Wait for the weekend, THEN get sick

Well, the typical teacher myth of making it through the whole week only to get sick over the weekend or a vacation happened to me this week. I woke up Friday morning feeling just AWFUL and I was pretty terrified to go to school. But I will never miss school for being  “sick” unless I am physically unable to hold my up-chucks in my mouth. So I took some Dayquil and carried on. I felt pretty good until about lunch time and then my energy, and probably my patience, began to slide. By the time the kids left, my body hurt so badly that all I wanted to do was cry myself to sleep. Tom took Aubrey and I to the grocery store after school because we almost literally had no food and I felt so bad for them because I was probably miserable to be around. The second I came home, I put on sweatpants, a sweatshirt, socks, wrapped up in a blanket and passed out. I woke up at 9:30 pm lying sideways on my bed listening to Billy Joel on my computer. Talk about confusion! Aubrey got home at around 10:30 from a dinner party and we sat in my bed and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, haha. It made me miss you a TON, Danielle, as we used to always sit in bed and watch movies in Kansas :) 

Anyway, I’m feeling much better today and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to update the blog. I still can’t believe how negligent I have been with this thing as I am definitely one of those people that gets frustrated with blogs that I follow that are infrequently updated. I vow to do a better job!

This week at school was super busy as expected but I am actually pretty proud of myself for making it through without too much damage. On Wednesday we had our “Meet the Teacher Night” which really just meant “only five of your twenty-two students’ parents will actually show up night.” I mean, I am SO grateful that those parents did indeed come because I know they work long days and I know at many open houses in the US parents do not come at all but I was surprised at the low turnout. We played a name game so I could start knowing the names of my students’ parents instead of having to whisper to my students as their parents approach me, “hey, how does your mom pronounce her name again?” All the parents seemed to have a good time with this and they were very supportive and patient with me considering the fact that I did not know the answers to a lot of their questions.

Happy birthday, Rodolfo!

So some other things that have been going down that I had forgotten to blog about are:

            1. ITRRC

            2. VIP Movie Experience

            3. Car Shopping

            4. After school activities

            5. Family Update

1. ITRRC: Stands for International Teachers Restaurant Review Committee. This is an unofficial club started by Tom and Blake (a high school history teacher from Minnesota) that consists of them taking their gringo selves to the fanciest restaurants they can find in the city and then filling out review cards they made up on the quality of the service, food, and overall dining experience. Aubrey and I received an email last week from Tom stating that we had been cordially invited to join the ITRRC club, based on the quality of our first impression. We accepted the invitation and went to a place called Zumos in Zona Viva. It had a really nice set up with candle-lit tables, low light, cheesy jazz music, and a fancy menu. I found out pretty quickly that the only thing I could eat at this restaurant that was vegetarian was a plain salad (which is LAME and chances are there would be animal products in the dressing anywho) so I made the executive decision to eat some fish. I came to Guatemala with an open-mind about vegetarianism and though it has been working just fine in almost every other situation, I knew that I wouldn’t lose any sleep over eating some salmon.

I got a dish called the “Hanny” (I know, right! Totally made for me) that was hand-made ravioli stuffed with sweet potatoes and salmon, covered in an almond cream sauce (I know, right! TOTALLY made for me!).  It was definitely worth it. Aubrey got some shrimp dish that was pretty much 5 piece of shrimp placed decoratively on a fancy looking plate, Tom got a huge steak set on top of a crab cake thingymabobber, and Blake got a chipotle smoked steak. The head chef and owner of the restaurant came out to talk with us a few times and then gave us the skinny about what deserts to order. We ended up getting a chocolate cake and crème brulee and the entire bill for me was about Q. 150 which is less than $20 USD. It was a hilarious experience and Aubrey and I felt honored to have been invited as the only female members. We still have yet to fill out our review cards but hope to do so this weekend. I’ll see if I can post it when its finished.

