New Friends and Lesson Plans

It’s been a week of planning and learning! Last Friday was AMA’s (Atitlán Multicultural Academy) open house. I was fortunate enough to meet a number of parents and students. It is truly a tight knit, family community. Thus far my class is only 6 students. There were many who were either held back, or their English level is keeping them in 1^st grade. I am so grateful to have met some of my students at the open house because their English level is a bit below what I’d anticipated and now I am more confident in modifying and planning my lessons to meet their needs. The school is beautiful. I have included a “before” photo of my classroom but am not ready yet to post my “after.” It is a super small, intimate space, with a whole lot of decorating and community building potential! I look forward to having the students contribute their goals, art and successes to spice things up! Stay tuned for more classroom photos.

Library (Biblioteca)

Staff Room / Kitchen (Cocina)

Yard 

That's my room straight ahead

Before shots of my room....lots of work left to do

This Saturday my roommate and I took a boat across Lake Atitlán to another town, San Pedro. It felt so good to take a little water excursion! I definitely feel more at home where there is water in sight. San Pedro is a town on the southwest shore of the lake, inhabited by mostly Mayans. It is the rainy season here….ya Seattle was having one of the most beautiful summers of all time and I run away to the…RAIN!!!! So it was dumping the entire boat ride, but truly, rain pouring over a vast body of water….what else could feel like home!? By the time we got across the lake, we only had time for a quick lunch and walk around town. It was an adventure in itself, a tourist meditating with a rain stick on the boat, all 9 of us having to all adjust our seating arrangement every 3 minutes to ensure the boat stayed balanced, and children attempting to translate seasickness to the captain….but all in all, a successful trip! The restaurant we found was a cute, locally run, kitchen equipped with a house cat (Simon) helping to serve our food and all! See pictures of Simon below.

San Pedro

Emily and Simon

This week consists of planning and organizing. It’s teachers week at AMA and boy are we all in full gear! There’s poster making, lesson planning, curriculum translating and of course…dance breaks! The staff here is incredible and all super supportive of one another as we are essentially creating our curriculum and plans. I am truly looking forward to working with such a qualified, inspiring group of teachers! 

Initial Impressions and Expressions

Well---welcome to Guatemala, unreliable Internet, water and electricity. I woke up my first morning to no water or electricity. After calling our landlord, we were informed that there was a city wide public announcement that they were going to be out all day until 6pm in the whole city…hmm somehow missed that public announcement…oh wait, it was in Spanish!

Really though- Pana is incredible! The people are all friendly, hard working and welcoming!

A few things I’ve learned: there is no toilet paper provided in public bathroom stalls, instead there is a dispenser right when you walk in and you are to take what you need prior to entering your stall…learned that quickly at the WalMart in Guatemala City. I took a shuttle from Guatemala City into Panajachel, which is about a 3 hour drive, however, my driver was an hour and a half late picking me up so I became the laughing stock of the Barcelo hotel, the white girl lugging around 4 bags, probably 200 lbs. worth of stuff, in and out of the lobby making phone calls to my shuttle driver. Yes, I befriended all of the bell boys after settling down on the bench in front of the lobby for the 4^th time, adjusting my bags just right so they don’t topple onto one another, “You ride is coming now?” “Yes, now they are really only 10 mins away” “You’re sure?”….

First stop, once my driver got there, WalMart. My roommate brought her cat to Pana and requested that I stop for kitty litter on my way, as it’s tough to find in Pana. Apparently our landlord just assumed that the cat would be going to the bathroom all over the house and was in fact shocked to see a toilet box for the cat. Well let me tell you…translating the concept of kitty litter is no easy task….El baño para los gatos (bathroom for cats)….I was given a strange look and then quickly escorted to the women’s restroom. No I am not ill, and I don’t need to go to the bathroom. I was finally successful when requesting cat food and found litter nearby. Similarly, I attempted Spanish small talk with Pedro, my driver. I tried to tell him I liked birds, and wanted to learn the birds of Guatemala. The next thing I know he’s headed for a drive-thru chicken restaurant, similar to a KFC….oh boy, I guess my Spanish isn’t as useful as I’d anticipated. I’ll learn quickly, and in the mean time, I’m ok with being the comical relief of the group.

Pedro holding up my sign! #feelingfamousinGuatemala

First glimpse of the volcanoes of Lake Atitlán (San Lucas, Sandiego, and San Pedro)

Home sweet home....there's Panajachel (bustling town right on the lake)

Our house is beautiful, tucked on a little quiet street about 5 minutes from the school. Our landlord, Rodrigo, is a father of 10, and just the sweetest, most responsive guy. He’s incredible for US landlord standards, so for Guatemalan standards he is an absolute saint! My roommate casually mentioned that we use the living room a lot and we’ve been putting our feet up on one of the chairs to relax. A few days later he comes to the house with a custom made coffee table from the town over!!! We haven’t met our neighbors yet but there’s nothing quite like going to bed to the Star Wars theme song played by what sounds like an entire marching band just a few houses down….we haven’t quite gotten to the bottom of this one, but for the past few nights I’ve fallen asleep to a chorus of brass instruments, with full on drum line and all!

A few pics of the outside of our house. I need to unpack and tiny up the inside before publishing photos...

The streets of Pana are bustling all the time. The main street, Santander, is full of street vendors and cafes. I’m already starting to recognize people! This morning I’m perched up in one of my new favorite spots, Café Moka, a little coffee shop right down by Lake Atitlán, owned by one of the school director’s friends.  I anticipate spending a lot of time here! Well I’m off to the open house at school. I’ll post more about the school and my classroom in the next entry. Much love to everyone! Thanks for following along!

Let the Adventure Begin!

ANNND…I’m off. I’m off on another adventure. Today I begin my 10 month teaching stint in Panajachel, Guatemala (well it’s only 10 months for now- right mom J?)In the past week, I presented my Master’s thesis, packed up my apartment in Tacoma, jumped off the pier on a rainy afternoon into the Puget Sound with my MAT teacher friends in celebration, drove away from the University of Puget Sound (a place I’ve called home for the past 5 years )and today I said farewell to Kenmore and people that make it home.  And I thought moving to a new country was going to be a whirlwind…. All joking aside, this past week has been pivotal, and I so appreciate all the support and encouragement that’s been provided by all you friends and loved ones out there. Even though I’m the one hopping on the airplane, it’s because of all of you that I am brave enough…and crazy enough to do something like this!

I will arrive in Guatemala city tonight and will stay in a hotel near the airport. Then tomorrow morning, I’ll be shuttled into the town of Panajachel and to my home, where my future roommate and house pet (yes, she brought her cat Tabitha along!) I will be teaching a 2^nd/3^rd grade split class at the Atitlan Multicultural Academy:

http://ama.edu.gt

Teacher training is on Friday and I will meet my students at open house that afternoon! It’s so exciting thinking that I have  a whole class of future students out there, hopefully looking forward to our year together as much as I am!

I’m soaking up the last few tastes of the states (Starbucks and McDonald’s) in the Dallas airport. It’s rare that I binge on a quarter pounder so I think this meal marks the beginning of a year full of adventure..? While there are a lot of uncertainties (like whether or not I’ll ever enjoy Starbucks again after tasting the purity of Guatemalan coffee, how many students will show up in my classroom on that first day, and who will learn more, my students or me?) a few things are for certain: I am so grateful and blessed for this opportunity and am so looking forward to sharing my first year teaching journey with you all. I will keep this blog updated as much as possible but know that I am thinking of you all and want to thank you for all your constant support motivation!