Pajama Party and Futbol Americano

No school today in Guatemala--last day of the month. Of course, then, we had a pajama party last night in the big room downstairs. The big kids went to a youth group sleepover, so the littluns carried over their bedding and settled in for the night. I settled between Mimi and Yeny, two of my third grade chicas, on the hard floor. Not much sleep was had. Our movie viewing list for the night included Space Buddies, Facing the Giants (after which the boys wanted to play futbol americano as they jumped around on the bedding), Kung Fu Panda, Prince Caspian, and this morning, Jump In. I think it was around 4 in the morning when they decided they should turn the TV off since it was supposed to be turned off at 2.

Needing some exercise, I decided to run around with the boys this morning. They wanted to play futbol americano still, and guess who got to teach them? You guessed it--moi. They were subject to my limited knowledge of the sport, but I think all of Eric's lessons over the years payed off. Of course we played two-hand touch rather than tackle.

When we switched to baseball, however, I was quickly excommunicated from the field. I'm not sure what my sin was, other than that I tried to get the two most athletic boys to be the team captains to prevent a landslide victory for the dynamic duo. Evidently eight and nine-year olds are more into winning then playing fair. That's okay. No hard feelings.

Week in Review

The mighty Pacaya. Geovany says it's the smallest volcano. But hey, I still hiked it, right?
The best lava pic I have. That piece towards the bottom may be the one that eventually fell into our group.

Who cares if we almost got burned? The rock came to us for one purpose, of course--roasting things!

Me, Rita, and Rachel at some ruins

Sunday--Off to church in a few minutes. Evidently there is a Brazil vs. USA soccer game today after church, so that will be our afternoon. The kids are rooting for Brazil.

Saturday--Woke up to seeing strangers in the yard. Then I realized they were a group from Guat City here to do a service project with the kids. They played games and made sandwiches; I had the chance to talk with a 20-year old med student named Laura. She was practicing her English, which was a better deal for me because we could actually have a real conversation, something we could not have had had I been practicing Spanish.

The teens go to Chimaltenango for youth group, and this time Sidney and I hitched a ride with Lito and the kids to the mall. We planned to see a movie--Up and Terminator were playing--but we arrived late and they wouldn't let us in. Instead, we walked around the mall, bought ice cream (yummy!), and chatted for a couple of hours. It was nice to be somewhere somewhat familiar.

Rita has made it her mission to exterminate all the flies in Guatemala. Woe to any fly attracted to the smell of food in our kitchen.

Friday--Day of R & R. The group was finishing up painting and organizing classrooms, so I helped a bit with that. It was also High School Musical Day here at La Senda, so the kids watched all three movies and had tons of HSM fun, hosted by Haley, a teen here from Texas.

Thursday--What a day! In Antigua already, Rachel, Rita, and I decided we might as well go for it and hike a volcano. Thus, we signed up with the travel agency in the A.M., shopped a bit at the market, then left around 2 for our excursion. After an hour and 20 minutes or so we arrived at Volcan Pacaya. Armed with a bag of marshmallows and ponchos, we headed up the volcano with our group of 20. What an interesting group, too--people from Texas, England, The Netherlands, Australia, and Germany. For some reason it didn't occur to me that to see a volcano you must climb up hill, so the first five minutes when I found myself already out of breath I was seriously reconsidering it. And then they bring horses along the way, which you can rent if you get too tired, showing them to you at opportune times--like after the last vertical climb. They sure looked tempting! However, I made it on my own two feet to the top after a 1.5 hour hike.

You've seen Wall-E, right? That's what the top of the volcano reminded me of. It was not a pretty green path to the top where upon arrival you peer into a pit of rolling lava. I hear some volcanoes are like that. Rather, it was a barren wasteland. Black rocks everywhere, piled high in interesting formations, kind of like the piles of rubble in the Pixar flick. With the fog surrounding us, it felt a bit like no man's land. And then there was lava. Not pouring forth from the pinnacle, but oozing out of the side of the mountain. The climb to get close was the most difficult for me--walk a step, slide down half of it. It's akin to climbing sand dunes. But when we got close, and we could feel the heat on our right side, it provided a little more incentive to continue the journey. At one point a piece of burning lava rock tumbled into our group, scattering people and nearly burning one of the dogs who had journeyed along for food scraps. After that excitement, out came the marshmallows and roasting sticks and ham, and we all had a nice little feast at the top. Before we left, the clouds cleared off enough for us to see two more volcanoes across the valley, beyond the pillowy moisture still hiding the valley from sight. A grand view!

