The North Carolina-Guatemala SIOP Workshop

Today March 28th, 2009 was a milestone for the language centers at the Universidad del Valle's three campuses: UVG Central campus in Guatemala City, Proesur on the east coast, and my post, UVG-Altiplano. It was also an important landmark for Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, NC since it was the first time two faculty members, Debra O'Neal and Marjorie Ringler, had given an interactive four-hour SIOP workshop through a four way teleconference to university English and bilingual content teachers in Guatemala. SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) is a model of instruction being promoted in K-12 classroom nationwide due to the rising population of children in the US whose first language is not English. Despite a few surmountable technological difficulties regarding audio at the beginning and during the presentation, the workshop was a great success! Our teachers at UVG-Altiplano were very pleased and impressed by the quality of content and delivery of the presentation, making the effort of getting up early on a Saturday worthwhile. Here is background information on how all of this evolved.

Knowing that I would be stationed for six months at a university in Guatemala, I invited friends and colleagues to come down and visit but at the same time offer professional development workshops to the English teaching faculty here. One person I contacted was Debra O'Neal, whom I have known for a few years through Carolina-TESOL. I know Deb loves to travel (just as an aside-she flies her own plane to conferences). Deb is also a dynamic presenter and experienced trainer in SIOP, a methodology that would be very pertinent to teacher trainers, content teachers of bilingual schools, and EFL teachers here in Guatemala. She couldn't work it out to come here personally, but she proposed that she instead give the workshop as a teleconference. Deb is very much at ease with technology and has had lots of experience with distance learning. So plans for this workshop in March already began rolling in January.

Debra O'Neal, Instructor in the College of Education,

the English Department and the Global Understanding Program at ECU, North Carolina

Deb also invited her colleague Marjorie Ringler, Assistant Professor of Education, to be a co-presenter. Marjorie also happens to be Colombian and bilingual. Because her research focuses on effective professional development that benefits principals, teachers, and English Language Learners (ELLs) in rural schools, Marjorie has had a lot of experience training administrators in SIOP.

Dr. Marjorie Ringler (ECU) during the workshop on the screen

The morning of the 28th, Helga, our new English program director, picked up me, Josanne, and another former UVG English teacher around 7:30 and we drove up to the university where we immediately began setting up for the workshop. Nine people came which was a bit disappointing since we had invited many teachers from the three bilingual schools in Panajachel. Nonetheless, the people who did come were very much engaged in the workshop.

An interesting twist in the planning of this workshop is that we did not know that the third campus, Central, in Guatemala City was joining us. Much to our amusement, we found out 30 minutes into the workshop that they were also participating. That's Guatemala for you! There are always surprises. The presenters very gracefully adjusted to their expanded audience.

Deb and Marjorie had to condense a three-day into a four-hour workshop and they succeeded. After they introduced key language acquisition theories that underlie SIOP (e.g., Krashen's hypotheses and a little of Chomsky of course) , they guided us through the SIOP model and corresponding hands-on activities. After each activity, they asked faculty at each campus to share their results. It was great fun!

UVG-Altiplano participants during an activity

During the wrap up, Deb and Marjorie asked if we had questions. All three campuses asked if they could have a copy of their Powerpoint. Central campus asked about the success rate of the approach and the presenters responded that it was a research-based methodology. They also reported positive results from their own research findings regarding the implementation of SIOP in rural schools in North Carolina. Spokespeople from each campus then thanked their American colleagues wholeheartedly for their effort and very informative workshop.

It was a very profound, enlightening experience. First of all, it opened the doors for more training workshops of this nature between American and Guatemalan campuses. Furthermore, the SIOP workshop telecasted at all three campuses brought the respective faculty closer to one another, which is one of the goals of the Universidad del Valle.

Thank you again, Debra O'Neal and Marjorie Ringler, for an inspiring, history-making workshop!

Santa Catarina Palopo

Child selling trinkets in the streets of Santa Catarina

"Palopo" is a word that is tagged on to the names of two villages on Lake Atitlan: Santa Catalina Palopo and San Antonio Palopo. "Palopo" is derived from the Spanish word "palo" which means stick or tree. "Po" however is also from the Maya dialect Kaqchikel which means "amate," a type of native tree in the area.

Santa Catalina is a small town and its 3,000 inhabitants are almost entirely indigenous. The dress of inhabitants is extraordinary with rich blues (turquoise), purples, and greens that have a zigzag patten. The women wear striking headgear.

