Thankful and Busy

Happy Thanksgiving to you, long-suffering readers of my blog. I'm not sure this webpage has really deserved the title of "blog" as it is more like a monthly periodical, one which you have ceased to pay for and now use for decoupage or something like that.

I wish I had pages and pages to tell you about life here. I'll start with school for now: six preps are burying me deep under a mountain of grading and leave little time for anything else during the week. This month, we had parent-teacher conferences (almost entirely in Spanish. Most of my conversations went something like this: "your child is good!" or "your child is lazy" or simply "good afternoon. Bye."). Some of my fifth-graders still call me "Miss Halloween" but we have fun. Today in class we compared antibodies to the bat signal. They are also really intrigued by Bill Nye the Science Guy.

On the weekends, Heather and I try to see as much as we can and enjoy the company of our new friends. Here is a picture of us with Andrea at her flamenco dancing recital.

Flamenco is such an interesting dance. Some routines are choreographed, but the really talented dancers improvise everything. The guitarist, drummer, and vocalist follow her lead and it makes for an entirely spontaneous creation. It was really beautiful.

On 11/11/11, our students celebrated Pepero Day, a Korean holiday dedicated entirely to a cookie. Thank you, Korea. Our students brought in boxes and boxes of these cookies to school and were able to try a few. My box didn't last long...

I am heading home for Christmas and for Angela Forney's wedding in less than 3 weeks. I can't wait to be home. Missing you all and so thankful to have such loving friends and family. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Guate Curios

I'm sorry for my sporadic blogging. There is so much to tell you; life here hasn't stopped. Instead of trying to catch you up on every detail, I've decided to include some mysterious curios of Guate.

Exhibit A: Obleas

One of my fifth graders recently went on a trip to Mexico. This is the child whose pencil case spills every day and who thinks fish are clothes. Last week, he brought me a gift which puzzled me--wafers with sunflower seeds glued into them. One of my Guatemalan friends, Karen, told me they are "obleas", wafers. I still don't think I am going to eat them. Speaking of Mexico, I asked my fifth graders what they knew about Mexico and I received three responses: tacos, it's big, and it smells.

Exhibit B: Softball hat

Heather and I joined a Guatemalan softball team with our friend Emily. We play every Saturday and we're actually pretty decent...best women's team in the C League=bragging rights. Last weekend, we got our uniforms, including this very stylish hat. It's debatable whether I was more puzzled by the obleas or the "I We Make a Great Team." I was finally informed that "I" stands for "Internacional" our team name. Oooh...Unfortunately for Spanish speakers, there is still an "I" in "equipo."

Exhibit C: Pan flute classics

Sadly, I have no image for this curio. But in every major shopping center there is a common soundtrack: pan flute pop songs. Aerosmith and the Beatles have unfortunately been trivialized to the sweet, cheesy sounds of the pan flute and I can't get "I Can Be Your Hero" by Enrique Iglesias in pan flute style out of my head. Thank you, Guate.

Heather and I took a wonderful trip to Antigua this weekend. Another update to follow.

Fish and Pi

Happy Fall, everyone.

I found out two things the other day: my students listen sometimes and my students don't know what clothes are.

The other day, I was teaching about early American exploration when one of my students raised his hand and said: "teacher, your baby is gone."

Hm...

Puzzled, I pursued the conversation further. "My baby?"

"Yes miss, your map--it's gone."

I had forgotten a certain episode a week earlier in which three of my students were rough-housing with my U.S. map (apparently that can happen). I scolded them by saying: "be careful with my baby! This map is precious." Definitely precious, seeing as the only map-like object Han Al has is a globe that won't stand up and has a fissure through the equator.

Since then, my map has fallen off the walls like everything else at Han Al (the humidity is killer on tape). And my students have noticed. And listened:)

This was a 9th grader. Back in my elementary world, things are not so promising. Two of my students were giving a presentation on the subarctic climate zone. Their assignment was to tell the class how they would survive in their climate zone. So I asked them: "what clothes would you wear in the subarctic?"

And they said: "fish"

This comes from the same student who placed Europe in the Atlantic Ocean on a recent map test.

Miss you all and hope you are enjoying some nice pumpkin pi.

