I talk about Guatemalan culture and history, and tell stories about my life and the people I’ve met here. And I talk about the projects and what they are doing for the people they benefit.

I love the buying, selling and the talking about what I see and feel in Guatemala; so in many ways it’s no effort, except for hauling around the full suitcases, through airports, taxis, bus and train stations.

I’ve done small benefits at house parties and church service social hours, and last year we threw a big benefit dinner in conjunction with the students in the high school Spanish classes — good food, first class service and live music to boot. From this dinner and the sales, we were able to buy a photocopier for the office of the school – a huge boon to the teachers, who had been copying work for the students by hand.

My last visit home we did an art show at a local restaurant– with paintings by the painters I work with in APMF — as well as two house parties, a church social, a booth at a fair, and a sale at a bilingual preschool Mother’s Day event. My goal was to get enough donations to build a climbing structure for the preschool classrooms in the barren yard next to the classrooms and the director’s office. And joyfully, we met that goal.

It seems as though the consistency of my appearances in my hometown, the feedback and thank you letters I write to donors, and my ongoing work in these two projects in Guatemala has had some effect. After this visit to the States, one person who has helped considerably with the benefits is offering to make APMF a project of the NGO she’s connected with, which also helps in Belize and Haiti. This will enable us to have official status, give tax deductions for larger donations, and perhaps to receive funding from other organizations. This is very important for us as it would cost us nearly $1000 to do this for ourselves in Guatemala.

Then another friend has offered to push forward a “Friends of…” group in our hometown, to help us raise money more consistently, and encourage sponsorships for the kids in our program.

I am really excited about both these steps forward, which can only allow us to give better services to our client families in San Pedro and the children of the San Pablo preschool.

So I guess my message is, stick with it. Consistency and duration pay off.

Miranda Pope is currently living in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala and is volunteering with Pedagogia Basica, Estamos Listos, and Ayudame Escribir Mi Futuro. For more on her experiences, check out her blog. For more on fundraising, read “Organizing Fundraisers at Home and Abroad” by Kim Friedland; “How to Fundraise With No Funds” by Andrea Vogler; and “Need Some Cash? Top 10 Ways to Fundraise” by Laurie Norton.

I’ve been struggling with saying goodbye, too. “Goodbye,” “Adiós,” “Chao,” “Nos vemos” – there’s simply no easy way to say it. But for me “goodbye“ just doesn’t exist; it has to be “take care” and “see you later.”

We’ve all heard of the reverse culture shock that usually happens to those who return to their homelands or perhaps journey on to yet another new destination, but what happens during the time drawing near – the time when you haven’t actually left yet?

As a volunteer, I don’t think you can help but put your whole heart and soul into your every experience, and yet with that comes a small burden to bear – the emotional tear of having to move on often knowing that you might not have had the time to achieve all that you’d wanted to, for no lack of will, nor fault, of anyone.

How too, bid farewell to new families and friends, to the smiles of those who greet you and the warmth of spirit so apparent where service and generosity have no sum attached to them.

My time here is one I would not change for anything, and I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to have had this experience. However, guilt is something I do struggle a little with – guilt for all the ideas I’ve had and haven’t had long enough to implement; guilt for having to go when there’s so much yet to be done; guilt for making all too brief an appearance in the lives of my students. I didn’t want to be another who just came and is now gone.

Yet there’s an expression I once read on a sympathy card and that has stayed with me ever since: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

And that’s what I intend to do. Because at some point, this time inevitably comes and for volunteers I think it’s perhaps a necessity to regroup and recharge so that you’re ready for the next round.

I remind myself of what I did achieve; how technology (even with some limitations) makes it so easy to keep in contact; and how I may not have got through all that I’d hoped to but that perhaps the next person will pick up where I left off, or the one after, or the one after that one…. That’s not a failure on the part of any one of us – it’s progress.

And of my students, I always said that if I could inspire just one then every moment of my time here has been worth it.  As I thought of this again a few days ago and observed at least eight in a class of 30 so intently focused, I felt sure that just maybe there’s been even more than one.

