This is a common scene for us when we are studying. I usually try to get us a cabana down ny the lake, and path these horses are on cuts through the school's properties. I have seen men on bicycles leading a string of horses.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, July 24
It is getting harder and harder to write my entries as I approach the end of my stay here - I will be back in MN in less than three weeks. I am enjoying my time with the teachers so much that it is hard to make time to check my e-mail, let alone write.
Life continues to be great here. I have had an eventful week at the school with my third week of classes. We have had terrific attendance, but I hit a big bump on Tuesday evening with a couple of students who, I felt, were giving me a hard time. I went to class yesterday before Rafa and wrote on the board: Enojada (angry), Frustrada, Cansada (Tired), Confundida (Confused). When he came into our cabana, he asked how I was, and I pointed to the list. True to form, he first corrected my grammar and pointed that I should say "Confusa" instead of "Confundida." I think it is a true measure of our trust and the fun we have together with language that my first reaction was to listen and my second was to laugh. We then spent over three hours talking about what had happened, how I felt about it, his perspective of Maya culture and attitides in Guatemala about education, all in the context of looking at how to approach the situation as a learning experience rather than as a problem. It is hard to describe the intensity of our talks; suffice it to say that even I get overwhelmed. Yesterday evening I taught another class, and it was like day and night; I felt that I could go with what the class wanted and not push my own agenda. We had a great time.
San Pedro is beginning to feel very familiar. Right now I am sitting in a small restaurant which has internet access, and it has begun to rain as it does pretty much every day. Yesterday it rained four times.
I am beginning to resent the time I have to speak English, and last week two people mentioned that my Spanish was improving. One of them was a young man who works in the kitchen of a restaurant next to the school. I told him I didn't think we had had enough conversations for him to notice, but he said he had been listening to me and noticed a big difference.
One of the charming (and sometimes annoying) things about San Pedro that I may have mentioned is that almost no business has change for a 100Q note (about $12). The way they handle it when I don't have change is to ask me to come back. The restaurant where I am sitting is one of the places where I have owed money for a week, since the last time I came. I mentioned it to the woman working here, and she remembered that it was 2Q.
I will wrote more this weekend, when I have promised myself that I will take some time from teaching to catch up on my thoughts and my notes.
Life continues to be great here. I have had an eventful week at the school with my third week of classes. We have had terrific attendance, but I hit a big bump on Tuesday evening with a couple of students who, I felt, were giving me a hard time. I went to class yesterday before Rafa and wrote on the board: Enojada (angry), Frustrada, Cansada (Tired), Confundida (Confused). When he came into our cabana, he asked how I was, and I pointed to the list. True to form, he first corrected my grammar and pointed that I should say "Confusa" instead of "Confundida." I think it is a true measure of our trust and the fun we have together with language that my first reaction was to listen and my second was to laugh. We then spent over three hours talking about what had happened, how I felt about it, his perspective of Maya culture and attitides in Guatemala about education, all in the context of looking at how to approach the situation as a learning experience rather than as a problem. It is hard to describe the intensity of our talks; suffice it to say that even I get overwhelmed. Yesterday evening I taught another class, and it was like day and night; I felt that I could go with what the class wanted and not push my own agenda. We had a great time.
San Pedro is beginning to feel very familiar. Right now I am sitting in a small restaurant which has internet access, and it has begun to rain as it does pretty much every day. Yesterday it rained four times.
I am beginning to resent the time I have to speak English, and last week two people mentioned that my Spanish was improving. One of them was a young man who works in the kitchen of a restaurant next to the school. I told him I didn't think we had had enough conversations for him to notice, but he said he had been listening to me and noticed a big difference.
One of the charming (and sometimes annoying) things about San Pedro that I may have mentioned is that almost no business has change for a 100Q note (about $12). The way they handle it when I don't have change is to ask me to come back. The restaurant where I am sitting is one of the places where I have owed money for a week, since the last time I came. I mentioned it to the woman working here, and she remembered that it was 2Q.
I will wrote more this weekend, when I have promised myself that I will take some time from teaching to catch up on my thoughts and my notes.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Lucas & Ligia
As I think I mentioned before, Lucas is my guardian angel at the school. He is the one who reaches out to me when I am feeling a little down. Interestingly enough, yesterday when we were talking about his English, he called me HIS guardian angel. He typically introduces me as "mi mejor amiga," my best friend.
Ligia is my charming challenge-full of energy and mischief and very bright. She's 19.
Rafa with prospective students
Rafa - My favorite teacher, student, and colleague. He is truly a gift.
Teachers - Elena during the break
Elena and I have a developing and very special relationship. At the beginning, she was one of the few teachers who wouldn't talk with me, and I assumed she didn't like me. I finally asked her what was going on, and she said she was very shy. Once we started talking, we kept going, and I knew we were on the right path when she told me about her sick son, in English! She is a dedicated and hardworking student.Break time at the school - Chona
This is Chona, the wonderful woman who comes twice a day to sell us food at incredibly cheap prices. We can buy banana bread, tamales, tortillas, and other local delicacies.
It is always a pleasure to greet her a break time.
It is always a pleasure to greet her a break time.Friday, July 18
I am on my countdown to return to the US - less than five weeks now. At this point I am again feeling that I don't want to return, although my advisor has suggested that it will be easier to finish my degree in MN. It has been a wonderful week at the school. Last night I finished teaching my second week of classes and have had 100% attendance both weeks. The administration is very impressed, and so I am, given how busy the teachers are. Rafa and I have had a wonderful week of class together talking about grammar. It is a language teacher's dream. Yesterday and today we spent a total of about four hours discussing the difference between "should," "have to," "must," and "need to," in Spanish. He drew charts to distinguish different aspects of each verb and then asked me for examples. I am so impressed with his intellectual curiosity and capability, and I still feel I am very lucky to have a found a teacher with whom I can discuss so many topics and with such enthusiasm. Today we talked about the three classes I am teaching and made some asjustments. It is great to have a colleague with whom I can discuss my work; I have never had this before, and feel that I am in a teacher's paradise.
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