Bad News

Things are not good here. I am fine. The communities surrounding Antigua are not. The damage done by tropical storm Agatha and the explosion of Pacaya will be felt for months if not longer.Today on my way to El Proyecto the roads were impassable. Everything was covered in silt and mud. Cars could not get farther than 1 mile. I walked to the compound and from there learned of the news. Most of our people were accounted for, but the affiliated families have not been. One city where CommonHope does a lot of work is called San Miguel. The city was destroyed. 300 families are without homes, there are children missing, and they lack the basic essentials like potable water and sanitary conditions.

Don't have much time to write, so i'll post as many pictures as i can. Please pray for the people of Guatemala, there is so much to be re done and people to be helped.

Tropical Storm Agatha and more Volcanic Ash

Well, it's official, Guatemalan weather is not what I expected. Maybe I was in an illusion thinking that since Guatemala was next to Mexico, that they would be similar in weather pattern. nope. HERE is a story in the Star Tribune about it.

Newest news: Airport is closed for 5 days. Tropical storm Agatha is approaching, and the rain has not stopped for 4 days. Luckily, the drainage system in Antigua is relatively good and I own a rain suit. Best thing i packed other than my passport. While it may be wet, the rain is not stopping me from going out. Today I went to the bookstore (where you can trade your books back for half price, score!) and to my new favorite store "Cookies ect." which i'm sure you can guess what they sell. Tomorrow i'm going out to dinner with my friend Sarah and some girls from Holland.

here's a link to some info on the storm (with pics at the bottom)
HERE is a better story done by the huffington Post.

Volcanic Eruption

Well readers, in addition to it being rainy season, I guess it's also volcano season. Last night, Volcano Pacaya, one of the most active volcanoes in Guatemala located near the capital erupted more than usual. I read in the newspaper here 'El Diaro' that it sent rocks, lava, and ash 1,500 meters into the air. The airport is closed, traffic which is normally very frequent in and out of the capital is limited and... schools are closed!

Today was supposed to be my first day as a substitute teacher (with my cooperating Guatemalan teacher) for the 2nd grade. The minestry of education has canceled classes in the capital, Antigua, and the surrounding areas due to ash. Espicialy in the capital, heavy ash was falling and posed a health hazard. This morning there was a fine dusting of ash on the trees and on top of cars. (photos are of the ash). A reporter who was covering the volcano was killed by falling rocks and there are three still missing. (remember, this is the volcano i climbed last weekend). Read the story in the Huffington Post HERE. The surrounding pueblos were evacuated and there's no real prediction as to when it will stop.

Also, it was my last day of class with Paty, a super nice teacher who taught me a lot about Guatemalan culture. As always... I"m an amazon compared to everyone else.

Seno Betsey!!!

Today was another day at the primary school in Santa Catarina. It went well, though today was the first day that I really did things on my own. My cooperating teacher had to speak to the principal for an hour (!) about upcoming events with the big group who are volunteering with CommonHope. They will be painting the entire exterior of the school, with the help of the sixth graders, and doing many activities with the younger children during the school day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Because my cooperating teacher was busy, she quickly explained what the plan was for the day, taught me a cute song about a little worm, and then sent me on my way.

I had a class of 24 5 year olds, 16 3 year olds, and ~20 4 year olds (all separate classrooms). I read a book about a boy who is traveling to the city and then had the students help me with the sounds each mode of transportation uses. After, I asked some comprehension questions about the plot, and then we made an art project where I gave them squares, triangles, rectangles, and circles to make cars, buses, planes, and other creatives modes of transportation. only problem, I didn't know the word for 'wheel'! I talked my way around that one, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. There was lots of yelling "Seno Betsey!" (teacher betsey!) but pronounced comes out more like Vetsy, Vetchy, or just Seno. I was kinda scared to be the only one in charge, but it was really fun and I think i improved my ability to understand little kid voices in spanish whispering about how they want the purple square, not the orange one :)

On the way home from school, I picked up a snack- Strawberry ice pop thingy for like 75 cents.


(also included: a cool door knocker).

