Onwards to Nicaragua and preparing for midterms

Well - they made it to country #2 - Nicaragua - yesterday and enjoyed a historical tour of Managua with some modern pieces thrown in. Today they are visiting one of the five organizations their hostel with which is involved. They continue to jump right into their surroundings and learn about the area. 

Here is the schedule for today... pretty packed... but as one alumna, who visited the office today commented, "seems pretty typical...(smiles)... do you think Algebra 2 and TJ really happened on time?" And the only real answer, "You know the TTS way and why we make schedules on a white board."

GEOMETRY

As students prepare for midterms, we have been focusing on polygons and circles.  Leila and Izzy are completing an independent study on polygons, their diagonals, angles and sides.  Together, we are looking at the relationship between circle arcs, tangents, secants, and chords, while learning theorems about inscribed angles and corresponding circumference measures.  The gardens of Don David overlooking Lake Peten, the lodge at Finca Tatin deep in the Guatemalan jungle, and the sunny docks of Rio Dulce have made for some of the most stunning Geometry class settings for which one could ask!

Precalculus

Chapter six is finished! It was complex to say the least. Although each section was, at first glance, unrelated to the last, all the sections were essential to one another and we continue to build on those concepts. We have covered vectors, polar coordinates, demoivre's theorem, law of sines and cosines. McKinley and Bella are great at solving vector, force, and work problems. Ash and Sharleen worked hard to master the multiple different graphing systems of the chapter. As we move onward to chapter 7, the students are looking forward to the familiar x and y systems.

Algebra

Our exploration of polynomials comes to an end as we finish chapter six and are in the midst of math midterms. We had many polynomial dance parties, which are a bit like mathematical Simon says: Annie calls out a polynomial to the group and then Katy, Maddy, and Sarah Jane represent the end behavior in dance moves. We polynomial-danced across the lawn on the edge of Lake Peten in El Remate. We also had the chance to learn about the Mayan numerical system while in the Mayan ruins in Tikal. Up ahead we have the exciting world of logarithms and exponents!

Science

Our TTS classroom these past few weeks has ranged from the rich deciduous rainforest in Tikal to the shores of Rio Dulce outside of Livingston.  Boat rides along the Rio Dulce are a wonderous experience for us to see wildlife and complete field journals. Kaitlyn examined one of the hundreds of crabs around Finca Tatin. Hannah completed a field journal on a beautiful toucan she saw on top of Templo Four in Tikal while watching the sunrise. The students also presented their Unit 1 projects. Madeline rapped about the stars while Maddy and Hannah performed skits on the history of the constellations and their names. McKinley, Sarah Jane, Ash, and Sharleen took TTS on a bird safari. Kaityln, Sarah M, Annie, and Sadie presented interpretative cloud dance moves and finished with a competitive game of jeopardy. Midterms are next week and as a collaborative project, students will teach a one hour class on the world food crisis.

Intermediate Spanish

Throughout this semester,  students have seized opportunities to interact with kids.  Whether through organized school visits, at their homestays, or elsewhere, these interactions often yield lots of laughs, and the students talk about them as highlights.  Currently, each Intermediate Spanish student is engrossed in writing and illustrating their own children's book.  Not only will we be sharing these books with young people we meet in Nicaragua, but many Guatemalans are getting involved in the process as the students seek assistance editing and bouncing off ideas.  Inspired by our visit to Camino Seguro, Sadie is writing from the perspective of a tree growing at the edge of a  garbage dump.  Ash drew inspiration from the wildlife that we encountered in Tikal to put a unique spin on the classic story if Romeo and Juliet.  And Sarah Jane's story comments on land distribution in Guatemala through the metaphor of sharing toys among "big kids" and "little kids."  In writing their stories, each student has challenged herself to convey a broader cultural theme in a creative way, synthesizing many of the experiences we've had in Guatemala.

