Planning a trip to a foreign country using the internet is always a leap of faith. Can I trust the websites? Are the reviews accurate?

After scouring Guatemala365.com, the student review site of Guatemalan Spanish language schools, I booked Ira and I a week at the Spanish immersion school Tecun Uman. We decided to stay with a host family, believing it would give us the most authentic Guatemalan experience and force us to speak more Spanish.

I wasn’t convinced someone would actually be at the airport to get us last night, but lo and behold, the son of the owner of the spanish school, Fernando, was waiting with a sign with our names on it when we came out of the airport.

Fernando was so friendly and easy to talk to. I peppered him with questions about Guatemala while we made the 35 kilometer drive to Antigua.

The house we are staying in is lovely. You walk in the front door into what feels like an “inside/outside” home. The kitchen, living space, stairs and bedroom are all around an open courtyard in the middle.

Ira and I spent nearly four hours with our individual teachers this morning working on conversational Spanish and conjugating verbs. My brain is a bit fried with this new information! The funniest mistake of the day was when I accidentally said “tengo hombre” (I have man) instead of “tengo hambre” (I’m hungry). My teacher Cathy had a good laugh at that mixup.

Ira and I at Tecun Olam Spanish school.

Walking Tour of Antigua, Guatemala

Tecun Olam organizes free outings for their students every afternoon. Even though Ira and I didn’t get much sleep last night, we still wanted to go on the guided walking tour of Antigua. Our guide, Christina, humored us with Spanish and English descriptions of the interesting sites.

I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful town. And the people are fascinating. But not being a seasoned street photographer, I felt pretty goofy taking photos of random strangers around Antigua. By the end of our walk, I finally forced myself to start approaching people to say, “Puedo tomar una foto?” (May I take a photo?) Everyone I approached was very gracious. I will try to be less of a fraidy cat tomorrow.

I am a candid, family and event photographer from Chicago, Illinois. Want to see some of my family sessions? Click here, here and here.

Interested in checking out my event photography? Click here, here and here.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Susan’s Photo Journal.