Christmas Week in Antigua

(Photos)

As I mentioned before, Zach arrived Dec 17 to join me in Antigua for Christmas week. We checked into Hotel Las Camelias Inn for the week. He came to Santa Maria with me on Thursday and Friday to help out at the school, then we went on a four-day adventure trip through northeast Guatemala. We returned on Christmas Eve just before the shops closed and managed to pick up a few gifts and groceries for upcoming holiday parties.

Christmas Eve -- To my delight, we had been invited to join my host family (and Salia) for a traditional Antiguan Christmas celebration. Following a much needed nap, we walked up to Angela and Duilio's home at 11 PM to share a drink and catch up on the week. At midnight, the city exploded with fireworks. Along with everyone else in the city, we went out to the street in front of the house to set off noisemakers, shooting stars, spinners, flaming cones and sparklers. For fifteen minutes the sky was filled with colorful fireworks in every direction. It was AMAZING! Afterward, Angela's two daughters' families joined us in the house for an exchange of gifts followed by a comfortable and familiar turkey dinner. Zach and I headed back to the hotel just after 2 AM, but I suspect the family continued their festivities for some time into the morning afterward. I was thrilled to have an opportunity to join in with my host family for this special evening. Many thanks to Angela and Duilio for continuing to make me feel like part of their family, even after I moved from their home!

Christmas Day -- GVI hosted a potluck Christmas dinner and secret-Santa gift exchange for all the volunteers. We arrived around noon to began preparing food and sat down at a collection of tables in the courtyard for an enormous dinner around 2 PM. Following dinner, volunteer John Wosley came out dressed as Santa to hand out gifts. We took a bit of a break to clean up and some folks went for a swim in the condo's pool. At 5 PM we sat down again for dessert and Fiona's Irish coffee. After dark, Dom and Rufus set of fireworks in the driveway -- with a few spinning their way back into the crowd of spectators causing MUCH excitement and a few singed feet (sorry Fiona!). We migrated back indoor for dancing, drinking, and charades. Some of us left around 11:30, but I understand Rufus entertained the rest well past 2 AM, finishing up two full days of revelry for the Christmas holiday!

Boxing Day -- (...Or whatever else you might call the day after Christmas.) On my last day in Guatemala I wanted to finally get into a guided tour of the city and learn a bit more about Antiguan history. We joined up with a 3-hour Elizabeth Bell Walking Tour. Elizabeth Bell is a California transplant who has lived and worked in Antigua since 1969, and has earned top listing in all the guide books. (That's not surprising, since she's written many of them.) The tour stated in Parque Central, took us into city hall to learn about modern politics and to meet the mayor, then to the Cathedral to learn about Mayan religion and attempt to Catholicize the nation, then up to a Jade museum and workshop to learn about education, poverty, and indigenous issues (as well as about Jade in Mayan history). We finished with a paseo tour of the museums and ruins of the monastery of Santo Domingo. though the entire tour was well worthwhile, I would highly recommend a trip to Santo Domingo for ANYONE visiting Antigua. On the grounds of the city's only 5-star hotel, the Q40 admission price gains you access to several distinct museums and archeological areas. My favorite museum combined the display of numerous Mayan artifacts alongside modern glass art. For example, an 8th century Mayan urn with jaguars would be paired with a 21st century A-List artist's representation of a jaguar. The pairings are beautifully done and this gallery is not to be missed.

After the tour we stopped for lunch at a "tablecloth restaurant" called Welton. On our first weekend in Antigua six weeks ago, Maya, Aviv, Aaron and I agreed to have our final dinner at this very fancy restaurant. As our final day approached, we realized that most volunteers who wanted to see us off wouldn't be able to afford a very fancy restaurant so we made dinner plans for a more accessible venue. Nonetheless, Zach and I went for a leisurely lunch in a courtyard surrounded by flowers, fountains and wind-chimes, and enjoyed exceptional food and service for a final fancy meal together before moving on. In the end, the bill was an extravagant Q600 ($77) for the two of us, compared to our dinner at a local tienda a few nights before totaling Q24 ($3). The contrast was pretty amazing and so was my realization of relative satisfaction . Both places have great food and I was equally happy at both -- they just had a different approach. In retrospect, I'm glad we went for the "tablecloth restaurant" just to have had the experience, AND I'm also glad that we didn't press to have the whole GVI group spend so much money for dinner.

