A day in the life

The other day I'm sitting outside my house in Guatemala and three guys from Italy dressed up as clowns casually stop by to borrow a can opener.  How did I end up in this world? :P However it happened, I'm glad I'm here. 

                The last couple weeks were really good.  I feel like everyday gets a little bit better with routine and communication and feeling more comfortable.  I can’t believe we’ve been here for almost 2 months now.   In the class the kids are learning about the family, different parts of nature, basic spatial math stuff, and language/writing.  Last week we had some special days that were fun and out of the norm.  The first was on Sunday with a huge activity called Kermes.  With these the volunteers organize and facilitate a campus wide activity for 2ish hours.  We do this every 2 months.  This time we had a huge scavenger hunt and everyone in each group was tied together through their belt loops which was a bit comical.  I worked with my kids with special needs.  At the end the grand prize was a bon fire with marsh mellows and this yummy German bread thing.  It was fun, although a bit tiring. Then the 14^th of course was Día del Cariño.  Every class decorated their rooms and people shared cards and gifts.  We had mass mid morning as well.  Later that night all the tíos and tías had a fiesta with good food and a gift exchange and music.  It was nice, but to be honest for a minute here, I crawl into bed well before nine, so I didn’t stay for too long.  The second holiday was on that Friday.  It’s called Carnaval and I had never heard of it before now.  All the kids get really into.  There’re elaborate costumes, decorations, dance competitions, and a chance to hit people over the head with eggs (don’t ask me…).  Although we didn’t do this last part at the school because its messy, it’s customary during Carnaval to decorate egg shells and fill them with confetti and then smash them over the heads of other people.  Sounds fun, I’d give it a whirl.

Here’s a few pic of my kiddos in costumes J

This week that I just finished up has been really good.  I feel like we’re finally getting into a routine and the other teacher and I are learning how to work together.  We always start the day with a prayer that the kids trade off (and its even super great with the kids who are nonverbal, I love it).  Every day at the end of class we award the star stickers like an award where each kid walks to the front of the class and we applaud them.  I really like these things because the kids are learning to step out in front of a group of people and to be proud of themselves.  This week has also been really good because we started some different classes like music and physical education.  They absolutely love it, and I know I appreciate a change in pace as well.  I’m taking it on as a personal goal to hunt down some of these specialty teachers to see if they have space for us in their schedules.  My next mission – the religions teacher.

Up until this point, I’ve been arriving at class in the mornings, helping out throughout the day, heading off to my workshop, and repeating.  I’ve been a bit out of the loop on exactly what we’re going to learn in class and the curriculum and all the jazz.  Fortunately through a couple meetings with the volunteer coordinator and my supervisors, this was addressed and we decided that I would play more of a teacher role than a teacher assistant role.  That means I will have 3-4 hours a week to work with the teacher on planning classes.  I’m really excited about this and having a chance to come up with ideas and have a bit more structure in my mind of what we’re going to do day to day.  Our kids are all on very different levels and it doesn’t make sense to be teaching the same things to everyone.  Some kids will get very bored because they already know the material, and others will need to slow down.  The kids are actually split up into three different grades needing three different curriculums.  Now that there’re two of us, we can plan out these different curriculums and though maybe we’ll work on the same subject, like math, everyone will have their own work that meets them at their level.  Sounds good to me!  I will be working more closely with three kids who are in the middle level.  I see a lot of potential for them and they’re so great.

Also once a week the teacher and I, along with whoever else works with the kids with special needs, goes to a class or work shop about different disabilities.  I’ve really enjoyed it so far and it’s so applicable.  We’ve talked about autism and Down syndrome mostly and the best methods of teaching and managing behavior.  It’s fascinating, and also I love learning about these topics in another country with a different perspective.

                My occupational workshop in the afternoons has been going well too.  We’ve done some more artsy craftsy things and we planted baby trees one day.  I think the kids are really enjoying it although some more than others.  I’ve started having a weekly 10 minute meeting with the tíos to talk about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and any new ideas.  One lady in particular had a lot of really cool ideas I’d like to try.  Every Monday-ish I’m going to put up a new schedule of the afternoon activities.  This coming week I’m thinking… maybe… making hand puppets, paper mashay (I’m going with phonetics here because I have no idea how you spell it) balloons/piñatas, and nature painting like with fruit and such.  I love how every day can be different.

