And a New Chapter Begins...

Karen Baker here.  With the new crew of PDs now here and settled, we have initiated the process of transitioning our existing programs to them for the upcoming year. We began the week by giving Kelsey and Cameron a history and overview of all the English, health and environmental programs that we currently run and why we have the programs set up as they are. Throughout the past year, our team has had many discussions and debated about program structure, what “sustainability” means as it pertains to our work, and, more broadly, what we envision our site’s mission and vision to be. Over the next several months, however, the recently arrived Program Directors will have the opportunity to do the same, offering a fresh perspective on all of these topics.

Per this week’s opening transition discussion, MPI-G’s English program will likely be the focus of much talk in the weeks and months ahead. Last August, our group began teaching English during class at La Primaria Central at the request of Esteban, the school’s director. Earlier this year, we expanded our English program to include an accelerated after school class for motivated students at the primary school in the nearby neighborhood of Cooperativa. Six months later, we are taking a good look at how the differing program structures and teaching strategies affect the efficacy and impact of our classes.

Which of the two models has thus far been the most successful? At this point, I believe that we would all arguably say that the after school English class, which is led by Dana and Hudson, has been more effective than our in-school English classes. Students voluntarily come to class because they have a genuine interest in learning English and, as a result, make a stronger effort to master the material. These students score well on their English exams and the class can move at a faster pace than those taught in La Primaria Central. Thus, the disparities between the English classes in the two schools have led us to consider the possibility of implementing an after-school English program in Central which is similar to that in Cooperativa.

A bit overwhelming, though nonetheless exciting, the transition period raises various important questions about evaluating and perhaps modifying program structure so that the new MPI-G team will continue building and maintaining a solid relationship with people in Chaquijyá, and direct programs as best they can. Additionally, there are fewer PDs this year than there were last, so the way programs are structured may also be affected by this variable. The upcoming months will be an incredibly busy but exciting time for the MPI-G group, so be sure to check back for more updates on how our programs are growing and changing and all else new that we have going on!

Where Did the Time Go?

Last Wednesday we had much to do. In the morning, I was at the school for several hours teaching English to third graders. After scurrying home and preparing a quick lunch, the group had a discussion about the history and culture of Guatemala and following that talk, the PDs met about transitioning our programs next month. Luckily the end of our meeting coincided with the rain stopping, so off to Pana I went for a run and to watch a soccer game. In essence, it was a loooong, but great, day.

 Somehow, though, enough of these busy and occasionally lengthy days have passed that my year here is almost over, a reality that I am currently trying to process. While most days come and go at a seemingly ‘normal’ pace, weeks fly by and months go even faster, almost as if in the blink of an eye (I think I may still be mentally in April). This apparent discrepancy in time has made the idea of leaving so soon – in 10 days, to be exact – a bit harder to acknowledge because it seems surreal. I can still vividly remember the phone call with Dana during which she told me I had been accepted as a PD, walking around Sololá for the first time feeling totally disoriented and overwhelmed, and our first day in the classroom at the school, all of which happened almost a year ago.

As might already be evident, I don’t feel ready to leave. There are so many things that I love about life here; for instance, the kids at school, the exciting potential still waiting to be developed in our growing programs, the warmth and friendliness of so many people, the stunning lake and volcano views, meandering through the market midday to pick up fresh food for lunch, among various other things. When I head back to the States, I don’t want it to feel like my experiences here were so long ago and that Guatemala is so far away. I believe that it would be easy to return and fall into a new routine in Texas, and, while that may help me cope with how much I will miss this place, I hope that my memories will not quickly become distant.

One of the greatest personal challenges that I have overcome this past year is learning how to live in the moment and appreciate all that I have to look forward to at the start of each day. Through making a conscious and consistent effort, I will try to maintain this new perspective upon readjusting to life in the States because, what will I have actually learned if I allow myself to be consumed by the fact that I’m no longer in Guatemala? Truthfully, there is a lot to be excited about when I go back, even though fifteen-hour days in the law school library might not seem as adventurous as hopping on a camioneta to go to a meeting in Xela for the day. What’s important is that I find a balance between reflecting on my year with MPI Guatemala and embracing all that’s new.

