The+Culture+Of+Guatemala

=** The Culture Of Guatemala **= = =

=** Culture **=

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Guatemala goes back to 12,000 BC were the first known evidence of human settlers such as obsidian arrow heads were found in certain parts of the country side in Guatemala. The largest city in Guatemala is [|Guatemala City] which has a population of 12,728,111 people that live throughout the country. Guatemala City also happens to be the capital of Guatemala. The official language is Spanish. On September, 15, 1821 Guatemala along with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras were able to officially proclaim their land from Spain. Guatemala has rich Mayan indigenous background throughout the country which helps contribute to the many aspects of peoples lives on a day to day basis. With over 21 different indigenous groups throughout the country Guatemala very beautiful temples and artwork throughout the country that describe the country's rich and vibrant culture, =====

=** Education ** =

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The [|Guatemalan school system] is run by the government which produces free public elementary and secondary schools. But if children generally want a good education their parents will spend the money to send them to a private school. With the graduation rate extremely low within the large cities and in the country side private schools do the best way to when want to send your child to a university. Guatemal a only has one public university to serve the whole country. [|Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala] is also known as one of the first universities in the Americas, and if u doesn’t attend the public university there is nine private colleges that you can apply to get into. =====

= ** Language **=

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Like in most other Spanish speaking countries Spanish is the official language of Guatemala. There are also over twenty-one Mayan groups that have stuck around and have continued to carryout there ancestral languages and keep them alive. There are two other languages that are spoken that also have their own phonetic systems. The languages are Garífuna and Xinca. These two languages are spoken along the Caribbean coast. Instead of children going to school to learn English as a second language Guatemalan students will learn to speak there indigenous languages relative to their ancestors. It is not uncommon for a student to learn two to five Mayan indigenous languages along with Spanish. The [|government of Guatemala] has done a wonderful job with making sure that the citizens of their Country are able to understand their and spoken governmental system, by having translates governmental documents and provision of an interpreter if Spanish is not the citizen official language. =====




 * Food **

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Because of Guatemala's rich history with the Mayan indigenous culture, the country of Guatemala does not have a national dish. But that does not mean that the country doesn't have a lot of very popular dishes. One of the most popular choices of food is corn, because of the rich culture and affect that the indigenous Mayan culture has on the country it has become a staple food, and known as one the most popular dietary food in the country. Turkey, chicken and beef are the three most meats eaten in the country. When preparing these meats people will either grill or fry them. Even though Guatemala is known to have some of the world’s best coffee exported from the country people in the country tend to drink there coffee weak, and add tons of sugar to it. Another popular dish in Guatemala is guacamole, which is also very people in other countries besides Guatemala and also in the United States. [|Wine] is very popular in Guatemala, a lot of people will have wine with there dinner, but alcoholic drinks like rum, tequila, and vodka are popular, but not as traditional as wine. People drink these kind of drinks in a more party setting. =====

=Holidays= ====The major holidays in Guatemala are Christmas which is celebrated on December, 25th of every year.On September 15th they celebrate their independence day. It is considered one of their biggest holidays and they have a fair in the city of Quetzaltenango. The in Quetzaltenango is the largest fair that in the whole country of Guatemala. The also celebrate All Saints day, which is also know as El Dia de Los Muertos, on this day giant kites are flown, they eat traditional Guatemalan foods.==== = =


 * Video **

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In this video I interviewed a student here at the University of Oregon. The student was born in Guatemala and moved here to the United States when she was five. When interviewing the student I asked questions about the education system and what the future, the benefits where for those students that grew up in her town and what were the graduation to drop out ratio. I also asked family businesses that these kids and most likely would have to take over from their parents or grandparents. And also talk about the condtion of the school where she was from how school in guatemala is different from school from here in the United States. =====

[|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opGaPL9XClce]
=Sources:= http://www.centralamerica.com/guatemala/guatemalainfo.htm#holiday http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1129.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala http://www.euromonitor.com/Hot_Drinks_in_Guatemala http://www.euromonitor.com/Alcoholic_Drinks_in_Guatemala http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Guatemala.html http://www.thetravelalmanac.com/guatemala/guatemalan-food.htm