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Published: January 17th 2013
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The main reasons I chose to study Spanish in Guatemala were that it was cheaper than most other countries and they provide a 1-to-1 learning environment. I would be living in a town called Antigua, around an hour’s drive from Guatemala City. I had visited this place on my last journey to Central America so I was already familiar with it. It’s relatively small and safe and everywhere is walkable.
I was also able to do a homestay where students can live in a house with a typical family. Usually there are 2-3 students in each home. The home I stayed in was owned by a grandmother, and she lived there with her close friend who performed most of the chores and cooking for her (and us). They were both very nice and accommodating. The meals were traditional and simple, but very tasty. Most meals came with frijoles (re-fried beans) and bread. There was no shortage of carbs in this diet. My room was just large enough to fit a small single bed in, but it was cosy and comfortable.
They owned a small dog called Dewars who was very playful and his favourite pastime was to head out
onto the roof and bark at passers-by and other dogs all day. His second favourite was biting ankles. There are many dogs here just roaming the streets. Some are strays but a lot are owned and their owners simply let them out to wander around. It’s difficult to spot the difference. You can easily spend time just watching and laughing at their antics.
The Spanish school I chose had lots of positive reviews and I was happy with my choice upon reflection. They have a building with classrooms, but for most people the classes are run from a small outdoor complex with a garden just a short walk away. There are many tables scattered throughout the garden so you can enjoy studying outdoors in a ‘fresh-air’ environment. I thought this was a great way to study. I initially chose to study 5 hours per day over 10 days with 2 days off in the middle. But after a few days I decided to ditch the break and study for 10 days straight to try to get the most out of it.
The teachers are very flexible so when you’ve had enough of staring blankly at words in a
textbook, you can simply go for a walk with them to the local market, bank or post office and converse in Spanish as you walk and do your chores. I did this a couple of times and it definitely helped break things up.
As it was getting close to Christmas there were festivals or gatherings almost every night. One such festival was called Our Lady of Guadalupe day where family’s would dress their young children in traditional costume and bring them to a square outside the main church to get their Christmas photos taken. There would be a number of ‘stalls’ setup with an array of decorations including baskets of fruit and vegetables, flowers or ceramics, or they could pose sitting on a toy horse. Some stall owners even went so far as to have live chickens pecking around in the foreground of the photo. Quite a number of the little boys also sported drawn-on moustaches and goatees which seemed a little excessive, but funny and interesting nonetheless.
Fireworks (bombas) are a common and favourite pastime in Guatemala, especially at this time of year and you could often hear them being let off just around the corner and
all through the night. One cheeky little boy decided to throw one at my feet one day as I walked past but luckily for me (and him), it failed to go off. Why I oughta!! Angry fist.
Most people get around by walking or Tuk-Tuk and sometimes random men on the street would attempt to offer you services. They would usually be in the following order if you said no to the first offer:
1. Volcano Tour
2. Shuttle bus
3. Tuk tuk
4. Weed
Random young boys would also attempt to acquire your money by trying to sell you a wooden flute, or if that failed, weed.
Despite being a more traditional and historic town there are still a number of western fast food outlets. The signage is a little different and I had heard the McDonalds was out of the ordinary. Sure enough, it had its own outdoor garden with a fountain. I expected it to be full of westerners, but in fact it was exactly the opposite. I guess the westerners come here to eat Guatemalan food, while the Guatemalans prefer the western food.
By the end of 10
days study my brain was complete mush, but I was able to increase my vocabulary greatly and form some basic sentences. But all good things must come to an end and it was time to head on down to South America. My first destination – Chile.
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