Women selling wares at the Festival

I had not been to Santa Catalina Palopo which is to the west of Panajachel. I had read an announcement on a tuk-tuk that there was a village festival taking place there on Saturday, March 21st. I asked my French Swiss friend Bernadette if she would like to venture over there with me, and to my delight, she accepted.

We took a picop from Pana at 11:00 in the morning over to Santa Catalina. The festival was held at the central plaza where a small lovely white church was located. The only recorded date of this church is on its bell, 1762. The festival was dedicated to Lake Atitlan's women. It was a celebration of all women (mostly indigenous) who were involved in undertakings that improved the quality of their lives. There were women from weaving and organic product cooperatives as well as social activists who helped women protect themselves from domestic violence.

Woman displaying the ware that this cooperative made and sold

Bernadette with a Guatemalan woman she has volunteered with

During the festival I wandered into the church and noticed a group of young people there. The men were shirtless which I found very disrespectful. I was about to approach them and inform them in English that it was offensive to the native people to go into churches with little clothing on, but just before I was about to address them, I overheard them speak fluent Spanish! I thought they were naive gringos but Guatemalans? Anyway, I thought better and kept my mouth shut. In any case, I found the episode odd.

Inside the church of Santa Catalina.
This platform will be carried in a holy week procession.
The woman is cleaning the church.

Bernadette and I had a regular lunch at a local restaurant on the edge of the beach. We later hiked back on the less traveled highway to Panajachel. We had had great fun that day.

View from the road between Santa Catarina and Panajachel

Antigua

La Pasión

As Guatemala’s foremost colonial jewels and a declared world heritage site, there is too much to write about Antigua. I visited it for the first time (but not the last) with my daughter on March 14-15, 2009. Antigua was actually Guatemala's third capital, but due to relentless natural disasters (mudslide in 1541; earthquake in 1717), much of population abandoned Antigua after two severe tremors in 1773. The city's history is so rich and dense that I will leave it to readers to do their own research. I will only report what my daughter and I experienced during our first visit here.

When we arrived with a shuttle from Pana, we were delivered at a delightful hotel Uxlabil, which my friend and tour operator Helmuth (friend of Julie Yindra, a colleague at Greensboro College) arranged for us. What a great find (and so was the guide Helmuth organized for us the following day)! Uxlabil is a historical building with its own museum which we failed to visit. However, when Helmuth warned Lorca to watch out for the spirits that haunted the hotel, I thought it better that we did not probe into its history. Lorca was spooked enough.

The interior of Hotel Uxlabil

One of the employees

Lorca and I spent Saturday afternoon checking out shops. One in particular Nim Po't, recommended by Helmuth, was outstanding in its array of Maya woven bags, clothing, costumes as well as other quality handicrafts from Guatemala. One could not bargain in this store (like most in Antigua) but the prices were very fair.

El Arco de Santa Catalina, on the same street as Nim Po't
(this arch served as a passageway
for nuns to cross the street without being seen)
The arch from another viewpoint.
Notice the purple drapery on the balcony.
This signifies the approaching of Holy Week.

That evening we decided to go to a club which was famous for live Cuban music and salsa dancing. We first had a very refined dinner at the upscale restaurant next door to the hotel where we were also serenaded by musicians playing Mexican ranchero love songs. Then we headed for the club around 9:30. We were given an 11:30 curfew that night by the hotel's night porter, much to Lorca's dismay and her mother's relief.

It was a scene out of one of those cross-cultural romantic dance films. We were lucky enough to land a table very close to the band before the place filled up and spilled over with patrons. It was standing room only after 10:30. What was fascinating about the club was the demographics. There were mostly Guatemalan men and gringa women! The Guatemalan men were, for the most part, polished salsa dancers and the gringa women amateurs who were however very eager to have free dancing lessons. There was one triad of Guatemalan dancers, two men and a woman, who could have easily been type-casted as Latin Hollywood actors. They were beautiful, sexy, extremely suave and talented on the dance floor. The one tall very attractive Guatemalan (Antonio Banderas's look-alike) asked an equally good-looking American woman to dance with him. It became obvious that she had had a lot of experience dancing (she even did a split) and the two made a ravishing couple to goggle at. He still had the upper hand on the moves and from her body language, he was teaching her steps she didn't know. The fascinating aspect of watching them is that he would do some very erotic dance movements with her which she complied with but from her facial expression, one could tell she was embarrassed and yet thrilled by her teacher's forwardness.

