Lots of Visitors and a Tip for Speaking with English Language Learners

The last few weeks have been full of visitors. Juan Jose, a staff member of the Medellin, Colombia YMCA came to work with the staff and volunteers of the Guatemala YMCA. Throughout one month, he taught about the strategies and sucesses that they have had in working in areas of high levels of violence as well helping everyone grieve the loss of the three young volunteers.



November 3-10 we had a group of 20 people from SW Illinois and St. Louis. The group came to do improvements in the YMCA camp, we painted, made bamboo fences, fixed roofs, painted and then painted some more. It was hard work but with a group of 20, in only 4 days we were able to give the camp a brand new face. We also spent a lot of time with the youth volunteers of San Crisobal (the town that the camp is closest to) and a few hours playing with the children of the village. Each person in the group brought two suitcases, one for themselves and the other full of donations for the Guatemalan community.






Talking with English Language Learners:

Throughout my years of working with immigrants and even in my own experiences of learning another language, I have picked up a few tips on how I feel that we can all most effectively speak with english language learners. First of all, I doubt you all remember those difficult years of grammer classes that we all took, but english is very hard to learn! When talking with someone that is learning english it is best to speak slowly and clearly, to try not to use slang or specific jargon and to try your hardest to listen patiently. I have been insulted by people because they try to listen for a moment and then get bored as I struggle for the correct word and start looking in different directions. I understand how difficult it can be to try to listen to someone that is learning english but trust me that it is so much more frustrating to be the person trying your hardest without a supportive listener.

A common mistake that I have noticed is that, people often tend to unconsciously raise our voices, as if higher volume will automatically help the other person to figure out what the word or phrase means. It is important to speak clearly, slowly and to use common words. Remember that there are many ways to explain something and most likely the person will understand if you use different words.

Only one month left...

I am very grateful to the YMCA of the USA and the YMCA of Greater Seattle for giving me the opportunity to come down and work with the YMCA of Guatemala. This has been an amazing experience and I hope that someday all of you are able to experience life in another country or to appreciate the educational experience of a intercultural exchange.

No matter how much I do not want to thinking about it, the universe keeps trying to remind me that I have to leave Guatemala in less than a month. It is starting to creep into all of my conversations, my thoughts and even my dreams at night. While still trying my hardest to be fully present to my life here in Guatemala, I am faced to also start planning for life back in Seattle. Where will I live, what will my job be at the Seattle Y, what bus route can I take and how will I adjust to the upcoming culture shock. Experience has taught me a lot about readjusting back to US culture, but no matter how much I try to prepare myself, it is always very challenging for me!

After 4 months here in Guatemala, I am just starting to feel like part of the YMCA Guatemala team, more confident in my spanish and am finally able to support my coworkers. In all honesty, I am a little scared to return to life in the states. Most of my fear is for the culture difference, as those of you who know me all know that it is hard for me to live in the U.S. My mom likes to say that the only reason that I don't fit in because I don't want to; and I am sure that part of that is true.

In the Guatemalan culture everyone greets strangers and shows affection to the people that they know. Walking down the street I am constantly greeted by strangers that take the time to say 'hello', 'good day', 'have a nice trip', that is just from the strangers that I encounter. I am constantly being hugged and kissed (on the cheek that is) with everyone at work, at home, friends of friends (even the first time that we meet). The challenge is from leaving the affectionate culture of Guatemala to return to our (in my opinion) dry and cold culture of the states. I am in no way trying to offend anyone but am just speaking from my experience and the way that I feel.

In my life in Seattle, it is rare that someone would even look at me let alone talk to me on the bus. When I lived alone, I would go days (at times weeks) without the human contact that is so abundantly part of the Guatemalan/latin daily culture. I feel that although we all have giving hearts and good intentions, that we do not always know how to express that emotion, or perhaps that we express it in different ways.

I write all of this for two reasons.

1. I ask for your help and patience as I struggle to readjust to the U.S. culture at the end of November. Hugs are always welcome! =-)

2. I guarantee you that I am not alone in my struggles to live and feel comfortable in the U.S. culture. My hope is that we take this information, my experience, into consideration when working with newcomers (immigrants, refugees, international visitors). I am in no way suggesting that we go around and start kissing all newcomers in our community (you would end up in the looney bin or jail). But I do think that there is value in reevaluating how we (at the YMCA) welcome newcomers into our programs and our branches.

