Making Memories

This is a drawing of my two favorite girls from the first time I went to Cooperativa in Chaquijyá. Both of these girls were not in the class that we taught, but were eager to hang out with us. The class that we taught this day was on the importance of dental health. I was amazed at the amount of 6 and 7 year olds that already had rotted out teeth. We used a few examples with an egg and an apple to represent what happens to the tooth and its enamel when you don’t brush your teeth. The kids were incredibly receptive and were able to identify what foods and drinks are good and bad for your teeth along with the reason that they are bad for your teeth. This class was a little insane because school was cancelled the previous day, causing us to teach two sections of first graders together. However, the kids were still able to take a lot from the lesson and I was glad that we could give them handouts to take home on how to brush their teeth. I hate that we couldn’t purchase enough toothbrushes in order to give one to each child at the school, but hope there is a way that could be done so in the future.

This drawing in particular is of a photo I took of two little girls insisting on having a photo shoot. They had such colorful little personalities, pulling their friends in the photos or requesting to have their solo shots. I loved the outgoing and carefree spirit of these little girls and it breaks my heart that they will probably never have the opportunities that I have. This day was a great first day of breaking out of comfort zones and trying to make connections.  

- Nicole, Visage Student

Despedidas

Our year here in Guatemala is coming to a close, and this means having to say goodbye to all the amazing people we have been working with and teaching  for the past year. This past week each of the schools threw good-bye parties for us, which was so nice of them! They were full of thank you speeches from community members and teachers, and cute dances and performances from the kids.

 I also taught my final teachers' English classes at both Central and Cooperativa. It was hard to say goodbye; I have so much fun in those classes! The teachers always make jokes and make me laugh!

This year has definitely not been easy, but it has been an amazing experience that I will never forget. I have learned so much about myself and about international development work that I can use in my future endeavors. I will miss the people I have come to know and love. I will miss the amazing and colorful culture of Guatemala, and I will miss my fellow PDs who have been with me through the good times and the bad. 

Hasta luego Guatemala!

-Sarah

Lovin' on After School English

Today marks two weeks left here in Guatemala. Time passed so quickly while the summer volunteers were here! I feel like I just went to the airport to pick up session one, but in reality we sent the last group of summer volunteers home a week ago. So now we have to transition back to only having PDs in the house all the time. Not only is it strangely quiet in the Manna house, but we also had to go back to programs without an army of helpers. After eight weeks of wonderful help and support from the volunteers, going back to managing my two classes of English alone was a little daunting. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be in a classroom teaching by myself. My kids, of course, were full of energy and enthusiasm, but we made the transition back to one teacher just fine.

The kids got a little present at the end of class: the session two volunteers generously printed out pictures for the students and wrote them cards with words of encouragement about their English and ways to contact them. My students got especially attached to the volunteers in session two, and there were quite a few tears on their last day in class. It was really wonderful to see the volunteers get to know the students in my class, come to appreciate all of their funny quirks, and form relationships with them.

There are only four after school English classes left. When I watched the volunteers say goodbye to the students on their last day, I realized how hard it was going to be when I have to do that exact same thing. But as sad as it will be to say goodbye to them, I'm so thankful that I was able to teach and know this bright group of kids.

-Julie

Art that Scratches More than the Surface

As my time in Guatemala is coming to an end, we have officially entered the rainy season and the students are currently taking their quarterly exams. Because of exams, Nutrition, my original program, was cancelled. I didn’t learn this until I arrived at school bright and early this morning. Don’t fret, though. Manna was also running two art classes, so I had the opportunity to help out with that instead.

I am definitely lacking in creativity and artistic prowess, so I was a little apprehensive about leading the art class, but today’s project was scratch art and I figured I could handle it. We taught two classes, one second grade class and one third grade class. Especially during this week of exams, the students were so grateful for this creative outlet. It is truly humbling to bring them such simple crafts and watch them flourish.