Beginning Spanish

Students showed how much their language skills have grown as they conversed with high schoolers at the Instituto Ak' Tinamit, a private school that offers scholarships to students from all over Guatemala who come to live and study here in the jungle.   Maddy was thrilled that the srudents she met invited her to make tortillas, and Hannah commented on how many of the people we met were from regions of Guatemala that we've been to previously, especially El Petén.  Izzy has been using her spanish skills to learn more about topics from History and Global Studies.  Yesterday, she drew a cartoon based on a conversation she had with someone in Livingston about the Guatemalan Civil War. As midterms approach, we have been focusing on reviewing and putting into practice all that we have learned this semester. We have explored the many jungle paths and outbuildings here at Finca Tatin, describing our surroundings, practicing when to use the verbs "ser" and "estar," as well as direct vs. indirect objects.  We were surprised by how many crabs we saw - Madeline exclaimed, "hay cangrejos por todos lados!"

ADVANCED SPANISH

¡Saludos desde Rio Dulce!  At Finca Tatin, Advanced Spanish’s lugar favorito for classes has been a dock floating on one of Rio Dulce’s tributaries.  It’s a fantastic spot for delving into discussion on Un Dia en La Vida and the protagonist, Lupe’s, life in the 1980’s Chalatenango, El Salvador.  The book is a challenge, brimming with Guatemalan and Salvadoran dialects, but the class continuously rises to the challenge.  Bella has proven a stellar reader, McKinley the emerging vocab guru, and Sarah M. is our class philosopher, posing thoughtful and provoking questions about the book’s myriad of themes.  We’ve also welcomed Sharleen to the class, and her contributions to our discussions have helped further everyone’s understanding of the text.

Finca Tatin has proven a fantastic setting for aprendiendo mas español as students meet a wider variety of tourists and workers from Latin America.  Gaby, from Nicaragua, has introduced the students to “vos,” a verb conjugation dating from 16^th century Spaniard Spanish, used instead of “tu” throughout Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras.  Carlos, from Argentina, has shared with the students a more Spain-sounding accent, and Javi, from Colombia, brings a musical Spanish accent.  The mix of vernaculars has provided the ideal foray into our upcoming map project on los dichos populares of each region of Central America.  As we make our way to Nicaragua, students are focused on comparing and contrasting the linguistic idiosyncrasies of each region we visit. Pronto, les contamos de Nica. . .

TRAVEL JOURNALISM

Leila, Sharleen, and Hannah have been working on interview questions and skills over the past few weeks.  We have conducted interviews among our group, interviewing fellow TTS students on their lives.  In Peten, for International Women’s Day, Laurel graciously taught a class on women as journalists, and we then conducted interviews on the role of women in US and Guatemalan society.  Recently, in Livingston, students had a chance to interview artisans and street vendors about life on Guatemalan’s Caribbean coast.  Soon, Travel Journalism students will be conducting interviews to uncover a series of mysterious events and then writing a feature article as part of their upcoming midterm.

In the photography realm, students have taken turns studying and practicing techniques used by National Geographic photojournalists.  As we work towards building our portfolios for the semester, recent submissions have been shots experimenting with black and white, macro, animal, color, pattern, and texture techniques.  Additionally, students have collected panoramic shots, experimented with aperture and exposure numbers, and tried a variety of flash settings.

Travel Journalism students hope you enjoyed their recent (and upcoming!) blogs on just a few of the many intriguing places we have visited thus far. 

History

The unit on the civil war ended in students interpreting data from pie charts and graphs on the atrocities into poems:

Graph 

Izzy, California, Sophomore

Look

Look how the lines are crossed

Look how the government swam in grey

But can only be found in the black and white of a graph

'62 through '93

It was one right violated

Then two

Then over ten thousand

And who knows what else rose with the 

Lines of this graph

What impalpable hatred, what unjustifiable tears

Who knows what stories are engrained

In each pixel

Who knows what colors in the drainage of this graph? 

Untitled

Sarah, North Carolina, Junior

"It's the guerrillas" they told us.

"They're the ones killing you"

But they showed up with shiny rifles

That looked all too new.

They told us they were protectors

Trained to rescue and serve.

But their boots were dirty-

The American soil struck a nerve.

They fed us their lies

Until their pantries were beat. 

But we clung to our food-

"We only trust people who eat what we eat".

Then they would kill,

And torture and burn.

But we couldn't retaliate,

Or they would return.

They blamed the guerrillas

For all of the violence.

But we knew better than to believe it,

And we responded with silence.

