A teacher of sorts

Sadly, all but three of my schools are STILL on strike. This is going on week 4 of strike meaning almost a month of no classes for so many students. The end of the school year is rapidly approaching in October, and September has the pleasure to host not only the controversial presidential and mayoral elections but is also the month thats holds Guatemalan Independence Day. In Guatemala, that translates as excuses to either cancel classes (some are required to close due to election polls being hosted at schools) or to host activities and events at school in honor of the independence, which means no classes. This constant absence from classes used to drive me crazy (and still does a little bit) but I have grown to accept it because that is just the way Guatemala is and I am not going to be the one to change it (let's be real here). Instead, I have been adjusting and flowing to work with what I got. 


For instance, since school vacation is around the corner I know that means that these next few months until October are my last ones to get any work done in the schools until the next school year starts in January. That also translates to mean that November and December are long months with lots of free time for volunteers. I don't want to be twiddling my thumbs for 2 months so I have been trying to plan for ways to keep myself busy during that time. I have previously mentioned that I was trying to start some women's groups and what but a perfect time to really get them going. Last Friday I had a meeting scheduled with all the mothers in the community where my favorite school is to go over what they wanted from the meetings/workshops and to pick our first date to meet. The meeting, however, wasn't until 1pm and since there is no transport on non-market days this meant I had to leave at 7am with one of the teachers and stay there all day to wait for the meeting. Well, knowing Guatemala I knew I wasn't going to pass the time sitting in a room by myself. And, of course, I was right. 


The school has four teachers as follows: one for Kindergarten, one for first and second grades, one for third and fourth grades, and finally one for fifth and sixth grades. The teachers are all friendly and really welcoming and I enjoy visiting them. My day started by being asked by the third and fourth grade teacher to work with his class for a little while since I had never worked with them (last time I was there I worked with the fifth and sixth graders). I didn't have material or lessons planned because I didn't know what grade I'd end up working with. Therefore, I ended up just playing some games with them and teaching them a song about brushing your teeth. It proved to be successful for such an impromptu lesson plan. Afterwards, I went to the classroom that the director teaches (first and second grade). She had told me she wanted me to help her with her second grade lesson plan on the difference between natural and chemical medicine. I agreed since I was interested in natural medicine and thought it might be an opportunity to learn. Well, things turned out a little differently. She gave me her lesson plan book and showed me the page on natural and chemical medicine. It literally had about two sentences for each type of medicine and a couple of examples. She said okay just work with them on that and I'll work with first grade. What?? I didn't know I was going to be teaching a class by myself to second graders on this! So improvise Natalie. And so I did. It went fairly well and some of them seemed to grasp the difference. Others did not but that may have been due to other things. 


Spending the whole day with the director in her classroom meant sharing stories about all the students and their families (everyone knows everything in these small villages). I soon realized that story after story was equally as disheartening and sad. Many of the kids in the class suffered from malnutrition and as a result had a hard time learning. Malnutrition causes the brain to not fully develop as it normally should many times leading to not only stunted growth but a decrease in learning capabilities. To top it off, almost every child in that room either lived with only one parent that barely managed to support the family (most of the kids were one of 8 or 9) or had an alcoholic father that didn't contribute much to support the kids or the mother. Some of them were from abusive families and others had to take care of younger siblings. One story hit me the hardest. There are two sisters that are both in the second grade. One of them is 8 and the other 10. Both suffer from malnutrition and are from a family of 8. The 10 year old has gotten left back twice in the second grade because she has not been able to advance and grasp the material. Their one year old sister just passed away a month ago due to malnutrition. They are beautiful young girls full of energy and life and somehow manage to get through each day. Their story is not unique in this community or even in Guatemala. From what the teacher told me, the problem, at least in this community, stems often from the men. They are the sole providers of the house and usually give very little to their wives to buy food and whatever other necessities for the family. Some of them are alcoholics and spend most of their money on booze. Others are prone to the common machismo culture and abuse their wives either physically or verbally. Most of the mothers have little to no self-esteem and it kills me because I can see the same developing in their daughters. The teacher told me she has gotten in fights with fathers before because they don't want to send their daughters to school because they say they are stupid and it will serve them no use. The teacher fights for them to stay in school and many have as a result. It's a terrible thing to hear and see all of these stories take place. Yet, here they are, still children, still eager to learn and go to school, still excited to play with each other. School is their escape from daily life. Therefore, after hearing most of these stories I felt honored to have the opportunity to have an impact, even if small, on these little humans' lives.


I later was asked to be the gym teacher for the first graders and had a great time exercising and playing games with them. After school ended, the director and I were invited for lunch at one of the families' houses. After finishing our bowls of rice and tamalitos we headed back to the school to prepare for the meeting with the mothers. The meeting was successful in that we chose our first meeting date and I had 31 mothers sign up! That is more than I expected and so I guess we will see how many actually show up. I'm excited to work with them especially after hearing the daily troubles and obstacles they have to deal with. I also spoke with the director and am planning a girls' day camp for 3-5 days during the school vacation to work on their self-esteem, puberty, and reproductive health. At the end of the day, I got home and had one of those Peace Corps days where I feel satisfied and moved by my day and remember why I am here. You might have some bad days but then you remember you only live like this for 2 years while others live a lifetime of it. Peace Corps never seizes to surprise and challenge me. Who knew I was a teacher of many wonders after all? Here are some pictures of the beautiful first and second graders I had the opportunity to work with. And here is an article that I read when I got home that day and rang true with my day: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/110714/ghi-targets-chronic-malnutrition-guatemala 

Handwashing for snack time - yay Healthy Schools!

