¡Bienvenido a Guatemala!

Aquí está: ¡mi primera actualización de mi nuevo hogar en Quetzaltenango, Guatemala!

For those of you whom that may have scared away from ever checking my blog again, the translation:

Here it is: my first update from my new home in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala!

I successfully made it to Xela (the nickname for Quetzaltenango, the city I am living in) on Sunday after a four-hour bus ride through the mountains. Xela is at nearly 8,000 feet, so I am still adjusting to the altitude. You can see the mountains from almost everywhere here. It is gorgeous!

After arriving in Xela, we met as a group at the Spanish school for a while and then were paired off with our host families. It felt a little bit like when kids pick teams at recess, since students were sent off one-by-one with families as the coordinators paired us up. I ended up with a beautiful family: Sergio (father), Carolina (mother), Gabi and Dulce (sisters), and Josúe (brother). They live in a 3-story house that is a five-minute walk from the school, near the city’s central park. 

My room for the next six months -- all moved in!

The view from my bedroom window -- gorgeous, especially in the morning :)

For the past couple of weeks, I have been pretty nervous about meeting my host family – in large part because of my lack of Spanish. I was ready to talk about my family and where I was from, but beyond that I had no idea what I would talk about with them as we looked across the table at each other. It was a pleasant surprise to realize late that first night that we had talked for hours; and I was actually able to communicate pretty well with them! My host family (especially my mother) is very patient and able to understand ‘what I meant to say’ most of the time. I am already beginning to feel more at home than I thought I would feel at the end of my time here. The biggest thing I have learned so far is: do not be afraid to make mistakes; throw yourself out there and try your best, even if it is embarrassing. That has become my mantra over the past couple of days, and I think that by continuing to be open I will learn more than I ever thought I could. Classes haven’t even started yet (they start today!), and I already feel like I am learning so much.

I have been constantly humbled by Guatemalan hospitality so far; these people, even the strangers, are more welcoming than I could have imagined. It is unusual to not receive several hugs and countless ‘holas’ every day. 

To keep this from getting too long, I am going to leave you with my most memorable experience in Xela so far…

After our orientation and placement exam at the school yesterday, we were sent home for lunch. The only problem is, I could not remember where my home was for anything. My father had walked me to the school that morning, being sure I noted all of the main intersections, but I think I had been too focused on trying to speak Spanish to pay much attention to my location. As someone who does not get disoriented easily and can usually find my way, I decided to try walking around to find some familiar landmarks. An hour later, I had yet to find anything that looked familiar and was starting to get pretty stressed out – not to mention hungry. At this point, we only had a short time left on our lunch break. It took almost everything I had, but I finally sucked up my pride and made my way back to the school to let them know that I could not find my house. Gladys, the woman who runs the school, smiled and said “Es normale. Muchos estudiantes tienen una problema mismo en al primer día.” Her words comforted me a bit, but I was still more embarrassed than I would like to admit. Gladys’ daughter offered to walk me home and I graciously accepted. This time, I paid much more attention to the camino (path/way).

The more I am in Xela, the more I get excited for what this experience holds. I am unbelievably thankful for this opportunity, and I have already learned so much. Guatemala is a beautiful country, and it is an honor to call this place home for the next six months.

Until next time, paz.

Níco

P.S. I have successfully made it from my house to the school AND the central park more than once now – making progress!