All In the Family - Antigua, Guatemala

We realized in Costa Rica, that not being able to speak Spanish is definitely a barrier to getting off the "gringo trail", meeting locals, and at times saving money. One of our goals for Guatemala was to take Spanish classes. We arrived in Antigua without a real plan, and instead of searching for the right school, a school found us. The first person we met off the bus, Juan, warmly welcomed us to Antigua and took us to a the director of a Spanish language school. The school could place us with a family and give us 40 hours of spanish lessons. We were a little skeptical because it seemed a little shady how we were met at the bus station, but we asked another student how it was going and based on her enthusiastic response we decided to give it a try.

The director of the school placed us with a nice family, which turned out to be...

his own. As the week progressed we figured out that the school was a money maker for a large extended family. El Director's family members were our hosts, teachers, and guides around Antigua. Amber's teacher was the Director's niece and filled her in on the family tree and family gossip during her classes. This was a great help because we were lost on who the 15 people were that kept coming by the house. At first I was a little perturbed that the Director was not upfront about how "in the family" the school was, but we got to know our host family well, eat three delicious prepared meals per day, and help support a family trying to get by. By the middle of my week of Spanish classes, I had no regrets. We truly lived a great Guatemalan experience with a family that helped us learn Spanish and figure out how to get around Guatemala on a budget.Here we are with our totally rad notebooks:





In the bedroom of our homestay:



The electric shower heaters are known as "suicide" showers. Note the pencil being used for... what I am not sure?:



Communal meals:

For classes, Amber and I both got individual teachers that taught us one-on-one. We met in the Director's current wife's house. I got to meet on the patio for class, while Amber was in the living room. We both found it tough to be studying again in our thirties. We got verbs (verbos) to study each night and sometimes homework and we would compare notes on what each other learned. I think Amber's previous high-school French helped her tremendously as half-way through our first week, Amber was chatting with the family and confidently ordering and asking for things around town. My Japanese in high-school is no help here.

Us and our teachers:

After classes in the morning, we ate lunch at the house and then explored the town. The town is picturesque as most of the buildings are kept in the colonial Spanish style. It is surrounded by volcanoes, one of which you can see erupting periodically during the day. We did one trip to another active volcano which we will write about in a different post. Antigua also has an active market that was fun to walk through. (We were comparison shopping for a future trip to another larger market in Guatemala were are planning on attending.)

Antigua's town square:



Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross):



Walking in Antigua, Volcan Agua in the background:







In the market with many pinatas:

Guatemala is amazing so far, more to come.

Also, I want to send a huge shout out to Sean Mulherin who helped Amber and I get the lay of the land in Guatemala. Thanks Sean!

Hasta Luego!

-Tom

　

Comments

[Susan Ayres]

What a great trip!! I am envious, mostly of your youth and guts it took to embark on such a trip.Love Susan

[Bryanna]

WOW!! That looks like fun... how interesting the spanish classes, teachers, family, etc.... you are making so many interesting memories!! Have fun! Stay safe!!
Love Love
Bryanna and JJ