I have been waiting for it - but it hasn't happend - yet!
I have done lots of reading about it and certainly talked with people who have experienced it so it is with a bit of trepidation I write that I have not yet experienced it - or have not experienced something that feels really shocking!
I certainly have been aware of the increased pace of life and the greater degree of commercialism. I am also continuing to feel the tug of my new found friends in Guatemala, my slower pace of life and the need to follow up with projects I was involved with. And I am wondering how I will fit in at work; will I be able to bring my carefully cultivated slower pace to my job?
And then again maybe I was not away long enough to experience it?
Or maybe some of the strategies I have been using for reentry are helping. The four day visit to Tofino with my husband was a real treat (even if it was cold and rainy). As well, about a month before I was to return I began thinking about the writing I wanted to do. The biggest piece has been a cultural values analysis of modern Mayan culture. I really enjoyed doing the research and the writing and am loving the feedback I am getting from friends and colleagues in the highlands.
The team I worked with had a potluck a couple of days after I returned so that was a great opportunity to find out how everyone was doing, bring people up to speed on projects still underway and continue discussions on project work which needs to be done here to prepare for the next trip.
I also have had almost three weeks of time to get myself back here and have used the time to think, write, talk to colleagues, walk with friends and to sleep!
We'll see.
Feliz tardes, Colleen
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Bugs and Bites
I am finally done scratching and it occurred to me I did not write at all about bugs and bites while I in Guatemala. I suspect it has to do with coping with what you have to while on the ground. I wanted to share this, not because it was terrible or hugely difficult, but because it is a reality.
Shortly after we got settled in our houses in Santiago I started waking up with bites on my legs, arms and back. The first day or two I just ignored them. Hey, I was new to the country and lots of things were different. When I did eventually mention them to some of the people I was living with they said – you have bed bugs. Horrors!!! What to do?
Thank goodness for Jo who travels with tea tree oil and a spray bottle. A few drops in water and a good spray of all the bed linen every night managed the bugs. They did not stop completely but one or two bites every now and then was manageable. Jo lent me the bottle and I faithfully sprayed every bed I slept in just before bed each night.
I returned the bottle to her three weeks before we were heading home. I was now settled in a new spot and confident that there were no beg bugs. Error! No sooner had the bottle left my possession than I was getting a new kind of bite. Itchier and with more staying power. A few questions to some of the teachers I was working with told me I was now dealing with fleas – presumably from the dog living at the house I was staying at.
So, off I went to find tea tree oil and a spray bottle (that was a bit of a challenge and I ended up having to buy a small bottle of hairspray, dump it out, clean it with hot water multiple times before making my oil/water concoction). The poor dog was banished to the out of doors and was still living with a flea collar when I left.
And did I mention the scorpion? Greg had been warning us to check our bed linen and shoes because scorpions will crawl in and their bites are painful. One of my colleagues had one sleeping on his pillow which thankfully he discovered before he crawled into bed, so I became I bit more vigilant and thankfully so. I found one settled nicely into my bed linens when I checked into Paul’s Posada. Unfortunately for the scorpion he did not make it out of my bedroom – alive anyway.
So bugs and bites are real and especially in the unsanitized reality of the developing world. Ann just as importantly dealing with them is a small price to pay for the rewards which come in building relationships and understanding the world in new ways.
Best, Colleen
Shortly after we got settled in our houses in Santiago I started waking up with bites on my legs, arms and back. The first day or two I just ignored them. Hey, I was new to the country and lots of things were different. When I did eventually mention them to some of the people I was living with they said – you have bed bugs. Horrors!!! What to do?
Thank goodness for Jo who travels with tea tree oil and a spray bottle. A few drops in water and a good spray of all the bed linen every night managed the bugs. They did not stop completely but one or two bites every now and then was manageable. Jo lent me the bottle and I faithfully sprayed every bed I slept in just before bed each night.
