Though the day was full of hilarious mishaps such as running 6K to a rugby game only to hear the final whistle blow, running home in the pouring rain, and finding out our restaurant of choice closes at 4pm on Saturday, the day ended up being lovely because it was filled with lovely people...
shawing :)
Crispy Banana....dats right
AMIGOS!
compliments to the chef, Miss Aubrey Hellenbrand
It didn't taste like a banana but boy did it look like one.
you can always spot the gringas with their streamers
A part of me doesn't want to explain this picture at all to allow you to make up your mind about it but the other part feels obligated. There was a pole, in the middle of a bar, that all these ladies were using as a "dancing aid." I of course decided to use the pole for its original purpose; climbing. Luckily I had a cheering section to help me check off one more thing off my list of "things I stil have to do in Guatemala before I leave."
My wife/bff/counterpart/partnerincrime/loverforlife
Thanks everyone who helped me celebrate being ALIVE :)
Alright, it may sound disgusting but it does make for a hilarious blog update. I have had a wart under the nail on my left hand thumb for almost 4 years. I have gone to three different doctors in two different states that all tired different methods including a blistering agent, prescription acidic treatment, and liquid nitrogen (twice!) to get it removed. Nothing has seemed to work. Normally, I would leave it and just let me body take care of it in due time but because of its location, it made it nearly impossible to use that thumb without discomfort. So, I decided to try my luck with the Guatemalan dermatologist a few weeks ago.
Makenzie and I both went in for an appointment because she had one on the palm of her hand and the sole of her foot that were also causing her discomfort. The doctor asked what we had done to try to get rid of the warts and after explaining the various unsuccessful techniques, he suggested one I had not quite prepared myself for. He said he would burn it off... with fire. The shocked look on my face led him to explain that after a local anesthetic I would not feel a thing and the wart tissue would be killed completely. After the numbness set in, the shocked look on my face left temporarily as the doctor went to tend to another patient. The look quickly returned, however, when the doctor came back in with a face shield and a medical blowtorch. Seriously. He burned that sucker off for a good 5 minutes because so much of it was under the finger nail and, after four years of taking refuge in my finger, was really deep into the tissue. To say that it was terrifying would be a bit of an exaggeration but it was definitely one of the most bizarre doctor experiences I had ever had.
I am attaching a link to show you the pictures of the wart because I do not think they are appropriate to post openly on this blog. By clicking the link, you are taking full responsibility for the risk of looking at something that has made many people squirm with discomfort, feel nauseous in disgust, and shriek in horror. Though I personally do not think its that bad, I will let you all know that it is healing nicely but slowly. I'll try to put a more recent photo shoot of my thumb up in the next few weeks. Until then, if you're looking for an efficient means of wart removal (<-- here's the link!) that does not take out a chunk of your finger, let me know what you find!
Well, as expected, I had every intention of writing as soon as the school year ended in order to remember what an incredible day we had on our last day in 3A but it didn't happen. I went into it worried that I would be too emotional to have fun, remembering over and over again that the year was really over and that when we started school again come August, those 21 little dudes would no longer be the kids I claimed to be my own, the ones that taught me more than I had ever learned in any classroom, the ones that when all else seemed to be going wrong were the only ones that could make me smile. Luckily though all these things were true, the day was jam-packed with so much fun that there wasn’t a second to waste on being sad.
Crazy Day! (theme chosen by the crazy people in 3A)
The day started out with the Elementary Talent Show. After a little convincing, the elementary teachers were able to pull off a surprise act for the students to the song “The Time” by the Black Eyed Peas. I had a vision of all us teachers lip-syncing to our classes expressing how we had had the time of our lives and it was really all because of them. We added a stint of choreography, put on some sweet shades, and danced the song away. The kids went nuts! It felt like we were rock stars at a concert with the sounds of their screams. With the added adrenaline of the whole day, I did a round-off back flip on stage and instantly became “the most popular teacher in school” (quoting a second grader). All day the kids thanked us for surprising us, asked “how you do that?!”, and laughed about certain dance moves that their teachers busted out. It was the perfect way to start the day and one that if I ever get a copy of, I will surely put on this blog.
intense s'more making
After playing at recess, we came back to class and started going through the rest of the surprises we had in store. First up? S’mores. That’s right, my students in Guatemala had never experienced the art of s’more making. Never had those gooey, crispy treats touched their lips and never had they enjoyed the feeling of panic as their marshmallow lit on fire and began to turn a textured shade of black. I felt it was my duty as their educator to ensure that not only did they know how to find an equivalent fraction and include adjectives in their writing, but they knew how to create a desert with the careful patience and precision that goes into making s’mores. So, armed with tea candles and wooden kabob sticks and with the help of Miss Nancy the Spanish teacher, we went to work making s’mores. The kids loved them, obviously, and were so excited that they ran around school bringing other teachers s’mores or roasted marshmallows on a stick. When the activity came to an end because we had expired all of our materials, the kids reported that it was the coolest thing we did all year. Little did they know, the day had only just begun :)
The next activity was one that wrapped up our year of community living by expressing how much we appreciated each other. I gave them the cards I wrote them with our class collage on the front and on the inside they went around the classroom and wrote one sentence explaining something positive about the other person. I went around the class and did it too so that I could have a card from them as well. My favorite sentences were the following:
“I can’t explained in words how I love you and how you change my life.”
