So we had our first round of workshops with our teachers this week. It went surprisingly well. Of course it was workshops Guatemalan style but it was great to see what the future will look like and get a better grasp on what to expect/how the two years with Guatemalan teachers will be.
What exactly do I mean Guatemalan style?
1.) I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Guatemalans can really enjoy themselves during group activities and games. We started the workshop off with an icebreaker: We’re all in a boat…a cruise to be exact…sailing to our favorite vacation destination when the boat hits a rock and begins to sink. Thank God there are life boats. BUT, they only
fit……FOUR people. FIND A LIFE BOAT, QUICK! You would not believe how quickly these mostly middle-aged teachers transformed from normal adults into giggling, pushing, shoving fun-loving kid-like creatures, fighting to form groups of four and cold-heartedly turning away their comrades to find another life raft. After a few rounds of this game we found ourselves in groups of eight where we attempted undo the human knot (where everyone grabs hands with someone across the circle and once you
’re all tangled you up you try to undo yourselves). Can I tell you how into this they were? They were coaching and directing and hopping over and crouching under and sliding through, laughing and truly enjoying themselves. It was refreshing. I just know in the US people would try not to enjoy themselves too much because, who knows why, but it’s waaaaaay to uncool to take actually enjoy
yourself during fun activities once you’re over 12 years old. Every time we do an activity I never cease to be amazed at how almost every single person really devotes themselves not only to the task but also to having FUN. I love it!!!!! We also had the ole’ carry the egg on a spoon and spin around three times and come back game during the snack break. They enjoyed that 
too : )
I wish Americans could be more like this! I've never seen anything like it and could never imagine it on American soil but I think we could learn a lot from Guatemalans about being able to let you hair down and have a good time : )
2.) Guatemalans are very eager to BEGIN. It was a little hard to explain the human knot activity because everyone started after the first “take your right hand and grab the hand of the person across from you.” Since everyone had already started grabbing random hands, we had to go group to group to explain because everyone stopped listening after the first step. Even when standing there coaching them, sometimes they still didn’t listen because they’re already trying to figure it out! It’s very different from the American way where you more of less wait to hear the directions or if you start early you do it quietly so you can still hear what the end goal is…or at least so everyone else can.
3.) Like Thailand, people are pretty obsessed with their phones. (Not that people from the US aren’t obsessed with their phones too, but it’s on a whole new level!) We had a real problem with people answering their phones during the workshop’s two sessions. We also had plenty of people step out to take a call (which is the more American way).
4.) Talking during the workshop: MAN did we have certain people who would sit in the back (or front) of the classroom and talk…I mean TALK like you would outside at a picnic table with your friends when no one else is around. It’s extremely hard to get used to this and on first day I was so flustered I screwed up half my lesson plan. I’ve noticed that a certain level of talking/side-conversations is permitted, or at least
tolerated, in the average meeting. Our first meeting with our 21 principals was our first introduction to not-whispered, full-fledged side conversations but on a smaller scale. The more people there are, the more side conversations become a problem. We had over 80 people every day so you can imagine what it was like trying to manage them all! I finally took to just stopping completely and waiting silently until the guilty parties noticed or until another teacher told them to be quiet. 
What exactly do I mean Guatemalan style?
1.) I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Guatemalans can really enjoy themselves during group activities and games. We started the workshop off with an icebreaker: We’re all in a boat…a cruise to be exact…sailing to our favorite vacation destination when the boat hits a rock and begins to sink. Thank God there are life boats. BUT, they only
fit……FOUR people. FIND A LIFE BOAT, QUICK! You would not believe how quickly these mostly middle-aged teachers transformed from normal adults into giggling, pushing, shoving fun-loving kid-like creatures, fighting to form groups of four and cold-heartedly turning away their comrades to find another life raft. After a few rounds of this game we found ourselves in groups of eight where we attempted undo the human knot (where everyone grabs hands with someone across the circle and once you
’re all tangled you up you try to undo yourselves). Can I tell you how into this they were? They were coaching and directing and hopping over and crouching under and sliding through, laughing and truly enjoying themselves. It was refreshing. I just know in the US people would try not to enjoy themselves too much because, who knows why, but it’s waaaaaay to uncool to take actually enjoy
yourself during fun activities once you’re over 12 years old. Every time we do an activity I never cease to be amazed at how almost every single person really devotes themselves not only to the task but also to having FUN. I love it!!!!! We also had the ole’ carry the egg on a spoon and spin around three times and come back game during the snack break. They enjoyed that 
too : )I wish Americans could be more like this! I've never seen anything like it and could never imagine it on American soil but I think we could learn a lot from Guatemalans about being able to let you hair down and have a good time : )
2.) Guatemalans are very eager to BEGIN. It was a little hard to explain the human knot activity because everyone started after the first “take your right hand and grab the hand of the person across from you.” Since everyone had already started grabbing random hands, we had to go group to group to explain because everyone stopped listening after the first step. Even when standing there coaching them, sometimes they still didn’t listen because they’re already trying to figure it out! It’s very different from the American way where you more of less wait to hear the directions or if you start early you do it quietly so you can still hear what the end goal is…or at least so everyone else can.
3.) Like Thailand, people are pretty obsessed with their phones. (Not that people from the US aren’t obsessed with their phones too, but it’s on a whole new level!) We had a real problem with people answering their phones during the workshop’s two sessions. We also had plenty of people step out to take a call (which is the more American way).
4.) Talking during the workshop: MAN did we have certain people who would sit in the back (or front) of the classroom and talk…I mean TALK like you would outside at a picnic table with your friends when no one else is around. It’s extremely hard to get used to this and on first day I was so flustered I screwed up half my lesson plan. I’ve noticed that a certain level of talking/side-conversations is permitted, or at least
tolerated, in the average meeting. Our first meeting with our 21 principals was our first introduction to not-whispered, full-fledged side conversations but on a smaller scale. The more people there are, the more side conversations become a problem. We had over 80 people every day so you can imagine what it was like trying to manage them all! I finally took to just stopping completely and waiting silently until the guilty parties noticed or until another teacher told them to be quiet. 
Thankfully however, these talkers irritated a fair amount of their colleagues enough that often the other teachers would ask for silence! Very encouraging! We’ve started a competition between the 21 schools and have announced that we will be deducting points from schools whose teachers are disruptive! I think next time we will also establish “classroom rules” such as no side conversations, no cell phones and no leaving early!!! Thank you : )
5. CRAFTS. Man oh man do Guatemalan teachers LOVE to do crafts. Of all the things the teachers said liked most on the feedback form, the number one answer: the craft. We asked them to bring scissors, glue, crayons/markers and a cornflakes box (everyone eats cornflakes) to make the one of the three items we had jus
t explained. WOW …the room was quieter than it had been all day. The colors were flying, the scissors chopping away….people had out rulers so that their lines would be perfect. I have NEVER seen anyone…child, teen, teacher…artist…ANYONE work so hard on a craft in all my life. We tried to call a meeting for the principals during the craft time so that everyone could leave on time together….can I tell you that they told us they would rather do the craft and stay after? It was SERIOUS.So all in all the workshop was successful. We learned a lot and bonded with our teachers. Obviously there are things that I love and hate about this new culture but overall, I really like it! The workshop was a great experience and I'm looking forward to more fun games and crafts in the future : )