Bananas and Beer

That, is a picture of my breakfast. Cook plantain with choco krispies on top. Kinda weird combination, but surprisingly good. Today I worked at El Proyecto, getting things ready for when the big group comes. Mostly just cutting up paper for teh kids to decorate their picture frames with and cutting the frames out of hard cardboard like material. I got to spend some time with Marissa, the other volunteer in education from AZ, and invited her to come with me and the other students from my house to the 'Bagel Barn' tonight to watch Shirlock Holmes. Hopefully it's a halfway decent movie.



After that, I had school and today went on the 'extra activity'. We went to the cervaceria, or beer factory. Guatemala is a country with about 11 million people, and as such has only one major beer company. Gallo (rooster), is it and it is HUGE! They also produce all of the pure water for the country in addition to all the crush soda products. We got a tour around the brewery (unfortunately in English, blah!), and then a free beer each. I"m...not a big fan of beer, so I had their equivalent of Smirnoff Ice, a 'STATS'. It was okay, but not good enough to finish. The company employs 500 people, (who are uninionized) and is apparently one of the best paying jobs anyone can have in the country. They also do a lot whenever natural disaster strikes because they're the only really big, organized company.

^view from my front door on my way to the internet cafe :)

Justin Bieber and Condoms

Thought provoking title anyone? Justin Bieber and condoms sums up my night last night. read before you judge. it takes 8 years to be a judge.

My life is now complete. Justin Bieber is played on Guatemalan radio :) Just when I thought i was getting over being homesick, they play his lovydovy gooey 12 year old songs. It reminded me of how much spill over American Culture has in Guatemalan life. It certainly isn´t as much as what I encountered in México, but fragments of american culture are still present in Guatemala. Chuck shoes, Justin Beiber, phrases like ´what´s up dude?´and american Idol permeate the culture.

The condoms portion of my post took place last night over dinner. César, my host dad, and I were talking about whether there was caffinne in the tea I drink. He picked up the box but couldn´t read part of it because it was in English so he handed it to me. I read/translated it saying ´No hay perservativos adentro´. Thinking I had said, it doesn´t contain preservatives. As soon as I said it out loud I realized what I had said. Insteading of saying it didn{t contain preservatives, I said it didn´t contain condoms. (perservativos means condoms in spanish). Oops. big translation error! We laughed it off, but then had to explain to the rest of the students at the table why I was embarressed at my error. Learning languages wouldn´t be fun if it weren´t for cases like that :)

Reasons to Teach

Today was one of those days that reminded me why I want to teach. Spending time with the mas chiquitos (the littlest ones). On Friday I made a lesson plan using one of the big books from the CommonHope Library titled 'La Tormenta' or the storm. With the Parvulos, translated to...i donno, 4 year olds (kids can start school at age 3), I had them make a storm using clapping sounds, gradually increasing the number of fingers we were using to clap. They had a lot of fun with that. Afterwards, I wanted them to brainstorm about what kinds of thing happen during a storm. (lightening, rain, hail, wind). One little boy was very very excited to answer. He raised his hand and was practically jumping out of his seat. I called on his neighbor first who said 'gotas' (drops, like of rain) and then on the excited one. He stood up, and in a very loud voice said "A veces!, mi papa besa a mi mama.. en la boca!!!" (sometimes, my dad kisses my mom on the mouth!). very random, very cute :) I said, ok, thank you for sharing, and then tried to get the kids back on track. It was one of those cute, innocent, moments when the little kids say whatever comes to their mind :).

After school I found out that we have a new housemate. Moki, a Japanese girl (who lives in Arizona). Now there are four students living at the house i'm at, soon to be five once Melanie arrives. Hopefully all goes smoothly.

to see more photos, here's a link to my facebook album http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049649&id=1277220213&l=92edd73e62

Hiking Weekend!

Yesterday, Saturday, was my first day hiking a volcano. I was supposed to go with a CommonHope group to climb Volcan Agua, where a man who is affiliated with CommonHope would lead us up the mountain and explain how he made his livelyhood there. Well... the bus never showed. I felt really bad because to these people I represented CommonHope, but I was really just along for the ride. The other CommonHope volunteer, Marissa (who was really in charge) made like 10 phone calls to no avail. After waiting in our designated spot for an hour and a half, the group decided to find something else to do that day. I felt really bad that they didn't get the oppertunity to climb the volcano on their last day in Guatemala, (but I was kinda miffed to! Today was volcano climbign day!).


