Early unofficial summer greetings from Xela, Guatemala! Hopefully this message finds you happy and healthy as the summer gets underway. Here at the Colegio Miguel Asturias, we have had quite an eventful year impacting the lives of our 300 low-income indigenous students. At this time last year, we were well on our way to establishing the first community library in the region. Today, the library is nearly complete, and we are so happy at how excited our students have become over reading.

As one specific example, when asked what he liked to do for fun, nine-year-old Jorge responded, “I like playing soccer, but I also like going up to the library; I think I like them both equally.”

As you can see, placing a book in our students’ hands has gone a long way to foster a love of reading. However, the only way to further solidify this newfound habit is to keep their interest by offering new stories for them to enjoy. Thus, if you would like to help supply books and staff our library, we would be most appreciative.

Luckily, www.GlobalGiving.org will be allowing us to further amplify this process by matching 30% of every donation that is made to our organization online on JUNE 15th, 2011, USING THIS AND ONLY THIS LINK:

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/asturiaslibrary/

Therefore, after all the administrative fees, your $10 donation magically turns into $13, which is just about enough to purchase one book for our library! Anyway, if you have ever felt the desire to help fight educational inequality in Guatemala, JUNE 15th would be a great opportunity to put that goal to fruition!

Clarinero
Azulado clarinero
¡qué lustre te ha echado el sol!
Saltando y volando
a ras de rastrojos,
a ras de surcos.
¡Cuánto grano caído
para tu cosecha!
Tapixquero.
Grano caído, granito recogido,
qué matate ni qué morral…
¡Al buche!

Tun ch’ok
Rexroj rij ri jun tun ch’ok
Sib’alaj kachupín ri awij rumal ri q’ij!
Katch’opinik, katrapapik
Cho taq ri chaqij paz’an,
Cho taq ri q’e’t.
Sib’alaj ixim tazqinaq
Che ri a yekob’al, che ri kayak uwäch!
Tun ch’ok ajjach’anel.
We k’o ixim tazqinaq su kasik’o,
Man rajowaxik ta a k’at,
Man rajawaxik ta a chim…
Su kab’e pa ri aqul!

Bluejay
Blue trumpeter
What brilliance the sun has given you!
Leaping and flying
Over stubbled fields.
Over furrows.
So many fallen kernels
For your harvest!
Harvester
Kernel fallen, kernel gathered,
Forget the grindstone and the burlap sack…
Down the hatch!

Some comments from the participants themselves:

I think the school is fantastic and its mission is something that every school should have. That’s why I am so excited to continue supporting and working with the school. I’m just really inspired by it. It’s amazing. –Jason Hoover

Jorge is a real visionary… you can really see his impact on the students and staff. I really enjoyed my time here and learned a lot. –Sumeeth Jonathan

Perhaps the two most interesting and relevant workshops were “Building a Self-Sustaining, Revenue-Generating Center” and “Storytelling for Social Change”. The first workshop was helpful in conceptualizing the future possibilities for the Academy in terms of financial support. Dave Casper, the leader of the workshop, pointed out that the traditional model of funding (asking donors for money and producing a report telling them how the money was used) isn’t the most effective long-term strategy for funding projects. Instead, he demonstrated a closed loop model, in which initial money is invested in an idea, which produces something, which then does something, which creates value, which can be reinvested in the project, or used to start a new one. All the “somethings” in that model are dependent upon the project itself. The idea, however, is something that the Academy will likely try to implement in the future. The key, according to Casper, is shifting from “problem solving” to “value creating”.

The second workshop, “Storytelling for Social Change”, taught a skill useful to every person, but perhaps particularly those who aim to engage a larger community in a project or program. Roshan Paul led this workshop and demonstrated, using video clips that most were familiar with such as speeches made by President Obama, how people connect with speakers. Most people explain what they do, some explain how they do it, but few can effectively explain why they do it. The best speakers and most effective organizations can tell their story in reverse…. Why they do that they do, and then how and what. Paul then had the group break into teams of 4 and work through telling each person’s individual story. While difficult, due to language and cultural differences, this skill is incredibly important to the Academy, as we seek to connect with friends and partners from other countries. As an institution, we are learning how to tell our stories, and navigating certain differences in the process.

Jorge and the Academy would like to thank both Ashoka U for hosting the conference, as well as the financial assistance they provided to help cover travel expenses. An additional huge thank you to Global Fund for Children for financial assistance, covering the rest of the travel expenses as well as lodging and food expenses.

Reading composite stories from students like those at the school allowed us to explore the different situations and issues faced by students in Guatemala, from difficult home lives, to having to balance school with work, and other struggles.  The students face obstacles similar in many ways to their counterparts in the United States, but also many problems more unique to the students here.  Understanding this is necessary in order to effectively serve the students and their community.  With this knowledge our group acquired new attitudes sensitive to and helpful for our service.