Last week we dove into articles on ancient Mayan civilizations in preparation for visiting Tikal. Students immersed in our hostel's collection of National Geographic magazines and library books to uncover the hieroglyphs and cosmology of the people who inhabited the place 1500 years ago. They debated popular theories of collapse, and hauntingly related the Mayan situation of drought, war, climate change, unsustainable agriculture and population growth to the current state of the U.S.

For their final week in Guatemala, students completed a culminating exam on the novel Bridge of Courage. Their responses must include a mixture of political cartoons and short paragraphs to illustrate the themes present in the book.

Literature

Students are hard at work writing, rewriting, editing, and peer-editing their testimonies, one of the major writing assignments of the semester. Students chose to write a collection of personal memories, or tell the story of another, as demonstrated in the novels Tree Girl and I, Rigoberta Menchu.

Last week the class sat on a steep grassy hillside for a sunset class period. The content-Story Hill-identifying the elements necessary for a week-rounded testimony/memoir/story. This week, in addition to putting the final touches on their papers, students are reading place-based short stories.

Soon we will head to Nicaragua, reading Salman Rushdie's obscure piece titled, Jaguar Smile. A challenging read for those unfamiliar with the history and politics of the region,  students will learn quickly!

GLOBAL STUDIES

While in Peten, students met with Francisco Cano, the lead delegate for INGUAT, Guatemala’s tourism department.  During a Q&A session, Mr. Cano and the students discussed tourism’s effects, immigration, and cultural similarities and differences among Guatemala’s 23 indigenous groups.

Now in Livingston, we have begun a unit on trade.  After a mock market scenario in which students bartered for goods (Guatemala snacks and candy) using money (in the form of black beans), students worked on defining everyday terms from an economist’s perspective: cost, utility, value, worth, and price.  Our discussion continued with a look at terms key to a discussion on trade, and we explored themes such as equity v. equality, growth v. development, scarcity v. distribution, and rights v. responsibility.  As we make our way towards Nicaragua, we’ll be examining the pros and cons of coffee, debating protectionism v. free v. fair trade, interviewing locals to better understand minimum v. living wages, and heading to the local markets to construct our own canastas basicas or market baskets.  

MAIL CALL!

Hello vicarious TTSers!

The time has come to jot down a few stories to share with your daughter/niece/awesome teenager or teacher in the old fashioned way - handwritten correspondence. Don't fret - this isn't an assignment with a grade. This is some extra credit to practice the nearly forgotten art form known as penmanship.

Don't think you have anything to share? I'll be the first to say - those ladies love to hear news from back home. Here are just a few ideas: Pop! Goes the Garden -what happened to winter in the west? or News from the Trenches - digging your way through snow tunnels in the east or Stateside Reality - what we do at home while the teenager is away. 

Submission details:

We invite those of you not able to join the Campus Visit to send letters to our office for hand delivery with a smile. If you (or friends and family) would like to send letters or photos to the ladies they need to be in our office by April 3rd. Price flies to Nicaragua early the following week. Jennifer will already be overseas scouting and connecting with a past TTS family in Panama.

As this is a hand delivery system, we can only deliver up to 10 cards or letters to each TTS25er. Please collect letters or cards from yourself, friends and/or family and mail them to the TTS PO Box 7058, Bozeman, MT 59771 (they must arrive no later than Friday, April 3rd), we will get them to Nicaragua. 

Please don't send packages; we ask that you send nothing bigger than regular office sized envelopes, as Price will need to pack light enough to meet the weight restrictions for her luggage. We'll collect your letters, cards, photos, newspaper clippings and hand deliver them straight to your daughters.

Just to re-iterate, our trained office dogs will sniff for chocolate, caramels, and other goodies and may re-direct them to the "mid-afternoon pick me up" dish in the office. The same dogs may also alert us to all other extraneous goods that stretch the boundaries of an office sized envelope. 

Food for thought:

A little goes a long way! And everyone loves  mail. While this isn't an assignment, I encourage you to send at least one hello to your traveler so she has something to open in that anticipated 'Mail Delivery' moment.

