Living with a Spanish host family in Guatemala
Have you ever thought about living with a Spanish host family in Guatemala?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t plan it, but when I arrived in Guatemala for the first time with my overweight backpack from Mexico City, I wasn’t even 50% sure of what to expect.
All I knew was that somebody was going to pick me up from the airport (not completely unordinary) and take me to Antigua, Guatemala to meet my new host family.
In this post, I would like to share some elements of my experience learning Spanish in Guatemala while staying with a host family in Antigua.
Living with a Spanish host family in Guatemala
I was on a mission to learn, and what better way to immerse yourself in the local culture than to actually live with a family? Not only this, though, I was actually determined to learn Spanish as a lifelong ability and not just for the sake of this 3 month trip.
It was like something that would set me up for life, not only to get by in Central America, as I just said, but for all future travels and to open other doors in my life moving forward.
It was also a great way to travel Central America on a budget while learning more.
After all, this idea of learning a language and immersing myself in a new and different culture was what motivated me the most to do the homestay in Guatemala.
Why do a homestay in Guatemala?
Believe it or not, not everyone does a homestay in Guatemala solely to learn Spanish, but in my case, yes. For me, it meant avoiding other gringos who would hinder my growth!
Don’t get me wrong, there are some cool hostels in Antigua but I thought this would be the perfect way to save money on accommodation while learning how to Speak Spanish.
With the help I received from my awesome Spanish tutor and through the school, I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time talking with my host Paola in the mornings (over breakfast) and in the evenings (over dinner) after class.
Doing a homestay is also a good way to meet other people (especially travelers) who are also doing the same because families often host more than one person at their home.
I was adamant that I did not want to mix with other foreigners but in some cases, I had to bite the bullet and mingle. In the end, I connected with more locals by spending time with gringos. I’d never have thought that, but that is what most interactions led me to.
Speaking Spanish with someone who is also learning to speak Spanish while backpacking Guatemala (to learn Spanish), to me, felt strange. But I didn’t make a big deal about it.
Lesson learned living with a host family in Guatemala
Be humble
After thinking about everything that happened on this experience, the biggest lesson I learned while living with my host family in Guatemala, was simple. Be more humble!
I would already consider myself a humble person but during this time (while learning to speak Spanish in Guatemala) I literally forget everything I knew and took on a way of life that was the polar opposite of what I had been used to.
For example, tortillas, rice and beans became my daily meal. That thick green spicy sauce that I seemed to want to add to everything became one of my best friends.
However, it wasn’t just the food, it was the people that fascinated me. It was the culture and the traditions that ultimately stopped me in my tracks and forced me to learn.
The more I learned, the more hungry I became to learn more about the people and culture. It’s this that inspired me to go in search of more experiences in Latin America.
Be extra careful with street food
It was when staying with my host family in Guatemala that I had my first and only bout of food poisoning while traveling in Latin America. On arrival, I was greeted with open arms and offered a drink and some food. Quite normal, okay! I’d not eaten since Mexico that day!
It was night time and the family was having a BBQ so I said yes to a sausage, that from my point of view, looked very well-cooked on the outside, in fact, it was even charred.
It was only when I cut into it that I realized something wasn’t quite right. The sausage was undercooked and slightly cold. I remember being sat in the dark at a candle-lit table awkwardly cutting into my sausage with a plastic knife and trying to work out whether it was cooked or not. It was already too late because I had already taken the first bite.
I’d been traveling all day so I was hungry, can you blame for taking a bite?
The next day around 5 o’clock while having a drink with a new friend I’d met in the Skybar, I had to rush to the toilet and it was at that moment I knew something was not right.
My stomach began to rumble like a Central American volcano, and at first, I passed it off like nothing had happened, but after the third time I excused myself and ran to the toilet. Sincere apologies to whoever was working toilet duty at the Skybar that day. It was me!
I spent the next two weeks battling intense diarrhea and could not hold any food for more than 30 minutes. I didn’t even recover without taking some prescribed pill from the doctor, which to be honest, I’d totally refused to take in the beginning because I thought I’d recover myself without medication (not with this godly Guatemalan diarrhea!).
This would mean I lived on Bananas and Chiky cookies for two weeks. Those were the only two things I could eat without going to the toilet in a mere heartbeat.
So, I took the damn pill and had fully recovered within the space of 2 days, ya ésta, thanks! Also, thanks Rafael for insisting that I take that pesky pill!
It is easy to get carried away when seeing all the new foods on offer. Street food is the lifeblood of Central America and especially in places such as Antigua in Guatemala. This is one of the reasons I suggest doing cultural food tours so you can learn what to eat.
After being warned repeatedly about the water and ice in Central America you must take extra precautions even with the food that your host family may offer you.
I suggest you carry this water filter bottle if it is your first time traveling and you want to be sure you are drinking sound water. Bottled water is also okay but always make sure that the cap is sealed before opening.
Also, what ever you do, never eat sausage in the dark like I did! I know that sounds crazy, but with such a welcoming and friendly bunch of people, you can get easily get caught off guard when it comes to sharing food in Guatemala.
I love chocolate
It was on this staying with a host family in Guatemala that I found my love for the Cacao fruit and everything that goes into the chocolate making process.
I think before this trip I had never even considered where chocolate had come from or how it had already had an impact on my life from many years earlier on my ancestor’s land in Jamaica. I will link to my post on Jamaican Cocoa here once I’ve finished writing it.
After enrolling in this chocolate-making class I begin to learn more and more about the origins of Chocolate and the benefits of this amazing fruit.
I made my own bag of chocolates and carried them around with me as I went backpacking for a further 2 months so I could give them to my family as a souvenir when I got home.
I recommend anybody that who is traveling to Central America to learn more about Cacao and its benefits. Not only can you eat it as an energizing snack on your travels. You may also find that it will give you inspiration for learning more about the Mayan culture.
Antigua makes the perfect place to do this as the chocolate museum makes it easier for you to learn the whole of chocolate making process as well as learn about the history.
I also did a private chocolate-making class to learn about the traditional Mayan way of making chocolate which is slightly more artisanal than the way that is used today.
Got travel insurance for Guatemala?
Living with a Spanish host family in Guatemala
So, if you’re thinking of visiting Central America or staying with a host family in Guatemala then you should definitely contact Ana from Antigua Plaza.
After constant searching online I came across her school and chose to do a homestay along with the daily classes with a private tutor.
Since doing this life-changing experience of living with a Guatemalan family, I have done lots of backpacking in Central America and covered many countries in South America too.
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