Saturday 9/25
I began teaching English at a local university in Coban. There are three classes (2 classes intermediate, 1 advanced) that Justin and I have signed up to help out with. Each class has a bi-lingual Coban-native teacher (some who really don't speak the best English); we've been brought in to help with pronunciation, grammar, and to help the students adapt to the English/American accent. I began my introduction saying (in Spanish) to not be worried, because my Spanish was probably worse than their English.
This turned out to be half-true. Some students spoke almost fluent spanish; some spoke barely at all. I tried to speak slow enough so as to be understood but not to offend. This seemed to help. The class time (8:00a.m. - 12:00p.m.) went really fast. I had basic English conversations with several students, helped them with their homework, and even improved my Spanish vocabulary a little bit. As Justin and I left the university knowing that we were going back the next week. It was incredibly helpful for everyone involved!
During the afternoon and evening, I attended my friend Tavo's 24th birthday party. Tavo is Bernie's friends' daughter's boyfriend; a nice guy who's just finishing up his education at the University. After just meeting me once, Tavo was nice enough to invite Justin and me to his big birthday bash at his college buddy's place.
The fiesta was just like any college party; actually, it was like any Saint John's college party. Plenty of booze, plenty of great music, and plenty of ... guys. The only girls that showed up to the party were inevitably dating someone already at the party. Even though fraternizing with girls would have been nice (remember, folks, I've been in a monastery for a full month now), it was still a hoot. I found it uncanny how similar some of the Guatemalan guys were to my friends at home.
The only difficulty? Language barrier. Even without the addition of a few drinks, Tavo's friends (Vjango, Tosho, Carlos, Juan Miguel) all spoke very fast. With beers, they spoke even faster. I had a hard time understanding anything at times. I would nod, say "Si!" or "Como no?" or "No entiendo." Responses ranged from blank stares (usually warranted by my previous attempt to respond to their comment in Spanish) to laughs, to an awkward silence. Ideal? No, of course not. But what are you gonna do? The kids were very forgiving. If I didn't understand something or couldn't respond, the young men would chuckle and continue a different conversation on with themselves. It gave me time to recover and again translate in my head what was going on in the current conversation. If I had nothing to contribute, I would just busy myself by picking the next song on the speakers. I am especially thankful for Tavo, who not only throughout the night asked me if everything was okay, but also got one of his friends to give me a ride home in the late evening. I hope to see more of my friends in the future!
Sunday 9/26
With whiskey still coursing in our veins, Justin and I woke early the next day for our first soccer game in Guatemala. Oscar offered to take us to a neighboring pueblo to see Coban Imperial vs. Carcha. Oscar's whole family was in attendance; which includes his wife and daughter, Ashanti. We weren't the only ones to be seeing our first soccer game in Guatemala: Ashanti is only two years old and it was her first game to ever see. She seemed pretty excited when we gained entrance to the stadium.
 |
| Ashanti's first Futbol Game |
The actual game was as good as any other soccer match. There were a few yellow cards, a few goals, and Coban Imperial even won the match 3-1. The atmosphere was crazy. While getting into the stadium with booze was supposed to be impossible, apparently entering with fireworks was no problem. Spectators sporadically ignited and threw LOUD crackling fireworks onto the field throughout the game. While not one machine-gun-sounding string of dynamite landed on the actual playing field, several were thrown just in front of the visitor's dugout. Visiting players and coaches would hastily cup their ears before the sonic boom erupted from the dynamite. I couldn't help but laugh in amusement over the scene.
During the game, we were offered everything from action figures to pizzas to peanuts every 30 seconds. After the end of the game, I happily dashed through the crowd of celebrating cobaneros, chanting, "CO-BAN! CO-BAN!" I was received with a few high-fives, laughs and smiles.
Oscar offered to take us to more games throughout the year. I told him I'll always be there.. I'm buying a jersey next time!
Before turning back home, we went out to the local "centro" to get some post-game beer and pizza. As I entered the mall, I was greeted by not 1, not 2, but 3 people! First, Bernie's friend Otto said a quick "Hello!" as he went into the supermarket for food. Afterwards, I briefly had an awkward hello with one of Tavo's friends from the party. I had forgotten his name because I had been introduced to about 15 people the night before. Finally, the beautiful girl working the Tigo cell phone stand (who I now know is named "Melisa") said hello and asked if my credit card trouble went through alright. I felt so welcomed by a community that, less than a month ago, was a mystery to me.