I'd Rather Have a Snow Day

I've never had school canceled for anything but snow. The seemingly harmless flakes were so inviting as I watched the morning news, waiting impatiently for my school to crawl across the screen with the words: "CANCELED" or "2 HOUR DELAY" close behind. Ah, snow days.

Here in Guate, we have earthquake days.

I was on lunch duty today when I felt the first earthquake. It wasn't huge, but it was substantial enough to cause quite a stir amongst the students. Terremotos are common in Guatemala so I didn't think much of it. During my fourth period prep, I saw my desks shaking. Earthquake 2. The students were rushed out to the commons, which isn't the safest place to be during an earthquake, but it beats the 'ol duck and cover method under poorly constructed desks in a school building which sits precariously on a ravine. The students were taken back to their classrooms and resumed class. But not ten minutes later, we felt another shake. Earthquake 3. Again, the kids ran out to the commons. The order that briefly reigned was soon lost to chaos as the seniors screamed for joy and the little ones clung to teachers' arms and legs. Fortunately, class resumed before too long.

I was back in my classroom, foolishly thinking I could finally get some grades entered, when I felt another hard shake. Earthquake 4 wasn't huge, unlike the 4.8 and 5.8 we felt earlier, but it was enough for Han Al to cancel school and send the kids home early. We the teachers, however, had to stay and have a meeting (it's no fun being grown up sometimes). Evacuation plans were discussed and student leaders were delegated. Mother nature showed her approval of our safety plan with a gentle nod. Earthquake 5.

Horatio Spafford

I was very encouraged by the hymn "It is Well" tonight at church. And subsequently inspired to share with you the story of its author, Horatio Spafford. Check out his story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Spafford

It's really incredible.

It has been a difficult transition, with misunderstandings at work and feeling limited by the precarious situation in Guatemala. I often wonder (as most of us do) what God's plan is for me here. Regardless, it is well:)

North & South

I don't know if I've told you, but Han Al American School has a large Korean population. The owners of the school are Korean and almost all of my students were born in South Korea. This makes for some interesting art work on my vocab quizzes. Their favorite subject is Kim Jung Il. He usually resembles a pig with hairy armpits in the sketches I receive. These selections are courtesy of my 7th grade World History class.

My schedule is incredibly busy with 5th, 6th, and 7th grade social studies and science, 8th grade World History, and 9th grade American History. My 5th graders are prone to tears and day dreaming while my ninth graders are prone to act like 5th graders. 7th grade is a dream; they love to learn and like to tell me: "miss, you are so excited about science!" 8th grade is apathetic and 6th grade is forgotten, as the 2 of them have been fused with the 5th graders. Poor things. And ALL of my students are English Language Learners. Every morning, I get asked if I can "borrow me" a pencil. I was, however, proud to see that my students are passing notes in class in English. Anyone have a clue what they were trying to say to each other?

In other news, I caught a bird in my class this week. It flew into my room, bounced around the walls a bit, freaked out my 5th graders, and landed on the floor next to me. Fortunately, I was able to catch him with my cardigan and let him fly away. Otherwise, I may have had to move our life cycle lesson up a few months in science class:(


Outside of school, I have tried belly dancing and octopus. Not sure which one I disliked more, but dancing with smooth Guatemalans while my white belly is moving slightly off-beat might trump the fishy sliminess of octopus. Here's Heather about to take the plunge:

We were finally able to go out last night and see our colleague, Manlio, play with his band downtown. It was good medicine to get out of our apartment and hear some familiar American rock and roll (and some very catchy Spanish tunes). With all of the violence, we've felt a bit trapped in our little zone 10 slice of Guate. The streets, buses, and non-yellow taxis are dangerous, so any chance we have to get out is a blessing. Heather and I went to the grocery store today and the city felt very on-edge. I can't really explain why, but things felt strange. Elections are tomorrow and all of Guatemala is hoping that a new president will be elected to oust the corrupt Colon (he has been buying votes from the poor for years, I guess). The most amusing candidate by far is Colon's ex-wife, Sandra Torres. Guatemalan law states that blood relatives of the president cannot run for office. So, Torres filed for divorce and is now illegitimately running for president. Yikes. Pray for vision and honesty to be elected for Guatemala.


Thinking of you all and missing you very much.

