Day 6: Two Truths and a Lie

Today was Zoe's day - a year in the making! We walked to the community center in Antigua, only a few blocks from our hotel, where the activities of Abriendo Oportunidades take place. The guard at the gate had absolutely no clue who we were, or who we were looking for. After finally making it inside, we found Alejandra Munguia, director of activities for the program. With a roller suitcase filled with educational materials, Zoe and the team entered a classroom of 34 girls (ages 16-22) and program organizers to begin the day's activities.

Zoe's bag o' tricks

To break the ice we played "two truths and a lie." Each of us introduced ourselves and stated 3 "facts." The girls then guessed which of the 3 statements was a lie. After hearing from the team, each girl introduced herself and took a turn at the game. Some were obvious like, "I have 3 feet," or "I have 79 grandchildren." Others were more difficult to guess. Many statements were met with giggles and the girls remained interactive throughout!

Then we got down to business. Zoe began by distributing a pre-quiz. Many of the girls struggled to understand the questions, as Spanish is their second language and many of the vocabulary words were new. In a typical genetic counseling fashion, Zoe then "contracted" with the girls, explaining what genetic counselors do in the United States and what we hope to do in Guatemala. She distributed workbooks that she made and the lesson on basic genetics began.

Maestra Zoe

At first, the girls seemed quiet as they tried to sort through this foreign information, but quickly warmed up to Zoe's teaching style and started asking relevant questions. They particularly enjoyed an activity in which they were asked to think about some of their own traits and whether these traits came from their mother or father. They were eager to share their responses with the class! GenetAssist also chimed in and we learned that Gillian's freckles came from her mom.

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of interesting questions that followed. With a level of flexibility that any good GC can muster, we threw the agenda out the window and let the students determine the direction of the lesson. We covered many important topics, including chromosomal anomalies (e.g. Down syndrome), midline defects, and the role of folic acid.

The girls took to the post-quiz activity with great enthusiasm. It was clear that the lesson made an impact on both the girls and the GenetAssist team.

Explaining Multifactorial Traits