I returned the bottle to her three weeks before we were heading home. I was now settled in a new spot and confident that there were no beg bugs. Error! No sooner had the bottle left my possession than I was getting a new kind of bite. Itchier and with more staying power. A few questions to some of the teachers I was working with told me I was now dealing with fleas – presumably from the dog living at the house I was staying at.
So, off I went to find tea tree oil and a spray bottle (that was a bit of a challenge and I ended up having to buy a small bottle of hairspray, dump it out, clean it with hot water multiple times before making my oil/water concoction). The poor dog was banished to the out of doors and was still living with a flea collar when I left.
And did I mention the scorpion? Greg had been warning us to check our bed linen and shoes because scorpions will crawl in and their bites are painful. One of my colleagues had one sleeping on his pillow which thankfully he discovered before he crawled into bed, so I became I bit more vigilant and thankfully so. I found one settled nicely into my bed linens when I checked into Paul’s Posada. Unfortunately for the scorpion he did not make it out of my bedroom – alive anyway.
So bugs and bites are real and especially in the unsanitized reality of the developing world. Ann just as importantly dealing with them is a small price to pay for the rewards which come in building relationships and understanding the world in new ways.
Best, Colleen
Friday, May 1, 2009
Home
I have been home for less than 48 hours and I have to say it all seems a bit surreal.
Normally when I travel internationally I arrive in Vancouver and make my way to the CMA to catch a flight to the Valley, but on Wed morning I was thrilled to have Mark there to greet me as I came out of the secure area. The smile on his face was worth the three months of missing him!
I am pretty tired and find that sleeping 8 - 10 hours a night is what I need (I was sleeping less that 6 most nights in Guatemala) even though I am not doing a whole lot physically. My life here seems to be very accessible - the strangest things are drinking water right out of the tap and flushing toilet paper rather than throwing it in to a basket beside the toilet. It great to have spring here with the warm sun, the smell of the sap and lots of spring wild flowers blooming in our yard.
Lots of people have talked to me about reverse culture shock and of course I have read alot about it. I have also been wondering about what I can do to mitigate and cope with it. The liteature says time to debrief is really important, and that combined with some patience, given that it can take up to six months for those who have been away a long time, seems to be the key to adjusting.
I have been doing a fair amount of writing over the last couple of weeks in addition to my daily diarizing and my blogs. I am wondering if this attempt to capture some of my thinking and my understanding will help. During the next couple of weeks I will be in contact with some folks in Guatemala as they review my writing which I suspect will also help me with my reentry.
I am off to a team pot luck tonight. I am the last to arrive home and it was kind of them to give me a couple of days to get my body and mind back on Canadian soil before the get together. Some of the folks have been home for other a month so it will be interesting to compare notes on how their reentry has been.
I am also looking forward to beginning the process of working through my 4000+ photos with a view to preparing a couple of presentations as well as finding some photos to create cards and some special gifts as well. I hope that a 30 minute slide presentation will provide me with some ways to share what I have learned with others - and help me find another way to be back here.
I'll do some more reflecting on the reentry over the next couple of weeks. Suffice to say that this first week is mostly about getting some rest, connecting with friends and family and doing some practical things like seeing my dentist and getting my hair cut.
Back to you in a few days
Colleen
Normally when I travel internationally I arrive in Vancouver and make my way to the CMA to catch a flight to the Valley, but on Wed morning I was thrilled to have Mark there to greet me as I came out of the secure area. The smile on his face was worth the three months of missing him!
I am pretty tired and find that sleeping 8 - 10 hours a night is what I need (I was sleeping less that 6 most nights in Guatemala) even though I am not doing a whole lot physically. My life here seems to be very accessible - the strangest things are drinking water right out of the tap and flushing toilet paper rather than throwing it in to a basket beside the toilet. It great to have spring here with the warm sun, the smell of the sap and lots of spring wild flowers blooming in our yard.
Lots of people have talked to me about reverse culture shock and of course I have read alot about it. I have also been wondering about what I can do to mitigate and cope with it. The liteature says time to debrief is really important, and that combined with some patience, given that it can take up to six months for those who have been away a long time, seems to be the key to adjusting.
