Tuesday, January 29, 2008
el mundo pequeño
Here´s some lite fare to follow up my previous monster-sized post. A friend of mine from the Jewish community invited me to attend his sister´s wedding Saturday night, a huge event attended by upwards of 300 people. After a rousing hora, I found myself standing next to a woman that looked remarkably familiar. The odds of running into someone I know at a private event in Guatemala City are so slim that I figured this was just the result of my having left my glasses at home. When the woman returned my perplexed gaze, however, I confirmed that it was indeed ZU, my neighbor from the freshman dorms at Wesleyan! The bride was her cousin, and she was down for the week visiting family. What are the odds? We had the opportunity to talk and catch up, and of course take a here´s-proof-that-I-ran-into-someone-I-know-in-the-least-likely-of-places digital photo. One of the best rounds of Jewish Geography ever.
Monday, January 28, 2008
La mierda, el ventilador, y la resulta
Big changes afoot, and most likely for the best. Things at the total communication school have not been going well. Here is a synopsis of the issues:
1) To begin with, it must be made clear that ASORGUA and the COMITE are two entities that have precious little to do with one another. There is a very tangible tension between the two groups, and while it is a Gallaudet interest to collaborate with both, it is a conflict of interest to attempt to integrate them. I shall still be attending ASORGUA meetings on the weekend and hopefully doing needs assessment with them out of my own interest.
2) LP, the director of social work at the COMITE, authorized my internship but did not consult with ID or the school director before doing so. I was functioning under the assumption that he had discussed the role of an intern at the school with them, ony to find out that this is not the case. They have both been kind, but have also made it clear that there is not a structural niche for a student social worker 32 hours a week at the Centro de Comunicacion Total. I empathize with the fact that they were put in an uncomfortable position, but the situation has not been handled very well. Passive agression has ensued and I´ve been made to feel unwelcome on a number of fronts.
3) ID proposed a number of alternatives, which included working at the other Comite schools. She has asserted that there is no place for an intern at the school (I can´t tell you how great it would have been to have gotten this information just a bit earlier). As far as home visits are concerned, policy dictates that I cannot do them alone and ID has expressed concern about me accompanying her. Many of the neighborhoods she visits are astonishingly impoverished and people will not take kindly to a young outsider who looks like me entering their homes. In addition to the safety risks for myself, Imelda says I would be putting her at risk.
4) The kicker is the Guatemalan bureaucracy, about which I´ve gotten to learn a great deal. Note that I am not being sarcastic--it really has been valuable, however frustrating. Ultimately, the only person who has the authority to make any decisions is LP, who is terribly difficult to contact. Before even contacting the other nearby schools, we must go through him, and he was out of the office until this afternoon.
THANKFULLY, I have a phenominal supervisor MW who came in from Antigua today to advocate for and with me at the Comite office. We had an excellent meeting with LP and the new scoop is as follows:
A straight shoot up the PERIFERICO highway loop from Total Communication School is the Comite´s central office in Zone 1. We talked with LP and he was very kind and understanding. His recomendation was that I transfer to SECSA the educational-vocational program for Deaf adolescents. SECSA is located 2 short blocks from the Comite central office. We all walked over there and talked to HO, the director of the program. HO was so warm and welcoming, and has stated that there is room on her team for a masters student. She of course will be discussing things with the SECSA social worker tomorrow, to make sure she is comfortable with it. HO really made an excellent impression on MW and me, and seems more philosophically amenable to the idea of a partnership with Gallaudet.
Monday through Thursday and some Fridays, I will take one highway loop bus to the vicinity and walk 4 blocks to SECSA, which seems to be fairly safe. I will work with the SECSA ¨team¨which includes HO, the social worker, the psychologist and the instructors. The hours are 7am-3pm, which is more than enough to fulfill requirements. On Fridays, the students have vocational ¨practicas¨. This means that a group of teens and 1 teacher go to various businesses and the students work on a particular vocational skill like cooking or cutting hair. I can accompany ¨practica¨days when needed and I will also continue to attend ASORGUA meetings most weekends.
LP says that initially most of the swk practice will be team-based, but that there will likely be opportunity later in the internship to do one on one work with students. If everything is alright with the SECSA social worker, I will begin Weds morning. (Tomorrow I shall go to Total Communication School and inform them of the transfer).
It has come to light that the disconnect between Gallaudet and the Comite is much larger than any of us thought. This of course comes with the territory of pioneering a new internship. Please cross your fingers for me if you´re not using them to communicate. :)
1) To begin with, it must be made clear that ASORGUA and the COMITE are two entities that have precious little to do with one another. There is a very tangible tension between the two groups, and while it is a Gallaudet interest to collaborate with both, it is a conflict of interest to attempt to integrate them. I shall still be attending ASORGUA meetings on the weekend and hopefully doing needs assessment with them out of my own interest.
2) LP, the director of social work at the COMITE, authorized my internship but did not consult with ID or the school director before doing so. I was functioning under the assumption that he had discussed the role of an intern at the school with them, ony to find out that this is not the case. They have both been kind, but have also made it clear that there is not a structural niche for a student social worker 32 hours a week at the Centro de Comunicacion Total. I empathize with the fact that they were put in an uncomfortable position, but the situation has not been handled very well. Passive agression has ensued and I´ve been made to feel unwelcome on a number of fronts.
3) ID proposed a number of alternatives, which included working at the other Comite schools. She has asserted that there is no place for an intern at the school (I can´t tell you how great it would have been to have gotten this information just a bit earlier). As far as home visits are concerned, policy dictates that I cannot do them alone and ID has expressed concern about me accompanying her. Many of the neighborhoods she visits are astonishingly impoverished and people will not take kindly to a young outsider who looks like me entering their homes. In addition to the safety risks for myself, Imelda says I would be putting her at risk.