Tears will be shed, of that I have no doubt but, beneath the waterfall will be a smile and heartfelt gratitude for the everlasting moments. I will feel proud of what has been achieved and be confident in my tenacity to continue in some way from afar. Lastly, I’ll neither bid “goodbye“ nor “farewell“ but a definite “hasta luego” and a “prometo” to return.

Amanda Patterson recently wrapped up a stint teaching English and public speaking as a volunteer with Corporation for the Development of Learning (CDA) in Santiago, Chile. She is currently traveling, but will be heading soon to Guatemala for her next adventure.

The cracks begin to show...

However, these moments of self-indulgence are really only that: split-seconds. The moments actually only ever hit me when I’ve spent less time than I’d hoped for with the students i.e. when classes have been canceled or other school events take priority. When such thoughts do cross my mind, something always seems to happen to make me totally ashamed of having them, like when two of my students presented me with the most delicious homemade bread that had my name baked into it for example. But I’ve quickly learned to recognize the warning signs (or cracks!) and usually, as old and decrepit as it makes me sound, what I need is to just lie down and rest my mind for a bit.

Besides, it’s these tougher times that are so much a part of what volunteers do and strengthen us as individuals. As much as we work to open doors and help makes things better for organizations and individuals, we also feed off the energy we receive in return and that gives us the impetus to keep going. Our experiences can have highs and they can have lows but forums like this also show how similar, but equally unique, the journey is for all of us.

Just last week I met another La Vida Idealist blogger. The opportunity to chat and share our thoughts and experiences was such an incredible boost, and a great reminder of all the reasons why we do this.

Amanda Patterson is currently teaching English and public speaking as a volunteer with Corporation for the Development of Learning (CDA) in Santiago, Chile

The more time I spend in the schools, the more I learn of myself, of the students, and of school-life in general (yeah it’s been a while!). In one of the schools I work at, normal classes are only just now about to resume after months of half-days following the earthquake.  With over half the school severely damaged and unable to be used, lessons have required some creativity. Classrooms are no longer confined to four walls but take place in foyers, the lunchroom, and even outside on the concrete, all to the not so melodic tune of reconstruction. I heard a rumor the other week that up to 1/3^rd of the students had left because of fears that there might be more damage but I equally have no way of knowing if that’s true; and if that really is the case, what happens and where do the students go – do they end up lost somewhere outside of the school system?

For the most part school-life is a kind of semi-organized chaos with so many things to both delight in and adapt with. There’s a level of familiarity between teachers and students not common elsewhere (though not improper either) and I wonder if it is perhaps a reflection  of the more family role public schools often seem to take on here.  Every day brings something different especially with regards to technology. Compatibility with Word versions and sourcing equipment (particularly equipment that works) is difficult; viruses are commonplace so unless you want to take one home with you, it’s best not to use your pen drive here.

I’ve been told that violence is a big problem in the schools and have now too observed it. I guess that’s why classroom doors are padlocked during break times and why there seems to be a form of security guard that regularly appears. School gates are locked during the day keeping those who should be there in, and others out. Classes seem to be frequently canceled and it’s not uncommon to be forgotten about by other staff or to have things change without being told about it. However, I still wouldn’t change a moment of it.

Every day brings laughter and hilarity, although I’m sure I’m often the subject of it. Everyone wants to say hello and to try out their English, to laugh with you, to joke with you, and to, of course, quiz you on everything about you – no topic spared! For the most part, I think I’m the one who’s the student, learning about life from them.

Amanda Patterson is currently teaching English and public speaking as a volunteer with Corporation for the Development of Learning (CDA) in Santiago, Chile. For more on the Chilean earthquake, check out this post by Lauren Foukes and this one by Meridith Price.