Happy writing,

Aunge 

TJ mini articles by student journalists

The Hustle and Bustle of the Antigua Market

Leila, New York, Sophomore

The sounds and smells suck you in as you take your first step inside. You will forget about time and why you are there. Locals bring vegetables, chickens—dead or alive—and their voices. The smell of fresh tortillas makes your mouth water. They sizzle and pop on the pan. The outside part of the market is less crowded, but if you want the hustle and bustle of locals all around, go inside. The ginormous bags of rice, dried peppers, and the spices take up half of the vender lot. The spice names cannot pronounce fill your brain with chills. If you have unlimited time, get lost in the smells and windy bends. People’s scaly fingers smack the keys of the calculator as you buy goods. Mountains of toothpaste, canned goods and snacks block your view of the rest of the market. Fruits and vegetables you have never seen or heard of are sold everywhere. Some have rough outsides, but others are smooth as a baby’s bottom. Their odd shapes attract tourist eyes, and compel them to buy them. The rustling of plastic hanging from your hands will be filled with new smells, shapes and tastes. As you exit the market a smile will appear on your face about all the goods you bought.

Enchantment of the Lanquin pool

By: Leila, New York, Sophomore

I reached the top while rain and sweat trickled down my forehead. I ripped off my rain coat as my skin screamed for air. The dark clouds above separated similar to the red sea parting. I moved towards the views to look down and realized the pictures were real. My body jumped with joy when I realized I was going to swim in this mystical body of water. The beeps and clicks of cameras filled my ears while I admired the view. The magical pools sparkled as the beating sun glistened over. I walked off the mirador and back into the jungle, ready to immerse myself in the wanting water.

I walked closer to the sounds of rushing water. The pushy pools pulled me in. My toe broke the waters barrier. Ripples consumed the pool. My body cooled while my sweat joined the freshwater. Tiny fish came up to my face as I swam through the pools. I jumped from pool to pool by sliding, slipping and squatting. Powerful little waterfalls gave me a free head massage during my travels into a new pool. The last pool I went to had a tiny cave. To get in I had to keep my forehead against the cold and prickly stone. The cave grew as I went further in. I inhaled the caves dampness the clogged my nose. I exited the cave with my eyes open to grasp the light from outside. 

Antigua’s Main Road

Sharleen, California, Junior

I hear the Mayan flute playing, a church bell ringing and the beat of the hollow Mayan stick. The rhythm of the stick blends with the gentle whistle of the wind. The scraping noise of the construction workers and the beads of the man selling necklaces create a musical piece for my ears. The high pitched chirping of some birds make me look up at the cloudy sky. All of a sudden, two women selling scarves speak in an indigenous language which makes my head turn. Ahead of me I see cobble stones leading to a large bright yellow arch with a clock. The bright colors of the shops and restaurants surrounding the arch make me feel energized and ready to explore more of Antigua. I see rolling green mountains, little shops selling handmade chocolate and smiles on the faces of people walking past me. There is a little boy walking by his mother who is selling fruit in cups. The juicy red watermelon, dark orange papaya, and sliced pineapple look fresh and ready to eat. There are a lot of mothers on the street selling woven clothes, coin purses, and headbands. They carry their babies on their backs and sometimes the older kids try to get you to buy their mother’s items. The busy street is full of different types of people from all over the world, yet we are all in the same exact place in the same moment of time.

Tikal’s Wonders

-Sharleen, California, Junior

It was early in the morning and I was walking through the tropical forest feeling the heaviness of the humid air on top of me. The night was calm and I could see the shape of a bunny rabbit in the shining moon. As I walked to the tallest pyramid in Tikal I saw hairy tarantulas crawling out of holes, marching ants carrying ripped up pieces of bright green leaves and squeaking calls of birds awakening from a deep sleep. I felt small walking through mountainous trees above me and over bulging trees under me as maybe an ant would feel crawling underneath me. Sitting on top of the Mayan pyramid I saw the fog roll in and then rise up towards the sky revealing an army of trees. The roars of howling monkeys and rustle in the trees below me echoed in my ears. Life was waking up from an enchanted night taking my mind into a place it had never been before. I imagined the Mayan king sitting on the throne with a crown of long colorful feathers on his head being carried up the steps I sat on. The Mayan left the pyramids for us to discover and learn about but also to uncover the diversity of life and wonders of nature in our world that have existed longer than we have.

