Guatemala 2026

22 September 2026Ciarra M (Allard '27)

Travelling to a new country and staying with a host family was an unforgettable experience and definitely way outside of my comfort zone; however, I connected very well with mine, and they will always be a second family to me. I’m going to miss them so much.

Our time together was so amazing and memorable; binge-watching Disney movies with my host sister will be one of my favourite memories, and I will miss her dancing and our singing to those movies. A lesson I learned while there was that you can’t wear shorts to church—which I did, and then had to leave early.

I also had to adapt to the “Guatemala Hour,” where we plan to leave at 11:30 but really leave an hour later, which was hard for me to adapt to because I like leaving early. During school weeks, our routine was simple: wake up at 6:30, leave at 7:10, school from 7:40-2:10, go home, rest, eat, sleep. But weekends and the vacation parts were very different—up at a different time each day, travelling to a new place—including Antigua, the oldest town in Central America; Ciudad Cayala, a beautiful modern town; El Paradon, a cute little town with a nice beach; and El Salvador, where we went to Surf City and San Salvador—very cool towns.

I experienced new foods while in Guatemala, and I made my host family homemade pasta and poutine—which they loved. I had so much fun and am going to miss everyone I met.

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