Three Niñas - Corazon Maya

Three Niñas - Corazon Maya
Lupita, Magdalena and Clarita

Search This Blog

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Antiguena Spanish Academy - Antigua - Nov2008

The entrance to Antiguena school.
.
I have a young man called Alvaro for a teacher. He is good, and demanding.
.
School costs $60 per week for 5x4 hrs of 1 on 1 teaching in the afternoon. ($75 mornings). The school seems to have more students than other schools, as it is recommended in Lonely Planet. Also, its prices are lower than average. Alvaro told me the school has a permanent complement of about 15 teachers. It can usually handle up to about 20 students in the mornings or afternoons, but most prefer mornings. There are only two PCs for use by students, so one has to sign up for ½ hours per day. Probigua has more PCs and I was often able to work on one for 4 hours at a stretch. However, this is not really an issue as there are numerous internet cafes nearby, costing from Q5 to 8 per hour (about $0.75 – $1.10).
.
Alvaro told me that the teachers receive about half of what the students pay, so that would be about $1.50 to $2/hr. Not very much. However, he seemed happy since he had almost a full-time job, except for May and December (the slow months). Many schools, including Probigua, are slow for a good part of the year and therefore offer only part time work.
.
I found the school to be less peaceful than at Probigua. One reason is that Antiguena is more popular and its premises are more cramped. It also lacks the plants and outdoor atmosphere of Probigua and El Viejo for example. Several times we were forced to look for another desk due to the noise, as I found I could not understand my teacher. There are two nice study nooks on the roof, with good views, but these were always taken. After a few days I became more used to Alvaro´s voice so the noise did not bother me as much. Also, we were often able to use one of the small enclosed rooms which are more private.
.
Antiguena provides an excellent array of free extra mural activities for the students. (More than at Probigua). I was able to participate in several, all of which I found gave an interesting glimpse of life in Antigua. They also helped with one’s Spanish. I found I was able to understand about 75% of what was being said, mainly because the teachers and guides are from the school and know to speak clearly and slowly.
.
Bike Tour of Antigua
.
About 8 of us were taken on an hour long bike tour of the city. The school provided the bikes. I found my seat was too low but the school didn’t appear to have any tools so I just put up with it. Biking was fine, although the cobbled streets and busy traffic can be challenging. I wore my bright reflector vest and bike helmet, which may have been unique in the history of the town.
.
Martha took us to various churches and ruins, and told us some of the history. The city was founded by the conquistadors in 1543, and became the capital of the region. It was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773, and the Spanish moved the capital 30 miles to the east, to present day Ciudad Guatemala. The destroyed town was slowly rebuilt, and became known as Antigua Guatemala, or old Guatemala, which was later shortened to Antigua. Many old buildings still show damage from past earthquakes, the most recent of which occurred in 1976. These ruins add interest to the city, and are much loved by all. Today, Antigua is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is not hard to see why. A fascinating city, with weather that is hard to beat.
.
Valhalla Macadamia Farm
.
This afternoon tour was enjoyable. About 20 of us, including our teachers, traipsed off to the mercado (market) and caught a chicken bus for the half hour ride south west to the small farm. The journey was part of the fun. I just love the hustle and bustle of the mercado. I’ll bet a week’s wages there isn’t a mall in Washington that has half the products or color. If it is made or grown or dug up or pirated by humans, one can probably find it there. And meet a lot of interesting people while searching.



Pretty country. This was partly the route I had taken on my first bike ride. The farm is run by a group of environmentalists, and is totally organic. They try to promote environmental awareness, and run development projects with Indigenous villages, to teach them good farming practices. Volunteers are welcome.






.
They showed us the simple equipment used to remove the husks and sort the macadamia nuts.
.
The dehusker uses local materials, plus a small lawnmower engine, and costs about $120 total.
.





.
The nut sorting table. No moving parts.
.











.
The local toilet is so relaxing that one could spend all day there. The lady claimed that they are angling to get it into the Guinness book of records, as the most photographed bagnio in the world.
.







.
Candies of Guatemala
.
This was an interesting class held one afternoon at the school. Guatemaltecos have a sweet tooth, it seems. Sugar is one of the main ingredients, as one might expect. The large fruit is called a chilacajote and is related to the watermelon. The large sugary globs are from this fruit. They also boil milk and sugar to make a range of milk treats, as in India. Coconuts, pears, guayabas, and zapotes (red flesh) are some other fruits used. At the end of the class we were encouraged to sample the fruits. However, I found the samples too big. The teachers couldn’t understand my problem.

.
Cooking Class using Corn
.
This was fascinating. Corn is holy to the Mayas. It originated in the Americas, and has since become a staple in other parts of the world, such as East and Southern Africa. We were told there are over 300 species, of which about 35 are cultivated in CenAmerica. There are 4 colors – white, yellow (the two most popular), red and black. Ever seen black corn? I hadn’t. I am told one can find it in the market in a few places, so I am going to look for it today, for my Sunday meals.

The teacher explained how it is processed in the local mills (los molinos). Each morning on my hour-long walks, I meet women walking down to the mills in the nearby village of Jocotenango, carrying their large bowls of corn kernels on their heads. These mills are small communal affairs, located in a room about 12 ft x 12 ft. They seem to be a local hangout, rather like the communal washing areas at the water holes near villages in Africa. Afterwards they return home with the ground corn dough, called masa. This they use to make the staple tortillas, which are eaten plain (quite tasty), with avocado(great), as tamales (wrapped in banana leaves, with salsa, etc), or toasted or fried (tacos). They also use corn to make several drinks and pastries. Once again, we were encouraged to sample the foods after the class.
.
Views of Antigua taken from the top of the school.
.
.
My teacher Alvaro and myself.
.
.
The valley is quite scenic.
.

No comments: