Starting a Spanish School in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

2005-08-06T11:55:00.000-06:00

I've been with my 4th family for some days now. I decided not to include this family into ConeXion Xela. It's not a bad family since other students looks happy being here and says that previous students come back here too. Just like any other family, there are goods and bads. The good things are that the food here is very good and la Doña Flor is very patient speaking with the students. The bad thing is that my laundries were left soaking wet under the rain while all other clothes of the family were evacuated under the roof. And since there is only 1 TV in the household, the men of the family always watched Discovery Channel and soccer and that impeded me from watching my favorite soapopera (These are the final episodes!). Well, no biggies. But in the end, I don't think the family has much enthusiasm for receiving more students. I think our relationship started badly because from my point of view, she wasn't ready to accomodate me on the day we agreed upon. But from her point of view, I didn't let her know beforehand. Maybe it's just me but although I talked about myself, she didn't talk much about herself and about the family so I've yet to get to know well the family in general. Well, there is no point continuing our relationhip then.
ConeXion Xela
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-08-02T15:37:00.000-06:00

On Sunday morning, I went with my friend to Momostenango where the place is known for wool products like carpet, blanket and jacket. Bue I'm so glad that I went there with my friend. They say that there are chicken buses heading to Momos every 20-30 minutes but since we were travelling on Sunday, we had to wait for 1.5 hours. On top of that, the bus was packed and it was speeding through the winding mountain road. I got carsick and I was in no condition to open up a guide book to know where to get off. Fortunately my friend knew pretty much where to go so we were able to reach our destination. But coming back to Xela, I had yet another flea bites on my arms. Surely the fleas came from other passengers where we were packed in the chicken bus. Yes, I was able to meet the family of wool products maker and they were really nice people who also fed us with delicious tortillas and guacamole. But what I remember most from this trip is that "I hate travelling!"

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-21T10:16:00.000-06:00

"La Madrastra 2"

Today I'll write about La Madrastra from business point of view. What

they keep saying is "Don't miss the final episodes... Don't miss the

final week of La Madrastra..." for past 3 weeks I think. After investing

more than one month of time watching it, I do want to watch

the conclusion of the program. And the another thing that they do is

to start the new show before finishing the old one. For example,

the running time of La Madrastra is from 8pm to 9pm. But this week,

La Madrastra ends at 8:30 and begins the new show. Since I already

have 8pm-9pm ready, I keep watching the new one too. This is a

very smart move for the transition. By the way, anybody knows what

the San Roman Enterprise does? I've heard Maria and Esteban

discussing about what they are going to do about shareholders and

sales figures, etc, but I've never figured out what they do exactly.

Hope you have a wondeful day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"La Madrastra 2"

Hola mi querido lector!

Hoy me gusaría escribir acerca de La Madrastra de punto de vista

de negocios. Lo que ellos hacen es seguir diciendo "No pierdas los

últimos episodios... las últimas semanas..." por como 3 semanas

creo. Como quiero ver la conclusión de la obra, me siento obligado

a verlo. Y otra cosa que hacen es que empezar la novela nueva antes

de terminar la novela vieja. Por ejemplo, El tiempo de La Madrastra es

de 8pm a 9pm. Pero esta semana La Madrastra termina a las 8:30pm

y empieza la otra. Como ya tengo tiempo para 8 a 9, sigo viendo la

otra también. Muy listo creo. A propósito, ¿sabe alguién a qué se dedica

la empresa San Roman? Es que he oido Maria y Esteban hablando de

sus accionistas y figuras de ventas, etc pero no he podido

saber exactamente qué hacen ellos.

Que tengas un buen d?a!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

"La Madrastra"

I like watching soap operas.

It's something that I acquired about a month ago when I

was staying at my friend's apartment. He had the cable and

even though he didn't speak Spanish, the cable came with

programs in Spanish since there is a big Spanish speaking

population in the US. And when I was changing channels, I

heard a song by Laura Pausini and the soapopera with that

song was La Madrastra(stepmother). It was bit difficult for me to

understand the plot in the beginning but I think I understand

most of it now. The setting is in the capital of Mexico.

There lives a rich family of father, 2 aunts and 3 children,

but without mother. The kids grew up believing that their

mom is dead. But Maria the protagonist and the real mother

returns to this family after being in jail for 20 years falsely

accused of a murder. So, here comes the drama. But what

wows me is that the sheer quantity of life's stressful events

packed in this drama. Fights between the mom and the aunts,

finding out about true parents, murder, losing a job, marriage,

birth, infidelity, adoption, delinquent son, grave illness,

accidents etc... Watching the soapopera, I'm thinking "I'm so

glad that my life is not so dramatic!"

Hope you have a wondeful day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"La Madrastra"

Hola mi querido lector!