Tom with the fancy people desserts 

2. VIP Movie Experience: So, if this next topic doesn’t entice you to come visit, I’m not sure what will! In Guatemala City, most people try to go see movies at the VIP theatre which consists of full reclining Lay-z boy chairs and waiters who come and bring you food and drink from Nutella crepes to cocktails all for less than $8 USD. We saw Inception (which I would totally recommend) but it was an experience leading up to the movie that really made the evening. We wanted to get some pizza beforehand so we decided to stop by the theatre to buy our tickets for fear it would sell out. Tom was driving and put the car in park in a “Drop off, pick up zone ONLY” and ran inside with Makenzie to buy the tickets. All he said when he left was, “if someone tells you to move the car, just pretend you don’t know how to drive it [a standard].” Sure enough, about four security guards holding massive guns (because that’s what security guards here do, even the ones outside of Subway) gathered around our vehicle telling us to move. We kept trying to call Tom and Makenzie to tell them to hurry the heck up but were not getting a response. Aubrey kept telling the guards that our friends left us there and we didn’t have the car keys so we couldn’t move the car until they came back. Even more guards showed up shortly after and Katie finally got ahold of Makenzie and said “you guys need to get back here NOW. We are surrounded!” Though we were a little afraid we were going to be shot by someone, it was hysterical. So Aubrey pretended to run into the mall and grab the car keys from Tom when she really had them in her pocket all along. Since I was the only one in the car who had ever even driven a stick shift, she ran back handed me the keys with a worried smile and said, “okay, we’re leaving!” I, nervously laughing my head off, got into the drivers seat and started the car. We INSTANTLY stalled it and then sped off into the parking garage. I tried to just put the car in park on the ramp so we wouldn’t have to pay but another guard in the garage peer pressured me to pull into the crowded parking lot. We drove around and tried to leave but trying to maneuver a standard UP a ramp while paying a parking fee and waiting for those little gate things to go up was nearly impossible. As soon as we got to the top of the ramp, and right before I would have been forced to drive onto a one way street on busy city traffic, Tom and Makenzie came running up to the car and chaos was avoided. I really couldn’t stop laughing about that experience for days and wish I could have had it on tape to show you all.

3. Car shopping: So it looks like we may need to give in a buy a car. The school had originally said transportation to and from school would be provided for teachers but due to recent and unexpected budget cuts, the only bus available for us in the morning gets to school at about 8:05 when the kiddos get there at 8:15. Not okay! So for the first whole week of school Aubrey and I took a taxi to work which really started to add up. Lindsey just got a car last weekend and took us to school this week but I really don’t want to mooch off of her for two years. So Katie, Makenzie, Aubrey and I are thinking about pooling our money together to buy a car. We found a 2003 Kia Sportage with 68,000 kilometers and four wheel drive for about $5000 USD. Though this is quite a bit more than we had intended to spend, it seems like the perfect car for us. Not too nice so if anything happened to it we would be devastated, not too crappy that we would have to put more money into it, roomy enough for the four of us, and able to handle some of the rough roads outside of the city. The girl who is selling can’t get rid of it until the end of September, however, so we have some time to think about it.

4. After school activities: So I’ve been taking Spanish lessons everyday after school and not only have they been going really well but they are actually pretty fun. Camille, Ashley, Eliza, Graeme, Makenzie, and Jessica (a grade 4 teacher from Chicago) take the classes as well and we usually end up laughing throughout the entire thing as we try to pronounce things and make silly mistakes. Our instructor, Walter, is the elementary school Art teacher and he is just fabulous. He is a really good teacher and talks slowly enough that I can understand almost everything he says, I just haven’t really figured out how to respond. I really think I’m going to have to go away for some weekends to a language school in Antigua if I’m serious about learning, however. Starting this Thursday, I’m adding a new after school activity. You’re reading the blog of the new kindergarten/first grade assistant soccer coach! Big time, I know. I am so incredibly excited for this I can’t even really describe it. The head coach doesn’t speak a work of English and very few of the players will either but I am already laughing at picturing a mob of five-year-olds running chasing the ball. The director of extra curricular activities wanted me to do this so the girls would have a role model in doing sports—I think that’s pretty awesome :) 

5. Family update: Okay so I’ve been incredibly selfish in this blog and haven’t been updating people about my family and friends who have been off doing super awesome things.

First, Sarah just completed her first Half Ironman! WHAT A STUD! She finished second in her age group and ninth overall for the women and she finished under her goal time. I am so proud and impressed with how dedicated she is to her training and really hope I will be able to watch her compete in her first FULL Ironman next summer. She is also working full-time at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center trying to kill that byotch called cancer all at the same time.

