Computer Classes!

Hey everyone,

So... I haven't really been holding up my end of the blog management. Sorry about that. We've been extremely busy lately launching a bunch of new programs and preparing for the arrival of our summer interns (this Saturday!!).

Anyway, I wanted to share a little bit of my experience launching our new computer classes on Monday! It was definitely an interesting adventure, but worth it in the end :)

Here's the excerpt from my personal blog about the experience.

Even though we've been working on developing a women's cooperative program for a while, the computer class itself had an incredibly quick turn around. Between the time we seriously began meeting with some women’s cooperatives about the program and the actual launch was maybe 2 weeks! Fortunately, I got some good resources from a PD in our Nicaragua site who also leads a computer class. I was able to create a solid syllabus for the class and worked really hard on creating a thorough lesson plan on the very basics of using a computer (such as how to hold a mouse! things I just take for granted!) in those two weeks. Our first class was this Monday. 

I showed up at around 2:20pm to give me time to set up and play with the projector/laptop situation before the women were to arrive at 3:00pm. Early that morning, we had called the leader of one of the groups of women (we are working with 2 groups), and she said all her women were involved in a different workshop so they wouldn’t be able to attend. So I expected a smaller turnout.

However, by 3:15, still no one had showed up. It was almost 4, and I had basically given up on the day. No one was going to show. And you know, that was fine. We did everything we could to promote the class. I know that with the other group of women, they seem rather timid… and they probably were just scared to come to something so new and different. 

But then two women came up to me, recognizing me. I barely recognized one of the women, and I had never met the other. Turns out, she worked for the organization of women who just hadn’t shown up. She apologized, and said they most likely just forgot. She was going to go to the leader’s house to remind her about the classes and see what was going on. We offered to join her, so she could communicate directly with us. 

As we were walking, we saw three other women standing outside where they usually meet. The women from their organization started talking to them, and it turns out they were just confused about where to go! So here were 3 women after all! 

We (Jess and I) offered to go back to the school to begin the class while the other woman offered to go to the leader’s house as planned. As we made our way back to the school, I began to get really nervous - I had already shut down my teaching brain for the day! 

Once we got there, though, the women were absolutely wonderful. They gave me great feedback saying they were really appreciative of us offering the course and they really wanted the opportunity to learn about computers. They seem very invested and very willing to participate, which is great because that’s how I plan on teaching the course.

Truly, it was a really great experience. I was impressed at my ability to communicate in Spanish with these women. Of course, I speak Spanish just about every day, but this is the first time I am leading a program that doesn’t involve any English whatsoever (okay, well, some computer terms are the same in English and Spanish, but that’s not my fault). Regardless, I was really able to see how my Spanish has improved since being here. And that was very gratifying.

More importantly, though, I am so excited to be able to lead a program in an area for which I am passionate. I came down here with the goal of starting something in either business development or women’s empowerment… and I think this is kind of both :) While I’m not directly helping a business, I am teaching these women skills that might help them look for a job and/or be more marketable when looking for a job. Of course, simply in teaching them a new skill, I am giving them the opportunity to increase their confidence, helping them see that they still can learn even if they are busy being mothers and wives. I am really looking forward to actually having two classes this coming Monday and watching them as they learn over the course of my 12 week class. :)

-Nicole 

Spring Break Re-cap

We are back! After three weeks of spring break groups, we had the final week of March off due to Easter. It was a well-timed break, because even though the spring break groups were incredibly enjoyable, they were also extremely exhausting. Ja and I were able to escape to a small island off the coast of Panama for the majority of the week; it was so peaceful and rejuvenating- basically exactly what we needed. But enough about the week we had off; I should probably do a little summary of spring break!

We had spring break groups from four different universities, and they were all so amazing. All the spring break groups were special in their own right and brought a crazy amount of enthusiasm with them to Chaq! We were able to accomplish all the planned projects, mostly without a hitch. Of course, being in Guatemala, we dealt with some logistical issues. But our volunteers took all of this in stride. Here is what we were able to accomplish in just three short weeks: 

                                 construct a fence around a community garden,

                        paint the interior and exterior of the Central school,

 do recycled art projects with students of Cooperativa and Central,

 administer fluoride to grades 3-6 and most of the teachers at all four schools, 

give dental talks to all four schools,

as well as give nutrition talks to both Cooperativa and Central schools, and distribute toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss to all four schools. 

I put together videos from the Vanderbilt and UGA/UNC spring break trips so far. UAB is on its way though! Check out the two finished ones by clicking on the links below:

Vanderbilt Spring Break Video

UGA/UNC Spring Break Video

Now that we are back, Sarah and I are starting to plan for the arrival of summer volunteers. The first batch arrives in just over a month, so we are knee-deep in schedule, budgets, orientation planning, and more preparing for their arrival. We are expecting about eight volunteers per 4-week session, so the site will be packed with volunteers. All these volunteers will be helpful in the new programs that we are planning to offer, hopefully within the upcoming weeks! Possibilities include computer classes for adults and art classes for students at Cooperativa and Central.

Julie 

Nicole's PD Video!

