10 Things I Have Learned About Guatemala

As the title says, these are ten things I have learned about Guatemala. As I find them interesting, I thought I would share them here. 

10 things I have learned about Guatemala:

Here is a map of Guatemala. We plan to start out in Antigua (south of Guatemala city) and travel also to Lake Atilan (northwest of Antigua) and Tikal (northern Guatemala) 

1. Antigua, where we will start out, was founded when the second Spanish settlement, Almolonga, flooded in 1542.
2. A Guatemalan school year runs from January through October. Students go to preschool for four years, primary for six, secondary school for three, and high school for two to three years.
3. Guatemalan textiles include brightly colored weavings, pottery, and wood carvings. Marimbas, flutes, and drums are popular for making music.
4. People in Guatemala enjoy basketball and cycling, but are most passionate about soccer. :)
5. Black beans, corn, chicken, eggs, white cheese, tamales, and tostadas are the most common foods eaten in Guatemala on a daily basis.
6. Language in Guatemala is about 60% Spanish. The remaining 40%is made up of 23 officially recognized Amerindian languages. Here in the U.S., Spanish is about 11% of the language. 
7. The name Guatemala means 'land of forests,' which was derived from one of the ancient Mayan dialects.
8. Tikal temple, in Tikal National Park, is 154 feet high. That's about 1/4 the height of the space needle, Washingtonians. 
9. Guatemala is about 42,042 square miles, about the size of Tennessee. 
10. Most of the population is centered in the highlands of Guatemala. Still, the country has a very diverse climate, making it, as I can now tell you from experience, very hard to pack.