Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Name selection




So I bought this puppy at the terminal this Sunday; only he has no name yet. Ive thought of many. Trust. Like Bear. Empanada. Oreo. Ours (bear in French). Old Man. Mr. Nilsson. Jelly Belly.

So if you have strong feelings for one of those names, speak now. The children at my house are already calling him Bonbon. I personally like the last three names, especially Old Man and Mr. Nilsson (from Pippi). Ya know...

Happy Birthday to the O!

My puppy doing a birthday dance for mama. Feliz Cumpleaños mamita. La quiero mucho.


Saturday, September 27, 2008

Today, twoday, tooday

Started off this day watching King of California (good movie with Michael Douglas on a search for Spanish gold) and drinking some good instant coffee with Cremora. Then went for a walk with the teacher I live with. We walked all the way to an atm machine down the road because she needed to see if she finally got paid this month (you may recall she hasnt gotten paid since January when school iniated). So we enter this gas station (kinda fancy looking from the outside; Id never been). To my grand surprise they had gelatto there...Oh yea! I think I will go there tomorrow and get some lemon kind. I doubt they have Fruits of the Forest like at Freddys Pizza. Needless to say, anytime I am feeling down or missing home, that is where you will find my big behind. So then I came back and did my Dia de Limpieza (Clean-up Day) with the kids at the Instituto. It wasnt obligatory but 46 students showed up which was cool. Some didnt do the best job cleaning but I thanked them for coming with a bag of water. Yes, we sell water in bags here, as well as milk. Yum, yum. All in all, went well. The principal helped out too. Now we wait and see how long it takes to get dirty again. We collected about 15 big bags of garbage. Walking to the bus stop, I already saw fresh trash. I think we will have to petition the Muni for some garbage cans and put up some signs too. After that, took a shower because I was stanky stanky from all the garbage. Then the lights went out. The teacher thinks its because there was a mudslide in a nearby town and about 80 people were buried in the mud. I dont really know though. Now I am here at the internet cafe on a Saturday afternoon waiting for a phonecall from Mom, talking to Perla and eating chicken. Love you all.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Things Ive been up to as of a few days ago

Community clean-up day lead by my two tree-loving girls from Segundo

Trying to get funds for our cancha polideportiva

Teaching girls how to use the internet (I like how they tell me they dont know how to use the internet the day the homework is do. Come on, ladies!)

Meeting the social worker that works with youth on habilidades talleres

Making a syllabus a la Dr. Frolick (No one earns an A in my class!... Classic Frolick)

Listening to Evanescence (shoutout to Bear and Apryll) and watching Two and a Half Men, as well as Denise Richards Its Complicated (dont judge me)

Monday, September 22, 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Personally

Tu tipo de personalidad:
Tranquilos, reflexivos e idealistas. Interesados en servir a la humanidad. Sistema de valores bien desarrollados, se esfuerzan por vivir de acuerdo a ellos. Extremadamente leales. Flexibles y relajados a no ser que un valor fuertemente arraigado sea amenazado. Generalmente son escritores talentosos. Rápidos de mente y capaces de ver posibilidades. Interesados en entender y ayudar a la gente.


Carreras adecuadas para ti:
Escritores, artistas, consejeros, trabajadores sociales, profesores de inglés, profesores de bellas artes, trabajadores en el cuidado de niños, clero, misioneros, sicólogos, siquiatras, científicos, activistas políticos, editores, periodistas, educadores religiosos, científicos sociales.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Oh snap!




















From the top down:
Two new kitties. One is called Kitty Cat Bear and the other one has no name yet.
Drawing of my Rab.
Drawing of my Pinguino. I think it looks pretty good.
Picture of an altar patrio. First place.
Another picture of an altar patrio. Firey torch.
Pregnant secretary. She is uber cute.
Students giving a dramatizacion on literacy.
Some Primero Basico kids. The girl looks like Maggie but with brown hair. Swear.
Not very descriptive but I have to go grocery shopping. Cereal. Eggs. Oil.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

I draw... (me on a NCC I poster)

Other pictures I will soon put up. Last night I drew Phillip and it came out pretty good. I dont know why I drew him. I was restless in bed and nothing good is on tv now that the US Open has ended. Then this morning I drew Rab. Phillip came out better. I think I am just better at drawing men/guys/boys. Who knows. I tried drawing myself when I was little and it came out horrible.

