The View From School

Hi Everyone,

I know, I know. It's been a while since Aaron has got his act together and had a moment to sit and add to the BLOG. We'll here's your chance to read a bit of classic Klanderman babble.

So, we are now in our second week of school here at CAG. (It's actually the third week for Amy and I, those of you who are teachers out there can attest to the fact that inservice week certainly counts!) I have been amazed at the similarities, as well as the differences between the two schools I have worked at now, Peach Plains in the States, and CAG here in Guatemala.

First let's talk about the similarities. I am so impressed with the level of dedication to the kids here. Teachers are really willing to share their time with students. There is so much interaction/relationship building. You can just see the ease and the comfort that these kids have with their teachers. It's so great to have kids come up to me, instead of me seeking them out, which I thought I might need to do. The same could be said for the staff I worked with back in the States. Teachers want to serve their kids. We are SERVANTS first and foremost. If we didn't approach this job with that attitude we would never make it, it simply wouldn't be worth it. But when servanthood is the place we are coming from first, this job is AWESOME, and REWARDING! I feel so blessed to have now been a part of two staffs that I really feel were committed to that philosophy.

The other similarity that strikes me is that kids are kids worldwide. They are silly, goofy, and wonderful. Kids lose homework here just as much as they do in the States. Kids wrestle with their self image here too. Kids love to laugh and play, and generally try to get the teacher to fall into the same wonderful trap, which often works with me. The kids have been wonderful, and I also feel blessed to have them ministering to me and my needs just as much as I feel I am doing that for them.

Smiles are the other similarity, even though I feel that they flow a lot more easily here. Don't forget that people back home. Smile at others. Greet them as they pass. Why don't we kiss each other back home? People actually stop and kiss each other every morning here. WOW! No I don't think I'm going to do that to Mr. Dean and Mr. Wiegel when I see them in the hall in the future. I think Brandon would probably punch me. (Just kidding Brandon, I know down deep you're a pacifist.) Hug someone today. I miss hugging quite a few of you.

The differences and relatively small between the two places. I still feel a little trapped here. What I mean by that is that there are fences everywhere. Here at school the grounds are large and are of excellent quality. (Cool basketball floor especially.) But we are still surrounded by a huge wall, and a gate, that is guarded.

A small difference in copyright philosophies here, Amy could explain that later. Just to let you all know, Amy and I are still big supporters of not violating copyright laws.

Prayer is the main difference. You know I cannot tell you how comfortable and at peace I feel here, because whenever there is a problem we pray. Has God answered every prayer perfectly the way I wanted it to be answered, NO, but so many times it has turned out even better than I could have imagined. We were short teachers here for a while, and we prayed. God literally brought a teacher to CAG's doorstep that afternoon. I'm not kidding. We get nervous in class, and we pray, and the student's all talk about how at ease that immediately makes them feel. Maya was nervous about dance class the other day. (They don't teach in English.) We prayed. She came home and talked about how much fun she had! I think too many times in the States we cross our fingers in some stupid ritualistic manner and HOPE that things will turn out OK. Why don't we get on our knees, and then get up and KNOW that things will turn out OK. (Again, it may not be according to our mapped out plans, but as our minister said the other week, "Where is the safest place to be?.....In God's plans.")

I miss all of you reading this back home. I hope to write a little more frequently now, especially since both my fantasy football leagues draft in the next two days, and my homework/preparation for those will lessen.

With love,

Aaron

I've been tagged

I've been tagged to tell 6 random facts about myself. So here we go...

1. I hate skunks! Heart racing, blood pressure rising, run till I can't run any further type dislike. There's quite a funny camping story that goes with this and if enough people ask I may blog about it later, but I also hate them because of the Brady Bunch...Have you seen the episode? They had to bathe in Tomato Juice...I also hate tomato juice...Enough to be freaked by skunks!

2. I have Maple Syrup issue. I have to wash my hands immediately after eating any kind of breakfast including Maple Syrup because I can't stand the stickiness on my hands or the smell, but I love eating it. A great train story that goes with that...maybe some day.

3. There are only 6 states in the United States of America that I have not been to. Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Mississippi, & South Carolina. I am hoping to check one off the list when I visit my sister next summer...Lord willing.