Then, Zack just packed up his things and moved to Paris for the next year! He is going to be an international student at Sciences Po from September to June studying French and Political Sciences, as well as various other awesome courses. He is travelling (I spelled it with two l’s just for you Zack!) around Europe right now and scouting out all the super cool places he plans to take his family when they come to visit :)

My mom is adjusting to life with her kids being scattered all over the world and doing some travelling herself. She is working as an RN at a colonoscopy and endoscopy clinic AND working at Chico’s on the weekend (but, if she can take the hint, hopefully she will stop working at Chico’s soon so she doesn’t go crazy).  She is going to Reno for Thanksgiving, Paris at the end of November, and Guatemala in the spring. That woman gets around!

Weston is a manager at Boeing working on the 787 plane. He has to work long days and usually weekends too but as far as I can tell he is happy with it nonetheless (though Weston rarely complains about anything). He has been working hard to get their new house organized and feeling more homey so I’m really excited to see it in December! He is also Sarah’s biggest fan in her triathlon pursuit which makes us love him even more.

I have been able to skype with lots of people which makes this whole transition A LOT easier. I just love skype and think they should hire me for how many people I have convinced to start using it :) I can talk to other teacher friends teaching in other countries, Danielle took me on a tour of my old house in Kansas, I've enticed people to come visit by giving them tours, and its just nice to see peoples smiling faces. 

Okay, I think that’s about it? I hope this obnoxiously long blog post has made up for my lack of posting the last two weeks, though I’m sure this has been a pain to read. I’ll definitely try to be the Most Improved blogger though and give a weekend report (if anything cool happens) tomorrow. Love to you all!

I want s'more!

** So, I wrote this blog posting right after last weekend and suddenly it is THIS weekend and it still hasn’t been posted. What’s my deal? Exhaustion.

I’m happy to report that we’ve successfully made it through an entire week of teaching. So far, I’m having a blast! Katie and I laughed about how the teachers we had growing up must not have been having as much fun as we were because we are genuinely loving being at school with our students. Yes, its still stressful and exhausting, but at the end of the day I can’t help but smile.

The week went by so quickly and my students accomplished pretty much everything I had hoped they would. Colin sat in on one of my lessons one day and it went really well and he also got an email from a parent of one of my students saying how happy they were with me and the rest of the staff at Inter.  I am really relieved to see that Colin has faith in me as a teacher and that the parents are feeling comfortable with me at the front of the class. I think winning over the parents and principals is much harder than the students as my kiddos seem to love you no matter what!

Friday was one of my students’ birthday so her mother brought in cake and pizza for everyone in the class. I was so happy that it fell on a Friday because after that birthday feast my kids were bouncing off the walls! It was fun to eat lunch in the classroom for a change and to get to know some of the parents in light-hearted situation.

Happy birthday, Grace!

Another great weekend of exploring has been written in the books. After finishing the first full week of school with great success a group of teachers decided to hike Volcan Pacaya on Saturday morning. We drove up in two different cars at 7am and started the trek up a very active volcano. Katie Yohnk, a grade 1 teacher from Wisconsin, brought a bag of marshmellows because there are open flames throughout the terrain that are ideal for roasting. It was a pretty short hike considering the volcano blew up in June and was missing a great chunk of it that is typically part of the trail. The hard part about the hike was that it was pretty much covered with brittle, volcanic ash that without hiking boots is pretty hard to walk on.  I was happy to find that I wasn’t in as bad of shape as I thought I was as the hike didn’t leave me sore the next day and I was able to hike right behind our guide.

MAKenzie and mcMACKen on a steaming hot volcano

After the Volcano, Makenzie, Trevor (middle school science teacher from Oklahoma) and Mike (high school social studies (I think!) teacher from Wisconsin, Katie Y’s cousin) and I went to get some Chinese food. Mike swore it was the best Chinese food around but since I am a Chinese food snob, I’m pretty hard to please. Lets just say I probably won’t be going back there.