Even in schools back home, the arts are often the first thing cut from the budget. So, imagine here, where the schools do not even have running water, how little is spent on the fine arts. Before today, I did not realize the impact of these simple art lessons. I thought that our time would be better spent teaching English or building the bottle school. But, now, after sitting in on an art class, I realized the true influence that we are having on this community. My time in Guatemala has taught me to value the little things. I envy the students for their attention to detail and their fascination with life in general. I have never felt more fulfilled than I do walking into Cooperativa only to be mauled by 12 kids who want to include me in their game of ‘ring around the rosie,’ or show me where they hung last week’s art projects.

I am flying home this Thursday, and I know that I will always remember the lessons I learned in my month here. I would not have made it through the month without my fellow interns, and I can say that we all have learned so much that will impact our lives as we return to the States.

-Erica

After-School English Updates!

2013 has begun full force and I can hardly believe that it is already February!  Since we got back after the holiday break we have been working to start fresh by re-organizing programs, including creating new ones and leaving others behind.  As life goes, nothing ever works out exactly as planned, so we have had to make various modifications to the goals we set before break.  Striking a balance between meeting the needs and requests of the community as well as using our knowledge and skills to best serve the community has been an interesting and sometimes trying process, but we are getting there. 

The after-school English classes have started up again, and although I will not be teaching that class this year since Julie is taking over, I went to the first class to introduce Julie as well as to cover rules and logistics.  It was wonderful to see the outcome; there were a total of about 30 students so we decided to split the class into two as we did last year including beginner’s and intermediate.  Seeing the eager faces of the students I taught was a wonderful reminder of how dedicated and inspiring these kids are.  There were a handful of new faces which is great since some of the primary students we had last year have now moved onto middle school.  Speaking of which, today I announced the new “before-school,” English class we will be starting for middle school students so that we can continue working with the students who have already taken classes with Manna for the past few years and have a good working base of the language.  It is essential for us to continue developing this skill within the group of determined students who we are already familiar with. 

It is exciting to have many new projects underway while continuing some old ones, which is certainly why the time is passing so quickly.  I look forward to seeing what shapes and forms these programs take throughout the quarter in this new year.

-Jess

Community Lovin'

Things have been super busy, but really quite enjoyable the past week. Our month of camp came to an end last Thursday. We met so many wonderful people through that process, particularly through the many volunteers we had from both communities.

As a thank you to them, we had all of our volunteers from both camps over to our house for lunch last Friday. Sarah, our resident chef, cooked a scrumptious lunch of salad, toasted rolls, roasted garlic, and pasta. Everyone stayed and chatted for a few hours, and we had a great time laughing and getting to know each other even better. Here's a picture of all of us after lunch:

Tuesday through Thursday of this week, each of the four of us lived with families in the community. All of us had a great time, and it was cool to see how all of us had a pretty unique experience. Jess and I stayed in Cooperativa, while Ja and Sarah were in Central. Jess and Sarah stayed with large families, while Ja and I stayed with smaller ones. Some of us picked beans while others learned artisan crafts like beading and sewing. I think all of us learned how to "tortillar," or make tortillas.

I can say for certain, though, that all of us fell in love with the families we lived with. Not only did we have the eye-opening experience of living the daily lives of our community members, but we were able to form deep relationships with many different families in the communities. We are all so glad to have had this experience, and I look forward to seeing how it will affect our future programming efforts.

In case all of these beautiful community experiences weren't enough, we have also been invited to Willy's house for dinner tonight. Willy is one of the Primaria Central teachers, and we have been to his house in Sololá for dinner once before. His family is always so much fun to hang out with :)

Suffice it to say, it's been a great past week or so. I have gotten to spend time with so many wonderful people, and I feel blessed that this is my job.

Next week, we have our second MPI retreat to San Marcos La Laguna, which is one of the Lake towns. We will be discussing future programming options, as well as assessing our personal strengths and weaknesses. After that, we'll only have a few more days until we're all headed back to the States for winter holidays!! It's crazy how the time flies!

Until next time,
Nicole

PS- If you would like to read more about my personal experience in my home-stay, check out my personal blog.

To be or not to be....

Yesterday was the last day of camp!  It was an eventful day because we had another guest visitor, Alberto, a friend of mine from Cuba who is a professional actor and artist.  He conducted two theatre workshops for the kids, first with the younger kids and then the older ones.  I was so impressed with how the students responded to the workshop because some of them are generally very shy and are hesitant to speak in public, but every single one of them participated, and it turns out that many of them are naturals!  In one of the activities the kids got to practice laughing and crying.  The sounds of laughter and sorrow filled the classroom as the kids poured their expression into the activity.  