4. Yellow is my favorite color because it makes all the other colors happier.

5. I've been sight-seeing in a tow truck...with 10 other people...all at the same time...in Yellowstone National park. Another great story!

6. I have always wanted to go skydiving.

I tag Rachel & ...hey who else out there has a blog that I don't know about? Let me know! Thanks Katie for the great fun!

The View from our Bedroom Balcony

Pictures below were taken from left to right as you stand looking out over our 2nd story balcony.

This is the view of our front gate to our condo complex. The yellow building immediately to the right of the gate is our gatekeepers home. He & his wife & their son live in the 6' by 15' foot building. The home with the green roof and the SUV is one of the tenants.

A little further down starts our parking spaces.

The mighty Tercel in the normal space for the Astro when everyone is home you can almost get in your car without dinging the person next to you. Notice the beautiful blooming tree!

Same view with the gorgeous Guatemalan sky included. Just over the balcony of the home in the next condo complex you can see the skyline of Guatemala city. If you click on the picture I think you can make it bigger. There are also mountains in the background which you could see if it were not the rainy season. We heard at the end of November the mountains are as clear as a bell. We can't wait to find out.

The last of the parking lot for our condos. Supposedly 14 cars fit in there and most nights there are at least 12. Notice the well trimmed hedge...the kids think they are really cool.

A little higher view.

This is the area where the kids play under the trees. A little dirty (because nothing grows under the dense pines) but nice.

The opposite end of our condo unit. No outlet and you will notice they are building condos right outside the back wall. Our umbrella for shade which we will use more when it is not the rainy season.

This is our bedroom window. Beautiful ironwork everywhere. For eye appeal & safety. Hope you enjoyed this little view from our balcony.

So I was at Paiz today...

...getting the infamous school supplies for the beginning of school next week. We had new student orientation this morning as well as the end of our in-service meetings for the week...and I decided that instead of going home and eating first, I...or I should say "we" since the kids were with me...I hear all moms of youngsters going "Why are you breaking the cardinal sin of motherhood?"...which of course is never take your children shopping when they are hungry...even if it is just for school supplies. Ok...where was I? Oh yes, entering Paiz with one screaming child. Lily was very upset because Maya & Caden each got to take in a list and a pen for checking off things we needed and she could not understand that she could not take in her set of markers and tablet that would be dropping all over the floor during our trip in the store. Hola...look at the gringo mom with her screaming child. Everyone was very nice and smiled at us a lot which helped me keep my temper which was getting short after 10 minutes of wailing because she realized that though Maya & Caden got to pick out things she couldn't...kind of like rubbing salt in a wound...good lessons to learn but not suggested on an empty stomach...and wailing is the correct term for what was happening. So we found a few things from the list but realized shortly into our list that there were about 10 things we would not be finding there. I had to pick up a few groceries as well and on Fridays they have samples of many things, like Sam's club does, and the ladies smiled as they explained their wares and where they were located...none of which I could understand...but we munched and "Gracias"-ed a lot and enjoyed the rest of our trip. At the check out we got through fine and then ran into Liz Ramos, the school recruiter, who volunteered to help us go to the "libreria" (paper/book store) to get everything else. So we headed down the strip mall to the store...literally downhill... which was tricky on a narrow sidewalk with a full shopping cart & 3 kids. The store had everything else we needed...except a bathroom but Lily was strong as I ran with her back up the hill to Paiz...I have told you we are at 5000 feet here right...huffing & puffing but we made it. Yeah! By the time we got back to Liz & Caden & Maya they had all of our needs collected. So Liz left to finish her shopping and we stood in line to pay. Just at that moment a giant stroke of lightning slammed down from the sky somewhere near and made everyone in the shopping center jump at least 3 feet. And then down came the rain...literally sheets, made car alarms in the parking lot go off it rained so hard! So we pushed our now fuller cart up the hill back to the main entrance and then sat there for at least 10 minutes waiting for the rain to subside enough to make it back to the car. It didn't let up! It was now 1:45pm and no one had eaten since 7:30 am except the few snips of things in Paiz. "Forget it," I said, "let's go." So we took off between cars and walked to our car because even if it is pouring you can't run in parking lots. We popped the car open and within about 30 seconds things were unloaded but you can't leave carts in the lot...so I walked it back up the hill to the cart corral. The water flowing down the parking lot went through my shoes it was so deep! By the time I got back to the car I was literally soaked through! The 2 minute trip home was amazing...being here even three weeks and you lose the idea of how hilly everything is...but flowing water rushing down the boulevard has a way of helping you remember...there was water pouring out of everywhere, half of the left lane of the uphill side of the boulevard was filled with about 6 inches of water, and at the bottom of the gullies the water rushed down whatever drainage system there is. Certain drains actually had water shooting out of them and running down on top of the ground again! Deluge is the only way to describe it. So we got back to our condo complex and the rain is pounding so hard on our gatekeeper's roof that he can't hear us honk...So I had get out, run through the river flowing next to the side of the road, and ring the doorbell. Fransisco smiled at me through his dry little window and with his umbrella opened the gate for us drowned rats...who had to try to still back into our carport with the big van and unload our now soggy school supplies and finally sat down for lunch at 2:15 pm. So as the sun streams through our windows now and dry clothes are on...two things have been learned. 1st: Umbrella will not be left behind again...because the rain comes and we will not be caught without it again! 2nd: Snacks will be stored in the car. Good lessons to learn and it always seems to take an adventure to learn the most practical lessons. Hope your day was good and much drier. God bless as He leads you on your next adventure in life.