La Madrastra: Me gusta ver telenovelas. Pues es un habito

que conseguí hace más o menos un mes cuando me

quedaba en el apartamento de mi amigo. Él tenia el cable

y aunque él no hablaba español, el cable incluía los programs

en español ya que hay tanta población latina. Y cuando

cambiaba los canales, oí una canción de Laura Pausini y la

novela que usaba esa canción era La Madrastra. Tuve algunas

dificultades de entender la trama cuando empecé verla pero

creo que entiendo más o menos. Escenario está en D.F. de

México y allí viven una familia rica de papá, 2 tías y 3 hijos,

pero sin mamá. Los hijos han sido crecido creyendo que sus

mamá ya está muerta. Pero Maria la protagonista y la mamá

verdadera se vuelve a esta familia después de estar en prisión

por 20 años bajo la acusación de asesinato. Pues lo que me

impresiona más es la cantidad de los eventos estresantes en

la novela. Desacuerdo entre la madrastra y la tía, saber la

verdad sobre quienes son su padres verdaderos, asesinatos,

pérdida de trabajo, casamiento, nacimiento, infidelidad,

adopción, hijo malcriado, enfermedad y accidente grave, etc

etc. Viendo la novela pienso que "Mi vida no es tan dramática

pero no está mal la vida tranquila".

Que tengas un buen d?a!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-14T11:53:00.000-06:00

"Cell phone"

Today I have my Telefónica cell phone on top of my desk.

It's not the tiniest model in the market, but it still does

makes me feel the speed of technology. This little gadget

that I bought yesterday has dimension of about 2.5 inches

x 1 inch x 1/3 inch. If I remember correctly, a cellphone like

this had price over $300 5 years ago. Now I just paid about

$45 and came with 80 free minutes for the first month and

40 free minutes for 12 months. I didn't have a cellphone for

5 years and I'm really amazed by this change. The today's

advanced models comes with camera, mp3 and credit card

function. It's very probable that all cellphone come with

those functions in 5 years. But I wonder what I would be

doing in 5 years from now. I've changed my residence

from Mexico, LA, New Hampshire to Guatemala. I could've

never imagined that I would be starting a Spanish school

in Guatemala 5 years ago. It's almost impossible for me

to tell what I would be doing in 2010. But I'm sure that

my future will be better that today.

Hope you have a wondeful day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"Teléfono celular"

Hola mi querido lector!

Hoy tengo mi teléfono celular de Telefónica encima de

mi mesa. No es lo más pequeño del mercado pero me

hace sentir la rapidez de avance de tecnología. Esta

maquinita que compré ayer tiene una dimensión más o

menos de 10cm x 3cm x 1cm. Si me acuerdo bien, un

celular así costado como más de Q2000 hace 5 años.

Ahora me costó sólo Q295 y vino con 80 minutos gratís

por primera mes junto con 40 minutos gratis por 12

meses. Es que no he tenido celular por 5 años y por eso

me maravilla este cambio. Los modelos avanzados del hoy

tienen cámara, mp3 y funciona como tarjeta de crédito.

Es bastante probable que en 5 años, todos los celulares

vienen con esas funciones. Pero me pregunto qué estaré

haciendo en 5 años. He cambiado mi residencia de México,

Los Ángeles, Nueva Hampshire a Guatemala y mis trabajos

han sido cambiado también. No podía imaginar hace 5

años que estaría empezando una escuela de español en

Guatemala. Así, es casi imposible decir lo que estaré

haciendo en 2010. Pero estoy seguro de que mi futuro

será mejor que hoy.

Que tengas un buen d?a!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-12T10:28:00.000-06:00

"Doña Esperanza"

Yesterday I visited Doña Esperanza (Doña is commonly

used substitution for Señora or Mrs. here in Guatemala) with

Mario who is one of the teachers of ConeXion Xela. Mario

was helping me shop around for a cellphone. We were a

bit tired walking around so much and since we were around

her house, we decided to pay her a visit. Doña Esperanza

welcomed us warmly as usual and we talked about her

neighbor and other students in her place. She always has

students staying in her home, both foreign and domestic.

Majority of them are referred by her previous students

and I was the one of them too. It's because she is so sweet

and her meals are great too. Many students stay there for

months and I guess it's pretty rare to find a student like

myself who stays there only for a week. I'm just so glad

to know her.

Hope you have a wondeful day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"Doña Esperanza"

Hola mi querido lector!

Ayer visité a Doña Esperanza con Mario, lo cual es uno

de los maestros de ConeXión Xela. Mario me acompañaba

cotizar los celulares y ya estábamos un poco cansados

de caminar. Dado que estábamos cerca de su casa,

decidimos a ir a saludarla. Doña Esperanza nos recibió

amablemente como siempre y hablamos de su vecino y

de otros estudiantes en su casa. En su casa siempre hay

estudiantes extranjeros y guatemaltecos. Mayoría de ellos

vienen de la recomendación de sus estudiantes anteriores

y yo fue uno de ellos también. Es que es muy simpática y

la comida es muy buena también. Hay muchos estudiantes

que se quedan en su casa por meses y meses. Me parece

que es muy raro tener un estudiante como yo que sólo

se queda allí por una semana. De verdad me siento muy

afortunado de haberla conocido.