Fridays

Monday is the 15th of September and the Independence of Guatemala. We had warned that the Institutos started preparing for this celebration weeks even months in advance but it really wasnt the case for my school. Yesterday I had to judge the students altares patrios. Think of an altar, just like the ones at Catholic Church with relics and all but now imagine it taking a very patriotic form. Each section (there are 6 at this one school) had to spend the entire morning and part of Thursday creating these altares. Towards the end of class on Thursday, all you saw was male students hauling huge rocks and concrete blocks up the stairs to take to their classrooms. Ill put up pictures soon so you guys can see how cool these things were. Some had lakes made out of blue plastic bags, rocks and a hose. Some had human relics, like Tucun Uman, wearing nothing but a shiny gold skirt. The winning altar had the students dressed up in traje tipico selling things like at the mercado. They fed us tortillas with frijol and queso, as well as some orange drink. Another section sang a patriotic song as soon as we walked in and had torches that they had made at home. Still another section, which earned 3rd place, was cooking corn (delicious, delicious corn, but without bitter butter; they put lime on it) and gave us this elote drink that a student had made. Overall, excellent. Not to compare our countries and youth, but I dont know if kids in the states would be able to pull it off. We arent as patriotic. Were we once? USA! USA! Ok, Ill stop. Also yesterday I accompanied the 3A students and the Social Studies teacher to an orphanage where I think I will soon be volunteering. The students took them viveres (rice, beans, pasta, sugar, etc) and used clothes. They played games with the kids, gave them prizes then served them cake. It was nice to see the students working with these little kids. Then we went to see the babies and my students just fell head over heels. I think they were missing the electronic babies they had to give back just a few weeks ago. It was sweet. Leaving I asked one of the ladies in charge if they accepted volunteers and she said of course we do. I think I will have to go hang out with the little ones (as Shamika calls them).

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Anna, quieres jugar en la lluvia?

These past few days I´ve been coming home exhausted from classes and passing out on my bed for at least 2 hours. Much longer than I plan when I crash. Yesterday was no different. I come home, open the window because my room is musty and I haven´t had clean clothes in over 2 weeks, turn on the tv and fall asleep. Yesterday I woke up from my nap to the cries of the two year old. God knows what he was crying about. Probably food or a toy. Then the teacher I live with walks in and asks me if I want cafe con leche. Now, I probably shouldn´t be drinking it, specially if its gastritis that I have. But who can know for sure. I haven´t been formally diagnosed. Who could resist a nice cup of cafe con leche, after a nap with the rain pouring down on the lamina. Not I. So I drank that. I busted out the peanut butter (extra crunchy) and crackers and contributed to the evening coffee break. I guess the coffee gave me a spur of energy, but it could have been the sun breaking through the clouds and the smell of cow maneaur and grass sweeping through the window, made me want to go for a walk through the small town I have yet to know. I ended up taking the 9 yr old boy who generally sits in front of the tv watching novelas to the basketball court. Then everyone wanted to go: the 2 yr old and his mom, as well as the cousins. We all trotted down the muddy road to the cancha, ended up playing bball and a game or two of papifut. This run-down cancha was half flooded by the rain that had poured down an hour earlier. During bball we were trying to be extremely cautious as to not fall in the lake of dirty water but during the soccer, we said forget it. There were no longer any rules. If the ball went in the water, then your behind went in the water. The teacher (who is pretty darn prissy) was totally in the water. It was a great thing to see. The 9 yr old and his cousins (around the same age) were overjoyed by the fact that they were running through this wet, dirty stuff. It was weird. Like a small break towards freedom. We can do this? We can run through this crap and be ok? Then the cousins´mom drives by and I´m like, oh no, I am going to be in trouble. I initiated the whole thing, but she was cool. The teacher finally went home with the 2 yr old before he could catch pneumonia and the 4 of us stayed behind, with the townspeople walking by and watching the foolish 23 yr old getting dirty in the water with the elementary school students. I loved every second of it...until the kids attacked me, kicking water at me because they decided I wasn´t wet enough. Other kids joined in as they walked from their home to the little tienda. When all was done and kids were drenched with dirty water and me ofcourse, they said, ¨Are we doing this again tomorrow? Same time, same place? ¨

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Friday, September 5, 2008

This is how I feel right now


I know its kinda gross but I am once again sick. And I feel like this here pumpkin. On the bright side, they are playing Soulja Boy in this internet cafe.