I was not going to finish my saturday without having climbed a volcano. Marissa and I walked around looking for some tour agencies and I found one that said they were sponsored by Lonely Planet (true? maybe not). 8 bucks later, I was on a bus with 11 other people headed to Volcan Pacaya. The other people were really nice and I met some nice Canadians. One of whom used to live in Hopkins, MN and has an uncle with a house on Lake Minnetonka. Small world!

The climb was more difficult than I expected. As soon as our bus got to the bottom, we were innundated with little boys with sticks and men on horses. The sticks to use on the way up and the horses too. No one in our group caved to using a horse to climb the mountain but a few bought sticks. Our group consisted of pretty young fit-ish people and it took us about an hour and ten min to climb the volcano. Unfortunetly there was lots of fog, so we didn't get an amazing view as was promised. The climb was difficult, and we only stopped twice for water breaks. I think the altitude also had something to do with the difficulty. I am so glad I stopped before going to buy an extra liter of water, I definetly needed it. We started at 1600 feet and went to about 2500 i believe. The guide was very nice and informative.

After climbing an hour, we got to the lava! Some of the girls (from Steven's Point, WI) brought a big bag of marshmallows which they roasted and handed out to everyone. It was a lot of fun to see and hear the cooling lava. It was constantly crackling and chunks were breaking off. Our guide lit his cigarette on one of the little chunks.


After that, we had a very steep climb up some volcanic ash. The path was difficult and visibility was low. It was totally worth it. Once we got to the top, we were able to see a river of lava. my guide said that it had been flowing for 4 years and that the last real erruption(spewing chunks 2K into the air) was about 30 years ago.


On the bus ride home, a bunch of us started talking about wanting to climb to 'sierra de la cruz' this point that juts out above Antigua. None of us had gone because there has been lots of news about robbers. My host dad said i shouldn't go without two men with me... so we decided to all go together. Three girls and two boys. We had no problems and it was worth it for the view. The hike up took about 30 min. and we stayed for about 30 min at the top taking pictures and relaxing. here are some pics from that hike.

Market Day

Today, with the other student who studies with me at Academia Colonial, we went on an excursion to the market. OUr teachers went with and we learned new words for different fruits, vegetables, grains, and flowers. (Margharita is daisy!). Here are some pictures from the day.

Guatemalan Schools

Today I thought I"d write a bit about the differences in Guatemalan and American schools.

The first main difference is obviously the scructure. American schools have standards which all must meet. (ie, clean floors, enough bathrooms, running water, electricity, (some have AC), textbooks, ). In Guatemala it is quite different. I am speaking only from my experience in Santa Catarina. There, there are between 25 and 35 students in each classroom. There are maybe 4 bathrooms. One teacher to each class, who is required to finish high school, but not continue on to university. There are no IEPs, no set rules, and no clear consequences. No one observes during recess (the teachers are all inside their rooms taking a break). The teachers are amazing, don't get me wrong, but the resources are not there as they are in the United States. Today I met 'Brian'. He is a first grader with some EBD- emotional behavior issues. Today I watched him have a tantrum for about an hour. (remember, school only lasts 4 hours). He attacked another boy (kicking, punching, takign him to the ground). Then once the teacher seperated him from this other kid, he punched the metal door for the next 30 min. The principal came and explained to him that he was trying to do work, but couldn't with all the noise ( i think in attempt to encourage him to stop hitting the door), but to no avail. He was left there for the next 30 min while he yelled, punched, and went for anyone who walked past. The teacher tried to control him, but there's only so much one can do when they have 24 other 1st graders to take care of. I am going to look up some EBD resources online because Eva, my mentor seemed very receptive when I asked if any goals had be set for Brian, such as less trantums a day equals a special treat or if he is able to use his words to express his emotions when angry he can stay outside the classroom (where it's 20 degrees cooler) for five min to cool down. We'll see where that goes. Eva suggested I plan the lessons for Monday, so i'm excited to get started on that tonight/tomorrow. I want to make sure to include a before, during, and after reading strategies and maybe work on leter recognition with the kids.

The seond difference that I notice is what we call in teh education world 'kid touch'. Here is abounds! (in a good way) Senos always have a hand on the kids heads or backs or are giving hugs, even the male teachers. The children and the teachers are so much more affectionate and open in their affection. The children seem genuenly cared for and loved by all the teacher, (the principal included).