4) The kicker is the Guatemalan bureaucracy, about which I´ve gotten to learn a great deal. Note that I am not being sarcastic--it really has been valuable, however frustrating. Ultimately, the only person who has the authority to make any decisions is LP, who is terribly difficult to contact. Before even contacting the other nearby schools, we must go through him, and he was out of the office until this afternoon.
THANKFULLY, I have a phenominal supervisor MW who came in from Antigua today to advocate for and with me at the Comite office. We had an excellent meeting with LP and the new scoop is as follows:
A straight shoot up the PERIFERICO highway loop from Total Communication School is the Comite´s central office in Zone 1. We talked with LP and he was very kind and understanding. His recomendation was that I transfer to SECSA the educational-vocational program for Deaf adolescents. SECSA is located 2 short blocks from the Comite central office. We all walked over there and talked to HO, the director of the program. HO was so warm and welcoming, and has stated that there is room on her team for a masters student. She of course will be discussing things with the SECSA social worker tomorrow, to make sure she is comfortable with it. HO really made an excellent impression on MW and me, and seems more philosophically amenable to the idea of a partnership with Gallaudet.
Monday through Thursday and some Fridays, I will take one highway loop bus to the vicinity and walk 4 blocks to SECSA, which seems to be fairly safe. I will work with the SECSA ¨team¨which includes HO, the social worker, the psychologist and the instructors. The hours are 7am-3pm, which is more than enough to fulfill requirements. On Fridays, the students have vocational ¨practicas¨. This means that a group of teens and 1 teacher go to various businesses and the students work on a particular vocational skill like cooking or cutting hair. I can accompany ¨practica¨days when needed and I will also continue to attend ASORGUA meetings most weekends.
LP says that initially most of the swk practice will be team-based, but that there will likely be opportunity later in the internship to do one on one work with students. If everything is alright with the SECSA social worker, I will begin Weds morning. (Tomorrow I shall go to Total Communication School and inform them of the transfer).
It has come to light that the disconnect between Gallaudet and the Comite is much larger than any of us thought. This of course comes with the territory of pioneering a new internship. Please cross your fingers for me if you´re not using them to communicate. :)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Dificultades
What I thought was just a slow start to my internship has actually proven to be a significant dilemma. It´s not a good time to disclose many details just yet, but as a result of bureaucratic miscommunications, I currently lack formal responsibilities, a role, and a stake in the school environment. I am still fulfilling hours until the snag gets resolved, but much of the work is clerical in nature. While it is not a personal issue, the school resents having been given an intern. Now is a fantastic time to find this out.
Tomorrow morning I will have the opportunity to work with some parents briefly, but structural changes to the practicum cannot be made until Monday at the earliest. It is upsetting to have lost purposefullness, but I understand that this sometimes comes with the territory of pioneer internships. The good thing is that things will definitely get resolved, as I have several potential options for lateral shifts. As a wise graduate assistant told me when I was having problems with internship planning last semester, I have the best kind of problem--one with a solution. In the mean time, I´ll just cross my fingers that the appropriate authorities make appropriate decisions to get this practicum back on track.
Tomorrow morning I will have the opportunity to work with some parents briefly, but structural changes to the practicum cannot be made until Monday at the earliest. It is upsetting to have lost purposefullness, but I understand that this sometimes comes with the territory of pioneer internships. The good thing is that things will definitely get resolved, as I have several potential options for lateral shifts. As a wise graduate assistant told me when I was having problems with internship planning last semester, I have the best kind of problem--one with a solution. In the mean time, I´ll just cross my fingers that the appropriate authorities make appropriate decisions to get this practicum back on track.
Monday, January 21, 2008
La Sordera
Today I had a conversation with the school social worker about common causes of hearing loss in this country. She had a lot to say about it, and I was happy to serve as a captive audience (because sometimes I get the feeling that she finds having an intern awkward and even burdensome...but that´s probably my paranoia talking).
The picture she painted was not very uplifting. She cited rubella and other infections as the most common medical causes, along with antibiotics given to treat bronchitis and (get this) ear infections. Complementary to medical problems were social problems. Most Guatemalans live in poverty, and at least half of the students at the school live in what is considered extreme poverty. They have no means to obtain medical care, and live in squalor.
Other families may have economic access to medical care but their faith instructs them to seek help only through faith, not through medicine. Most Guatemalans are Catholic or Evangelical, though there are a growing number of Jehovah´s Witnesses. And on the other side of the spectrum from faith, there is ignorance. ID explained disparagingly that most parents have no health education or parenting skills education, and often do not notice signs of hearing loss or diseases that lead to hearing loss in their children.
Perhaps ID has been exposed to this sadness too long, for she is really quite critical of parental behaviors. She noted their consumer mentality when it came to money management and finds some parents take her constant clothing and school supply donations for granted.
This discussion stood in stark contrast to IDs wonderfully warm conduct and positive regard for parents who have come to the school to see her. She is a truly gifted social worker and people-person with a lot of wisdom. I suppose every social worker gets jaded by experience eventually; the key is to try not to let it affect our work.
The picture she painted was not very uplifting. She cited rubella and other infections as the most common medical causes, along with antibiotics given to treat bronchitis and (get this) ear infections. Complementary to medical problems were social problems. Most Guatemalans live in poverty, and at least half of the students at the school live in what is considered extreme poverty. They have no means to obtain medical care, and live in squalor.
Other families may have economic access to medical care but their faith instructs them to seek help only through faith, not through medicine. Most Guatemalans are Catholic or Evangelical, though there are a growing number of Jehovah´s Witnesses. And on the other side of the spectrum from faith, there is ignorance. ID explained disparagingly that most parents have no health education or parenting skills education, and often do not notice signs of hearing loss or diseases that lead to hearing loss in their children.
Perhaps ID has been exposed to this sadness too long, for she is really quite critical of parental behaviors. She noted their consumer mentality when it came to money management and finds some parents take her constant clothing and school supply donations for granted.