That evening we went bowling at an alley that is just a few miles from our house and then called it a night. The next day Aubrey slept until 2pm, ha! We were certainly wiped out from the week. I went a played ultimate frisbee with Trevor and Mike with a bunch of teachers from the American school of Guatemala. Their school is significantly nicer than ours; I was really surprised! BUT I think our school has more personality :) It was cool to meet some new people though and many of the teachers at that school are married to people who work for the U.S. Embassy here in the City—good people to know! Playing ultimate again made me SO happy and I am definitely sore after that hour and a half game with no substitutions.

I’m now hoping week two of teaching will be just as successful as week one and that my students learn some things. We have a  “Meet the Teacher Night” at school on Wednesday where the parents of our kiddos get to come to our classes and ask us a ton of questions we don’t even know the answers too. I haven’t given it much thought but hope they don’t throw me under the bus! Sorry again for the delay in posting; I’m making it my new goal to be more proactive about it.

Discovering Guatemala

Okay so I apologize that it’s been so long since my last update but believe me when I say that things have been SO incredibly busy since the first day of school. There was the second day of school, the third day, a weekend getaway, and now the first real week of teaching. Wrapping my mind around teaching was enough of a rush for me to want to sleep for an entire week but the real deal is even more exhausting than I could have ever anticipated. I mean, I LOVE it but I’m wiped out!

So the rest of the week with my students went fantastically well. One thing I just adore about them is their hearts. They are so welcoming to others, forgiving, sensitive, affectionate; it can always put a smile on my face. We ended up putting our puzzle together without talking which was really impressive and entertaining. We also developed a list of classroom jobs and boy did those kids surprise me! One kid thought so far in advance as to create a job called “substitute” in case anyone was absent and their job needed to be done. I never would have thought of that! They also thought of class gardener and asked if they could bring in plants—heck yes, kid! I love their creativity and their willingness to share their ideas, even when they cannot think of how they are supposed to say what they are thinking in English.

Our finished puzzle!

I also don’t think I will ever get sick of how often these kids want to give out hugs. I’m a big hugger in general and getting them from these tiny little people is like my favorite thing about this job. Sometimes I put my hand up to give them a high five and they give me a hug instead ☺ I love third grade!

So this weekend Aubrey, Makenzie, Katie, Ashley and Tom (grade 5 teacher from Canada) went to a town called El Paredon at the Pacific Coast for the weekend. Tom goes there every weekend to surf and didn’t mind all of us piling in (literally, Aubrey laying in the trunk) his car on the way. We stayed at a surf shop hostel with a bunch of wanderer surfers from all over the world. It was pretty badass hearing their stories about traveling the world, meeting interesting people, and learning immense amounts from all the people and places they had been. I think I would really love to live like that someday. I especially liked venturing out into the small village and meeting some of the locals. It was pretty awesome to see how simply they live and how happy they all are. It was also pretty exciting for me to listen in on the conversations being had in Spanish as I am definitely understanding a lot more of what I’m hearing but still having very little to contribute to the actual conversation. I know this will change with time but its exciting/frustrating all in one.

:)

Tom was gracious enough to give us all surfing lessons and I’m pretty sure its something I could get hooked on. There are a lot of parallels with diving and surfing that made it so much fun for me. It’s that “I was so close!” feeling that made me keep turning around and trying again. It also has a fear factor attached to it like diving that made my heart beat so fast that I couldn’t stop jumping around like a little school-girl. My adrenaline junkie need has only gotten me in trouble a few times and I was able to make it through the weekend unharmed so there may very well be some surfing in my future.

The whole weekend, which included transportation via Tom, a place to sleep, surfing, and four meals was less that $35 American dollars. Plus, the food was some of the best I have had in the entire country. It was all fresh, homemade, and unique. If anyone reading this comes to visit, you can be sure that we’ll take a trip to this spot ☺

gymnasty

Roomie love!

This week at school has been crazy hectic so far but I’m hoping the next few days will smooth out. We started Spanish lessons after school with the elementary art teacher and they are going well. I really love the way he teaches and his classroom is so colorful and fun that I can pay attention the whole time even though the classes are riiiight after a long day of teaching. This weekend we are considering climbing Volcan Pacaya with a big group of teachers and then who knows what. Either way, I am really happy to finally be in a schedule and to have the opportunity to explore other parts of Guatemala.