Greg Mortenson's stomping grounds (via Stig Nygaard/Flickr)

1) Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson: After a hiking accident attempting to reach the summit of K2, the villagers of Korphe in remote, rural Pakistan saved Mr. Mortenson’s life. In return, he promised to build them a school. Thus began an inspiring journey that has changed the assumptions on access to education, the role of women and the ability of foreign NGOs to affect change in one of the conflict hotbeds of the globe.

2) The Places in Between, Rory Stewart. Mr. Stewart had set out to walk across Asia – and then 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan were poised to stop him from fulfilling his goal. However, they did not; this book chronicles a man’s chilling solo walk through Afghanistan in 2002.

3) Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, Tracy Kidder. Tracy Kidder records the life story of Dr. Paul Farmer, an epidemiologist, professor and the Founder of Partners in Health, one of the organizations that has led the charge in the recovery from the earthquake in Haiti and has innovated in the field of community health enterprises and medically-related development work.

4) Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John Wood. How a personal revelation and the boldness to follow through with it on the part of a former Microsoft employee sparked the foundation of Room to Read and a commitment to children’s access to reading and literature worldwide. Especially good for those contemplating a professional or lifestyle change.

5) Chasing the Flame, Samantha Power. After the Pulitzer-prize winning A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, Power focused on the story of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a UN official who served in some of the world’s most treacherous conflict zones. A biography full of reflections on the United Nations, peacekeeping, personal courage, and the dangers of aid work.

6) The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton. Beautiful essay vignettes on why we travel, how we travel, and how it changes us.

7) Travels with Herodotus, Ruszard Kapuscinski. For Kapuscinsci, Herodotus was the “first globalist.” In this book, the author parallels his own journalistic findings on a journey across the world to those of the ancient historian.

Which books do you turn to for inspiration on the road?

Roxanne is currently designing and implementing projects in conflict and post-conflict communities worldwide. For more of her thoughts, follow her on Twitter or visit her blog.

This is not a bad Tom Waits song. This was teaching past simple in my class.

Three intermediate students try to teach the phrasal verb "break out" to their classmates - all in English!

Here’s how it went: We practiced asking questions about the past: “Where did you go?” “What did you do?” And so on. I brought props, dressed the students up, and stood them in front of class. I explained they’d each gotten back from a fun weekend, and their classmates had to tell me what they did.

Girl with the booze, they decided, had been to a party with her boyfriend. Another girl who I dolled up in a soccer jersey had traveled to South Africa. A third got my daypack, sun hat, and a map; she’d gone on a tour in Jurassic Park.

This was something I’d tried before, and it was a hit (sadly, neither class permitted pictures). I’ve learned that if something works in one class, do it again. And again, and again, and again.

I’ve turned classes into restaurants and hotels for tourist-based dialogues. I’ve had groups lead me around the school grounds by giving directions, one doing it while I kept my eyes closed. I’ve asked students to teach the meaning of a phrasal verb (e.g. “drop off” or “pick up”) to their classmates without using Spanish.

(The last one was fun because I played an exaggerated version of a confused student. “Oh, I get it: ‘Off!’ ” I’d say. Then I’d turn off the lights. They’d cry “no!” and struggle to figure out another way to explain. Welcome to my world!)

Teaching English abroad is fun—and daunting—because you can’t rely on verbal explanation. You have to use a variety of ways to get concepts across. Luckily, the TEFL world draws in creative people, and not one of the above ideas was totally original; all were inspired by a suggestion on one of many TEFL resource websites.

You need to lecture occasionally, sure. But with all the flexibility, that should be just a small component of teaching.

How excellent would traditional classes in the States be if more teachers had the freedom to adopt these strategies? We’ll probably never know. At home, I’d probably be fired for half of my shenanigans.

Oh, man: Imagine the fun we could have teaching that word.

When I decided to leave my job and apply for a nine-month research grant, I selected Uruguay for a bevy of logical reasons. The departmental library for my master’s program in Latin American Studies offered precious few Uruguay-specific tomes. I’d lived in Argentina and Chile before and wanted to round out my familiarity with the Southern Cone and its beaches.