My section of boys who are 12-14 years old is good.  I’m still getting to know them and even took everyone’s individual picture to help me remember names.  A lot of time we’ll play uno or another card games.

I had my first family project last week, if I remember correctly.  I really like this idea a lot.  Kids with brothers or sisters get to do something fun together, just them, and a volunteer.  It’s pretty open as to what we can do.  Many people take their kids into town to buy ice cream and play games in the park.  My first project was with two adorable little boys who were maybe two or three?  We ate ice cream, colored, read books.  They were just too cute.  In March I have a project with some of my kids with special needs.  I know them and love them so I’m really excited.  And then I have a project with some older boys I’ve never met.  I hope it goes well.

Last weekend was probably the best weekend I’ve had here in Guatemala.  A huge group of us volunteers went to soak up some sun in Monterrico Guatemala.  I’ve always thought of myself as more of a mountain person, but being on the beach and watching powerful waves rolling in and not having a care in the world started making me reconsider.  It was the perfect weekend of relaxing.  All the food was really good and cheap, especially the sea food.  Everyone was really nice and no one was in a rush to get anyway.  This picture pretty much sums it up.

 and some more pics

Yesterday

So, Camp Courageous of Iowa will be starting their winter season with campers really soon.  I can’t help but really miss it (ahem, and of course you friends and family…)  and I remember those good days of being a counselor for 2 short seasons.  I know, I know, I’m in Guatemala!  On a crazy adventure!  But to be honest I usually think ten times a week “I wish I could take my kids to camp.”  Everyone of them.  I learned so much there about working with people with disabilities, the importance of humor and flexibility, and I think more than anything about empowerment.  I think to myself “what is it that made me fall in love with camp and this work?”  And in the midst of many things, it’s the empowerment that comes with accomplishing something hard, it’s the overcoming  of obstacles when most people think you can’t, and it’s surprising yourself with what you’re capable of.  Although here we don’t have caves to army crawl through to overcome our fears of bats and small spaces, and we don’t have zip lines to overcome our fear of heights, and we don’t have a karaoke machine to get over our fears of public speaking/singing, empowerment is still possible.  My new bell at the top of the tree climb is learning to spell your name.  And If you can learn to tie your shoes we’re going to celebrate.  So thank you Camp Courageous for teaching me so much and best of luck to everyone there 2012.

This week/week.5 is similar to last week in that it had a lot of ups and downs.  I started the position at the school with the integrated class.  The teacher I’m working with is a really sweet young grandma who is very gentle and has goals for the kids to learn.  There’re eight kids in the class and they range from 7-8 to 16ish years old.  Their ability levels range quite a bit as well.  I’m hoping with the two of us we’ll be able to give each kid enough individual attention to improve and learn at their own level.  In our class we have some kids who are pretty diligent and precise with their work, some kids who are mischievous and curious but have a great capacity to learn, and some kids who just love being at school and want to show you everything they’ve done.   To be honest, it has been a rough start.  For one we’ve only just received the supplies we need for the year Thursday and Friday.  This means that the lessons and worksheets have been a bit limited so far.  Second there’re a couple students who are really not into the going-to-school-thing, especially one older student who influences the rest of the group.  However we’re hoping things will get better.  We now have more supplies and the particular older student might be starting a class for carpentry instead of all of his time in the classroom.

Wednesday was a particularly hard day, because the teacher had to go to a meeting that lasted close to 3 hours and the students really tried to take advantage of the fact that I’m new and that I’m not fluent in Spanish.  This day had me guarding the door, the teacher’s desk, and all the classroom supplies.  Everyone was trying to get into everything and it was very hard.  Various therapists and passerbyers would stay in the classroom with me for a bit to help me manage the chaos.  It was rough.

I prayed a lot this week.  I had discussions with the teacher about discipline and rewards and our system.  Thursday was a much much much better day.  The teacher had to go to another meeting for about 1.5 hours.  This time the aforementioned older student wasn’t at class. Wow.  We did our work, I taught them about numbers, we sang “head, shoulders, knees, and toes”, and we had a problem free recess.  It was amazing.  And when there was the occasional behavior issue, I was able to explain what we needed to do and what the consequences were, and ta-da, it was magic.  Overall After this week, I know that this is going to be a hard position, but it will be good.  I know the kids have so much potential, I know I will need a lot of patience and inner strength, and I know that persevering and sticking it through to hit that bell at the top will be all the more worth it.

