town was spent in restaurants waiting for our meals or devouring delicious food. However, the last day of our trip was the main event; a Sunday hike up the San Pedro volcano.
On Sunday morning, we rose from our hostel beds at 5:30 AM. The view from our window was stunning. Straight ahead uneven mountains rose from a deep crystal blue lake. Clouds hovered in the dark gray sky that had yet to greet the morning sun. We all double checked our bags to make sure we had enough water and snacks for the hike, and we set off for the travel agency down the street. When we arrived there was a pick-up truck waiting to take us up to the starting point. By 6:30, Domingo, our guide, was directing us down a narrow trail lined with coffee trees. While most of the hike was through lush forest, at one point we walked across a section of exposed ancient lava flow. Unfortunately, this was the site of a large landslide that occurred last rainy season. The landslide destroyed many homes and killed one young child. Not long after passing the site of the landslide one member of our group became seriously ill due to stomach problems. Another member of the team had to turn back a few minutes later. The final five of us proceeded up the volcano.
After the point of separation from our teammates, the hike got infinitely harder. The dirt path became mud. The trail became steeper and studded with wooden stairs. From this point on, the hike reminded me of being on a stair master, but rather than spending ten minutes in the gym, we spent three hours on a mountain. Rachel and I, the last two girls, hung back behind the boys and marched at our own pace. During this time, we stopped to catch our breath and rest almost every twenty steps. The altitude and the pace made it very difficult to breathe. At times we doubted our ability to reach the top. We had to access nodes of strength within our minds and memories. I thought of all the episodes of The Biggest Loser in which the trainers always told the contestants that they could do anything; the impulse to think you can’t do something is all in your mind. We had no guide because he was helping the others down the mountain, but he guaranteed us that he would be able to meet up with us in an hour. He climbed the mountain all the time and he was in great shape. A little more than an hour later, Domingo came around the corner of the site where we were resting. He assured us that we only had fifteen minutes left so we followed him, hopeful that our “death march” would end in the discovery of a fantastic paradise.
When we reached the top, all of our dreams came true. We walked down a short path across the top where the view was blocked by trees, but we finally reached a clear peak covered with large boulders. A few members of our team and another group had already reached the top and were sprawled across the boulders basking in the sun and enjoying the view. We could see the lake and the various small towns thousands of feet below as well as the large mountains across from the San Pedro volcano. It truly was an awe inspiring experience.
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MONDAY, MAY 30, 2011
The Road to Discovery: Part 2! (Thanks Peyton)
by: John Menendez
Life has a funny way of sending us people and situations that we were in no way prepared for or expecting, yet often these end up being some of our most cherished and positive experiences. Living and working in Guatemala has certainly taken the phrase “rolling with the punches” to an entirely new level. From relying on the public transportation system that is, shall we say, eccentric, to ever moving meeting times and dealing with the temperamental weather that is the rainy season, we have all become accustomed to adjusting and going with plan B, or plan C. Even more meaningful than unexpected situations and twists, however, have been the people that have found their way into our lives. One example that clearly sticks out in my mind is our good friend Peyton Smith, who, up until just a few short days ago, had not met any of us. Peyton graduated from Ole Miss this May and is traveling through Guatemala for a month before he starts Law School at Vandy. Through a friend of a friend he was connected to Hudson and met up with Hud and I in Pana Friday afternoon. Grabbing lunch at La Palapa (one of our favorite Pana spots) we swapped stories and invited him back to the Manna house in Sololá to meet the rest of the gang and have a place to sleep for the night. Just a few short hours later we were all in the kitchen playing Sporcle, Peyton helped come up with an awesome title for Jodi’s blog (The Road to Discovery, classic), and was also helping make dinner like one of the family. It was amazing just how easily he jumped into the flow of life and we were all pumped when he agreed to come to San Pedro the next day.
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| Happy volunteers in San Pedro plus Peyton and Cassidy. |
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| His gelled hair looked wetter than ours after jumping in the lake. |
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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2011
The Road to Discovery
by: Jodi Murphy
This has been a busy week, but it has all begun to feel natural and routine. I was thrilled to spend more time in the classroom this week teaching English and health. The kids are adorable, but my respect for teachers grows everyday. It is very intimidating to stand at the front of the classroom, particularly when you do not speak their language fluently. They snicker about my broken Spanish in their Mayan dialects. I think it is best to never find out exactly what they are saying.