Lorca had had a little experience with salsa dancing. She was asked by two Guatemalan men to dance. According to Lorca, the first dancer was terrible; the second, however, knew his stuff. He wiggled, swayed, and twirled her around at alternatively languid and frenzied paces. I was impressed with Lorca's adaptability and gracefulness. She appeared to be a natural. She told me later that she attributes this to her Spanish side of the family.

The next day we toured the sites of Antigua. Our guide impressed us with his breadth of knowledge which included a long memorized list of dates. He spoke to us in Spanish, but he could give the same tour in English: he was totally self-taught. He spent over three hours with us, guiding us through majestic churches and convents as well as gorgeous, decadent hotels and restaurants.

Risque central fountain at the Parque Central
The central plaza used to host a bustling market,
bullfights, military parades, floggings, and public hangings.

Cathedral de San Jose at Parque Central, illuminated at night

One site in particular was the famous La Merced whose facade is indeed grandiose. Again, it attests to the blending of Catholic and Maya belief systems since, if you look closely at the moulding in the front, there are sculpted corn cobs which symbolize the Maya belief that mankind came from corn. Inside, there were pre-holy week preparations. On the floor there were drawings of religious imagery made from painstakingly hand-strewn colored sawdust. Maya worshippers had also laid offerings of home-grown vegetables on the borders of these remarkable floor paintings. One is reminded of the Buddhist sand paintings which are eventually destroyed.

LaMerced

Exquisite floor painting out of colored sawdust

Close-up of sawdust floor painting

One remarkable building we visited was Las Capuchinas, the largest of the city's convents, whose ruins are some of the best preserved. The Capuchina nuns came from Madrid and their order was one of most rigid and oppressive. They were never allowed visual contact with anyone. Food was given to them through turntables in the wall and they could only speak to visitors through a grille. According to our guide, some nuns were forced to enter the convent due to their unacceptable social behavior or illicit relationships. As a consequence of their lifelong imprisonment and isolation, many became mentally ill. Our guide led us into a basement that had eerie acoustics. He told us that no one knew what this chamber was used for but there were at least four theories. One of the them was that the chamber was used for chanting. He demonstrated the acoustics of the chamber by singing a sonorous Guatemalan folk song. Lorca followed with an interpretation of "Fly Me to the Moon." The beauty and power of her voice resonated up to a group of tourist outside the chamber. When they descended, the tour guide asked Lorca if she would mind giving an encore. Her improvisation was met with a resounding applause. It was a memorable moment.

The interior of Las Capuchinas

Lorca inside the patio of Las Capuchinas

One of the trivia that our guide passed on to us is that in other to preserve its historical heritage, building codes in Antigua are very strict. If businesses and homeowners wish to paint the facades of their building, they are restricted to eight colors: variations of blue, red, yellow, and green. They are also not permitted to build extensions.

Calle de los Nazarenos, a typical street in Antigua

Antigua is indeed one of Guatemala's historical, architectural gems. I look forward to learning more about this city during visits with friends in the near future.

Santa Catarina de Jesus, former convent and later prison
Now it is being renovated into a museum.

The Black Sands of Guate's Pacific Coast

(courtesy of Lorca Lechuga-Haeseler)

Although Monterrico has been touted as "the nicest place on the entire coast to spend a day or two," I was dissuaded from going there. Mike, owner of the famous Crossroads Cafe in Pana, advised me to go to the coastal town of Sipacate instead and stay at the resort Rancho Carillo. I decided to hire a private driver (un piloto privado) to drive Lorca and me down to Sipacate directly from Pana. The journey took roughly two and half hours. Our driver dropped us off at the area where the wooden lanchas taxi people over to the resort area for a mere 5 quetzales (less than a dollar) pro person. Lorca and I waited about 10 minutes until the boatman was ready to start the motor. But the motor didn't start due to lack of gasoline, so he called another boatman with his cell phone to come pick us up.

The lancha that ferries people over to Rancho Carillo

We found Rancho Carillo to be almost completely empty aside from a family of three. The surroundings were beautiful. There was a pristine beach with a surf that is supposedly "Guatemala's best" (The Rough Guide to Guatemala 246). Apparently, the waves can reach the height of six feet. The resort was also charming. We lucked out with a simple, clean bungalow which was directly on the beach. It also had an ocean-front balcony with a hammock. Lorca and I immediately changed into our bathing suits and stretched out on the black sand.

