Appropriated by the Tulane-ites

I went to the market today, and I had an interesting linguistic experience. I usually talk to the people in Spanish, though I know a lot of them speak Kaqchikel (I think I need to learn the numbers better before attempting market Kaqchikel. Either that or all my purchases need to be less than 20 quetzales). A lot of the workers are pre-teen or teenage boys, oddly enough. So I asked one about something, and he asked his friends about it Kaqchikel. I know there's been some risk of the language dying out because people don't always speak it at home, although there has been a resurgence of Mayan culture, language, religion, etc. recently. Maybe it's too much to generalize from food and dress, but it seems like typically in Guatemalan Mayan culture, the women are the ones who preserve traditions more frequently or diligently. So I feel like the fact that teenage males were speaking it is a good sign that it's not dying out. And, I could understand some of what they were saying.

This week I started with my new teacher. I guess I'd have to say that it's been less than ideal. She doesn't have as much pedagogical experience as my previous instructors, so it's not really a well-structured class, and she hasn't gone through the PLFM's training program. This is an issue because Kaqchikel has just been starting to be standardized in the last 10 years, so there are a lot of variations among different towns, but the PLFM teaches them how to teach standard Kaqchikel. So pretty soon into the first day, I realized that something was up because her verb tenses were not how I learned in the past: they were more confusing and not regulated. (For the linguists out there, I learned later that some of it is actually from Spanish's influence on the language - like to form the future, she sticks the verb for "to go" in the middle of the verb after the time and subject/object prefixes and before the root, so it's like ir + a + infinitive). So, things like that made it a little frustrating, but we ending up doing a lot of conversation, so I figured that at least it was good practice.

Though we also had some pedagogical issues. Like there were times when we just sit at our table, not doing anything. Not talking, not writing, just sitting and staring. Seriously. Then she would say something along the lines of I already know so much that she doesn't know what to teach me, so what do I want to learn? Not exactly a question that a student can answer easily.

But today a (at least temporary) solution seems to have cropped up. The group of students from Tulane are at the same school where I am, having their class. The directors of the program invited my teacher and I to sit in, so today we went, and it was tons of fun. They use really great pedagogical methods that I like (our beloved communicative approach, TPR, etc.) Like today they were doing commands with intransitive verbs, so we all worked as a class and had to tell each other things like "Sing!" "Stand Up!" "Dance!" "Swim!", then we broke into small groups, then we cam back together and did present tense intransitive verbs. All communicatively, in Kaqchikel, no Spanish at all (which is how I like it). It was all things I already knew, but it helped me quite a bit to reinforce it. And in our small groups the Tulane-group teacher could tell I knew more, so she started having me do other things (like instead of having me repeat saying things like "I sit" which I already knew, she taught me how to say "I am seated," which was great because it tied together a couple of things I had been reading in my grammar book, and it really clicked).

After the session, I went up to the director who invited us and thanked him and said I really liked the class. My teacher asked if we could join their class for the next couple of days, and he said sure. I think my teacher liked it as much as I did because it was fun, and because honestly, I think she has no idea what to do with me.

So, the good thing about this Tulane class is that a lot of the academics that are working in Guatemala (in history, anthropology, linguistics, etc.) are associated with this program. So it really helps me make connections with them. The bad thing is that I already know most of what we're doing, so I'm not really advancing, although I am becoming more confident with what I already know. There IS an advanced group that goes off on their own for a couple of hours, but so far I haven't managed to break that ice.

But it any case, it's better than what I had the past two days, and I hope it'll help me more career-wise.

Time to sign off and go back to the house because it's... Latin American Idol time!! (Yes, it's exactly the same but with Spanish-speakers).

Week two bites the dust

So week two has come and gone. Class last week was fun, and I feel like I learned a lot. Occasionally I'm able to bust out some good sentences impromptu, but mostly I sort of feel like I'm at a turning point... that point when you're learning a foreign language and everything starts to get really cloudy and complicated and confusing, and you can't really produce very well, but you can see little flickers of understanding the greater structure on the horizon. I feel like I have a lot of bits and pieces, and with hopefully just a little more instruction those bits and pieces will all start to come together in a more coherent way. Like I've been learning at light speed, and now I've slowed down and it's not as easy to grasp, but that after I get through this part, it'll all make more sense. We'll see if that happens in the next two weeks, or if I'll have to wait until next summer.

It's been a pretty calm weekend. Terry's been getting over being sick, so we've been taking it a little easy, and I've been venturing out here and there. Friday was Teacher Appreciation Day here in Guatemala, so the school had a party on Friday night for teachers and students. I went for about an hour... before I got there, I was picturing something like our departmental parties. A bunch of people standing around with drinks, basically. Was I wrong! I got to the back room of the school, and they had a DJ and spinning lights. One of the little cubicles where people have class nearest to the room was turned into a bar (when asked what they had, the reply was "rum... and coke" so that pretty much narrowed down that decision). The whole thing was actually quite hysterical because of the clash of cultures occuring. If there was salsa/merengue playing, then all the teachers were dancing and no students. If hip hop/pop was playing, all the students were dancing and no teachers. They proceeded to have a salsa contest for the students, which was pretty funny to watch since nobody knew salsa. Then afterwards I somehow got tricked into being on the dance floor when they had a general dance contest for the students (I had no idea this was going on), and I won a PLFM t-shirt (the PLFM is my school). So the party wasn't a total bust, I suppose!