Last night we rented out a coffee shop in Panajachel so that we could watch Black Swan on the shop’s projector. It was awesome. We had to stop the movie once because it was raining harder than I have ever seen in my life and the clatter on the tin roof was drowning out the movie. I love how hard it storms here, but it has not been as severe as they warned it might (last year was apparently the worst rainy season ever in Sololá).
Today I woke up early to go on a hike with one other volunteer, a program director, and his girlfriend. It was easily my favorite thing that I have done thus far in Guatemala. We hiked over one of the many unnamed Sierra Madre mountains to the town on the other side of it called Santa Cruz. It was around fifteen miles and incredibly steep. It was exhausting but so worthwhile. We saw so many rural towns and the climate changed as we hiked, as did the vegetation and animals. There is actually a surprising lack of biodiversity here, but I guess that means I am all the less likely to be eaten by some jungle creature. We reached Lake Atitlán on the other side of the mountain after about three and a half hours of hiking. Then we rode across the lake back to Panajachel on a boat. The lake was so choppy, but I loved every second of it. I am taking tons of pictures, but I am not sure whether or not any of them are doing Guatemala justice. Maybe I will just move here, and you can all visit!
Tonight we are going out in Panajachel and tomorrow we are traveling to another lake town called San Pedro. Apparently, it is a hot spot for hippies and Israelis (and hippie Israelis?). I am so excited! We are going to hike the San Pedro volcano on Sunday; it will take about eight hours! Wish us luck! Throughout the many activities this week, I have been thinking about what I am doing here. When completely stripped of my normal context, I am given the opportunity to define and present myself in a more meaningful way. I still have no answers, but I am happy to continue the search with every mountain I might climb and new friend I might meet. It is amazing how much moving is involved in figuring out where you stand.
Last night we rented out a coffee shop in Panajachel so that we could watch Black Swan on the shop’s projector. It was awesome. We had to stop the movie once because it was raining harder than I have ever seen in my life and the clatter on the tin roof was drowning out the movie. I love how hard it storms here, but it has not been as severe as they warned it might (last year was apparently the worst rainy season ever in Sololá).
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THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011
Success
by: Rachel Haltiwanger
Last night we had a debriefing session about what our purpose is as Manna Project, and about what we’re doing here in Guatemala. Did we travel here to see the sights, to scratch a travel itch, or to change ourselves? And more than that, what would success look like for Manna here in Guatemala? Would it be all of the children having the opportunity to go to college and move away from here to a better life? Of course not, that would be detrimental to the community. Would it simply be getting clean water for them to drink or toothpaste for them to use? Teaching them conversational English or an appreciation for the environment?
This morning, Hudson, John, and I arrived a little bit early for our fifth grade English class, and got to watch the tail end of a math lesson. The fifth graders in Central have a wonderful teacher who is very invested in their lives and has worked closely with Manna Project in the implementation of this English program, and most of the volunteers would agree that he is their favorite teacher. Today in math they were learning about greater than and less than with fractions with different denominators. As it was the end of the lesson, they were going over some problems that the students had been doing for classwork. We watched as Willy (the teacher) went over the problems… and got every single one wrong. Consistently. He would go through finding the common denominator with the students, rewrite the fraction so that you could easily compare the two, and every time would say the fraction with the smaller numerator was bigger. John and Hudson and I were looking across the room at each other, at first confused, thinking that perhaps we weren’t understanding the Spanish, and eventually horrified. What could we do? We were guests in this classroom and didn’t want to jeopardize our relationship with Willy. Is it our job to correct him? We didn’t want to correct him in front of his students, so we had to let it go for today.To me, this is closely related with the struggle of what success would look like for Manna Project. Clearly Willy has survived just fine, with a solid job, without having any idea how to order fractions. And he’s probably one of the few people in this area who has ever had to demonstrate a working knowledge of ordering fractions. So is it our job to step in and teach these students the correct way to do it? Why do they need to know? The fractions that we most often use, in time and in money, we all know intuitively how to order because we use them so often. It’s unlikely that most of these students will encounter fractions other than those often in their lives outside of school, so how important is ordering fractions after all? Saying all of this hurts me, as I am studying to become an elementary school teacher and every fiber of my being wants to spout a hundred reasons why math is important and why these students need the opportunity to learn math the right way, but I don’t know if that’s true. How would these students define success for themselves, I wonder?