Pictures of our world!

The adventure begins. A snack time at the Houston airport. Sharing our inspiration candies during our 6 hour layover. Hard to believe this was almost 3 weeks ago already!
Sunday lunch! Leftovers and chips. Not quite like home...we miss sweet corn...but good all the same!
Casa Cinco (House 5), our home (one of 8 condos in our complex. The carport entrance leads into the living room/dining room. Behind the red brick wall on the right is the maids quarters (large storage area for us) and a opening where our washer & dryer are located. Above those are the walk through closet and master Bathroom. The balcony comes off the master bedroom and if you were 10 feet tall you would have a great view of the city!
Maria Luisa, our maid, and her big helper! She is a God send in this new world of cleaning in a foreign land. And she is very patient with us and our lack of Spanish knowledge. Our best Spanish teacher!

Enjoying a little TV time in the living room. The stairs in the back ground lead up to a landing on the second floor that has our computer and leads to a bathroom and our bedrooms.
Our new vehicle...an Astro van. Purchased from the director of the school and has a long history of great traveling in Central America. Such a blessing and can haul anything...including a complete triple bunkbed without even taking the frames apart!
The second car...our rented Tercel...kind of comes with the condo and works great for our need to get Aaron to school. Also handy to have 2 vehicles when one is in the shop for days if not weeks at times!
Across the drive from our condo. The green wall in the backgound completely surrounds our place and is great protection with the extra security of razor wire all along the top. The kids have loved collecting pine cones and playing with their new buddies, Mynor & Maria Estella out front.
Essentials of life in Guatemala...bug spray, binoculars & Fantasy Football magazine. Aaron was invited into the school league a day or two after we got here...very homey!
Welcome to the Christian Academy of Guatemala.
The administration building which houses the staff offices, the library that is rumored to be the largest collection of English books in Central America...we're still checking on that..., and the chapel (their old gym) that will be where Amy will be teaching drama 4 afternoons a week (45 mins on Mon & Tue, and 1 1/2 hours on Wed & Fri).

The beautiful new gymatorium. All PE classes are held here and the play will be performed here as well.The soccer field & rec area. Soccer is huge here, as it is in most other places in the world. We are excited to take in some of the excitement!

The is Aaron's classroom. It is on the second floor of the secondary building and airy & well lit. He has 22 students and will be teaching English, Math & Social Studies (the Eastern Hemisphere) and Home Room. He also has 8th Grade English as well. He is excited to get started.

