Catch Up

So since I have updated last I have done a lot. The sauna/sweat lodge was amazing!!!! I had such a great time and it felt so good. I think I stayed in a little too long because about half hour after I got out I thought I was going to be sick. . . but I'm ok! Lesson learned. I have also taught music class, english class, and attended two different women circles.
Music class went alright. Lets just say I don't want to be a music teacher when I grow up. Also, who invented recorders. . . whoever did, mistake.
After teaching music classes in on Wednesday I went to a women circle in the community of Llano Pinal. It was my first time cooking with the women and we had a great time. We decided to cook chicken with mushrooms and tomatoes. It was delicious. We all got along really well and they are super excited for me to come back. Next week we are going to be making an "eclair cake" which is basically layers of cookies, icing, cool whip, and some other fun stuff. I think they are really excited for the new recipe and to have me come back.
Thursday I went Cantel and taught English. We learned how to express preference so I taught them the phrase "I like. . . ". We made note cards and on each note card had the phrase and an example of what the liked. For example, they had to make one for food so they would write, "me gusta pizza" and then underneath that they would right, "I like pizza". On the backside of the note card they drew a picture of the item the like. They had a great time with this activity. After teaching I had a women circle that afternoon in the same community. We made Plantain Fritters. They were so yummy. This is going to be one I make on my own. They loved it and I am very happy they enjoyed it because all of the ingredients in that recipe is very excessive to the women.
Now it is Friday. I am on my lunch break and we have been cleaning all morning. We have two groups arriving tomorrow morning, one of which will be staying here. We are almost done with the cleaning and now there is just cooking to do.
I have yoga tonight and some other fun things to do. Adios for now!
PS. I hope you all get rain very soon. I'll try and send some of Guatemala's north.

!!!!!!!HOLA!!!!!!!

Don't worry!!! I have not fallen off a mountain. I have been extremely busy and this weekend not a lot was going on. This weekend I spent a lot of time sleeping, soaking up some usually non-existent sun and hiking. It was a great weekend!!!
On Monday, we had a meeting that included everyone that works in the organization. It lasted about 3-4 hours and it was all in Spanish. I understood a lot of it!!! I am very proud of myself :). We have an extremely busy month ahead of us and we were making sure everyone was on track. For example, in the last week of July alone there will be 4 different groups here. We did the math and that makes us responsible for more than 80 people at once. So to say the least, we all want to make sure we are prepared and we know what we are all personally responsible for. I am very excited for the weeks ahead but I am just a tad bit nervous, which I think is completely understandable.
Today I had an amazing day! A group of us woke up and were out hiking a close by trail/mountain by 6:30 this morning. We got back in time for me to change clothes and grab something to eat before I had to grab a bus and go to the community of Cantel. Cantel is where I teach in the school Nuevo Amanecer. I teach 4th, 5th and 6th graders english. Both classes went wonderfully. Everyone paid close attention and they learned a lot. I am very pleased with the progress we made today. We practiced what we learned before and started learning about pronouns. They caught on very well. I am very excited to go back on Thursday and make more progress.
Tomorrow I am teaching music class in a different community and then I have a women circle in the afternoon. We will be cooking chicken with tomatoes and mushrooms. I think it will be a great experience and interaction. After the women circle some of us are going to Hilda's house. She is the director of the Mayan Health Program project. She has built a sauna/steam room in her yard and we are going to use it. I can not wait!!!! This concept of a steam room is a part of Mayan medicine and it is for cleansing your system. I think it will be an amazing experience. I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings and I am sorry for not checking in more often. Check in again soon. . . this time I mean it :)

Reflection on the week

So this week was pretty amazing, not only for me but the organization as well. I learned a ton of Spanish and some serious salsa moves too. AMA had the best group they could have asked for as their test run for establishing a health branch to the organization.
The group this week heard lectures on Mayan health, the Mayan cosmo vision, and the Guatemalan Health Care system. They met with Mayan midwives and other Mayan health professionals so in their week hear they gathered a ton of information on the Guatemalan/Mayan perspective of health. The entire group was thrilled with their experiences and very excited about the interactions they had. I over heard one of their nightly reflections this week and it sounds like they were able to share a modern perspective of health while also learning the Mayan perspective. They talked about how they taught the Mayan women how to take blood pressure and other really common doctoral practices in the states. They talked about how quickly the women picked up these new concepts and how eager they were to learn. It was an extremely successful trip. They also talked about how amazing and holistic the Mayan approach to health is and more "well rounded" the practice is.
For the future, I believe the goal is to build a program that provides an opportunity for groups of health professionals to come learn and share knowledge that can be very beneficial for all parties involved. There are some aspects of Mayan health that the current US health approach could benefit from and there aspects of current health practices that Mayan health could benefit from. This group really let this organization know that it would seem successful to add another very important and life changing program to their organization.
Long term, I know that they want to build a strong enough relationship between the communities and visiting US health professionals that they could maybe start reforming the Guatemalan health care system. I don't know enough about it to contribute my opinion, but from what I have been told there could be better ways of administering health care in this country. This is obviously a very long term goal, but one that could benefit the lives of so many. I am very excited for AMA and their ambition for this project.
As far as how I have been doing, I spent last night sleeping a lot due to my very busy week and it was just what I needed. This morning was very sunny which was so nice because it hasn't really stopped raining since I got here. YEAH hurricane season!!! Some other interns and I took the opportunity to lay out in our court yard to appreciate the rarely seen sun. It was quite lovely. Afterward at about 10:30 this morning we hiked up a mountain about 20 minute walk away. It had an amazing view and a great play ground at the top. We hiked back down and made it just in time to catch the soccer game. It has been a lovely day and this evening we are having a very nice dinner at my friend's house. I am very excited.
Check in again soon!