I have been doing a fair amount of writing over the last couple of weeks in addition to my daily diarizing and my blogs. I am wondering if this attempt to capture some of my thinking and my understanding will help. During the next couple of weeks I will be in contact with some folks in Guatemala as they review my writing which I suspect will also help me with my reentry.
I am off to a team pot luck tonight. I am the last to arrive home and it was kind of them to give me a couple of days to get my body and mind back on Canadian soil before the get together. Some of the folks have been home for other a month so it will be interesting to compare notes on how their reentry has been.
I am also looking forward to beginning the process of working through my 4000+ photos with a view to preparing a couple of presentations as well as finding some photos to create cards and some special gifts as well. I hope that a 30 minute slide presentation will provide me with some ways to share what I have learned with others - and help me find another way to be back here.
I'll do some more reflecting on the reentry over the next couple of weeks. Suffice to say that this first week is mostly about getting some rest, connecting with friends and family and doing some practical things like seeing my dentist and getting my hair cut.
Back to you in a few days
Colleen
Monday, April 27, 2009
Time
This is one of the dimensions of culture I find most interesting - and challenging.
I had not done alot of thinking about how time might be perceived in Guatemala and, not surprisingly, I should have. I returned to some of Hall and Hall´s writings (Understanding Cultural Differences Boston; Intercultural Press 1990) and that provided a frame for what I was experiencing. They talk about monochromatic and polychromatic ways of living time. In short, those who live the ¨Northern¨ life style tend to live in monochromatic time, where time has a value, where events are segmented off, where time is linear.
Polychromatic time sees many things happening at once, is less tangible and according to Hall and Hall is a point rather than a line. I am actually becoming more comfortable with the analogy of the point extended to be a circle ( this comes from Trompenaar and Turner´s work Riding the Waves of Culture) which allows many events to exist at the same time and even allows for the past, present and future to come together.
And in the Mayan world I have been living in time is much more polychromatic. Some of the typical characteristics of this way of experiencing and living time include the normalacy of interruption (which in itself is a culturally laden term), commitments are not givens but to be achieved if possible, people and relationships come first, changing a plan is the norm and building relationships comes before getting things done.
And for those of you who know me and my penchant for trying to get more done than time will allow, you can imagine the adjustments I needed to make to keep myself sane and more importantly to be able to understand, appreciate and particpate in a different way of being. One of my personal goals in this adventure was to find some ways to slow down a little, to not drive myself and those I work with quite so hard, and here I had the perfect opportunity to do just that.
I still make my lists and sort through my priorities for the day BUT I have learned to be more open to what the day might bring. I have had days with no structure at all ( almost unheard of for me) and enjoyed wonderful adventures because I could be open to what possibilities arose.
Take yesterday for instance. I arrived in Antigua with no plans beyond enjoying the city and hopefully linking up with a friend. The power was out and I had an interior room, so no light. I made my way to a wonderful roof top terrance were I did some thinking, had a nap and read. My friend texted ( is that a word?) me and, get this, I texted her back ( yet another new skill for a first time cell phone owner). We rendevoused at 4 and had a wonderful conversation and meal - and while she wrote some cards to mutual friends - I watched the sun set and then a fireworks display with volcanoes as a backdrop from the Cafe Sky ( a rooftop patio three stories up). Ahhh, lets here it for operating closer to polychronc time!
So how does a society work on polychronic time? Just fine thank you very much. A friend who moved to Pana from South Africa nine years ago tells me that the stress she experiences when she is in the US to visit friends and family just does not exist in Guatemala. The need to be ¨ on schedule¨ does not exist in the same where here. For example if the party is at 3, arriving some time after three and maybe even at 4 or 4;30 is just fine. No worries. ´
And it is very heartwarming to live and work in within a culture where I am more imp0rtant than the time on the clock. The extended recesses at school which allowed us to finish conversations, the random conversations on the street filled with news about what a child had accomplished or how a family member was and the extended lunches that moved from idea to idea. All examples of how people and relationship some first.
