Thursday, March 6, 2008
Site
I finally received my site, in SMV, Solola, right by the second biggest lake of Guatemala, Lago Atitlan! This lake is interesting because it was created by huge volcano erruptions that turned into a massive crater and water built up. (The biggest is Lake Izabal). I am the only one from my program of Healthy Schools that received this site, so I really lucked out, and I am super excited. I will be going to my site visit next week. I will be replacing a Healthy Schools volunteer there and working in three second generation schools, but the majority of my time will be giving Healthy School lectures (some to include HIV/AIDS and reproductive health?) in a nearby Colegio to high school students who will be future teachers. Training ends on March 28th with swearing-in! That weekend I will be moving to Santa Maria.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Training
This is a long entry that I have kind of written over time but am finally posting it online. It isn’t exhaustive but at least it is an update and summary. Be sure to check my photo album periodically because I keep that better updated. I haven’t written many cultural aspects but I plan to do that in the future. Training has taken up a lot of my time such that I haven’t taken the time to write and reflect as much as I would have liked. On that note:
What is sustainable development?
Go in search of the people
Love them
Learn from them
Plan with them
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
But of the best leaders
When their task is accomplished
And their work is done
The people all mark
“We have done it ourselves”
-Lao Tso
This is a quote that I enjoy rereading from the main training center room where we meet generally every Monday for general training on medical issues (diarrhea, STDs, food preparation, etc.), cultural training, and technical training.
As for my technical training in the Escuelas Saludables (Healthy Schools, or HS) program, the most interesting aspects for me so far have been visiting a primary school lacking in resources and receiving ideas on how to best implement the program. Four of us trainees living in the Santo Domingo Xenacoj community are visiting a small US-charter equivalent school (here called PRONADE), in an “aldea” or small town of the municipality Xenacoj called San Antonio. San Antonio itself has an approximate population of 300, is mostly if not all indigenous Kaqchikel, and while it has wells and springs for water, it does not yet have electricity. I am wondering if they don’t have these resources because most of the residents come from a different municipality (San Juan Sacatepéquez in the Guatemalan department). I am curious now why they have come from San Juan, being that it is relatively far away from Xenacoj? Regardless, our group has been working in a school of 30+ students of two classrooms split about equally. There are only two teachers. The first and second graders are in one classroom, and they mostly only speak Kaqchikel but most understand Spanish. The other classroom has the upper four grades, so you can imagine it is difficult to teach 4 levels. The kids at this school are adorable and intelligent, but the lack of especially running water creates a daily habit of unsanitary conditions, like not bathing/brushing teeth daily and not having sanitary latrines/toilets. PC had some extra toothbrushes lying around the center that they gave our group (because this is probably the neediest school for our Healthy Schools training).
Each of us trainers has given a practice lesson plan to the students on a health related topic. My topic was on brushing teeth. I chose a lesson out of the published “Por Una Escuela Saludable” teacher’s manual that was created after many other Healthy Schools volunteers. I started with a Rompehielo, or ice breaker, which was a funny song about using all parts of your body to brush your teeth. After that, I had prepared cut up apples and I told the students to imagine they didn’t have teeth. Then, I asked them to try to eat their piece without using their teeth. Obviously, they could only suck on it. Thus, the lesson revolved around the importance of teeth and the need to take care of them, or else one can’t eat the foods we want to eat, for example. After this, each student had his or her donated toothbrush and some toothpaste/water (that I brought for them) and we went to the outdoor sink (“pila”) and they brushed their teeth. It was a good lesson, I thought, but at the end of the day, everything was donated to them and I wonder when we leave if their parents will buy the supplies. That is the idea of sustainability. In the schools I will work in, the parents will be encouraged to buy these supplies in the same way they buy the standard pencils, notebooks, etc. In general, the San Antonio school experience is difficult because this is our training school, and thus we are only there for 3 months.
On another note, for less than a week, we went on Field Based Training (FBT) in the eastern highland departments Huehuetenango (“Huehue”), Quetzaltenango (“Xela” pronounced Shela), Chimaltenango (“Chimal”), and Totonicapán ("Toto"). We spent most of our time in Huehue, where we visited with two volunteers who are about to end their service when we begin ours in April, or in Peace Corps terms, they are about to COS (Close Of Service). Two of us will be replacing them. I kind of want to replace one of them who lives in an area where Mam is spoken, because I’d like to be in an indigenous community and want to learn some of the language, enough phrases to greet and have small talk. It was nice to visit some of their schools, where we mostly formally met with the teachers, saw a few health lessons, and see different infrastructure projects that the volunteers facilitated. It was an overwhelming experience because of all the travel and all 17 of us trainees were together but it was informative and the volunteers were very helpful. It was also great to see how they live. We visited three other volunteers’ houses in Toto, Xela, and Chimal (in the city Tecpán). At the one in Toto, many volunteers who are almost mid-service came to meet us and it was good to hear their perspective. A week after FBT, I got the chance to visit one of them in Toto for 5 days. It was nice to get the one-on-one opportunity to live how the volunteer lives, ask an infinite amount of questions, and go with the volunteer to school. I would say that it has been the highlight of training so far because it most closely reflects what my life will be like when I finally become a volunteer. She has a sweet set up in her house, and I’ve posted pictures online (coming soon). Some of my general opinions of the places we visited are that Huehue’s (the city) scenery was beautiful because of the Cuchumatanes mountain range, the highest in Central America, and Xela the city has a nice cosmopolitan feel to it.