I’m so grateful for all of the incredible opportunities I have had here this year and eager to continue to support the MPI Guatemala site as it continues to blossom and thrive. Here’s to an amazing year and the amazing people with whom I spent it!

Manna love forever and always,

Karen

Sunday Snapshot XVI

Shades of green.

Credit: Karen Baker

Sunday Snapshot XV

The town of San Andres, near Xela, is known for this yellow church and it's famous Peace Corp residents.

Credit: Karen Baker

To Cooperativa and Beyond!

Had I been one of the second graders, sitting there staring down that menacing set of oversized demonstration teeth, I would have been terrified. It almost looks like if you get close enough, the demonstration teeth could easily bite off your hand. But, much to my amazement, the kids in our class showed few qualms about marching on up to the front of the room and giving the false teeth a good pretend brushing!

Last month marked the first dental hygiene lessons in our recently launched health program. Kat, Ginny and I worked with first and second grade students at La Primaria Central and taught them about how to take care of their teeth, why it’s important, and how it can be fun. This month we will be working with third and fourth graders, and next month we’ll finish off the dental talks with the fifth and sixth grade students. Jared’s dad, a dentist, generously donated enough dental supplies for all of the students at the primary school in Central, and we are handing out after each dental hygiene talk (thank you, Dr. Stepp!). So, each child will receive a toothbrush, two tubes of toothpaste, a two-minute timer, floss, a pencil, and a rubber toy frog, which was of course the favorite item in the goodie bag.

Even more awesome than the rubber toy frogs, we now have plans to expand our health program to the primary school in Cooperativa beginning in May!  Through this expansion, our health program will reach approximately 400 more students.  As we continue to work on creating a program structure, curriculum and activities, all is being planned with the idea of keeping things relatively simple and easily replicable. Thus, expanding to a second school is not completely overwhelming but instead exciting and full of opportunity.

Not all comes without challenges, however. One of the most pressing concerns we have about the health program is how to obtain materials like toothpaste and floss that we would like to give out to all of the students after each lesson. Because the kids are generally ecstatic to get these samples, the supplies act almost as an incentive for them to go home and put into practice what they learned during class. For instance, a shiny new tube of bubblegum-flavored toothpaste may not sound that exotic or thrilling, but it can be to many children in Chaquijyá since toothpaste is somewhat expensive and therefore hard to come by. So, when providing toothpaste or other special supplies, we hope that these new tools are also providing encouragement to continue the practice of healthy habits at home. Acquiring supplies for all of the students at both schools, not just for this year but future ones as well, will definitely be a challenge, but one we are ready to take on in order to make this program a success!

At any rate, we are very enthusiastic about our growing health program and its potential. And, be sure to check back with us in a few weeks for an update on our first few talleres (lessons) in Cooperativa. Can’t wait to pull out the demonstration teeth tomorrow for another good scrubbing!

Hasta pronto,

Karen

Sunday Snapshot III

Credit: Karen Baker

Sunday Snapshot II

Credit: Karen Baker

Sunday Snapshot

Friends and Family,

  We've decided the beauty here's too good to pass up.  From now on, each Sunday we'll give you another glimpse of what we love so much about about Guatemala.  To start, we have one of Karen's photos.  Hope you enjoy.

Credit: Karen Baker

Back to School!

“¡Otra vez! Otra vez, seña,” several of my third graders eagerly yelled. Excited to see such enthusiasm, I quickly agreed and started to direct the students in singing their ABC’s again. The song turned out to be surprisingly popular among the kids, and it was a fun way for them to practice the pronunciation of the alphabet. While I went to my first day of English classes expecting a group of timid students, their readiness to participate and sing along really got me energized for the year ahead.