This is not to say that time and schedules do not exist in the modern Mayan world. It is just much more flexible. And I like it!
And now as I contemplate returning to the North I am also contemplating how I can integrate just a little of this polychronic time into my life at work and at home.
Adios, Colina
I had not done alot of thinking about how time might be perceived in Guatemala and, not surprisingly, I should have. I returned to some of Hall and Hall´s writings (Understanding Cultural Differences Boston; Intercultural Press 1990) and that provided a frame for what I was experiencing. They talk about monochromatic and polychromatic ways of living time. In short, those who live the ¨Northern¨ life style tend to live in monochromatic time, where time has a value, where events are segmented off, where time is linear.
Polychromatic time sees many things happening at once, is less tangible and according to Hall and Hall is a point rather than a line. I am actually becoming more comfortable with the analogy of the point extended to be a circle ( this comes from Trompenaar and Turner´s work Riding the Waves of Culture) which allows many events to exist at the same time and even allows for the past, present and future to come together.
And in the Mayan world I have been living in time is much more polychromatic. Some of the typical characteristics of this way of experiencing and living time include the normalacy of interruption (which in itself is a culturally laden term), commitments are not givens but to be achieved if possible, people and relationships come first, changing a plan is the norm and building relationships comes before getting things done.
And for those of you who know me and my penchant for trying to get more done than time will allow, you can imagine the adjustments I needed to make to keep myself sane and more importantly to be able to understand, appreciate and particpate in a different way of being. One of my personal goals in this adventure was to find some ways to slow down a little, to not drive myself and those I work with quite so hard, and here I had the perfect opportunity to do just that.
I still make my lists and sort through my priorities for the day BUT I have learned to be more open to what the day might bring. I have had days with no structure at all ( almost unheard of for me) and enjoyed wonderful adventures because I could be open to what possibilities arose.
Take yesterday for instance. I arrived in Antigua with no plans beyond enjoying the city and hopefully linking up with a friend. The power was out and I had an interior room, so no light. I made my way to a wonderful roof top terrance were I did some thinking, had a nap and read. My friend texted ( is that a word?) me and, get this, I texted her back ( yet another new skill for a first time cell phone owner). We rendevoused at 4 and had a wonderful conversation and meal - and while she wrote some cards to mutual friends - I watched the sun set and then a fireworks display with volcanoes as a backdrop from the Cafe Sky ( a rooftop patio three stories up). Ahhh, lets here it for operating closer to polychronc time!
So how does a society work on polychronic time? Just fine thank you very much. A friend who moved to Pana from South Africa nine years ago tells me that the stress she experiences when she is in the US to visit friends and family just does not exist in Guatemala. The need to be ¨ on schedule¨ does not exist in the same where here. For example if the party is at 3, arriving some time after three and maybe even at 4 or 4;30 is just fine. No worries. ´
And it is very heartwarming to live and work in within a culture where I am more imp0rtant than the time on the clock. The extended recesses at school which allowed us to finish conversations, the random conversations on the street filled with news about what a child had accomplished or how a family member was and the extended lunches that moved from idea to idea. All examples of how people and relationship some first.
This is not to say that time and schedules do not exist in the modern Mayan world. It is just much more flexible. And I like it!
And now as I contemplate returning to the North I am also contemplating how I can integrate just a little of this polychronic time into my life at work and at home.
Adios, Colina
Saturday, April 25, 2009
LIFE School
Buenas
As I prepare to load up my knapsack with what is left of my clothes and the small trinkets for family and friends, I am reflecting on what has been a wonderful last month at the Lake.
In addition to the mindboggling experiences of Semana Santa ( see below ) I have had the privilege of substitute teaching and supporting students at LIFE school located in Panajachel. Founded in 1989 on the vision and principles of Robert Mueller (http://www.centerforlivingethics.org/htmlfiles/Philosophy/philosophy.htm) an undersecretary to three Secretaries General of the UN, the school is one of those oasis of educational excitement that puts a smile on your face and makes you very glad you are a teacher!
