Mi Casa y La Escuela

The week has been all about studying Spanish and getting acclimated to Guatemala and Antigua. I can hardly imagine an easier transition. Antigua is tourist-friendly to begin with, and my volunteer organization (GVI) provides enough structure to smooth over any rough edges. As long as I show up where I'm supposed to each day and I'm not a jerk, I believe that everything else will fall into place.

Mi Casa (My Home)
Throughout my tour with GVI I will live with host families in each country. In Antigua I live with Angela and Duilio and one other volunteer in a residential area called the Candelaria. All the other volunteers are in the same neighborhood, generally 2 or more per house. The Candelaria was built around 45 years ago, mostly of 1-2 story concrete block homes with little front yards and open-air interior courtyards. My bedroom is small but comfortable, and we all share one bathroom. The sink has only cold water, and the shower is heated by this odd contraption at the shower head that heats water as it passes through. You can have either a trickle of warm water, or a stream of cold water.

I had been concerned about mosquitoes and bugs, but so far in Antigua there have been neither. I also thought it would be rather hot here, but so far it has been rather cold -- enough to need a jacket and scarf outside most of the time. Even though it is cold, the sun is very strong. Two of the new volunteers have been quite sunburned. I've been lucky so far, but will be buying a decent sun hat as soon as I can find one that I like.

In Guatemala, the host family provides meals Monday - Saturday, and we are on our own for Sunday food. Traditionally, all the volunteers get together for a potluck/BBQ on Friday nights, and often small groups of volunteers head out for weekend trips. Most nights groups of volunteers get together at pubs or cafes before or after dinner, as well.

La Escuela (The School)
(La Escuela Caboguil, tel 54 33 66 71, chelinsky10@yahoo.com)
This week my primary responsibility is to learn as much Spanish as possible. My tutor at Escuela Cabaguil is Miriam, and she's been great. We work from 8-3 each day at a little table in the school's courtyard alongside 5-10 other students. The weather has been chilly, but it keeps me awake and focused!

I started the week with no Spanish skills other than the few words and phrases recommended in the GVI field guide. This week I learned basic pleasantries, numbers and timekeeping, tons of vocabulary, conjugation of verbs in the present tense, and a bit of conjugation in the past tense. It's been a fire-hose approach to education, but I'm amazed at how much I comprehend after only a week. According to the other volunteers, with a bit of study and constant practice most people are able to get along well after a few weeks.

I will attend an additional 10 hours of classes before the end of December. Most volunteers go 5-6 PM each day for 2 weeks, after returning from their project work in the villages. I plan to skip a week and begin the next round of studies in early December.

Next week I begin working in Santa Maria de Jesus, an indigenous community about 20 minutes from Antigua. Hopefully I've picked up enough Spanish to be of use when I arrive!