After six weeks in Guatemala, I've learned that the difference between what I need to survive and what I need to be happy is much smaller than it used to be. I'm curious to discover how much more that gap will close after living for awhile in much less affluent towns in Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Peru!

Feliz Navidad!

This is just a quick post to say Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice to friends and family who may be following this blog. Thank you for all the wonderful notes and well-wishes! It's been strange to be so far away from home during the holidays, but I've been thinking of you all.

It's been a VERY busy few weeks and I haven't been near WiFi for most of it. I have a few draft posts that I hope to get up in a few days after arriving in Honduras: you'll hear about my last week with kids up at the school in Santa Maria, a 4-day trip to Livingston, Tikal and Flores, and Christmas week activities. Tomorrow I head to Honduras for the next 6-week stint of my GVI trip. Once settled in there I'm sure you'll see another few posts about my new host family and school and the town of Copan.

Until then, I wish you all a very happy new year!

With love from Susan...

Travel weekend to Livingston, Tikal and Flores

School finished up on December 19, and GVI had no other activities scheduled for us until Christmas Day. To take advantage of the break, I joined several other volunteers (with Zach) on a four-day trip around Guatemala arranged by Canadian volunteer Juan through the Aviatur Travel Agency. The group consisted of Juan, Michelle, Fiona (Australia), Fiona (Ireland), Matt, Lalita, Graham, Zach and me. Our driver for most of the trip was Manual from Aviatur.

Day 1: Antigua - Quirigua - Puerto Barrios - Livingston. The nine of us met at 4 AM outside the travel agency in Antigua and rode with Manual in a comfortable private shuttle van to Quirigua National Park, with a breakfast stop in Rio Hondo along the way.

Quirigua National Park -- Rarely-visited Mayan ruins best known for intricately-carved stelae (stone monuments). Quirigua was a dependent city of nearby Copan during the Mayan classical period, with it's peak under the leader Cauac Sky (AD 725-84). Today, the park is a Unesco World Heritage site. In the archeological zone the grassy grand plaza is dotted with stelae up to 10.5M tall, and at the far end of the plaza is an Acropolis with temples and other structures covered in zoomorphic carvings. Compared to Tikal and Copan, Quirigua is fairly small -- but worth a stop if it is along your route. I wouldn't go out of your way to visit.

After a leisurely stroll around Quirigua, Manual drove us to the dock at Puerto Barrios for our boat shuttle across to Livingston. We checked into beachfront hotel Dona Alida with enough time to hire a boat up the shore for lunch and an afternoon at Playa Blanca for a rousing game of beach volleyball, cold beer, and lounging in the soft warm sand. My losing volleyball team later bought drinks for the winning team at Restaurante BugaMama -- where we believe Juan, Michelle and Graham picked up food poisoning from the seafood. Yeouch!

Livingston -- Only accessible by boat, Livingston is populated primarily by Garifuna people who are descendants of Africans brought to the New World as slaves and resettled after a 1795 revolt against the British. The town's isolation and unique heritage of Africans, Carib Indians, Mayans, and shipwrecked sailors brewed a distinct culture and language not found elsewhere. The town has a pirate-like feel to it and has a reputation for being somewhat rough. We didn't encounter any trouble (except food poisoning), but also stayed within the few blocks recommended by our tour company. Nonetheless, I was fascinated to experience a little bit of this very different Guatemalan town in contrast to the other places I'd seen.