This discussion stood in stark contrast to IDs wonderfully warm conduct and positive regard for parents who have come to the school to see her. She is a truly gifted social worker and people-person with a lot of wisdom. I suppose every social worker gets jaded by experience eventually; the key is to try not to let it affect our work.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
La Adopcion
CA and I planned to get together once more before she returned to the US, and chose the Camino Real as our rendezvous. As I sat on the couch in the lobby to wait for her (the very same couch on which the President of Aruba sat for his interview), I noted a strangely mixed group of people on the couches across from me. A man was translating for an old mayan woman who was articulating information about baby care and specifications. A teary-eyed couple with wisconsin accents listend intently. It was the finalization of an international adoption.
Minutes later, the mayan woman placed a baby girl in the American woman´s arms, and turned away. Her neice stood to comfort her as she cried silently. The air was thick and emotional. I couldn´t believe that I was this close to such a critical moment in both families´lives. I was obviously missing a lot of details, but was nonetheless overwhelmed by a contradictory mix of thoughts and feelings.
I am a strong proponent of building families through adoption, and international adoptions are very common. Guatemala, however, has been red flagged recently for problems and corruption with adoption, which tainted my observation of the scene. While everything seemed legally and socially legitimate, I couldn´t stop thinking about what the transaction meant to the Mayan family choosing not to parent the child.
The child´s change of family did not make me uncomfortable but the setting did. The couple adopting the child were guests at the finest hotel in the city, and did not speak Spanish. They were educated White people, who will likely make great parents, but how did the older woman feel relinquishing caretaking responsibilities for this baby in an environment that catered to wealthy foreigners? She will always remember the child as a mayan person, but will the child´s life reflect her heritage? On the other hand, would her quality of life have been sufficient had she remained with an aged relative without the means to care for her?
My anthropology, social work and personal wires all got crossed that afternoon. I want to restate that I´m not being critical of any party involved, but I feel unsettled nonetheless. I´ll chew on it for a little bit longer, with no intention of reaching a verdict.
Minutes later, the mayan woman placed a baby girl in the American woman´s arms, and turned away. Her neice stood to comfort her as she cried silently. The air was thick and emotional. I couldn´t believe that I was this close to such a critical moment in both families´lives. I was obviously missing a lot of details, but was nonetheless overwhelmed by a contradictory mix of thoughts and feelings.
I am a strong proponent of building families through adoption, and international adoptions are very common. Guatemala, however, has been red flagged recently for problems and corruption with adoption, which tainted my observation of the scene. While everything seemed legally and socially legitimate, I couldn´t stop thinking about what the transaction meant to the Mayan family choosing not to parent the child.
The child´s change of family did not make me uncomfortable but the setting did. The couple adopting the child were guests at the finest hotel in the city, and did not speak Spanish. They were educated White people, who will likely make great parents, but how did the older woman feel relinquishing caretaking responsibilities for this baby in an environment that catered to wealthy foreigners? She will always remember the child as a mayan person, but will the child´s life reflect her heritage? On the other hand, would her quality of life have been sufficient had she remained with an aged relative without the means to care for her?
My anthropology, social work and personal wires all got crossed that afternoon. I want to restate that I´m not being critical of any party involved, but I feel unsettled nonetheless. I´ll chew on it for a little bit longer, with no intention of reaching a verdict.
Trabajo Social
The school social worker, ID, has returned at last. She is a genial, upbeat middle aged woman who exerts a positive influence on the school environment. We rearranged her office to make room for 2 of us, and greeted and met with a slow trickle of parents with enrollment concerns. The major challenge is that the concept of a social work intern is not the same in Guate as it is in the US.
Everyone is glad to have me, but doesn´t have a clear idea of what I do. While they are eager to teach me things, I am trying hard to make it clear that I can also be a practitioner, assisting with work and shouldering responsibility. I´m sure this will come with time. In the mean time, my learning contract was a foreign object to ID. She smiled and reviewed my proposed goals and objectives, but I could tell by the uncomfortable nuance in her smile that it may take a few days to get roles sorted out.
On top of the intern role confusion, ID keeps suggesting that I only stay a month, then go to work at the deaf preschool on the other end of the eye-ear compound, and later to the oral deaf school on the other side of the city and the remote one in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She is very wise to acklowledge the importance of a well-rounded perspective, but it really is humorous how different our concepts are. I would like the opportunity to visit all of these places, but my first perogative is to iron out my current situation! Either way I´m learning tons and fullfilling direct practice hours, but I am concerned about my efficacy in serving the children and families. Oh, to be young, American and a guinea pig.
Everyone is glad to have me, but doesn´t have a clear idea of what I do. While they are eager to teach me things, I am trying hard to make it clear that I can also be a practitioner, assisting with work and shouldering responsibility. I´m sure this will come with time. In the mean time, my learning contract was a foreign object to ID. She smiled and reviewed my proposed goals and objectives, but I could tell by the uncomfortable nuance in her smile that it may take a few days to get roles sorted out.
On top of the intern role confusion, ID keeps suggesting that I only stay a month, then go to work at the deaf preschool on the other end of the eye-ear compound, and later to the oral deaf school on the other side of the city and the remote one in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She is very wise to acklowledge the importance of a well-rounded perspective, but it really is humorous how different our concepts are. I would like the opportunity to visit all of these places, but my first perogative is to iron out my current situation! Either way I´m learning tons and fullfilling direct practice hours, but I am concerned about my efficacy in serving the children and families. Oh, to be young, American and a guinea pig.
Karma Mala
I can´t believe it. Just days after I posted a complaint about the funky garage dog, she vanished. Yonela never came back, and J is sure she was stolen, or worse--met her fate on the peripheral highway ring. I can´t help but feel this is my fault. Her poor puppies! Luckily we´ve been teaching them to drink milk from a bowl, and I think they´ll be ok. That´ll show me to speak ill of another living creature.
