I've been in Guatemala for almost two weeks.
I first arrived here on Friday, July 8 in the morning and had the weekend to settle in before classes started on Monday. I will be here for the next month and am teaching 2 English classes. The classes are very small: one class has six students and the other has only two. It has been really nice to experience teaching in a new and different context. After teaching this year in Ontario with my first classroom for the whole year, I felt very burnt out and exhausted. It has been refreshing being able to experience teaching in a context that doesn't feel draining but meaningful. I love being able to help students gain a skill that will be valuable for them in the future. My students are very respectful and work hard. And I have been enjoying these past two weeks teaching them. Guatemala is such a beautiful country and I don't know if I will ever get over waking up to the mountains every morning. I could look at them every day. My new favorite thing has been noticing all the beautiful and different flowers around the school. I am constantly taking pictures of the flowers here because they are gorgeous! My first week being here was a week of adjusting to new things. My stomach didn't feel the greatest the first week and I felt nauseous and had stomach cramps for a few days. But it has been nice slowly being able to adjust into my new routine. I have to be at the school for 7 am and we finish at 2:30. Every morning we start the day with devotionals and worship God together. It's such a blessing being in the presence of God with other people every single day. Since being here I've realized that dreams coming true, doesn't mean that everything will be easy and rose-colored. I have had to adjust to being in Guatemala in a context that is so different than my last trip here. I did not come down with a group but on my own. Although I live with two other girls who also teach at the school, they are both very independent. Cooking and grocery shopping for yourself in a new country is also a whole new experience! There have been a lot of new and uncomfortable experiences that come with being in a new country, especially when you aren't proficient in the dominant language. But I'm learning that just because things are hard, does not mean that they are not good. The longer I am here, the more thankful I am that I get to spend this month in this country. I feel like God has a lot to speak to me and teach me while I am here and I want to be open to what He wants to do. I'm thankful that He allowed me to come back at just the right time, for the right length of time. I am praying that my last two weeks here will be fun but also meaningful. I'll be back soon with even more flower pictures!! Talk soon, Shana Shaye
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AuthorRecent Brock & Queen's graduate and Third Year Teacher! I love to talk about life, justice and faith. Archives
July 2022
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