A Month In Pana

As we approach our month anniversary in Guatemala, I am amazed at how much we have done and learned in such a short time.  Here are a few highlights:

(1) We survived getting 5 people and 10 suitcases through customs and out of the Guat City airport and to Panajachel with relative ease.

(2) I started work at Panajachel Colegio Internacional.  Life is not easy for teachers here.  We have hardly any text books, no copier and no real budget to remedy the situation.  Despite lacking these educational tools, my fellow teachers and I are amazed at the level of quality the students have.  Engaging in deep, thoughtful discussion is the norm for the classroom and the young people come to school actually wanting to learn!

(3) Jill found us a house and negotiated the deal.  We moved in with the help of some Guatemalans with a pickup truck.  Jill found a lumber yard and got us some wood to build dressers.  Jill also prepares our meals in a kitchen with no running water, no oven and a two burner, portable stove top.  We sleep under mosquito netting which somehow Jill found and hung one day while I was at work.  Turns out during the rainy season, the mosquitoes see us as Thanksgiving dinner.  What is most amazing about all this is that Jill has done it all (and much more) with little to no Spanish!  It is amazing what can be accomplished with a few improperly used verbs and nouns.

(4) The kids are settling into school but it has been difficult given that they are the only students who are not fluent in Spanish.  All the other kids talk to each other in Spanish between classes and on breaks.  Despite this small barrier, Camden and Atira are adapting well and learning the new language quickly.

(5) Cian has become a celebrity in our neighborhood.  He plays soccer and kick-the-can on the street with all the kids.  He is the youngest but in his mind that does not matter.  The older kids love him and protect him like a little brother.

Those are some of the highlights of this wild adventure.  While there are a lot of things we miss about the States (and Laramie in particular), we are so fortunate to be having this experience of a lifetime.