Saturday morning I went on a walking tour of Antigua with another woman staying in our house, given by a famous tour guide/sort-of-activist here whose name is Elizabeth Bell (so I've been wanting to meet her since last year, for obvious reasons). It was actually really great. She's been living here since 1969, and she was great about answering questions and being direct.

Saturday night Terry and I went over to the Casa Santo Domingo because there was an interesting art gallery opening there. Here in Antigua, there are a group of artists who generally sit around the prominent arch, painting watercolors. They'd never had an exhibition, so they gave them one. On the way out of the exibit, we passed by the giant ruins of an old church (they still have mass there, just without walls, and the roof is a big white tent) that's on the grounds of Casa Santo Domingo, and there was a beautiful candle-lit black tie wedding about to start. So we watched the people come in for awhile (either the bride had about 10 bridesmaids, or it was fuschia full-length silk dress night), and then we decided to eat there at the restaurant in the hotel. It's an excellent restaurant, and it was nice to be able to eat a salad for the first time in weeks.

Today was really busy in Antigua (Sunday people from the city usually come in), so I poked around the market and went to my favorite huipil store (I think I'm addicted), Nim Po't (don't be surprised if that website doesn't load - it goes down all the time), where they sell huipils on consignment. I love going in and just looking at all the colors and patterns, even if I don't buy anything.

I think that's it. I'm off to study a bit, finish the book I'm reading, and practice my clicking.

Field Trip

Today we went on a field trip for my class. It was an adventure by nature, if nothing else because we took chicken buses to get there (the public transportation), which was a little crazy but fun nevertheless. On our way out of the school, my instructor told me that four of his friends would be joining us - two girls and two boys, and that the girls only spoke English but the guys spoke Kaqchikel. So we went to their hotel, and they were four Americans. The guys were both fluent in Kaqchikel and had studied with the Tulane program (the girls were their girlfriend/wife). It was actually cool for me to meet them, because I've never actually met an American who knew the language fluently. So it makes it seem a little more possible for me.

So after our chicken bus adventure part 1, we got to a house in Santo Domingo Xenacoj (for those of you who may not be able to read that, the town is 45 km from the capital and at the 2002 census had a population of 7,940 of which 97% is indigenous), and there were a couple of women there weaving. All the people were talking and I was pretty much just trying to follow along. Then (seemingly out of nowhere) the other people I came with got out video equipment, and one of the other girls whipped out watercolor stuff from her smallish purse and started to paint. I was a little confused as to what was happening, given that I had no context for why they were filming. So I asked them what the deal was, and it turns out they wanted to record the women in the house weaving for an exhibit they're doing in Indianapolis in the spring on Mayan weaving. Once I figured it out, it made perfect sense... but before that I was a little surprised because I wasn't expecting them to pull camera equipment out of their bags. I think we basically went to this town so that they could film these women, and it was just kind of a good cultural experience for me.

So all in all, it was an amazing thing to see (because the weaving is so impressive), and I did get to practice listening and a little speaking, and I liked seeing the town. I was definitely happy with the amount of the language I was able to understand, too (more than I thought I would).

And our chicken bus adventure part 2 back to Antigua also went smoothly.

Oh, and Terry did end up switching schools. He found another one that was cheaper, and he likes his teacher a lot better. So that was a good move. I need a new instructor for next week since mine is teaching the Tulane course, so I'll be anxious to see who it is.

Chichi and huipiles

Chichi was really interesting. Our driver was nuts... but at least we got there quickly. When we were there, we went to a church that was built over an old Mayan religious site. I found a government guide there who explained the church to me, and then he also took us about 20 minutes away on foot up a mountain. On the top, there's a 500-year-old Mayan altar, and they have Mayan ceremonies there. We watched several of them that were going on at the time. I was also able to talk to the guide a little bit about the politics and the way religion is structured in society, so that was really interesting (and potentially useful for my project). Going to the ceremonies wasn't planned at all on our part, but it was definitely the best part of the trip to Chichi.

Here is a picture of the church. The stairs are part of the original Mayan structure (which is obvious when you're there because they feel much older than the church, which is still quite old - from the 1500's). The smoke is from the Mayan shaman outside the church burning incense.



Here is a picture of the Mayan altar on top of the mountain:



I also got three huipiles that are typical of that area, and they're gorgeous. I'm very happy with my purchases. I honed my bargaining skills and got them for a good price... which is a great deal for something handwoven that takes 3-6 months to make. They're used, too, which to me makes them even more beautiful.

Huipiles are actually quite interesting. They have fashion, just like we do with western clothing. There are different patterns that are popular at different times, and things go out of fashion. Different towns have different patterns that they use, or a particular feature.