Some of my kids at SL

¿Quién soy?
Yo soy una persona feliz y que confía en Dios, nuestro salvador, Jesucristo. Yo vivo y he vivida contenta con mi familia y le agradezco a mi padre por la oportunidad que me da para estudiar. Yo le prometí salir en limpio y lo voy a lograr porque yo tengo la oportunidad de ser profesional en la vida. Hay personas que desean tener la misma oportunidad que nosotros pero no la tienen por sus recursos económicos. Pero yo voy a lograr sacar el tercero Basico y recibiré mi diploma junta con mis compañeros. Porque gracias a Dios y a mis padres yo estoy estudiando. Yo quiero seguir siendo feliz tomando mi carrera y le daré las gracias a Dios y a mis padres y yo les prometo honrarlos hasta que Dios nos lleve con el. Honra a tu padre y a tu madre para que tengas larga vida sobre la tierra. La tierra no es mala, quienes somos malos somos los habitantes pero con unas personas que puedan sacar sus diplomas y darles la alegría a sus padres, la tierra puede ser buena por muy mala que la hayamos puesto así porque no somos perfectos.

¿Quién quiero ser?
Yo quiero ser una profesional y una buena maestra de Párvulos o Primaria para enseñarles a los niños cuan buena puede ser la vida si así lo decidimos nosotros mismos. La humanidad tiene muchas opciones y muchos eligen el camino de la delincuencia, alcoholismo, drogadicción, pero yo quiero ayudar a los niños y hacerlos unos profesionales y que sigan a Dios porque eso es lo mas importante porque el dio su vida en la cruz del calvario por nuestros pecados. Yo me voy a esforzar para lograr ser lo que me proponga. Yo tengo una meta y la voy a lograr con la ayuda de Dios y de mi familia. Yo le agradezco a los profesores que nos hacen reflexionar a nosotros los alumnos y yo les prometo salir limpio porque el estudiar es importante y no andar como vagos en la calle como dicen naturalmente, como perro sin dueño. Pero nosotros tenemos a alguien en esta tierra que nos ama y se llama familia. También alguien quien nos cuida y es nuestro Padre Celestial. Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Yo quiero ser maestra si Dios me permite en la vida.

¿Quién soy?
Soy un chavo que en relación me gusta tener amistades y alegras con mis hermanos, primos y mis padres. Soy alguien que estudia para superarme pero la realidad es que no es fácil tener un buen conocimiento acerca de lo que aprendemos a diario en el colegio. Para mí, el estudio es muy bueno pero a la vez es como un deporte, que lo practicas. Soy también alguien especial que puede ser alguien muy grande.

¿Quién quiero ser?
En relación a quien quiero ser: en realidad, en mi niñez he sonado con ser un veterinario y a la vez tener una licenciatura. Pero para poder lograr eso tengo que estudiar a diario para poder alcanzar mis sueños. Para mi una carrera es algo muy grande, de forma tan grande que lograrlo es el sueño de mis sueños y el sueno de mis padres es que yo pueda tener una carrera, de lo cual tengo un buen consejo de mis abuelos que deseaban tener un buen estudio pero por la situación del pueble no pudieron lograrlo.

¿Quién soy?
Mi nombre es…, a mi me gusta estudiar y cada día trato de hacer las cosas bien, y siempre busco nuevos retos porque yo se que uno aprendo de los errores. Nadie es perfecto, pero debemos tratar la manera de serlo. Además, no digo que las cosas son fáciles; nada es fácil en la vida pero tampoco es imposible. Si uno se lo propone, llegara a lograr lo propuesto o en todo caso, sus sueños.

¿Quién quiero ser?
Yo quiero ser alguien en la vida. Yo se que el camino no es fácil, cada vez va a costar mas pero nosotros superamos barreras. Hay que estudiar, echarle ganas y no dejar que nadie te corte las alas porque son tus sueños y a ti te cuesta para lograrlos. En el caso mío, mis padres me apoyan que mejor regalo que echarle ganas con el estudio. Así soy yo, una persona que busca lograr sus sueños y unos de mis sueños es ser licenciado.