By the way, if there’re any special education teachers out there who want to give me any pointers – I’m all ears!

In the afternoons we have started the occupational workshop.  Now that I know what it looks like, I think I will enjoy it a lot and I’m excited at the chance to be a bit creative and do something fun and educational with the kids with special needs.  Because of our limited resources etc. many of the kids with special needs don’t go to school and spend their time at home while the tíos are doing all the chores and what have you.  The special education coordinator, who’s really great and enthusiastic, created this workshop so the kids could be engaged and learning something, and also have fun (I think).  So far we’ve made necklaces and bracelets with beads (fine motor skills), finger painted, and made creations with pipe cleaners.  Next week we’re going to plant seeds and I’d like to do an afternoon preparing food and another day learning how to tie shoes/buttons etc.    My job is to organized and facilitate the activities with the tíos, tías and kids.  (If you’re a camp person, it’d be like a rec specialist almost).  Every Wednesday we also have horseback riding therapy.  This is really great and everyone looks forward to it.  The horse place is about a 30 minute walk.  With the trip there and back and a few hours of riding, it’s a fantastic afternoon.  Here’re some photos of the horse therapy and our fun with pipe cleaners. 

Me and Francisca

La bonita Delmi

I have also decided on which section I’m going to accompany.  This means that I’ll have dinner and hang out with this section a couple nights a week.  I chose to hang out with the section called Santiago which is boys between the ages of 12-14.  This group is very different from the section with special needs and I think I’ll enjoy the variety.  I enjoyed my time with them so far.  We just talked and played cards and tried to see who could eat the most straight up lime without making a sour face.  I’m excited to get to know them.

I’ve also started to teach an English class on Wednesday nights with the años de servicio and tíos.  Although at the end of the day I feel so tired, I always have a great time with this class.  I don’t prepare anything, we just talk.  We go to the library which is empty and has couches.  Last time I brought the coffee maker and Charlotte from the states came too.  This past week we told ghost stories and just to let you know, telling stories and listening to stories is a great way to improve whatever language you’re learning.  This class is a bit challenging because everyone is on a different level.  I hope we get into a good groove.  I feel like this is such a great way to get to know more people and have a good time.  Some of them also know an indigenous Mayan language and it’s so interesting learning about that too.  I like it J

Apart from NPH I’ve been enjoying my free time with the other volunteers.  Last weekend a group of us went to Chichicastenango (Chichi for short) which is a town that has a large indigenous population and a huge market with lots of cool stuff.  We stayed in a hotel/hostel sort of place on Saturday night.  It was so nice just to get away for a bit.  There’s a well known cemetery there where all the tombs are bright colors.  We learned the Mayan perception of death is more along the lines of a person completing their mission on earth.  It’s a time to be grateful. 

Also there was this building by the market with history painted on the walls.   It told the story of the Mayans and Chichicastenango.

Popul Vuh is the Mayan creation story.  The story has a lot of similarities to the creation story in the Bible. I remember reading parts of it in one of my classes.  It was really interesting.

And of course, I’ve enjoyed escaping into the world of Harry Potter whenever I get a chance.  I’m about a 3^rd of the way through El prisionero de Azkaban.  I’m so excited to have nerdy conversations with people and learn some new vocab.

Life has continued to be full here.  It’s been full of lots of challenges, and lots of good things.  And on this beautiful Saturday, lots of rest.

I feel fine

Wow, this week is hard to sum up.  I feel like it has gone in every direction.  The only way I can think to go about it is chronologically.  It’s been real good though.

Tuesday was my very first day not-in-training but working-with-all-the-responsiblities tía.  I’m not going to lie, this first day was rough.  I got there at 6am but the kids were already up and getting ready so I had that feeling of “oh no I’m late.”  And then I found out that I wasn’t actually supposed to come until 8 and that the next day I was to come at 5:30 and I was all sorts of confused.  I spent the day trying to keep up with the tíos with all the cleaning and laundry and whatnot.  I struggled with not feeling useful and doing things wrong.  It was my first time washing clothes by hand.  There were good moments, like going for a walk with the kids or reading a book.  However if I’m to be honest here for a moment, I had to choke back some tears at the end of the day.  What had I got myself into?