This is in no way a closure to my experience in Guatemala,I still have one month left and am sure that it will be full of interesting experiences. I just wanted to share my thoughts and ask for your support upon my return.

(Yes mom, I promise to return on November 26th, you do not have to come get me!)

Youth Trip to Japan

Here is a special treat for you all... this summer a group of youth and two staff members from the Seattle YMCA traveled to Japan to learn about the YMCA, the history and culture of Japan, and to participate in a cross-cultural exchange. Below is an article written by Erin McLean, a junior at Inglemoor High School and one of the youth participants on the trip.

Kind strangers are teen's GPS in Japan

By Erin McLean

This summer I traveled to Japan as part of an annual teen delegation, formed from a more-than-40-year partnership between the YMCA of Greater Seattle and the Kobe, Japan, YMCA. I had a number of great and not-so-great experiences. I visited Hiroshima and met a survivor of the A-bomb, visited more temples and shrines than I can remember, dined at the fanciest French restaurant I had ever been to and rapped the national anthem, but the most meaningful experience I had was learning to navigate the Japanese transportation system alone.

One of our tasks during our stay with a host family was to provide our own transportation from their house to the different stations where we met. This meant, for a majority of the teens, their host family would drive or take the train with them. This was not the case for me.

My first host family, due to other obligations, drove me to the train station and sent me on my way with a hug and directions to the platform. I ended up at a station only a few blocks away from my final destination and in a series of events was given the wrong directions and had to walk two miles, uphill, dragging a 50-pound suitcase in 100-degree humid weather.

I have excellent navigation skills, but since I do not read nor speak Japanese, I could not tell which stop to get off at. Also, I didn't know how to ask for directions in Japanese, and the people I asked directions from had limited knowledge of English. In the end, we resorted to hand gestures.

Transportation between my second host family and our teen delegation's meeting spot went much more smoothly because I had a few days to mull over how I could make the trip better. I found a few signs on the train that rotated between Japanese and English; my host mom told me which bus I could take home from the station; and I learned how to ask where a train went.

I thought that by traveling to Japan I could have a little more independence, but I learned I needed to rely on others, even total strangers. I had to adopt some of the language and know exactly where, when and how I was getting home and back every day. I could not just improvise and figure out a path on the fly, or I would end up lost again. The people of Japan were friendly and willing to help, even if they could not understand me. I wish I could once again thank the strangers I randomly selected out of the crowd for taking the time to send me in the proper direction. They were a small but significant example of the hospitality of Japan and the kindness the people of the world possess.

The lesson I took back with me to the U.S. is: Travel is not about showing your independence but learning to rely on strangers from different backgrounds and gaining new experiences.

Busy Times in the YMCA of Guatemala

Two weekends ago we had a retreat for all of the program volunteers of the YMCA Guatemala, 60 in total. It was great to be with the youth for the entire weekend and this was the first time that the group has come together since Luis, Eleazar and Mario were killed. It was a very meaningful and fun weekend full of laughter, tears, hugs and prayers. The youth lead the vigil and reflection time which was a very touching and intense experience! One of the most sentimental moments in my Y experiences.


I am constantly amazed by the love and intense dedication that the youth have for the YMCA. Most of the youth have been in the Y as participants and volunteers since they were the age of 7 or 8. The youngest person that is currently volunteering for the YMCA and was with us over the weekend is 10 years old.

Here is a pic of all of the program youth volunteers from Comalapa, Tierra Nueva, San Cristobal and Amatitlan.

This last weekend a group of 50 Canadians arrived from the YMCA of Montreal. The group is absolutely wonderful, but as you can all imagine a group of 50 is a little challenging to keep track of. Luckily they are all bi or trilingual and are experienced travelers. The YMCA of Montreal has just started a formal partnership with the YMCA of Guatemala and they brought this delegation to support the YMCA as well as to attend the Americas Social Forum, which the YMCA of Guatemala helped plan http://www.forosocialamericas.org/queesfsa_en.php

Guatemalan Culture (Part 2)

My parents came to Guatemala to "visit" for a week and a half. Although I know that they really came to check up on me and to try to drag me home, especially after the deaths of the three YMCA volunteers. They arrived on Sept 12 and since September 15th is the Independence Day of Guatemala, I was able to take a few days off work around the 3 day weekend to show them around the country. We went up to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, took a boat up Rio Dulce (which is definitely the most beautiful river I have ever seen) to get to Livingston (a small town that can only be reached via boat with is mainly inhabited by the Garifuna peoples), then to Lake Atitlan and Totonicapan (a small town that I lived in 4 years ago). All of these places are very far from each other and we were trying to get it all into one trip, so as you can imagine we were all exhausted.