The elementary playground, including lunch pavilion and clubhouse as well as your typical swings & slides. The elementary building is on the right and the Administration building is on the left.
The Klanderman kids love to play. In the background, back & to the left is the home of the Wirrells. They are in charge of the maintenance of the school and have 2 boys who attend CAG and one who graduated a few years ago. Charles is a man of all trades & Petra is going to help watch Lily during the afternoons while Amy teaches. Delightful folk. The brown building on the right houses the security system for the school...a vicious German Shepherd who patrols the grounds at night. This is the preferred form of security in this area of Guatemala and very effective.
This is heading down the boulevard (literally) in typical traffic. Rush hour would have about twice as many vehicles. A few things to note...The van ahead of us is a taxi, many times you will see people holding on standing on the side in an open door and they stop very frequently. Two cars ahead of that is one of the infamous Chicken Buses of Guatemala. Public transportation at its smokiest and for the natives only. Buses carrying "gringos" are often targeted for robberies...some of the teachers at school had to lay on the seats when they tried it one day. I think we are just going to enjoy our cars. Lastly notice the motorcycle in the left lane...yes folks this is delivery. You can get pizza, chicken and even Mc D's delivered right to your house. Life is good let me tell you. Pizza Hut is located about a block up on the right.
Our grocery store...Pronounced "Pice" (like nice) not "Pi-ees" which means country in Spanish. The Paiz family sold their chain to Walmart last year so most things you can get in the states are now located less then a mile from our home in Guatemala. Truly a gift from God!

Last Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum with our new friends the Larimers and Osborns. They had a giant ball area...right up Lily's alley.
Maya in a bubble. Everyone loves bubbles!
Outside at the children's museum they have a whole city built small scale complete with vests & uniforms and little cars. Here is Caden & Camden waiting at a red light. Lots of fun was had!

A storm coming in over the city. This vantage point overlooking Guatemala city is about 50 yards from our front gate. One of the few open lots in our area. The clouds cover the mountains on the other side of the city but you get the idea. It is beautiful here and we hope you enjoyed this little glimpse.

Isn't that just like God!

Why is it that you have to come to complete times of crisis in your life to truly lay it all before the Lord? Lord work in my heart to help this lesson stick the first time!

So I am e-mailing you from our home in Guatemala...many, many, many prayers answered and most of them ours! Let me spin you the tale of God at work...

During the past 2 1/2 weeks we have fervently been concerned about our internet access from our home. Our school access hours are from 7am-7pm and with a family to be taken care of it was near impossible to have enough time to take care of the basics (banking, general e-mail, prayer updates, teaching needs, etc) much less the things we wanted to do (blog, fantasy football, facebook, skype, church news, etc.) and yesterday everything came to a head. During Aaron's afternoon at school, the computer wouldn't even get online, his cell phone minutos (that is Spanish folks) ran out...when he got home the Olympic coverage was on one TV station where the audio coming through is actually the "Talk of the Town" of San Cristobal (Michiganders know what I'm talking about...everyone else it is small town talk radio at its best), and then the station carrying the Monday night football game stopped transmitting right when the game was going to come on. Needless to say emotions were running high. You know how things upset people when they are at home...well they are just off the top of the charts when it seems that the only things that keep you in contact with what it is that you are familiar with are gone...and you just don't know when they will be back. Aaron went up to take a shower after his jog saying that he was done with technology in Guatemala. And unbeknownst to either of us we both began praying fervently for God to take away our need to have these technological privileges and help us to be content, to help us not long so much for connections through the internet, and make adjustments in our lives to deal with these disappointments. Ding dong, our carport bell rang. We went to answer it and it was Jorge our neighbor in Casa 3. He was the one who we have been trying to get a hold of for the internet of the whole complex comes in through his house. Miracle 1: He spoke English! Miracle 2: He was wondering if we wanted internet and were we willing to pay for it (less than $30 per month), Miracle 3: He walked back to his house (less than 30feet) apparently pushed a button and just like that the internet is working in our home. Aaron & I looked at each other our eyes glistening and thanked Jorge profusely for his call! After he left we looked at each other and shared our identical prayers that very afternoon. God is so good. We spent the next hour skyping Aaron's sister (Happy Birthday again Ang) and her husband, Bryan, and Amy's Mom & Dad, & brother, Chad. What blessings flow from heaven above. In His time and always at the perfect time! We sit here in awe and completely humbled by His grace. And so excited that now we will have the time to share with you the miracle after miracle He places in our path. I can't wait to start back at the beginning and catch you up. I'm crying again...God's goodness does that to me! Thanks again for your abundant prayers to the Father on our behalf. Know they are answered and more! Blessings all. More soon. At His feet on my knees, Amy