                And then I got back to the volunteer house, took some deep breaths, and remembered that this wasn’t supposed to be easy.  I’m not here to feel a certain way or to be a hero or to be comfortable.  And I thought more about my simple and wonderful purpose – I’m here to love these kids in whatever capacity that means.  Wednesday, dark and earlier around 4:45am, I got up, had some coffee, and prayed over the day.  My attitude was so much better and instead of letting myself get stuck on the little things, I noticed the moments when we laughed or hugged or connected.  I got to chatting more with the tíos.  They told me that everyone on their birthday gets doused in water.  I told them I wouldn’t tell them my birthday.  However there’s an info sheet about me in the house, so we raced over there and I scurried to find my sharpie to scratch out my birthday.  (He got to it first, but since it’s in September I’m hoping he’ll forget…).  So, it was still a long day, but a very good day.  I enjoyed being with the kids and starting to break the ice with the tíos.  It was amazing how both days were so similar in structure and the people I was working with, but how prayers and attitude change made a world of difference.

Me, Emerson, Francisca, and Izabel

 Thursday and Friday I was able to rest.  It was really nice to read and write and work on some projects.  Lucky for me Shawn had a shortened day on Thursday because he started at 5am.  That afternoon we headed out to Antigua and had a lot of fun.  We went to this museum about jade in Guatemala.  Guatemala is known for jade and we learned about how for thousands of years the indigenous populations have used jade to signify wealth and royalty.  It was really cool.  I also got really excited because there’s this chocolate shop/museum! We stopped by because it smelled so good.  Here you can find out about the history of chocolate in the Americas and find out how it’s made.  Then you can make your own chocolate, grinding the beans and everything.  One day we’ll definitely have to go back.  There’s also a coffee and Mayan music museum I want to go to.  Needless to say, it was a good afternoon and a nice break from being at NPH.

Friday felt like Christmas for many reasons.  For one, I got to move into my permanent room!  I love the volunteer house I’m in (there’s three).  I’m in the seemingly quieter, cleaner house and I really enjoy the people who are here.  And it felt so great to finally unpack all of my stuff and put up pictures.  I feel all moved in and ready to make this my home for the year. 

New room!

Then all the volunteers who left gave their clothes and miscellaneous items to the new volunteers.  I tried on a bunch of clothes and shoes and got some good quality lotion.  Magically four or five pairs of pants fit perfectly.  The big event of the day however was when I had a quick informal meeting with the Erika volunteer coordinator.  She had an update for me about the change in my position.  She showed me a job proposal that she had already discussed with the house director and asked me what I thought.  The integrated special education class needs an extra hand because right now there’s just one teacher and 8 kids who are across the board in ability levels and a few that might simply leave the room.  The idea of helping out at the school just sounded perfect.  In these last few weeks I’ve been learning about myself that I really enjoy having goals of learning or developing skills.  The setting of a classroom and having lessons everyday seemed to really fit my interests and is also a real need.  I got so excited when the volunteer coordinator shared this idea with me.  There’re a few different proposals for the afternoons.  One is the recreation workshop that I mentioned a blog or two ago.  Another would be an occupational workshop for the kids with special needs in their home.  This workshop is still being organized, so I wouldn’t be starting it for a while, but the basic idea is that I would work with the tíos and tías to teach and develop basic manual skills with the kids such as sewing, cooking, and everyday tasks.  Erika told me she was going to arrange a meeting with all parties involved and that I might start on Wednesday.  Wow, talk about things changing fast!

So the rest of the afternoon I enjoyed sharing my excitement with my new housemates and getting settled in.  Then we all headed over to Erika’s house in Parramos where she invited us to have dinner.  Oh my gosh, the food was riquisisisisimo.  She made lasagna and her husband made this salad with fantastic dressing.  There was guacamole and pico de gallo and a delicious cake to celebrate a volunteer’s birthday.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to have free food from NPH every day, but after you’ve had several of those meals and then get treated with some good home cooking… – wow, there’s no other way to react other than to eat and eat and eat.  After we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, we ended the day with a piñata and chewing caramelos on our walk back home.  In conclusion – Friday felt like Christmas.

Saturday and Sunday I had another shift as a tía.  It seems like the more time I spend there the better it gets.  Saturday was cute, because every section came up with a performance to do in front of everyone.  It could be a dance or some kind of gymnastics business.  In the morning my section practiced a dance, coming up with the moves and outfits and everything.  We even made some pom poms.  Then in the afternoon everyone went out to the fútbol field and watched the performances.  Here’s a section showing their moves.