With the older kids Alberto was able to create small scenes where each kid had to act out a scene by speaking with only one word.  Nicole and I had the opportunity to act out a scene in which she had stolen my boyfriend.  The only word I could use was “nube,” (cloud) and the only word she could use was “zapato” (shoe).  It was quite dramatic.  

It was so fun to be able to share theatre with the students, as it was always a passion of mine as a child.  Being given the opportunity to express oneself in a forum outside of the real world is magical, and as Alberto told the kids, theatre serves many purposes.  Being able to speak in public is an important skill to have in many professions, such as being a teacher or a doctor, which many of the students hope to be. 

After walking around the classroom, the students had to freeze into positions like statues.  

Acting out a scene as statues.

The kids created a story in a circle and each one was able to add a sentence or two to the story, which ended up being about a cat who fell out of a tree and broke his leg and went to the hospital and eventually died but ended up in heaven.  

The boys acting out watching a comedy.

After the theatre workshops we had our closing ceremonies, and some of the youngest girls decided they wanted to perform a dance with the panda masks they made in art class.  The dance ended up being more of a swaying back and forth, but nonetheless, it was adorable and entertaining. 

It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the kids, but we were all very excited to be finished with four weeks of camp.  It has taken a lot of work and energy, but it was a success full of many small moments of joy. 

Nicole, Ja, Maritza (local volunteer), Sarah, and Alberto.

-Jess

Sunday Snapshot: Cooperativa Community Visit

On Wednesday, we finally got to see Cooperativa beyond the school. The principal of the school, Celso, was kind enough to walk around with us, showing us his house, people we should know, and just the general environment of where the people we work with every day live. Fortunately, the weather was gorgeous, so we were able to enjoy a beautiful little hike around Cooperativa:

The beautiful mountainside :)

Lots of farms.

Unfortunately, there are many unpaved roads in Coop, which basically get ruined during the rainy season.

At one home, the man living there offered Jess some radishes! Here she is, posing with Celso.

Walking back down toward the school with Celso after a beautiful day!

Snappy Sunday,
Nicole

Sunday Snapshot: Teachers' Basketball!

Just when we thought all of the fun activities were over for a while, we learned that Thursday classes were canceled for Primaria because Central and Cooperativa were playing soccer against each other. The Central teachers enthusiastically asked us to join them in the teachers' match... which Jess eagerly agreed to. On Thursday, we arrived in our desfile clothes (good thing we had the same uniform as the other teachers!) unsure what to expect. We learned that the teachers were actually playing basketball instead of soccer.

While I had been dreading this activity (I'm not the athletic type), it turned out to be a lot of fun! I was relieved to learn that all of the female teachers would be playing basketball while the male teachers would play soccer after us. Here's some pics from the event! :)

Sarah providing an intense defense.

Jess getting ready to pass the ball.

Look, I actually have the ball!

Some of the teachers playing hard! (Central is red; Cooperativa is orange) Check out all the students sitting on the future home of 4 new bottle school classrooms! 

One of my favorite teachers, Esther, wasn't messing around.

Who says Guatemalans can't be ballers?

-Nicole

Sunday Snapshot: Día de Patria

Well, I have to say that choosing photos for this Sunday Snapshot may be one of the most difficult tasks I've faced since arriving here... ;) We have so many photos from the weekends' festivities!

Even though Independence Day is the 15th, the real celebrations began the afternoon of the 14th. We spent Friday afternoon/evening with Central. We spent Saturday morning with Cooperativa, and then returned to Central for lunch and more festivities! I'll do my best to weave together a fairly concise story of Friday & Saturday.

First, the stage we helped decorate at Central Friday afternoon. They actually built the whole thing Thursday. Super impressive!

So. Much. Glue.

 Throughout Friday (and Saturday), there was a steady stream of Marimba:

The Marimba is a typical Mayan instrument

The evening began with the Básico (middle school) students running in with torches. Similar occurrences happened all evening... We never figured out the story behind it, but nonetheless it is an Independence Day tradition.