Tiled walkway at Rancho Carillo (courtesy of Lorca Lechuga-Haeseler)

Much to Lorca's disappointment, she couldn't swim far into the ocean since there is a deadly undertow which has reportedly claimed the lives of many unwary swimmers.

Lorca at the beach in front of our bungalow

We feasted on sopa de mariscos (seafood soup) which had an entire fish (head and tail) in it as well as a whole crab.

Sopa de Mariscos

We also took the lancha into the low key town of Sipacate to have dinner there. The children who were related to the boatmen accompanied us. They thoroughly enjoyed chatting with us and having their picture taken. The girl even offered to keep us company during our tour of the town but we politely rejected her offer.

The boatman's son

His niece

His nephew

On a Thursday evening in Sipacate, we were the only gringas around. The inhabitants are Ladinos; Lorca said she missed the Maya indigenous who lived in the Highlands. The morning before we left, we took a short boat tour through the mangrove coastal reserve. We were disappointed because the only birds we saw were pelicans and ducks. We probably set out too late in the morning. Though we only stayed two days and overnight, Sipacate was a welcome respite and change of scenery.

Pelicans in the mangrove reserve around Sipacate

Chichi

Of course I had to go "Chichi", short for Chichicastenango, a generally quiet highland town which hosts the most famous market in Guatemala and one of the largest in Central America. The market only takes place on Thursday and Sunday. I purposely waited until my daughter Lorca came to visit me during her spring break, so I could share this adventure with her. We were not disappointed! We took a 12-passenger shuttle from Panajachel on Sunday, March 8th around 8 in the morning and arrived in Chichi around 9:30. The market was exploding with hustlers, wares, colors, and sounds. Apparently, these sellers arrive in the dead of night before market day and set up their stalls in candlelight. Though we were anxious to dive into the tipica textiles and handicrafts (my personal mission was to buy painted wood-carved animal masks), we decided that we should visit the important sites beforehand. I had read that there was a sacred site called Pascual Abaj within a 20 minute hike on the outskirts of the city. When we asked a man for directions, he cautioned us that it may not wise to wander up there ourselves and "graciously" offered his services as an official guide. After we settled on a modest fee, our guide (who turned out to be excellent) took us on a rather rigorous jaunt up into the hills to Pascual Abaj. He explained that the Sunday rituals would be taking place when we arrived. At the site there were two curanderos (shamans), a woman and man, who offered their services to anyone who had special needs or requests. They repetitively performed rituals which involved incense, liquor-pouring, and incantations in front of the Idolo, a blackened pre-Columbian sculpture. Sometimes a chicken is sacrificed, but we were saved from that spectacle. As we stood there observing the shamans, two groups of young Guatemalans came to pay their respects. I asked Lorca if she wanted to take advantage of the shaman's services and ask for good grades this semester. For some reason, she didn't take my suggestion seriously.

Pascual Abaj

The guide led us down the fairly steep path into the town and then guided us up the steps of the famous church Santo Tomás on the southeast corner of the main plaza. Like other Catholic churches I have seen, Santo Tomás was the testament to a successful blending of Catholic and Maya belief systems. The church dating back to 1540 has wooden carved figures of Jesus and other saints as well as symbols of the Maya religion such as offerings of aguardiente liquor and symbolically colored candles.

Steps leading up to Santo Tomás Church

After absorbing the majestic atmosphere and relics within the church, we said goodbye to our guide and plunged into the exhilarating chaos of the market. As a haggler, Lorca was very timid in the beginning but with time and practice, she became more emboldened at bargaining and cajoling with the sellers. (She refined this skill later on in Panajachel where she made her last-ditch purchases).

Lorca with our guide at the Chichi Market

I did complete my mission and bought six exquisite masks at a bargain price of 50 dollars. Lorca was thrilled with her purchases which included two lovely embroidered belts. We found a patio restaurant for a quick bite before heading back with the same shuttle (with different passengers no less) to Pana. Chichicastenango (named after a flower) had definitely proven itself as one of the highlights of Lorca's visit as well as a permanent "must" for future visitors.