America has spread its influence far and wide, and one of my biggest fears is the Americanization of the world. One of the things that really struck me in Xela was the amount of American branding everywhere. I got a McFlurry at McDonald’s, ate lunch at a Subway, bought Skittles at a store in a mall and went to the bathroom in a Walmart. We also passed a Wendy’s, a Burger King, a Taco Bell, a Payless Shoe Store, and many other familiar corporations from home. Justin Bieber often plays in the buses and people everywhere wear American Eagle and Hollister clothes that they bought from second hand stores here in Guatemala.Sololá is not nearly so Americanized-- there’s probably a Shell station somewhere nearby and you can buy Diet Cokes at the tienda next door, but even the men still wear traditional Mayan clothing and the only fast food place is Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan chain. It was kind of nice, in Xela, to have a little bit of home (but also kind of hard to figure out how to ask for a 6-inch sub in Spanish when they use the metric system here…), but it’s gotten me thinking. I wouldn’t want to live in Xela, and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t want to eat Subway every day, or else why would I have left home? People everywhere talk about globalization with the internet and the amazing amount of communication we can have across the world (case in point- you’re reading this, and you are probably not in Guatemala right now), and in some ways I know it has been great. I was able to come to Guatemala and learn and live here because of the globalization of our world- we would never have recognized the need if we could not see or speak to the people. Yet is it really globalization we’re after, or is it Americanization?
My first few days here were rough. The water only worked well between the hours of 9am and 2pm, then they shut it off to conserve. You have to throw your toilet paper in a trash can. I didn’t have a computer and hadn’t heard much from my family or friends, and I appreciated every bit of home I could get. On tough days I would remind myself that I only had 3 weeks left. But the people who live here never get to leave, and their tiendas and water-outages are home for them. And now that I really do love it here and wake up looking forward to what new parts of Guatemala I’ll see today, I wish there was a way to share their home with my friends and family back home. I wish there was a way for you all to see the view out the window in the morning or the fog when the clouds literally float past the windows, or the huge cliffs that are supported by nothing towering over the beautiful lake below. I wish you could hear the markets or meet the people or eat the food, and I wish globalization went both ways. I wish globalization really meant a sharing of cultures, and not an imposing of one. Maybe that’s why I love coming on these trips- because I can come home with handmade pieces of clothing, some local food, and stories and stories and stories to share. And maybe if more of us committed to a real understanding of a global awareness, maybe we’d start to define success differently. Maybe we’d be able to see the bright fifth grade girl who has no idea how to order fractions and who will someday grow up to have eight children and make delicious corn tortillas as success for her as much as my college education is success for me. Or maybe we’ll just meet with Willy next week and casually bring up large and small fractions. You never know.________________________________________________________________________________
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
Who's Teaching Who?by: Jaydon McDonald
I have said and will continue to say that I will learn more from the people I have met in Guatemala than they will probably learn from me. The goal of MPI is not to come in close-minded and force “American” ideas upon others; Manna is simply here to show people that there are other ways of doing things; not better, not worse, just different. I can’t even begin to count the times that someone has come up to me and shown me a different way of doing something that may or may not work better. The point is not to change someone; it is to show them that there are other options.
And as far as what I can teach the children I have met? I can teach them some English. I can tell the kids stories about Nebraska and my family. I can’t give them a house with concrete floors. I can’t give them the same opportunities afforded to me. I can do for them what they can and have done for me. I can open their eyes to something different.
Nebraska has some of the nicest people. You walk into the supermarket and the cashier will say hello and ask how you are. I am astounded at how kind the people I have met here are. Everyone asks how you are and they actually want to hear the answer. Personally, when I ask people how they are 7 times out of 10 it is because I know it is polite to do so. This is not the case here. If you have a question here or need help, the people will drop whatever they are doing and see you through until the end. There is none of the awkward, “Oh god, I need to pretend like I am texting and rapidly shuffle away from this approaching stranger.” It is so refreshing to find such a genuine spirit.
