The second part of our time in Xela was filled with a week of classes at the very friendly Utatlán Spanish School and a homestay with a wonderful local Guatemalan family. Arturo, Dora and their children welcomed us into their home with open arms. While sharing three meals a day, we became familiar with their progressive ways of thinking, their sincere interest in getting to know more about us (along with their eagerness to correct any misspoken Spanish), and their caring nature toward one another. Dora let us use the kitchen to prepare a meal for a pot luck at our school one night, and Jon was thrilled to discover the family had a guitar in the house that they graciously let him take to class so his teacher could help him learn a few Spanish songs.
During the week we had five hours of one-on-one Spanish classes and a few hours of homework (that we typically did with a beer or coffee in hand) each day, but we still found time to fit in some extracurricular activities. One afternoon we visited Fuentes Georginas which are amazingly relaxing hot springs set in a high-altitude jungle that is continually encompassed in waves of fog. We also caught a professional fútball game where we quickly learned that the fans cheer and ignite homemade fireworks regardless of the actual activity in the game. It was quite a scene - and did I mention how big the beers were? One of our last adventures in Xela was a bike trip accompanied by the owner of our school to El Baul, a very steep hill that overlooks the whole city. It was a perfect view to take in before bidding farewell to Xela.
No comments:
Post a Comment