Written by Central America Students, Summer and Nico
What’s New?
Hello families! Sorry for the late blog post, the last 3 weeks have been packed with many adventures and laughs! We’re now writing from Lake Atitlan where we’ve been relaxing at the bamboo house and learning about Permaculture! We started off our first week in Xela at a local hostel taking 1:1 Spanish lessons at PLQ. We explored the city and built relationships with our teachers. The city of Xela was vibrant and filled with lots to do. Outside of classes, we would fill our free time with journal sessions, card games, spontaneous hikes, karaoke, and other various group activities.
Top Highlights of the Week
On Wednesday we played soccer after our long day of school. We played with locals and had a blast running around and being competitive.
On Saturday we had a packed day! We woke up at 5:00 am to hike to a volcano lookout. We were all in awe of the beauty of the volcano and it gave us an opportunity to pause and appreciate the amazing place we’re living in.
Also on Saturday, we had the chance to go see a local soccer game. The spirit of the game was energetic and exciting and we appreciated being able to experience a part of Guatemala’s culture and a game that brings people together.
A Challenge We Faced
One of the challenges we faced this week was jumping back into school and maintaining focus for a five-hour period. After a long summer off and being in a new and exciting place with friends, it was challenging to be back in school mode. Since we were all excited and eager to improve our Spanish skills we were able to push through this challenge.
Gratitude and Growth
Our first week in Xela we were really grateful to all have a great group and support system. Our group has been feeling very connected to our surroundings and each other. We’ve enjoyed sharing spaces and great conversations together and now we feel like we’ve known each other for months. Our curiosity to learn more about each other continues to grow and we can’t wait to see our bonds together grow through the next couple of months.
