Lake Atitlan and general life udate!

Wow its definately time for an update... first off, my camera battery is no longer functioning, so until I find a new one, I will be sharing pictures with other people whenever possible. Bear with me!

I went on another vacation to Lago de Atitlan (wikipedia it), which is a really famous lake here and I went swimming and just hung out. We were are this village called Jibalito, which is tiny and mostly indigenous, so we got to see how the local Mayan population lives which was really neat. I did some hiking, swam in the lake, and just rested with the other volunteers...very sweet!



This weekend was independence day for Guatemala so there was a torch run which the orphanage did for about 10 miles! I didn't run the whole way because the altitude is super high here and its hard to run sometimes, but I ran a good chunk. There was also a parade, but I was down with the flu that day so I didn't get to attend. However, I will post pictures from other people soon.

Work has been...intense. The more I work with my kids, the more I discover the hidden problems with the administration here, the reality of my students' capabilities, and the attitudes of other people in the Guatemalan society towards disability. The people here have two main attitudes towards people with disabilities: 1) They believe that disabled individuals can't achieve anything so they refuse to assist with medical care, education, or advocacy, 2) They freely hand out money and gifts to disabled people without training them in any way. Both attitudes are harmful to the kids. I struggle to find a balance between work and daily life, as my kids require an INFINITE amount of therapies every day. However, in spite of it all, I LOVE my kids very much and enjoy spending so much time with them.

Pictures soon....not only of the lake, but also more of my kids and the house.

Monterrico!

Last weekend, I took my first vacation to Monterrico, right on the Pacific coast! It was a black sand beach...absolutely beautiful. I stayed in a quaint hotel called Hotel Delfin, with the ocean right outside my back door. The town of Monterrico itself has only 2000-3000 residents, and it seemed like every single one had a hammock in their house. The town also boasts a wildlife sanctuary and turtle preservation museum. After the last two months of changes and stress here in Guatemala, it was such a relief to just lie out by the beach. Here are pictures of the beach and the wildlife sanctuary....

It began with a dream...

Big news this week... my classroom is finally ready for use! When I got to the house a month ago, I was shown a small room filled with insects, old tables, and benches. I couldn't even walk in because of all the "stuff" that was randomly being stored there! After weeks of hauling out the junk, finding donations, cleaning profusely and moving new furniture, my students started their individual classes this week. I am so proud of this space, because it is my own creation! Here are some pictures....

Interesting pictures

My students at horseback riding, my permanent room at the house, a couple shots of my kids, and the rodeo!

At the 1-month mark

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!

Volunteer Orientation- The orphanage

NPH, the orphanage, is situated in a little village called Parramos, about an hour outside of Guatemala City. It is tiny and there is really nothing here- but I like that because I see the same faces every day. The house itself has over 300 children and 24 volunteers in addition to the local staff. The NPH orphanage is not just a home.... the organization runs a school, medical clinic, beauty salon, bakery, and carpentry workshop, making it perpetually its own microcosm. The children learn vocational skills in addition to traditional subjects to better prepare them for life on the ¨outside.¨

My first week here was spent getting aquainted with the other volunteers. There was alot of information and ¨getting to know you¨ activities which were somewhat tedious. For now, I am living in the guest house with 5 other girls, but I will be moving in a couple weeks to a different volunteer house with a girl who was raised in the USA, but has Guatemalan roots in her family. It should be a good time.... I can´t wait to start working.

Interesting things that happened this week- a dog rummaged through the trash can outside our house in the nighttime. I woke up to a yard full of trash which was gross! Also, I started running every morning just to relieve some stress. Finally, I watched many reruns of the Office and Sex And The City in Spanish with my new roommates. Here are some pictures from the week!

Pictures from Antigua

My host parents, their home, and general sites of Antigua!