Teacher's Conference in Xela

Two weeks ago to kick off the new term of classes starting, we were fortunate enough to travel on the company dime to a Regional English Teacher's Conference put on by the Instituto Gualemalteco Americano (IGA) and the US Embassy. Not only were we excited to meet other teacher's and volunteers, but also to travel and eat delicious food without having to worry about the cost. Xela is Guatemala's second largest city and in addition to its cosmopolitan feel it has an incredible variety of delicious restaurants.

We had a great time at the conference meeting quite a few other teachers, mainly Guatemalans though. Because we were American, the other teachers tended to lean on us when in came time to present ideas when working in groups. We were disappointed that the Guatemalan teachers didn't have more courage or confidence.

One girl from NY really connected with us and we ended up staying at her and her husband's place later on in the weekend. We went on a hike, went out to eat, and really just connected with them both. They are here until December so we're planning to travel with them a bit or have them here in Quiché. We were also fortunate enough to win a set of 200+ full page color photos in a raffle that can be used with early beginners of English. This is going to help tremendously because we don't have easy access to magazines and other photos to build a collection.

The highlight though was going out to dinner with the 2 key note speakers and the Senior Teaching Fellow and her husband, all from the states. For about 3 hours we had great Spanish food, even better connection, and Toby got to have his first glass of wine in 6 months (courtesy of one of the guest speakers who bought the most expensive bottle on the list). We made some really good connections with both professors that can help us with our work here, and personally. One woman highly suggested we look into her university Monterey. It was very inspiring to talk with them and see all the possibilities for our futures.


On the way home we made a need stop at the mall for a few things we can't really find in Quiché such as butter, fresh bread and delicious cheese. We also picked up some brown rice, jam, and a few other essentials. It turns out that all of these great items and more can be found at Hiper Paiz, a formerly Guatemalan-owned family store that got so big, Wal-Mart just HAD to buy it. Well, it is all we have so we happily buy from these little Wal-Marts all over Guatemala. In addition to the groceries we took a little time out to play air hockey, another one of those things that you don't realize you miss till you move somewhere without it.