I find out on Monday, in a few days, where my site will be! It is exciting yet I am anxious. The departments where we are being placed are in Huehue, Xela, Chimal, Alta Verapaz, and Sololá. I am hoping for Chimal or Sololá because they are closer to Antigua, but as I mentioned earlier, I would also like to be in Huehue. I think that the APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director), the director of Healthy Schools, will give me first generation schools because I have some experience teaching, which is little. (Some background information: each school that signs on for the Healthy Schools program is in it for four years and thus has two volunteers, the first one starts it as “first generation” and the second one hopefully certifies it in “second generation"). If the case is that I am given first generation, I will probably not get Huehue because I think those replacements are second generations. Regardless, I am flexible and open to any option and, at the end of the day, eagerly awaiting the move to my site!
What is sustainable development?
Go in search of the people
Love them
Learn from them
Plan with them
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
But of the best leaders
When their task is accomplished
And their work is done
The people all mark
“We have done it ourselves”
-Lao Tso
This is a quote that I enjoy rereading from the main training center room where we meet generally every Monday for general training on medical issues (diarrhea, STDs, food preparation, etc.), cultural training, and technical training.
As for my technical training in the Escuelas Saludables (Healthy Schools, or HS) program, the most interesting aspects for me so far have been visiting a primary school lacking in resources and receiving ideas on how to best implement the program. Four of us trainees living in the Santo Domingo Xenacoj community are visiting a small US-charter equivalent school (here called PRONADE), in an “aldea” or small town of the municipality Xenacoj called San Antonio. San Antonio itself has an approximate population of 300, is mostly if not all indigenous Kaqchikel, and while it has wells and springs for water, it does not yet have electricity. I am wondering if they don’t have these resources because most of the residents come from a different municipality (San Juan Sacatepéquez in the Guatemalan department). I am curious now why they have come from San Juan, being that it is relatively far away from Xenacoj? Regardless, our group has been working in a school of 30+ students of two classrooms split about equally. There are only two teachers. The first and second graders are in one classroom, and they mostly only speak Kaqchikel but most understand Spanish. The other classroom has the upper four grades, so you can imagine it is difficult to teach 4 levels. The kids at this school are adorable and intelligent, but the lack of especially running water creates a daily habit of unsanitary conditions, like not bathing/brushing teeth daily and not having sanitary latrines/toilets. PC had some extra toothbrushes lying around the center that they gave our group (because this is probably the neediest school for our Healthy Schools training).
Each of us trainers has given a practice lesson plan to the students on a health related topic. My topic was on brushing teeth. I chose a lesson out of the published “Por Una Escuela Saludable” teacher’s manual that was created after many other Healthy Schools volunteers. I started with a Rompehielo, or ice breaker, which was a funny song about using all parts of your body to brush your teeth. After that, I had prepared cut up apples and I told the students to imagine they didn’t have teeth. Then, I asked them to try to eat their piece without using their teeth. Obviously, they could only suck on it. Thus, the lesson revolved around the importance of teeth and the need to take care of them, or else one can’t eat the foods we want to eat, for example. After this, each student had his or her donated toothbrush and some toothpaste/water (that I brought for them) and we went to the outdoor sink (“pila”) and they brushed their teeth. It was a good lesson, I thought, but at the end of the day, everything was donated to them and I wonder when we leave if their parents will buy the supplies. That is the idea of sustainability. In the schools I will work in, the parents will be encouraged to buy these supplies in the same way they buy the standard pencils, notebooks, etc. In general, the San Antonio school experience is difficult because this is our training school, and thus we are only there for 3 months.
On another note, for less than a week, we went on Field Based Training (FBT) in the eastern highland departments Huehuetenango (“Huehue”), Quetzaltenango (“Xela” pronounced Shela), Chimaltenango (“Chimal”), and Totonicapán ("Toto"). We spent most of our time in Huehue, where we visited with two volunteers who are about to end their service when we begin ours in April, or in Peace Corps terms, they are about to COS (Close Of Service). Two of us will be replacing them. I kind of want to replace one of them who lives in an area where Mam is spoken, because I’d like to be in an indigenous community and want to learn some of the language, enough phrases to greet and have small talk. It was nice to visit some of their schools, where we mostly formally met with the teachers, saw a few health lessons, and see different infrastructure projects that the volunteers facilitated. It was an overwhelming experience because of all the travel and all 17 of us trainees were together but it was informative and the volunteers were very helpful. It was also great to see how they live. We visited three other volunteers’ houses in Toto, Xela, and Chimal (in the city Tecpán). At the one in Toto, many volunteers who are almost mid-service came to meet us and it was good to hear their perspective. A week after FBT, I got the chance to visit one of them in Toto for 5 days. It was nice to get the one-on-one opportunity to live how the volunteer lives, ask an infinite amount of questions, and go with the volunteer to school. I would say that it has been the highlight of training so far because it most closely reflects what my life will be like when I finally become a volunteer. She has a sweet set up in her house, and I’ve posted pictures online (coming soon). Some of my general opinions of the places we visited are that Huehue’s (the city) scenery was beautiful because of the Cuchumatanes mountain range, the highest in Central America, and Xela the city has a nice cosmopolitan feel to it.