I hope this post finds you well!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (post first day)

I AM A TEACHER! Holy cow… today was so funny/unorganized/frustrating/adorable/amazing/happy. I’m going to attempt to summarize what happened throughout the day but honestly it was so crazy I can hardly remember! First, I don’t think I ever actually fell asleep last night. All I remember was closing my eyes and then my alarm went off. I’m sure I did sleep but my brain sure didn’t rest. But Keiko, our next door neighbor who is a special education teacher at Inter, kindly took us to school in the morning and little did I know kids were already showing up. I thought I had at least an hour to get things ready before the kids got there but since it was the first day and the kids had all their materials and supplies their parents took them to school before work so I never actually had any time to myself in my class. Instead I was meeting kids, answering questions, meeting parents, assigning cubbies, etc. The parents I met were all super awesome. This school will be really different for me to work at with all the parental support considering the lack of involvement I’ve seen at many of the schools I’ve worked at in the past. Some of the parents speak neither English nor Spanish, however, so I feel incredibly inadequate knowing I cannot even communicate with them. I’m hoping those students will be super awesome so I can use enthusiastic body language to tell the parents how wonderful their child is ☺



So, then the typical naïve teacher in me came out and I was shocked at how little the students could do on their own without additional reminders, examples, instructions, and supports. I still cannot believe how young these kids are. I didn’t realize how big of a difference 3rd and 4th grade was but my last class was the tail end of 4th grade and this is the BEGINNING of 3rd grade. But I found out pretty quickly that I was going to need to implement the rules and other various classroom management tactics pretty quickly. The kids seemed so helpless not knowing what was coming next in the schedule. I had all these surprise activities planned but they truly just wanted to know what was up! Oh and I don’t think I’ve mentioned that in Guatemala, teachers are called by their first name. So you better believe I got a ton of “Hannah Montana” comments from both students AND parents today. I actually think I really like being Miss Hannah. Though I am strangely attached to my last name I think it makes my classroom feel like more of a community. Plus, I reallllllly don’t think there is any way in Central America my kids would be able to say McMacken, haha!

To introduce myself a bit I brought in a bag of items that described me and assigned the students the same thing for Friday. It actually went really well! I let the kids guess what items I would be pulling out of the bag next and why I had brought particular things. Each time a hand-full of them guessed, “A cellular phone!” which I thought was hilarious/sad that they thought my phone would describe me (plus I loved that they called it a cellular phone; their English is so adorable it kills me). I put a running shoe in the bag and one kid yelled, “You only run with one shoe?!” Man they are so clever! I also brought a picture of my family and told them a little bit about my mom, brother, sister, and brother-in-law and the inevitable, “where’s your dad?” question came up. I just explained that not everyone’s family looks the same but we can all love our families just as much. They kept asking so I told them that my dad wasn’t alive anymore and they all got so sad! Some of the kids hugged me and another girl told me her dad wasn’t alive either. I think it was actually a really awesome discussion to have on the first day because the kids are already showing compassion for one another and even understanding a sadness that they couldn’t even really fathom at their age. Of course, I also pulled out a foam Jayhawk and they loved him! They had already taken note of all the READ Jayhawk posters I had all over the classroom but when I asked them to guess what kind of animal it was they thought it was either a chicken or an eagle. I guess its kind of hard to explain that it’s a made up bird to native English speakers let alone to 8-year-old bi/trilingual kiddos.

The crazy parts of the day came next though as we have to eat lunch with the students in the lunch room which I wouldn’t mind at all if it weren’t for the fact that there are what feels like 300 kids running around getting their food microwaved by these lunch ladies who hang out in the cafeteria. I think its crazy that the kids bring leftover chicken and stir fry and insist that it be heated up… what happened to good ol’ PB&J?! Anyway, I was super overwhelmed in that cafeteria so I’ll have to be more strategic about what I pack in my lunches. But after lunch the day seemed to get 100% better than it already was. The kids and I worked on our puzzle pieces but decided not to put the puzzle together until one of the absent students made it to school—they are so thoughtful! I’ll post some pictures of the finished puzzle when its done.

