In the morning, slowed considerably from the previous day’s activities (I’d like to think it was the volcano hike, but we all know it was Reilly’s pub), I went to my final Spanish lesson. Ana and I worked through more irregular verbs, had a fairly smooth 15 minute conversation (which included the word for hangover – una resaca) and went through a quick explination of the past tense. Another round of games with Nidia and Alec (twenty questions) and it was time to say adios.

For lunch, we had el pepian con tres carnes, the most famous Guatemalan dish. It’s a chicken, pork and beef stew served with tortillas and rice. ¡Muy rico!

The hike, the hangover, the heat and the huge meal all conspired to put me in bed for the afternoon. I had a long siesta before heading out to the wifi at the main town plaza to catch up with the outside world.

After dinner, Alec and I each wrote a bit to our host family. They have a little notebook with a page for each of the students they’ve hosted. Looking through just a few of the more recent entries, I saw that they’ve hosted students from all over the world: Netherlands, Israel, UK, Turkey, Australia and at least one other New Yorker.

We also snapped a quick photo of us with the family, which Alec and I are hoping to print and frame for them. They’ve been fantastic hosts. I think these homestay programs are great, and really help the lessons set in. I’m definitely considering at least another week of classes and homestay somewhere else along my trip.