Day 2: Livingston - Rio Dulce - Tikal National Park. We woke to a terrific storm that rattled the windows and tin roof and blew down some branches near the hotel. The water was too rough for the boat to pick us up at the hotel as planned, so we packed up our things for a VERY wet tour up the Rio Dulce ("Sweet River"). We asked our guide/driver to just get to the end as quickly as possible and bypassed a castle that was scheduled along the route. By the end our our 2-hour boat trip everyone was completely drenched from the rain and spray. The rain was so heavy for most of the trip that it was hard to see, but during the drier spots the river made me think of the hidden coves from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. In spite of the rain, the resilient group kept up good spirits with sailing songs and pirate jokes along the way. Yaaarrrghh!!

A few hours later we checked into the very nice Hotel Tikal Inn right at the gates of Tikal National Park. A swim in the pool, a hot shower, and then a nice dinner at the hotel finished the day well.

Day 3: Tikal - Flores. A few of us met at 6 AM for a dawn visit into the National Park, where we were greeted by Howler monkeys and macaws in the mist. It was nice to get in for a quick look around before most of the other tourists arrived, but could only see a fraction of the enormous park before returning for breakfast at the hotel and then to meet our official tour guide. At 9 AM we began a 4-hour guided tour of the park, returned to the hotel for lunch, then rejoined Manual for a ride to Flores at around 2 PM.

Tikal National Park -- Initially settled in 700 BC, Tikal slowly grew to become an important Mayan kingdom from 250 AD to 900 AD, and was finally abandoned in the 13th century after depleting all nearby natural resources. Rediscovered in 1848, Tikal has been slowly dug out of the jungle to reveal 550-sq-km with thousands of separate ruined structures still under archeological investigation. The main area of the park is 16-sq-km with 4000 structures. Tikal is popular with tourists because of the abundance and large size of structures, but also because it is one of the few Mayan sites deep in the jungle, giving visitors a unique glimpse of birds, monkeys and other animals not easily seen elsewhere.

In Flores we checked into Hotel Villa del Lago with plenty of time to explore the tiny island in the middle of the lake. A few of us found a waterfront restaurant with a cheap happy hour, went back to the hotel for long hot showers (such a luxury!) and a bit of TV news or internet surfing, then met up again for a leisurely group dinner.

Flores -- A tiny island in Lago de Peten Itza best known for great views and cheap cantinas. Flores is historically interesting as the last major functioning Maya ceremonial center, but all traces of the Maya were completely destroyed by the conquering Spanish in the late 17th century.

Day 4: Flores - Guatemala City - Antigua. We met an early shuttle to the airport near Flores for a quick airplane trip to Guatemala City. After saying goodbye to Juan and Michelle, the rest of us hopped into Manual's shuttle van for a short ride to Antigua, arriving well before lunchtime to prepare for Christmas Eve.

Like other trips I've taken with diverse groups of GVI volunteers, I was pleased at how easy-going and flexible everyone was for this trip. Not everything went as expected, but it didn't seem really bother anyone. I'm very disappointed for the folks who got food poisoning -- but I believe overall that the trip was enjoyed by everyone. I certainly had a good time!

(Photos)

Resources:
* Aviatur Travel Agency: aviaturfer@yahoo.com.mx
* Quirigua National Park
* Tikal National Park
* Hotel Dona Alida, Livingston
* Hotel Tikal Inn, Tikal
* Hotel Villa de Lago, Flores

Final week with kids at school in Santa Maria de Jesus

My stay in Antigua was six weeks altogether, but only four were spent working at the school in Santa Maria de Jesus. I can't believe how fast those weeks flew by! As I mentioned in a prior post, my first school week was spent shadowing the wonderful and amazing Emily, who left me a game plan to continue after her return to England. Weeks two and three were pretty normal (I suppose) with grammar lessons before the fruit break and math afterward, with a bit of arts and crafts or story-telling thrown in to break it up. The fourth week was mostly pre-holiday distractions, with plenty of crafts and songs and sports and parties to keep us from much academic work.