     Sunday was a very relaxed day.  The kids got to sleep in and some of the tíos and I went for about a 3 mile run before waking them up.  It was such a refreshing way to start the day, though I’m definitely a bit out of shape and need to go more often.  In the morning we went to the playground by the school and then watched a movie as a treat.  Nobody here usually watches t.v. or movies and so once a week over the weekend is special.  Later in the afternoon we went to mass together with all the sections.  That pretty much sums up the weekend.  Although it was a little sad because I couldn’t go out with the other volunteers to Antigua or Chimaltenango, I enjoyed being with the kids and it was good.

After getting the kids up and ready in the morning on Monday, I started my two day break at 8am.  One of the años de servicio and I decided to go for another run and that was really good.  We only ran 1/2-3/4 of the run, but it was really good chatting as we took a walking break.  She is a very friendly and ambitious 22 year old.  She really likes working with kids with disabilities and wants to go to school to become a speech therapist.  We talked about family and life and what snow is like in Chicago.  I’m going to start hanging out with her to chat in English too.  She really wants to learn and it’ll be fun.

After doing some grocery shopping and laundry Monday morning, I got a call from Erika telling me about the meeting that we’re all going to have in an hour.  I was excited and relieved that this meeting so easily came together.  I was a bit intimidated as the director of the school, director of all the sections, special education coordinator, special ed teacher, and director of the home for kids with special needs all came together to specifically talk about me and this new position.  I was like “come Spanish, don’t fail me now!”  But the meeting went really smoothly.  Everyone was in agreement that the teacher needed an extra hand and that I would be a good fit.  In addition it was decided that I will start Wednesday of this week, which is tomorrow.  I am so excited!  I know the next year will bring its challenges with whatever I do here at NPH, but I feel so much peace and confidence that this is the right position for me, that the kids will benefit, and the teacher too.  Everybody wins.  With this position I will also have a more normal schedule Monday through Friday   7-5.  I’ll be able to participate in some other volunteer responsibilities that tías usually don’t do.  I will have another section to hang out with and have dinner with a few times a week.  I’ll be doing family projects which is when brothers and sisters from different sections get to hang out and do something fun for a few hours.  I’ll get to be a part of these events called Kermes where the volunteers organize activities for all the kids once every two months over the weekend.  I’m excited that I’ll be able to participate more as a team with the volunteers.  All around, it’s very good.

Last night my house did a welcome dinner.  We had a tasty German-ish dinner with potatoes and cheese and something like spinach.  Here’s a picture of all of us together

From the top to the right me, Edith from Germany, Sam from the U.S., Nicole from Germany

Bottom left to right Karla from Guatemala, Bianca from Germany, Veronica from Austria, and Charlotte from the U.S.

And we are missing one Elena from Italy who took the picture.

And next week I'll let you know how this new position is panning out :)

You say goodbye, and I say hello

This week was another week full of transition, not as much for the new volunteers but for the old.  The group of 12-ish volunteers starting last January spent their last week training us, saying their goodbyes, and packing up to go home.  It’s been an emotional time for everyone and even the Friday night assembly for all the kids to say goodbye, the despedida, made a few of us new volunteers tear up.

The new volunteers are now trained and moving into their new rooms.  Today, Monday, is the first day for many on their own in their position.  It’s exciting and has that feeling of, “ok, let’s get started.”

This has been a really good week.  When I think back to the last time I blogged on Saturday, it seems like forever ago.  The rest of the weekend was really nice.  I’m really thankful for how well all of us seem to get along.  Saturday night a few of us went to a coffee shop and talked for hours on issues ranging from poverty to sex education to our relationships with family and friends.  After this conversation I think we all felt refreshed and pensive.  I knew (like I think all of us) that I will have people I can talk to and connect with throughout this whole year.  It’s so good.

Here are some pictures of me and the other volunteers in Chimaltenango and Antigua.