The House of Healing (sans Faramir)

Hey folks. Sorry it has been such a long time since my last post. And this one, I'm afraid, will be brief. Prayers are appreciated for me, Heather, our friend Teresa, and our housemate Christy. All four of us are sick this weekend with various flus, colds, and mysterious viruses so prayers for healing would be wonderful. There is, unfortunately, no Lord of the Rings healing power in our little apartment so divine intervention is top priority;)

At least I don't suffer from "hippo" like one of my fifth graders this week. He tried to get out of his work by saying this and it might have worked, until I discovered that by "hippo" he meant "hiccup." More on my little charges later...

Everyone just needs a shuco

It's nice to be done with our first week of work.  We've been lesson planning from 8-4 every day and I'm about ready to put away The World and Its Cultures for a weekend.

We haven't been able to see much of Guatemala City.  Our new Guatemalan friends have insisted that we be careful on the streets (there is a considerable amount of petty and violent crime in the city) so we've been driven indoors every afternoon and evening.  And really, it's kind of nice to unwind and watch "The Big Bang Theory" with Spanish subtitles.  Music and Lyrics in Spanish, however, is not fun.  

We've been told: "oh, don't walk at night.  It's very dangerous.  And never walk alone.  Or jog.  Or go to any zone except 14.  And even then, don't wear nice clothes, or jewelry, or talk on your cell phone, or have blonde hair, or look American."  Nice. 

I exaggerate, but the truth is that Guatemala City is fairly dangerous if you aren't careful.  Fortunately, we had the chance to see some of the city today with one of our colleagues from school.  His name is Moises, and has been teaching for 26 years and he owns a pig farm about an hour outside of the city.   He drove us into Zone 1, which is the historic center of the city.  We walked around el Parque Central and saw the old president's home called the Palacio Nacional and the National Cathedral, which are both beautiful.  Sam--the palace has been turned into a museum of history...I'm so excited to visit:)   

El Placio Nacional de Cultura en el Parque Central

For dinner, Moises bought us "shucos" which are basically hot dogs with chili sauce, cabbage, and guacamole.  They were delicious!  I think I said "que rico!" a dozen times.  

Un shuco:)

We had to leave by 6 because the parking garage Moises chose doubled as a club after 6.  I'm not kidding.  You pull into the parking garage, park on hardwood floor, and, as you leave, you pass a stage to your left and a bar to your right.  It's so bizarre, but strangely brilliant...

It was wonderful to see Guatemala City with our new friend.  It's definitely, as the Guatemalans say, "a city of contrasts" with it's beautiful Parque Central and guards with machine guns manning every other store (I'm not exaggerating this time).  I think the words graffitied on the police headquarters we passed today said it perfectly: "Donde estan?" 

I live in Guate now...what?

The view from the roof of our "apart-hotel."

I'm finding my Spanish a little lacking, so just imagine this post with a spiffy and celebratory "we made it to Guate!" title in Spanish. I also considered "First Impressions" but I'm not sure Ms. Austen would be pleased with my knock-off.

After an 8 hour plane ride, we arrived in Guatemala and crashed at our "apart-hotel" which is essentially a glorified extended stay hotel with thatched roofs and a live-in cat named Edmond. Our principal Debbie said it was a "very nice place" and while the office staff is friendly, its construction isn't "very nice." Case and point: hail stabbed holes in the roof and caused quite a lake in the lobby yesterday.

Today was our first day of work. We found our Guatemalan colleagues to live up to their glowing reputation of friendliness. They are so sweet and eager to help us with Spanish (if we help them with their English:). There are about 15 teachers at Han Al to manage 200 students, grades K-12 (mostly Korean, go figure), and there are only 5 American teachers. Each of us has a challenging class load; I'm teaching middle school social studies and science, which amounts to five classes out of a five period day. There is also a serious lack of technology in the classroom--no computers, no projectors, and no tvs. Goodbye, Powerpoint:( At least we have electricity!

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. It's a lot to take on for a first-year teacher in a new culture. Also, I'm imaging my students to be monsters in adolescent Korean bodies after the reports of the summer staff, so that's a factor. But I always find that, in my most nervous moments, God reveals himself in powerful ways. Notes from home, a promising new church to try on Sunday, finding an unexpected copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in my backpack, and a beautiful view from Han Al's third floor.

More to come. Te amo!