I was thrilled to have Zach come visit for Christmas week, arriving on Wednesday Dec. 17. Doreen granted unusual permission for him to join me at school Thursday and Friday (generally visitors are not permitted). We had sports day on Thursday, and Zach spent the day running around on the soccer field with the kids. On Friday we has a big fiesta to celebrate December birthdays and Christmas. Both morning and afternoon classes arrived at 9 AM for a party that lasted through lunch. All the volunteers (and Zach) helped to serve tamales, hot fresh fruit punch and chocolate-frosted donuts for nearly 200 students. The mothers who prepared the food seemed to really appreciate our help, and we all enjoyed watching the kids faces to receive such great food. After eating, Santa arrived to hand out a present to each student, and an extra gift for each student with a December birthday. Since this was also the last day of school for the year, all the volunteers lined up to receive a goodbye hug from each student. Mid-January will see the beginning of their next school year with all new volunteers and (if all goes well) a brand-new school building with three new classrooms! With six classrooms instead of only three, the classes can be smaller and more students can be enrolled. GVI just keeps improving their services in Guatemala!

Though I was only with them for a month, I will miss the 21 kids in my two classes at Escuela Victoria. I believe I learned much more from them than they did from me, but I also feel that a few of the kids made some breakthroughs with my support that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. For example, Alex was thought to be lazy and easily distracted -- but I believe that he simply couldn't see well enough to read the whiteboard assignments. When I wrote out the assignment for him on a piece of paper and gave him a bit of extra encouragement, he worked VERY well and proved to be a very bright kid. We're not supposed to have favorites, but it is impossible not to. They are all such great kids but Alex, Ronaldo, Paulina, Claudia, and Aurina Marina all made strong impressions and will not be quickly forgotten!

(Photos)

Weekend at Lago Atitlan

Last weekend the GVI crew was out at Lake Atitlan with a full agenda of bicycling, kayaking, hiking and swimming. This amazing trip was part of the formal GVI agenda. Aside from all the great work we do with the kids during the week, I'm pleased that the GVI organization recognizes a need for quality recreation from time to time.

Working through the extremely well-managed Old Town Outfitters guide service, our group of 11 volunteers, and two guides and a driver drove 2-1/2 hours from Antigua to a high-point outside of Panajchel to begin a 25 mile (mostly) downhill bike ride toward the lake. Halfway there we stopped for a yummy picnic lunch prepared by our guides, then continued through the windy roads with gorgeous views of the lake until we reached Panajachel. "Pana" is one of the few towns on the lake that is accessible by road; most of the other little towns can ony be reached by boat.

We spent an hour poking through the open market in Pana then boarded a shuttle for a quick half-hour boat ride to our hotel, La Casa del Mundo. The location and layout of the hotel is simply unreal. Starting at the lakeshore, the hotel's stone steps wind up the cliff with gardens, balconies and guest rooms climbing higher than you might think possible. Every time you think you're at the top, you see another perfectly cut stone staircase up to another level! I shared a room with Fiona, and we enjoyed our balcony with a view of the three volcanoes surrounding the lake. It was simply breathtaking.

Dinner was fantastic, and afterward we went out to enjoy the wood-fired lake-front hot tub. Many of us took turns jumping from one of the lowest balconies into the lake to cool off between soaks in the hot tub. The falling stars were out in force that night.

After a big breakfast we hopped into seak kayaks for a 2-1/2 hour gentle paddle along the lakeshore to a fantastic swimming area, with 24-foot high rock cliffs perfect for jumping from into the lake. There's a bit of a theme here... exercise followed by jumping from tall places into the lake :) After watching everyone else jump from the cliff I finally worked up nerve to so it myself. I wish I'd dine it earlier, because we only had time for me to jump once! I may have to come back here to try it again.

We left the kayaks behind for a bigger boat to tow back to the hotel, and changed into our hiking boots for a 2-1/2 hour walk back through the indigenous villages and fields to the hotel. I found it interesting to walk through (more or less) the back yards of the folks living around the lake. They seemed a bit more shy of tourists than the folks at Santa Maria de Jesus (where I teach during the week). The women's clothing was also a bit different -- more elaborate embroidery and vibrant colors against black, instead of slightly more muted colors against blue. Perhaps it is a difference in family preferences..? Unfortunately I don't have many photos of the people from the villages, since it is somewhat rude (and dangerous) to take photos there.

