Teach Spanish in a little indigenous primary school in the countryside of Guatemalan

Details

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  Description

  VERSION ESPAÑOLA ABAJO
  
  Hello!
  
  We are a nice Belgian-Guatemalan couple of 40-48 years old with two children (9 and 7 years old). We live on a farm in the Polochic Valley, near Panzós in Alta Verapaz (Guatemala). It is an area populated almost exclusively by indigenous Q'eqchis.
  
  We live from agriculture. Besides, we have a private school that was created so that the children living on the finca or near it can access primary education.
  We employ 2 local teachers on a permanent basis and try to have always 2 volunteers at the same time to teach at the school. There are 45 children divided into 4 classrooms. Each one of the 4 teachers is in charge of a group.
  The classes are given only in the morning and are taught in Spanish, so it is an important requirement to speak and write it correctly. Another important condition is the duration of the stay: usually the volunteers stay for half a cycle, i.e. 5 months; it might be from January to late May or from June to late October. There is a two-week time holiday the first half of June, right in the middle of the cycle.
  
  The volunteers have their own equipped house, a stone's throw from ours. They have breakfast at theirs and lunch at ours. Twice a week, we also have dinner together and take advantage to have a drink and know each other better. We also like to organize pizza nights with friends or relatives who live nearby.
  
  The place is really beautiful, very green, in the middle of nature. We produce a large part of our food: rice, coffee, honey, bread, dairy products, goat cheese, eggs... Fruits and vegetables come from the garden or from the local market. Chicken and pork from the neighbours... We eat very healthy and know where the food come from for the most part.
  
  The region is full of beautiful places such as the Lake Izabal, El Paraíso, Río Dulce, Livingston, Semuc Champey... for those who fancy going out on weekends. But you can either stay at home, having a quiet rest or going for a walk in the mountains and the rice fields.
  
  Do not hesitate to contact us. Regards!
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  ¡Hola!
  
  Somos una simpática pareja belgo-guatemalteca de 40-48 años con dos niños de 9 y 7 años. Vivimos en una finca agrícola en el Valle del Polochic, cerca de Panzós en Alta Verapaz (Guatemala). La zona está poblada casi exclusivamente por indigenas q'eqchis.
  
  Vivimos de la agricultura. Aparte tenemos una escuelita privada que fue creada para que los niños viviendo en la finca o cerca de ella pudieran acceder a la educación primaria.
  Empleamos a 2 maestros locales de forma permanente y tratamos de tener siempre a 2 voluntarios al mismo tiempo para enseñar en la escuela. Hay 45 niños repartidos en 4 aulas. Cada uno de los maestros se encarga de un grupo.
  Las clases son matutinas y se imparten en castellano, por lo que es un requisito importante hablar y escribirlo correctamente. Otra condición importante es la duración de la estadía: en principio, los voluntarios se quedan medio ciclo escolar, es decir 5 meses: de enero a finales de mayo o de junio a finales de octubre. Hay un descanso de 2 semanas la primera quincena de junio.
  
  Los voluntarios tienen su propia casa equipada, a 40 metros de la nuestra. Desayunan en su casa pero comen en la nuestra al mediodía. Cenamos todos juntos al menos 2 veces por semana y solemos organizar una noche de pizzas o una barbacoa con amigos y familiares una vez por semana.
  
  El lugar es realmente hermoso, muy verde, en plena naturaleza. Además producimos gran parte de nuestro alimento: arroz, café, miel, pan, lácteos, queso de cabra, huevos... Las frutas y las verduras vienen del jardín o del mercado local. La carne y el maíz de la vecindad... ¡Nos gusta comer rico y sano!
  
  Para quienes gusta salir en los fines de semana, la región está llena de lugares hermosos como el lago Izabal, el Paraíso, Río Dulce, Livingston, Semuc Champey, etc. Pero en casa tampoco hacen falta las actividades, los lindos paseos en los arrozales y en la montaña y ¡sobre todo la buena convivencia!
  
  No dudes en contactarnos. ¡Saludos!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Teaching
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  What we offer is a real and strong intercultural exchange as we live in a 99% indigenous area, where the people's habits and way of living are very different from ours. Nevertheless the volunteers also have access to our lifestyle, which is simple but more European based. Living in the countryside in the middle of nowhere, eating local, producing its own food... is also part of the life we're offering. At school, the exchange between the pupils and the volunteers is generally very enriching and doesn't focus only on the education of the kids. The volunteers also learn a lot from them and their families: some have learned a bit of Q'eqchi (the local language), others take part in soccer championships with the local men, get invited to their houses to share typical meals, etc.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  The classes are given in the morning from 7:30 to 12:30. Generally, each volunteer takes care of a group of 10 pupils and provide them general classes of primary level, all in Spanish. The afternoon is free, the volunteers just have to prepare their classes for the following day.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  The volunteers stay in a nice cabin in our garden. They have their own bathroom and private space. They cook themselves breakfast and dinner with the local products we give them, while we have lunch all together in our house. We are a 39/47-year couple formed by a Belgian woman and a German-Guatemalan man. We speak various languages and love receiving people at home. We have 2 young children aged 7 and 5 years.

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  What else ...

  Various activities can be done on the weekends: horse-back riding, hiking in the mountain with its breathtaking views over the valley, you can visit beautiful places like Semuc Champey, el Paraíso or el Boquerón, quite close to the finca. We also organize pizza nights and parties with friends living in the area. In short, you won’t get bored!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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