Trip to Ixil

Monday morning we walked to the pier at Santiago and boarded the boat to Panajachel. We waited about30 minutes, then we zipped across the lake. There was a bus waiting to go to Los Encuentros. There, another bus was pulling out to Kiché. I had to go to the bathroom, but it was already rolling. In Kiché, we waited 5 minutes befoe our bus left for Nebaj. What an easy trip! We were there by noon!

Nebaj is the largest town in the Ixil triangle, a region that suffered incredible violence during the Guatemalan Civil War.


Here's a photo of the market at closing time, in the area where all the butchers are....

Were in Chajul now, at an internet place, and the keyboard is awful! I have so much to say, but it will have to wait...

Comparing Guatemalan Life to My US Life

A few days ago I saw a small plane, and a few days before that, a helicopter. I realized I haven't seen or heard any other flying machines in quite some time, and that quite a few things about my day-to-day experiences are quite different. Here are a few:

It's been about a month since there's been a day with no rain, though today may prove to be the exception.

I've hardly watched any TV or movies since I've been here. I did watch 90 minutes of excellent soccer today -- Yay Barca!

I never experience hot or cold except to a minimal extent -- it's always pleasant here.

I haven't felt heating or air-conditioning for quite some time. A little when I was in Honduras.

I very rarely travel in motorized vehicles and haven't driven in nearly 2 months. I walk many times as far here as I do in the States.

I no longer think it's strange to travel standing up in the back of a pickup with 10 of 15 other people, almost all of whom are at least a foot shorter than I am.

I no longer think it's uncomfortable to sit 3 people to a seat on a bus, touching the person in the seat across from you except when the guy collecting money has to squeeze down the aisle.

I am not surprised when nine out of ten vehicles I see are tuc-tucs.

I don't work out with weights here. I really miss that.

I haven't been in a large supermarket my whole time here. The only produce section I know is the market.

I never have a bottomless coffee in restaurants or diners any more. I had coffee with breakfast in a comedor a few weeks back. It was lukewarm and barely had any flavor.

I eat fried chicken regularly. I never eat it back home. Here, it's freshly killed and freshly cooked. It's so good! God only knows where it comes from in the states.

Pork is not seen in Santiago. There are some pigs in other towns.

I haven't had flour tortillas since I've been here, with one exception. Geneen bought some at a Gringo Market. They were awful, not the fresh ones we get in Tucson. But the corn tortillas here are fantastic, hot off the plancha!

I think it's odd when I see women in athletic wear. Aside from a few foreigners and people from the city, women wear corte and guipil (traditional dress) here.

It's been months since I believed anyone when they said something would begin at a certain time, or be completed within a certain time frame.

I am fully used to seeing garbage strewn all ove the place, and buying things with mcuh less packaging.

I am no longer amazed when I discover that adults, who work in technical fields, have no idea how much six times seven is.

I don't want to grow insensitive to all the dogs whose flesh is wasting away as they convert what little food they get into milk for their puppies.

It's been a long time since I thought public urination was strange, or seeing topless women washing their laundry in the lake was unusual. I've stopped wondering whether the crap in the streets is doggie-doo...

Geneen and Neus go to Xela; John and his math class

I was going to write an entry about how I haven't been robbed, and I still haven't, but Geneen has.

She and Neus went to Xela for the night, and the following morning were in the market by the bus station. The market was so crowded that you were pushed or pulled in every direction, constantly touching other bodies on all sides. She had a Q$100 not in a zippered pcket on her thigh and several more bills in the outside zipper pocket of her purse. Both locations were cleaned out, she doesn't know when.

I asked about her credit card and ATM card. They were safe inside her purse. You have to wonder why at least some cash wasn't in a safer place, but it wasn't a big loss, probably about $30 or $40. It left her without any money, but fortunately she wasn't traveling alone, and Neus keeps her money "where the bats dwell".

Mostly, Geneen has hurt feelings that the country where she is volunteering would treat her so badly, but she's getting over it quickly.

---------Last Day Teaching (for now)-----------

I decide to make yesterday my last day teaching math for the 6th graders in Chacayá. It's a great class and I'm having a lot of fun, but I need to back up and evaluate. Here's what we've done in my 5 classes there: add 8s and 9s, then 18s and 19s, then subtract (mental math); sequences and addition with negatives; sequences in general; and, basic understanding of fractions. The last topic was the worst. I thought I presented simply and clearly, but the rate of response was worse than normal. Even among the few that are not shy about trying to respond, they tended to be wrong. Which is more, 3/4 or 1/4? By the time you're 12, that should be pretty simple...

Anyhow, I ended Wednesday by taking out a plate of 24 brownies. We spent an hour Monday on fractions and an hour Wednesday. I'd just assigned them a few problems comparing fractions. What's the answer to number 1? A small boy near the back of the class, who's pretty vocal, volunteered the correct answer. "Come up front," I instructed him. I whipped out my cleaver. "For those that don't behave well!" I got a laugh.

I showed him a sign with 3 fractions -- 1/4, 2/8, 7/8. Choose how much you want. He wanted 7/8 of the brownie. I gave him a whole one to save myself trouble. The class definitely perked up with this. After 6 or 7, I started randomly picking people. It was clear everyone would get a turn. Finally, someone chose a low fraction, I think 3/8. I cut the brownie in eighths, scooped three pieces toward her, ate a piece myself and gave the rest to the classroom teacher, Cruz Pablo.

Poor kid. Soon after, another student joined her in choosing poorly. I had enough left to give each a whole brownie later...

I'm still teaching English at the Hospitalito, math for the nurses and a good bit of tutoring. I am hoping to reevaluate my numeracy ideas and jump back in in a few weeks with younger kids.

My initial thoughts on my success with the 6th graders: Overall, good. I think it's fantastic for them to get exposure to someone from another culture, to another style. The education here continues to be very much rote learning. This class was great when I asked them to copy from the board into their notebooks, but if I asked for a bit of creative problem solving, well.... ouch! So that's what I want to rethink. My ideas on math itself are pretty solid. I don't want my students to memorize formulas and algorithms. I want them to understand the logic behind patterns in numbers, to understand mathematical balance and relative size. That's what numeracy is all about for me. If you can have 7/8 of the money we earn together, or 8/100, which would you rather have?