If you read “teaching job in Guatemala” in my last post and envisioned me sweating it out in a humid, windowless shack while my students sat on the dirt floor, shoeless yet eager to learn…well, you’d be a tad bit off with that one.
The reality is that I teach in a very posh International school. There are security cameras in the classrooms, all the teachers have to scan their finger-prints Mission Impossible style upon entering the building and I spend part of each class shouting: “Next time I see your iPhone, I’m confiscating it!” Some of my students are so wealthy, they have body guards. And while most of them are Guatemalans, you wouldn’t be able to tell from their fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes.
The school would be impressive anywhere, but in a country where 40 percent of it’s population is illiterate and the average worker only earns five dollars a day, the wealth that pours into that school is down-right astounding. The school has a football field, basketball court, computer lab, outdoor theater and even an espresso machine.
Now, if only they’d build a ski-lift from the road where the bus drops me off each morning to the top of the hill, where the school is located, I’d be happy. Because not only is the hill vertical and cobble-stoned, but I have to hike up it at 6:45 in the morning. And in three-dollar, pleather heels that I bought off a TV repair man, too boot.
And that’s definitely no bueno.
Hi Reannon,
I thought it happen in India only. But we are spoiling our environment. It really suck places fled by used syringes. Any how your is IB school?
I like your honest writing and Why ‘Solo Travel Sucks’ post. No one even thought of it :). It more humorous.
Abhi
This is the first time Im commenting on your blog.
But Im a huge fan of you and your work.
By the way, Congratulations for Getting published in Matador and for the new job too.
Waiting for your next post!!!!!!
Hi Reannon,
I’ve been keeping up with your blog since your Japan days and comment on it sporadically. Congrats on the sweet job!! Aside from the hill it sounds great, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a school that has an espresso machine!
It’s such a shame about the beaches in Guatemala being strewn with medical waste and being unsafe to walk on alone 🙁 Is that the case for all beaches in Guatemala or just the one you and your housemates were vacationing at? I taught english in Japan for a year and one of my favorite things about the country was how safe I always felt. I would ride my bike back through the city (I lived in Himeji) at 3 in the morning and feel perfectly safe. I don’t think you can do that in a city in any other country really, especially being female.
Anyhoo, congrats again on the new job and looking forward to your next post!
p.s. This is really random but has anyone ever told you that you look like Jessie from Saved by the Bell? I’ve always thought that, haha.
Thanks for commenting, guys! And yeah, it’s pretty awesome to be in Matador. I really admire a lot of the posts on that site, so I consider it an honor to be included! Anywho, hope you keep reading…
@ Sarah – I think that’s the case with all the beaches…Waste disposal is a big problem here. There’s no where to put it and people are just too ignorant (maybe?) to know better so they chuck everything into the rivers and lakes.
It’s true what you said about Japan and the safety thing. That’s what I miss most about it! Here, I can’t even walk a block by myself if it’s after 8 or 9 at night. If I have no one to walk me home, than I have to take a cab! It’s sad and frustrating sometimes, too.
Aww…Jessie from Saved by the Bell? Really? That’s nice of you to say that but I don’t think so! : )