I find out on Monday, in a few days, where my site will be! It is exciting yet I am anxious. The departments where we are being placed are in Huehue, Xela, Chimal, Alta Verapaz, and Sololá. I am hoping for Chimal or Sololá because they are closer to Antigua, but as I mentioned earlier, I would also like to be in Huehue. I think that the APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director), the director of Healthy Schools, will give me first generation schools because I have some experience teaching, which is little. (Some background information: each school that signs on for the Healthy Schools program is in it for four years and thus has two volunteers, the first one starts it as “first generation” and the second one hopefully certifies it in “second generation"). If the case is that I am given first generation, I will probably not get Huehue because I think those replacements are second generations. Regardless, I am flexible and open to any option and, at the end of the day, eagerly awaiting the move to my site!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Xenacoj
Finally I create the first post of my blog that will chart my experiences in Guatemala as a Healthy Schools Facilitator in Guatemala. I have been in Guatemala for a little of two weeks, and already it feels like years. For my first three months, I am living with a host family in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, a small mostly indigenous city of about 11,000(?) where Kaqchikel, one of some 23 languages in Guatemala, is spoken. "Xenacoj" is Kaqchikel for "beneath the hill Nacoj" which lies next to it, and "coj" means lion. Nonetheless, I am learning a little of the language, like "thank you" means "matioch", amongst a few others. I live with a fantastic family whose house is located near the central park, municipality, open market, and Catholic church. There are 3 other trainees with me, 2 who live with families that are part of my extended family.
While I have not had a typical day with respect to Peace Corps training, I will try to explain a typical day here for me. I usually take a bucket bath every other day, like my family. I use water heated on a stove, so thankfully it is not cold! My family has a gas stove in addition to a firewood stove. The women in the family know how to weave using the waist technique passed on from their Mayan ancestors. The food is mostly tortillas, beans, cooked local vegetables, noodles, and lots of soups with all of the above in them. The coffee is better than expected because the guide books said that all the good Guatemalan coffee is exported. I have (somewhat) learned to "tortillar" or make tortillas with my family--they are the best ever! They make about 200 a day, some of which they "sell" to their extended family and others.
The scenery is beautiful, as we are in the highlands or "altiplanos", with rolling hills and mountains. As for weather, there are only two seasons: summer, the dry season (November - April) and winter, the rainy season (May-Novemberish). This is interesting because Guatemalans are so intrigued by the idea of autumn and spring. Now, in summer it is characterized in the highlands as hot and dry when the sun is out, and when the sun isn't out it is basically freezing (well, maybe I exaggerate cause I don't like cold weather but still cold). Thus, contrasted temperatures, which is expected in higher altitudes. From my understanding, the winter season is the rainy season, so it will be raining almost every day.
More to come on my technical training... I just wanted to make one post! I will say that I have already been to many cities, mostly for training, including Santa Lucia Milpas Altas (where the PC Guatemala headquarters will be), Parramos, Alotenango, and Antigua. These travels have been done on bus on winding roads and the always visible volcanoes Fuego, Agua, and Acatenango have been a beautiful site.
Love you all!
While I have not had a typical day with respect to Peace Corps training, I will try to explain a typical day here for me. I usually take a bucket bath every other day, like my family. I use water heated on a stove, so thankfully it is not cold! My family has a gas stove in addition to a firewood stove. The women in the family know how to weave using the waist technique passed on from their Mayan ancestors. The food is mostly tortillas, beans, cooked local vegetables, noodles, and lots of soups with all of the above in them. The coffee is better than expected because the guide books said that all the good Guatemalan coffee is exported. I have (somewhat) learned to "tortillar" or make tortillas with my family--they are the best ever! They make about 200 a day, some of which they "sell" to their extended family and others.
The scenery is beautiful, as we are in the highlands or "altiplanos", with rolling hills and mountains. As for weather, there are only two seasons: summer, the dry season (November - April) and winter, the rainy season (May-Novemberish). This is interesting because Guatemalans are so intrigued by the idea of autumn and spring. Now, in summer it is characterized in the highlands as hot and dry when the sun is out, and when the sun isn't out it is basically freezing (well, maybe I exaggerate cause I don't like cold weather but still cold). Thus, contrasted temperatures, which is expected in higher altitudes. From my understanding, the winter season is the rainy season, so it will be raining almost every day.
More to come on my technical training... I just wanted to make one post! I will say that I have already been to many cities, mostly for training, including Santa Lucia Milpas Altas (where the PC Guatemala headquarters will be), Parramos, Alotenango, and Antigua. These travels have been done on bus on winding roads and the always visible volcanoes Fuego, Agua, and Acatenango have been a beautiful site.
Love you all!
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