When blog post stop being polite, and start getting real:

Though I commend the sweet, earnest blog posts before me (and the sentiments behind them), I'm also a  pragmatist. As such, I would like to bring things back to reality for just a minute...

- We have a limited amount of water each day. There are ten girls living here. We are all accustomed to daily showers, grooming, primping, prettying, etc. Somedays here, we don't have enough water to flush the toilets, let alone get ten showers. Props to those who have taken this in stride, and gotten in touch with their crunchier sides. Literally and figuratively.

- This is a developing country. We are lucky enough to live better than most of the locals around us. But this too has limits. Case in point: the city-wide, planned power outage yesterday. Apparently, we missed the memo.

- For anyone who has been to Central America, you know you don't put toilet paper in the toilet. For anyone who has lived in America their entire lives, this is a hard habit to break. The result: two clogged toilets and an adventure in breaking up clogs with caustic powder (the local remedy).

- We don't exactly blend in. Ten white girls? In a Mayan community? Its basically Gringas on Parade whenever we go anywhere. Plus side of this: we have perfected our Miss America-style waves.

- As if the adults' reactions weren't enough, you can imagine what the kids in Chaq think of us while we are teaching lessons. Fascinated by the white girls, recess is prone to becoming a giant game of "touch the gringa." This is what happens when you let a seven year old do your hair:

Next big trend? 

- Let's talk food for a minute. And by food, I mean the Guatemalan staples: corn and beans. Granted, they are in various forms. But at this point, we've got starch coming out of our ears.

Corn soup with potatoes and corn tamalitos

All things considered, these just add to the experience. From my previous experiences traveling, the best stories to recount aren't the ones about the nice hotels or the five-star Western meals-- they are the ones about stuffing 27 people into a shuttle van, or needing to hitchike down a mountain because bus service was cancelled for the afternoon. So long as we have our humor and each other, we are all blessed to have this opportunity to add to our anecdote arsenal.

- Alli, Summer Intern Supervisor

So Far, So Good...

Yesterday was the first day of teaching for myself and my partner, Adria. We taught three classes of little niños, in preschool and kindergarten at Central. All three lessons focused on teaching colors in English. The first class held the youngest kids, but they were all participatory and excited for us to be there. Their teacher was present for our class and helped us with keeping the classroom structured. Each session lasted thirty minutes, which is good considering the kids started to get antsy in the last five or ten minutes of class. After the first session, Adria and I played with the kids at recess, and we taught them how to play Ring Around the Rosie and Duck Duck Goose. The teachers also gave us fresh piña for a snack, which was such a treat! The next session after recess held the oldest kids, and this time their teacher was not present for our lesson. However, this was not a bad turn of events because these students were the most excited to learn English. They informed us that they knew a little bit of English, and told us the phrases they knew, like “how are you,” and “good morning.” By the time Adria and I taught the third lesson, we were completely comfortable in our environment. For part of an activity involving colors, we asked the students to point to things in the room for each color. For red, they pointed to Adria’s red shirt and some red posters hanging on the walls. For green, they pointed to plants and the green walls. For white, they pointed to me. I told them they were correct.

Classtime at Cooperativa

Today Adria, Ginny and I taught English to the teachers at Central. This was rewarding because it was obvious how interested the teachers were, and they picked up the lesson extremely well. We focused on forming sentences with the “to be” verb. As an activity, the teachers received a cut-out picture from the newspaper and formed sentences to describe the people in the pictures. They had fun with this activity. At the end of class, we asked the teachers what they wanted from us in the next two lessons. In learning that they all primarily want material to teach their students, Manna has come up with a plan for a sustainable project. We will create English curriculum for teachers of each grade so that when we leave, they still have something to hold on to from us. We are excited about this project because it will allow us to leave our mark, but more importantly, give the teachers what they want.

Rainy season is here, and everything is starting to become green again.

All in all, this has been a great two weeks. I have never been out of the country, so I was naturally nervous to leave my comfort zone. The people I’m volunteering with and the relentless positive energy I receive from my Manna supervisors make me feel like I can do anything. I look forward to my next two weeks.

Not a bad way to start the day...

- Kathleen, MPIG Summer Intern 

First Impressions

It has already been over a week since I have been in Guatemala and I feel that I’ve already accomplished so much. I have seen so many amazing things and have met and talked to so many people with the most interesting stories. There is not just one thing I could say has been the most influential to me because in reality, every single thing, place and person I see/met is influential.

Summer interns Kalie and Adria making new friends

The children. I could go on and on about their cuteness, playfulness, and just willingness to talk and allow us to be such a part of their day. I’m stoked that they are so interested in learning what this and that means in English. Their smiles and energy just make it that much better and I am grateful for being able to help them in any way I can. 

Entering San Pedro

Just in a short time, I have felt so welcomed by the community we work in (Chaquijya), the community we live in (Solola), the places we visit (San Pedro- which was the greatest weekend trip ever, by the way), and the people of MPI Guatemala this summer. Traveling can be such a powerful experience if you make the very best of it and having these people and places around me make it so much easier to create that. 

- Kalie, MPIG Summer Intern

White Clouds

I am sitting here in the living room of the Manna house, struggling to decide on what to write my blog entry. Somehow, even though only five days have passed, I already feel like I have been in Guatemala for years. I’m having difficulty because I don’t want to sound too corny and emotional about my experiences here yet—since I know that soon enough I won’t be able to help myself. 

So I stare out the window of the living room: at the vultures gliding around below in the bright morning; at the oh-so-blue lake in the distance and the volcano behind it; at the white clouds that hide the horizon, that hide the rest of the Guatemalan beauty that I have yet to discover.

I stare out the window and wonder how to capture Guatemala in words.

-Esther