Living in Guatemala

Making the Transition to Living in Guatemala

The Foundation has a number of bilingual employees in each city who help our English teachers make a smooth transition to living in Guatemala. Most everyone in the colegios and at the Fundación offices is more than willing to help you as needed. Fundación employees help you make the transition to living in Guatemala in the following ways:

Take you to and from the airport

Help you get medical attention when needed

Help you renew your visa

Introduce you to the city where you will be living

Show you how the bus system works

Show you where you can access the internet

Coordinate food and laundry arrangements

Explain how to get to different tourist sites

Organize occasional activities with the English teachers

Provide a listening ear when you need one

What about eating arrangements?

In Guatemala, lunch is the main meal. It is usually eaten in the early afternoon (between 3-5 pm). Breakfast and dinner are lighter meals. The schools have a small store that sells snacks and grab-and-go foods like hot dogs, pizza, tostadas, etc.

For your main meal, you can cook for yourself or eat out. We have a list of recommended eating establishments that provide good, clean food at reasonable prices (about $2 for lunch; $4 for dinner). Each house has a kitchen so you can cook for yourself.

Never eat food from street vendors—no matter how good it smells! Local people that you work with can recommend clean places where you can eat with relative confidence.

How do I do my laundry?

Generally, we hire local people to wash your clothes by hand. This costs about $16/month. Since most houses have a pila (a concrete tank for water with two sinks—one for washing clothes and one for dishes), you can also wash your own clothes by hand.
If you are going to be in Chimaltenango, you can get your clothes washed in a washing machine for about $2.50/load. You can also have them dried in a drier for $2.50/load. A load is a regular-sized laundry basket. If you do two loads of washing only a week, this works out to about $20/month.

Am I going to get sick?

Probably. Most teachers experience gastrointestinal problems typical to North Americans who travel to a third-world country (diarrhea, upset stomach, gas pains, etc.) in the first several weeks that they are in Guatemala. Being careful about where and what you eat and drink is the best way to avoid more serious problems. Some past teachers have reported that brushing their teeth with tap water—without swallowing it—helped them get used to Guatemalan microbes. Others say that drinking a Coke a week and/or taking acidophilus helps maintain a healthy digestive system.
In addition to potential digestive problems, you are going to be working in a school. Plan on catching your fair share of colds from the kids and other teachers. The best way to avoid problems like these is to wash your hands frequently with anti-bacterial soap. It is also strongly recommended that you carry some hand sanitizer with you.

How can I call home from Guatemala?

Most public phones in Guatemala take a phone card. You can buy a phone card in varying quantities (Q20, Q50, Q100, etc.) in almost any store. You can also get a cell phone that works using a card. The phone costs between Q300 and Q1300 ($45-200) depending on the phone that you want. You can buy tarjetas [cards] in varying quantities to use with your cell phone.

To call the United States, you dial your number like this:
001 - area code - phone number
example: 001-801-555-1212
Calling from the States varies depending on your telephone service provider, but here is the basic information you need to make an international call from the States to Guatemala:
011 – 502 – phone number
example: 011-502-123-1234

How can I get mail/packages in Guatemala?

The Foundation has contracted the services of an international courier service in order to facilitate the receipt of packages and letters from the United States. The service has a higher cost than using the regular mail office but it is much more agile and reliable. Its best use is in RECEIVING letters and packages into Guatemala. For sending letters and packages it becomes cost prohibitive to use private agencies. We need to rely on the regular Post Office.

The courier’s name is Quickbox and it has offices in Guatemala AND in Miami. The sender only needs to send the letter and/or package to an address in Miami via regular mail and they will take it from there and ship it to Guatemala where we pick it up. This service has a higher cost than the national mail system. However the Foundation covers the basic costs and the final recipient will have to pay an amount roughly equivalent to the cost of using the former. For example if a 20-lb box is being sent to a volunteer teacher from Utah via regular mail, the sender will pay about $20 for the package to be delivered to the Central Post Office in Guatemala City. The consignee then has to pay import duties which will run normally about $8.00. Total expense: $28.00. Total time to delivery: 20-40 days. Reliability: questionable. With Quickbox the sender pays about $6.00 to send the box to Miami and the recipient pays about $1.00 per pound to receive it in Guatemala. Total expense: $26.00. Total time to delivery: 10-15 days. Reliability: High.

If the sender wishes to aid the recipient in the payment of the shipping cost he/she should send a check to the Foundation Headquarters in Provo, Utah and indicate the purpose of this “donation”. It is not recommendable to send cash inside letters or packages. If the contents and purpose of the package is DIRECTLY related to Foundation business, the Foundation will assume all courier costs.

It is not unusual that the shipping cost of an item exceeds the cost of obtaining it from a local store in Guatemala. Senders should always consider the possibility of just making the cash available to the recipient rather than going through this whole procedure.

Sending money can be done by using a private secured mailing/transfer system (e.g., Western Union, UPS, DHL, etc.). Some individuals prefer to use a personal bank account using the “honor system”. For example, a parent may deposit $50.00 into my account at Zion’s bank in Utah (Julio Salazar, acct# 033 08590 0) and sends me an email with the amount and date of the transaction. As soon as I verify the deposit, I deliver the cash in local currency to his daughter in Guatemala.

Address for Packages:

Name of Recipient

c/o Julio Salazar

10205 N.W., 19th Street
Miami FL 33172

Address for letters:

Name of Recipient

c/o Julio Salazar

P.O. Box 526150

Miami FL 33152-6150

How can my family contact me in Guatemala?

Here is a list of people and their numbers in Guatemala that your family can contact to get in touch with you:

Name	Contact Information
Foundation offices in Guatemala	(011502)-7839-7176
Julio Salazar, Director of Operations	cell: (011502)-5217-6000 home: (011502)-7839-1776 email: julio@roseeducation.org
Nisha Riggs, Director of US Operations	office: (801) 319-4021 email: nisha@roseeducation.org
School in Chimaltenango	(011502)-7839-7225 and 7226
School in Patzicía	011502)-7830-5266 and 5259
School in Momostenango	(011502)-7736-5329, 5330, 5331 and 5332

What kinds of churches are in Guatemala?

Guatemala enjoys total freedom of religion. You can find almost any major denomination in any of the three towns where we have schools. Most churches are within walking distance of the English teacher houses. The most prevalent churches are evangelical, Catholic, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, although Jehovas Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists are also present.