Day 8 - San Juan La Laguna

Tuesday, we met at Eco-Spanish Lodge for our daily Spanish classes. I don't think it needs to be said that we all learned Spanish (even though I just said it): Trent learned the past subjunctive. However, we also got to make tamalitos (mini tamales) using a corn-based dough, and then wrapped them in banana leaves. These ended up being our snacks for the end of our class. They were surprisingly good, making everyone impressed with themselves. My favorite part of the class was making bracelets using string, where we just got to converse and spend time together. Then, we all returned to our homestays for lunch. Before meeting up for the afternoon activities, I went with a few other people to a coffee shop, which had the best coffee I had ever had. We all agreed that we had to go back sometime before we left San Juan. When we met up with the rest of the group, we split into two and did the opposite of what we did the day before. Trent went to the school to discuss the films by the local film-maker. My group had gone to the school the day before so we went to a cooking class today. We made a Guatemalan dish called Pepían where each student got to take part in either cutting or peeling the vegetables and making the tamales. During the down time I really liked getting to just talk to the other people in the group and learning more about them. After the cooking class, my group went down to the dock on Atitlan to just talk and spend time together. We watched as the sun set during golden hour and then as the rain clouds came in. This day was particularly memorable for me because it is my 15th birthday! I was very surprised when almost everyone on the trip, including my homestay family remembered and brought me gifts, which was the highlight of my day.

Text: Maya
Photos: Trent

icebreaker activity with local students

Discussing a documentary with local students

Making tamalitos