In honor of being back in the states, here’s a run down of Antigua, Guatemala by the numbers.
Dollars spent: about 250
Truthfully, I had budgeted much more money for this trip than I ended up needing. When food is included in the price of the trip, it means my only truly necessary expenditure was laundry, which I spent about $30 on over the three weeks. All else went to coffee, treats, souvenirs, and entrance fees to places outside of our curriculum.
Classes held: 24
Studying abroad cannot be completely glamorous, but, considering that you can earn six credits over three weeks, it will be somewhat intensive! Our classes were Politics of Developing Nations and Politics of Latin America, which were very topical, considering it is a contentious election year in Guatemala, and I enjoyed both classes thoroughly.
Books finished: 3
Truthfully, I should not have spent as much time reading as I did. While I enjoyed reading in the mornings before breakfast, Antigua’s weather is wonderful, and the city itself is very safe, so I wish I had gone on more morning walks. Antigua as defined by UNESCO is only seven avenues by seven streets, so one could very easily see the whole city in three weeks!
Mountains climbed: 3
Though only the Volcano Pacaya hike was scheduled for the trip, I had a great time summiting Santo Domingo del Cerro, which had an interesting art museum and cultural center atop it, and a very close attempt at summiting Cerro del Cucurucho with friends. Though we did not come close to the top of Cucurucho, we also went too far (10 miles round trip!) to not count it as having climbed a mountain.
“Roll Tide!” from a stranger: 2
No matter where you may be, you’ll have the community of the Capstone behind you.