My parents feel much more comfortable now now that they know the people that I live with, the staff here at the YMCA and have a better feel for the Guatemalan people. They now understand why I am staying to support the Guatemalan people and see how happy I am in my "element". The last night when they were here my mom started talking about how much she missed her bed, salad and hot water. I finally asked her if she would rather stay here to be close to me, or get home to her bed and she laughed and said, "I love you, and will see you in two months...".

Traveling with my parents around Guatemala helped me see more clearly some of the cultural differences that we can learn from.

Time: I think one of the most frustrating things for my parents was the issue of time. Not only are latinos more relaxed about time, which in itself is hard but possible to get used to, but my parents observation was that we were always in a rush and then had to wait. An example of this is getting on the bus, the ayudante (drivers assistant) will tell you to run to the bus before the bus has even stopped, then you get on the bus and the bus will sit there and wait until the driver thinks that there are enough people to move on (could be as much as 6 or 7 minutes). So then my parents would ask my why we had to run to catch the bus...the thing is that you never know if the bus will really stop and wait a while or if it will take off as soon as you get one foot on the bus.

Politeness: The woman that I live with asked me what I wanted to drink with dinner and I replied, "whatever is the easiest for her so a glass of water would be fine", she turned to her son and made a sarcastic comment about how rude I am. Luckily she has a good sense of humor and knows that I am not a rude person, so she explained to me that here in Guatemala that is not a polite thing to say. Then, when my parents were here she asked them what they would like to drink and they replied that they would like to drink whatever causes less work for her. I couldn´t help but laugh...and then taught my parents that we should respond with a more flowerly response like, "if it isnt too much trouble we would like to drink a glass of water, thank you".

Food: Something that I have recently learned is that although many of the foods of Mexico and Guatemala have the same name, they are often very different. Someone asked me if I would like a Quesadillas, so I was thrilled because I love Quesadillas, they handed me a loaf of bread that looked like banana bread. Another day we ordered tortilla soup, which in Guatemala is more of a casserole there is no soup just a light amount of tomato sauce to help the tortilla slices to stick together. Guacamole is one more difference that I have seen, here Guacamole consists of avocado,lime and salt, no tomato, garlic, black pepper, chile or onion.

Space: Another difference is our sense of our own space. Our culture highly values that everyone has their own personal space and we often get offended if someone "violates" by entering our designated space. The latin culture is much more open and affectionate, space here like food or money is something that is shared openly. Everytime you greet someone or leave you offer a hug and a kiss to the person, regardless of the depth of your relationship. My parents quickly caught on to the proper way of greeting people, the part that was difficult for them was in the buses or evern when we were waiting in lines. We went to print some photos and were waiting in line, a woman was very close to my father and he felt that she was being pushy so he got frustrated and was telling me in english how rude this woman was. Well, just our luck, she spoke english and apologize and backed up. Later she offered us her discount card and saved us a lot of money.

When asked what was their favorite part of their experience, my parents reply that it was the warm and loving people of Guatemala. That even with the language barrier people express their feelings by looking at you and smiling. We talked alot about how hard it is for me to live in the states and especially in Seattle because people are too busy or too scared to even look at you let alone get to know you. One of my best examples is a bus ride from the U district to downtown Seattle, not a single person will look up from their book or open their eyes to acknowledge your existance. Here in Guatemala and most other latin american countries you are lucky if you get a seat, and if you do get a seat you will most likely share it with 2 or 3 other people and will probably have someone elses child on your lap for half of the ride. These are the cultural differences that we need to learn in order to prepare ourselves to reach out to the latinos in our communities. Correction, not only the latinos but to learn to be conscious of the people around us, this is the same struggle for the Metrocenter youth in 909 4th Ave as it is for me, our mission is to build community in a country where (in my opinion) community is not one of the strengths of our culture. Let's come together to learn to be better Global Citizens in our own communities!