Janelle, me, creepy Shawn, and Charlotte

At the Artesan market in Antigua

Out to lunch

Monday and Tuesday I spent with my kids.  Now that I’ve been spending more time with them, I’ve felt more freedom to do some different things with them rather than just observing.  Monday I was able to go to some Special Education classes/therapy with an amazing woman who’s been volunteering here for 6 months.  She is a calm peaceful middle-aged woman from Germany.  She reminds me a lot of my mom and has been more or less my mentor in my position.  She previously served as the Special Ed Coordinator, but now her position has changed so that she’ll be doing small group classes in the Montessori school.  She’s been so great with checking up on me and asking how I’m doing at the home.  I’m so glad I get to work with her and it’s so easy to ask her questions.  Anyway, so this week I worked with her and some of the kids making music with different instruments, reading books, and visiting the goats (another benefit of having animals here).  Then one afternoon I took a couple ladies for a walk to the library and we read Aladdin together.  We really enjoyed this and I started to hope my position would include lots of trips to the library.  Another thing I think we’ll do a lot is go for runs.  Several of the younger kids just love to run around the soccer field laughing and racing each other.  It seems like every time I’m at the house they ask “vamos a correr?” Reading and running, some of my favorite things J

Wednesday through Friday we learned more about NPH rules and policies and the roles of NPH International.  It was nice to have a change of pace and its good that the volunteer coordinator has been here for awhile and has everything so organized.  During this time, every volunteer chose a section to be a part of.  A part from a volunteer’s job, each of us also has a section that they spend time with every week.  Sections are just the groups like older girls, younger girls, older boys, younger boys, babies, kids with special needs etc.  There’re some 12-14 sections I think.  Because I am a tía I don’t really have a section apart from where I’m working which is with the kids with special needs.  However, if I end up changing my position in a month or two for the recreation therapy, I might get a section as well.  I would definitely choose the boys between 8-10 years old.  I love how mischievous and playful they can be.  After everyone chose their sections, everyone spent the afternoon with their kids.  Shawn chose the special needs section which I’m really glad about, for both selfish and unselfish reasons.  It’ll be great to have another person to spend time with the kids and give them more attention and all that jazz.  For me it’ll be great to have a volunteer to work with.  Because Shawn’s from my culture and is accustomed to working with people with disabilities in the states, I feel like we can talk about our impressions, thoughts, and struggles and be understood.  He will join us for dinner twice a week and maybe visit on the weekends sometimes.

After talking with Vilma, my supervisor, and Erika, the volunteer coordinator, I’ve got my schedule figured out at least for the first month.  There are two groups of tíos that trade off shifts.  I with be working with the shift that starts this Tuesday (hence why I am writing this blog today instead of working).  I will start at 6am and finish around 6:30/7pm when they go to bed.  They sleep A LOT.  So, I will have this schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday, then get Thursday-Friday free, then work Saturday/Sunday etc.  It’ll be kind of hard not having free time when the other volunteers have free time, but its good thing I’m an introvert and cherish my alone time.  As of now I won’t be doing night duty at least until I get more used to things and the behaviors and needs for the kids.  I’m secretly hoping my doing night duty won’t be necessary…

Because some tíos are on vacation, I’m going to be responsible for two boys with their personal care, chores, etc.  I like both of them a lot and they are very different. 

Here’s a picture of Leo

He’s really sweet and loves to joke around.  He goes to school in the mornings so I won’t see too much of him, but the time I’ve spent with him he seems awesome.

                                                  

                                                               And this is Juan Carlos

I love his strong and energetic personality.  He loves to talk and get into things and he can be really sweet.  He can also be a big hand full because he likes to pinch, bite, and pull hair.  He’s usually not angry when he does these things, and redirecting him to a different topic or activity usually helps a lot.  I hope it goes well with him.

I took a couple more pictures of my kids. 

Emerson is the sweetest and very affectionate. 

Francisca loves to run around and give hugs. 

 

Paty and Delmi love reading books and are really easy going.  It’s such a good group.

Another major event this week was finding out what houses we are going to live in and with which roommates.  I’m very excited for how this turned out as well.  I’m going to live in the house with Bianca, who is the mentor-ish type lady I mentioned earlier.  Then another older volunteer is there who is very sweet and easy to talk to.  Even if she’s on her way somewhere, she’s always stopped to chat with me and is always very encouraging.  My roommate is another middle aged German woman who is a doctor at the clinic.  She seems like a very calm and clean person.  I know that going home will be relaxing and this is so important after a day running around with kids.  I like all the other volunteers there too.  There are a few more Europeans, three Americans, and altogether 9 of us.  We also have a volunteer from Guatemala who is really nice and is a social worker.  I’m really excited because my house seems pretty serious about speaking in Spanish especially since the Guatemalan volunteer doesn’t know English or German.  Although it can get really frustrating, I know that sticking with Spanish as much as possible is the best way to soak up this experience.  The room I’m moving into still has the old volunteers so I’m planning on moving in next week.  I’m really looking forward to putting all my stuff away and not be digging through my luggage all the time to find things.