Once back at the hotel we had time for another quick swim before lunch, then back in the shuttle to Pana, and a van ride back to Antigua in time for Aaron's birthday dinner. (Happy 27th Birthday, Aaron!)

Weekend at the beach in El Salvador

After another Friday night BBQ with welcomes and good-byes, a large group of volunteers left early Saturday morning for a weekend at the beach in El Salvador. This was not a GVI-sponsored excursion, but it is a trip that GVI volunteers commonly make. Thirteen of us met up in Antigua with the proprietors of Hostal El Roble for a 5-1/2 hour drive to Playa San Diego in their shuttle van. By 1 PM we were standing on a beautiful stretch of clean, deserted sandy beach with giant rolling waves.


The hostel couldn't be more ideal for a group of 12-16 people. Most of us shared the two large dorm rooms ($6/night), and John stayed in one of the two private double rooms ($15/night). We all shared the same bank showers and toilets but there were plenty to go round. Many of us made good use of the hammocks scattered in the huge garden and patio, and we enjoyed a bit of volleyball in the large (green) swimming pool in company with a few frogs. The hostel itself offers plenty to entertain it's guests, but the highlight is its proximity to the amazing beach at Playa San Diego, only a few minutes walk away. May of our crew spent the afternoon playing in the surf or lounging in the sun. In the afternoon we met back at the hostel for snacks and drinks, then went out to watch the sun set at the beach. The sky was amazing orange and purple -- just like it should be for a west-coast beach sunset.


In the evening we took over the bar (with the owners' blessing) to make drinks with our own booze. We brought quite a bit of our own food and drink, but our hosts prepared for us a wonderful dinner of chips and salsa, mushroom soup, chili and rice, and garlic bread. After dinner we stayed up playing music, ping pong, giant Jenga, Triominos, and generally just enjoying ourselves.

In the morning, half the crew got up early for surfing lessons and the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with huge bowls of fresh fruit and wonderful fresh hot pupusas, an El Salvadoran specialty of beans, cheese and meat stuffed inside of corn dough and fried, then served with a type of sauerkraut and salsa (for only $1.80!). Yummy.

Around 1 PM we loaded back into the van for our return trip to Antigua, arriving by
6:30 for an early night before school on Monday.

p.s. I managed to leave behind a pair of prescription glasses, but the owners said they'd bring 'em back to Antigua with their next charter. Hopefully it will be before Christmas, when I head out to Honduras! I may have to consider another weekend trip back to the beach with another batch of GVI volunteers on the weekend before Christmas... :)

Music and Sports at School in Santa Maria

I spent all Sunday preparing for the school week. A bit nervous on the first day, I found the kids were supportive and forgiving of my limited Spanish, and eager to get on with their schoolwork. As long as I kept with the patterns that Seno Emily (prior teacher) had established, they were able to complete the exercises with very little extra instruction. Nonetheless, my Spanish is improving through the effort and interest in talking with the kids!

Construction has begin at the school in Santa Maria. A new large classroom will be built over holiday break for three more classes, so more kids can attend school next year! To accommodate the construction, my private little classroom has been taken over and I've moved my class into the larger room shared by two other classes. The kids have more distractions, but after a few days we all learned to adapt.


Thursday after fruit break Doreen (GVI schoolmistress) led the kids in a fun song and dance session. We put away the tables and set up chairs concert style, and the kids took turns in groups singing some of their favorite songs. "Soy una pizza" ("I am a pizza") was very popular, as was a song about a sardine eaten by an little octopus eaten by a tuna eaten by a shark. They all followed Doreen's choreography and the volunteers just stood by taking pictures. It was all very cute.

Friday was sports day. At the school building the boys were divided into teams and given either blue or white jerseys (for two Guatemalan soccer teams, I believe). All of the kids were lined up holding onto a long rope for a 20 minute procession through town to a playing field some distance away. The walk had amazing with views of Antigua in the valley several miles away, but more interesting was my first real look at the rest of the very
large town of Santa Maria de Jesus. Before this, I'd only seen a tiny bit of the town through the window of our shuttle van, and the few streets directly adjacent to the school. On the way to the playing field we walked past a few communal wells, a large communal laundry/washing structure, and a surprising number of active construction and civic improvement projects. The town is poor, but busy and full of pride.