Benś Adventures in Thailand

Hey all, sorry it has been so long since I have written. My parents were here visiting for a week and a half, so we were out enjoying the absolutely amazing country of Guatemala! Having my family visit was not only very special for me personally, but they also helped me see more clearly some of the cultural differences and other important insights that I will share with you in my next blog. As I am sure you all know, we created this blog so that everyone could learn about the exciting international experiences that the Seattle Y is involved in. Below you will learn about Ben Opdyke, a former Seattle YMCA staff that is currently living in Thailand and volunteering at the Chiangmai YMCA.

Spotlight in Heroism: Ben in Chiangmai

Today marks my six months to the day that I arrived in Thailand, which is therefore the halfway point of my stay here and I have to say I’m a lucky guy. I am spending my time here as a volunteer with the Chiangmai YMCA and so far the experience has been amazing. Furthermore, it has been a goal of mine since my first time travelling abroad as a teenager to live overseas for an extended period of time, and thanks to the YMCA I’ve been able to make that dream happen.

Prior to coming to Thailand I spent three years working for Seattle’s Metrocenter YMCA where, during my time there, I had the chance to take part in a cultural exchange and service trip to Thailand. After being exposed to Thai culture, food and weather for two weeks I knew this was a place I could live. I also was given an introduction to the Chiangmai YMCA and loved what they were doing here between the cultural exchange programs as well as programs for street chidren and gender equality issues. Luckily, in the fall of 2007 the Seattle YMCA received a visit from a Chiangmai YMCA staff member, Apple, and during this visit I was able to convince her (trick her?) to invite me to be a part of the Chiangmai YMCA International Program team.

So, as I said, I am now volunteering with the Chiangmai YMCA and my job basically breaks down into three responsibilites. The first is editing and writing documents in English for YMCA staff here. This includes anything and everything that they may have to write in English including emails, program proposals, congratulation letters, condolence letters, etc. The combination of the Chiangmai YMCA having a hotel and an international department that works closely with many foreign organizations leads to preparing lots of documents in English.

My second main task is to teach English. Every weekend I travel to one of two other YMCA branches and play games or read and ask questions to young students to help them learn English. I have also taken part in some English camps, an English speaking competition and taught a class for the Chiangmai YMCA staff.

My third major task here is to take part in the many cultural exchange programs the Chiangmai YMCA puts on. The Chiangmai YMCA has what seems like an endless string of international groups come in to experience Thai culture firsthand by visiting landmarks, watching Thai dance, learning Thai cooking, staying with a homestay family, visiting Thai schools and doing service work. Therefore, I have the opportunity to stay with homestay families in rural Thailand and visit beautiful cultural landmarks often. And, while it can be tiring going to Doi Suthep for the seventh time, it is still an amazing place and I can’t complain that I’ve had the chance to ride an elephant five times, or that I regularly get to eat homemade Thai cooking. Furthermore, one of the best parts about this job is seeing youth and young adults coming on trips here and having such a positive life changing experience. There is something about Thailand and the openness and happiness of the people that has a profound effect on everyone who comes here.

Of course, making such a huge life change as moving from the US to Thailand has its ups and downs. I get lonely and miss home from time to time and of course communication is often difficult with the language barrier. I’m not sure I would have been able to make this move before the internet, but luckily it is here to stay now and allows me the chance to keep up with family and friends, and more importantly to follow Michigan football. Another challenge is that the majority of Thai people work a six day week and for me it is no different, and it can be difficult to almost never see a two day weekend. Because of this I tend to spend my day off resting and relaxing rather than exploring, and I feel like there is a lot of Thailand I won’t have the chance to see. However, the pros of living in Thailand far outweigh these few inconveniences.

The main thing I love about Thailand is the people. One thing I’ve found while living here is that it is very hard to stereotype Thai people – whenever I think I can categorize Thai people and say that all Thai people do or like something, I find many people and examples to counter my opinion. Surprisingly, though it shouldn’t come as a shock, I have found each Thai person to be unique and diverse in habits and customs. However, if there is one way I would stereotype Thai people it would be to say that almost all Thai people are laid back. Thailand is called “The Land of Smiles”, a nickname that couldn’t be more accurate, and their most popular phrase is “mai pen rai”, which loosely translates to “no worries.” Thai people try not to take life too seriously and if something can be laughed and joked about, it will. Sometimes this can be borderline offensive, particularly when I get laughed at and called fat boy for the 32nd straight day, but it has been good as I’ve learned to laugh at myself a lot. I love the laid back style of life here and feel it meshes with my personality very well.

