Cuales son los germenes?

Hola familia y amigos,

Hope everyone had a good week. Mine was pretty low-key: went out to the Guarderia three days, traveled back to Buena Vista, helped grill hamburgers for Thursday’s big dinner, and went to a lecture on the education system in Guatemala. 

Guarderia

This week I gave two workshops on personal hygiene at the Guarderia, one with the jovenes (ages 12-16) and one with the medianos (ages 8-11). I focused on discussing what germs are and how they can be spread and what good habits of personal hygiene are that can help prevent getting sick/spreading germs. We played “germ tag” with baby powder (it was like Carnaval all over again!) and “hygiene charades” to keep things interesting.  Also, coincidentally, I found tons of hotel-size shampoo and conditioner, soap, hand sanitizer, and toothpaste in the donations closet at Pop Wuj that needed a home, so I gave all 40 kids little hygiene goodie bags (not quite as fun as candy, but still well-received).

Water

On Friday, Carmen, Alejandra, and I returned to the village of Buena Vista to meet with about 20 women who had received water purifiers a few weeks ago. The lack of access to clean water is the biggest obstacle that keeps Guatemalans from drinking an adequate amount of water, but also, most are not in the habit of drinking water. Disconcertingly, soft drinks, sugary fruit drinks, and atol (a hot corn drink) are also referred to as water here. For example, after doing a stove interview the other day, I was offered a glass of water by the mother of the household, which ended up actually being a glass of Pepsi. So, Alejandra and I talked with the women about the benefits of drinking water (the real stuff), what happens to our bodies when we are dehydrated, and how to create the habit of drinking water throughout the day. The community leader, Doña Juana, translated what we said into Mam, their local Mayan language. Even though the women were very welcoming of us Gringas coming into their community with our Western ideas, I think it helped that everything we said went through Doña Juana, someone who is well-respected in their community. She also added some extra commentary that kept cracking the ladies up, which made it a fun, lively atmosphere…even though we had no clue what was so funny! 

Hamburgesas

On Thursday, I helped Jon (a student a Pop Wuj who loves to cook) and others prepare an American meal with a Guatemalan twist: Hamburgers, black bean paste, and lots of guacamole. I always look forward to the cooking (and eating) of Thursday dinners at Pop Wuj. It’s a chance for the students, teachers, and volunteers to get together, eat good food, play ping-pong, and say farewell to departing students.

Education in Guatemala

This week I also attended a lecture on the education system here in Guatemalan. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very positive chat since there a lot of issues with education here (Guatemalan is the most illiterate Latin American country). I learned that in many rural areas, school takes place under a trees or in  little shacks without walls, because there are no school buildings. Also, since there are no supervisors or principals in these areas, there is a lack of accountability for the teachers. Moreover, all teachers in public schools are required to pay for their own teaching supplies and they only get paid around $2,900 a year. Another thing that causes setbacks, is that with every new president (every four years), usually comes a completely new education system with different requirements, curricula, exams, etc. This week, there is no school because all of the teachers are on strike because the President’s wife took 10 quetzales from every teacher’s monthly salary for her political campaign. This is an election year, and even though it is illegal for spouses of current presidents to run, she is going to anyway.

Well that´s all for now. Hope you have a good weekend!

-Carrie

 

                                                    Amy, the youngest at the Guarderia

                                      A terrible picture of a wonderful Super Chivo victory

                                                      A big yellow church near my house

                                                                    Sunset on my roof

                                             Just a taste of the kitchen chaos on Thursday

                                                             Jon, El Cocinero