“You brought happiness, knowledge, smiles and laughs to this classroom.”
“You are the best teacher I ever had and I wish you were my teacher more”
And…
“Have a good vacation” :)
Not only were they able to dazzle me with their English skills one more time but they also had an understanding for feelings that I had no idea were possible for people so young. Sometimes being in elementary its hard to really see if they kids are taking anything away from what they are learning but luckily I was able to see on that last day of school that, if nothing else, they learned how to feel grateful.
Just when I thought the day couldn’t have any more surprises involved, my kids turned the tables and threw me a “surprise” birthday party. I put quotation marks around the word surprise because it’s really hard for a group of chatty 8-year-olds to keep something like that a secret. A few of the kids asked to go to the restroom during lunch and almost instantly came dashing back to tell me that the secretary (my dear friend Claudia) needed me in the office. I made them work for it and pretended to not understand why the office would want me, why they wouldn’t come get me, or why they needed me during lunch. As soon as they started to get frustrated with me though, I headed down to the office and laughed with Claudia about how much time I needed to kill before heading back to class. When I returned, there were decorations, food, posters, and kids everywhere. A few parents came and they just kept reminding me over and over again that it was all the kids’ idea and they just brought the materials. They also made me a book that all the kids signed and a poster where they all wrote the three reasons they loved me. Throughout the whole day, this was the one thing that really made me choke up. In a time where birthdays were becoming the least important thing (when before they were my favorite thing) I was so touched that those kids went to such an effort to surprise me. And my favorite line from the whole day was when one sassy girl said, “See Miss Hannah, you aren’t the only one with surprises!”
Surprise!
We then went to our own private recess where the students asked me to do more gymnastics the entire time but I continued to pretend to have no idea what they were talking about. We headed back to the class for the last hour of the day to watch a 32 minutes slideshow (password: Inter3A) about the whole year. They pig-piled me with hugs when they were finished, I passed out the “summer challenge” packet I made for them (an 26 page packet of work that if completed is rewarded with a free lunch with Miss Hannah next year), and gave out the last student newsletter. Then, it was over. We stacked our chairs for the last time, cleaned out the rest of the things from our desks, packed up the backpacks, and… that was it. Unfortunately for me and my already shaky emotions, about 6 girls gripped onto me sobbing uncontrollably and refusing to go to their buses. They were all kind of egging each other on it seemed so I had to just laugh at them and remind them I would not only see them everyday next year in the halls but I would also see them in 30 minutes at the third grade party they were having at a students’ house. It was a pretty intense moment but one that they were able to shake off as soon as they got to the party and ate hot dogs and ran around for hours.
And that was the year. My first year teaching, an experience I will never be able to replicate, was completely finished. Looking back on the year I can honestly say that I went into it feeling very uncertain about myself as an educator. By the end of the year, I think I finally found my confidence. My students made it easy with their constant eagerness to learn new things and the kindness they showed me and their classmates everyday. I’ll never forget this particular group of kids and though it hurts to think that for some I may never know what they do or do not amount to, I am so thankful that I was able to spend in year my of life in their world, learning more from them than I could ever teach.
A photo taken at our last parent conferences with my tutee's mom. I love this picture because I think it epitomizes the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." A Japanese special education teacher, a Guatemalan homeroom teacher, an American tutor, and a Colombian family. Truly one of the most beautiful aspects of international teaching.
Okay I literally have 7 minutes before I need to be somewhere but thought it would be very beneficial to write down what I'm thinking and feeling about this last day of school. I've already cried this week and have no idea how I'm going to get through today. We are having a talent show, a slideshow, we're making s'mores, doing affirmations and hopefully hugging each other all day. I'm nervous to see my students in an hour and hope that they can see that all my emotions are because I just truly love them. I can't imagine what I would be like if I were leaving Guatemala for good, so in that case I'm glad I'm going to still see 3A next year. I'm looking forward to getting the second graders next year too as we taught lessons to them this week and they were so adorable it hurt a little. Basically, I'll touch base again when I am finished with today if I have enough brain capacity to do so but in all, I really just can't believe its over. I'm not happy. I'm not sad. I really just can't believe it.
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling
deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments,
propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and
start searching for different ways or truer answers."
-M. Scott Peck
This entry is likely going to seem like a "downer" in relation to my more light-hearted attempts at being hilarious, but I was encouraged this weekend by a dear friend, Katie Y, to write what I truly feel and know during the next year because someday it will really be helpful to look back on what I wrote and just be thankful for everything I really did learn while living here. The last month has really been an emotional roller coaster. I'll use this entry to give a generic apology to all those who have been affected by these emotions (especially my mom) because I'm finding them harder and harder to ignore. I'm also realizing that almost all things in life are a domino affect and if I can't hold it all together, which I realize no one can at all times, everything else seems to start falling down as well.
