Guatemala

GeoffW
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Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

It's been a long time between trips. But I've finally been able to take a break- off the beaten track.

These pictures are in Antigua, Guatemala.
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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

And just a couple more.
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Rudi
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Re: Guatemala

Post by Rudi »

Very nice Geoff...it seems to be a very vibrant (colourful) place.
How are the people? Are they friendly and approachable? Do the majority speak English or is communication a challenge?
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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

It is a vibrant place- Antigua especially so. It's a colonial town nowhere near the size of the sprawling Guatemala City with 4m people. It's a world heritage listed place.

They don't speak English especially. Many people do, but that's the exception. My Spanish is enough to get me by (just) - but on Sunday I'll be at a different location, where I'll be learning Spanish.

Many people come to learn Spanish- many in Antigua but there are other places as well. I'll be staying with a local family who do not speak any English. I'll be having four hours a day, five days per week one on one Spanish lessons for the two weeks. The cost is $US140 pw. This cost includes accommodation and food.

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Rudi
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Re: Guatemala

Post by Rudi »

Certainly is an interesting holiday your have taken.
Definitely not the norm, and certainly of the beaten track. :thumbup:
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StuartR
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Re: Guatemala

Post by StuartR »

Wow, looks like fun. How long was the trip?
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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

Stuart- I'm taking two months. I'm continuing on to other countries in the region when I'm finished here.

Thanks to running a business, I personally haven't had a break for ten years apart from a five day driving trip.with the family earlier this year. Its the first time out of Australia for about fifteen years.

My wife will meet with me in Mexico in mid December and we'll spend Christmas with her family in Mexico City.

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StuartR
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Re: Guatemala

Post by StuartR »

That sounds wonderful Geoff.
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HansV
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Re: Guatemala

Post by HansV »

Enjoy your time in Central America!
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Leif
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Re: Guatemala

Post by Leif »

Five days! I dream about five days!

I just took my second day off work this year on Thursday - and what did the family want to do? London :censored: Eye again. Cue me gripping onto the seat for 20 minutes :laugh:

Hope you have a great trip!
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Re: Guatemala

Post by StuartR »

Leif wrote:... Cue me gripping onto the seat for 20 minutes :laugh:
I've managed to avoid all the family trips to the London :censored: Eye so far, hopefully I'll continue to do so
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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

Leif wrote:Five days! I dream about five days!

I just took my second day off work this year on Thursday - and what did the family want to do? London :censored: Eye again. Cue me gripping onto the seat for 20 minutes :laugh:

Hope you have a great trip!
I would have swapped you for a trip which didn't involve three days of driving ;-)

A day trip to London from my place would have been a bit full on though.

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Re: Guatemala

Post by ChrisGreaves »

GeoffW wrote:Many people come to learn Spanish- many in Antigua ...
Speaking as a student (new!) of Spanish, I am emboldened to ask ...
Do you feel that you'll be learning Spanish-as-spoken-in-Spain, or a dialect of Spanish?

I am aware that the French spoken in Quebec is really Quebecois, and is annoyingly different from the French I learned in Paris.
Too, I expect that my Parisian French would find conflicts in, say, Marseilles or Brittany.

"Spanish" books in Toronto often have on the cover that they are "Mexican Spanish" or "Cuban Spanish"; I suspect that the Spanish spoken in Miami is better than no Spanish at all, and restauranteurs (you should know!(grin)) are famous for loving to sell food regardless of one's accent, but that these other Spanishes(?) might sound hard on the ears of a Madridian(?)
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BobH
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Re: Guatemala

Post by BobH »

Congratulations on your trip, Geoff!

Finding an intensive training course (is it one-on-one?) in Spanish at such a reasonable cost is remarkable. Is it taught by educators or by locals?

I studied Spanish at college (12 semester hours) where we had an excellent language lab. Two of my teachers were native speakers; one from Cuba, one from Chile. There were remarkable differences idiomatically, but I never found that to be more than a momentary puzzle because context usually tells and a simple question, put politely, resolves them. By the time I finished the coursework those many years ago, I could stroll across campus with my Cuban-born instructor and converse on almost any topic and be understood. Many years later I was dispatched to Madrid for a work assignment. The lapse in hearing and using the language was a problem at first, but after immersion in the local economy, my 'ear' came back. I could get around on simple issues in public; but if I tried to speak in meetings directly to the Spanish in their tongue, I was reminded that I spoke Spanish like Tarzan. :laugh:

Now that I live amid a very large - and growing - community of native Spanish speakers from all over Central America, I have opportunities to use my limited skill in their language. It has made me many good friends.

Enjoy your time in Guatemala! If you visit Mayan ruins, please share the photos with us.
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

Chris

I'll be learning Latin American Spanish.

Most Spanish speaking people can understand each other- but with varying degrees of difficulty (as with English).

The big difference is the pronunciation of z and the soft c (th sound in Spain, s in Latin america); also the ll can vary, even within Latin America.

Spanish spoken in the northern half of Mexico can be very rapid and hard to understand. My wife's Mexico city accent is spoken at a moderate pace. It appears to be elsewhere as well, except for Chile and argentine where it can be difficult to understand, with a lot of slang and words not pronounced completely.

A lot of people in Guatemala actually learn Spanish as a second language- they learn their indigenous Mayan language from birth, but start speaking Spanish right from primary school. The Spanish tends to be fairly correct.

There an be a wide gap between the informal and formal uses of the language, as there often is. My daughter went to school in Mexico for seven months when she was 15- she learnt that not all of the words you learn in the street can be repeated in front of your grandmother.

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Re: Guatemala

Post by BobH »

GeoffW wrote:Chris
. . .
There an be a wide gap between the informal and formal uses of the language, as there often is. My daughter went to school in Mexico for seven months when she was 15- she learnt that not all of the words you learn in the street can be repeated in front of your grandmother.
:flee: :rofl:
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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

In one village in Guatemala, the celebrate the day of the dead (November 1) by flying giant kites. They can get up.to 20m high, although the ones that fly are a maximum of 8m.

It was an absolutely spectacular display.
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HansV
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Re: Guatemala

Post by HansV »

Wow, that's spectacular indeed!
Best wishes,
Hans

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Rudi
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Re: Guatemala

Post by Rudi »

TX for the photos Geoff....
I reiterate the words of my first reply: "it seems to be a very vibrant (colourful) place"...

:cheers:
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Rudi

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GeoffW
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Re: Guatemala

Post by GeoffW »

Now its not so colourful but its a beautiful place. My Spanish classes are held outdoors - these are views from my classroom.
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