This school year we have some significant changes in store for our English program at La Primaria. We have expanded to include third grade, making this year the first ever that students in that grade level receive English lessons. This is a great opportunity to not only get to know more students at the school but also start preparing them at a younger age for the English courses they will have in years to come. In working with the three third grade classes, my goal is to help the students develop a strong foundation of basic English knowledge and to get them excited about learning the language.

In addition, our team has been hard at work creating a new overall strategy and structure to the English program. As mentioned in previous posts, the concept of sustainability has become a key element in the preparation and execution of our programs and projects. This year, we are making a considerable effort to work more closely along side the third through sixth grade teachers at La Primaria and involve them in both the planning and implementation of English classes. The teachers, who have each been given an English curriculum developed by Hudson, meet with one of us each week to discuss and prepare lessons for their students.

Though nearly all of the teachers at La Primaria have been very receptive to this idea of planning and leading English classes together, some are also understandably nervous and hesitant. In my first meeting with two of the third grade teachers, one of them described how she felt like she had nothing to contribute since she has never taught English and does not speak the language. I explained that we would teach as a team; she will use her extensive experience to help create engaging and successful classes, and I will use my knowledge of English to make sure the material is presented accurately and the words pronounced correctly.  Nonetheless, her hesitation is understandable. As Dana noted, it would be like someone asking us to start teaching German tomorrow. I know that I would be completely intimidated considering the only thing I can say (and probably not well, at that) is “guten tag.”

Despite the teachers’ concerns, I believe that this new partnership with them will be very constructive and that such collaboration really promotes sustainability of the English program. Our aim is to both equip the teachers with a curriculum and train them to teach English so that they will eventually be able to lead an English class without our assistance. And, once they are ready to do so, the teachers can then share their materials and know-how with other instructors, increasing the impact of our program. Clearly these are long-term goals, but I think that we are moving in the right direction. I am very excited to see this partnership with the teachers take root this year!

In all, we have many things to work towards and look forward to this year. Check back with us regularly to see how it’s going!

Karen

A Reflection on Cultural Exchange

The bustling market. A steady stream of public transport buses. Mail and laundry services. Easy access to Panajachel. A soy store that sells delicious strawberry soy ice cream. These are just a few of the reasons for which I find living in Sololá, as opposed to Chaquijyá, to be very convenient. Though I may sometimes joke about the bother of not being able to find chocolate chips here, there’s no doubt that we have it good in this big town, and I am very grateful for that.

On the other hand, one of the greatest compromises that we have made by living in Sololá instead of Chaquijyá, at least initially, is that there is seemingly a limited amount of cultural exchange between us and the people we work alongside. Even though we go to the community several times each week, it is still difficult to appreciate the ups, downs, norms, and daily rhythms of life in Chaquijyá without actually living there. As a group, we have acknowledged this, and last week we were able to verbalize our concern over such narrow exchange with Esteban, the director of La Primaria. Esteban strongly agreed that up to this point, the cultural exchange that has taken place has been somewhat lopsided. For example, he noted that we teach English to students at La Primaria, but we have yet to take any formal lessons to learn Kaqchikel, the indigenous Mayan language spoken by many in Chaquijyá. Similarly, though people in the community have been kind enough to invite us to various celebrations and activities, such as Día de los Muertos festivities and graduation ceremonies, I still feel like our relationship and interactions haven’t delved much below the surface. 

Sharing ideas, beliefs, and aspects of one’s culture generally seems to be easier in an informal and comfortable setting, such as someone’s home. So, in order to facilitate a greater exchange between community members and our group, we are hoping to arrange homestays in Chaquijyá for each of us early next spring. The opportunity to stay in someone’s home provides an avenue through which we can build confianza, or trust, with residents of Chaquijyá and establish relationships that reach beyond our professional interactions. In such an intimate environment, it would be much easier to establish a sincere friendship on which we can ground a cultural exchange.

