Jonah Estabrook - Guatemala 2017

As the days go by, my admiration and gratitude for my teacher, Gudiel, keeps growing. I feel as if I have known Gudiel for at least five years, but in reality we have only known each other for a week. This feeling of friendship nurtures conversations, all in Spanish, that I will remember for my entire life. Every day during the first hour of our lesson, we don’t even touch the textbook material. We discuss everything from Guatemalan culture to poverty in Latin America, and from the climate around Antigua to our stories of friendship and love. No classroom setting could ever allow me to grow as a Spanish speaker as much as my heartfelt conversations with Gudiel. He makes me feel like I have come a long way in my Spanish education, but he also makes me feel like there is an entire world of Spanish language and Latin American culture that I have yet to discover. Gudiel told me that I have a grand future ahead of me if I keep pursuing Spanish, which excites me. Nothing makes me happier than to be able learn from people, about people, and with people who come from a different background than I. Via conversations with Gudiel, I have been able to do exactly this, which has exposed me to a new world of ideas and thoughts.