Our Home

Time to start sharing with you a little of living in Guatemala. Our home is a condo which is in a gated community about 5 minutes from our school, Christian Academy of Guatemala (CAG). It actually has two gates. The first is one that is like a railroad crossing manned by two individuals who I think are siblings and I have never seen anyone not let in that gate! They are very friendly and a "Buena Dia" gets you in every time. Then you drive past many gates and around a corner about a block and a half someone told me...I'm not sure how you count those...and you see a green gate on your left. By pulling up here and a tap on the horn, a wonderful person named Fransisco opens a big gate and you can pull in to our complex. We are the 5th carport on the right (the only direction anything is). We also have parking places for 2 cars across the driveway...at least it is room for two here...more like almost room for 1.5 Escorts back home. We now have an Astro van that we are buying (that just bearly fits in the carport) and a Tercel that we are renting which ends up priveleged to park in the carport more often then not just due to mere size. Entering our home you would see a 1/2 bath to the left (please notice the trash can for all TP) and a stairway just beyond. This leads to the upstairs which has a full bath off the landing, two bedrooms to the left (Caden's room is an immediate left and the girls are to the right. Closets with 2 bars & a closet with 6 shelves.) The landing also has a desk that will serve as our computer area as soon as we get the internet stuff figured out (keep praying). To the right and through a door is the master bedroom (think very spacious...and I'm not kidding!) with a walk-through closet and another full bath (includes Guatemalan tub...not for soaking really unless I get really adventurous...we'll see). Our room also has a door that leads out to a balcony over the front of the carport. The view is limited, and minus a few tall homes we would have a view that overlooks the city. We are quite high. Back to the downstairs...past the stairs there is a living room area, where we watch way more TV than we did in the states, and to the left is a dining room area. Back to the right again is the kitchen...great area for making and serving food and attached to the kitchen we have what they call a maid's quarter. This consists of an open area (8x8) with clothesline and a wash sink. Here is my washer & dryer under a small roof just big enough so the appliances don't get wet (They work way faster than mine at home.) and then on the far side of that there is a doorway that leads to a space about 4feet by 8 feet which is a space for a maid to live...amazing to me. We are storing our luggage there right now and Maria Luisa, our terrific maid, keeps her personal items there during the days while she works. We also have a back yard which is about 20 by 16 feet. It has a place for a hammock & 4 plastic chairs. Completely fenced in and well sheltered by vines and small trees. As you are thinking of all this you must remember that all building materials are concrete. The floors are polished rock conglomerate tiles...smooth & dangerous in socks. And everything is surrounded by high walls with broken glass bits coming out of the concrete and razor wire as far as the eye can see. It is different but we feel so blessed with this beautiful home. We will post pictures when we get the home computer up and running. Thanks for taking the tour with us and hope this helps you get a little picture of how we are living in Guatmala.

Days of Change

Hey everyone,

I am sitting here in the staff computer lab at CAG (Christian Academy of Guatemala) trying to get used to all of the changes. I cannot tell you how blessed we have felt to meet so many amazing new people over the past week. We have heard stories of ministry experiences, teaching philosophies, and prayer requests. God has truly been surrounding us throughout our first days in Guatemala. Notice I said that we have met a lot of people, but I didn't speak much about the surroundings themselves. This has been the part that has frustrated/forced me to adapt the most so far. I feel a bit caged in. We are safe, it's not that I feel imminent danger around every corner, but you need to be cautious. I'm a naturally cautious person anyway, so I guess I am feeling doubly cautious. We haven't walked out in the open of our neighborhoods much. We live in a gated community, as most people do here. I miss the wide openness of Michigan. I miss being able to see great distances. You have great views here, but they are of the city surrounded by the mountains. I'm just not used to that. I also miss the country. This urban style, especially the driving is challenging for me. One of the things I ask you to pray for the most is just safety in driving, WOW, it's nuts here at times. I don't quite have the handle of just jumping into traffic and hoping that everyone slows down behind you. Also, I have never been a horn honker, and I never want to become one, but most people here feel that honking their horn helps the person in front of them to go faster. Not sure I agree with that thought. I also am amazed at how much I miss the internet at home. We have not been able to hook up at the condo just yet. Also, I still HATE cell phones. We have one now and I am baffled how anyone is able to tolerate the crazy things. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to rattle off a few random ideas. This is good therapy. Don't get me wrong, it's been amazing so far, just different, and that is good for all of us to go through some times. God bless you all, we can feel your prayers surrounding us daily.

Love,

Aaron