Guatemala 2008: Wooddale Again

This summer I translated again for Wooddale's Senior High trip to Guatemala and El Salvador. My good friend, Sara, came to translate, to0. We saw many patients--some just needing some multivitamins and acetaminophen and doing minor surgeries others.

Knowing Spanish, it's much easier to get to know the Guatemalans and the El Salvadoreans who worked with us-- from the people who cook to the bus drivers to the other translators. The pictures are of Sara and I with some of our translator friends and of one of the "surgeries" that we did. This one was to get a piece of glass out of a man's back (my job was to hold the flashlight!).

Still on an Adventure, Even with Medical Insurance

So, even with medical insurance, one month of a common prescription cost $52.85. What did I do? I decided to go without.

Check out an article from the Times on this issue...

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Update Jan. 06, 2009:

I needed to get another prescription today. This one and the one that I previously posted about cost me $15 each with my other insurance. Today's total for one month of only one prescription? $44. I told her "I'll do without" and walked away.

Why is it that with one I pay $30 a month and with the other it's $100 a month?

The Adventure of Many College Graduates: No Medical Insurance

This summer I was without medical insurance because I was a college graduate and hired to be a teacher but my mother's insurance only covers full time students and school doesn't start until the fall. It's a gap that many college graduates are in. This summer, while uninsured I successfully avoided getting sick or injured as I worked, played or traveled (Minnesota to Iowa and to Guatemala and El Salvador). After that, I'm tired of gambling.

Guatemala 2008: Leaving

After a week of vacation, it was time to go back to the US, finish college, and graduate.  The last meal in Guatemala had to be Pollo Campero, of course.  

Guatemala 2008: Rio Dulce and Livingston

The tickets to fly back were cheaper a week later than when the program was done. So we decided to stay and travel some-- granted we spent more money traveling than what we would have with the more expensive ticket, it was worth it. We went to Rio Dulce and to Livingston which are near and on the Caribbean. It was a lot of boats and water. The one photo is of where we stayed and the other is of me jumping with two friends that I made, but one (the dog) didn't jump. It was fun to relax before going to the US.

Guatemala 2008: Saying Goodbye

When finishing up my student teaching I had to do the hard task of saying goodbye. That doesn't work to well for one who travels a lot, like me. There were many despedidas or going away parties. It was fun, but very sad. The pictures are of my and my host mom at a restaurant and of some of the high school volleyball girls.

Guatemala 2008: Field Trips

One of the awesome parts of teaching Spanish in Guatemala was the easy access to great field trips. With my middle school beginning class we went to the bread store that was next door to the school and to a grocery store. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of either of those. With a smaller high school class we were able to go Antigua. It was fun and a lot of Spanish.

Guatemala 2008: Mystery Solved... Lime Burn

After being told by three doctors (two dermatologists and one general practice) that my crazy skin reaction was a lime burn, I decided to believe them rather than all the people who were telling me that it's not possible for lime to do that.

Here's what happens. If someone has citric juices on them (be it from limes, lemons, oranges, etc.) and then is exposes to the sun, phytophotodermatitis occurs-- or simply, you get burned. This can also happen with other plants like certain meadow grasses, parsley, celery, and fig leaves.

It's often misdiagnosed because each person has different reactions depending on their skin, the amount or the irritant, and the amount of sun exposure. Some simply have miscoloration, others get what looks like a sun burn, and other (like me) burn badly enough to blister and swell.

So how not to get a lime burn? Wash yourself thoroughly with soap and water after cooking with limes or making lemonade or limeade. If you've got it? Hydrocortisone cream and no more sun is the key to it healing.

For more information, check out this report that I found:

http://www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic324.htm

Guatemala 2008: My 4th and 5th Graders

At first I was kind of nervous to have a class of 4th and 5th graders because I understand high schoolers and like teaching them. Also, these kids are fluent and I'm not. But I ended up having a great time with the students. There was an odd balance of me knowing more Spanish than them in some senses and them knowing more Spanish than me in others. Also, they proved to be very smart, hard-working, and responsible students-- characteristics that I thought I'd only see in high schoolers before having this class.

Guatemala 2008: Flamenco Dancers at Xetalul

At Xetalul they also had shows-- magicians, dance, etc. This is a video of some of the Flamenco dancers that we saw.

Guatemala 2008: Xocomil and Xetalul

Us student teachers were able to go to a terrific waterpark (Xocomil) and amusement park (Xetalul) with the host family of the two teachers from Malone College. We had a great time just hanging out and going on the rides. And I have to admit, in a place where suing is not nearly as common as in the US, I think the rides were better.

Guatemala 2008: Working

In Guatemala it is really common to hire people to work in the house-- cleaning or gardening or whatever is needed. Whenever I would find myself cleaning or cooking or babysitting, I couldn't help but laugh and claim that I was a top-quality worker imported from the US and hired for my English. The pictures are of me killing a dead tree and cooking.