P.S. Happy birthday, Dad! And happy 37th anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Wednesday--Having reneged on going to Antigua the day before, Rachel, Rita, and I caught a chickenbus outside of La Senda to begin our journey. We successfully changed chickenbuses at San Lucas and arrived in Antigua without incident. Thank the Lord! We checked into El Gato Negro, a hostel recommended to us by David and Katie, and then headed out to explore the city. This included a stop by the ruins of San Pedro and the marketplace. I love bargaining at the marketplace. Find something you like, offer a price, stand there with a sour looking face until the vendor lowers it to a range you want to pay. Great fun. Has to be an interesting study in body language. Though El Gato Negro provided great accommodations, I was awake until 1 in the morning due to the partying in the bar downstairs. Oh, well. Se la vie.

Tuesday--First day without school. Wahoo! Rita, Rachel, and I planned to go to Antigua with one of the teachers, but a huge rainstorm came in and deterred us from travelling. Wagner thought that was funny. The group that was here provided an in-service for teachers, so I attended part of it in the morning and then worked with the junior highers on their homeschool curriculum. They have to take their test before the end of the month.

Monday--Did not feel good all day on Monday. Stomachaches are no fun! However, I made it through the day and found out the "good" news: school was cancelled by the government for the rest of the week. Though I ate nothing all day, I was feeling a little better by dinner and was able to join the group for dinner at a Guatemalan restaurant. There I ate Pepian, a native Guatemalan dish particular to this region. It was tasty! The brown broth tastes similar to stew, though not quite as thick. The chicken leg comes sticking out of the bowl, and the veggies (rice, potato, carrot) sit on a banana leaf on the plate. After a little work taking the meat off the bone and throwing everything in the bowl, it was a tasty treaty (though I could not eat it all, unfortunately).

Perks to teaching elementary-aged children

Taken from real experiences.

• You receive little notes on student assignments that say, "I love you Miss Elizabeth!" (and you can write, "I love you, too!" without worrying about getting in trouble).
• Students draw pictures of you that are intended to actually look like you rather being an examplary piece of satire.
• When students sob for 45 minutes because their last teacher left, you can hold them while you continue the lesson. And, in some cases (Jef), solving the next math equation can calm him down.
• Reading time ends as a group hug. My Level 4 students (3rd graders) love to crowd in close when I read them a story. At first the encroachment on personal space is a bit much, but by the end of the story, I've adjusted. There's a certain calmness that ensues when the story has ended, we've all agreed it's good, and one student rests his head on my shoulder, another leans forward to lay her head in my lap, and the other three lean in and find a resting spot as well. With the slam of the door the magic is broken as seven other students trickle in for math class.
• Grading that gets finished. Though partly due to the number of students, I can actually finish grading several stacks of student work in a night. And plan. And make corn tortillas for the next few days. And hang out with the kids at the house. And go to bed at a decent hour. :)

Daily Life Update

Guatemala is evidently plagued by Swine Flu right now, so the government has mandated that all schools shut down for this week. Last week, all public schools were required to shut down for three weeks; this week, even private schools (like La Senda) are required to shut down or be fined. So, we have a mini vacation. Honestly, I am glad. This will be the first full week off of teaching for me since spring break in the beginning of April. Also, I got sick a couple nights ago and teaching with a stomachache wasn't very fun to do yesterday. It's like the kids knew: let's be more rambunctious because she doesn't have the energy to do much about it! Good news, though--I am feeling better today.

Rita, Rachel, and I may go into Antigua tonight. Our first time out by ourselves! The plan is to take the bus with the teachers who live there so we know our way and then stay in a hostel tonight. Should be fun!