The market at Chichicastenango

Churunel 2

In a classroom with the children of Churunel 2

Today (March 3^rd) marked one of the most memorable experiences of my sojourn here in Guatemala. I am very fortunate to know Helga, my colleague at UVG, who has lived here for over ten years. She is very well connected with many interesting people and organizations here in Panajachel. One organization that she actively participates in is La Fundacíon Atitlan, which is a German foundation that gathers donations in Germany to buy school supplies for needy Guatemalan schools because 80% of the population live in poverty here and education is regarded a "leg up" out of their condition. Four years ago, the Fundacíon had a surplus of supplies since all of the schools in Panajachel were taken care of. Helga contacted an indigenous leader from the Department (province) of Sololá and asked if the Fundacíon could give these supplies to schools in his area. He told Helga that he knew of an area of Sololá, Churunel 2, which was in dire need of help. Helga and Astrid, the wife of the German consul here in Panajachel, went to the tiny hamlet and looked at the school. Since then, the school has become one of the beneficiaries of the Fundacíon. There are 140 school children and 4 teachers.

Helga invited me to come along on this visit to the school. It was a planned visit from the Fundacíon which included a group of members from Koblenz, Germany, who had arrived a couple of weeks ago. On our way to the school in Helga’s car, I spoke to two members, one was a German woman and the other Dutch. They were here in Guatemala for the first time. The conversation in the car was very amiable and we were all excited about visiting the school. When we arrived at the meeting point on top of the hill, Helga parked her car. We had gone caravan style. One of the picops which followed us was loaded with donations for the school. We climbed into another picop which lumbered down a dirt road to the school. To relieve our nervousness, we all made jokes during our descent since earlier this picop had stalled and locals had to push it to get the motor started.

Picop being loaded with donations

German visitors in the picop headed down to the school
Helga is on the far left smiling at the camera.

The scenery surrounding the village

When we arrived at the school, all of the students and teachers were gathered in the schoolyard anticipating our arrival. As our picops drove to the entrance, all of the students, teachers, parents, and local supporters began to applaud. They set off firecrackers in our honor.

Children applauding our arrival

Close-up of the children welcoming us

We were greeted heartily by the people of Churunel 2. All of the local men first came up to us and shook our hands and welcomed us. We then entered the school yard and were asked to sit in rows of chairs facing the children. Then the performance began. First, there was the national hymn which has to be one of the longest of national hymns in the world. It did appear that the children knew all of the verses, with their right hand over their heart. After that came speeches of gratitude and lovely performances from the children.

One of the teachers who acted as master of ceremony during the performance

Singing the exceptionally long national anthem

In one of the folkloric dances,
the dancer swings a pot of burning incense.

In another dance, the children threw baskets of flower petals at the visitors.

After the student performances, Josef Fuhrmann, leader of the Fundacíon in the Koblenz area of Germany, stood up and gave a very heartfelt speech which Helga translated into Spanish. You have to remember that the children and their parents here know Spanish as a second language. Their mother tongue is the Maya dialect Kacqichel. However, from the reaction from the crowd, most understood Helga's translation of Josef’s message.

Josef Fuhrman giving his speech and Helga Knapp translating

Crowd's reaction

Mothers and grandmothers were at the ceremony.
They also received gifts from the Fundacíon.

The whole village was there.

After the speech, he began to distribute gifts from the Fundacíon which consisted of school supplies: pens, backpacks, even a soccer ball for recess. Many of the gifts Josef presented were sent by donors who had been to the school the previous year. In return, students gave Josef pictures of gratitude that they have drawn especially for the occasion. It was truly a beautiful statement of humanism.

A soccer ball donated by a member who was here last year

One of the drawings from a student given to Josef
It says "Thank you for coming to my school. Welcome."

After the ceremony, we were ushered into one of the classrooms for lunch. We found out that the people of the school went into the villages to gather money to provide us a lunch which consisted of a lovely club sandwich of vegetables and boiled eggs. We all very touched by their sacrifice. The Fundacíon donated the drinks which were ironically Gatorade!

Lunch at the school

After the lunch, we were shown the new kitchen that Fundacíon had sent money to have built. Due to this organization, children here are given free lunch, so the kitchen is now there to provide it. Children filed into rows to get their “snack” which was a nutritious cup of cream of wheat. It is supplemented with additional proteins and vitamins.

After the snack, the children gathered back into the classroom.

Their classroom

Helga needed to get back to Sololá to teach her class at 12:30, so we all climbed into picops and headed back to where Helga’s car was parked. The day's encounter swept me away emotionally. I think it has to do with my lack of exposure to people who are very poor and yet genuinely grateful, sincere, and pure. Moreover, their children radiate a beauty and poignancy that I have never experienced and shall never forget.

The school children of Churunel 2