LIFE school (www.lifeschoolweb.com) is housed in a ramshackled set of buildings held together physically by chain link fence. But the real glue that makes this a place of learning is the values which are embedded in all they do. There are about 60 kids in grades pre kindergarten to 9th (most teachers are American hence the educational jargon that reflects their terminology) with class sizes of anywhere from 5 ( for the pre kinder) to 12 in the Grade 3/4 split. The curriculum is shared following the principles developed by Robert Mueller and adheres to the Guatemalan elementary and basico ( junior high) curricula.
During the three weeks I volunteered at the school I rekindled some of the excitement I first felt about teaching during my student teaching days at McCorkindale Elementary in Vancouver. Kids learning about learning in an atmosphere which requests and requires respect, curiousity and most of all a sense of community. When you check out the website look at the ethnic mix of the kids; the impact for these kids on how they will see the world in years to come will have impacts we cannot even imagine. The family involvement in the school is palpable as parents participate on hiring committees, volunteer in the classrooms and hang out with the kids at lunch time. And they do it all on a budget of $90,000 a year!
The teachers are paid enough money to live in Pana but I gather not enough to build up much of a nest egg; at least not in cash. The professional development opportunities to be gained from working in this environment are very real and well worth considering for anyone building a career, seeking an opportunity to put some new life into their career, or even as a capstone.
I initially volunteered to help with the Grades 5 - 9 classes who are participating in a Virtual Science Fair (http://www.virtualsciencefair.com/) and very quickly that morphed into substitute teaching in every grade (except 1-2). I learned about using NVU to set up a website, saw kids play and learn together in an environment where skin colour was truly irrelevant, listend to three languages spoken by groups of kids working collaboratively on projects and enjoyed reading to a group of teenagers under a tree on the basketball court!
I left the school yesterday full of smiles at reconnecting with my life as a teacher and vowing to continue to find ways to be in the classroom. It warms my soul.
My heart is heavy as I prepare to say good bye to the Lake
Adios for today, Colina
As I prepare to load up my knapsack with what is left of my clothes and the small trinkets for family and friends, I am reflecting on what has been a wonderful last month at the Lake.
In addition to the mindboggling experiences of Semana Santa ( see below ) I have had the privilege of substitute teaching and supporting students at LIFE school located in Panajachel. Founded in 1989 on the vision and principles of Robert Mueller (http://www.centerforlivingethics.org/htmlfiles/Philosophy/philosophy.htm) an undersecretary to three Secretaries General of the UN, the school is one of those oasis of educational excitement that puts a smile on your face and makes you very glad you are a teacher!
LIFE school (www.lifeschoolweb.com) is housed in a ramshackled set of buildings held together physically by chain link fence. But the real glue that makes this a place of learning is the values which are embedded in all they do. There are about 60 kids in grades pre kindergarten to 9th (most teachers are American hence the educational jargon that reflects their terminology) with class sizes of anywhere from 5 ( for the pre kinder) to 12 in the Grade 3/4 split. The curriculum is shared following the principles developed by Robert Mueller and adheres to the Guatemalan elementary and basico ( junior high) curricula.
During the three weeks I volunteered at the school I rekindled some of the excitement I first felt about teaching during my student teaching days at McCorkindale Elementary in Vancouver. Kids learning about learning in an atmosphere which requests and requires respect, curiousity and most of all a sense of community. When you check out the website look at the ethnic mix of the kids; the impact for these kids on how they will see the world in years to come will have impacts we cannot even imagine. The family involvement in the school is palpable as parents participate on hiring committees, volunteer in the classrooms and hang out with the kids at lunch time. And they do it all on a budget of $90,000 a year!
The teachers are paid enough money to live in Pana but I gather not enough to build up much of a nest egg; at least not in cash. The professional development opportunities to be gained from working in this environment are very real and well worth considering for anyone building a career, seeking an opportunity to put some new life into their career, or even as a capstone.