Ate an original Guatemalan meal last night--pepian. It's similar to stew, with a brown, spicy broth served with chicken on the bone in the bowl and vegetables (potatoes, rice) served on a banana leaf. The rice and potatoes go into the bowl to eat everything together. It was tasty, but I'm not used to working for my meat!

Rain, rain, go away

The rainy season has started, I suppose. It is good for Guatemala, but I will miss the sunny, clear blue skies of the Kentucky summer. There's still some blue sky in the morning, so I at least get a good dose of sun.

Got to hang out with the kids last night in the La Senda home. We played cards. They also were working on making cards for Father's Day, which is today in Guatemala. Thus, in a couple of my English classes we worked on saying, "Happy Father's Day," "I love you," and "Thanks for being a great dad."

For You, Mama 1

My daily schedule:

7:30 A.M. Meet with teachers for morning devotions.
8-9 A.M. Level 4 English with 3rd graders
9-10 A.M. 3rd Grade math
10-10:30 A.M. 3rd Grade Science
10:45-11:25 A.M. 5th Grade English
11:30-12:30 P.M. 2nd Grade Math
1-2 P.M. Jr. High English
2-2:45 P.M. 6th Grade English
Afternoons Planning and grading, dinner
Evenings Playing/hanging out with La Senda kids. It gets dark between 7 and 7:30 here.

Food: We can buy whatever we want. Katie and David seemed to make mostly American food (Katie's a great cook, by the way). Rita and Rachel seem to eat a lot of fruits and veggies, rice and beans. I think I will probably end up eating lots of rice and beans, frutis and veggies, too. Lito goes to the market every Monday, and fruits and veggies are really cheap.

Pics hopefully are coming.

Guatemalan Firsts

Always some new happenings wherever you go, so here are the new ones for me:

• First little earthquake. Rita and I were eating breakfast at the kitchen table this morning when the building started to tremble. "Wow, it's windy," Rita commented. I looked out the window at the blue sky and the calm tree. "No, I don't think so..." I said.
• First ride on a chicken bus. Why are they called chicken buses? I don't know. David showed me how to catch it. We had to get some last-minute things for David and Katie's goodbye dinner they cooked for the kids. After running across the PanAmerican highway, we flagged down a multi-colored old school bus and crammed ourselves through the aisles to find seats. We were only going to San Lucas, a five- or ten-minute trip. On the way back, finding seats was not so easy. David and I decided the Guatemalan lady who I ended up shoulder to shoulder with was not too fond of us considering he had elbowed her in the head trying to sit down and I had squeezed into the almost nonexistent space next to her.
• First walk into Sumpango. The La Senda kids got their allowance last night, so eight of them, a nanny, and Rachel, Rita, and I walked into Sumpango so the kids could buy chocolate. Though we were walking along the PanAmerican Highway, it wasn't quite as intimidating to walk alongside it as it was to cross it. Seeing huge charter buses leaning heavily to one side isn't overly comforting, though. It was good to see Sumpango--when I was here 7.5 years ago (I feel old every time I say that!), we stayed in a a little building on the main street there.
• First time overhearing pigs being butchered. They sound like a group of wailing people, and hearing their cries in the early morning is unnerving. The first time I noticed it, I was afraid something had happened on the highway, but cars continued to race by (it sometimes sounds like the Indy 500) and no one seemed concerned. Dorcas was the first to tell me the horrible noise was the pigs. I guess that and the stench that comes wafting on the breeze every now and again are the downsides of living next to a pig farmer. I may not eat bacon for a while.

For You, Mama

Finally, a few pics!

Caleb, Geovany, Me (see Geovany's pic below to see how he has grown up!)