Also, Today was cooking class with the school. Here are some pictures.
Me and Sara, the other student in the afternoons.

These are called "Renitos' or little full things. They are mashed bananas stuffed with a chocoalte black bean sauce. Very similar to the taste of a choclate covered banana.


My Teacher, Soledad (translates to lonliness) prepping the guacamole.

Another full day

^the main cathedral in Antigua.


Today is Wednesday and my first day working at El Proyecto for the Education Promoters. I met the other volunteer from the states (arizona) who is also working there. Her name is Marissa, and she seems pretty chill. Very laid back... but nice and inviting. She gave me her phone number so hopefully we meet up soon to get drinks or dinner. She said she eats out a lot since where she lives doesn't feed her. Also, she's translating a tour up Volcan Agua on Saturday so I"m really trying to get on that trip. I don't mind paying, but with CommonHope, i know that it should be good (and very safe). Common hope has a lot of rules about safety, like when you can walk to El Proyecto and when not to. I, take the bus. One can't have many issues with sweaty people being pressed up against you josteling the entire way. I spent the day cutting out circles, triangles, and squares of different colored papers. We're having a group of 31 people come to El Proyecto to help out. In the past they have donated enough to support entire programs and the Education Promoters program is hoping they could be lucky next ones. The people are from MN, and i'm sure if you are too you'd recognize. Not sure if i'm allowed to tell anyone, but think owners of sport teams.

Here's a picture from the balcony where I study with Soledad. Dad, I like your offer of going on a walkign tour and asking useful words. Today we played scrabble in Spanish and it was a good mind-streatching activity.


I've signed up to be a translator for the big group that's coming to El Proyecto, so I think i'll be taking a week off spanish classes. I feel like i'd be more useful translating 'a day in the life' and construction site information (the group is building houses as one of their activity).

Here's a picture from the nut farm. These macademias already have their outer green shell taken of.



Also, it's pouring right now! So glad i have a nice rain coat. I left my 'quick dry' pants on (which of course got soaked) so see how fast they dry. 30 min i'd say.

Love you all!

First day at school

Today was my first day at Santa Catarina. I met Abigail at the bus stop (which technically just a place on the street where you can flag down a bus) and she and I traveled together to the school. There, I met Seno Eva, the person from common hope who is doing the most work with the school there. She is a very good teacher. Patient yet demands respect(something I"m not too sure that the classroom teachers demand). There seems to be an overall lack of classroom management or 'auto control' self control on the students part. The school where I"ll be working has 6 grades and a preschool and kindergarten. All of the teachers seem very nice and encompass much of the population (in that i mean there's an indiginous teacher, one male profe, and some that appear ladino). Today Seno Eva and I went around to all of the older clases and worked with response poems where part of the class would read stanzas A and the other would read stanzas B. One of the main objectives of Common Hope in their education promoters is to encourage reading and to make lecutra fun. While it seemed like a lot of the students were able to read, there is a lack of 'ganas' or desire to do one's best or suceed in school.


I arrived at school at 7:30am and left at 12:30pm (and was late for 1pm lunch, oops!). One part of the day that I found the most interesting was during recess/snack time. During this time it is absolute chaos. Literally, 200 screaming, running, kicking children let loose into the center courtyard which is far too small for them while the teachers hide in their classrooms or in the principal's office. It was pretty intimidating. There was a little store at the entrance of the school where the children could buy snacks like juice in a bag or cut fruit or cookies. Some kids bought things and others were too poor. What I gound to be the most interesting was that each student was provided with incaparina, a hot drink that was described to me a something that is hightly nutritious (and seemed caloric also) which was a way that the school could give at all the students at least one meal a day. It didn't taste too bad, more liek what I would imagine very watered down malt o meal. Grainy to a point but also kinda sweet.


Spanish classes are...not as I expected but not on the part of the school. The school seems very nice and is located just two blocks from my house. When I arrived the first day, I talked with my teacher for about 30min about nothing in particular, and then afterwards she asked what I wanted to work on. I asked her what kinds of errors I made in my speech, perhaps the subjunctive tense (?) but (seriously, i do not want to sound arrogant,) she said there wasn't anything wrong with it. That I already spoke spanish just fine and that she would have corrected me if there were errors. Well great. I suggested that we read together and work on my pronounciation and comprehension, but even with this i feel like i'm not gaining much. I am thinking about buyng La Casa de los Espiritus by Isabel Allende because she said it was at a higher reading level than the nonfiction book in spanish that I have. Hopefully there will be things to work on, however I think i will be lowering my time from 4 hours to something less next week.