The First 20 Miles

Hannah, Maine, Junior

A massive amount of preparation goes into a three day hike.  Meals have to be planned, packing has to be done, and different places to stay the night have to be organized.  Of course strength, will and a group of people ready to take on the challenges the kike may present are necessary as well.

Never before had I been on a three day hike.  I did not know what to expect other than that it would be hard work.  I was glad to be with others who had not experienced such a trek before either.  We were to hike all the way from Xela to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.  I do not think any of us realized what this would entail.  The first day consisted of a 5AM wake up call, a ride on a chicken bus, and a seemingly endless trail that took us up and up until we were in the clouds.  Going uphill for so long with a pack secured to your back is quite a difficult task.  The sun beats down on you, dust is kicked up by those around you, and it gets into your boots, eyes, nose, and mouth.  Your legs feel as if they cannot take another step.  

Sounds like fun, right?

Yet there is another side to backpacking, one that I discovered over the three day trek.  I love this side of hiking that I found, and I am so glad my eyes were opened to it.  There are often moments of tranquility on the trails.  All is silent because you are surrounded by hills and trees.  The others you are hiking with are quiet, focusing on their breath and where their feet are going to go next.  Bird songs and the wind moving through the trees accompany your efforts to complete the journey for that day.  The creaking of your pack, as well as the ones of those in front and behind you, is subtle, but easily heard through the silence.

To distract yourself from your own exhaustion you focus on your breathing, slow inhale, long exhale.  The rhythm becomes relaxing and allows you to adopt a steady pace and enjoy the moment.  Though the view is exquisite you have to be careful about when you look up because the terrain is dangerous.  Looks rocks, leaves, and dirt cover the path and can easily cause you to slip.  Once the day is over, you can finally settle into your sleeping bag, and a feeling of extreme accomplishment sets in. 

Thinking that I had conquered 20 miles to get to the destination was empowering and invigorating.  Needless to say, I am ready for my next backpacking trip, for this first one was merely an introduction.

Through the Mist

-Hannah, Maine, Junior

I had barely rubbed the sleep from my eyes as our group loaded into the transports that would take us to Tikal. We had set our alarms so that we could be on the road by 3:40 a.m. A time I never thought I’d be waking up at in order to see the ancient ruins of the Maya. The early morning was necessary to see the sunrise from Temple 4, the largest of all the temples at Tikal. Upon arrival we donned our headlamps and followed our eager tour-guide Louise into the shadowy jungle that was still asleep. The power of the headlamps and the light of the moon made it possible to make out the path and our surroundings. The forest was thick and full of tall trees that were dripping with vines and leaves. The thick air had a chill to it, sending goose-bumps up my arms. The cold soon disappeared as our steps quickened and we continued on. The first temple appeared out of nowhere. The steep stone steps came out of the darkness one by one, eventually revealing the top. Upon seeing the structure of astounding size I stopped and stood in awe. I was overwhelmed with a presence that filled my entire being. I did not need the light of day or the sigh of the other temples to know that this place held great importance, that it was a sacred place, a place that had survived countless years of being inhabited by Mayan people, attacked by enemies, and hidden under complex webs of roots and vegetation. Tikal consumed me with this special feeling, perhaps it was its spiritual past, or the presence of the civilization that had existed there for so long. I could not pin-point the feeling and it did not leave me until I had turned and left the ancient remains of the Maya behind me. Even then, I knew I would never forget how the mysterious structures, that still stand despite their age, affected me upon first sight.

Student Poem

Here is a poem students wrote prior to a travel day from La Escuela de la Montaña to Lanquín about the Wal-Mart to examine the practices of Wal-Mart prior to stopping there to buy snacks after spending a week in a rather rural area. 

Boxed Evil – A Poem by TTS25

How much evil can you fit in a box?

How much evil can you fit in your cart?

Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart

How many small businesses can you crush with your cart?

Mom and pop have gone away, we broke their hearts

on Black Friday.

Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart

And now small businesses are no more,

because of our super-duper box store.

You may think you’re saving a cent

but what your really paying with is the environment

Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart

Where was this made?

