My first week in Xela has been a whirlwind, and as it goes, I haven’t had a moment to sit down and shoot out an update. Now that it’s Saturday morning and I have some free time and a steaming mug of Guatemalan coffee, I’m ready to write!

To rewind a little bit, I’m sure there are those wondering: What are you doing in Guatemala in the first place?

Well, in the beginning of 2018 I set a bit of a self improvement goal, which was to vastly improve my Spanish over the course of the year. I had studied Spanish in school for years, took a couple of semesters in college, and always wanted to actually learn the language…but it never clicked. When thinking about job opportunities in either education or social work, knowing another lanuage–Spanish especially in California–is a huge asset. So last year I set out to learn the language once and for all.

I used DuoLingo every day (I had a 230 day streak until I lost it while up at the Camp Fire!) and began listening to the DuoLingo Spanish podcast. Their podcast is good for lower-intermediate learners, because there is an English speaking narrator who interjects between the Spanish segments with contextual anchors. Each episode is a real life story told by Spanish speakers from all over the world, and they’re very well put together and fun to listen to. Once I was able to easily understand those podcasts, I switched to another podcast called españolistos.

Españolistos is fully in Spanish, and is a husband/wife duo who discuss all kinds of engaging topics for about 30 minutes per episode. Their podcast is for intermediate-advanced learners who are looking to improve their Spanish. In addition to podcasts, I used the site Conversation Exchange to find Skype buddies from Latin America. Coordinating schedules with a language partner can be tricky, and therefore I had far less opportunities to speak Spanish than I had to listen to it.

My comprehension abilities far surpassed my speaking skills, and the idea to do an immersion program in a Spanish speaking country began to take root in the back of my mind.

Why Xela, Guatemala?

I began researching Spanish immersion programs in Latin America, and Guatemala kept popping up as a popular destination for language learning. Guatemala has an abundance of accredited schools with a variety of offerings at very affordable rates–most schools range from $150-$250/week, and the price includes 25 hours of one-on-one language instruction with an experienced teacher, a homestay with a local family, and three meals a day at your homestay. What a deal!

Once I began reading about Xela, Guatemala, I knew it was the place for me. Xela is a good place for serious language learners, because very few locals speak any English and the expat community is quite small compared to more touristy destinations such as Antigua or Lake Atitlan. Therefore every interaction–asking for directions, ordering food, speaking with store clerks, bank tellers, your homestay family, and your teacher at school must be carried out in Spanish. This was a big draw for me, as total immersion is what I want.

When life threw me a curveball at the end of last year and I needed to pack up my life and move, I knew that I needed to take it as an opportunity to bring the idea of language immersion into fruition. So here I am!

A Bit About Xela

Xela is a city of about 150,000 people in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, about four hours north of Guatemala City. Its name on the map is Quetzaltenango, which is the name the Spaniards gave it after conquering the area in the 1500s. Nobody here calls it that however–people call it by its orignal K’iche’ Mayan name, Xelajú or Xela for short, which means under ten mountains. The name is fitting, as it’s nestled high in the sky amongst many mountains and volcanoes, including Volcán Tajumulco, the highest point in Central America. Volcán Santa María and highly active Santiaguito tower over the city as well.

Xela is at an elevation of 2400 meters at its highest, which is comparable to Mammoth in California. Being so high in the mountains makes for cooler temperatures than much of Central America, and the temperature shifts drastically between day and night. During the day this time of year the sun is glorious and the temperature is in the 70s, and it dips down to the low 40s at night.

Here are a handful of photos about town I’ve taken so far:

I love the above building. It’s where I take a right to walk home and it makes me happy every time I see it. There are many marmolerias nearby, to have headstones made for the nearby cemetary.

Above is Mercado La Democracia, a bustling daily market many blocks long.

View from the bank toward Parque Central.

View from the steps of Teatro Municipal, with Volcán Santa María presiding over the city.

El Teatro Municipal, built in 1895.

Inside that old train station are many restaurants, with a lively nightlife on the weekends.

A woman strolling the park with her textiles to sell to tourists.

More Parque Central. I like to post up here on the stone benches in the sun and watch the people pass me by.