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Introducing Mystery Class #2 Guatemala City, Guatemala 14. 6167 N, 90. 5167 W Learn about our flag     Congratulations -- you found us! We are the students in Ms. Sowell's Math/Science/ICT 8 class. Our school Our school, Colegio Americano de Guatemala or CAG (The American School of Guatemala) is located in beautiful Guatemala City, Guatemala. We are a multi-cultural, bilingual, K-12 school. Our school Our teachers come from all over the world to teach at CAG and we have about 1300 students. Most of our student population is of Guatemalan or Korean descent. Click on image to enlarge Aerial view of our campus Our school campus has several different buildings and athletic fields around it, which you can see in this aerial photo of our school grounds. Our favorite books at this point in time are the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series too. For music, some of us like Justin Bieber and we like all types of electronica music too. Guatemala and Guatemala City Our country of Guatemala is located just south of Mexico in Central America. Guatemala has a democratic government, and our country is currently in the process of electing a new President. We are a small country, but large in comparison to other countries in Central America. Guatemala is about the size of the US state of Tennessee. Despite our small size, we have many different ecosystems and tons of biodiversity. And because of our proximity to the equator and our wonderful climate, we are known as "The Land of Eternal Spring." Our city of Guatemala City is the largest city in our country and the capital city of our country. It has over 1.1 Million people, and it is also the largest city in Central America! From the city you can drive two hours and be at the beach, the mountains, mangrove forests, tropical rain forests, and fresh water lakes. Credit: Chensiyuan Guatemala City at night Because of our unique location, we are unfortunately prone to several types of natural disasters. Because we are located on an isthmus that lies between North America and South America, we have hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical storms. In addition, because we are located atop two distinct tectonic plates, we have earthquakes and volcanoes. In fact, the city of Guatemala is surrounded by active volcanoes. Click image to enlarge Pacaya volcano eruption: May 28, 2010 One of the surrounding volcanoes, known as Pacaya, is only about 13 miles from the city. Last year in May, it erupted and covered our city with tons of volcanic ash and sand. Because of the eruption of the volcano Pacaya last year, this American Airline plane was trapped at the airport. It was covered in volcanic ash and dirt. The airport was closed for over a week! American Airline plane grounded by volcanic ash.   Our History Guatemala is considered the "Heart of the Mayan World". The Mayan civilization was vast and advanced. At the peak of Mayan civilization, the capitals of Meso-American were located here in Tikal. North Acropolis, Tikal The Mayans were great builders, had a written language, were mathematicians, astronomers, and great thinkers. There are many descendants of Mayan culture found in Guatemala, and there are still 22 Mayan languages spoken in our country today. Our Life We live in the city, where we have several of the modern conveniences and enjoy many modern activities. We go to the movies, the mall, dinner, sporting events and enjoy concerts. Our lives in the city are very different from those that live in the country-side. Most of the residents of our country live on farms (fincas) or in small villages outside of the city. Like many other Spanish-speaking countries, soccer is our favorite pastime! Credit: C. Gribbin Starbucks coffee Ever had a coffee from Starbucks? Then there is a good chance that that coffee came from Guatemala, since we supply Starbucks with the majority of their beans!   Our Favorite Foods, Movies, Books, etc Have you ever eaten a dish called Fiambre? It is a traditional dish that is made in Guatemala to celebrate All Saint's Day. It is a large salad-type dish, but it can sometimes have up to 50 ingredients! The recipes vary from family to family, and often the recipes are passed on from generation to generation. Here's a photo of one version, and if you want to try it yourself we have also provided a recipe below too. Enjoy!! Credit: Alfiboy Fiambre Click on card to print complete recipe Some other local favorites are Chirmol, which is a salsa that is a favorite here. It is a red sauce containing chopped tomatoes and onions. We also love Guatemalan Bar-B-Q called Churrasco, which is often eaten in familiar gatherings and festive occasions. It is usually served topped with chirmol, and accompanied by corn, guacamole, grilled potatoes, stewed black beans, rice and tortillas.   Adios! If you want to contact us, you can write to our teacher Ms. Sowell at her e-mail. We really enjoyed being a Mystery Class and hope you get a chance to visit beautiful Guatemala! Adios!