China, India, Taiwan enslaved

doesn’t matter – no one was paid.

Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart

None of this matters

all people see is enticing, low pricing

and buy one get one free

Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart

Think what you want about our poem

We know you will see the stores as you want

A sweatshop, a steal of a deal and one big box store

Sincerely, the Wal-Mart club. 

more classes

These ladies just can't get enough of their classes!

Semuc Champay

Before our week of Spanish immersion at Escuela de la Montaña, the students of Beginning Spanish practiced descriptions and vocabulary related to "la familia."  They illustrated what they had learned  by designing and presenting their own cast of characters for a "telenovela" (the ever-popular Latin American soap opera).  The presentation had me laughing out loud with its intricate family tree and detailed illustrations, including some stellar artwork by Maddy and Hannah! Madeline kept an remarkably straight face as they presented, though she had dreamt up many of the unusual plot twists.

While at Escuela de la Montaña,  students participated in one-on-one language classes for four hours each day, and ate all of their meals with a host family. Local Spanish teachers not only provided grammar instruction, but also proved to be great resources for conversing about local history and culture. TTS students became friends with their teachers over the course of the week. Izzy, especially, could be heard laughing heartily with her teacher, Rony, as they spent each morning speaking Spanish  under a small palapa. 

A week of tremendous growth, the students' increased confidence and language skills are evident in their most recent weekly journals.  Since the beginning of the semester, each student has  written regular journal entries to reflect on conversations they had in Spanish.  Hannah went from journaling about the frustration of being unable to understand elementary school children on the playground to successfully asking her host mother about her children (then writing about it entirely in Spanish).  While students continue practicing their charades skills, their abilities to effectively communicate in Spanish has grown tremendously over the course of this past month in Guatemala.

The students of Intermediate Spanish left Escuela  de la Montaña with stories upon stories!  They can now gracefully share these stories using the pretérito and imperfecto verb forms, which they use in conversation as well as in writing.  Katy had especially rich conversations with her teacher, Lorena, which provoked her to think in new ways about the book, Tree Girl, which she had read for lit class.  Kaitlyn had extensive mealtime conversations, and believes she could now write her host mother's biography!  Sadie talked with her host brother at length about his interesting perspective on access to education. 

Between daily interactions with host families and teachers, as well as thought-provoking guest speakers, our time at Escuela de la Montaña left the Intermediate Spanish class with increased confidence and eagerness to learn more from those around us.  Students have been reflecting on the past month's experiences and mastering the ability to tell stories in Spanish. These new skills prepare them for an upcoming project in which they will write and illustrate their own picture books to share with children we meet along the way.

¡Saludos desde La Escuela de La Montaña! Advanced Spanish students thrived at the Mountain School, loving the chance to have their own individual teachers for the week and quickly enhnace vocab and grammar skills.  Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with host families provided the ideal opportunities to put Spanish skills to the test while learning more about the history of the region and exploring current community issues including immigration and economics.  Additionally, Mountain School provided ample chances for translation.  Sarah M. has stepped up as a phenomenal translator this week.  ¡Bien hecho, Sarah!

Advanced Spanish students continue to interview local communities as part of our ongoing A Day in the Life project.  Students are compiling their interviews into a collection of Spanish shorts on life in the region.  Very soon, we’ll delve into the novel by the same name and learn about the indigenous uprising and twelve year civil war in El Salvador.  The class novel will help us compare and contrast conflicts in the various Central American countries and no doubt launch us into deep conversation about negotiations and the peace-building processes post conflicts.  Hasta pronto. . . 