Hello, my name is Jaydon and I am a shoe-aholic. I have a serious and somewhat debilitating problem with buying the shoes that most people would call stilts. I hoard shoes, and the point of this blundering segway is to explain that materialism is not an issue here. The children at the school wear the same outfit everyday for the most part. The women buy one gorgeous huipil (pronounced we peel) a year. If the kids saw my shoes they would laugh and ask “what purpose do they serve?” I cannot run fast in my shoes, I cannot work on a farm; I cannot brave the bustling market. How would I answer these kids? I have a problem, simple as that. Will I continue to buy these shoes? Probably. Unfortunately I may be a one-trick pony when it comes to that. But will I think a 100 times more before I buy half of the clothes I do? Absolutely.
In closing, I feel I need to vent because no one in the Manna house shares my same feelings. Please read this with an open-mind. While in Guatemala I have met my worst enemy. His name is Oliver. I feel he was wrongly named and think that names such as Lucifer, Diablo, Satan, Beelzebub, or Fallen angel would be more rightly suited for him. Oliver is a terrorist wrapped in cat’s clothing. He is the most hyper-aggressive creature I have ever met. He attacks you while you are reading and recently he has taken to slapping my face with his paw whenever I try to do dishes. Why is he the way he is? Enabling. All those around me enable his behavior by saying “he is just playing,” “he’s a kitten,” “you are being crazy!” Because no one around me will fight this battle I have learned to assert my dominance by standing up whenever we are in the same room. I am much taller than Oliver and therefore I believe I can show him who’s boss. This has been successful 60% of the time. I am open to new suggestions! I will keep you posted on the progress with this creature.
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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011
The Perks and Quirks of Guatemalaby: Elle Harvell
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| Who knows what he's selling? |
In the past few days, I have come across a number of unpredictable and quirky sights. Our weekend trip to Xela offered up multiple interesting occurrences. The first one happened in route to Xela. Usually, we take chicken buses on our travels to neighboring towns; however, on this trip, we boarded a first class bus that, to our immense shock, came complete with padded reclining seats and air conditioning. Imagine our gringo elation when we got off the bus near a McDonalds. Out of habit, we decided to stop there to use the bathrooms, and one of the PDs ordered a hamburger and fries. One of the highlights of our trip was enjoying Subway at the Xela mall for lunch on Sunday. However revealing the intense enjoyment of Subway was of our “Americanness,” it was a luxury that we enjoyed as a supplement to our diets in Sololá. The mall in Xela and the people shopping in it were a drastic contrast to the common vision of dilapidated buildings and poverty on the streets. One of the most humorous occurrences of the weekend vacation occurred at the Xela Wal-Mart. Yes, I said Wal-Mart! There is a Wal-Mart n Guatemala, although according to Dana, it had only been there for a few weeks. We all made a pit stop in front of this massive superstructure to use the restrooms. The line in the women’s bathroom was horrendously long and slow, but we all made it through eventually. Ginny, one of the PDs was the last one out, and for some odd reason unbeknownst to us, Wal-Mart employees shut the main bathroom door and turned off the lights, trapping Ginny in the bathroom (see the picture from John's post yesterday). It was a weird occurrence that left us all confused. While the bus ride home was fairly uneventful, it was highlighted by the site of a middle-aged man peeing behind the bus beside us. Oh, Guatemala!
Once we were back in Sololá, the interesting and quirky experiences did not cease. Here in Guatemala, Mondays are our days to plan out the events of the coming week and stock the house with groceries. Yesterday was a particularly exciting day. We all split up into groups for shopping; while some went to Dispensa, another group went to PanaSuper, and Dana and I went to the open-air market down the street from the Manna house. On our way home, we had to stop for eggs at a local tienda. Dana directed me into a doorway, but upon entering, we realized that the core of the building was being redone; the room was completely empty, with the exception of a few buckets, tiles, and some dust. After eventually finding eggs, we continued to the Manna house to put away the fruits and vegetables we had purchased. When we got home, the kitchen was bustling with activity. Everyone was making lunch or a snack; therefore, all the food was on the table or being passed around the room. In the states, Mondays mark the beginning of the work week and they are often the hardest and longest days of the week; however, here in Guatemala, Monday equals food day!! This excitement over food continued until dinner.Hudson and Jodi cooked us breakfast for dinner complete with omelets, French toast, and yogurt parfaits. It was delicious and a perfect way to kick off the work week.
