Tin Roofs

Here it is, my first pictures from Guatemala uploaded here on my blog. I thought I'd start with the view from my window. The city of Cobán stretches out in the distance, but mostly I have a nice view of the roof of the lower part of the house.
The roofs are really fascinating here. We have a more 'traditional' roof made out of the curved red tiles at the school, but every time it rains we have to worry about leaks. These tin roofs, regardless of the strategically-placed duct tape patches, don't let in a bit of water. Also, if you look carefully you can see lighter-colored fiberglass panels are mixed in. These are our skylights. They work pretty darn well. When I moved in my hosts apologized for the view, but I kind of like looking out on this patchwork of Guatemalan ingenuity.

The Teacher Becomes the Student Becomes the Teacher

So, while my primary function here in Guatemala is to teach, I am also supposed to be learning. The family I am staying with for the moment is very nice about this and doesn't berate me too badly for my odd phrasing and less than perfect pronunciation. However, there is a new arrival in the household. His name is Jordan, he's from California, and he knows probably a few less than 20 words in Spanish. This of course means a new role for me: that of go-between. I'm not saying I'm a translator; he's here to learn, it wouldn't be fair of me to give him the chance to avoid Spanish. But I have to correct any misunderstandings, cultural or otherwise. It should be interesting.

Today a birthday party was celebrated in the school. It took up over half of the day. There were 2 enormous piñatas, cupcakes and sweets of all shapes and sizes, individually handcrafted boxed lunches, oodles of party favors, and a plethora of balloons. For a child's birthday party that he slept through half of. Remember, I'm working at a school where everyone is the rich kid. It was quite an event. And nobody went away empty-handed :) I got my hands on a pretty nice Cars-themed coin bank.

The Showerhead of Doom and Delight

A few days ago the family I'm staying with me gave me a wonderful surprise: my shower now has hot water! Hot water showers in Guatemala are exotic and always a little terrifying. Why, you ask? Because the hot water is not provided by some distant water heater, but by an electrical attachment that goes directly over the shower head. The water is heated by electrification right before it falls on your head. But wait, you say, isn't there some rule about not mixing water and electricity? Why yes, and that's what is in the back of my mind every time I take a shower. We've all seen the warning labels on our hairdryers and radios about what happens when they are exposed to water, and I could recite facts about the electrical conductivity of water. Still, many people use it everyday without incident. And it feels so much better than the alternative.

Here Comes the Rain

Rainy season has officially arrived in Cobán. After a day and a half of perfectly sunny weather when I arrived, the last few days have pretty much followed this pattern: Start out beautifully or with a few sprinkles, cloud up at noon, downpour at 12:30 (right when I get off work), clear up a bit at 2, start raining again at 3:30 and rain throughout the entire night. As a note, my room is also directly under a tin roof. Good thing I'm a sound sleeper!

Today I had my first experience recharging my cellphone minutes, because it was a 'Claro triple saldo', which means I get 3x as many minutes as I pay for. I walked into the store (it sold various knickknacks and clothing; there are almost no dedicated cell service stores), gave my number to the lady, and put my 100Q bill on the counter. The lady punched in the info and sent me a text message, so now I apparently have minutes to use. At least that is what the text message tells me. Bizzare.

I've Arrived

So, at long last I am here in Guatemala. Internet access is still a bit questionable, so these first few updates may be a bit irregular, and there probably won't be pictures for a while.

I've spent the past two days meeting the other teachers, observing classes, and trying to get into the flow of the school. Most of the kids still have no idea why I'm here, so I'm sure Monday will be a blast explaining to them that I am their new English teacher. The format for their classes entirely games and songs, so I'm racking my brain for anything I did along those lines when I was a child. They are very sweet kids and mostly cooperative from what I've seen so far.

I will likely have at least one other class outside of the primary school in which I use more traditional teaching methods and materials. I'll know more after I sit in on that class later this afternoon.

My umbrella has already come in handy, but I wouldn't change a thing. I really do get to live in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited.

More updates will be coming soon, hopefully with some pictures as well.