Miguel de Cervantes was our home, school and family for the month that we lived in Xela. The Juan´s and Myself now find ourselves on the road once again and have subsequently realized the value of having such a family and a community. I have no doubts that I will one day return to Xela to visit my Guatemalan family. For anyone interested in pursuing studies in Guatemala or simply taking a further examination of what we found to be an incredible school please do so at
http://learn2speakspanish.com/.
These were the three chicos who were most responsible for teaching us spanish, taking us to the bars, and of course, making us familiar with every dirty word in the spanish-english dictionary.
Every Friday classes would end a little early in order to have time for our weekly potlucks. The girls would generally cook and get angry with the Guatemalan guys for purchasing their contributions (frequently rum and coke). The three Americanos however, held their own in the kitchen. The Guatemalan women taught us to cook empanadas and in turn we introduced them to the staple food of our diet...
...egg salad.
Our weekly fieldtrips could be anything from watching Juan Miguel create beautiful works of art at the glass blowing studio to meeting local artists such as Rodrigo Diaz.
Although Rodrigo creates most of his art in Guatemala you may have seen his work before. His is the brain behind many of the vivid and colorful illustrations that are found on Amnesty International posters. He also was the mastermind behind the sign that hangs out front of Miguel de Cervantes.
The Miguel de Cervantes family, prior to the arrival of Juan Miguel. Teachers, staff and students. Never was there a dull moment to be had.
Sary was always more than ready to show us around town, whether on foot or on her whip. The fact that I weigh more than her and her scooter together never detracted her from setting out on such adventures.
Finally graduation day. The expressions on our faces may be a perfect reflection of exactly how fluent we have become with Spanish.
Finally, as it is Wednesday, we have a featured poet of the week. It is my humble pleasure to present the artwork of our friend, teacher and salsa instructor Sary Leticia Muñoz de Leon.
Untitled
Three ¨J´s¨
Three Birds
Three Hundred
Times We Laughed
A Big Fat Hug
For Each One Of You
My Three Friends
Our Scuba skills (Advanced)
...and our Mustache growing abilities (actually very debateable)
This last shot was taken at the climax of one of the weirdest Thanksgivings I think I will every have the pleasure of being witness to (also refer to images above). Representitives from Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and the United States were present. 
First night out in Antigua. No one was quite sure if the guy with the shotgun was for or against security. Either way we all enjoyed the meat sandwhiches served out of the back of that random guy´s van. 
Every Friday classes would end a little early in order to have time for our weekly potlucks. The girls would generally cook and get angry with the Guatemalan guys for purchasing their contributions (frequently rum and coke). The three Americanos however, held their own in the kitchen. The Guatemalan women taught us to cook empanadas and in turn we introduced them to the staple food of our diet...
...egg salad. 
