Soundtrack of My Life

Well Today has been a very bittersweet day. I am glad that I am headed home tomorrow, yet sad to leave this wonderful community. Today was the last day with the kids, and I was on the verge of tears (inside of course!) whenever I was with them. I can´t say how lucky I was to work with these fine kids. I hope to write more about my trip as I get home and recouperate from the 4 hour van ride and almost 9 hours of flight time between me and home. It is my hope to return to the school before I graduate, because what I gave to this school has not equaled what it has given me.

It feels like my time in Guatemala is running out. I am trying to remember everything I wanted to do when I got here. I think everything I wanted to do got done. Tonight was the last meal we had cooked with Maria our hired cook. She has been so wonderful and made so many delicious dishes for the volunteers. I am sad that this was the last meal with her cooking. Maurene and I have started to clear the house we are staying in for the next renters. The house has had its share of problems and troubles but it was always nice to come home after a day of work. Tomorrow is the last day working at the school. I am going to miss the kids at the school terribly. I see in them future leaders of the world. One person struck me the most. A student named Lucas. At first glance his mind seems to wander during certain activities but in certain things it does not take any extra effort on the teacher to get him to be focused. He reminds me a lot about myself as a little kid. I always felt more focused on some things versus others. The things that struck me the most about him, is a couple weeks back, I brought my violin to Escuela Caracol to show the kids for the very first time. While many of the kids have not seen or heard of an instrument like the violin, something about Lucas struck me. In a previous blog, I talked about how it wasw effortless for him to get a solid sound out of a violin that was way to big for him. In looking back and reflecting, I noticed a focus in his eyes that I had never seen in a kid ever. It felt like someone took a dagger to my heart at the moment. The way he looked at the violin,  and would not take his gaze away from it. Evene if this is the only thing I get from this trip, it is worth a million times over everything I cheerish in life. I always find joy teaching kids to play the violin, but even before teaching Lucas, it felt as though there is an inate talent, waiting to break out, and show to the world what greatness is really is. The other kids have treated me so well. I think Maurene and I have become the best swing pushers ever.

Today was also the first official day the Diego, the school´s hired music teacher taught his first music class. He did a marvelous job. I had never heard the kids sing as beautifully as they did today. For a lot of them, it was the first time they had a structured and organized music class. What they didn´t know was that they were in fact learning the notes to the pentatonic scale, when they were learning the song “El Viento.” the song was chosen by Diego to be the opening and closing song of the classes. It´s very fitting in that the song is about the wind, and the main focus of the music is singing and playing the pentatonic flute. Both of these relate to breathing and exhaling of air to become music. Diego has taught me more then I have taught him. He´s an example of another case, where if he grew up in a developed country, he could have been a great teacher of music or a musician. I can only imagine what potential he has, but with the education system in Guatemala, getting to or through high school is a feat in itself.

I am sad to say that I did not do a detailed job of bloggin my adventures. Internet and computer access was not easy and if I had easy access to internet then I would have blogged more about my adeventures. I have kept a small journal of my adventures and as I mentioned before I will put them all up for people to read after I get back. I have so much to tell from my time in Guatemala, it´s been one of the greatest experience in my life that I have experienced. I feel so much more lucky and fortunate for the upbringing I received. Maurene and I have talked a lot about the education system and possible futures of the students. We have been given a small insight to their lives and the environment they are being brought up in. I´ve gotten to know Maurene so much better as a person and a friend. I think we have very similar ideas and philosophies. Being in Guatemala with Maurene has felt like being in a crash course in friendship development. I can honstely say she is one of the coolest people I have hung out with, and is a great presence in a third world country. I hope to be able to work with her in the future whether it´s musical happenings at William and Mary or continuing my work with Escuela Caracol.  I will blog one more time before I leave Guatemala, when I print my boarding passes. It will focus a lot on Diego´s second flute only class on friday.

So on a wonderful Sunday morning with our spirits high, we embark on an adventurous day including kayaking. Our kayaking adventure was more than an adventure. The winds were not in our favor today, and the lake water was rocking and rough. We got pretty far into the lake and the kayak we were paddling tipped over!!!! We all tried to keep our cool…but we got through this team building exercise. So take note out there folks, do not go kayaking on a windy day. After we got to hang out with Josh and Courtney, the people running and managing Escuela Caracol. We got to enjoy lunch with them and their family. Afterwards, Maurene got to give their oldest daughter, Althea a music lesson. We then went off to the biggest party this town has ever seen…everyone and anyone was there, who was not a local. It was interesting to be immersed into the culture of Gringos in san Marcos. It is a very tight knit community. So after the party, I am at a computer typing this blog.  This is my last week working at Escuela Caracol, and it saddens me that I must leave this amazing experience. I will definitely miss the kids, they are truly special, and all have  enormous potential to be successful and great leaders, and citizens of the world. I will truly miss San Marcos. Also on a random side note, if you´re really feeling seasickness, or in my case lakesickness, it feels really good to puke into the lake. Cheers.