Look, even flowers in guatemala root for the gophers!

First day at El Proyecto

Today has been busy and it's only half over. Today my host dad Cesar went with me on a 'chicken bus' to El Proyecto (one of the spanish names for CommonHope). The bus ride was kinda crazy, very squished and doubfully safe but I got there without a scratch. This is the bus that I will take every day to and from El Proyecto. Cesar was nice enough to show me where to get on and where to get off the bus and gave some pointers as to important landmarks. The ride each way is 1.5 Q (8Q in a dollar, so pretty cheap).

^not my picture, i don't have my memory card reader with me right now.

At El Proyecto I met Abigail, who I have been in contact with for the past month or so. She showed me around the place and I finished up some paperwork. I learned tons about CommonHope. It is such a positive place! (seriously, EVERYONE smiles and says hello to everyone else). I learned that commonhope is really supportive of the families but explicitly does not want them to be dependent on the services provided. They do a really good job of helping the families take ownership in what they are given. For example to get a house from commonhope, a family must work at El Proyecto for 200 to 400 hours doing things like cleaning, sweeping, or helping build things. They also provide a health clinic, social workers, psychologists,and a dental clinic for people who are a part of the program. There are aproximetly 8,000 people in the program in all, which includes all the members of the families. Within each family, only half of the children can be sponsored by 'Padrinos' or godfathers. This helps the family out a bit with school expenses but encourages them to work hard and meet El Proyecto half way.

After the priliminary tour with Abigail, I went on a tour with Louisa, a woman from Moorhead, MN (LOTS of Minnesota connections here). She and her boyfriend are both long term (at least 1 year) volunteers with CommonHope and she's probably the most swedish looking person I"ve met here. She gave me a tour of San Pedro de Hertas, a town near Antigua where CommonHope does a lot of work. In the center of the town square there was a clothes washing station with lots of women aroud it. It seemed almost like going back in time. With the new presidnet (elected last year) all students are required to go to school until 6th grade. However no one is enforcing this. In the center square in Antigua there are plenty of little boys looking for shoes to shine or little indiginous girls with their mothers selling their handmade wares. El Proyecto does a lot of work encouraging and promoting education. For some it is a value and for others they need all of their children to be working so they can feed themselves. At El Proyecto no family is accepted into the program without already having one child in school. This demonstrates that they have a committment to education eventhough they have a difficult lifestyle. Usually only th eldest boy in the family attends school (and only to the 6th grade at that). Middle, high, and vocational schools all have an 'enrollment' fee which is far too expensive for most familys to afford. El Proyecto provides (thoough the godparent program) all of the fees necessary for enrollment, materials,, and uniform).

Oh, last night I met the other two people living at the house with me. They're both boys who live upstairs. (with the only bathroom with hot water. luckily i've been invited to use that one ). Justin is a college student from Maine and Antonio is from Belgium. He's here teaching first aide and volunteering with an afterschool program. He's been here for 2.5 months already, so he showed me around the town a bit and we went out to eat last night (no meals provided on sundays) at a place where they had a live band (think peruvian pan pipe music). It was really nice though i was super tired stil from all the traveling. I can't wait for Melanie to come, it'll be nice to have another girl around the house and someone to play cards or something with. It gets a little slow at night since the sun sets around 6 and I don't want to be walking around alone. Good thing i brought so many books.

Now i'm off to lunch and then lessons from 2-6 at Academica Colonial. Please keep me and my travels in your prayers.
(also, totally sorry for the horrendious spelling but spell check here is in spanish, so unless i want my blog to be in spanish, you'll all just have to put up with phonemic spelling for every big word).