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| Oliver's mischievous work. |
Hasta Luego,
Elle
________________________________________________________________________________Elle
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2011
Black Cat Adventuresby: John Menendez
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| View from the top. |
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| Showin' Ronald some love. |
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| Team Awesome. |
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| Ginny getting herself locked in the bathroom... |
Adios!
John
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FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2011
It's a Small World After Allby: Jodi Murphy
It's a small world, after all.
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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
Aprendiendo Españolby: Rachel Haltiwanger
So, fun fact about Guatemala to go along with Jaydon's last post- they speak Spanish here. They also speak lots and lots of other languages that sometimes I can remember how to say thank you in (right now all I've got is that it starts with an "m" though), but pretty much the only language that any of us have any hope of communicating in here is Spanish. Our Spanish is... improving. I have my greetings down and can generally understand most of what is said to me if I ask them to repeat it slowly. The hardest part is definitely figuring out how to respond back.
Because the Manna Project house is small (but wonderful!) there isn't room for all of the volunteers to stay there. Instead, we live with host families that have houses within 50 steps of the Manna house. The house I'm staying in has one other tenant, who we have managed to have several very confusing conversations with. The first real conversation we had with him was two nights ago and involved him knocking on our door and saying... something. I'm convinced he wanted us to turn off the hall light, because he stopped knocking when we did, but Jodi thinks he was just commenting on our awesome jerry-rigged curtain. I guess we'll never know.Last night, we had another, more face-to-face interaction with him. We were able to communicate quite effectively for most of the conversation about where we all are from, what we're studying, and what we're doing in Guatemala. Unfortunately at one point he asked about how long it took for me to get to Africa from New York for a volunteer trip I did last summer, and I responded first by saying what the weather was like there, then by saying how long I was there, and finally, after he sort of acted out riding in an airplane for me, was able to inform him that it took more than 14 hours.
But all things considered, I think all of us have been surprised by our capacity to communicate in Spanish here. Occasionally we conjugate verbs incorrectly or speak in the wrong tense, or use the word for "name" instead of "number" (nombre just sounds like it should mean number...) but people have been very patient and understanding and even willing to act like airplanes for the sake of communicating with us. I can't wait to see how much better my Spanish gets by the time I leave- I'm already feeling much more confident in speaking and responding to others. And maybe I'll try to learn a few words in Kaqchikel, or at least how to spell Kaqchikel, before I leave too.
Hasta luego!
Rachel
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2011
You Should Know...by: Jaydon McDonald
I came to Guatemala not having any idea what to expect. For me, Guatemala and Manna were just a way to experience the world and go on an adventure. This experience so far has been nothing short of just that. Each day brings forth new challenges and with that comes the extreme need to be resourceful. If something isn't working then you try something else. Nothing is impossible. Today I would like to share with you five of the most important things I have learned so far:
1) Always wash your hair first, and if time allows, shave starting with your calves. Our water is very finicky. Sometimes you will be blessed with cool showers, and sometimes the water will shut off on you mid-shampoo. That being said, I recommend shampoo/conditioner in one. Kill two birds with one stone.
2) Fishing line is the closest thing to the holy grail I have seen. I had the opportunity to witness a modern day Macgyver yesterday. Our country director, Dana, strung up a curtain using fishing line and a needle. She wove the needle in between a concrete and wood window to create this small miracle. We now have a room where we are able to get dressed and sleep!
