Olympics and Kaqchikel!

I keep meaning to write more frequently, but I really hate how much time I waste on this evil machine known as a computer. The past two weeks have flown by, and they’ve actually been a lot of fun.

School was canceled so that all the kids could participate in a district-wide Olympics, which was based here. I had a meeting with all of the principals early on in the week and was able to present myself, my job, and my hopes for our working together. The meeting went quite well though I admit remembering very few of the many names and schools presented--all except one has a Kaqchikel name. Later on I built some plywood and cinder block shelves in order to make my house more of a home. I say built very loosely since it was more like stacking. A chore in itself since I had to take three trips back and forth from the store, which I’m sure was a site for all of the people who passed me huffing and puffing with a basket full of block.

By Wednesday I was ready to confront my nerves about going to the Olympic games--a series of 8-13 year olds playing basketball and soccer. What time were the games? Who would I sit with? Talk to? Would everyone look at me? Before I got to the games though, I sat in the park and befriended a huge group of kids who surrounded me, hungry for English words to hurl at one another in between fits of laughter. After spending some time getting to know them, I eventually went the gym to watch my first, second, and who knows how many games of intense pre-teen basketball. I ran into some teachers who I had briefly met before and befriended some of the kids and women around me. I really enjoyed watching the 12 year old girls play basketball--great hussel! The best part is listening to their mothers and teachers yell at them in Kaqchikel and Spanish while wearing their traditional traje (dress). It has me thinking about possibly joining the women’s league. Hm!

Another exciting first this week: Kaqchikel class. Though very few volunteers have fluency in any of the 21 mayan languages here in Guatemala, most recommend learning some key phrases and greetings. Though this was never one of my major goals, how could learning a language not be a fun, exciting, challenging, and rewarding experience? Geremias, my teacher, is also the principal/teacher at one of the schools I’ll be working at. For about two hours, that poor man had to listen to me make glottal noises accompanied by goofy grins. He kept emphasizing the importance of practicing around town since people will automatically open up to me more. I don’t think I realized the extent of it until I went for a stroll the next day. “Saqar nana. Saqar tata.” Good morning, Madam. Good morning, Sir. “Utz awach? Utz matiox.” How are you? Fine, thanks. I can’t even attempt describing the smiles, laughter, and genuine looks of surprise and interest I received. Women smiled broadly, turning their heads to follow where I was going while talking animatedly to their companion. My tortilla lady, Lidia, gave me a huge grin and told her boss that I was learning Kaqchikel. When she said responded with something beyond my limited vocabulary I just wrinkled my nose, giving what has to be a universal face of not understanding, and we all laughed together. My landlady was also pretty impressed and now speaks to me in Kaqchikel, even explaining some frases. I overheard her telling her daughter that I speak it. Well, that might be a bit of an overstatement, but the thought and effort are there. It’s really motivating to see how much it means to people when you speak their language. It’s also exciting since this is just the beginning!