Que tengas un buen d?a!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-07T10:22:00.000-06:00

"Happy family"

Hi my dear reader!

In order to get to know host families for ConeXion Xela, I'm

living with one family after another every week. This is the

way I've gotten to know many Spanish teachers last year

and I'm doing the same with host families now. It's been 5

days living with Morales family and I'm satisfied here. No,

they don't have experience of welcoming a foreign student.

Actually, I'm their first one. But, what I'd like to see in a host

family is their happiness as a family, because I don't think

they would be capable of making students feel happy if

they are not happy themselves. So, I really liked to see how

Allan, the father, was playing with his daughter after lunch

and how every member of the family was cheering in front

of a TV when they watched a soccer game of Xela against

Suchi. Ah, since there are 3 couples in the family, I asked

them how they got married and who proposed marriage

etc. They had lots of fun answering the question and their

fun was contagious. It was one of my favorite moment of

doing my job.

Hope you have a wondeful day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"Familia Feliz"

Hola mi querido lector!

Para conocer a las familias para ConeXion Xela, estoy cambiando

mi vivienda cada semana. Así conocí muchos maestros el años pasado

y ahora estoy haciendo lo mismo con las familias. Hace 5 días

empecé vivir en el hogar de familia Morales y estoy satisfecho de

estar aquí. Claro, la familia Morales no tiene ninguna experiencia de

recibir a un estudiante ya que yo soy el primer estudiante. Pero para mi

lo que más me gusta ver en una familia es la felicidad dentro de

ella porque si la familia no se siente feliz, no creo que sea capaz de

hacer feliz al estudiante. A mí, me gustó mucho ver Allan, el papá

jugando con su hija después de almuerzo y toda la familia en frente de

la televisión para ver el partido de futbol de Xela contra Suchi.

Ah, también, puesto que hay 3 parejas en esta familia, les pregunté

cómo se casaron o sea quién propusó matrimonio. Cada pareja

respondió con mucha diversión y esta diversión es contagiosa. Es uno

de los momentos que me gusta de mi trabajo.

Que tengas un buen d?a!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide

2005-07-05T11:21:00.000-06:00

"Itchy!"

Hi my dear reader!

There are lots of things that I can write about my daily life

in Xela but there is only one real urgent topic: fleas! They've

been bugging me a lot and it's getting worse and worse.

Now that I counted number of bites on my body, have at

least 24 bites. 7 on right hand and arm. 8 on left arm and

hand. 3 on neck and face. 6 on legs. They seemed to like

me a lot and inviting their friends to try me out. So I'm getting

bitten more every day and I have no idea how I got so many

of them. It was a few days ago when I found a couple of

bites but now I have 24 all over my body. They didn't come

from the home of Doña Esperanza because her daughter has

flea allergy and she uses bug medicine for all her pets. Beds

in her home was clean also. So, I would be the culprit of

attracting the fleas but I never played with stray dogs or

visited villages far away from city. Mystery deepens... Anyways,

I'm getting fed up with being a Japanese restaurant for fleas,

so I asked my family to fumigate my room and clothes today.

Hope you have a bug free day!
Gen

Learn Spanish in Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/

"¡Piquetes!"

Hola mi querido lector!

Hay muchas temas que quiero escribir sobre mi vida cotidiana

en Xela pero sólo hay una que es muy urgente: pulgas! Los piquetes

de pulgas me están molestando mucho y está empeorando cada día.

Ahora que los conté tengo por lo menos 24 piquetes en varias áreas

en cuerpo. Mano y brazo derecha: 7. Mano y brazo izquierza: 8.

Cara y cuello: 3. Piernas: 6. Me parece que les gusto mucho y

invitando a sus amigos para que me prueben ya que están aumentando

cada día y no sé para nada de dónde vinieron. Hace unos días tuve

mis primeros piquetes. Fue sólo uno o dos. Y ahora, tengo 24. Esos

piquetes no vinieron de la casa de Doña Esperanza ya que su hija

tiene alérgica de piquetes y pone las gotas a todas sus mascotas.

También sus camas eran limpias. Entonces soy yo que traje las pulgas

a mi mismo pero no jugaba con los perros callejeros ni visitaba las

comunidades lejos de la ciudad. El misterio es cada vez más difícil...

De todas maneras pedí la ayuda de familia Morales para que fumigue

mi cuarto y ropa para poner el fin de esta molestia. Es que ya estoy

harto de ser un restaurante japonés para las pulgas.

Que tengas un buen día sin piqutes!
Gen

?Aprenda espanol en Guatemala!
http://www.conexionxela.com/esp/portada.htm
Spanish Language Schools Guide