This past weekend was very chill.  Saturday a group of us went to Antigua to shop, stroll, and read in a coffee shop.  There’s one café I really like that I think will become my usual place.  It’s got that college town/European/American feel to it.  When I need a break from how everything is different than what I’m used to, I know I can go there.  Also, lucky for me, the NPH library has all the harry potter books in Spanish.  It’s been my goal (New Year’s resolution?) to both read in Spanish and read Harry Potter.  Since I’ve never read through the series, I think it will be fun.  I’m starting on the second book J  I can’t express how much I love libraries.

Until next week!

First week of Orientation

So, we finally made it to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Guatemala.  The first thing that struck me was the size and quality of this place.  Coming in you first see the clinic and office on the right and then the classrooms on the left along with a basketball court and playground.  The driver dropped us off nearby the volunteer houses.  I was surprised by how big they are. 

Here’s some pictures of the decent sized kitchen and living room.

Here’s my temporary bedroom.

Shortly after Shawn and I got there, another volunteer from the states arrived.  The three of us together went through the oo’s and aa’s of being here and also those awkward moments of not really knowing what to do.  The volunteer coordinator was running around getting us things like sheets and pillows and many volunteers and staff saw us and stopped by to say hello.  Everyone was really friendly.  The general consensus from the volunteers is that the jobs are really really hard but really really good. 

We arrived on Friday but we didn’t start orientation until Monday.  That means for our weekend we mostly wandered around the property and explored Parramos which is a really close by town.  It was nice and relaxing, but by Sunday we were ready to get started.

Here's a couple pictures of the campus

These are the volunteer, visitor, and director houses

Here's the school

Sunday afternoon and early evening all of the other volunteers arrived.  There are 11 of us altogether one more is coming the next Monday.  There are 5 from the United States, 2 from Austria, 3 from Germany, 1 from Italy, and 1 from Guatemala.  Now it’s really hitting me how much of a cultural experience this will be.  Right now we are all staying in a house temporary until the other volunteers finish their year and train us in our positions, and then head back home.  When we move permanently each of us will have one roommate who is not from the same country or have the same position (this really encourages sticking to Spanish!)  I have to say I love how we all have to fumble around with our Spanish to get to know each other.  With all of us from different places, it’s kind of our only option.  The other volunteers seem really nice and have interesting positions here.  I’m looking forward to getting to know them more.

After a welcome dinner on Sunday, we finally started orientation Monday morning.  Although all that team building, processing business is not always the most fun or intriguing activity, it was good to spend the morning talking about our expectations and fears and first impressions.  Other volunteers joined us and talked to us about their experiences.  I started getting really scared about being a tía for the kids with special needs because everyone has been telling me how hard and exhausting it is.  Let’s be honest here, I started to tell myself to forget about sleep for a year.  But… I was running away with my imagination and I know I’m supposed to be here and I know that working with these kids is exactly what I need to do right now.  This has definitely been a time to do some self reflection and adjust my attitude.  I’m here for the kids and not to be comfortable.

Anyway, after all this we were introduced to the top three directors and learned a bit about all the departments.  After lunch we took a tour with the volunteer coordinator and that’s when I really started thinking that places like this is what is going to change the world.  I really like how the kids are brought up here.  They are given food that they themselves grow.  We saw all the pigs, goats, cows, and chickens along with a green house and garden with carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, cilantro, beats, corn and other things I can’t remember.  They are fields to play volleyball, basketball, soccer, and places for art and music.  The kids eat organic food and they get the satisfaction of working for it (also doing their own laundry/cleaning).  They get an education and also can be trained in a trade. We saw the workshops for carpentry, bakery, sewing, metal work, artisan work and culinary.  They also give the kids opportunities to go to a university.  This place isn’t just for a child to grow up and then get thrown into the outside world.  They are training them to have professions and to get back to their communities in much needed ways.  Then of course there is the mission of love and belonging. I had read about all of this before, but just seeing everything hit me harder that this is how we tackle the cycle of poverty.