I initially volunteered to help with the Grades 5 - 9 classes who are participating in a Virtual Science Fair (http://www.virtualsciencefair.com/) and very quickly that morphed into substitute teaching in every grade (except 1-2). I learned about using NVU to set up a website, saw kids play and learn together in an environment where skin colour was truly irrelevant, listend to three languages spoken by groups of kids working collaboratively on projects and enjoyed reading to a group of teenagers under a tree on the basketball court!
I left the school yesterday full of smiles at reconnecting with my life as a teacher and vowing to continue to find ways to be in the classroom. It warms my soul.
My heart is heavy as I prepare to say good bye to the Lake
Adios for today, Colina
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Ex Pats
Ex pats, people leaving who were born and grew up in a different country, are numerous in Guatemala. Our world has definately become a smaller place with global business, international development, people building long term relationships with those from other cultures, the ability of people to work via the internet and with lots of retirees spending parts of their year in warm climates.
Both Panajachel and Santiago have ex pat communities with a richness of experience and opportunity for support and learning. I have met people from all of the US, from Canada, from England and Spain, from Japan and from New Zealand - all of whom have made homes or commitments to long term stays. What fascinated me was how the ex pat community or more rightly communities form and function.
In the six weeks I spend in each of the two communities I ( think I) saw some interesting patterns. Firstly there is an sixth sense you develop pretty quickly about weather someone is an ex pat or a tourist. I am not sure it is 100% accurate but it is something about the eye contact or lack there of, what they are carrying, how they handle themselves that cues you.
Secondly, that with very few exceptions, expats are very very friendly. For some I think it is about an opportunity to share their experience/understanding/learning with another traveller or sojourner. For others it is the chance to talk to someone from home or a place that reminds them of home, with someone whose world view or cultural experience is closer to theirs than the "locals". And for others it is a sincere desire to help. I am not sure if in the first weeks I had a look or some body language, but the openness I experienced with people offering to support me was very heartwarming.
Thirdly, beyond the initial friendliness there is what I have experienced in my own culture. Sometimes the interest, sharing support is authentic and is followed by offers to meet for coffee, come for dinner, attend a party; a sincere interest in building a relationship. And sometimes it goes no further and there is no interest beyond being welcoming. The former is exciting because it opens some interesting doors to some fascinating conversations. The latter is ok but I have to say I had to adjust to the reality that everyone did not want to be a friend.
I have come to learn that the key to building some of those interesting relationships is to be open; to a random conversation in a coffee shop or on a bus, to an offer to meet someone who is a friend of a friend and to offer a smile on the street. I have also learned to let the suspiciousness we have developed in North American society about contact with a stranger slip away and let the contact occur. (Of course it's important to trust your instincts and to check people out if you are making commitments where your safety could be compromised). And by doing this some very interesting things have happened.
For example, I was having a leche con cafe at Crossroad Cafe ( run by Mike and Adele and a must if you are in Pana) and struck up a conversation with a young woman who teaches at LIFE School( more on that later). As we shared our love of teaching, she asked if I would like to come and do a guest class with her grades 5 - 9 science students. I loved the hour I spend with them exploring how our memory works. Then Jen invited me to knitting night; where I met several other women ( most expats and someGuatemaltecans who have married expats). And as knitting night ended I mentioned I was looking for a place to live for a month. Jen, the teacher and our host, said she was looking for a room mate and so I moved in! And when my volunteer work with another NGO did not pan out, I connected with LIFE school and have spend a wonderful three weeks subbing, supporting students in their website development and on Friday will do a lesson for the whole school on Canada! All this from a hello.
The lesson? When a random stranger offers me a smile, trust my gut and if warrented offer back a smile, a hello and enjoy where the discussion takes you!
Adios for today
Colina
Both Panajachel and Santiago have ex pat communities with a richness of experience and opportunity for support and learning. I have met people from all of the US, from Canada, from England and Spain, from Japan and from New Zealand - all of whom have made homes or commitments to long term stays. What fascinated me was how the ex pat community or more rightly communities form and function.
