Opal House

Opal House

About Me

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Hi, my name is Maren Talcott. I am 22 years old, and I just graduated Washington State University with a degree in Elementary Education and minor in Spanish. My passion is teaching... I love children! I was born in Minnesota, but spent all of my life growing up in Washington. My dream is to become a kindergarten teacher, and inspire children to love learning! I have done little to no traveling in my lifetime outside of the United States. My goal for this blog is to keep my family, friends, and loved ones up to date on my experiences. I will be living in Guatemala for three months, Jan.-March 2014. I will be volunteering at the Opal House School near Lake Atitlan. The reason for traveling to Guatemala is to have the experience of a lifetime, and improve my Spanish! This journey will push me out of my comfort zone, and open my eyes to a whole new world. I know that I will show my love and compassion to the guatemalan people every single day, and hope that I can impact their lives as much as I know they will impact my own. You can email me at marentalcott@yahoo.com

Thursday, February 6, 2014

You Should Have Seen Their Reaction...

Their Reaction Was Priceless...

Something that most kids in the United States would think was "cool"....was like performing magic for these children in Guatemala. Most people are familiar with the program Photo Booth. It is a fun photo program that can edit and change the appearance of pictures. I was very familiar with this program, and I decided to start out my computer class, by showing it to the students. I wanted to get them excited and interested right away... and this did the trick for sure! I stared with the mirror setting. For them to see TWO of their faces...was actually scary for most of them. They immediately would close their eyes, shout out, or laugh so hard. It was truly priceless to watch their reaction. They all LOVED it, and we played around for at least 5-10 min to get them comfortable with working with me, and the computer. I knew that the children would love this because they think that the simplest things are fascinating. It is so much different than being a teacher in the U.S. where children have Ipads and gadgets. These children have little to nothing, so a program like this was actually magic in their eyes. 


Today I had an amazing English class, with ten of our students. They were so engaged, and actually respectful and good listeners. I had a bit of a hard time with my Tuesday group, so after a day like today...I gained some confidence back and I am ready to take on next week with some different/new approaches. 


But you will never guess what I am about to do this weekend?! I get to share this place and my experience with my BEST FRIEND! My best friend, who is basically my sister, is coming to visit me and spend the weekend with me at Opal House! She is in Guatemala for 10 days to build a house in Antigua with her dad, and this weekend she will be staying with me! I am going on my first adventure alone tomorrow, to Panjachel to pick her up! I am sure this weekend will be a weekend that both of us will never forget. I couldn't feel more grateful that I get to share the beauty of this place with her, and have the opportunity to adventure around with her! 







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