Centro Hebreo
Tuesday afternoon, after a string of exchanged emails with the director, I visited the Centro Hebreo, which is the heart of the Jewish community in Guatemala (yes, there is a Jewish Community). I was very curious to see what they had to offer. Security was tight--there is no published address, one must get it personally from the director. The cast iron wall has no sign, and one must submit a photocopy of one´s passport at the door.
The Centro Hebreo, like many places I´ve been in this city, is a geode: Dull and camouflaged on the outside, beautiful and brilliant on the inside. The synagogue is breathtaking, with stainted glass, and a white roof shaped like an inverted lilly. It conjured the aesthetics of the Bahai house of worship in India (though about 1/50 the size). Behind the synagogue is a 3 story school/community center, complete with a social hall, an indoor preschool playground, administrative offices, a conference room, and even a tiny kosher grocery story in their underground parking lot.
I was received with a typically guatemalan abundance of warmth, but with argentinian accents to boot! A significant portion of the community is in Guate via Argentina. They look like me, but smoke fashionable cigarettes and are dressed to kill. It was very unusual, but a delightful experience. I was given a tour of the whole facility, and am very impressed with what I saw. I even accepted an invitation to attend Shabbat services this weekend.
P.S. On an unrelated note, I learned how to make tamales from scratch.
The Centro Hebreo, like many places I´ve been in this city, is a geode: Dull and camouflaged on the outside, beautiful and brilliant on the inside. The synagogue is breathtaking, with stainted glass, and a white roof shaped like an inverted lilly. It conjured the aesthetics of the Bahai house of worship in India (though about 1/50 the size). Behind the synagogue is a 3 story school/community center, complete with a social hall, an indoor preschool playground, administrative offices, a conference room, and even a tiny kosher grocery story in their underground parking lot.
I was received with a typically guatemalan abundance of warmth, but with argentinian accents to boot! A significant portion of the community is in Guate via Argentina. They look like me, but smoke fashionable cigarettes and are dressed to kill. It was very unusual, but a delightful experience. I was given a tour of the whole facility, and am very impressed with what I saw. I even accepted an invitation to attend Shabbat services this weekend.
P.S. On an unrelated note, I learned how to make tamales from scratch.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Los Regalos
Over 40 people crowdedinto this week´s ASORGUA meeting. Many had donated gifts (wrapped and sitting under the ASORGUA christmas tree for about a month and a half) and today they opened the gifts and presented them to the Association. Among the gifts were tupperware, towels, knives, and even a toaster! I also had the privilege of presenting the results of the GDHHEP fundraiser to the group. After the meeting I showed the Board my pictures from the event, which were still in my digital camera. To express their thanks, the board gifted me and CA ASORGUA T-shirts. :)
Camino Real
The rest of our stay in Antigua was nice. We ate dinner at a restaurant, during which there was yet another power outage (4th in 9 days). They had to close the iron doors immediately to keep out thieves. This one only lasted 15 minutes or so. We then paid a short visit to N, a colleague who has hosted Gallaudet Faculty in the past. He was incredibly friendly and knew a member of ASORGUA from a GSL class. In the morning we stopped by a children´s charity and the Hermano Pedro center for persons with disabilities before heading back to Guatemala City.
CA suggested we visit the Camino Real, which is a super fancy hotel on the Avenida de la Reforma, as something of a sightseeing venture (it looked like a palace inside, in contrast to the city outside its walls). There were metal detectors at the entrance and myriad important looking people. The new President, Colom, will be inaugurated Monday, and had invited leaders from many countries to attend, many of whom were staying at the hotel. This was a strategicdecision; not only will it make the event auspicious, but the presence of international leaders and members of the press may help keep disgruntled Guatemalan citizens on their best behavior. Perhaps now they won´t riot or protest so asnot to seem unsightly or embarrassing (asif politics were a WASPish dinner party.)
The climax of this story is that while CA and I were sitting on couches in the lobby, the press interviewed the president of Aruba and the Dutch Ambassador on the couch right in front of us! Wow!
CA suggested we visit the Camino Real, which is a super fancy hotel on the Avenida de la Reforma, as something of a sightseeing venture (it looked like a palace inside, in contrast to the city outside its walls). There were metal detectors at the entrance and myriad important looking people. The new President, Colom, will be inaugurated Monday, and had invited leaders from many countries to attend, many of whom were staying at the hotel. This was a strategicdecision; not only will it make the event auspicious, but the presence of international leaders and members of the press may help keep disgruntled Guatemalan citizens on their best behavior. Perhaps now they won´t riot or protest so asnot to seem unsightly or embarrassing (asif politics were a WASPish dinner party.)
The climax of this story is that while CA and I were sitting on couches in the lobby, the press interviewed the president of Aruba and the Dutch Ambassador on the couch right in front of us! Wow!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Faire du Nerd
Last night I reuinted with CA and my supervisor in Antigua. CA and I are staying 2 nights in a lovely 12 room hostel/inn run by a family she´s known for a while. We had a wonderful dinner of tortilla soup with my supervisor and her housemates, just after my supervisor returned from her Democrats in Guatemala meeting (yes, you read right. There are a lot of expats here, and they´re rooting for the good guys. :)..)
CA´s dear friend, Latin American Studies Professor B from a college in Maryland, is here with a group of students. What a fantastic opportunity for me--I got to sit in on a lecture about conquistadors and history in Antigua. I guess not everyone gets as excited about optional lectures as I do. While it would have been advisable to be a respectful, passive listener, I started to squirm in my seat like a second grader with a full bladder when Professor B asked the group about Cortez. She generously granted me permission to participate, so as always, I came off as an obnoxious, overzealous nerd. And I have the notes to prove it.
