Well...I´ve been in Guatemala for one month as of today. I feel like I have been settling in to a groove in terms of what I do every day. At 5:45 every morning, I jog around Parramos, the nearby village, and sometimes stop to talk to the owner of a local restaurant called La Familia which the NPH volunteers have adopted as their local hangout. He runs a small stand during the day which sells corn cobs seasoned with ketchup, salt, cheese, and maybe some other things, not really sure! Then I finish my run and hit the cafeteria in the morning, which serves the same plate of beans, rice, cheese, and tea every single day.
I get to my first classroom at 8am (6 students with moderate disabilities) work for a couple hours, and hit my second classroom (9 students with severe-profound disabilities) at 9:30. I spend the rest of the day there, with the exception of lunch and one hour of workshops in the afternoon, in which i help some of the special ed students in the school participate in pre-vocational tasks. I am done around 6, and then I grab dinner at the cafeteria (hoping for vegetables if I am lucky!) , and visit with my section of girls. I get back home around 7:30 or 8, read for a while and unwind, then sleep. The highlight of work this week was when my students went to hipotherapy (horseback riding)... what a great experience for them.
The weekends have been a different story. There is always shopping, drinking, and many new places to explore both alone and with friends. I haven´t done any travelling yet, but I know that will come soon! I went to a huge rodeo in Chimaltenango this weekend, which was quite the cultural fiasco. Also, there was a concert in Antigua for a festival which was really fun. I am moving into permanent housing this week, which should help everything at the house become more stable.
Pictures wouldn´t upload again...so sorry! I will try again soon. Also, FYI--- snail mail has not been coming through, so I will post an update when it is safe to send me letters!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hi Anjali,
Thats a long working day! you should've come to England :). i just got back from weekend in Salzburg...girls' trip. We did the cheesy 'sound of music'tour! pretty place but small. Viv is going on an inter-rail trip of eastern european countries for 2 weeks...lots of unpronouncable names like bratislava,lublijana etc...it must be your influence!(only joking). sounds like u need a recipe for something without beans??
love, uma
Love the updates from Guatemala! I'm glad you're doing well.
Glad you're keeping busy down there! I hope your transition to permanent housing goes well. That's such a bummer it has taken so long. I think I'd be crazy about now if I were you! I've been mostly working on grad school aps (I've already been accepted to Xavier! YAY!) and trying not to go nuts working for my dad, although it has been more hectic than usual. Miss you in the Nati! :-) OINK!
Post a Comment