The school selects a few "niñas" (girl) or "señoritas" to represent them. The classes of the selected candidates put together a dance, usually Mayan-based, to present the niña to the community. Below is an example of such a presentation. The niña was in the middle placing the apples in the shape of a cross.

After the presentation of the niñas, groups of students do additional presentations. These include dances or fake singing/playing instruments. However, one group of the oh-so-cool 8th grade boys actually had their lead man sing for real. I won't forget that moment... and I'll make sure they won't forget it either ;)

Fast forward to Saturday morning. We participated in a parade with Cooperativa, which began up in the mountains.

We paraded to the school, where each class did a short presentation. The ranged from typical Mayan to intense modern choreography:

The 2nd graders each held the Mayan numerals while wearing traje tipico.

Meanwhile, the 9th graders wowed us all with their many stunts!

 After watching the presentations and enjoying a delicious snack, we headed back to Central. Only minutes after arriving, Bayron the PE teacher at both schools put Jess on the spot and asked her to say a few words.

She was a good sport :)

 We arrived in time to see the last two performances from the 7th graders. Fortunately, our básico kids did a few stunts of their own.

We enjoyed a nice lunch with the Padres de Familia (PTA) and spent the rest of the afternoon sweating and watching lots of soccer games. 

All in all, it was an amazing experience! We are thankful to both Central and Cooperativa for being so welcoming and inviting!

Happy Independence Day from the MPI-G team!

Sunday Snapshot: Breakdancing

As Sarah mentioned in her previous post, the schools have been gearing up for Independence Day. While the festivities themselves have been rather foreign to us, there is one commonality between Guatemalan children and US children-- they like to breakdance.

These guys were seriously impressive.

You're never too young to start.

But don't worry, just like in the States, not everyone breakdances. Some just pose and look absolutely perfect instead:

How can you not be in love with this picture?!

Have a great Sunday! :)

Oh, and if you want to be extra-awesome, help support the community Bottle School Project!

Everybody Clap Your Hands

After a cross-dressed and wobble-filled evening of Cam and Emily’s despedida festivities in Santa Cruz, this week has been packed with mini-camp on top of our usual schedule! Mini-camp is an after school program we hold at the Cooperativa school in Chaquijyá that’s a kind of spin off of our summer camp program. For Monday-Wednesday we get the opportunity to teach the kids English in fun new ways. We split into three groups and are holding music, arts/crafts, and dance/PE classes. Karianne is leading the music class with her famous guitar/singing (look her up on iTunes: Karianne Larson), and of course the vocal stylings of Justin Bieber while Rebecca and Juliana instruct the children in the ancient arts of origami and egg-carton insects. Michelle and I are dazzling the niños with our bumpin’ Cha Cha Slide moves. Today we followed up our boogieing with some cut throat games of Gato y Ratón (essentially a land version of Sharks and Minnows). Afterwards, we mosied across the street to Central, the other neighborhood of Chaquijyá in which we work. Once there we partook in yet another little goodbye party for Cam at which several children and teachers stood up to say a few kind words of thanks to him for his service year here and a banana/cream/sugar dessert mixed by hand was served (surprisingly delish!), followed by a friendly game of Guatemalan vs. Gringo basketball. Tonight we had the pleasure of engorging ourselves with some homemade Kung Pao chicken and of welcoming Dana’s friend from across the pond, Helen, who we’ll be hosting for the rest of the week!

With Cam leaving this week too, I’m taking over the middle school classes for the rest of the Summer! He’s left big shoes to fill and I’m definitely nervous for the madness that the 40-kid class of 7th graders can bring, but hopefully I’ll gain my bearings soon enough.

That’s all for now, folks!

Christina

Figuring It Out

When my friends sometimes make remarks about how we are all getting older, I always respond that I’m really excited to age. Understandably this is not your typical response, but when you think about it, growing older is a beautiful thing. Aging comes along with new experiences, relationships, knowledge, wisdom, and personal growth. At age 24, estoy emocionada (now I can say my favorite English phrase in Spanish) about starting this new chapter of my life in Guatemala. As Dana previously mentioned, I am the newest addition to the MPI Guatemala team and I feel really lucky to work with such a wonderful and driven group of people. In my few days being here, I can clearly see how beneficial Dana, Emily and Cameron have been to the Sololá and Chaquijyá communities. They are well-respected by the students they teach and the people that they serve. More importantly, they have an understanding about the community they are serving, and work with their community partners to best address the issues at hand. Needless to say, I’m impressed. 