As a class we devised a list of rules, consequences, and rewards and I was so impressed with the stuff they came up with. One student said, “We must show respect for all” in a really sky, quiet voice so I asked her to stand on her chair and shout it out and she did! I was so shocked! And then all the kids cheered for her! Oh man, I am going to have so much fun with these kids I can hardly stand it. At the end of the day, the shuffle to the school bus was absolutely NUTS and the most unorganized thing I’d ever seen but all the kids were in such good moods and every single one of them gave me a hug before they left. I also met another parent at the buses who is the father of one of my students who was fasting for the start of Ramadan today. I am really in awe of how diverse this community is; we have Muslims, non-English/Spanish speaking Koreans, Guatemalans, Americans, Canadians, Australians. Its so fun!

Anyway, after school today I was totally worthless and have almost literally done nothing all afternoon. We cleaned a little, a plumber came and fixed our washer, we sat on the roof and chatted for awhile, skyped, and bummed around. I feel ready for tomorrow because today was my long day and I still didn’t get to all the activities I had planned and tomorrow my kids have 4 specials when today they only had 1. This weekend we are having a welcome back party at our apartment with the teachers and then I am fairly positive I’m going to the ocean, dangit! I’ve been dying to go exploring since the second we got here so I don’t think I’ll be able to pass it up.

I’m all smiles thanks to your support and the attitudes of those little kids. Life is good ☺

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (pre first day)

Okay so its waaaaay past my bed time but I am definitely not going to be sleeping much tonight and I really wanted to write down how I was feeling and thinking so I could look back and laugh at this next year. AHHHHHHHHHHH! Tomorrow is my very first day of teaching ON MY OWN! I cannot believe this day has actually arrived. I am so nervous and I feel so unprepared but at the same time I am so excited and know that they day will come and go just as any other. I met some of my students today and they are so much smaller and younger than I was expecting. The parents are really supportive so far and I just know it will all work out but holy cow. I’ve been thinking about being a teacher for most of my life and now there’s no turning back!

There are still a few things missing in my classroom but I am embracing the whole flexibility thing that comes with the profession. Aubrey saw this great idea from a school she worked at once where the students each get a puzzle piece to decorate on the first day of school and then when they put the pieces together, it spells out their classroom (in my case, 3A). I totally ran with this idea because I think it will be a good way for me to get to know my kids while they work on solving problems as a team. I have my students for almost the entire day tomorrow and then hardly at all on Thursday (the specials schedule is really different here since it’s a bilingual school and the students needs to have an X number of subjects devoted to Spanish) so I need to have a lot of activities planned for tomorrow. Hopefully there is not too much down time and I can make sure they have plenty of stuff to keep them busy… we’ll see!

Anyway, I hope all is well at home for all those reading. I’ll post about the aftermath if I have even an ounce of energy left after tomorrow ☺

Love!

Power outages and WalMart on Drugs

I realize its been awhile since my last post but things have gotten even busier here in the last few days. We’ve had meetings at the school each day from about 7am until 3pm going over rules, expectations, and planning procedures. We even had a presentation about substance abuse because apparently some middle school students were caught with drugs on campus last spring. It kills me to think that my eight-year-olds will have access to drugs in just three years but that is totally the reality in this country (and in other countries, I suppose)

Yesterday after school Makenzie, Aubrey, Ashley (fellow third grade teacher from Minnesota) Lindsey (middle school science teacher from Arkansas) and I took a cab to Hiper Piaz which was essentially a WalMart on drugs. On the way there, however, we stuffed 5 of us in a little cab as the driver was telling us that he could be suspended for having too many people in his car. We had waited for half an hour in the rain for him though and were not willing to wait for another one so we told him to deal (well, Aubrey told him). I ended up lying across the backseat on the laps of Makenzie, Lindsey and Ashley and it felt like the longest car ride of my life! The roads here are full of potholes and other surprises so I actually thought I was going to die in that cab. Luckily we got a lot of good stuff at the cracked out superstore and made it home alive and well.

Yesterday and today was a little frustrating at school as many of our supplies were not distributed equally and planning is going to be quite the task. It took the third grade team almost two hours to plan one week of two subjects. So Elisa and I went to the gym to blow off some steam. It sucks to think that we can never really run outside unless we are going to be on the track at school but I’m so lucky that I was raised in a place where I didn’t have to think twice about my safety. I’m hoping that can be possible for Guatemala some day…

Last night we experienced our first of many power outages in the city. Luckily a reserve light comes on in the hallway of our apartments so it wasn’t completely dark but we actually had some fun lighting candles and using the trusty headlamp my mom packed for me. Its pretty awesome living in a building with just teachers; it almost feels like we are living in the dorms again as we walk in and out of each others apartments all day without a care in the world.