Global Studies class serves as a thread that ties together the myriad new experiences we encounter each day at TTS.  Our most recent unit on human rights  provided students with a lens through which to interrogate and make sense of history, as well as current social structures.  We opened our study of human rights by reading testimonies from Ariel Dorfman's play, Speak Truth to Power.  Students took on the characters of various human rights defenders, incited emotion and passionate discussion that would only become more real as we delved into conversations with host families, teachers, and community members in the highlands outside of Xela.  Each week, students write RRQs (Reaction, Reflection, Question) in which they reflect and provoke each other to dig deeper with probing questions.  This week, Bella showed how guest speakers helped change her perspective on daily life:

"'The mountains were the best university I ever had because they taught me how to love.' This was the response I received after asking an ex-guerilla what it  was like emotionally to fight up in the mountains.  I found this beautiful and moving. While I was listening to them talk, I was incredibly hungry and my stomach sounded like it was churning butter.  Then, the ex-guerillas began to speak of group dynamics in the mountains.  They talked of equality and sharing.  They said everyone had equal food and shared in the suffering.  They would all starve together if there was no food...This experience was important because as the ex-guerillas were talking about starvation and sharing every little bit of food, I was thinking about when I would get my lunch.  I realized I was not thinking about who else in my group was hungry.  I have never lived in a group setting where everything is shared. I further realized that I have recently been thrown into one.  On our trip with TTS, I want to use these ex-guerillas ideas of community and love as I go through the semester."

 - Bella, Junior, Montana

GEOMETRY

Izzy and Leila have been doing a stellar job working together to master the intricacies of essential geometry formulas: distance, midpoint, special triangles, regular polygons, etc.  Students solve problems on whiteboards then prove their answers aloud.  This was particularly helpful in our recent study of circles which emphasized special rules for arc and angle measurements.  As we move onwards towards the jungles of Peten, we’ll study

how Mayans intentionally made use of geometry in their construction of pyramids and temples.  We can’t wait for Tikal.

Roasting marshmallows on Pacaya

Travel Journalism has been busy writing, writing, writing!  Very soon friends and family can look forward to a few articles on this blog as students spent time while at the Mountain School editing one another’s short pieces.  Students wrote about a variety of topics from the infamously touristy Arch Street in Antigua to the bustle of the mercardo, from the three day hike with Quetzal Trekkers to their lancha ride across Lake Atitlan.  We’re excited to be polishing the pieces and publishing them soon.

At Mountain School, students also worked on their photojournalism portfolios, revising their bios and taking lots of shots.  Hannah, Leila, and Sharleen focused on landscapes and panoramic views as well as portraits of their host families.  As we head towards Semuc Champey and then the jungle, we’re excited for opportunities to continue building our photo collections, adding wildlife and nature to the mix.

Spring break TTS style

Wahoo! Spring Break 2015! What does that mean for TTS students?

Well, it means classes, experiential activities and life as normally un-normal for TTS25. Last week they slid down natural water slides to refresh after a steep hike in Semuc Champay. The slides connect seven different pools of aqua marine water. To get to the final pool, everyone had to swim through an underwater tunnel, popping up for air in little hidden pockets before ducking back under. Giddy with adrenaline and laughter, they re-booted for their return hike to the trail head. Throughout the week, students also completed classes, prepared presentations and packed up their cabanas. After a full travel day in two micro buses on Friday, the group is deep in heart of the Guatemalan jungle.

This week students will wander through Tikal, experiencing the enormity of ancient civilizations. They may wake up well before the sunrise and creep into the reserve with a guide to witness the waking sun through the architectural and artistic remains of the Mayan ruins. They may trek into the wetlands, savannah, broadleaf and palm forests for PE to reflect on times past.

Back at the hostel, students will soak in free time between classes - resting, laughing, chatting and possibly catching up on daily tasks such as laundry.

Take a look at what they have been up to in classes over the past few weeks. (More class updates to come)

Precalculus

During the week of Spanish Immersion, the students also had days filled with math immersion. I am continually impressed by their diligence: after studying Spanish for four hours every morning, we met for afternoons of precalculus. We just finished polar functions. McKinley is great at drawing beautiful rose curves, almost better than the calculator can!  Sharleen worked hard converting between the Cartesian and polar planes while swinging on a hammock at the Mountain School. Bella was right beside her in another hammock, completing the square to have each rectangular equation in circle format. Ash preferred to work at a desk, solving intricate triangles and word problems. Today we are having our first test of the semester, focusing on the law of sines, cosines, and polar coordinates. As we finish chapter six, we will delve into the imaginary plane and vectors! Math comes to life with magnitude and direction and the students will get a glimpse of physics as well.

