You Are Here: Guatemala - National Geographic Kids

Guatemala is a small Central American country of 13 million people. The Maya civilization was dominant for hundreds years. What's it like for a 14-year old girl today? Meet Keli!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
kidssuperadmin

Thank You For Visiting You Are Here: Guatemala!

Thank you for visiting You Are Here: Guatemala! Commenting has been turned off, but you can can still enjoy all of the blog posts.
 
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Keli

Weaving and More!

First, I want to show you a video of me weaving.



I have been weaving for about three years--since I was 11.
 
Monday, September 21, 2009
Keli

Mam

In Guatemala people speak many different languages. Where I live we speak the Mayan language called Mam. Everyone in my village speaks Mam and some people speak Spanish. We learn to speak Spanish in school, and that's my favorite class. I don't speak or write English--very few people in my town know English.

My blog has been translated into English so kids in many countries can learn what it's like to live in Guatemala!

I thought you might be interested in how Mam sounds. Here is a video of me counting from one to ten in Mam. Hope you like it!


Here are the numbers.
One: jun
Two: ka b'a
Three: oxa
Four: chaja
Five: jwe
Six: qaq
Seven: wuq
Eight: wajxaq
Nine: b' eljaj
Ten: laj
 
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Keli

All My Chores!

I have a lot of chores that I do everyday and some chores that I do every few days. We have a small house so I share a bed with my mom. In the morning, I have to make the bed before I go to school.

Photo: Keli washing dishesI help wash the dishes in the pila, which is where we wash dishes and do our laundry. It is outside of our house.

Sunday is usually wash day in Guatemala, but we do a little bit of laundry every day so we don't have to do laundry all Sunday. I help my mom wash our clothes in the pila. But I only wash the small laundry items. Mom washes the larger things like sheets and blankets. We hang everything to dry.
 
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Keli

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner


Photo: Keli's mom cooking We eat mostly rice, beans, eggs and corn tortillas. We make our tortillas by hand. I do love fried chicken the most and that is what we eat on special occasions. My favorite restaurant is Pollo Campero, which serves really delicious fried chicken! I go to Huehuetenango three or four times a year and I love to eat at Pollo Campero.

Usually, in the morning before school I have cornflakes and eggs for breakfast. Some days we also have meat.

For lunch we usually have soup, rice, and greens. Other days we'll have chicken, rice, and greens. (In the picture at left, my mom is cooking some delicious chicken and tortillas over a wood fire.)





 

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Photo: Tikal

Maya Mystery

What happened to the Maya civilization?

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Image: Quetzal bird

Quetzal Bird

Guatemala's national bird is threatened.

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