With globalization impending, it is not surprising that employers are looking for job applicants with international experience. A great way to add international experience to your resume is study abroad. If you studied abroad for a semester, summer, or year in college, this is a natural bridge to incorporating international experience in the education section of your resume. Did you study a language while abroad, or perhaps complete an internship? This is an excellent way to market yourself to potential employers as a well-rounded individual with traits such as multi-cultural understanding, interpersonal communication skills, initiative, independence, and the ability to adapt in different environments.
Continue reading "Study Abroad Adds Substance to Resume" »
By: Artis H. - Guestblogger from Antigua
Between morning classes and afternoon excursions, meals with host families and weekend trips, it's a wonder that we have time to go out a night. But somehow we fit in a sampling of Antigua's diverse nighttime options.
On Tuesday nights, Mono Loco is the prime destination for tourists and locals alike with the cheapest ladies' night in town. Drinks are only three quetzals (about 30 cents) until midnight. Next door, the salsa bar heats up early and pumps hot Latin beats long into the night. For a more cozy atmosphere, the Rum Bar offers candle light and excellent mojitos. If you're a fan of Cuban music, Ricky's hosts piano players of Buena Vista Social Club fame.
Continue reading "Antigüeno Nightlife" »
By: Artis H. - Guestblogger from Antigua
My third weekend in Guatemala, I decide to take it easy and stay local. There is so much to see and do in this country, I can't manage to fit it all in during this one stay. I still haven't visited the ruins at Tikal (an eight-hour drive from Antigua) or the beautiful falls and clear waters of Semuc Champey. I still need to see Livingston, Monte Ricco and Flores Island. With finality, I throw my hands in the air and decide I'll just have to come back. Which means this weekend I'm free to stay near Antigua. And go boot shopping.
Continue reading "Pastores" »
By: Artis H. - Guestblogger from Antigua
During a morning Spanish lesson, we deviate from conjugating verbs to discussing Guatemalan jade (pronounced ha-de in español, a two-syllable term that glimmers green in the mind). My teacher tells us that in this country jade emerges from the earth as the platelets under Central America shift and collide, and there are no mines for the semi-precious stone. During the time of the Mayan reign, the native people of Guatemala fashioned jade into necklaces, earrings, and figurines. Imperial jade in particular, pale green in color and difficult to find, was used to adorn the Mayan kings.
Continue reading "Casa del Jade" »
By: Artis H. - Guestblogger from Antigua
Here in Guatemala, a country of 13 million people and 42,000 square miles, there is no shortage of things to do. While I dedicate my weekdays to studying Spanish and exploring Antigua's many diversions, the weekends are reserved for traveling.
There are hundreds of travel agencies based in Antigua, all offering direct buses and package options for Guatemala's popular destinations. For my second weekend in this incredible country, I joined a group of students from my Spanish school on an excursion to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala's great lake.
Continue reading "El Lago de Atitlan" »
By: Artis H. - Guestblogger from Antigua
In my host family, we gather for meals three times a day. Breakfast is a brief affair, all preparation for the day to come. Lunch (the biggest meal of the day) is mostly dedicated to eating. But dinner, where I try out my Spanish speaking skills and my family practices their patience, is by far the most convivial. On most nights, the senor graces us with one of his stories.
"Many years ago," he begins, "I was in a bar in central Mexico." He tells the students at the table (myself, a Canadian, and an American couple) that this was back when he was still drinking and chasing women. The senora laughs and rolls her eyes. "So, in this bar, this mujer muy guapa (very beautiful woman) comes over to me and starts talking. I buy her a drink and ask her if she'd like to dance. The dancing continued for a while, the senor says, and then the woman kissed him. "She was really very beautiful. How could I say no?" At the end of the song, the bartender called the senor over. "He tells me, 'That mujer you are dancing with? No es una mujer. Es un hombre.'" At the dinner table, the senor laughs. "And that's how I kissed a man."
Another time, he tells us about the UFO he saw fly over the volcano Pacaya, "It was silver with red and yellow lights," he says, and the ghost that attacked two men at the cemetery in Antigua. "It was in all the papers the next day."
My favorite is the story about the Japanese tourist. According to the senor, he was taking a siesta in the front room closest to the street when he heard yelling coming from the sidewalk. He opened the shutters and poked his head outside. Further down, a young Guatemalan man was running with a backpack. The pack's Japanese owner followed close behind. At the end of the street, the tourist caught up with the thief and unleashed a flurry of karate moves. The man cried out and handed over the stolen mochila.
"Es verdad?" I ask with wide eyes. Is it true?
The senor nods. "Si," he says. "I saw it with my own eyes."