While becoming educated about Guatemala’s history and education system, we also truly enjoyed our experiences in Xela.  March 8th was Carnival, a holiday characterized by confetti-filled eggs, music, food, and celebration.  The children’s parents came and everyone enjoyed dancing, talking, and just interacting with each other.  The children dressed up in costumes and got face paintings and bought confetti-eggs to crack open, most enjoyably on all of our heads.  This was a unique, joyous way for us to connect with the students.

I did not expect the emphasis that would be placed on educating us, as volunteers.  I previously saw this trip, titled “Education- International,” as us educating students and helping their education system.  We focused a lot of our energies on our education and learning about this issue of education in Guatemala, which will help us spread our knowledge to others and expand our service from just what we accomplished here in one week.  I left Xela with a greater understanding of the broad spectrum of issues many school systems face and the desire to attend to them in many ways.

Other events on the schedule include learning about the history of the school, gaining a deeper understanding of the popular education model we use at the Academy and seeing Salcaja, Aguas Amargas, Cantel and El Baul! It’s a jam packed schedule and we’re busy every minute! Are you interested in participating in edutourism at the Academy? If so, please let us know! We would love to have you here and create a unique and meaningful experience for you in Guatemala! Contact Volunteer Coordinator Malea Hetrick at maleahetrick@gmail.com if you’re interested!

The elementary students began a soccer tournament, with the first game played between Primero A and Primero B. While the kids are certainly into the game, they’re such good sports too! It’s fun to watch them, and with our new third story, there’s plenty of “stadium” style seating! Some day, I hope you can watch recess soccer tournaments with us!

The middle school and high school students, for their celebration, didn’t organize a soccer tournament, but a school dance! Tercero was in charge of the organization, and put together a wonderful ceremony. The event began with a traditional dance, and did the students look sharp in their traditional clothing instead of their standard uniforms. After the formal dance, there was a mixer, so that students in their first year could get to know students in their last year, and vice versa and every year in between. Finally, there was the part of the night that everyone was waiting for… the dance! There was a good mix of pop, reggaeton and salsa music, and some of the students certainly surprised the staff with their salsa steps.

All in all, we had a great day and everyone had fun!

-Malea Hetrick, Volunteer Coordiantor

First, as I was introduced to Guatemalan culture with its traditional clothing, beauty of surrounding mountains and volcanoes and, of course, its tortillas, I have become aware of the overall warmth of its people. Another thing I’ve noticed is the very apparent cultural divide within its society itself, as western influences are visibly seen everywhere. It is a battle between old versus new. During my time here, it will be interesting to see how this concept of traditional versus untraditional plays a role in my job as an English teacher.

Next, I meet Miguel Angel Asturias Academy and its teachers, who are busily preparing for the coming start of school. I join them in preparing curriculum and anticipating the student’s arrival.

At last, it was the first day of school. I have seven classes consisting of students aging between twelve and nineteen. Learning the student’s names was a high priority for me. Individualizing each student’s education is my goal and taking out the intimidation of learning a foreign language. As a fluent, NON-speaking Spanish person (Yes, you heard me correctly. I do not yet speak Spanish), as I make mistakes in Spanish, it will show them that I understand how difficult it is to learn a new language. After my first week with the students, my biggest surprise was how varied the class abilities were. Some students were moderately conversationally fluent, while others could barely count to 10. The second week was focused on conversation basics and getting comfortable with speaking English aloud in class.

I am pleased with the student’s progress. It is both challenging and rewarding to teach this group of young adults. We will continue the journey of learning English together, building solid platforms as we go. Stay tuned for more updates.

-Kyra Gibson

All this information is in the packet below, but here’s a bit about the exciting program: There are two “tracks” for interns… one is for those interested in education/international education, and the other is geared towards nonprofit management. Interns will live with host families, take intensive Spanish classes, and a mid-internship retreat to the beautiful Lake Atitlan. There is NO Spanish language requirement for the internship.

If you or someone you know might be interested in the internship, click on the link below. Also feel free to contact our Director of Development, Malea Hetrick at asturiasacademy1@gmail.com

The program information and application: Asturias Internship Program 2011

My name is Bethany, and I am one of the participants on this trip. I am an elementary education major at Illinois State, so I have really enjoyed learning about the history of the Academy and the plans for its future. My time here so far has been an incredible learning experience. Malea has been our site coordinator here, and she has been assisting us throughout the week. I have learned so much from speaking with her. Any question I have, she has an answer. Her determination and drive to seek knowledge has been a great example for all of us. This is an experience that is going to stay with me forever. I have loved the cultural emersion that has ensued during this past week, and I look forward to the rest of my time at the Academy. The strength and perseverance of Jorge, the director and co-founder, is inspiring and I am so grateful for the generosity that I have encountered throughout my stay here.

We arrived in Guatemala City on December 27th and we will be heading home on January 7th. While our departure date is fast approaching, I look forward to sharing the stories with friends and family. I came into this trip thinking that I would be servicing the school, but in reality, the school and people I have encounter have been the ones to impact me.