 Summer in Guatemala recently ended and the school year just began. I went with Cameron to his 6^th and 7^th grade English classes at La Escuela Central and enviously watched him engage with his students. “Facil, facil, facil!” he repeated, as he encouraged his class and gave them confidence about their English skills. Yesterday was the start of an after school English program in MPI’s other partner school, La Cooperativa. When we showed up for the first day of classes expecting no more than 40 students, we were surprised to see a giggling group of 80 small children flooding into the classroom. By the end of the day, the total headcount for both the Beginner and Intermediate level was 96 students. We are glad that the students are showing such a high interest for additional English classes, but we definitely need a new game plan about how three teachers (and only one fluent in Spanish) are going to handle 90+ students! Figuring it out is part of the fun though :)

I have a lot of “figuring it out” to do, but being challenged by a dynamic group of people, a new community, and a foreign language is quite invigorating. One of my favorite pieces of advice is “allow yourself to feel uncomfortable.” I believe this is where we learn the greatest lessons.  As I walk the bustling, unfamiliar streets of Sololá, I remind myself of this and subtly smile, knowing that there is a whole lot to look forward to in the months ahead.

paz y amor,

Lorena

Learning, Teaching, and the Space Between

The Guatemalan school year runs from January through October, which means that this is our last week teaching in the schools until January. When we, the new group of PDs, began running English programs, we did so more than halfway through the Guatemalan school year. And while we’ve only run these programs for a few short months, the semester’s end provides a valuable opportunity for reflection and evaluation.

Though I’ve spent the past three months teaching English, I’ve done so in two very different settings. The first of my programs is Teachers’ English, which equips elementary school teachers with the skills and materials necessary to teach English in their own classrooms. I also helped lead a new section of After School English. This program differs from all of our other English programs in that it occurs outside of regular school hours. It’s essentially an extracurricular activity, which gives us, as teachers, more control over the schedule, discipline, and grading.

Having dedicating hours to lesson planning, I’ve often stepped back to ask myself why. Why do we teach English? What are the community members gaining from these programs? MPIG has asked this question more than once. We teach because that’s what the community requested that we do. They see our English language skills as a valuable asset in their community. If that’s the case, then that’s what we’ll do, trusting that the community knows its own needs better than we do. But we also teach to cultivate trust and relationships with teachers, students, parents, and administrators. In this respect, it doesn’t really matter what we’re teaching. The point is that we’re in the schools, week after week, building Manna’s reputation as a consistent and reliable presence in the community.

Given these facts, my favorite part about teaching English has been watching my students learn. Some of the kids in After School English—the majority, even—learn just enough material to eke by on their exams (if that much). They pay attention in class, though they rarely study at home. But a handful of my students have taken ownership of their English education, and it’s incredible to see just how quickly they learn when they do so. Two students have even started bringing their younger siblings—kids no older than 6 or 7—to class with them. The older students learn the material and then teach it to their younger siblings. I’ve seen a similar phenomenon in my Teachers’ English class, in which the most dedicated students are both kindergarten teachers—in other words, they will never need to teach a word of English in their own classrooms. But they come week after week, studying at home, learning at a much faster pace than their peers. One of the women told me she does so simply because she enjoys learning.

In some ways, it doesn’t really matter what my students are learning. I could teach them math, or German, or cake decorating (if I knew how to do any of those things!), and some of the benefits would remain unchanged. Learning provides individuals—children and adults, Americans and Guatemalans alike—with confidence and self-assurance that is a valuable part of human development. Think about it: education is one of the world’s oldest institutions, having played a role in virtually every one of the important ancient world civilizations. I’ve spent 18 years of my own life as a student, but as a teacher in Guatemala, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in education in a new way. And so, while our English language programs these past few months have contributed to Manna’s presence in Chaquijyá, they’ve also contributed to my own growth as a person and as a teacher.