I have also really enjoyed my job with the YMCA as it has allowed me the opportunity to interact with many cultures and meet people from not only Thailand, but Singapore, Korea, Japan, New York and others as well. I also enjoy the fact that I have a skill (English speaking, yeah those high school English classes are paying off! Hopefully, there aren’t thousands of grammatical errors in this blog, cause that could look bad) that is so valued here, and I really enjoyed the chance to teach English for the Chiangmai staff. Finally, learning a language in a foreign country is an amazing experience and it continues to get more and more rewarding as I am better able to hold conversations with Thai people.

So, as I have repeated many times here, my time in Thailand has been awesome. The people, the job, the food and the weather have all been worth the long journey, and it is all because of the connections and relationships I developed while at the Seattle YMCA.

Guatemalan Culture (part 1)

I am frequently asked to write about the Guatemalan culture, which as you can imagine, is hard to do as a visitor. Writing about ones culture is hard enough, but I am here as an outsider trying my best learn and accept the culture as it is (without looking through the eyes of the U.S. culture). Over the next few blogs I will write about a few topics that will help you all learn more about the Guatemalan life and culture.

Guatemalans are a warm and friendly people, regardless of how much someone has; sharing is an inherent element of their culture. As a whole, they are more patient and relationship orientated than us ‘gringos’. It is essential to learn the history of Guatemala to fully understand the mixture of cultures, reasons for the customs, socio-economic status and struggles of the peoples. Unfortunately, this is something that you will each have to research on your own. Here are some tools to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Guatemala-HISTORY.html

The People: The majority of the population of Guatemala are direct descendants of the indigenous Mayan peoples, most of whom live in rural areas of the country and still wear traditional clothing (huiples y corte). Here is a link that has video of clothing typical of each region: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJH5_OReJX4. People of mixed European and indigenous (also known as ladinos) ancestry make up the second largest portion of the population and the third group is of the Garifuna or Afro-Guatemalans whom are primarily on the Caribbean coast. Although Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, it is the second language of many, and from what I’ve read there are 57 living indigenous languages.

Catholicism is the most common religion of the Guatemala peoples, followed by Protestantism, Evangelicalism and native beliefs.

Food: The staples of Guatemalan food are black beans, corn tortillas, eggs, rice, tamales, bread, milk, atoli (similar to oatmeal), various fruits, soup, chicken, pork and beef, coffee. Lunch here is the largest meal of the day and is usually around 1pm, dinner is small and usually later than we are accustomed to. Last night we ate dinner at 10pm, but typically most people eat around 7:30 or 8:30pm. A sample menu for a day would be as follows: My favorite breakfast is - scrambled eggs, refried black beans, dry/salty cheese (can’t remember how to say that in English, do we have a word?), fried plantains, tortillas and coffee. Lunch could be chicken, soup, tortillas and fresh fruit juice. Dinner – refried black beans, rice, tamales and tea or coffee. Champuradas (a type of sugar cookie) are a common snack to accompany coffee in the morning or afternoon.

Lunch is the largest and typically the most important meal of the day. In the past, families would take 2 or 3 hour lunches at home with the family, but in recent times (especially in the capital) lunch has turned into an hour at the food court or at the corner Pollo Campero (the national version of KFC). The overwhelming presence of fast food has definitely influenced the culture of Guatemala. As an example, in one small mall close to the Y there are 3 Burger Kings. Yes, three! One full size restaurant outside of the entrance, one mall-sized store front in the food court and the last one (which is small but always busy) is in the garage level. The only reason I can figure is that they didn’t want any McDonald’s competition in the mall, so they bought all three spaces.

I have both read about and personally noticed the love of refined sugar, which is used in large quantities here both in the villages as well as in the capital. When I lived in Totonicapan, I was often served a bowl of boiling milk, already sweetened with raw sugar, and then give me a box of cornflakes to poor into the bowl. It took a while to get used to cornflakes and warm milk but it actually makes sense due to the colder climate on Toto. Here in the capital sugar is used in coffee (often too sweet for me to drink), on pancakes, added to plain yogurt and even on fruit.

“Buen provecho” is what you say after someone finishes eating and also what you would say if you walked in when someone was eating. It basically means “that it serves you well or that you enjoy it”, a typical response would be “gracias, igualmente buen provecho”.

Good 'ol Wikipedia has a few interesting things to say about Guatemalan culture, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Guatemala. If you would like to learn even more about the history, politics, religion, food, demography, etc: http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Guatemala.html