For example, this is a typical huipil from Chichicastenango - the brown background, the colors they use, the geometric pattern, and the sun pattern around the neck are all typical to that town. Mine all look similar to this:


And I love this typical huipil style from Sololá, but I've never ever seen one for sale for less than hundreds of dollars. So I figure I'd just come back in 10 years and then there would be a lot of them for sale, because they'd be out of fashion and everyone would be trying to get rid of them. (Typically the huipiles you buy are used, brand new ones on commission are thousands of dollars):



And for another example, this is a typical huipil from Santiago, Lake Atitlán... they have the square pattern with embroidered birds.


And just for more info... hand-woven in this case means woven on a backstrap loom, which is an ancient process for the Maya. Each huipil is made out of two or three of these hand-woven canvases. I find it really impressive.

Week One... down

I had my test today (Friday)... it went well! There would a couple of things on it that we just saw in passing and I had to guess, but I pretty much got them right. So I was happy about that. He told me that I need to work on my fluidity and my pronunciation of the q' sound (which is the gutteral click sound). That's hard, though. I *can* do it, but Kaqchikel is hard that way because it has 4 different k-type sounds: k, k', q, and q'. The k' and the q' have glottal stops, which means your vocal chords touch together for a moment, blocking off the air... i.e. it makes a click. Clearly this is one of the hardest things for non-native speakers... I can actually physically make the sounds, it's just hard for me to always do it right when I'm speaking because it takes time for me to locate where to form the sound in my mouth. So, I guess I need to practice that more. Here's a speech sample of Kaqchikel, should anyone be interested.

I think Terry and I are going to Chichicastenango this Sunday, which is a huge, famous market. There are some things I want to buy (like huipiles! - the hand-woven mayan garments), so I'm excited to go there.

Classes so far

Classes have been fun so far, but my instructor (Gonzalo) has been giving me more vocab than I had last time. So class is from 8-12, then we eat lunch, run errands, and I do my homework and study the new words and grammar. But, I really love studying Kaqchikel, so for the most part it's a good time. And Antigua is so gorgeous... there are so many nice places with beautiful flowering patios to hang out in and study. And cheap coffee! It's been harder than last time, though, and I worry that I'll never know the language well enough to actually converse with real people, you know? I think I could with enough practice, but getting that practice is the key issue.

Spanish-wise I love Guatemala because the people are so easy to understand. Terry is less than thrilled with studying Spanish so far. It's kind of cute. I think his teacher is trying to do the communicative approach (where you teach by hand motions, pictures, etc. entirely in the target language, so entirely in Spanish in this case), but she doesn't really know how. It's what she has to do, though, since she speaks basically no English. So he's been frustrated with it so far, but I think that's somewhat just from learning a new language. He is learning things, though.

I found that professor I was supposed to talk to yesterday, the one that the other grad student knows - her name is Judith Maxwell. The other grad student here told me where I could find her in the afternoons, and so I went there (it's a cafe) to check it out, and she was there. So I introduced myself. She's a very important academic in this area... although in linguistics, not cultural studies (which is more what I'm in). But she's written Kaqchikel textbooks and other stuff, so she knows what she's doing, clearly. She works at Tulane, and they have a summer Kaqchikel program for grad students that last 6 weeks - you have class in the morning, and in the afternoon you go out and do your research. So I asked her if she had some time and I could talk to her about their program, and she told me to just stop by the class when it starts on the 25th. I really think I should consider doing this program next summer. But in any case, I was glad to have the opportunity to meet her.

I'm also considering taking classes all day instead of just in the morning. I always study in the afternoon, but since I'm here where there are Kaqchikel instructors, I'm wondering if I'm really using my time best. I think Terry is going to look for another, cheaper school (there are a lot of schools around here), so that would be less money there. I think I'll do that for the last two weeks, maybe.

Here!

So... one day down, 29 more to go! We got into Antigua yesterday almost without a hitch, except that we hadn't seen that the email confirmation the school sent us had the wrong day on it - it had Saturday instead of Sunday. So we called the school where we're studying, and they arranged the pickup with the same guy. But he had already driven out to get us the previous day, and it took him a long time to get there because of traffic. So, we ended up paying him for BOTH days (we felt bad he came out, and while putting the wrong day was the school's mistake, we didn't catch it), but that ended up being $80.

Then today we found out today that even though Terry signed up for a half day of classes, you're not allowed to do that during the busy season, and so he has to pay for a full day. He would do classes in the afternoon too, but I'm only scheduled for the mornings (and my instructor teaches elsewhere in the afternoon), and he doesn't think his brain can handle it. But we're going to see how he feels next week, and then maybe the third week we'll do full days. But he thinks he's just going to do 3 weeks now instead of 4 as a result. There's also a grad student working at the school here who studies Kaqchikel linguistics! So I talked to him for awhile about my possible doctoral project, and he had some good advice. The bottom line is that I can probably make some good contacts to further my research if not this summer, then the next.