The handsome boys of first & second grade

The whole bunch

Madre comes to town!

Just a mere 3 weeks ago I was preparing for some busy following weeks: PC Reconnect meetings in Antigua and the arrival of my mother in Guatemala! I was filled with so much excitement and energy I thought I would burst. The Reconnect meetings weren't that exciting, just touching base on work stuff pretty much and getting some random trainings and resources that were useful. The real excitement was looking forward and preparing to see the leading lady of my life. It had been seven months since I'd seen my mom, the longest time I have ever gone without seeing her. I missed her but I talked to her everyday either through cell phone or Skype calls so it made it bearable. I picked her up at the airport and happy tears unexpectedly clouded my eyes. There is nothing like a hug from your mama. 

Post airport we headed to Antigua, where we were planning on staying a few nights. Antigua is really good at some things: food, shopping, and sitting on roof terraces. We did a lot of that. For me, it was heaven. Continuous good food is a blessing and a nice break from those nights where I don't really feel like cooking (or, for that matter, have anything to cook) and eat cereal or oatmeal for dinner. We also walked around a lot. If you ask her she'll probably complain a little and say I made her walk TOO MUCH, but Antigua is small enough that you can just walk everywhere. Although, the cobblestone streets did cause her to almost twist her ankle more times than I could count. She survived though. Since Antigua has many old churches and ruins, we also checked out a bunch of those. Crazy to think I have spent so much time in Antigua since being here and most of the places we went to go see I hadn't even been to yet! The ruins are truly a beautiful sight and quite remarkable. I also had the opportunity to take my mom to my training town, Pastores, where I lived for the first three months in country. We had lunch with my host family and I also took her to meet another host family in town that has shown such great hospitality to me. It was nice to have her meet the people I had spent so much time with. Going to Pastores meant I got to take my mom on a chicken bus, or an old American school bus painted bright colors that drives as if your destination is going to leave before you get there. I think the best ride, however, was the tuc tuc. Tuc tucs are the little motorized vehicles with one wheel up front and two little ones on the back. (I'll have to get a photo.) They are the same as Indian auto-rickshaws. It's one thing to ride a tuc tuc and a whole other thing to ride one in Antigua. The cobblestones made for an adventurous and bumpy ride and my mom kept making jokes that her boobs were gonna pop outta her shirt. Haha I wouldn't have been surprised...it's bumpy. One of the last things we did in Antigua was go to a coffee farm and go on a coffee tour. My mom is an avid coffee drinker and needs her cup (or two) daily. I think she was satisfied with the free cup of coffee at the end of the tour. 

La Catedral at night in Antigua

After Anitgua, we headed out to my site Purulhá. Mom got a bit carsick on the way but we eventually made it. I was excited to have her stay at my house and for her to see where I live and experience my lifestyle and routine here. Well, that made her kinda sad. Living on the meager PC salary and not inheriting any household goods from a previous volunteer meant that I didn't have much in my house to work with, just the bare necessities. She was determined to make that better. I was happy to comply. We made a few trips up to Cobán where we went on quite a few shopping sprees purchasing items for my house that I was missing. We also decided to move my bedroom into one of the other smaller rooms in my house. It made more sense and now that it is done I like it so much more! She helped me paint my new room yellow and orange before moving all my stuff. I love my new room so much and it feels so much more cozy. Thanks ma! After my mom's visit my house itself just feels a lot more homey. I now have a hammock in one of my rooms that is very nice and relaxing. I also have acquired the following: a dining table and chairs (yay), a blender, a pressure cooker, a small vacuum (she brought that from home), a mop, pots and pans, food, and other small necessities. All those new additions to my home were great (and I am ever so grateful for them) but it still doesn't compare to the time I just had to hangout with my mom. We did a whole lot of nothing, just hanging out, relaxing, feeling the flow of life. We went out to a hotel nature reserve a few minutes from my town one day and had a day of swimming and lounging which was also nice. I also did some work stuff and took her to one of my schools. It was great to show her what the schools I work with here are like and to show her what a day of work is like. All in all, I really enjoyed her company and it was so nice to just share in laughter and cooking with her. 

My beautiful madre in my new room

The day before my mom left we spent one last night in Antigua since her flight left early the next day from Guate. Her farewell was bittersweet in the sense that I was sad she had to leave but happy she came and I had the opportunity to spend time with her. We both shed some tears for our goodbyes, but I'll see her soon since I am planning on going home in October for the birth of my first nephew!! Coming back to my house was harder than I thought it was going to be. Older volunteers had told me that post visitors and post trips home make you a bit depressed for a few days. When I got home I cried because everywhere I looked in my house I saw my mom. I got so used to having company that the first two days I felt incredibly lonely and sad. It made me really homesick. I was jealous she was back home and I was here alone. But, as all things do, the feelings passed and I remembered why I am here and the value in the experiences and events that occur to me here. I woke up today with a new wind behind me. Guatemala is a beautiful place with a lot of need. I am taking each day as a blessing and am going to live it to its potential. Every day is an opportunity. I love my family but I know I will see them all again very soon. Peace Corps means making some sacrifices but most meaningful things require some sacrifice. I'm okay with that. Here's a quote I stumbled on yesterday that I really liked that I will leave you with 'til next time:

“Wearing shoes too tight

she set out on the journey

knowing her feet would

hurt along the way.

Oh, but how

she learned

to tread

more lightly.”

-Leela Vox