The end of the school year countdown is now at 5 days. My first year is nearly over and instead of feeling like I should be celebrating the start of summer, I'm feeling intensely worried about what happens next. I feel like my class this year was absolutely amazing. Though by no means was everyday perfect, I felt like both my students and myself went home at 4:30 feeling as though we had learned something significant. Next year, we are getting a new principal, our budget is being cut, and many people who have provided me with irreplaceable support are moving away. Though there are many opportunities that lay within these changes, its a little hard for me to ignore the potential disaster that next year could bring. (*If there are any new hires coming to Inter next month that are reading this and thinking, "Oh dear god," please put your mind at ease and remember that you will be entering a situation where you will not have to see the changes unfold, rather it will just be how things are. I promise this entry will be a one-time worry sessions where I put my thoughts down and come July 22nd, you better believe I will be ready to head to welcoming committee for you!)
I feel like in this last month Guatemala has really been testing me by trying to get me to take a closer look as to what problems exist here and just how much effort it will take for those problems to slowly, but genuinely, decrease. This morning, my boss and his two daughters ages 1 and 2, were robbed at gunpoint while they walked the 500m from their house to a local cafe. Thankfully the girls didn't notice and all the robbers got out of him was a crappy cell phone and about $10 in cash, but this doesn't change the fact that they were also robbed of their feelings of security, freedom and trust in the country in which they live. A mere 15 days before he and his family were about to move away from Guatemala for good, someone had to go put a terrible taste in their mouths about the direction this country is continuing to move in. Every time I finally convince myself that there are far more good people out there than there are bad people, something like this happens. What are people with guns really capable of? Is it used as a ploy to get some quick cash? Or are they that desperate for a phone that they would actually kill someone for it? Why are guns so easily obtained here? What positive purposes do they actually serve? For what reasons do we have police officers, elected officials, security guards, body guards? Is it just for show? How does an entire nation stop living in fear when everyday they are faced with situations where someone is willing to threaten your life for a phone that does nothing more than make calls? And how, especially, can a nation move past these issues when so much time and money is invested in "security" that really doesn't make anyone feel secure at all? To be honest, I get more of an uneasy feeling when I walk past a police truck or a security guard holding an AK-47 outside of a Subway sandwich shop than I do when walking around in my neighborhood.
The real question, however, lies in how we intend to react to the above questions. We can become permanently changed from the things we have witnessed here, or we can try to figure out a way to help ourselves and others rise above them. My students, though sheltered in many ways, understand the "dangers" around them. The students who don't have bodyguards for their families do have parents that are very much afraid of what is out there. These conversations cannot possibly be kept from the students completely and instead have become engrained in their minds since childhood. I'm starting to think that the only way things are ever going to change here is to show the next generation that it simply doesn't have to be this way. We cannot continue to fight violence with violence. People here are afraid, are on defense, and none of these things can possibly change if we do not inflict change upon them. All I can do now is to walk with confidence and show my students that they will someday be in the position to change the unequal distribution of wealth and power amongst Guatemalans. If there was more to go around, maybe less violence would come around. Maybe. Okaaay, I need to go to bed.
That's how many days we have left. Not sure how ready I feel but I am really looking forward to next week at school mostly because its going to be a total blast. We have so many fun things planned and ready to go that I'm worried that if I blink it will all be over with. That's not to say that we don't have a million other things we need to have done before the end of the school year that I would love to see be done sooner rather than later. We need to turn in our final report cards, test our students reading levels, turn in our year long plan of how we met our standards, take inventory of our classrooms, write "trivia" questions for some school-wide trivia game, practice for our talent show performance (details to come), and pack up our apartments and move to our new one. All in less than two weeks. Not sure how its going to get done but I know I can't get on that plane until it does.
We started stuffing bottles today for the bottle brick project that was started here in Guatemala. My kids went absolutely crazy for it. They started searching through garbage cans for reusable plastic waste and were actually trying to drink more water so they could use their water bottles (not really the point, I realize. I'm trying to convince them that plastic water bottles are no good and they should buy reusable ones but right now they think plastic is the way to go...oy). I put in a request for an "Earthkeepers" extracurricular next year so we'll see if we can continue this project and maybe actually build something with it in the next year or so.
The one thing I'm trying to really get done before the end of the year is writing my kids letters. I only have 5 done so far so right now it's not looking so good. Hopefully the weekend will be put to good use. If I don't get it together, I have this fun collage to give them no matter what.
Basically, its June which means its almost summer break which might mean my blogging may become infrequent. I know there will be much to talk about but not a lot of time to write it out. Send me some questions about how the last week of school is going and maybe I will feel compelled to answer in blog form?