Here is the long-awaited PD interview of Nicole Altamura! One of our co-PDs, Julie Barwig, has done a fantastic job editing and putting this video together. So without further ado, here it is. Hope everyone enjoys!

-Ja

Bottle School Update & PD interview!

When I walked into Central a couple of days ago, I was stunned by the amount of progress with the bottle school! Most notably, it had a roof over the 4 new classrooms! All it needs now are doors, windows, and electricity. Also a fresh coat of paint, which 2 of our Spring Break groups will help us with in March! Along with painting the school, they will lead art projects with recycled materials with the Primaria Central students. We hope to reinforce various environmentally-related projects in the future, using the bottle school as a key example. Soon, the students in Primaria will be able to utilize this new space. It's such an inspiring thought to envision them filling these classrooms and having the opportunity to focus on learning without worrying about space. 

Almost finished!

From a side angle of the 2nd story

Also, we're going to start doing a PD video interview every other month here in Guate. Each interview will highlight a Program Director, who will then be asked various questions sent in from family, friends, co-workers, etc! For this month, it's Nicole Altamura! She graduated from Vanderbilt with a major in Human & Organizational Development, and her involvement in programs include Basico English, Women's Cooperative Development, and the Healthy Schools Initiative. Not to mention, she's our social media guru. Please send in possible questions to ask Nicole at ja.lee@mannaproject.org by February 21st - anything from her experience here in Guatemala so far to fun, silly ones ! :)

Nicole with Christian, who attends Primary School in Central

-Ja

What Teaching Teaches Me

We have been here for almost 2 months. That blows my mind! I can't believe how quickly time is passing.

As we are nearing the end of the school year (it ends the second week of October! what?!), we are all taking a step back to analyze our involvement with the schools: what's working, what's not, how can we improve? All of this analysis leads me to consider how I have changed as a result of teaching the past 2 months.

I have to say that teaching is quite humbling. Every Monday and Thursday, I put myself out there: I speak in a second language, try new activities/ways of teaching the vocabulary... and it's not always pretty. In fact, I'd say most of the time, it hasn't been pretty. Some days, I don't understand their questions. Other days, my oh-so-brilliant activity backfires and leaves even the most interested students begging for mercy. Most days, the 8th graders simply do not participate. They laugh at us, work on other assignments.

I'm not used to failing. I've always been a diligent worker, and 99% of the time, that pays off. When you work your butt off with less than favorable results, you tend to feel a bit of learned helplessness-- the mentality that no matter what you do, it will fail.

We keep reading through this Peace Corps document that gives suggestions on how to teach English in various countries. The document has many suggestions for doing a variety of activities, for making the class about so much more than English. To use English as a vehicle for talking about things that really matter, to explore and investigate various problems or themes. I would love to lead a class like that. However, when the students continually make the same grammatical mistakes, forget some of the vocabulary that's been taught previously, and most of all, refuse to participate in any activity you try with them, leading a class that is more about vocabulary and grammar seems impossible. How can you ask them about their culture if they don't have the words or semantic tools to express their ideas?

I think we had a bit of a breakthrough on Monday. Ja and I decided to try a writing activity for the first time. We had just taught them vocabulary about parts of the house, before that we taught about animals, and we knew that they had previously learned different members of the family. So we gave them a prompt to describe their family and their house. Which family members live with you? What rooms does your house have? Do you have pets? etc. In the first two classes (7A and 8), the activity went moderately well. Of course, some of our smarty 8th grade boys said they had no family members and lived alone in a big/small house, but at least they wrote something. The last class (7B), though, was magical. I don't know what happened, but it is probably my proudest moment in teaching. After they had written several sentences each, I bravely asked for a volunteer to write one of their sentences on the board. (Normally, it is pulling teeth to get them to come up and participate.)

To my surprise, a couple of girls ran forward eagerly. From then on, there was a constant stream of volunteers running forward, writing their sentences on the board. Many of them wrote at the same time, which was almost chaotic (in the best way possible)! As I watched them writing their sentences, helping correct them and asking them to read what they wrote, I realized that these sentences did provide a gateway into some cultural knowledge. I learned that some students had pigs in their house. Pigs! I saw how many bothers and sisters some of our students had. And all of it was in English! Who would have thought?!

It was such a beautiful moment. I made Ja take a few pictures of the board when we were finished.

That's what teaching languages is all about: the small victories. Seeing students, of their own accord, using what you taught them to express their own thoughts. It is so rewarding to see them create sentences about things that affect their lives, rather than translating words or sentences.

I'm still far from a perfect teacher. I'm still far from confident. But I think I am finally getting to a point where I can encourage my students to use the language I'm teaching them and have some fun in the process.

-Nicole

Bananas

This morning, I was cutting up a banana to put in my bowl of cereal. As I was adding the banana to my cereal, I reflected that the bananas are the perfect size here. There is just enough banana for your cereal and that's it. And I thought to myself, "bananas are so much bigger in the U.S. - what do they do with the extra?"

Hmm, what an interesting thought... what do they do with the extra?

Toto, I don't think we're talking bananas anymore.

