Jun 15, 2025
The Guatemala City airport has signs in Spanish, English, and Korean. I was surprised to learn Guatemala has a large Korean population! I saw several of them around the airport, including a boy wearing an ROK army shirt. A local later told me there are indeed a lot of Koreans, they run businesses, and keep to themselves.
Eventually I found my driver and went to Antigua, where most tourists go. Antigua is a bunch of 17th century colonial ruins that were destroyed by earthquakes. Many of the structures appear to have been left unrestored, and this made them way cooler than if they had been restored and roped off. The ruins are sprinkled all throughout town, making the whole town interesting to walk around. The skyline is dominated by volcanoes — my homestay host pointed one out to me as it spewed a bit of smoke.
At first, the street dogs scared the shit out of me. They bark at strangers in their territory and I had to walk past confidently as you might in a sketchy neighbourhood. The dogs never attacked me, and it eventually felt like living in a Futurama city where dogs are just other citizens that share the streets. They strut around with purpose, use the sidewalks, and know how to cross roads safely.
The main reason for my trip was to study at a Spanish school. I had seven hours of class a day -- a lot, but at the time I was burnt out and for the first time in months I felt like I could apply myself again towards something challenging and useful. So the time flew by. The 1:1 classes took place in an immaculately maintained garden, and we'd sit in alcoves under stone arches. We would literally pick fruit off trees to eat during breaks. Afterwards, the hosts at the homestay were kind and the food they cooked was tasty. The room was pretty poor but I slept soundly on top of the lumpy mattress and underneath the Jesus painting.
During dinners the homestay owner liked to chat with the students. At this point I'd already been learning for several months and knew quite a lot, but I hesitated to speak. I was afraid of making mistakes, and was convinced if I spoke too early, I'd reinforce my mistakes and fossilize errors. Yet, this Belgian girl who had shown up with zero Spanish, was constantly speaking and expressing herself unabashedly. She was making errors in every sentence — not conjugating, missing articles, using French words hoping for a cognate. But with the miming and her body language, she was being understood! Moreover, she exuded an infectious energy that made people want to talk to her. It seemed undeniable she'd progress quickly.
I managed to schedule my classes so that I could visit Pacaya Volcano and Lake Atitlán during the week. Pacaya's recently dried lava fields are terrifying and awe-inspiring, and Atitlán is the most beautiful lake I've ever seen. Our guide took us by speedboat to Santiago, a traditional Maya town on the south shore of the lake. The majority of the population is indigenous Maya and people wear traditional clothing there. Santiago left a big impact on me.
One thing I noticed on the tours was that the other tourists I met were more likeable and interesting in Guatemala than in say, typical European destinations. There's probably a kind of self-selection going on: If you go somewhere less travelled, the travellers you meet are more likely to share similar reasons with you for having gone.