Rita, Rachel, Me (The summer volunteers)

La Senda--notice the new third floor

the kitchen where I cook

My bedroom

For you, Mom, since you always like to visualize where I am. ☺

Highlights from the first 2.5 days

Nothing like being thrown into the mix! Fortunately, I arrived safely in Guatemala. Got to sit next to a Guatemalan weight-lifter (future Olympian?) on the way down who was kind enough to converse with me though I speak in broken Spanish. I found Lito pretty easily at the airport (no thugs!) and he took me shopping. I was hoping for a little bit of help--I wasn't sure what to buy as soon as I arrived, but since he does not speak English and he didn't have any recommendations, I was on my own. But I think I managed okay. And he delivered me safely to La Senda in spite of slightly erratic drivers--blinkers aren't enough here, you just stick out your arm to indicate the direction you're already headed whether someone is in that space or not. A couple of times I thought a bus would side swipe us as it moved into our lane and Lito didn't appear to be moving. Alas, there was no incident. :-) Other highlights:

• I began teaching the next day after I arrived. Talk about overload! Seven classes--Level 4 English, 3rd grade math, 3rd grade science, 5th grade English, 2nd grade math, junior high English, and 6th grade English. All of the meetings on what to do with each class seemed to muddle my mind. However, after going through everything once and getting a better handle on it, I am enjoying it. Second grade went much better today--yesterday it was chaos (poor planning on my part). They are evidently dubbed the "bad" class, and it appears it is so because they don't like to listen and aren't highly motivated. They like to do the work, but they are much more social. So, today we worked on building incentive--charting individual progress, making a class goal, that sort of thing. We'll see how it works!


• The other two volunteers who have been here since February have been invaluable. They are the ones who informed us that we need to disinfect our vegetables while we're here; they also invited me to dinner the first night, which was extremely appreciated so I didn't have to eat along. The other two volunteers for the summer have arrived, and I think I'll really hanging out with them.


• The weather is awesome--high seventies during the day, late fifties/sixties in the morning and evenings.


• Tonight is pizza night. Yum yum! Tomorrow night is a bonfire. Oodles of fun!


• My computer decided to quit working once it crossed the border, so updates may not be as frequent as I hoped.


• The junior high voted to have Holes read aloud to them (the choice was that, Dandelion Wine, or The Horse and His Boy (from The Chronicles of Narnia)).


• Any other thoughts to share are eluding me, but I am grateful for the chance to be here. I am praying that the tasky stuff won't steal my joy and that I can see the ways God is working here. It's pretty cool!

Reminiscence

Found some pics from my trip to Guatemala in 2002. I was at La Senda with a group of 9 from Asbury.

Marta, Geovany, and me

Lunch Time!

Goevany, Me, Rosita



La Senda--then. I'll be on the third floor. Don't worry, there's a roof now!

The nannies and me.

Lupita and me.

Looking forward to seeing the kids grown up a bit!

Love the Kids

Did you know? According to http://www.toybox.org.uk/street_children_in_guatemala.html, "a child was abandoned in Guatemala city [sic] every 4 days" during the last year. I'm grateful that I get a chance to work with La Senda, a place helping its little corner of the world in Guatemala by providing a home for some of those kids that could have been left on the streets earlier in their childhood. Now those kids have a home to call their own.

Sailing the Seven Seas

The wind report is in, and it feels like a southerly wind is blowing in a time of change for my family. Considering my talk with Christina tonight, knowing Eric & Sarah are trying to discern where to go next, looking forward to Sarah and Justin's wedding in the fall, watching to see what David will decide to do for his career, wondering what my new life goals will be after this summer, I find it interesting timing that all of us Davis kids are about to embark on a new, unknown ocean in our lives. Maybe it'll be a brand new sea. Maybe it'll just be deeper waters, a little farther from the shore. Regardless, the times are bittersweet, and ironically, I think most of us are in that place where we can't see beyond the foggy veil covering our future--for some, the veil has fallen one month out, some three, some of us an unknown quantity of time away. I wonder where God is pushing us as we navigate through the third decade of our lives. At least southerly wind is warm.

Five days...

...and I'm leaving on a jet plane to Guatemala! Still working on getting things together. A friend bought some markers and pencils for me to take down for the kids. Pretty cool! Got registered with the embassy and am finishing up sending support letters. Plan to do the laundry and pack the bags tomorrow and Saturday so I can enjoy a little bit of time with friends before heading down.

Did you know? Guatemala is hosting the World Convention of Mayan Archeology later this month--June 19-21--in Antigua, a city close to where I will be. Get a run down at http://guatemala-times.com/culture.html.