Well I haven´t blogged in so long, but I´ve always managed to write down my thoughts and events so in the next few days I will be sure to write them as Diary blogs. Today We got to the school to work on some writing with the kids. I got to take out my violin and have some of the kids try to play it. They´re all really enthusiastic and excited to try the violin. The violin I have with me is a full sized violin that is much to big for all the children. My hope is that when I get home I can try to find some smaller sized violins that I can donate to the school. Specifically within the last couple of days a certain student named Lucas just had a knack for playing. He got a smooth tone and sound from playing open strings. It usually takes kids a month or more to get a smooth and connective sound like that. It really touched my heart. On another note, Maurene arrived on Sunday and we´ve been having a blast. I´ve gotten to know her better as a person, and she´s one cool cucumber. I´ll defnitely write more, but the weekend and fried chicken are calling. We´re working more with Diego, the school´s hired music teacher tomorrow morning before eating lunch and heading out to Pana.

well Today was the first day of school and it was wonderful to see the kids in action. It was fun seeing the kids having so much fun at Escuela Caracol. They asked me to bring my violin to school tomorrow to play for the kids. I hope they enjoy it. Onto problems, we´ve had electricity issues in San Marcos and Water problems. Yesterday, city water was turned off, and today we had a period of no power. While not having power is not bad, we´re extremely worried for the food in the fridge. The power is however on and another problem arose. We locked ourselves out of  the house. Stupid thing of us, but I think we´re both at fault in some sense. We luckily broke into our own house to retrieve the keys, all thanks to Mr. Adam Clemence. there happen to be a clothes hanger and a ladder ready to be used to broke into the home. That makes me feel just that much safer. Anyways, I´ve been here for a week and it´s been wonderful. I hope the rest of the week finishes out well. I´m hoping to get to know one of my colleagues, Maurene Comey a little bit better on this trip. She finishes her time her with me, then we´re back home in the USA on July 18th.

Well as of 6 or 7 o´clock last night, the power to the house I am staying at went dead. It´s a major epic power fail. The power hasn´t come back on since this morning. It is not unusual for the power to go out but we will hope for the best. It´s rained every single day I have been here, and it is a way of life in Guatemala. The weather is very temperate and mild. The land is known as the land of “Eternal Spring.” Today at the school we worked more with Diego, the school´s hired music teacher. He has made so much progress learning new songs. We started incorporating the pentatonic flute into the curriculum. He is really smart and a very fast learner. I am invited to play tomorrow at a yoga class for some students at Escuela Caracol. I guess this means I should be practicing tonight or tomorrow morning. I think I´ll try to find something mellow and happy sounding instead of my usual angry, sad, and emotional works for the violin in my repretoire. I guess Mozart will have to do. I´ve picked up my violin a couple of times here but it doesn´t feel the same like it does at home or back at school. I guess it´s because I´m not playing with my violin, but instead playing with a violin that I haven´t played in 3 years. The day is pretty much over at this point for me, and it´s relaxing and hanging out with my friend Adam. I´ve gotten to know Adam so much better within the last 4 days I have been here than I have for the past year and a half I´ve known him. I guess when you live with someone, it makes you know them better, whether it´s in a good or bad way.  I´ve also found out we have some similar tastes in music, which is cool, yet crappy at the same time becuase we don´t have power to listen to it. Well that is all for now, time to relax.

So the weekend has come. Adam and I decided we´re going to Pana to buy some gifts and sightseeing. It was about a 35 minute boat ride to Pana from San Marcos.  The sights and views from Pana of Lake Atitlan was amazing. I cannot say how inspired I was to look out from the town to see the lake so tranquil and filled with microbial organisms that will render the strongest of men weak and sick. We got some awesome shot glasses which will  undoubtedly be put to good use in college. After an exhausting and long boat ride back, we ended eating at the Blind Lemon´s again. We had terrific turkey burgers, which were to die for. We´re looking forward to a dance performance of sorts at Escuela Caracol Tonight. I´ll talk more about it tomorrow, but for now I will be listening to the Sibelius Violin Concerto performed by Hilary Hahn and taking a catnap. The lake has inspired me to compose something. I´m starting to miss home a little now, especially my parents and my violin.

Well after a long and arduous ride in a van for 5 hour through mountains, road construction, and heavy rain, I made it safe and sound to San Marcos. While I was not greeted to the best of weather, the weather this morning was absolutely beautiful and magnificent. I got to journey on a water taxis to get to another town across the lake from San Marcos, in a town called San Pedro to change money. After, we got to the school to work with Diego, Escuela Caracol´s hired music teacher. My friend Adam who has an outstanding understanding and execution of Spanish did most of the work teaching Diego today. We then breaked for lunch, and ate at a local restaurant called the Blind Lemons, then continued to teach after that. We started on flute position with Diego and got to learn a song that Adam taught us. I was never a singer and I would consider today the most singing training I´ve ever had. I got to participate by describing to Diego what Waldorf Music Education was and what basic principles it focuses on. All in all, a great start to my trip. Hope things pick up a little more and that the bug population goes through some radical natural selection.

I’m about to leave Guatemala from Ronald Regan National Airport on Wednesday. Check back here for the latest updates and writings on my trip to Guatemala, teaching at Escuela Caracol in San Marcos, Guatemala. I should be updating it as much as I can.