But I also I picked Uruguay before I defined my research project for reasons less tangible. I’ve reversed-engineered my life choices by geography before, seven aberrative years in Massachusetts notwithstanding. (No offense to Red Sox Nation: I’m wearing a Varitek shirt as I type, but I just can’t take cold summer nights.) Mid-sized capital cities—Brussels, Sofia, my hometown of Washington, DC—hold a soft spot in my heart, and Montevideo seemed to fit the trend. Auspiciously, Montevideo also headquartered a recent six-year regional aquifer management project which included a public education component, and as I’d hoped to learn more about environmental education through my grant year, a grant proposal was thus born.

It can be risky, committing to live in a city before seeing it. Like a heady love affair gone awry, when a place you do decide to love on (however slim the premise) shows its crabby side for the first time, the betrayal can be all the greater. For the last two years, my job consisted largely of tempering the expectations of WorldTeach volunteer teachers before they left for their teaching sites throughout Latin America. But it’s one thing to talk adaptation and another to live it. I arrived in Montevideo two months ago. Even as I slip into research and volunteer work and choir rehearsal with surprising ease, I’m still holding my breath and wondering if disillusionment will set in.

But in the meantime, I’m quietly enthralled by this quietly bustling city. Some facts about Montevideo: you can buy goldfish at the Sunday market downtown. The streets can get dusty but the ironwork balconies shine. Sunsets flame over the Río de la Plata in amber and orange, and with folks strolling and jogging down the riverside Rambla, you never watch them alone.

Flora Lindsay-Herrera is currently a Fulbright Fellow in Montevideo, Uruguay. For more about her experiences, check out her blog.

Emanuel, a student from Santa Rosa, takes a picture.

I’ll never forget watching my first group of photo students in Solentiname walk away from me to shoot some of their first pictures. I was standing inside of the poorly lit classroom with a massive smile on my face – I could hardly contain my happiness – and reminded them one last time that I would be waiting in the classroom if they needed help with anything. But I doubt any of them actually heard me. With donated digital point-and-shoot cameras in hand, the students walked out of the small classroom building (that used to be somebody’s home) and immediately stopped to take pictures of each other, of the brightly colored hand prints painted on the wall, and of the pathway that led away from their current positions. It seemed as if they couldn’t wait to start taking pictures. It also seemed as if they were looking at the banal area outside of the classroom for the first time.

That was over two weeks ago. Now, I’ve started to give classes to four other groups, including a group of ten students from a very small island with a population of roughly 55 people called Santa Rosa (one of the archipelago’s 36 islands). Most of my students, whose ages range from nine to 18 years old with the exception of one adult student, have proven themselves to be natural born photographers even though the majority of them had never taken a picture before.

Just days before my first class I was having doubts about the role and importance of photography in such a rural area of Nicaragua. I kept thinking about the countless other ways that I could help the community of Solentiname and continuously questioned how photography might help the youth here.

After witnessing the beautiful pictures and even more beautiful smiles on the childrens’ faces as they took or looked at their pictures, my apprehensions withered away. My sense of purpose became clear as I realized the importance of developing a child’s confidence and creativity through extracurricular activities such as photography – especially in a place where extracurricular activities are virtually nonexistent. Another benefit of these photo classes is that each student receives prints of his or her best photographs after completing a certain number of photo assignments. While the students’ photos document their culture, the prints they receive will help preserve memories of their families, friends, and archipelago well into the future.

Well, as the title of this post indicates, I still have a year’s worth of photo classes and pleasant surprises ahead of me. Stay tuned for more!

I’m currently working on a blog where I can showcase the student’s work and share their stories. I’ll include details when the blog is up and running. For the meantime, check out Kids with Cameras, an awesome organization and a great example of how photography has helped a group of children from Calcutta’s red-light district.

I wrapped up my internship with the Chilean Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) just as Chile’s new president, Sebastian Piñera took office following a marginal win over left-wing candidate Eduardo Frei. As a non-partisan observer, I had enjoyed strolling by the lively campaign demonstrations held by both parties in downtown Santiago after a day in the office.