In the six weeks I spend in each of the two communities I ( think I) saw some interesting patterns. Firstly there is an sixth sense you develop pretty quickly about weather someone is an ex pat or a tourist. I am not sure it is 100% accurate but it is something about the eye contact or lack there of, what they are carrying, how they handle themselves that cues you.
Secondly, that with very few exceptions, expats are very very friendly. For some I think it is about an opportunity to share their experience/understanding/learning with another traveller or sojourner. For others it is the chance to talk to someone from home or a place that reminds them of home, with someone whose world view or cultural experience is closer to theirs than the "locals". And for others it is a sincere desire to help. I am not sure if in the first weeks I had a look or some body language, but the openness I experienced with people offering to support me was very heartwarming.
Thirdly, beyond the initial friendliness there is what I have experienced in my own culture. Sometimes the interest, sharing support is authentic and is followed by offers to meet for coffee, come for dinner, attend a party; a sincere interest in building a relationship. And sometimes it goes no further and there is no interest beyond being welcoming. The former is exciting because it opens some interesting doors to some fascinating conversations. The latter is ok but I have to say I had to adjust to the reality that everyone did not want to be a friend.
I have come to learn that the key to building some of those interesting relationships is to be open; to a random conversation in a coffee shop or on a bus, to an offer to meet someone who is a friend of a friend and to offer a smile on the street. I have also learned to let the suspiciousness we have developed in North American society about contact with a stranger slip away and let the contact occur. (Of course it's important to trust your instincts and to check people out if you are making commitments where your safety could be compromised). And by doing this some very interesting things have happened.
For example, I was having a leche con cafe at Crossroad Cafe ( run by Mike and Adele and a must if you are in Pana) and struck up a conversation with a young woman who teaches at LIFE School( more on that later). As we shared our love of teaching, she asked if I would like to come and do a guest class with her grades 5 - 9 science students. I loved the hour I spend with them exploring how our memory works. Then Jen invited me to knitting night; where I met several other women ( most expats and someGuatemaltecans who have married expats). And as knitting night ended I mentioned I was looking for a place to live for a month. Jen, the teacher and our host, said she was looking for a room mate and so I moved in! And when my volunteer work with another NGO did not pan out, I connected with LIFE school and have spend a wonderful three weeks subbing, supporting students in their website development and on Friday will do a lesson for the whole school on Canada! All this from a hello.
The lesson? When a random stranger offers me a smile, trust my gut and if warrented offer back a smile, a hello and enjoy where the discussion takes you!
Adios for today
Colina
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thinking about coming home
As I woke up this morning I began thinking about my last week in Guatemala - what memories I need to ensure are imprinted, the last minute gifts I need to pick up and about how I can take home with me the sense of calm I have taken on while I have been here.
While I have been away I have read alot (a typical way to deal with the challenges of living in a culture different from your own) and included in my reading has been Jean Vanier's Becoming Human. I finished the book ( actually his Massey lectures given in 1998; Anansi Press if you are trying to track it down) and during the last reading came across this statement
"Freedom comes in discovering that the truth in not a set of fixed certitudes but a mystery we enter into one step at a time. It is a process of going deeper and deeper into an unfathomable reality."
While I am still grabbling with all he says, his understanding of freedom is captivating. I am working on trying to understand some of the cultural differences I have experiences in a way that I can write about them and the concept of a mystery and not fixed certitudes make alot of sense as I think about time and personal relationships with the context of present day Mayan culture. I already know that whatever understandings I am able to develop will be complemented with more questions - a good thing I think!
During the time I have been here my lfe has taken on a much slower pace, balancing certainly a number of commitments but not so frenetic that I am not able to sleep at night because I am consumed with details and deadlines. How to take that home with me? It seems to me that not being so driven would be a kind of freedom - so perhaps I have taken the first steps and must find ways to continue on the path. A useful focus on my thinking in the coming days.
With hopes that all is well for you
Colina
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
