Four weeks in Guatemala

I loved my four weeks in Guatemala traveling with Where There Be Dragons. I went into the program scared, it was my first time traveling by myself, and I was not very confident in my Spanish skills. But I knew I would regret not taking the chance when it was given to me. Being able to wake up, and help make tortillas before walking to the Chico Mendez Reforestation project was life-changing. Treking for three days in the highlands and sweating my butt of just to watch the sunrise over Lake Atitlan was worth the price of the hiking. My most memorable time was my homestay in San Juan La Laguna, where I made friends with my six-year-old homestay sister, Willa. We played Uno, watched YouTube, and went on late-night tortilla runs down the street. I was accepted into the family first by my homestay mother, then my siblings, then the sister, then my grandparents, then even more family and friends. I felt so loved and cared for while learning Spanish and getting ice cream with the other students, and walking down the streets at night.

I got to learn Spanish, culture, history, friendship across language barriers, and more about myself, even through all the hard moments.