{"id":48481,"date":"2016-08-12T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simplehomeschl.wpengine.com\/?p=48481"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:03:40","slug":"mexico-central-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/mexico-central-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing up in Mexico and Central America"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mexico\"<\/a><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he Weary Family<\/a> is a homeschooling family of four that wanted to experience expat life. So for nearly two years they\u2019ve been driving throughout Mexico and Central America.<\/p>\n

They’ve now visited each country, and have things they love about every place they have stayed including the food, the clear blue water and the animals they’ve encountered.\"Growing<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"weary1\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

Tell us a little bit about your family.<\/h4>\n

My name is Mickelle. I am a former school teacher with a specialization in math. I am currently a homeschool mom. <\/span><\/p>\n

My husband, Ken, is a technology geek and avid learner. He spent years working his way up the corporate ladder and as a result had to spend time on the road away from our family. Today he works with remote clients wherever we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

My daughter, Ela, is 10-years old and loves all water activities. She earned her scuba diving certification in Honduras last November. <\/span><\/p>\n

My son Tag is 7-years old and rarely stops talking or moving, except when he\u2019s sleeping (and not always then). He is obsessed with Legos, sticks, rocks and collecting the odd objects that appear in his path.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us a little bit about where your travels and where you’ve stayed.<\/h4>\n

We crossed the US\/Mexico border, in our car with license plates from Washington State on Aug. 5, 2014. Since then, we\u2019ve driven in and through every country in Central America and Mexico.<\/strong> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our first destination was Panajachel, Guatemala. I took a job at a small, International school, where English is the primary language used for teaching, for 10 months so that we could ease into expat life slowly. The kids attended the same school and, as it turned out, I was Ela\u2019s teacher. <\/span><\/p>\n

My husband took a year off, recharged his batteries, and spent a lot of time with the kids, especially Tag who was only in school half-days. <\/span><\/p>\n

During that year, we spent Christmas break traveling through Panama. In the summer of 2015, we spent 3 months housesitting in Costa Rica. <\/span><\/p>\n

From there, we spent 2 months living in Nicaragua and 1 month in Honduras. <\/span><\/p>\n

After a bit more moving around, we have fallen in love with Mexico.<\/strong> So far, we’ve lived in the mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas, spent 3 weeks in Oaxaca and 4 months in several places along the Yucatan Peninsula. <\/span><\/p>\n

After a border run to Belize, we are now settled for the next 3 months in Playa del Carmen, where there is a strong homeschooling\/worldschooling community. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our current plan is to return to the States for a visit during the month of October. After that, we don\u2019t know! We may head to Columbia in South America, but we\u2019re also exploring the possibilities of Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In Belize – the 10 marks that it’s the 10th country the Weary family visited.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do you think is unique and special about where you have been living?<\/h4>\n

Every place we visit leaves us with special memories.<\/strong> Guatemala left us with an imprint of Mayan life \u2013 women carrying baskets full of vegetables on their heads, a lively Mercado with all varieties of fresh foods and the beauty of Lake Atitlan surrounded by several pueblos (towns) all unique in their own way. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our up-close experiences with white faced monkeys and a three-toed sloth, both in the wilds of Costa Rica, make us laugh and smile simply thinking about them. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The island of Roatan, Honduras, will forever be the place Ela and I learned to scuba dive and had our first adventures exploring the Meso-American Barrier Reef 40 feet under the water. <\/span><\/p>\n

I can still hear the noise of the main square in Esteli, Nicaragua, where a loud siren sounds at 6 a.m. and noon every day, telling the workers when it is time to start working or break for lunch. Our apartment building overlooked this square and we saw first-hand the locals celebrating, demonstrating, performing and worshipping special events at least 5 days a week. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas reminds us that Mexico isn\u2019t all hot and watery. We walked everywhere often on cobblestone roads and uneven sidewalks exploring this colonial town. My senses taste the hot chocolate with mint or cinnamon and see the small amber bracelets warding off evil spirits and protecting babies throughout town. <\/span><\/p>\n

I associate the Yucatan Peninsula with water – Swimming in cenotes, water holes that have opened up just below the surface of the Earth; long, tranquil days lounging in the Caribbean Sea and snorkeling adventures where I\u2019ve seen a shark, baby turtles, a stingray and a seven-foot barracuda. <\/span><\/p>\n

While Mexico is the place my family spent 30 minutes feeding manatees at an animal rescue sanctuary, Belize is where we saw a baby manatee in the wild playing in the turquoise green waters of the Caribbean Sea. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everything is roses though.<\/strong> South of the US is the land where toilet paper is not flushed, the internet can be undependable, and tap water is not drinkable. <\/span><\/p>\n

Long drive days involve several police checkpoints, highways with speed bumps and cattle grazing on the side of (and sometimes on) the road. I can\u2019t forget the kids born in poverty, begging for scraps of my left-over dinner when I eat in restaurants. <\/span><\/p>\n

Recycling and composting are not common. Burning garbage is. Hand washing clothes is as common as washing machines. Clothes dryers, microwaves, and dishwashers are rare.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unique and special things we see in every destination are both amazing and often sad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"weary4\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

What languages are spoken there? If it\u2019s different from English, can you help us learn a few common phrases?<\/h4>\n

The primary language in Mexico and Central America is Spanish. However, other prevalent languages include numerous Mayan dialects, Creole (along the Caribbean) and English. <\/span><\/p>\n

On learning Spanish<\/b> — I thought the kids would easily pick up Spanish. Not so. Our youngest refuses to speak it. Outright refuses. He’s quite stubborn so we have to wait him out and simply hope that there’s Spanish working in his brain that will come out some day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our daughter is slowly learning some Spanish, but it’s not coming easily. That said, she can order the most sophisticated desserts in Spanish. Her sweet tooth is clearly her motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we had to do it all over again, we would have tackled the language in a totally different way. We would have signed up for weekly or bi-weekly classes and inundated ourselves with it. We wouldn’t have counted on the exposure of our surroundings to have a big impact. But the kids and I have gotten by quite easily with English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of our most used phrases: <\/strong><\/p>\n