Arrival, Antigua & NPH

Hola amigos! Happy 5th of July! I'm sorry that I have not blogged sooner but this is the first time I've consistently had internet. I would like to say THANKS again for the love, support, and generous donations I have received. I have so much to tell you all:

The Arrival:

The flight went well. I left Chicago around 5:20 a.m. and arrived in Guatemala around 11:00 a.m. I had one layover in Huston, TX. When the plane got low enough to break through the clouds I was able to see all the greenery, mountains and little towns. It was the most exciting view I have ever seen, and I could not believe I was going to be living here.

Getting through the airport was not as bad as everyone told me it was going to be. Amelia, you were right when you told me my “survival mode” would kick in. I walked through customs without a problem, got my bag, and found my ride.

Right away, I found the NPH driver holding a piece of paper with my name: “Katie Wendt, NPH” and my picture. I do not think I will ever forget my first ride in Guatemala. Everything was so new and I had never experienced differences like this before: the buildings, the streets, the trees, the mountains, the volcanos, the wild dogs, the crazy driving (for the record IL drivers are not bad compared to Guatemalans), I was taking so much in. At this point I cannot believe I am actually in Guatemala on my own.  The driver took me straight to the NPH home for one night (I will talk about NPH later) and the next morning I was off to Antigua for language school. 

Language school & host family:

When I first arrived in Antigua I went straight to the language school, Don Pedro de Alvarado, for my first class. Monday through Friday I had class in the mornings from 8 a.m.-12 p.m., for three weeks. Each student had their own teacher, which is perfect for the different levels of Spanish. Language school was the perfect transition for me into Guatmeala, a great way to meet new people, get acquainted with my surroundings, and adjust overall.

At school and in Antigua I met the most wonderful group of friends: Dee J (23/NY), Dehlia (22/TX), Jesse (20/NY), Alisa (32/CA), and T.J. (30/CA), just to name a few. This was the group I did everything with. Some of us even traveled together to Semuc Champey.


Here is a picture of all my Antigua friends:

During my three week stay in Antigua I lived with the cutest family ever. I stayed with Irma and Salvador, an elderly couple. They live about three long blocks away from the school. It was about a 10 minute walk. From the street, the house was hidden by a huge cement fence and gate. When you unlock the gate and walk inside it is the cutest little yellow house with the most gorgeous gardens.


Photos: My room, one of the gardens and a portion of the house:

There were a lot of people who lived at this house and after three weeks I still do not know everyone’s name or face. My house brothers included: (L-R) Paul (21/NY), Edwardo (17/Guate) and Simone (24/Italy).They were the three other “students” in the house.

My host family would eat every meal together, including lunch, and after dinner the four students would sit around the table and play cards. Some of my favorite moments include my house brothers because all four perspectives created interesting conversations and wild jokes.

Antigua:

Antigua has so many places to see and so many things to do. I was not able to see everything I wanted, but I did not want to cram everything into three weeks considering I have a full year. The market, the churches, the ruins, the parks, the bars (sorry mom), the culture, and the people… I love it all!

I visited Cerro de la Cruz Mirador, Capuchinas Convert, la Merced, Portal de San Buenaventura, Iglesia San Fransisco, Santo Domingo del Cerro and more. Antigua has so much to offer including salsa dancing! Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday there were free salsa dancing lessons that my friends and I attended. Eventually I even took private lessons. Let’s just say… Dancing with the stars, here I come! In all seriousness, salsa dancing is so much fun and the instructors are now my friends here in Guatemala.


Photos: El arco, the market, volcano, salsa dancing, Santo Domingo del Cerro, and San Buenaventura. 

Semuc Champey:

Semuc Champey is the most beautiful place I have ever been with the most breathtaking views. It has turquoise water, waterfalls, rivers, mountains, caves, caverns and more. A group of friends and I took a weekend trip and in total it was an 8 hour drive through the mountains. For the weekend we stayed at a hostel, my first hostel ever, and it was an experience.

In total there were five students who went on the trip. For the ride to and from, a two night stay, and a tour it was $50.00 (USD) per person. CRAZY!


Photos from Semuc Champey:

NPH:

I have now been at NPH for 4 days. I am sad to leave Antigua but it is a .40 cent/ 20 minute bus ride away. I LOVE NPH GUATEMALA! In total there are nine new volunteers, seven girls and two boys from all over the world. Of the new volunteers there are three people from the USA (including me), three people from Spain and three from Europe.

All of the girls are living in a hostel type room until the old volunteers move out on the 13^th. In a way it helps with the bonding process. My Spanish is the worst out of all nine volunteers, I guess it will make me stronger in the end but as of right now it really stinks. We sit for hours and hours listening to the director’s talk (in Spanish) about the history, philosophy, training, jobs, and the kids. Out of the78765489076546789976546 Spanish words spoken I probably have understood about 7 of them.

I am the special education individual. I will work with about 14 kids, in total, with disabilities in a one-on-one setting. I have my own classroom and it is so nice! NPH has a total of about 340 kids and they are all so welcoming and nice. 

On the negative end, my brain hurts so much from listening to Spanish 24/7.

On the 4^th of July NPH had fireworks and ice cream in celebration for the volunteers from the States! There is something special about celebrating a holiday outside the States. It’s hard to describe the feelings.

There are six more days of orientation left, not including the weekend. I officially take over my classroom on the 16^th of July. Wish me luck with my Spanish!

Random facts/thoughts:

Dogs: the dogs here are equivalent to squirrels in IL/WI. They are everywhere, including the roofs. Once in a while you will see a dog being walked on a leash and want to take a picture because it is so rare.  

Today I bought one large carrot for 1Q, it’s about the size of three baseballs put together. This is equivalent to .12 (US) cents. CRAZY!

The Guatemalan women are crazy good at carrying things on their heads. It is amazing.

Tiny kids are in the bars trying to shine shoes or sell candy for money.

There are men with guns everywhere, pretty much in every expensive store or bank. Also, in the banks you are NOT allowed to talk on a cell phone, they will kick you out. Lesson learned.  

For my college friends: bars close at 1 p.m. (so be happy with Madison/IL area bars).