This past Tuesday the sixth and seventh grade students hosted the international fair. It was a culmination of about 1.5 months of independent work. Each student in my sixth grade class was responsible for choosing an Eastern Hemisphere country and putting together a ton of information--from government to people to geography. Each student then put together a presentation. All the elementary students received "passports" and were able to visit the countries, learn about them, eat a little bit of food from the country, and get their passports stamped! It was a successful day and I am extremely proud of the work my students did!
Yesterday we had the day off (Labor Day) and my roommates and I went to visit the national cemetery in Guatemala City. The cemetery is a mass
ive plot of land, almost a small city itself, literally surrounded by trash. You can see the big dump on the right that countless people filter through for their livlihood and daily eating. Needless to say, the air is rank and there are vultures everywhere...a great setting for Poe's "The Raven"
In the cemetery there are numerous different grave plots. The rich people have plots the size of a small house--the Egyptian Pyramid/Cross picture is the family plot of the founders of Guatemala's beer, Gallo. Poor people are crammed in small boxes and their families are forced to pay rent. If a family member misses rent, the remains are pulled and thrown in the dump
, to be replaced by someon
e else.
The cemetery had a very different feel than one in the states--because of different traditions down here, a cemetery is not nearly as somber. There were families having picnics and lighting off firecrackers on graves, tons of flowers, and vendors everywhere. Very interesting to observe.
It sounds strange that I took a trip to the cemetery on my afternoon off, but it really was a unique opportunity to experience culture here in a different way.
Oh, and in unrelated news....some of you may know that I worked on a research project with graphic novels/comic books all last year. The article I wrote was printed in Christian Educator's Journal, and recently reprinted in an online magazine. My professor's name is on it too...but I did most the work on this one :) Check this link out if you're interested in reading! http://www.catapultmagazine.com/draw-me-a-story
5 comments:
I believe we road past the cemetary you visited. Our missionary was explaining the culture and celebrations the families hold there. I was really surprised by that and like you said, found it very different from the American cemetaries / culture. I am so glad that you are learning as much as possible about the country, people & customs they hold. These are memories you will always treasure. I can't wait to see all the photos and hear all the details when you get back. Blessings, Phyllis
The International Fairs are lots of fun. That is something we get to look forward to for next year. Next week Kevin has his state fair. From a parent's view, I will be glad. when we are done with the state stuff. It's a lot of work.
Congrats on being published. It looks like an interesting topic. Hopefully I'll get a chance to read the whole thing this weekend.
I just read your published article, interesting and well written. I can see why it was choosen for publication. Congratulations!
I hope that none of the money I spent buying Gallo went to that ostentatious tomb stone.
nice work getting published!
and very interesting about the cemetary!
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