At the playing field Doreen led the kids in some stretches, then everyone participated in a series of relay races for about half an hour. For the rest of the session, the boys took over the soccer field and the girls entertained themselves on the grassy hills. Many of the girls brought little parcels with food or toys to play with, and some raced around through the trees. The volunteers either played soccer with the boys (I did in the morning), or helped to keep the girls out of trouble. In the afternoon I introduced jump-roping to some of the older girls and I was amazed to see what rules and games they came up with in just a few hours. Clever kids.

At the end of the day we were all filthy and exhausted, but it was nice to see the kids out enjoying themselves. I look forward to sports day next week!

First week at GVI Escuela Victoria

GVI operates three schools from their base in Antigua Guatemala: two in Santa Maria de Jesus and the other in Itzapa. I teach first grade (age 6-8) at the school in Santa Maria called Escuela Victoria. I have one class of 12 students in the morning and another in the afternoon. Throughout my first week I shadowed veteran volunteer and professional teacher Emily, who departed at the end of the week to return to England. Emily is a lovely woman and I can't imagine a better person teach me "the ropes" at Santa Maria. I am disappointed that we only had a week of overlap before her departure.

At 7:30 each morning I meet the other volunteers at a coffee shop near the center of Antigua to catch a GVI shuttle van. A dozen (or so) staff and volunteers ride 20-30 minutes up a crazy bumpy dusty twisty roads past burros and chicken buses to the town of Santa Maria de Jesus, and are dropped off a the school door. Taking care to avoid the horse droppings, chickens and stray dogs, we file into the school grounds to set up our classrooms for the day.

Those who need photocopies or supplies for class hurry out to one of the two small office-supply/copy shops a few blocks away. From the storage room we each grab our morning class's canasta (basket), which contains each students' cuaderno (notebook), completed work folder, and balsita (ziplock baggie of crayon bits, pencil, sharpener, and eraser).


The school has around 200 students altogether. Morning classes are from 9 - 12 with a half-hour fruit/play break. From noon - 2 PM volunteers are fed a wonderful tipico (traditional) lunch at the schoolmaster's home nearby, and we have time to correct sheets, work on lesson plans, visit and relax. Afternoon classes are shorter, from 2 - 4 PM with a 15 minute fruit/play break.


A typical class for my kids starts with a short team competition to review prior lessons, a Spanish lesson before break (this is the letter N, draw pictures of words that begin with N, cut out 5 Ns from the newspaper and paste them into your notebook, etc.), and math after break (basic number identification, counting, "what number is before 8", etc.).

Academic classes are held Monday through Thursday, and Friday is sports day. The last Friday of each month is a huge party to honor the ancianos (town elders) and celebrate the kids cumpleanos (birthdays). Last week was a party day and we had great fun.

To begin the day, all the kid's grandparents were invited to a short ceremony to meet the volunteers, receive thanks from GVI supporting the school and allowing the children to attend, and then each elder is given a large bag with rice, oil, pasta, soap, and other household necessities to help them through the next month.

After the ancianos ceremony, we celebrated birthdays in two separate parties, one for the morning kids and another in the afternoon. All the kids were served amazingly good fresh pineapple juice and chocolate-frosted donuts, and then the birthday kids whacked at a pair of pinatas. All the birthday kids sat in a line to receive hugs and kisses from each of the students in turn, and then from the volunteers and staff. Each birthday kid got a different age-appropriate gift. For the remainder of the party everyone danced to Guatemalan music, and at the end the kids lined up to say goodbye to the departing volunteers. Finally, each kid received a small gift (pen and pencil) to take home.

I'm having a great time so far, though the lesson planning and classroom preparation takes quite a bit of thought and time. I expect it will get much easier as my Spanish improves and my confidence increases. The GVI staff and other volunteers are incredibly supportive.

P.S.
Packages are not likely to arrive so please don't send anything for the holidays unless you bring it in person :)