Guatemala 2008: My Family

This semester in Guatemala I lived with a family who worked at the school. Seriously, every member works at the school in one way or another. I had a great time getting to know them. They're always making jokes, so I had to be quick with my Spanish and a learned a lot of Spanish too. This picture is of when we went out to eat to celebrate some birthdays, but it doesn't include the parents.

Guatemala 2008: Semana Santa

This year during Semana Santa (Easter week), I was able to enjoy a couple of days at the Pacific Coast at the beach of Monterrico. It was fun to be able to relax and hang out with people. This is the view of the pool and ocean from the upstairs of the amazing house that I stayed at.

Guatemala 2008: The Mystery

During Semana Santa (Easter week), I went to the beach. Something happened and my friend and I had a horribly rash/burn/reaction. Some say it was from making llimonada and then going out in the sun (we squeezed juice out of over 70 limes). Some say it was a jellyfish-- but I didn't feel anything when swimming. Some say it was a spider. I don't know.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- The River

After exploring the caves we went tubing down the river (after it goes underground and then comes back out). It was relaxing to just sit and float through nature.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- Caves

Near Semuc Champey there are some beautiful caves that you can walk/hike/climb/crawl/jump/swim through. It involves a lot of swimming which makes it impossible for electronics to go through. So everything is by candlelight. Since my camera is waterproof, I was able to get some pictures.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- Waterproof Camera!

So my previous camera-- which took terrific pictures-- broke on every single trip I went on. Frustrated and not wanting to miss any pictures this time in Guatemala, I went to Best Buy and said, what's your strongest camera? I ended up with a beautiful orange camera that actually cost less that what it would have to repair my old one. It's waterproof up to 10 feet deep and drop proof up to 5 feet high. All I have to say is that taking underwater pictures is very fun!

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- Jumping!

Don't tell my mother, but there are many great places to jump from at Semuc. People jump from the falls, from a branch that hangs over one of the pools, from the bridge that is downstream from the pools, from some large rocks that are downstream in the river, and more. Trying to be cautious and adventurous at the same time, I only jumped from a few things. But don't worry, I never hit the bottom, nor got hurt!

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- The Pools

As I mentioned in the last post, above the river that goes underground, the water from the mountains form pools and small waterfalls. The water is an amazing blue-green color and the amount of small falls is spectacular.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- River Goes Under

Semuc Champey is Kekchi for where the river goes under. What happens is that there's a mountain river that goes underground-- forming a very dangerous cave. The land above the cave is limestone and other rock. Above the river/cave, there are many pools and small waterfalls. These pictures are of the rapids before the river goes under and of the entrance where the river goes under.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey-- The Hostel

The hostel we stayed in is called El Portal. It's a terrific hostal that is only two minutes walking away from the park of Semuc Champey. Unfortunately, not too many tourists go there because it's not listed in Lonely Planet. We stayed in a shared room which was beautifully priced at 30Q a night (about $4). The pictures are of our view from our cabin and of the main cabin where you can buy food and drinks and hang out.

Guatemala 2008: Semuc Champey--Intro

There was a Monday that both students and teachers had off from school--taking advantage of the slightly longer weekend, Titus, a fellow student-teacher, and I decided to run away. The next day we found ourselves at Semuc Champey which is a marvelous wonder of nature about two hours North/Northwest of Coban. Semuc Champey is easily my favorite place in Guatemala and therefore I took a lot of pictures. Because of that, I decided to do several separate entries with this one being an introduction. Enjoy!

Guatemala 2008: Drama

It was also found out that I did drama and speech team throughout high school and so I ended up helping out with the high school play which was The Princess Bride. Before hand, I helped with little tasks like painting or filling in if someone was missing. During the actual performances I did make-up and helped with some quick costume changes. The students in the pictures are some of the students whose make-up I did.

Guatemala 2008: Monterrico

For one of our excursions we went to the Pacific to the beach of Monterrico. Some of the highlights (in addition to the beauty of the ocean) were taking a boat down a canal to get there and releasing babt sea turtles at sunset. We also saw, very distantly, some whales.

Guatemala 2008: Coaching Volleyball

So the secret got out that I played volleyball in middle school and high school, and the school was in need of a coach for the middle school girls to do volleyball. Quickly Miss Nelson became Coach Nelson.

Coaching turned out to be a blessing-- I was able to get to know the girls and some of the parents of the girls well. Also, I had to learn to be strict and firm even when it was easier just to let things go. Through coaching I learned a lot about myself and about middle school girls!

Guatemala 2008: Student Teaching Overview

For my student teaching, I worked at Christian Academy of Guatemala in the capital, Guatemala City. It's a US school abroad that is aimed mostly at the children of missionaries. The student body is about 250 students total and the students a from the US, Canada, Guatemala, and Korea.

During my time, I taught various Spanish classes (it's an English-speaking school). My classes included: once a week exploratory class with the kindergarteners, a preparatory class for the AP Spanish exam, a upper elementary Spanish class with advanced students, a middle school class with beginning students, and a high school class with intermediate students.