Best 8 weeks I could have asked for in Guatemala

So I guess I should start at the beginning! I was in Mexico City due to fly to Cuba the following day when I realised that the trouble I'd be having communicating in Mexico was only going to be worse in Cuba where less English was spoken. I emailed Maximo about 7pm on the Friday night asking to come early...as in the next day! I wasn't expecting a response so late on a Friday evening but within 25 minutes I had an email back saying well if you can arrange a flight get us your flight number and our driver will get you at the airport. Was able to organise a very late notice cheap flight and the next day it was off to Guatemala!

Was met promptly on time by their driver Tito who took us on the 45 minute drive to Antigua. It was late and Maximo closes at 6 on the weekends and we arrived much later but the staff were there waiting for me and another volunteer to arrive to show us to our homestays.

Next day was orientation at 10am (see they're even nice enough to let you sleep in on your first day :D) which was great to get my bearings for Antigua.

So I was there for 8 weeks in total doing Spanish classes and volunteering teaching English. I had a few different Spanish teachers as I was doing group classes and private combined but then changed to just private one on one classes. Their Spanish program is excellent. The workbooks, the teachers, the exercises are all fantastic. The teachers are so lovely as well and patient and even accept the excuse "el perro comi mi tarea!" The dog ate my homework for those nights where you just didn't get it done. I had very basic Spanish when I arrived, I am currently in Nicaragua where I just enrolled for an additional week of classes here. Organised the whole thing in Spanish and the woman complimented me saying how good my Spanish was for 8 weeks learning. Owe that all to Maximo, especially the Sandra.

The volunteering program had me teaching English to 2 classes in a town about 15km from Antigua called Alotenango. Maximo were fantastic at organising this. They took me there on my first day, gave me a crash course in teaching English (i'm a law/politics student, never taught in my life!) and away I went. I won't lie the first few weeks were hard but by the end, especially with about 7 of the kids it felt like real progress had been made. Basically I felt like my volunteering had actually been worthwhile to the local kids there and its something they'll keep with them. I made plenty of friends at Maximo who had nothing but good stories to say about their projects additionally. One great advantage as well was the flexibility of Maximo. If you wanted to do a tour that meant missing a day, just had to let them know 24 hours in advance and they were cool with that. They also made some great recommendations for things to do in and around Antigua. Additionally a tour company Guinness Travel run by the coolest Guatemalan dude Carlos operates out of Maximo and offers some great affordable trips.

I'll conclude with the way Maximo deals with issues. Basically I had an issue with my homestay family on week 1. Within a day Maximo had moved me and another volunteer to new families where there were no issues at all and because of moving I actually got to meet someone who I know will be a friend for life. My host family (the ones I spent 7 weeks with) were incredible. Hilda (the mum) has been hosting language students and volunteers for over 40 years so is well experienced in hosting and I was truthful to her when I told her she was the best cook in Guatemala each day (even if these compliments were scoring me extra food at meal times). I had one other issue that was compleltely brought on by myself and Maximo were extremely supportive and helped me deal with it.

To conclude I could not have asked for a better experience in Guatemala and am on my next overseas adventure planning to visit South America. If I find myself in Peru, Maximo will be the first place I'll be going to sign up to help out the local communities. Thanks again for a great life changing experience Maximo.