Where is Guatemala?Guatemala is located below Mexico and next to Honduras, Belize and El Salvador. (It's yellow on this map)
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Quick Facts about GuatemalaGuatemala: "the land of trees" (and mountains).
Fun Fact: In the picture above the smaller volcano, Santiaguito is erupting behind the larger volcano, Santa Maria. I saw it while on a field trip to the Cemetery with my maestra. About 40% of the people here are Mayan & they are more than 20 different indigenous languages. Around 30% are mestizo or ladino (indigenous and European descendent). |
Where am I staying?
I stayed with a host family in Xela for a few weeks then stayed with one in Cajola for a week.
– Xe laju' noj– Xelajú – Xela – Quetzaltenango –
The name Xe laju' noj is the traditional, Maya name of the city meaning “under ten volcanoes.” Now, people just use the name Xelajú (shay-la-WHO) or Xela (shay-la). The name Quetzaltenango stems from the Nahuatl language which is an Aztec dialect from the Mexico. During the Spanish conquest of Guatemala the conquistadores brought the name down from Mexico. Quetzal meaning “large brilliant tail feather” -tenango meaning “wall of many Gods” Quetzaltenango or Xela, is the second largest city in Guatemala. Many people from around the world (students, business men/women, retired folks, etc). come to Xela to study Spanish. There are many wonderful Spanish schools for foreigners here. I am attending a school called Casa Xelajú for three weeks to fulfill another Spanish credit. The classes are one-on-one and interactive. We have taken a “field trip” outside the school everyday to explore, visit and/or learn more about the city and to use my Spanish in a more practical way. |
A video I made about my experience in Guatemalaaaaaaaaaa
Laguna Chicabal
Located in the town of San Martin (still in the region of Quetzaltenango) is a sacred, ceremonial place for the Maya. It is a water-filled crater that has held significance for the Maya for 100s and 100s of years.
Spanish Course at Casa Xelaju
Community of Cajolá
To learn more about Cajolá read my blog here named "The Community of Cajolá."