Arrived Safely

Well, I got here alright. After a long layover in O´Hare, i boarded the flight to Guatemala City which went smoothly. (except who´s idea was it to serve breakfast at 4:30am?) My driver, alejandro picked me up at the airport and then we traveled in his taxi to Antigua. Met my host dad, César and his daughter Sophia and their three dogs: muneca (doll) Candi and .... the little brown one. Luckly they only bark when people walk in and out of the door. I asked about any other students living there and César said that two others were but I couldn´t find them. I wasn´t shown upstairs so I assume that is where the ´family´lives. I was shown my room, where Melanie will join me in two weeks. I have been spoiled by posh Mexican resorts. (And my amazing soft bed and a pletora of nice coushy pillows). It may take a bit but it´s safe, relatively clean, and the family seems nice. The bathroom....i´ll be wearing sandles :) It looks like next to mel/my room there´s another room for a couple. The keys were in the door so I assume that´s not where the other two students are.

^picture of my side of the bedroom.

I also learned that breakfast is served at 7:15am, and César said that he would show me how to catch a bus to CommonHope. I shouldn´t be too far.

this is a pic of the outside door of my house.

I scoped out the school and found out it´s actually on the second floor of an old convent, a space that appears to be shared by about 5 other stores, tour operators, ect. It´s only a block and a half away from my house so it´s a much easier walk than when I lived in Cuernavaca. I¨m thinking for the rest of the day I¨ll take a nap, try to find the other students living at the house and if not go out to dinner (host families don´t feed you on sundays) somewhere where there´s a bar so I can sit and chat with other people my age.

Please keep me in your prayers!
Love, Betsey

I'm leaving on a jet plane, know exactly when I'll be back again

Well today's the day. I just finished packing everything and think i'm set to go. Boris is taking me to the airport and from there I go to O'Hare for a 6 hour layover and then off to Guatemala. I am excited to finally begin this adventure. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. I wrote to Ana, the director of the school and she said to expect 'Alejandro' waiting for me with the school's car when I arrive in Guatemala City (the capital). From there we'll drive to Antigua (about an hour) and i'll get settled in.

There are all my bags, ready to go. I don't think I overpacked but i'd rather be prepared than not. The middle sized bag isn't really for me anyways. It has a backpack filled with school supplies that Melanie and I will give to Ana Elias, the child that my Dad and Donna sponsor.

Getting Ready!

As my trip gets closer, I am trying to pull everything together and make sure I am prepared to live and work in a different country (and climate, culture, and language). This is my last week of classes before finals week and as such I have also been packing up my things. Before I go to Guatemala, I must first somehow move all my things from my rental property in Morris, MN to my dad's garage. At first I thought this would be easy...then I realized if I didn't start sorting my things now I would never find what I needed for Guatemala in time. So I have begun setting clothes, documents, information, and useful things aside in a 'Guatemala' hamper. I'm hoping that things like a headlamp, battery recharger, passport, TEVA sandals, and TUMS will come in handy.

I also made a big purchase this past week: Hiking Boots. I plan on climbing at least two volcanoes while I am in Guatemala, and hopefully will feel up to climbing more. The first (and supposedly easiest) trek will be Volcan Pacaya. Here's one site that is an American company based in Antigua which provides excursions there. Though they're kinda pricey ($59), they look professional and very safe (there have been reports of hikers being robbed, so the more professional (aka $$), the better chance they'll bring their own security personal, ensuring safety :) )



I also want to climb volcan Fuego or Agua. There's another volcano in Santaigo Atitlan that I'm interested in climbing too. Anyways, back to the boots. I recently went shopping with my dad and Gander Mountain and found these gems. While the same price as two months food for me, I think they are a worthwhile investment. (For readers who know boots, they have a 'Vibram' sole, Merrel brand, and supposedly waterproof). The second big purchase are a pair of Merona Wool socks for hot weather hiking. Apparently they keep your foot dry and are a 'must'. Seeing as they were also more than I had ever paid for socks, I only bought one pair with the thought that I will wash them at night if I need to.

I am getting very excited for my trip and to start using my Spanish skills. Today I received a confirmation e-mail from the CommonHope sponsorship office about my (and Melanie's) visit to Ana, the child my parents have supported for the past 8 (?) years. They were very specific about what was appropriate to talk about and what was not (no promises, no cash, ect) and suggested that we, as padrinos (godparents) encourage education. <--duh! I am currently in the process of filling up a backpack full of school supplies like paper, pens, pencils, stickers, ect. to give to Ana when we visit.

Please keep praying for a safe trip!
~Betsey~