Such a great opportunity for sharing exists, and I am very excited about the prospect of exploring and nurturing this cultural exchange. Personally, I would love to learn more about Mayan beliefs and rituals, speak enough Kaqchikel to have a two-minute conversation with someone, and develop a better understanding of the cadence of life in Chaquijyá. In return, we, will likely be some of the only foreigners that people in Chaquijyá will meet.  We can expose them to a completely different, less defined, culture and introduce the idea of diversity.  More expressly, because America is such a melting pot of peoples, races, customs, and beliefs, our culture is seemingly less simple to characterize. Even within our group of MPI volunteers here in Guatemala, we represent such varied parts of American culture, as we are from different regions of the country, hold different beliefs, etc.

In the end, despite how different the customs and cultures between us and the people of Chaquijyá are, I believe that we will find commonalities that will enhance our relationship that much more.  For instance, discovering similar or shared family values will improve our bond and, in turn, probably our receptiveness to each other’s culture.  Thankfully, we have several more months to try to overcome any obstacles and really partake in a cultural exchange. I look forward to all that which lies ahead!

Hasta pronto,

Karen

English Wrap Up

Oh, How Time Flies!

It almost feels surreal. The sudden realization that we’ve been in Guatemala for nearly three months and have been teaching English for over two months astounds me! Time has passed so quickly, and it is hard to believe that next week is the last of the current school year for our students. During the past eight weeks of class, we have formed new relationships and begun to bond with a number of students at La Primaria, come to recognize some of the joys and challenges of teaching, and learned so much from the wonderful people in Chaquijyá.

Because the English program at La Primaria was our inaugural, and has thus far been our only, program in Chaquijyá, it has been the focus of much of our efforts. When we began teaching English in early August, it quickly became clear that most all of our fourth, fifth and sixth grade students were at a very basic level. It seems as though our students had previously been exposed to a lot of material but that they had yet to master much of it. Nonetheless, the majority of students showed great enthusiasm for the subject, as did their teachers and parents, which I found very encouraging.

Despite everyone’s eagerness, the fact that we, being some of the few rare gringos seen in the community, were initially somewhat of a spectacle at the school made the first days of teaching a bit challenging. There is a definitely a balance between presenting yourself as an authority figure as a teacher and, at the same time, befriending your students, perhaps by playing basketball with them, as we did. While the team debated and searched for this balance at the beginning, I believe that we’ve done a good job at establishing ourselves as in control in the classroom and as teammates out on the courts.

As far as English goes, our students have, for the most part, seemed to respond increasingly well to lessons, especially as we become more familiar with the teaching methods most effective in our respective classes. Similarly, some of the students, specifically some of the girls, in my and Dana’s sixth grade class who were once shy and timid about speaking up have become more extroverted and now sometimes even volunteer answers during activities. Likewise, there are several boys who once had a “too cool for school attitude” that have become more and more engaged in class. For example, Josúe, one of my students who sits in the very back of the room and on occasion needs to be reminded that we’re having class, became a voluntary contestant when we played a few rounds of review jeopardy recently (a game that was a surprising success – the students loved it). I could tell he was a little nervous, but with a little encouragement, he did great!

It is those little moments we have in class that make teaching so exciting and fun. Even though the official school year in Guatemala is coming to a close, I feel that we’ve made some solid new relationships and are on our way to earning the confianza (trust and confidence) of our students. This will be very beneficial when we implement future programs in Chaquijyá.

And, speaking of future programs, we’ve all been working hard to get ready for summer camp! We will be running a six-week camp for a group of first through sixth grade students in Chaquijyá during the vacation they have between late-October and January. We’ve chosen an “Around the World” theme for camp and will offer science, art, English and sports programs, as well as a variety of special community-oriented activities. I’ll be heading up art and can’t wait to break out the glitter glue and watercolors to teach our students about ancient Egypt and Japanese traditions, as well as about the cultures and customs of other countries.

So, in these past few months, we have already had such a good time living, serving, and learning down here in Guatemala, and we have so much more to look forward to in the weeks to come.  Check back with us again soon to see how camp is going!

Until next time,

Karen and the MPI-G Team