Did i mention that i heart my school???

okay, i´m going to have to calm myself while i talk about how hugely awesome my school is. really, it´s just so amazing. here is just an abbreviated list of reasons why:

1. the school just celebrated it´s 20 year anniversary as the first non-profit educational collective in Xela. It pays all employees better than a living wage and is the only school in Xela that also pays social security for all their employees.
2. the school was founded after a young activist was ¨disappeared¨ and the community rallied around the event, then brought the police who commited the crime (under orders) to the courts (they were found guilty, for the first time ever). The community then decided that there needed to be a school where they could talk about the atrocities committed by the government and teach students about it (who could then take the info back to their home countries). Thus, my school was born.
3. Orientation consisted of 3 hours of Guatemalan history, particularly focusing on the armed conflict of the past 80 years, the guerrilla movements, the genocide of 250,000 indigenous people from around 1978-1996 (including the United State´s huge role in this), and the obvious trauma such brutality and climate of fear has and is continuing to have on the entire country. i entered the classroom very ignorant and left much more aware that this experience is much for that learning spanish.
4. The teachers and staff are just incredible. besides being super nice (they just smiled and told me ¨esta no problema!¨ when i broke the handle off the water cooler my first day!), they are SUPER patient and obviously very skilled at adapting to vastly different knowledge levels and learning styles. My first teacher (we change every week), Doris, is wonderful and is very prepared and created an individual lesson plan for me right after I completed my first exam. One-on-one classes are pretty intense but I´m feeling more and more confident that I´m going to learn mucho espanol here. Basically, I´m going to review and then go past all the espanol I learned in my 12 week class at home in one week here!
5. They have yummy pan, cafe, leche y té on breaks. it´s pretty rockin´.
6. The learning space itself is wonderful (one of the pics to the left is the main classroom courtyard). learning outside in the warm sun surrounded by calming colors and plants or taking a break on the rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of the city is infinitely better than fluorescent lighting and freezing classrooms.
7. In addition to the 5 hours of spanish class, my school also provides so many other activities for the students. every week, there are 2 trips to nearby places, a political documentary movie screening, a conference (this week´s topic is bio-diversity in Guatemala), a soccer game, and a graduation celebration for those leaving the school. this week, I´m planning on going on one of the trips: an excursion to a major agricultural region, ¨the breadbasket of Guatemala¨, to tour a farm (with zanahorias y papas the size of your head!) and learn about how the organic agricultural system works here (and maybe comprar some giant veggies!).