Here, we don't really have extra. We buy just enough food to last us a few days, and when we basically have nothing left to eat, we buy some more. All of us packed relatively minimally - we have enough clothes to last us a few weeks, we do laundry, and we're ready to start fresh. We have water for just a few hours per day, yet it's enough for us to get by. If we can't take a shower today, we can try again tomorrow. Even the cell phones we have are pretty primitive: calls and T-9 texting. But it works.

We have enough. (Or perhaps even more than enough, depending on how you look at it.)

But back home in the states, there's so much extra. Extra food, extra clothes, extra water, extra gadgets and apps on our cell phones. What on earth do we do with the extra?!

I don't mean to call out anyone specifically, and I don't want to come across as accusatory to our loyal readers in the states. I just want to reflect on a personal mindset that has changed since I've been down here. I'm realizing that a lot of what I grew up with as normal is seen as "extra" to most of the world. And when this year is over, what am I going to do with that extra?

Just some food for thought. ;)

-Nicole

One Month Guate-versary!

So, I realized that I never formally introduced myself to all of you, and I've been running the blog for about 2 weeks now. Awkward. Better late than never, right?

Here goes:
My name is Nicole. I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and I just graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Human & Organizational Development (basically a business & psych combo). I've been to Guatemala on Spring Break trips twice in college, so I was so excited to return here for 13 months as a Program Director. I am particularly interested in social enterprise/microfinance/anything involving business + helping people, so I'm looking forward to having that opportunity here as we help a community microfinance organization get off its feet. I also LOVE blogging and social media in general, hence me managing this blog. I have a personal Guatemala blog as well, so feel free to check that out if you want even more inside scoop from my perspective. 

As I was getting ready for the day, I realized that today's date is August 13. That means tomorrow is August 14, which is exactly one month after we first arrived here in Guatemala. I actually cannot believe it. In some ways, it feels like longer. I feel acclimated to life here. We've already done so much with mini-camp, parades, and teaching classes. 

On the other hand, things still feel new. I'm still learning my students' names, we're still enrolled in Spanish School, and we're still learning more about Sololá (where we live). More importantly, there is so much more that I want to do, experience, and see during my time here. We have so many goals for our programs, places we want to visit, and even things we want to do near home. 

Regardless, the time itself has passed quickly. It's a little unnerving: if one month can pass this quickly, thirteen will come and go before we know it! But let's not think about that. ;)

Anyway, to say the least, I'm very excited to be chronicling the next 12 months of the MPI-G experience for all of you. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy posting it!

-Nicole

In case you want to know what I look like, here's a photo of me with our favorite little buddy, Cristian!

Básico Parade in Sololá

Hey everyone! My name is Ja Lee and I will be one of the new Guate Program Directors for the 2012-2013 year! Just a brief intro about myself: I recently graduated this May from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with degrees in Biology and Spanish. Throughout my time in undergrad, I've participated in various trips to Central/South America and fell in love with such experiences because of the insight that I personally gained about the world and myself in the process. Previously, I was a summer intern with MPI at the Ecuador site in 2010 & led an Alternative Spring Break trip down to the Nica site this past March.

It has been whirlwind of adventures ever since we got down here after orientation mid-July!  I personally feel like it has been longer than 3 weeks because of the amount of knowledge we've gained as well as the personal relationships we've fostered with the members of the community we work in. We're slowly but surely settling into our programmatic roles in the community and finding what works and what doesn't, one step at a time. In the process, we've made some great friends in the community, and the exchange of culture and information from both sides has been an amazing learning experience. One big example of this happened just yesterday!

Last Thursday, Nicole and I stayed behind at the school where we teach in Chaquiyá, to observe one of our co-workers, Lydia, teach Social Studies. We thought it'd be a great idea to see what kind of activities motivate these students to learn and do their assignments. Afterwards, all the teachers (including us) were gathered in the principal's office and were just having light conversations. Out of nowhere, one of the teachers, Clara, casually asked if we wanted to be in a parade with them next week. Without hesitation, both of us expressed a very enthusiastic "Sí!" :) She went on to explain that we would be wearing traditional indigenous Mayan clothes ("Trajes típicos") with symbols from the region of Sololá on it. AND that she would lend it to us! True to her word, she brought in trajes for us to try on this Monday. And on Wednesday, we participated in the parade that represented all the Middle/High schools in the surrounding area of Sololá (which was, A LOT more than I'd anticipated!).

Walking in the Parade with the kids from my school!

Although we had a skirt/belt mishap when we tried to put it on ourselves, our students helped us fix it right before the parade! It was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience and I was very honored that they had asked us to participate. Afterwards, we had soda and cookies with the teachers and saw all the other schools with their individual themes. Overall, awesome day!

Nicole & I after the Desfile on our house balcony

Full shot of the traje tipico!

This whole week has been an exciting one in Sololá as it is celebrating its Feria and each day, seems to have new and more interesting events in store. So far, we've seen a concert, various fireworks displays, parades, & carnival rides. Pretty cool.

We have more posts to come regarding our environmental bottle school project, new programs, & new projects in the works! Stay tuned.

Ja