Next came the tourism. I marked the occasion by busting out my shorts. That´s right, shorts. pantalones cortos. Iced the cake with a camera and sunscreen. CA and I accompanied the group on a tour of the Tercera Catedral, which was destroyed by both a flood and an earthquake but is still lovely. We also saw the original University of San Carlos, which is now a museum, the Iglesia de San Francisco and el convento de Capuchinas (¿spelling?...as if I´ve been diligent with spelling in this blog. hah.) The group is very American, which is a bit of a change. In any case, hoorah for learning.
CA´s dear friend, Latin American Studies Professor B from a college in Maryland, is here with a group of students. What a fantastic opportunity for me--I got to sit in on a lecture about conquistadors and history in Antigua. I guess not everyone gets as excited about optional lectures as I do. While it would have been advisable to be a respectful, passive listener, I started to squirm in my seat like a second grader with a full bladder when Professor B asked the group about Cortez. She generously granted me permission to participate, so as always, I came off as an obnoxious, overzealous nerd. And I have the notes to prove it.
Next came the tourism. I marked the occasion by busting out my shorts. That´s right, shorts. pantalones cortos. Iced the cake with a camera and sunscreen. CA and I accompanied the group on a tour of the Tercera Catedral, which was destroyed by both a flood and an earthquake but is still lovely. We also saw the original University of San Carlos, which is now a museum, the Iglesia de San Francisco and el convento de Capuchinas (¿spelling?...as if I´ve been diligent with spelling in this blog. hah.) The group is very American, which is a bit of a change. In any case, hoorah for learning.
Los Padres
Thursday was registration day for the new semester at the school. The social worker has still not returned from holiday, so I was a "floater", helping out the teachers. In Guatemala schools do not get the kind of State funding and support that US schools do, so the families themselves are in charge of providing all art and classroom suppies, in addition to their own notebooks and school supplies. The children are all very adorable (not shocking, I mean, they are children) and sign a fair amount. I was impressed to see that a lot of the parents signed basic things too. About half of the children came for registration with just their mothers, but the other half came with brothers and sisters (many of them babies in Mayan cloth clings) and some dads! I only noted two parents who asked their children to use spoken Spanish to greet the teachers.
Things have gotten a bit befuddled with my schedule; now the social worker is not returning until WEDS, so I have 2 idle days next week. It´s a good thing that I will be able to make up the internship hours with a Gallaudet trained Audiologist working in Guatemala City. I will be following up with patients and their families about use and efficacy of their assistive devices (primarily hearing aids because Cochlear Implants are very rare here).
The faculty are very friendly, I hope to get to know them all better. 1 of the 2 Deaf teachers has a deaf family and her siblings are deaf and married to deaf people in the US! Everyone takes a short break around 10 for a snack, which entails going to the parking lot of the Robles hospital for a hot dog or something else from a vender. Get this--New York and Chicago may pride themselves on the distinctive condiments adorning their hotdogs, but here in Guate, they put Guacamole, Mayo, ketchup and Onions on them, served on bread or in a tortilla. If you want pop with it, they open the glass bottle, pour it into a little plastic bag, and stick a straw in it, so they can recycle the bottles. Mmmm!
Things have gotten a bit befuddled with my schedule; now the social worker is not returning until WEDS, so I have 2 idle days next week. It´s a good thing that I will be able to make up the internship hours with a Gallaudet trained Audiologist working in Guatemala City. I will be following up with patients and their families about use and efficacy of their assistive devices (primarily hearing aids because Cochlear Implants are very rare here).
The faculty are very friendly, I hope to get to know them all better. 1 of the 2 Deaf teachers has a deaf family and her siblings are deaf and married to deaf people in the US! Everyone takes a short break around 10 for a snack, which entails going to the parking lot of the Robles hospital for a hot dog or something else from a vender. Get this--New York and Chicago may pride themselves on the distinctive condiments adorning their hotdogs, but here in Guate, they put Guacamole, Mayo, ketchup and Onions on them, served on bread or in a tortilla. If you want pop with it, they open the glass bottle, pour it into a little plastic bag, and stick a straw in it, so they can recycle the bottles. Mmmm!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Los Animales
I love animals, heck, I am an animal, but I have to say that the dog in the garage, Yonela, is no longer my friend. I stepped outside for a few minutes for better cell phone reception and came back to find my garbage bag ripped open and the contents strewn all over the floor. She even ate a full egg from my food shelf, lapping the contents out of the half-shell, but managed to dribble some of it across the floor tiles. She is incidentally a cross-eyed, bow legged chihuahua mix with teats so heavy from her nursing puppies that they drag on the ground. Ay, caramba. Oh, and as an added treat, the parrots have learned to mimic the tantrum screams of my hostess´s granddaughter. Hilarity ensues.
Centro de Comunicacion Total
I rode the city bus alone for the first time yesterday, but it was really just a kilometer on the highway loop around the city. 3 minutes and I was at the gate of the school. When I knocked on the giant green cast iron doors, a man who looked suspiciously like the Mayan cousing of the whiskered doorman of the Emerald City let me in. After meeting with K, the very professional VERY young director of the school (27? 28?). All of the staff except 3 or 4 are under 30 it seems. Only 2 mail teachers out of a 20 person staff.
I attended an inservice (workshop) on nutrition with thet rest of the staff. It was facilitated by this animated, guapo homeopath-nutritionalist. I now know how and when to maximize water consumption and the ideal posture for pooping. Also, smoothie lovers beware: fruit from the ground and fruit from trees should NOT be mixed. The presentation had a lot of great info for kids and families, though I´d be lying if I said he didn´t try to sell us chinese herb packets at the end.
After discussing a few more things with K, I got the grand tour of what seems like a campus for Aural-optic deficiency. The school is connected not only to a multi-faceted Comite resource center, but also to the Robles eye and ear hospital. My teacher friend, V, (also a former ASORGUA president), was my guide. I also ate lunch with him and learned a bit more GSL. I came home mid-afternoon and enjoyed having some time to myself (which is ironic, because I´ve had too much of it in recent days.)