The next few days we continued visiting offices and learning about what different departments do.  There were the psychologists, social workers, therapists, schools, the clinic, and the workshops.  It was a lot of information to take in.  Then, the moment we’ve been waiting for, we started in our positions!  Thursday, Friday, and then Monday and Tuesday all of us are split up to get trained and observe our departments and positions.  I was very excited to finally meet my kids.  They are nothing short of fantastic.

I had been getting nervous, but when I met the children I’ll be working with for the next year for the first time, my worries pretty much melted away.  Of course some of the kids have interesting or trying behaviors but mostly they all seem really sweet and unique and overall the most open hearted children.  This one boy especially has the best smile and always runs to greet me when I come to the house.  The time I’ve spent at their house he’s rarely left my side.  The past two days I’ve mostly just been observing, playing, chatting, and going to meetings.  There’s one girl who loves to talk and we chatted for a long time about NPH, family, the States and Guatemala, and lots of things.  Lucky for us, there’s a sand volleyball court nearby the house and we were able to hang out in the sand.  It was a really cool sensory time in the sand especially with the nonverbal kids I want to get to know more. 

At one point during these two days I did start getting overwhelmed with just meeting so many people and taking in so much information.  Especially when everything is in Spanish, I don’t want to miss something important by accident.  But, overall I’m very excited and I have a feeling this year is going to be good.

The other tíos and my supervisor all seem really nice.  There are 8 tíos and 4 pequeños (the kids who grow up at NPH) who are doing their year of service.  Each pequeño gives back to NPH through a couple years of service working in different departments before they continue their studies in high school and college.  The schedule seems pretty fair.  I think it will be a good mixture of working hard and having rest.  Each tío works for two days straight and then has two days off.  Two tíos each night sleep in the same room as the kids, one in the girls’ room and one in the boys’.  It seems like a good system.  Some of the tíos are around my age in their twenties and then others are a bit older. 

I’m really curious about checking out the different therapy appointments with the kids.  They each have their own schedules with school and therapy.  So far there’s physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and art therapy.  There also was a recreational therapy program, but some positions with the volunteers have been changing so this therapy position will soon be vacant.  There’s been talk that maybe in a few months, I might start leading recreation activities for kids in the mornings and then continue as tía in the afternoons.  I don’t know, we’ll see.  I like the idea of variety and being active.  In either case, I hope to be creative with activities with my kids either in therapy or at home.

I know one thing that I will definitely be struggling with and growing in is the transition between life at Camp Courageous and everyday life here.  At camp, every week was a special week out of the year.  It was vacation.  Every day we could do something different and exciting.  We had an activity scheduled every hour and were on the go from morning until it was time to sleep.  I think I forgot that normal life is not like this…  And also there’re all the culture differences I think.  In just these two short days, I’ve already been thinking and asking “Ok guys, what do you want to do?  What activities do we have?  Maybe we can go here or go there or what?”  But I’m starting to realize that being an everyday life caregiver is more laid back and mostly contains tasks like doing laundry, washing dishes, and simply being.  This is going to be my challenge.  Of course I believe being engaged in learning, exercising, and in a sense working is important, but it’s good as well to step back and just be.  As I was mulling these things over inside my head, my real objective stuck out to me.  I’m here to love these kids.  In whatever capacity that means or could be, it’s as simple as that.

The other volunteers have been getting along in their positions too.  Some of them seem pretty tough because the person training them hasn’t been around for some reason, or because there’s still a need to come up with school schedules so they haven’t been able to start working with the kids yet.  For sure the next couple weeks we will all get into the groove of things and understand our responsibilities.  We are all enjoying our first free weekend.  With the other volunteers who have either been here for 6 months or a year joined us for dinner on Friday night in Antigua.  It was a good time and Antigua is such a nice city.  We had Italian food (pesto pizza for me!) which was a nice break from rice and beans.  Tonight (Saturday) we’re planning on going back to Antigua to hang out and go to a concert.  It should be fun.

Next week is our last week of training.  We have two more days in our department and then three more days of workshop type things. 

Ahh, I feel like there’s so much I’m leaving out.  I have so much more to talk about and so many thoughts about what I’m experiencing.  Unfortunately it’s impossible to include everything.  Until next week!