¿Quién soy?
Soy un joven como cualquiera; tengo problemas y también alegrías de todo lo que me pasa en la vida. Pero lo que soy…no se quien soy. Yo solo tengo por seguro que algún día sabré quien soy y que clase de persona seré. No se, tal vez un maestro de dibujo técnico, ingeniero o tal vez un pobre diablo. Si soy mejor persona; no se lo que vaya a ser porque yo sufro de falta de atención y algunas cosas rápidamente se me olvidan. No se que es lo que tenga pero voy a salir adelante aunque todos no tengan confianza en mi, especialmente los maestros. Cuando estoy enfermo ni me hacen caso y les digo y se ríen de mi. No se porque me menosprecian.

¿Quién quiero ser?
Yo quería ser alguien en la vida pero yo creo que no se va a poder. Yo tengo la ilusión de ser perito en mecánica general porque no requiere de muchos maestros que me estén molestando o menospreciando. Pero cuando me miren trabajando en mi propio taller de mecánica no me van a menospreciar porque ya no voy a ser un pobre diablo y sabré que lo que decían de mi no es cierto. Ya no me van a tratar de burro o animal porque yo se que algún día recibirán su pago.


The top one is obviously for O'town.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Respuesta a la coneja

Before I go into my response, I wanted to let you know that the other day on some movie channel (maybe Cinemax), they were showing some french film that had a rabbit in it. I only saw about a minute of it but this French guy in his 40s was taking a bubble bath with his itty bitty rabbit, then his lady comes in and he starts making out with her. He puts the rabbit down on the towel and the rabbit just sits there with bubbles all over him. Too cute.

Response: your blog made me lol. Roy does look like a raccoon. The whiskers and his desire to go through trash. I think you should make it your mission to make that name stick. Im glad that you got in the water. The lake makes one feel invincible, no matter what age, race, weight, etc. You get my point.

Today I had some deep conversations with the music teacher at one of my schools. A little too deep. I thought he was going to start crying. It all started with me trying to help him with lesson planning. He may have a crush on me. Sigh. Im going to a basketball game on Thursday though. My first time going out past 6pm in my town. It is actually after 5pm right now and I feel so naughty. But I needed to buy some oranges and milk (my essentials). Going back to the convo with the teacher..he did an activity with the students, asking them to draw their family and answer two questions (who am I and who do I want to be). He let me read them and I was blown away by the stuff they wrote. I seriously wanted to cry and clap at the same time. I will soon post some of the stuff soon, including emo boys response which I know you want to read.

I love you with all my heart. Pray the lights dont go out again. Besitos.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Ode to Deftones


Dia del Estudiante

Guatemala has more holidays than I care to count. Today, I believe is Labor Day in the States but here we are celebrating students all over the country. It´s either a CA thing or all of Latin America. My two schools were fighting over who was going to get me on this day as Mondays are office days (even though Im almost always at school). One school had a disco going (what you know as a club) while the other school was going to a TuristCentro where thered be soccer and swimming. As much as I wanted to get down with my students, I went to the piscinas. Played soccer but didnt swim. The teachers each brought a plate of food and we had a cookout. The students brought their own food and cooked also. About half of the time there, the teachers were concerned with one student who you could say is the stereotypical punk rocker/emo. He has one of those chin piercings and it seems as he is influencing other students (there was A LOT of black worn on this bright sunny day). So I am going to try to talk to this kid because apparently he´s been kicked out of a number of schools and that is how he ended up there. Obviously, I don´t see his punk rockness (if you want to call it that) as an issue but he probably should get his grades up and we can´t let others fall. So I have no strategy for talking to him but I think it will start something like this, ¨So...you like Rancid, eh?¨Yeah. That´s all I got. Teachers and parents here though have a very defined idea of what normal behavior should be, disregarding the fact that they are adolescents and that´s what they do, stupid things, figuring out who I am kind of things, trying out this and that type of things. I mean I think back to middle and high school. I went through so many phases. In middle school, it was mainly the chola phase, with the dark lipliner sporting the various basketball jerseys with sports bras underneath and I was ¨in love¨ with a boy named David, clearly involved with the Latin Kings. Then came high school, pseudo preppy phase, wearing the Aeropostale and madcrushing on Bryan McNair...soon fell in love with Dan, turning me into a little Deftones fan. Although I guess I didn´t need Dan for that because Deftones own on their own. Then I had a whole indie rock thing going. Today I am an amalgamation of all these things. We try things out to figure out if they fit with what is inside. I am still somewhat of a little cholita, Deftones still makes me smile and I still dig certain preppy clothes. Ahh..being a teenager.