miércoles, 15 de junio de 2011
Last week of Guatemala
Our final class
3 days left
Last Teaching Day at San Pedro :(
Journal Entry
It´s the last week in Guatemala, and I have mixed feelings.. I miss my family and friends a lot, but I´m thinking about how much I´m gonna miss the kids and teachers in Guatemal more! Thisexperience has been different, I looked at the difference betwween the way people live here inand then I take a look at people in the U.S. Here everyone is so close and friendly., but inthe U.S. it´s hard to trust people. I don´t think that I will ever be able to forget Junior Journey, weall got so close, and it pains me to have to go back to the way things used to be... I can´t believe I was about to pass up this oppurtunity, it´s a good thing I didn´t!
Until Next Time!
Laura Antigua,
Volcano
Last Day of School
It's pretty crazy that we're leaving this Saturday. I feel like we've been here for a really long time, but I don't feel ready to go home. I miss my family, hot showers and my house, but at the same time, I've become really attached to Antigua. My host family has been absolutely wonderful, and Chiky and Lico have only shown us kindness. Plus I'm going to miss their two goofy dogs, Talia and Herminina. I don't think it's sunk in yet that we're really going and it's probably going to be a very very very long time before I come back, if I ever get around to it. It's really sad to go back, but I feel like I've changed a lot and that I have a lot to offer back home...
Alana
Last day of teaching in San Pedro....
By Imad Jbara
To Sum It All Up
Last Day Of Teaching
lunes, 13 de junio de 2011
New Experiences
In my opinion being in Guatemala is all about having new experiences. No matter who you are, what language you speak or what you’ve done being in Guatemala is all about having new experiences. Lot of people may say “This is nothing special”. People may say that I’ve traveled to other countries before, even without your parents. But have you traveled to another country with out your parents with 30 of your peers to teach English and have one on one Spanish lesson? For me this trip has been jam packed with new experiences. Whether it was participating in a Mayan Ceremony or “climbing” el Volcan de Pacaya (I personally paid for a horseback ride up to the top). Everyday it was something new. For a select few these new experiences would be huge like traveling outside the United States for the first time but for others the experiences that they will truly remember are the ones that you can’t snap a picture of. The experiences of being independent, of taking risks and accepting challenges. Getting to know people on a more person level and simply being immersed in a new culture. Getting to see the way other people lived was one of the experiences that I will take home with me. The day after our first English class at San Pedro, I came home and literally cried to my roommates because I was devastated with the way that some of the children had to live. I told a teacher the way I was feeling and she gave me some wise words of advice. She told me to just try to make this a fun three weeks and that is what I am trying to continue to do as our journey comes to a close.
Almost Home
Last Week
The Beach at San Pedro
5 more days !
viernes, 10 de junio de 2011
The Time is Flying!
lunes, 6 de junio de 2011
One Week So Fast
It´s been a week and two days since we arrived at Guatemala. I have to say Guatemala is a great city and friendly. I´m already Latina but just cause I am doesn´t mean I´m not learning anything in my spanish classes! I have learned a bunch of new vocabulary and new ways tos ay things that I didn´t know how to before. There are plenty of words that I found new ways to say. I´m glad I decided to embark on this journey. The weekend was pretty cool. I climb a volcano, how many people say that? While many used horses I climb all the way up without it, I was so proud of myself. On Sunday we took a boat across the lake and could do different activities. However, I couldn´t go kayaking like I wanted but it was still pretty cool. The boat stop in the middle of the lake and we could jump up and everything. It was awesome. The best part of this trip has been the kids. I love my class. I´ve been learning their names and I´m almost there. To learn the girls names is a little more difficult because they don´t speak. I know almost all the guys and a few girls. They are really ¨traviesos¨ but they are really good kids. Everyone says I´m making a change in their lives. However, in reality they are changing my life. They will always be a part of my life. My host family is adorable. The little girl is ¨un encanto¨ and is so nice and always wants to play with me. My host mom is great to talk to. Tamarra is a good roomate and is funny while she´s trying to learn spanish. Ping pong is so much fun here and we do competitions all the time while we can. I love my teacher Vicky, we talk about everything. I have two more weeks here in Guatemala which seems like a long time but really isn´t. I hope to make the best of it and it to make the best of me. I´ll blog soon hopefully about new experiences.
Well Hello There!!
Pin-Pon
Guat´s Up?
Lago Atitlan/ Volcan Pacaya
Yesterday, we all went to Lago Atitlan, which just happens to be the most AWESOMEST BESTEST place EVER. My group (B.P Breakaway Pack) Climbed up a long pathway to get to a 500 year old church. Although the climb was tiring, it was nowhere near as tiring as climbing up Volcan de Pacaya... I do not exactly understand why people climb mountains for fun, but the view was pretty incredible.
Overall this weekend was pretty sick. But now, everybody is looking forward to the next weekend. Partying partying yeah! Partying Partying yeah! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Looking forward to next weekend.
Still Going Strong
Week 1
El Lago Atitlan
Eniola
2nd week in Guatemala
Lago de Atitlan
Likes and Dislikes
1 week down, 2 more to go
June 6th
First Week in the Guats
Aside from that, I really like Antigua. It's nice here and it's been a pretty good trip so far. Especially the trip to the lake; that was really fun. I am just starting to get a tad bit homesick though...just a bit. I miss my sister and my mom and my brother and my hot showers. And my Macbook...especially that. But anyhoo I've written a lot so more later...
End of the First Week
First Week Over
Despite all of the beauty, its also really sad too. Many of the families in certain areas live in extreme poverty. When we climbed the volcano, children surrounded us, asking in broken english if we had brought lunch for them. I talked to my host mother about it and she said that after last year, people flooded in to help Guatemala for a week or so, but then forgot about the disaster. The government doesn´t help anyone really, so a lot of families who were hurt by the volcano and storms last year have just had an extremely hard time. When we were leaving, most of our class just handed our sandwiches to the kids, because we knew that we would have another meal in a couple of hours, but for them, it could be the only meal they ate all day. In Antigua, there is less poverty, but it still exists.
jueves, 2 de junio de 2011
Teaching In San Pedro
This Definately Isnt the U.S....
Day 5
=)
Houston we have warm water!!
Bate Bate Guate Guate
This kid named Willber took a picture from his notebook today and gave it to me and told me that it was to remember him always. I was extremely touched. It honestly is quite the experience teaching these kids.
As for the food... the food here changes from time to time. Sometimes I devour it and other times my plate is full of mushed up items that LOOK eaten. I never thought I would NOT like something, but hey, this is part of the experience.
Well... over and out.
From Guate-AWESOME,
-Wilmene