ABSTRACT
My fascination with Guatemala began several years ago, sometime during my “two-month” trip to learn Spanish in 2006. I returned to Guatemala in 2010 to teach for four months and then again in 2011 to teach kindergarten and first grade for two more years. It was my initial experience in Guatemala that captured my interest and passion for teaching cross-culturally and cross-nationally. I saw the beauty in the Guatemalan culture: the traditional way of dress; the flavorful foods; the colorful buses; the “with trust in God, we’ll get through it” attitude; and the over 20 Mayan languages and their indigenous ways of learning. In 2010, when my Spanish had reached near fluency from working in a Spanish immersion preschool in San Francisco, California, I decided to conduct a research project internationally as part of my MA studies. I contacted a nonprofit organization that focused on preschool development in rural Guatemala. I chose this specific organization, based in La Antigua, because it focused on not only creating preschools in rural Guatemalan towns but also educating rural teachers in early childhood development. I spoke with the schools’ directors about the role I could play as an international educator.
