Class Debut!

Check out our class featured in our school's blog:

http://ama.edu.gt/blog/have-you-filled-a-bucket-today/

Their Eyes Were Watching....ME?

Whewwww wow well week 2 of teaching is almost done and man oh man do I have respect for every teacher out there! It has been a whirlwind that’s for sure. My class has almost doubled. The first day I had my solid, group of 6 and I managed to get a new student every other day until I reached 11! Yes…we are now 11, well 12 counting me, in our closet size classroom. But we are such a team and are learning to work with and around each other quite well. The amount of tripping over one another’s chair has become the community source of laughter this week and I love that. Their spirits remind me every day to just take things day by day and continue to laugh. It doesn’t serve me well though when I am finally getting somewhere in a lesson, kids are focused, engaged and present and then I trip over someone’s chair or can’t quite squeeze behind a desk to get to the whiteboard….we all can’t help but break out into laughter.

First day classroom pics

It really was a shocking and exciting moment, that first day. They all filed in wearing their first day of school outfits, unpacked their backpacks into their cubbies, found their new seat, and pencils were in hand ready for the day to begin, and their eyes were all on....me? Ya, that's right their teacher. What great kids! But there was a brief moment that I too was almost looking to someone else to start class...ahh no it's me now. Show time! 

Our first class picture (missing a few students)

As I have been warned, Panajachel is a tiny town and it’s inevitable that you will run into your students and their families ALL the time EVERYWHERE! I’ve discovered the OREO cookies greatest competitor… OREO cookie wafer sticks. Man, as Brian Regan describes Fig Newtons, I can eat them by the sleeve. Same chocolate OREO cookie taste, with the cream filling, but in a wafer form, so sooo much lighter and fluffier! I’ve been bringing a package, 2 sticks, for snack. No not instead of a banana or apple of course, but it’s a little treat I look forward to throughout the day. I am often inconspicuous about my OREO cookie wafer consumption because I’ve been told kids will call you out on not sharing…even your snacks. But I must have left a wrapper exposed in our class trash-bin because yesterday I ran into one of my students and her mother in the OREO cookie wafer isle at the supermarket. The mom laughed and made her daughter translate for me that they were having to buy OREO cookie wafers this weekend because Ilene’s teacher eats them….BUSTED!!!! I was sure to point out the bag of spinach, milk, eggs and apples I also had in my cart….ya my student failed to mention that I eat a salad every day for lunch. I spent the rest of my shopping experience dodging my student, as I spotted her spying on my every purchase….and I made my roommate checkout for me so that I wouldn’t also be pegged for a ramen and Ritz cracker eater.

I know that students are greatly influenced by how a teacher acts and treats others, but I wasn’t ready to change my diet because my students are watching….Guess I will have to reconsider….or be better about hiding my cookie wrappers.

Last weekend some fellow teachers and I explored another town across the lake, San Marcos. It has become known as a mecca for all things spiritual. Basically it’s a bunch of gringo hippies with many meditation, therapeutic healing and yoga centers. But, some local kids showed us to the famous platform for jumping into the water. The water on that side of the lake is pristine and bright blue! The jump was a good 50-70 ft…and an adrenaline rush even after the 4^th jump. We had a blast exploring the town tucked in the majestic green hills…quite humbling. These weekend trips are so refreshing and invigorating. They are weekly reminders that I am still new in this amazing country. I will keep you all updated as my adventures continue. Thanks again for reading! 

Headed to San Marcos

strolling the...cobble stone paths of San Marcos

Scoping out the jump...

Showing us how it's done!

A Night to Remember

Well tonight marks a night I’ve been anticipating for hmmm…. 10 years? The night before my first day of teaching! I’ve had the weekend to take a few last minute adventures, prep for my week and reflect on all that’s allowed me to get to this point. I’m so so grateful for everyone out there, hopefully reading this blog, who has contributed to my growth and development as a person and teacher. My greatest hope is to motivate and empower these students as you all have done for me.

A letter I've written to my students (inspired by Pinterest) hung in my classroom

Here are a few pictures of the hike I took on Saturday. I finally made my way down streets I’d only passed by, and in an instant, Panajachel opened up into a land unknown! It was actually quite refreshing, as I’ve really been traveling the same few streets among my daily routines, but in just 10 minutes my world grew and it was humbling to, again, be exploring new land. It’s very Christopher Columbus-esque  in the sense that it’s beauty, which has been explored and appreciated by oh so many already, is so new and fresh to me. But I get to be the middle man, relaying my discoveries and the beauty of this “until now undiscovered land!” with all of you! We made our way up a winding street for incredible views, and dropped down to the river that leads into the lake. My friend claimed the river was basically bone dry a few days ago, but due to the buckets of rain these past few days, it truly was raging! We had an audience as we attempted to scramble up the side of the rock mounds to dodge the inevitable sewage water. But after many failed attempts we surrendered to weaving our way across the man made 2x4 fragmented….bridge? (if you can even call it that.). Some kids that had been watching our rock scramble attempt, motioned to us to their plank set up. How kind, we thought, they’ve set up these planks for the foot traffic. Oh no no no, not so fast! They wanted us to pay to walk across their 2x4 contraption, and that was just the first of 6 plywood sections to cross this river! We laughed and gave high 5s, thinking they’d giggle it off, and move aside, but no….these 3 children held their ground, like guards of the moat over this raging sewage river. So we resorted to small talk, and as soon as we said we were teachers at AMA, the eldest boy’s mouth dropped and he quickly pushed his siblings aside and escorted us over his mechanism! See you on Monday, he blushed and sent us on our way. Smart kid…knows how to work those tourists over...and construct quite a draw bridge mechanism if I may say so myself…. I’m proud to call him one of ours!

Hand cranked snow cones...so hardcore! 

With that, I am off to bed. I’ll post first day updates as soon as I can. But again, I want to thank you all for your continuous support!