3) The girl does NOT lead in salsa dancing...even if she thinks she should. We took salsa lessons last night and it was fabulous! Our teacher was amazing and I am proud to say I caught on at a decently fast pace. Menendez (one of the other volunteers) was excellent and did a great job taking the lead. I engaged in somewhat of a power struggle between one of my dance partners though. He was not able to get a hold of how to turn me so I tried to take over. He eventually figured it out and I was forced to abandon my coup for power. Patience is a virtue. 4) Tortilla making is an art form. We visited some local women today in hopes of becoming masters of the corn tortilla making field. Making tortillas is not easy in the slightest. These women made it look so simple and always churned out the most perfect circular tortillas. We, on the other hand, dropped a combined total of seven. Our tortillas were not the most gorgeous things in the world, but I do believe they tasted better. Blood, sweat, and tears went into those babies.
5) The "personal bubble" is a myth. There is no such thing as personal space in Guatemala. I quickly realized this my first time riding the chicken bus. If you don't have someone on your lap more or less then you aren't doing it right. They fill every seat with at least three people and the aisles are completely filled. If you have an itch you better hope your neighbor is kind enough to scratch it for you because you can definitely not reach it yourself. If you have any sort of issue with boundaries I highly advise you seek treatment before coming to Guatemala.These are just some of the things I have learned, and I know that with each day I will continue to figure out how to best adapt to my new environment. Guatemala is the most beautiful place I have ever been and you could not ask for a more warm and genuine community of people. This country has so much to teach us about values and what is important in life and I feel so blessed to get to experience it all with the amazing Manna members and the wonderful community members. Never be afraid to open yourself up to something new and sometimes frightening. I am from Nebraska and had never been outside of the country, it was terrifying to take a risk and come to Guatemala. This risk, however, has proven to be one of the greatest I have taken.
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." -Andre Gide
<3 Jaydon McDonald
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TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011
A Whole New Worldby: Elle Harvell
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| Hudson hangin' onto a packed micro on the way to Chaquijyá. |
The most intriguing thing about Sololá is the large indigenous population. At all hours of the day, local women can be seen walking the streets in traditional Mayan dress. They balance goods wrapped in colorfully woven cloth on their heads and grasp tightly to swaddles crafted from similarly vibrant fabrics that hold an infant securely on their backs. The steady pace of life for the indigenous population seems to clash with the bustle of the chicken buses, school buses, micros, and taxis that speed along the streets of the city, unconscious of pedestrians. Likewise, even the hustle of the market is a calm and controlled excitement.
This calm pace of life has transferred to the Manna Project house, where, although the team of directors collaborates intensively and ambitiously toward collective goals, they are frequently encountering cultural idiosyncrasies and overcoming challenges in daily life. For example, this Monday we had a long and productive Monday Morning Meeting but, throughout the day, the entire team faced little challenges, such as a loss of electricity while cooking dinner, a lack of water in Sololá, and a long and intricate school meeting. These are only a few of the daily surprises and challenges that make this place unique and exciting.More soon,
Elle
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MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011
Greetings From Guata!
by: John Menendez
by: John Menendez
On Sunday we went to Chichi, home to the largest market in Guatemala. Here all the girls got to practice their haggling skills while Hudson and I climbed to the top of the mountain overlooking the town. On top was an ancient Mayan altar that was still in place and functioning. Regrouping in the evening, we all went over some more procedures and safety precautions for the rest of the trip. Following that we learned the traditional Central American card game “Cuarenta”. Originally from Ecuador, cuarenta is a partner game where each team tries to accumulate 40 points. The new volunteers caught on quick and we all played several competitive rounds.
This morning we had our first “Monday Morning Meeting”. Every Monday the whole house meets to outline lesson plans, chores, and other goals for the week. Here we got a full picture of the programs we will be taking part in over the next three weeks as well as how we will be able to take ownership over our own programs and initiatives. This week each of the new summer volunteers will be helping teaching English classes in the primary school for the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders as well as after school health programs and an environmental project headed up by Jared and Dana. In the first week we will get to see and participate in all of the programs and for the final two weeks we will focus on one or two specific ones. Finally, during the third week we will be running an after school camp for the kids where each summer volunteer will be heading up their own activity. We are all excited to head to the community to teach our first classes tomorrow morning. We’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on all our programs, fun times and shenanigans here in Guata!Thanks for reading, Manna love,
John
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