This morning we had staff workshops on self-esteem and classroom discipline. I was glad to be able to participate, and actually ended up teaching some attention-getting techniques from my days working at Deaf camps. Tomorrow the parents will come with their children to tour the school and meet the teachers. V said we are getting 50 new students, which is a ton! Monday I will meet with ID, the school social worker, and will be doing a lot of work with her off-campus.
Today ended with a reunion with CA, my mentor-guardian-angel-Gally Alumna who helped make the internship possible. It was greate catching up with her, and tomorrow afternoon I will be joining her and my supervisor in Antigua. Can´t wait!
I attended an inservice (workshop) on nutrition with thet rest of the staff. It was facilitated by this animated, guapo homeopath-nutritionalist. I now know how and when to maximize water consumption and the ideal posture for pooping. Also, smoothie lovers beware: fruit from the ground and fruit from trees should NOT be mixed. The presentation had a lot of great info for kids and families, though I´d be lying if I said he didn´t try to sell us chinese herb packets at the end.
After discussing a few more things with K, I got the grand tour of what seems like a campus for Aural-optic deficiency. The school is connected not only to a multi-faceted Comite resource center, but also to the Robles eye and ear hospital. My teacher friend, V, (also a former ASORGUA president), was my guide. I also ate lunch with him and learned a bit more GSL. I came home mid-afternoon and enjoyed having some time to myself (which is ironic, because I´ve had too much of it in recent days.)
This morning we had staff workshops on self-esteem and classroom discipline. I was glad to be able to participate, and actually ended up teaching some attention-getting techniques from my days working at Deaf camps. Tomorrow the parents will come with their children to tour the school and meet the teachers. V said we are getting 50 new students, which is a ton! Monday I will meet with ID, the school social worker, and will be doing a lot of work with her off-campus.
Today ended with a reunion with CA, my mentor-guardian-angel-Gally Alumna who helped make the internship possible. It was greate catching up with her, and tomorrow afternoon I will be joining her and my supervisor in Antigua. Can´t wait!
El Comite
The phrase ¨go with the flow¨was created for days like these. I awoke at 7am to confront my rite of passage as a newbie in Central American: a bout of stomach illness. Fortunately this only lasted a few hours. I was supposed to meet up with M a little after 2, to go to the central office of the Comite, but she was coming on the city bus (which I did not know) and did not arrive until 330. You know me, a bit of a nervous nelly. I had already called a cab by the time she showed up so we took it together and arrived at 4 (serendipitous, because my meeting with the Director, LP, had been moved to 4 earlier that day after it took like 11 phone calls to get through.)
At the office we connected with President C, who had brought some forms from ASORGUA for LP to sign. I got to sit and discuss details with LP for a bit, he´s a very sweet man. Afterward, M left and I took the bus with President C to the ASORGUA building in Zone 10, which was an interesting experience. The buses are old American School buses painted red or blue, with handrailson the ceiling for standers. Always packed to the gils. People are very stoic, just sitting and not talking (unless they´re pushing through the crowd to get off). President C knows some ASL and can use some speech, so we got to talks about a lot of things. I got a more in depth tour of the ASORGUA office upon arrival and chatted it up at a snail´s pace in GSL-Spanish Pidgin.
As the only hearing person, M´s role of making calls for Deafies on their cell phones was thrust upon me. A man I´d never met put a cell phone in my hand and I had no idea what he wanted, but realized someone was on the line already. It was his daughter, calling to wish him a happy birthday, hoping there was a hearing person in the vicinity to interpret. Then Pres C gave me his phone to call M, who was to call a cab for the 5 of us going back to Zona 11.She then called Pres Cback, Pres C handed me the phone, M said a cab was on its way, and I signed it sloppily to the others. Whew! At least I got home having gained some experience with the logistical ways of this city.
At the office we connected with President C, who had brought some forms from ASORGUA for LP to sign. I got to sit and discuss details with LP for a bit, he´s a very sweet man. Afterward, M left and I took the bus with President C to the ASORGUA building in Zone 10, which was an interesting experience. The buses are old American School buses painted red or blue, with handrailson the ceiling for standers. Always packed to the gils. People are very stoic, just sitting and not talking (unless they´re pushing through the crowd to get off). President C knows some ASL and can use some speech, so we got to talks about a lot of things. I got a more in depth tour of the ASORGUA office upon arrival and chatted it up at a snail´s pace in GSL-Spanish Pidgin.
As the only hearing person, M´s role of making calls for Deafies on their cell phones was thrust upon me. A man I´d never met put a cell phone in my hand and I had no idea what he wanted, but realized someone was on the line already. It was his daughter, calling to wish him a happy birthday, hoping there was a hearing person in the vicinity to interpret. Then Pres C gave me his phone to call M, who was to call a cab for the 5 of us going back to Zona 11.She then called Pres Cback, Pres C handed me the phone, M said a cab was on its way, and I signed it sloppily to the others. Whew! At least I got home having gained some experience with the logistical ways of this city.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
La Casa de Las Tres Gracias
¨Hayley, veni, es tu mama¨said the Senora, holding the house telephone at 830 this morning. I answered the phone and realized that it was not my mom, but a different middle-aged white woman, my supervisor Mykell. She was calling to invite me up to Antigua for the day to lunch at the home she shares with 2 retired friends. I managed a ride to the airport where I met up with another member of their home, ¨La Casa de las tres Gracias¨. In about an hour, I found myself in the most beautiful place I´ve seen so far here, the world famous Antigua. The house was more like a small utopia, dripping with gardens, indigenous art and beautiful verandas. I had seen photos, but I was really astounded by this decadent, beautiful cooperative. The meal was 9 Americans, 1 Guatemalan and 1 Chileno, mostly former Peace Corps workers, and montones of vegan-friendly food.
