| The
school has an outreach program that teaches Spanish
to adults in the little farm village of Almolonga,
near Xela. I joined the small group that trekked into
the hills for the afternoon session. Each volunteer
had several students, outdoors or in a small room
with a dirt floor. The ceiling was about 5'10", which
is fine for the villagers since they are mostly under
5 foot tall. But they sure got a big kick out of me
walking around with my 6'2" head cranked all the way
over to one side.
I was
blown away by the enthusiasm we encountered. They
were absolutely thrilled to have us there. I was inspired
by their desire to improve themselves. Their native
language is called "Mam". I call it "Twenty-Seven
Different Ways to Clear Your Throat". I couldn't come
close to differentiating and pronouncing the guttural
sounds they tried to teach me.Certainly Spanish and
English are just as foreign to them. |
