What this is all about

Being a December graduate, I have decided to keep an open schedule and mind.  I have no definite plans for at least 5 months, and even then, nothing is certain.  This is all very new for me--I've always had a set plan of what I'm doing next.  Now, although I know the general direction I am heading, I am allowing opportunities to come to me that might have otherwise been lost if I had already made plans.
Join me for the ride as I begin to Learn By Living!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Cock a doodle doo...good morning Xela

Class starts at 8, I woke up a little before my 7AM alarm clock to the sound of a rooster. “oh, how lovely” I though, “a natural alarm clock.” I ate breakfast with the family, which I usually don’t eat this early, much less with other people. Because I hadn’t calculated actually sitting down to eat and having someone to talk to, I was a bit late for my first day of class. My teacher is really nice. She is from a nearby town that is known for their glass making--glasses by the way which have been my favorite since I was a kid. The classic ones that this factory makes is from recycled glass, with bubbles that have become trapped within the thickness of the glass and the rim is a deep blue. My first class was much harder than I thought. I went into it knowing that it was a difficult language to learn, but I had no idea that I would physically be challenged by the language and not just mentally. I learned the alphabet, which yes, it is different. There is no letter C, but there is a CH and a CH’ which are considered one letter in itself. The apostrophe is called a juch in K’iche’--which serves to give that sound the stress. There used to be several signs accompanying letters in written K’iche’ but there was a lot of confusion. The alphabet I learned is the latest attempt as standardization. I asked where I could buy a K’iche’-Spanish dictionary and was given a look of surprise that I would even ask. Apparently there is no such thing yet. There aren’t even any books that have the grammatical rules of the language because these rules are still being developed. My professor happens to have a book with some words translated (maybe about 500-800) and a grammar book. These were given to her by the education counsel because she studied and trained to be a bilingual (Spanish and Quiche) teacher. Well, back to the physical demands of the language. I spent the majority of today trying to pronounce the letters. Yes, learning to say the letters of the alphabet for 5 hours seems like a lot right? Well, considering that the noises I am required to produce the sound of the letters comes from muscles I’m pretty sure I’ve not only never used but never knew were there combined with breathing… it’s tough! I have a sore throat from my first day.
A movie was shown at the school today. The translation of the title is “ A man looking towards the South-East.” The film was from Argentina, and it was about a doctor at an asylum who took special interest in a patient who claimed to be from another world. Throughout the film the patient makes good things happen with his mind, such as moving a plate of food in front of a hungry family. He claims to be in the human world to study the human brain because there is one weapon that humans have that his kind can’t understand: “human stupidity is the only weapon we can’t fight against.” I thought the film was very Fellini 8 ½ ish. There is going to be a lecture on how mental health patients and disabled persons are treated in Guatemala.
My sim card in my Guatemalan phone isn’t working so I had to walk to the only place where there is a customer service center--The Mall. I had already walked for a while in the direction that I was told but didn’t see any of the markers that I was told. I arrived at the market. It was gorgeous to see the colors of the Guipiles (traditional dress of the Indigenous in Guatemala, each group has different designs and colors) with the wide variety of colorful fruits, vegetables and flowers. I ended up following a woman with a Gucci bag--not that I want to stereotype--She must be going to the mall I though, or at least know where it is. I found the mall, and on the way back I was offered a discounted fare for the bus. I walked. Pictured: My walk to school.

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