May Journals
The week before Easter, Judy and I traveled to Tikal. We stayed overnight at the Jungle Lodge. The Jungle Lodge was right outside the entrance to the park, so we were able to walk into the park at both sunrise and sunset when very few people were there.
Tikal is one of the most spectacular Mayan ruin sites I have ever seen. The jungle around the site is very dense and full of wildlife. At sunset, we could here all types of different birds calling and screeching. The strangest jungle sound was the growl made by the Howler monkeys. When Judy and I first heard it, we thought it was a Jaguar or some other large cat.
Tikal has the highest pyramids in Central America, however the jungle is so dense that you cannot see the different pyramids until you get right up to the site. We saw pictures of the pyramids prior to excavation, and the jungle covered them so completely that they looked like hills in the middle of the jungle.
I climbed just about every pyramid, and the next day my legs knew it. Also, the jungle was very steamy and hot; a huge change from the usually pleasant climate in Antigua. Judy got a bit sick from dehydration the first day even though she seemed to be drinking water constantly.
Photos:
This is a photo of Temple I, also known as the Gran Jaguar, from the back side of the Gran Plaza.
This is the main living quarters of the Mayan nobility.
Here is Judy taking a breather in the shade. The sun was very intense during midday. Walking through the park was much more comfortable at dawn and sunset.
This is a giant carved mask (8 feet high) that was situated in a type of cavern near Temple I.
This is Temple III sticking out above the jungle.
Here is Judy coming down from the temple at a site called Mundo Perdido, which means Lost World. We watched the sunset here and enjoyed all the exotic jungle sounds. It was very relaxing to just sit on top of this pyramid and take it all in.
This is a photo of Temple I at about 7:00 in the morning. I climbed Temple IV at dawn to see the sunrise (5:00 am), but unfortunately it was cloudy. It was still very pleasant, since the park was almost empty until about 8:00 am.
For the past several weeks, I have been
volunteering at a special education school called Hermano Pedro.
The full name is: Centro Oficial de Educación Especial
Hermano Pedro. Half the social service / education agencies
in Antigua are named Hermano Pedro after a Spanish monk who came
to Guatemala in the 17th century, and developed a hospital and
other services for the poor. Guatemalans revere him like a
saint, although he has only reached the staged of beatification
within the Catholic Church.
The special education school is supported financially by
Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, but they are administratively
independent. This school serves 75 children with learning
disabilities of one type or another. The difficulties
include attention deficit disorder, hearing problems, Down's
Syndrome, and speech problems, to name a few. There are
five classrooms with an average of 15 kids per classroom.
This is one of only five special education programs in all of
Guatemala.
I volunteer as a classroom assistant with Gabi in a classroom of
attention deficit children. For the past three weeks we
shared a classroom with the Down's Syndrome class, because the
morning teacher (this facility houses a regular elementary school
in the morning) had locked us out of our regular classroom.
The story was that he got angry when one of our kids broke a
classroom window, and decided to punish us. Each day we
were promised that the classroom would be unlocked the next day,
but it took three weeks to be get it opened again. Talk
about a zoo, with that many distractible kids in one classroom.
I really enjoy the children at this school. They are very
warm and genuine. Every afternoon when I come to the
school, I receive 4-5 hugs and kisses from the children.
They also let me know immediately when they are angry or
displeased with me. The teaching staff are very
appreciative of the help in the classroom. These are
children who need much individual attention, and the teachers
simply don't have the time to attend to all of them by themselves.
I also enjoy the mix of work, since I spend the morning helping
out with administrative
tasks at Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, and then in the afternoon
I am teaching and playing with children. Two totally
different worlds.
Photos:
This is the front gate of Hermano Pedro Special Education School
This is a panoramic view of the basketball court with the classrooms in the background.
This is a photo of Beni and Alejandra (two of my favorite kids at the school). Beni's name is pronounced like Benny, and her face lights up when I sing Benny and the Jets to her.
This is Marvin (another favorite) helping me sweep the classroom at the end of the day.
This is Gabi (the teacher I work with most of the time), Carmela, and Petro.
This is of photo of recreation time.
This is a chalk drawing that Joni drew of me.