After school today the teachers went to a little bar called Coco Drive near the school to celebrate the end of a long, busy week. A lot of teacher’s went out afterward but Aubrey and I came home and passed out until about an hour ago (11pm!). We still have a lot of little things to get done this weekend in order to be ready for school on Wednesday so the rest of the weekend is up in the air but likely to be pretty low key.

Fin de Semana

Well our big plans for the weekend turned into bumming around the neighborhood for the last two days. For a brief moment I was disappointed that we didn’t venture out further but because our city is so incredibly huge it was nice to get a little more familiar with our area before we explored other parts of the country. We finally got internet in our apartments so we were able to catch up with family and friends and look up areas of the city we wanted to explore.

Yesterday and today Aubrey, Makenzie, Katie and I walked to the grocery store and a store called Cemaco which is like a Guatemalan Bed, Bath and Beyond for some food and other goodies for the apartment. The walk is probably about 2 miles through a forest down the middle of the road. There are tire swings and benches and monuments just hanging out in the middle of a busy street. Though it’s nice to look at, it should probably be named the tetanus playground. We definitely played on the swings regardless and agreed that the walk is totally accessible though we did cab it back to the apartment with arms full of groceries.

Friday night we went to Zona Viva for Laura’s birthday; we definitely figured out why the locals nicknamed it that! About ten of us went to an Italian restaurant that was connected to shopping center and the hostess put us all outside of the restaurant and in the shopping center. We told ourselves it was just because we had a big party late on a Friday night but we’re pretty sure it was because we were a bunch of white English speakers.

After dinner we went to some “discos” (what Guatemalans call bars) and lets just say it was the most hilarious experience we’ve had upon arrival. I didn’t think Central America would have the same infatuation with blonde hair as Asia does but boy was I wrong. We had several people ask to get their pictures taken with us and a few brave soles try out their English with us. In Guatemala, when a group of men want to invite a group of girls to dance or to their table, they tip the bartenders (who act as waiters) to be the middlemen in the invitation. It felt like middle school all over again! “The gentlemen at that table over there would like to say hello and invite you all to their table for a drink.” We respond, “Thanks but there are so many of us we wouldn’t all fit and we are having fun where we are!” Middleman goes back and delivers message. Neither party actually had to speak to one another and embarrassment is avoided altogether. Pretty weird but pretty hilarious.



Later we went to a different disco and on the way there I experienced my first Guatemalan stomachache. I don’t know if I was actually getting sick because I felt fine the next day but as we were walking my bathroom meter was about to explode. I finally yelled, “I have to go to the bathroom right NOW!” and ran into a Pans sandwich shop and marched straight into the bathroom. I couldn’t believe how awful I felt one minute and then totally relieved I felt the next. But I couldn’t ignore how bad I felt about christening their toilets and not actually buying anything. I mean, thank goodness they were even open at 12:30am or else Zona Viva would have had a problem on their hands! I made a vow to Aubrey that I would return to that very same Pans and buy a lovely meal someday and thank them for the their bathroom privileges.

The rest of the night was filled with us North Americans trying to dance and also trying to communicate with what little Spanish we know. I spoke with one local for almost an hour and all I got out of him was that he was 21 and was going to Antigua in the morning. I was able to tell him that I was a teacher and would be in the city for two years and that I was 23 but I’m pretty sure he didn’t believe me, ha! It was super interesting trying to find ways to understand each other though and I really want to be put in more situations where I can’t use English as a crutch. I’m trying to use it with everyone I see, even if they speak English. The hard part is that many locals want to learn English just as badly as I want to learn Spanish so we have to fight over which language we will communicate in.

Tomorrow we start our meetings with the entire staff at the school. I’m really anxious to meet the other third grade teacher and start to plan out what we will be teaching in the first few weeks of school and into the rest of the year. I’m also looking forward to meeting the returning teachers and picking their brains about the school, city and country. It should be a productive week!

Buenos noches!
-Hannah