How to make friends in Guatemala

I have only been in Guatemala for a couple of days and yes I do feel lonely already. Right now, I have everything working against me. My African color, dreadlocks hair, being able to communicate only in English. I doubt anyone's case can be worse than this. However, I am still optimistic about making friends here.

My first step is to learn the language and the culture. But before I can enroll myself into a spanish class, I practice with a dictionary and a 'English to spanish' book. I take walks in the neighburhood, use the supermarts and being able to say Buenas or Hola alone sometimes breaks down all the barriers. When a person rambles on in spanish (cause I'm sometimes mistaken to be Cuban) I politely say hablo ingles (i speak English) and use gestures in communicating instead. Generally, when people get the impression that you are trying to learn their culture/language, they are more open, friendly and willing to help.

Sometimes i get lucky and meet someone with half-baked English but that's Gold for me. it doesn't get better than that. The mall and other tourist areas are best to meet dual language speakers

How do I communicate with my host who speaks only spanish? Well, in the house I keep my laptop nearby and use online translators. Would not be doing any free advertisement for any of them but you can just surf the web and you'll get pretty good ones. Remember to use basic and simple phrases when translating.

Most of all.. keep an open mind

Hello Hotrodlx,

Thank you for writing.

Priority #1: Clase de español (check)
I have started taking Spanish classes. After 3 weeks, I must confess I am doing pretty well...…NOT! 
I am surrounded by English speakers at work which makes practicing Spanish slightly difficult but I manage.

Priority #2: Gimnasio (hmm… pending)
What´s with Guatemala and Gyms? Lots of people have asked me to join a gym… Seriously people, I´m not that big and I´ll like to think I´m healthy! LOL

Priority #3: Local Church (check)
Funny, you mention “local church” and went on to prescribe an English speaking one.
This past Sunday though, I went to church for the first time, it was great! Casa de Dios (House of God). The services are in Spanish but overall it was an enjoyable experience. I´ll definitely look into attending Union church sometime but maybe attending a Spanish church would help with learning the language. (By the way, what made you think I was Christian?)

Priority #4: Coffee Shop (Yup! Definitely checked!)
Coffee shop, AH!! I have been to a couple… still looking. I usually just stick to the ones in the malls but a neighborhood coffee shop might be just the thing I need.

Priority #5: Helping people (Uh! Will see to that)
How do I help someone locked out of his/her car? I´m no locksmith!!

Volunteering is a great hobby of mine, I love doing volunteer work when time permits. If you have some ideas on that, I´d love to hear them. With my sarcasm above it might be hard to accept but these sure are great tips! You do know your “making friends for Dummies abroad” well
… Just kidding!