These folks are really inspiring. They´ve done so much in their careers, and it is nice to see that people in their 50s and 60s can still be so idealistic, ambitious, and adventerous. They shared peace corps stories, and at one point, one of the ¨Gracias¨(women who own the house) read us a hippie children´s book from the southwest US. Needless to say I was in heaven. I look forward to working with my supervisor and spending more time with the Gracias.
These folks are really inspiring. They´ve done so much in their careers, and it is nice to see that people in their 50s and 60s can still be so idealistic, ambitious, and adventerous. They shared peace corps stories, and at one point, one of the ¨Gracias¨(women who own the house) read us a hippie children´s book from the southwest US. Needless to say I was in heaven. I look forward to working with my supervisor and spending more time with the Gracias.
Helado de Pescado
H and M took me to the Parque Central after the meeting to see the royal palace and cathedral. They are beautifully lit at night. You have to tip a man to park where we were parked, and the man got bumped three times and nearly run down when he tried to stop a passing car with a cheap, agressive driver. It scared the piss out of me but did not phase H & M at all.
H&M then surprised me by taking me to their favorite heladeria (ice cream shop) which is famous for it´s ecelectic flavors. Marylena´s Heladeria makes Burt Bott´s many flavored beans seem tame. Among the choices were fish, beans, corn, salt and varous fruit combinations. I had corn (elote, or cornmeal) ice cream and it was delicious. Next time I´m going for the fish.
H&M then surprised me by taking me to their favorite heladeria (ice cream shop) which is famous for it´s ecelectic flavors. Marylena´s Heladeria makes Burt Bott´s many flavored beans seem tame. Among the choices were fish, beans, corn, salt and varous fruit combinations. I had corn (elote, or cornmeal) ice cream and it was delicious. Next time I´m going for the fish.
ASORGUA
Saturday was my first meeting with ASORGUA. H&M were kind enough to pick me up and bring me to the headquarters, which is a small section of a building owned by the Comite (pro-deaf and blind committee). The facility is actually the Comite´s school for the blind, which borders a private hospital. M gave me a quick tour. There is a garden with myriad indigenous plants for the blind children to get acquainted with by smell and touch. This lovely sheltered workshop has differently textured tile pathways to orient the children.
But back to the ASORGUA building. It is very modest but very well taken care of by its dedicated members. There is a communal kitchen and a room with a computer. The common space is sufficiently large and, more importantly, sufficiently well-lit. There was an impressive nativity scene occupying about one fifth of the room--this was their first meeting of the new year.
To say that I had a warm welcome is a gross understatement. As if with long-lost relatives, our connections were immediate and infused with energy and care. Introductions did not need interpretations beause greetings and fingerspelling were already in my diminutive GSL lexicon. The best part was reuniting with JB, who is a good friend and colleague of the MSW program at Gallaudet.
For the formal meeting itself, the agenda was written on the dry-erase board and M voiced in Spanish for me. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how much GSL is intelligible for those with knowledge of ASL. I was an item on the agenda, noted by the words "estudiante de chicago" and "Barbara" (the primary GU liaison who set up the Guatemala US connection, who is in frequent communication with JB). Pushing my GSL to the limit, I fumbled through an introductionthat was met with truly non-judgemental smiles. The meeting was led by president C, with other officers leading different sections of the agenda. The main topics of discussion were savings, membership dues, and upcoming Deaf Ed conference in Costa Rica and New Years wishes.
Most of the members are over 30. One is like 90, a founding member of ASORGUA, who rides the bus for over an hour to get to meetings. It was great to meet so many members of the Deaf community. After the business meeting, people stay around to chat for like an hour and a half. Again I was surprised at how possible communication was--some people knew the ASL alphabet and could voice a little in Spanish which helped a lot. After a round of Deaf hugs (the best!) I went back to H and M´s care balancing my overflowing cup.
But back to the ASORGUA building. It is very modest but very well taken care of by its dedicated members. There is a communal kitchen and a room with a computer. The common space is sufficiently large and, more importantly, sufficiently well-lit. There was an impressive nativity scene occupying about one fifth of the room--this was their first meeting of the new year.
To say that I had a warm welcome is a gross understatement. As if with long-lost relatives, our connections were immediate and infused with energy and care. Introductions did not need interpretations beause greetings and fingerspelling were already in my diminutive GSL lexicon. The best part was reuniting with JB, who is a good friend and colleague of the MSW program at Gallaudet.
For the formal meeting itself, the agenda was written on the dry-erase board and M voiced in Spanish for me. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how much GSL is intelligible for those with knowledge of ASL. I was an item on the agenda, noted by the words "estudiante de chicago" and "Barbara" (the primary GU liaison who set up the Guatemala US connection, who is in frequent communication with JB). Pushing my GSL to the limit, I fumbled through an introductionthat was met with truly non-judgemental smiles. The meeting was led by president C, with other officers leading different sections of the agenda. The main topics of discussion were savings, membership dues, and upcoming Deaf Ed conference in Costa Rica and New Years wishes.
Most of the members are over 30. One is like 90, a founding member of ASORGUA, who rides the bus for over an hour to get to meetings. It was great to meet so many members of the Deaf community. After the business meeting, people stay around to chat for like an hour and a half. Again I was surprised at how possible communication was--some people knew the ASL alphabet and could voice a little in Spanish which helped a lot. After a round of Deaf hugs (the best!) I went back to H and M´s care balancing my overflowing cup.
El Temblor
First time for everything--even mini earthquakes. Is it horrible of me to say that it was cool? The seizmic tremor Friday night was very mild; nothing in the house fell or anything. Apparently they happen a few times a year. We´ve also had 2 more blackouts but they each lasted less than an hour. Just need a mild hurricane and then I´ll have a hattrick of extremely benign natural pseudo-disasters.