Algebra II

Every morning at the Mountain School was filled with Algebra 2! Now in Lanquin, we have algebra class alongside a beautiful river. We are almost to the end of chapter six. Maddy is proving yet again to be the polynomial queen, solving any polynomial no matter how high the degree. Sarah Jane is fascinated by the world of complex numbers and is busy calculating "i" to every degree. Katy is great at the rational root theorem, figuring out all the rational roots of any equation. Annie is working hard at graphing on the TTS graphing calculator, calculating zeroes and multiplicity. Tomorrow is our first test of the semester. The students are studying hard and excited to put their math skills to work. In the next two weeks we will be studying graphs in more detail and discovering how to predict end behavior.

Science

When you're a student at the Traveling School, science class is all around you.  To learn about coffee, the class toured an organic coffee farm in Antigua.  The intricate process came alive as they tasted beans right off the plant, saw the mills and drying areas, and learned the difference between high altitude and low altitude coffee. Later on at the Mountain School, the students met with coffee farmers and learned the rich history of the area.  All of the students' host families are associated with coffee farms; they have organized for better working conditions and pay for coffee farmers across Guatemala. And what is a delicious cup of coffee without clean drinking water? After our coffee tours we toured a water purification manufacturer called Ecofiltro.  There, the students learned about an ingenious and simple way for millions to purify their water. It was an amazing sight to see how sometimes the simplest method, such as filtering water through clay, can save lives. Next week we head to Tikal, and the students will be searching for various animals and plants only seen in the rainforest.

Physical Education

All of our days in Guatemala have been packed with outdoor activities. Together the students hiked from Xela to Lake Atitlan, averaging over seven miles a day. Heavy packs, high altitudes, and steep ascents and descents kept all of us huffing and puffing. Finishing the hike was extremely rewarding and the sunrise on the final morning was beautiful. Other activities have included kayaking in Lake Atitlan, swimming at Semuc Champey (beautiful turquoise pools in Lanquin), morning runs, circuits, and yoga.  The rest of the semester will hold more of the same exciting opportunities to keep physically fit, improve our flexibility, and most importantly have fun!

History

In the mountains outside of Xela, Guatemala, students read Bridge of Courage, an anthology of stories from the Guatemalan civil war. The most amazing thing occurred two days ago. We visited the community of Santa Anita, a pueblo of ex-combatants. After hiking to a waterfall through coffee fields, and before eating a lunch of chicken, beans, rice and tortillas, a woman named Wilma shared her story of fighting as a guerrilla. Her companero then spoke, and shared a story that blew the student's minds. In their books they had just read about a man named Comandante Everardo, who was eventually shot by the army, tortured and killed. Mauricio, our guest speaker, told a story of how he was next to Everardo when he was shot. That day, Mauricio didn't know if the Comandante was alive or dead, only that he was shot in the leg in a moment when they all needed to run. It turned out that Everardo lived, dug himself into a hole and covered himself in banana leaves to hide, but was discovered and dragged away. Of all the people to encounter in Guatemala we ate lunch with someone who was next to the man in our books. History comes alive on a daily basis at TTS.

Coming up next students will dig into the history behind the civil war. After listening to harrowing stories, watching documentaries, and reading articles, students will learn how the rift between Latinos and Mayans came to be, what the United States had to do with it, and about the role of corporations and the military. We will then dive into ancient history with the Mayan civilizations during our time in the ruins of Tikal, and help complete the picture of who what why when and how in Guatemala.

Today Literature & Composition class began with a surprise open-book exam on Tree Girl, their first book of the semester. Now that a few weeks have passed, students have a deeper understanding of the context of the novel, and are able to more fully process Mikaelson's message, relating the book to their own lives. Students also learned the art of 'found' poetry, creating original poems from words gathered from the novel.

At the moment, students are brainstorming for their first big written assignment, the Testimony. After reading Tree Girl, excerpts from I, Rigoberta Menchu, and Bridge of Courage, all examples of testimonies, students are becoming more familiar with the popular Central American genre. Last week they created emotional arcs, specific outlines for the stories they plan to write. Students have the ability to choose to tell another's story by interviewing those we encounter, or telling their own, by choosing specific memories from their past.

Coming up next we will continue to hold writing workshops to support the process of creation, and begin reading place-based short stories.