Meet Tatiana, one of our amazing Spanish teachers from Guatemala!
¡Hola amigos! Mi nombre es Tatiana y soy de la bella ciudad de Guatemala.
Guatemala (en náhuatl: Kwahtemallan “place on many trees”) in América Central. Guatemala is a very modern city, known for its Mayan history, its many colonial paintings and religious carvings in the center of the city where the “Catedral Metropolitana” and the “Palacio Nacional de la Cultura” are located. Our architecture is varied from colonial buildings like the “Palacio Nacional de la Cultura”, “Banco de Guatemala” and the “Centro Cultural Miguel Angel Asturias” (national theater) among others, to the modern and unique rotating rooftop restaurant at the hotel “Vista Quince” and the famous “Cayalá” mall. But what identifies us as a beautiful city is the warmth of its people, we still have a great sense of family and keep teaching to our next generation the importance of moral and courtesy.
The city has grown a lot and it has extended to the surrounding rural areas; I live in one of the rural areas named “San José Pinula”. I moved here when I got married to a wonderful man, Alex. We have a beautiful six year old boy, Pablo David. My son and I love birds, especially nymph cockatoos and of course parrots (loros) since they can talk. We have a canary named “Pintillo” and a small dog named “Luka”.
The three of us like to spend time together, go for a walk enjoying the beautiful views of the mountains, taking the dog for a walk, or just playing with my son and his toys. We also like to watch movies together eating popcorn, visit our parents or just enjoy the afternoon baking a cake. I love working in my garden and I have a great helper, my son! I also love drawing and painting.
San José Pinula is famous for its farms where they grow corn, beans, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots and some fruits. It is also famous for its farms that produce and export flowers and milk. If you like to play golf, here you can find one of the most famous golf courses. The weather is nice most of the time.
Guatemala has many different dishes, all very delicious, but I want to tell you about my favorites: traditional candies. You have to try our amazing canillitas de leche, bolitas de miel, quiebradientes, cocadas, mazapán, quesitos, higos en dulce, camote, nuégados, colochos de tamarindo, among others, all of them homemade; not anybody can make them because, to be extremely delicious, people must follow grandma’s secret recipe. My favorite dishes are enchiladas and arroz en leche, especially if made just like my grandmother used to do it.
Guatemala has been blessed with an extraordinary vegetation and forests, mountains, and volcanoes. If you like hiking, you can visit the Ipala volcano and lake. It is located at the east of our country, in Jalapa. You can climb it in a day and at the top of the volcano you will see a green lake inside the crater of the volcano, and it has plenty of space for camping. If you are looking for something more relaxing and you like to swim, you can go to Cobán and enjoy the beautiful weather and views of Semuc Champey, a place with 350 meters long of natural pools, and a water fall up to 40 feet high. There is also much vegetation and several bird species to view.
Guatemala has also been blessed with talented people in many areas, with people such as Gaby Moreno and Ricardo Arjona (International singers), Adriana González (famous soprano), Kevin CordĂłn (sports), EfraĂn Recinos (talented in many disciplines like painting and architecture), Marisabel Ruiz (entrepeneur), Alux Nahual (a music band), Luis Von Ahn (creator of Duolingo) are some examples of great Guatemalans.
Finally, I want to share with you my passion for education. I have been teaching for many years. I graduated from school as a teacher and started teaching to kids since I was young.  I continued and finished my studies at university but never left the education field because it fills my life with joy, and that’s what I do at Language Convo: teach Spanish to friends around the world!