Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jasmin & Malcolm

Hola a nuestras familias y amigos!

We’ve had a great few days in Antigua, one of the larger cities here in Guatemala. Our groups flew into Guatemala City and we made our way to Hostel Hopa, our home for the next few days. Our group was finally together when the LAX crew pulled up and joined us for breakfast after a long night of travel.

We ate pancakes and desayunos típicos as we caught up and heard the plan for our first Orientation Day. We played some games to get to know each other and discussed expectations, policies, and health and safety for the semester. We went out to lunch at a local café, ran a few errands near the main plaza, and then headed back to the hostel to rest and relax. We went out and got tacos for dinner, continuing to get to know one another and enjoying the beautiful views of the volcanos from town.

The next day we continued orientation and team-building activities, and embarked on our first real adventure of the program! The students split into teams and had a scavenger hunt around the historical center of Antigua- they asked around for answers to trivia questions about Guatemala, took photos at local landmarks, found a local restaurant to eat lunch, and practiced budgeting with their per diems. Bonus points were given for the funniest pictures and funniest items bought for less than 10 quetzales (essentially $1). After successfully scavenger hunting around town we enjoyed some rest time and a delicious Greek dinner, and ended the day with a “speed dating” team-building activity!

Our next stop is Long Way Home, and we’re looking forward to eight days to learn about sustainability, art, and local culture while we contribute to projects on-site. Next time, you’ll hear from our student leaders as they summarize our next week’s activities in the upcoming blog post. We’re looking forward to having them take the lead on group activities and accountability, and supporting them along the way!

Hasta la próxima,

Jasmin y Malcolm