Of course, as my colleagues working for MINEDUC’s English Opens Doors Program pointed out, elections were a time of uncertainty for government employees. An administration change would also create potential for policy change. With this in mind, I left the the busy streets and idyllic weather of summertime in Santiago and returned to Washington D.C., where record amounts of snowfall had brought the ever-bustling city to a complete halt.

With ample time to reflect on my recent internship (and write a paper about it for my grad program), I began to tackle the questions: Can English really open doors? and what place does the English language hold in Chile’s overall goals for growth and development?

As a former volunteer, I like to imagine that the time and energy I devoted to my students and my community in the Chilean Patagonia were beneficial not only to me personally, but also to the country in which I had been afforded the opportunity to live and work. However, from a more critical standpoint there is always the tension that arises when considering the use of English as a tool for economic and social advancement.

In many countries, the drive to learn English is tied to the desire to compete in a global market in which the dominant language is English. In many Latin American countries, opportunities to learn English are determined largely by class, which has often served to reinforce existing socio-economic gaps.

Since 2004, the English Opens Doors program has sought to eliminate that gap in Chile and bring a level of English fluency to the entire population within one generation. The program aims to do this by placing English speaking volunteers in public primary and secondary schools throughout all of Chile’s 15 regions, thereby creating language-learning opportunities for members of all of Chile’s social classes. Many Chileans are embracing the idea.

During the administration of former president Michelle Bachelet, the commitment to this objective was strong. The program grew from only 15 English-speaking volunteer teachers in 2004 to more than 300 volunteers in 2009 hailing from 14 different countries around the world.

As the new administration continues to promote Chile’s economic growth and participation in global markets, it seems that the focus on the importance of foreign languages is there to stay. Within the past year, the English Opens Doors program expanded to become the Languages Open Doors program, and this year new initiatives were launched for German, French and Mandarin Chinese-speaking volunteers as well.

*Editor’s note: this post was written before the Chilean earthquake. We will be posting an entry about what you can do to help on Monday.

He led me to another young man, though slightly older, who was standing in the dark holding a notebook. The youth holding the notebook timidly asked me if I could help him with his homework. I said of course and followed them to one of the village’s five lampposts. The three of us sat together on a stone bench and the man with the notebook told me he didn’t understand his secondary school English homework. He opened his notebook and told me he had to write five sentences using the words “in” and “of,” which were sloppily scribbled on a blank page. Beneath the two prepositions was an example (written in much neater handwriting) that read, “The people of Solentiname are funny.”

I made the mistake of assuming that he knew what the sentence meant and asked him if he needed help understanding the difference between “in” and “of.” He gave me a blank look and nodded his head. After defining the two prepositions several times and providing examples of how and when to use them, I finally felt like he understood his homework assignment. He was nodding as if he understood and seemed ready to write something. But instead of putting pen to paper, he looked at me and his eyes seemed to ask, “What now?”

Long story short, I soon realized one of the only words he knew in English was “bedroom.” I felt completely helpless and could not understand how he was expected to complete his homework without a basic understanding of English. When I asked him to show me some other homework questions, I noticed that several questions were grammatically incorrect and several words were misspelled – whether the student or the teacher made these errors, I truly do not know.

I realize this was an isolated incident. I also know I cannot make any assumptions about the education system here based solely on this experience, but I feel compelled to share this story and to talk briefly about education here.

While primary school students in most of Solentiname usually have school five days a week, secondary school students attend school every other weekend. In other words, they have four school days per month.

I can’t help but think about my days in high school when I forgot math equations and historical dates after only one or two days. Even with the instruction of the world’s finest teachers, how much information can the average student keep over 15 days?

The organization I am volunteering for, Alianza para Solidaridad de Solentiname, has recently begun week-long intensive classes once a month for secondary school students who are interested in continuing their education at university. Click here to read about the second session that took place in November, 2009.