After my 2 weeks of fun in Guatemala, traveling, site-seeing, meeting new people, discovering the local hangouts, nightlife, and enjoying all Antigua has to offer for someone who has free time...I finally started classes and volunteering. Both things keep me very very very busy! I love it!
Class is great. The style is one-on-one and they cater to the way you like to learn and the full 4 or 5 hours of the morning is spent on some hardcore spanish speaking and learning. Each table has one student and one maestro, and a white board. It is interesting to look around the room and catch a glimpse at other table's white boards to see what everyone is working on. There is every level of spanish being taught, all in different ways. I know that people have looked at the whiteboard at my table because they comment with "what the heck were you guys talking about???" hahaha lets just say that my lessons are very....random and different. I am past the point of learning new tenses or grammatical lesssons, so my 4 hours of the morning is spent just talking to my teacher about anything and everything. I have learned so so so much more spanish just by having extensive conversations everyday. Mainly vocabulary and how to keep a conversation flowing without that awkward "uhhhh como se dice??.." pause. I've learned to improvise if I don't know the word, then later I look it up and will never forget it. Of course, being in a spanish speaking environment all the time is a huge help to learning quickly. Rosetta Stone has nothing on this. My teacher and I have become really good friends the past couple weeks, today he was sad that our last class is in two days. He always says "eres mi estudiante favorita!" and he has helped me out a lot with things in my life as well....of course, always in spanish haha. There was some drama last week within the school and someone I'm living with and things that had to do with me....but I am not sure how it all got started or what the deal was with that. I've tried to disregard it, but it was a bummer that I had to deal with that, it seemed very unprofessional of La Union. I started feeling like I was being watched all the time and I didn't know why, or that I was getting judgmental looks from teachers and I have no idea why....even the director told me "so you're haley...finally I get to meet you" It just makes me wonder what people know about me and what made them think what they do. It really makes me uncomfortable. At this point I'm past it and focused on just learning instead of what may be going on behind the scenes of La Union or what others assume about me.
After classes each day I volunteer at the hospital. The hospital specializes in brain damaged patients and it has really opened my eyes. People always say that they get that warm fuzzy feeling when volunteering, but that is not true here. This is more heartbreaking and shocking than anything. I work with women between 20 and 40 who have severe cases of mental disability. It is the most interesting and life-changing thing I have ever experienced. The most interesting aspect is that the patients are so happy. They are seriously the most happy people I have ever seen. They never stop smiling. I feel like it is the perfect example of ignorance is bliss. All they have ever known is that hospital, those nurses, and the world outside is seldom seen for them. There is one woman, Glenda, is the most coherent of the group and is extremely social. We go on walks through the hospital and all the nurses say "hola bonita! como estas!" and she has a decent conversation with them and they tell her about their lives etc. She lights up when I tell stories that I make up, or jokes. Today actually, I started a somewhat drum circle (or hospital bed circle) with the patients! I started a beat and then we added on by hitting on the sides of the bed, wheelchairs, or endtables. It was inspiring. They loved it. I had never seen a group so giddy and happy. Its as if they have the capacity of adults, but are playful like children. The littlest things in life make them smile. The first day I was there they all sit up with a smile and say their version of "HOLAAA!" The hospital nurses tell me that they never get volunteers with the women, because most want to work with kids, so they are happy to have me, and the patients are even happier to have me around. Ok....so maybe I do have that warm fuzzy feeling....I just am going to appreciate my life so much more after this experience.
After seeing the living conditions here and the hospital, I cant believe how spoiled I am in the states. I have it so good, and I am never going to take that for granted again. The first thing I'm going to do when I get back to the states: throw the toilet paper into the toilet! The plumbing can't handle it here...so there are trashcans of toilet paper in the bathrooms and for some reason it grosses me out. That is one convenience I will definitely appreciate more. However there is another side to that coin; I am inspired by the simplicity of life here. The people value family and friends and their jobs are...just jobs. I feel like they have their priorities right, family and enjoying life are what matter...while in the states I feel this constant pressure to "be successful". You meet these old gringo hippies in Antigua who have been here since the 70's and just decided to live a simple life and enjoy the little things. Children still play with the old-school toys like yo-yos and jacks, and play soccer outside. Children in the US are usually found in front of a television. Families are around the dinner table talking for hours on end every night. I just feel like my perspective on life has been changed.
Now, while I have been busy with classes and volunteering, I still managed to make a couple adventures! Last weekend we hiked up Cerro de la Cruz and went to Monterrico! Here are some pictures. Monterrico was amazing. This weekend is Cobán, which is going to be phenomenal!!
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