Saturday, February 5, 2011

TGIF!!!


Speaking of new experiences!  This week we really worked! - well, the last three days, anyway.  It's been ten years since we've had a week of alarm clocks and real appreciation for the weekend. 

What a great week it's been though.  Being back at Common Hope and being a tiny part of the good things they're doing is invigorating.  Our old acquaintances seemed happy to see us and we've met lots of friendly, enthusiastic new friends. 

So this week we've gotten settled and figured out how to get to Common Hope. The first morning we were ripped off by a taxi driver (he charged a whole 40Q, ie.$5).  So we looked further and found that the "chicken bus" goes right past our apartment - and costs 1.5Q (18 cents).  Plus we make lots of new friends!  Everyone on the bus (actually, everyone we've met in town) knows "Las Familias de Esperanza" and will help to get us there.
Chicken bus


The last three days we've had individual meetings with the six Guatemalan staff that we'll be mentoring three times a week for the next two months.  The mentoring will be primarily in English skills but the conversational part can cover any business or work issues that they have.  The level of English among the six varies greatly, but the amount of enthusiasm is similar.  

We've also worked quite a bit on organizing our first "Leadership Time."  This will be a 90 minute session every Monday morning while we're here, for 20 Guatemalan staff.  We've been working with Lisa, the HR Manager,  to pull this off.  The English skills for this group vary even more, so we're needing to translate the presentation, handouts and homework. 

So next week it's to work in earnest.  We've also located two very important things in Antigua - a language school, where we've signed up for Spanish lessons four hours a week - and a sports bar broadcasting the Super Bowl on Sunday. 
Our Language School



2 comments:

  1. I am so envious of your trip! Makes me want to get on a plane!!

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  2. I can just picture you there on the chicken bus! I'll be eager to hear how the training goes!

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