Teaching verses Construction

It's the sixth day here, and I've felt welcomed since day one. I still remember how I was the very first day -- I was wimpering out of fear, and I didn't know what to expect. I could not grasp the fact that I was here. About two hours since landing in Guatemala City (which is absolutely stunning and beautiful by the way), my host mother, Regina, made Joelle and I feel comfortable. I could go on about my thoughts, my host mother, the celebrations they have around here, and so much more. But I'm too lazy to write a novel. So I'll focus on how I feel about teaching and building a home.

I fell in love with the children at San Pedro. They were some of the sweetest and most respectful children I have ever met. I was nervous about teaching to be honest, but I realized that as long as I just be myself and have some fun then everything will turn out to be okay. I've gotten close to one of them, named Reina. She's in 4B (one of the classes that Garlyn and I are teaching), and we've played games and just talked about her experience at the school. I've also gotten used to some of the first and second graders. We played Pato, Pato, Ganzo (Duck, duck, goose), and I learned that it was a little different then how it's played in the United States. I get happy when they smile, which is pretty much all the time. What I found about teaching is that I have the opportunity to give them skills that can help them in the future, and I really do want to be a part of that.

 I found myself comparing teaching with building an extra room for a family in San Pedro. What I like about construction is that I can easily see progress. This morning we did a lot of work with the walls of their house, and compared to yesterday, we got a lot of things done! I almost wished that I did Constru Casa because the feeling that I got from building was different because I knew that my dedication to building would be used by a family. Yet my love of teaching my fourth graders gave me a different kind of happiness. It's difficult to explain. I could not tell if it was just the fact that their happiness was contagious. Perhaps it came from their eagarness to learn. Maybe it was their kindness. I can't put a finger on it, but essentially, both teaching and building homes are two things that have given me real happiness, even though they were physically and mentally straining. It's only the beginning - I'm looking forward to more of these sorts of experiences.