Guatemala - July 20th

It has been another busy week here! I finally feel like I am beginning to figure some stuff out and build relationships with all of these awesome kids and my time here is almost at an end!  How is that even fair :(

Without focusing on the unfairness of it all, this week was really great :)  I taught the Nutrition section of my four week 'healthy living' course that I have been doing at youth group in the villages and I think that it was the best yet!  I think that is partly due to the fact that I know the kids a little better now and partly due to the fact that my Spanish has improved a bit since I first got here :)

I also did my first full week of teaching at CETEDI which was definitely not without its struggles but rewarding at the same time as I get to know the kids and see them improve :)

On Sunday I finally got to see a real market day here in Sumpango which is crazy and so much fun!

One of the games for my Nutrition course was Pictionary where all the kids had to draw a food and then we would talk about if that food was healthy or not and why... It was a big hit and everyone got really into it.  Some of these kids are competitive!

I also met this little sweetheart at one of the villages...  Can you feel the cuteness!?!

In Santa Marta we introduced Russian Soccer which is soccer with three balls that all have different rules (girls only, boys only, hands only, etc.) It was a big hit!

On Thursday my grade 4-6 English class moved outside...  The view was pretty great :)

They all picked me flowers...

And what boy doesn't like running around outside :)

Everyday at recess there is a giant soccer game in the courtyard...  It can get pretty intense!

I also taught a hybrid nutrition/hygiene talk at the school on Friday... Amoeba was a hit :)

After class on Friday some of the kids walked me home... I cannot get over the sky here!

And on Saturday (yesterday) we went to the beach passing several volcanos on the way...  This one is Agua which is dormant

And this is Fuego which is not.  The pink that you can see there is cooling rock!

The beach was pretty epic and I only got a little sunburn :)

Life is rough...

It was very interesting to see the change in landscape as we dropped 6500ft in only two hours!

It was like being transported from BC to Florida.

This morning I had a lesson planning/chillout session on the roof as I prepare for another week of teaching and fun!

And that is it for now!  It feels completely surreal that this is my last week here and that I have been here for close to a month now... In some ways it feels like I have been here forever but I mostly feel like I have just started my adventure...  I am trying to savour each moment as I look forward to the new adventures that this week will bring.

Guatemala - July 13

This past week was if anything more hectic than my first week here!  With the team here from Brampton each day felt super packed as we did what sometimes felt like three days in one!  Luckily I am finally feeling better again and I was able to take part in all the fun and games :)

The class that I was teaching in youth group this week was on Hygiene so we handed out little packages with toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and a washcloth.  It was fun to see the kids going through their ‘regalos’ (gifts).

We drove around in a bus all week and the kids thought that it was great fun to hang off the back :)

This is what our bus looked like from the front...

We had a kick off event on Thursday in a village called Las Flores where Gerry and Barb are just starting out with youth group.  Everyone had a great time as we played pool noodle lacrosse and pretzel and then the kids made a craft with a little bit about themselves and their favourite things.  This will help Barb and Gerry to figure out their demographic for the village as well as help them to keep all the kids straight :) 

We finished the day off with a couple of pinatas...

On Friday we took the morning off and went to play tourist in Antigua.  It was lots of fun and very relaxing but it was a bit of a strange change of pace to be shopping up a storm after seeing the poverty of the villages.

We also took the time to visit some beautiful ruins that made me wish I had a real camera and a a few hours to explore!

This week I am looking forward to things being a little bit quieter, hanging out with the kids, teaching my Nutrition section at youth group, and having a normal week of teaching English at CETEDI :)  

Guatemala - July 7th

I have a ton of pictures this week so I will try not to write too much!

I had a great week starting to teach English at the school and teaching a lesson on active living three times in different villages for youth group :)   It was a lot of names to learn! I am still figuring out a few of them but I think that I am doing pretty well considering :)

I was super sick for a couple of days with the altitude which was hard but I seem to be mostly better now which is great!

A team from Canada (Heart Lake Baptist Church) also arrived on Friday so it has been a full house!   It has been fun to have more people around though :)

And now on to the pictures!

First some pictures of the villages where Barb and Gerry have youth group:

We played some soccer ...

The field was just your average field ... farmers, large dogs... 

And a view like this is just normal...

In another village we had to climb down this hill to get to the field 

Everyone got there ok :) 

Then we climbed back up the hill to play some pool noodle lacrosse

After all that hard work a snack is 'muy importante'

These beautiful girls are 9 years old and collect 13 jugs of water like this every day....  On their down time they collect wood and look after their siblings. 

And of course here we have a casual vista on the way back to the house...

And another...

More soccer!  In this village we played girls vs guys

And another snack time :)

 On Wednesday we went into Antigua and had a super delicious meal

That finished off with passionfruit creme brulee

And now for some pictures of random stuff:

 

A school we visited (not the one that I am teaching at)

And of course some random chickens... 

Three volcanoes in the background and the foundation for a new home in the foreground

Kitchen

Bananas!

Do you see that plume of smoke right there?  That my friends is an active volcano!

And finishing with a bit more casual scenery: