I did a Spanish Immersion home stay in Guatemala and really had a great time. We only had 3 days there but we tried to make the most of our time. The first day we arrived in Puerto Quetzal and drove straight to Antigua, which is 1.5 hours away. There were only 8 people total in my home stay group, which was nice because we got to know each other quickly in just a few days. Antigua is a very small town and you can walk through the entire thing in about 15 minutes. It reminded me of Mexico but the people were more traditional and the streets a little less dirty. Many people wore traditional clothing and the women carried baskets on their heads and babies in slings across their chest. We arrived at our host's house and Amparo and Lily welcomed us. Amparo is a 60 year old woman who has been hosting visitors to Antigua for 30 years and has many pictures and written thank you's to show for it. Lily is one of her daughters who is about 25 and helps her Mom cook and clean when they have guests. Many people come to Guatemala to learn Spanish and so Amparo hosts many people for multiple months at a time. There was an American guy there who was studying Spanish and volunteering with children who had been there for about 3 months already. Amparo doesn't really speak any English at all so we were all forced to practice our Spanish at the house. She prepared lunch for us, which was very good and then we explored the Parque Central for some shopping and delicious dessert/coffee. I got the dessert called Tres Leches, which my Mom introduced me to at home and it was really cool to see it on most of the menus in Guatemala. We also booked a volcano tour for the next day, which is a very popular thing to do in Antigua. That night we enjoyed another homemade dinner and went out to a salsa bar. I really enjoyed watching the people dance salsa, mostly because they were very good and it looked like so much fun. It made me want to learn it back home.
The next morning we had to be at our Spanish school at 8 am for 4 hours of class. Each person had their own teacher and got to speak one on one with them. It was difficult because I really didn't remember as much as I thought I did but I definitely got refreshed after 2 days of class. After lunch, we headed up to el Volcan de Pacaya or the Pacaya volcano. The drive was long and cramped in a van and going up the hill, I realized that there were many people living all the way up the volcano. It was a very poor community and there were many children selling things and animals that were very malnourished. The children sold walking sticks for less than $1 and then collected them when the tourists came back down, which I thought was a pretty good business of recycling. They also sold marshmallows, which were to roast on the lava at the top of the volcano. We began our hike, which was about 2 hours and was more strenuous than I had expected. Of course they had horses following behind us in case anyone gave up and were charging a hefty price for the "taxi natural." Another good business idea. The only thing was the horses all looked like they were about to collapse because they were skin and bones and one actually did collapse while someone was riding it. It was really sad to see this and the owners did not treat them well at all to top it off. There were also many dogs around who were also skin and bones, begging for food and freezing. As we got closer to the top, the ground we were walking on got darker and darker. This was all of course lava that was getting fresher as we got closer. Near the top, the ground turned into sand and then large rocks made of lava, which were very unstable and sharp. Many people fell and were bleeding quite a lot but I escaped with only a scratch on my wrist. We could see flowing lava from pretty far away but I didn't realize how close we were going to get. I ended up standing right next to a flowing river of lava and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was unbelievably hot and difficult to take pictures because you felt like your face was about to melt off. I did get some great pictures though and even got to roast and enjoy a delicious marshmallow over flowing lava. We spent a lot of time just in awe of what we were seeing and by this time it was starting to get dark. Then a lightning/thunder storm began and I saw more lightning than I have ever seen in my entire life. It was striking about every 5 seconds for over an hour all the way down the mountain. The hike down was a little scary because it was pitch black and the trail was not exactly clear or flat. We had to be very careful not to trip and everyone fell at least a few times. It was cool when the lighting struck and lit up the entire forest though. We made it down and were all completely starving. After freshening up we went to a Guatemalan restaurant that our host's recommended. It was a great meal and we were all very content afterwards. The next day we had class again from 8-12 pm and then only had a few hours left before catching the bus back to the port. We walked around some more just enjoying what were really our last few hours in any port.
It started to hit everyone that this was the last port on our list of 13 countries. We stood in line to get on the ship for the last time and now we are officially headed home. It's pretty hard to believe what I have just done and don't really have time to think about it because the next 5 days are filled with things to do. I have to study, take finals, transit the Panama Canal on Sunday, enjoy the Ambassador's Ball, attend the entire ship reflection day, work on my slideshow, pack, attend convocation, and say goodbye to my life and friends from the past 4 months. I just can't believe I am going to be home in 5 days! I am really excited to come home but sad to leave this wonderful life of traveling the world. I know coming on Semester at Sea is the best decision I have and will ever make in my lifetime. I already want to come back as a lifelong learner when I'm older!
I just know this is going to be a part of me for the rest of my life and have only my parents to thank for giving me this opportunity.
So,THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR GIVING ME THE WORLD.
I appreciate it more than I can possibly explain and can't imagine my life without this experience. It has made me a better person and given me a perspective on life and the rest of the world that we live in. Thank you, thank you, thank you, an infinite number of times.
I am going to miss this life but I also miss the people I love at home and can't wait to see all of you so very soon!