Very Busy Day

Today was a fabulous day!! They served my favorite Guatemalan meal this morning; black beans with a little sour cream, fried plantains, mush (like oatmeal), and eggs. It was amaaaazing! After that I ran to school but cause I was running a little late and made it just in time. I made some great progress today and I am very happy with the amount my Spanish has improved in such a short amount of time. After class I had a quick lunch in the AMA house with Claudita, Gladys, and Isabella before we headed out to a women circle about 30 minutes away.
The women circle went so well. This has been the first time I have been very excited after meeting with these groups. I am was so happy about the way things went today because today was the first time I was able to communicate with everyone effectively. Not only does that make me feel good about myself but it broke down the language barrier enough to where I have started building friendships with these women. This is the same group I went to on Guatemala's Father's Day so this was really the first time I everyone but one woman. We talked about what recipe we wanted to cook for next week and they are extremely excited! We decided we are going to cook plantain fritters and I personally think they are going to be a big success.
I just finished making the garlic bread for this evenings meal and helping with the sauce. I luckily have been able to grab a few minutes to myself in between cooking and eating!
Tonight the groups and all of the employees are going out Salsa dancing!!! I went to a salsa lesson last night so I am very excited to show off my new found skills this evening!! Should be fun! Check in again soon!

SCHOOOOOOL. . . And some other great stuff!

Today was my third day of school and I am still loving it. The excitement has worn off slightly but I think that is only because I have a lot of homework every night. Other than that though I am really enjoying it and I am learning an amazing amount in such a short amount of time. I am very pleased with how this part of my experience is turning out. . . I was just a little skeptical!
So not only have the schools been on vacation this week but it has been raining so much, thanks to Hurricane Alex, that it is dangerous to travel to the women circles I work with due to roads being washed out. So instead of working with the women circles I have been doing a tone of work around the AMA house; running errands, cooking meals, washing dishes, changing sheet. . .etc. All of which is very important and is actually quite enjoyable, especially because of the wonderful women I get to work with.
Today after class I came back to find Gladys, Claudita, and Juantia (our cook for the week. . . her food is sooooooooooo good) warming up all our left overs for their lunch. They asked if I wanted to join and I gladly did so. It was quite the bonding experience and I loved every second of it. Since my Spanish is getting better I carried on conversations with all of them through out lunch and even found out the correct way to make black beans!!! (I had quite the embarrassing mishap with a large pot of uncooked black beans last week. . . Yeaaaa. So I am extremely pleased about finding out the real way to cook them and the relationships I built today. It has been a very good and very filled day.
I have to go do homework!!! Check in again soon!!!!

spanish class!

So I just finished my second day of Spanish class and I am learning so much! I love it!!! I already feel more confident and I am very happy about my progress in the last 24 hours.
Other than that I have been super busy helping with group that is here. I have been doing such chores as helping cook, clean dishes and show people around the town. This group is very happy to be here and is so eager to learn as much as they can which I think is great. Last night we all went to a presentation by a man named Daniel Matul is a basically a Mayan philosopher. His thoughts are extremely profound and extremely interesting. I have been lucky to hear twice before, but that in no way made this lecture any less interesting! Not only did I enjoy his presentation but so did the group which made me very pleased.
Honestly, the best part about having the group here is that for while they are here we have a cook!!! She makes us authentic Guatemalan food for breakfast and dinner. I am so thrilled with what I get to eat. Last night was stewed beef in an amazing tomato sauce served over potatoes and rice. . . Easily one of the best things I have ever had! I can not wait for tonight.
Sorry I have not been checking in that often. I will try my best to be more frequent. BYEEEE!!

The group is here

So the group has just arrived and they are now out exploring their new home. They came a lot earlier than was expected but that is ok! We were ready for them. Everyone seems very nice and super excited to be here which is a great attitude to have. We spent a lot of time this weekend preparing for their arrival especially since they are all staying here!! Good news though!!! They put up a better/bigger mirror in the bathroom because of our guests so I can actually see myself when I'm getting ready. . . I am very happy.
This coming week Guatemalan public schools are on vacation so I will not be teaching this coming week. Instead I will be taking spanish classes at a local spanish school for 5 hours a day, one on one with a teacher. I am very excited and I know my spanish is going to improve so much. My first class is tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!