La Berge Guatemalteca
I met most of the boarders and am grateful to be in good company. They are all professionals in their late twenties, and very friendly, though I am a bit intimidated I have to admit. One is Spanish, one is Salvadoran, and the rest are Guatemalans. Engineers, journalists, students and a lawyer. Host sister J´is a law student as well and she is excellent company. La senora is a character in the best way--very strong and independent, a former teacher and a house remodeler--two days ago I assisted herin trying to install decorative little windows that she cut to size herself. I´m one lucky duck as far as my instant social network goes, but there is a weird dynamic between the boarders and senora&J, which is sticky to navigate because I´m the only boarder who live´s in senora&J´s section of the house. In any case, I hope to establish relationships with everyone.
Friday, January 4, 2008
La Ciudad
While my circumstances are stellar, the same cannot be said of the Guatemalan majority. Poverty is very visible in most places in the city. We drove past zone 3 which houses a garbage dumo neigborhood with homes made of tin sheets, concrete blocks, and trash. Theft is not uncommon, so one has to be careful. Even in very nice neighborhoods, exteriors of buildings are not much to look at. I am painfully aware of priviledge and poverty here already, and am fraught over my own American priviledge.
Things and people are more relaxed here, which is generally good, though I need to keep my fingers crossed about the lax scheduling making my internship hours sticky. I will be passing Saturday afternoon with ASORGUA and will go to the Total Communication School Monday.
Things and people are more relaxed here, which is generally good, though I need to keep my fingers crossed about the lax scheduling making my internship hours sticky. I will be passing Saturday afternoon with ASORGUA and will go to the Total Communication School Monday.
La Oscuridad
It seems that I brought bad luck with me from the States--hours after I arrived, Guatemala experienced a comprehensive power-outage. The wind was strong, some generators got knocked about and bam--darkness fell over the whole city. Some people were speculating that it was sabotage. The new president, Colom, was elected by a very narrow margin and there are many people cranky about it. It is likely, however, that the power outage was your garden variety act of God. The challenge came when ´M´ and her husband ´H´ came to fetch me for dinner. La Senora invited them in for coffee but had only one candle by which we could see each other. H is Deaf, so lipreading and signing were severely limited. Thank goodness for mama stokar and her gift of a mini flashlight. It came in handy pronto.
By the time we reached H & M´s house, lights were partially restored. It took me a good 4 minutes to fall in love with the entire family, including their chihuahua ¨Bebe¨. They have 1 hearing daughter´C´, sweet as a pie, and aDeaf son ´J´. who was very communicative (via his interpreter mother; I don´t know much Guatemalan Sign Language, GSL, yet.) H is brilliant and is helpful in teaching me GSL. Many of their relatives live in different sections of their building and I got to meet a few. H, M, and I conversed for about 2 hours about Deaf education, philosophies, resources and policies. The two of them are real champions of Deaf advocacy, and I know I´ll learn a great deal from them.
By the time we reached H & M´s house, lights were partially restored. It took me a good 4 minutes to fall in love with the entire family, including their chihuahua ¨Bebe¨. They have 1 hearing daughter´C´, sweet as a pie, and aDeaf son ´J´. who was very communicative (via his interpreter mother; I don´t know much Guatemalan Sign Language, GSL, yet.) H is brilliant and is helpful in teaching me GSL. Many of their relatives live in different sections of their building and I got to meet a few. H, M, and I conversed for about 2 hours about Deaf education, philosophies, resources and policies. The two of them are real champions of Deaf advocacy, and I know I´ll learn a great deal from them.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Estoy Aqui
Today I am writing from Guatemala City. Yesterday, at a cruel hour before dawn, my fantastic parents drove me to the airport to ship out to my internsip. Boarding my final connection in Houston, it wasn´t 5 minutes before I was chatting with my seat neighbors. (And though most of you assume it was I who initiated since I have a talking problem, it was indeed my Guatemalan co-passengers). It was a good opportunity to warm up my Spanish-speaking abilities (which people have told me are fine, but I feel are insufficiently warm). By the time I got to the baggage claim I had 3 people´s contact info.
Having no trouble uniting with my host family, I put my bags in my host sister ¨J¨s car. They took me out for traditional Guatemalan cuisine--chicken strips at TGI Friday´s. While this is obviously not a Mayan specialty, there are 3 Fridays in Guate along with a slew of other imported fast food joints. There is even a call button in the center of the table to page the waitress. Marveling over the button, I was promtly laughed at by my host´s 4 year old niece.
My living situation is ideal. I have my own quarters in a large house in a nice neighborhood. 8 Boarders live upstairs and the Senora and her daughter J occupy the middle floor of the home. The home is complete with 2 parrots, 3 parakeets, a dog and her litter that live in the garage, and a seemingly endless flow of tortillas, juevos, y frijoles. My hosts have been extremely generous, shuttling me around from the bank to the embassy to the supermercado. It is difficult to get around the city safelt and efficiently without a car, but I will be working within spitting distance of the house. I met with my friend M from ASORGUA (Guatemalan Association of the Deaf) last night and dined with her and her family. The people here have, in one day, already proven themselves to be incredible.
Having no trouble uniting with my host family, I put my bags in my host sister ¨J¨s car. They took me out for traditional Guatemalan cuisine--chicken strips at TGI Friday´s. While this is obviously not a Mayan specialty, there are 3 Fridays in Guate along with a slew of other imported fast food joints. There is even a call button in the center of the table to page the waitress. Marveling over the button, I was promtly laughed at by my host´s 4 year old niece.
My living situation is ideal. I have my own quarters in a large house in a nice neighborhood. 8 Boarders live upstairs and the Senora and her daughter J occupy the middle floor of the home. The home is complete with 2 parrots, 3 parakeets, a dog and her litter that live in the garage, and a seemingly endless flow of tortillas, juevos, y frijoles. My hosts have been extremely generous, shuttling me around from the bank to the embassy to the supermercado. It is difficult to get around the city safelt and efficiently without a car, but I will be working within spitting distance of the house. I met with my friend M from ASORGUA (Guatemalan Association of the Deaf) last night and dined with her and her family. The people here have, in one day, already proven themselves to be incredible.
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