Monday 9/27 - Friday 10/30
 |
| More computer and paint work |
This week was filled with more of what was before: we painted several more white screens for projectors, and also advanced a bit with the computers. Giovanni was able to come in on Thursday and install the educational programs that will help the people of the aldeas. While I wasn't impressed with Linux's Tux Paint, I will say that the typing, geography, science, and grammar programs are quite nice. The installation process is slow, however, and it takes lots patience to do it correctly. Giovanni as only installed a few.. and we've got at least 25 more to go. More work with computers to come I suppose.
Aside from the work week, we did get a chance to meet up with a few of Bernie's friends for dinner. Last Thursday we drove over to Carlos Estrada's house. Maria and Chalio were there as well. We enjoyed fine whiskey, steak and tortillas, and... Dudo? We played a game called "Dudo." This game was very similar to "Liar's Dice" from the Loon Inn, but the dice were encoded with "9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace" instead of the normal numbers. The game ended in a face-off between Maria and me. I let her win.
On Friday afternoon, during siesta time, I found myself restless. Instead of reading, I decided to grab my camera and take a hike up San Jorge, a scenic hill about a quarter mile from the monastery. From here, I was able to see the whole of Coban for the first time. While taking pictures up there, I met Brian, a 14 year old student from a neighboring school. Soon, Brian's friends arrived and invited me to try Fresh Sugar Cane found on the side of the mountain. I offered my pocket knife to aid in their stripping of the bark. Afterwards, I took a picture with my friends. Here is my proof!
On Friday evening, we made it over to Doctor Luis Torrebiarte's for another wonderful meal and fascinating conversation. Dr. Torrebiarte is very smart and speaks English. He is also well-traveled. I've tasted the best coffee, coffee-cake, and steak in my life in this house, and I reminded the Doctor of this with our last visit. Of all people to visit with in Guatemala, I like Dr. Torrebiarte the most. He is an eloquent psychiatrist and historian, native to Guatemala but also fluent in near perfect English. Conversation is always interesting with him, and every time I walk away from his house I feel as if I should've paid for the session. Both Justin and I feel more intelligent after every dinner.
Saturday 10/1
Our first peaceful, normal Saturday in the monastery. During the morning we finished up a few paint jobs and computer work. Our afternoon was lazy and relaxing. I spent my time reading and took a walk around the city. It's funny the number of people that I recognize on a day-in-day-out basis. This city is turning out to not be that big! Notre Dame won against Purdue (a highlight for Bernie and me). We turned in for the evening with a movie and snacks.
Sunday 10/2
Justin and I woke to the sound of marimbas blasting outside of our room. The courtyard below was full of people. Apparently the parish had planned a big "bake sale" kind of event. Kids chased each other around as parents relaxed and conversed. At first sight of this scene, I had a flashback of St. Hubert's Fall Festivals, 3rd and 4th of July parades, and even the 'post-mass' doughnut sessions. Justin and I got the chance to wander around and meet people. A big match of futbol on the basketball court was the main attraction. Teams were already organized, otherwise I would've definitely gone out there (to be laughed at, no doubt). Between the god-awful Vikings game, Skype, meals, and prayer, everything... there was still the booming Reggaeton, Marimba, and American-pop songs blaring from the speakers.
While most of the day was spent at the monastery, we did get the opportunity in the morning to go to the monastery's "finca" (farm) which is about an hour's walk outside of the city. There, Brother Nicholas showed us the sheep (of which I took SEVERAL great picture, see right), trees, a raging, overflowed river, and cows. The farm is primarily a tree farm, and a majority of the trees were planted by either Brother Nicholas or Brother Alejandro. The finca spans for acres, and I believe pictures will do a better description that what I can detail. |
| The river was high...that's a cement bridge behind me... almost submerged |
Monday - Wednesday 10/3-10/5
This week has been (you guessed it) more computer work. I'm now actually learning about hardware set-up with Bernie. Sometimes we need to switch hard drives, memory sticks, functional CD-ROM readers, etc., in order to make one computer functional. I can now locate and name the basic parts inside a Dell 1998 computer. Useful? Doubtful, but we are saving quite a bit more computers than I had anticipated. Even though these computers are slow, they'll make a huge difference to the people that will be using them (especially considering most aldea members have never operated a computer before).
We've heard great news this week! Padre Bernie heard back from the bank. A $25,000 grant from the bank was rewarded to Fr. Bernie for the multimedia project. Also, Justin's 500GB crashed hard drive was recovered by one of the professors from the university that we teach at. Finally, we've saved 4 computers this week. Time to celebrate! Bernie has invited his friends over tonight for White Horse whiskey drink and good times.
Hope all is well!
No comments:
Post a Comment