Roots and New Pots

Note to readers: This post was written by Chris Alvarez. Chris and his family arrived as guests and left as lifelong friends. I read his writing and asked if I could post it on our own blog, as it gives such a great perspective on what we are trying to accomplish here at Culture Chalk. If you have signed up for our mailing list, this is a MUST-read. Enjoy. -Owen

When we travel, we like to go slow.

Sure, if we're in an area with must-see attractions, historical sites, or parks, we'll spend some time there. Sometimes we'll even join the masses in a touristy spot or book a private tour, but those are usually blips in our travel journey.

This approach has some clear benefits. First, there's the cost. Slow-travel makes full-time travel much more approachable because, well... flights are expensive. Eating out is expensive. Everything is more expensive when you're in a rush. Being able to stock up on groceries means eating out less, and sometimes you can claim temporary local status to avoid those double (or triple) tourist tuk-tuk fares.

Juanita, Carolina and Chayo. Local women making a difference in travellers' lives!

Another benefit of slow travel is a deeper immersion into the local community. When travelling full-time, it’s really tough to feel rooted – you’re perpetually a “transplant” and while a plant can survive as a transplant, there’s limited growth potential because the roots just aren’t deep enough. Just like a plant, transplanting from one pot to another is always a shock to the entire plant system. Even if the soil conditions are perfect, the roots were handled with care and the right amount of nutrients, water and sunlight were administered during the process, the plant needs time to adjust.

The longest we've stayed in one spot while travelling full-time was in Guatemala. We had just begun our journey as a word schooling family. We wanted a place to internalize that decision, so we wanted a gentle introduction to life outside what’s “normal” or “expected.” We also wanted to immerse ourselves in a new culture and decided to spend three months in Guatemala as a kickoff to our travels through South and Central America. What were we getting into exactly? No idea. I mean, we did some research, we asked ChatGPT some questions, and read up on what it might be like, but the thing about the way we prefer to travel (slow-travel) is that there aren't a lot of blog posts and YouTube videos from people who are just living life. They find a good shot of a trail or beach when nobody else is around and claim solitude. Or they share a walkthrough of their boutique hotel and lead you to believe all lodging in the area is the same. We want to know how the locals live. We want to meet the locals. We want to live more like the locals.

Thankfully, we found a world-schooling hub called Culture Chalk willing and able to host us for that amount of time. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of a worldschooling “hub,” it’s a little like a group retreat with other like-minded people who share activities and often housing. They typically have programs set up for the kids during the day so parents can work while travelling. The founders of Culture Chalk also aligned well with our desire to be part of – and immersed in – community. Their “Old School” program was structured to allow our kids to learn from local Guatemalan people and contribute back to the community they had built. It was fresh, nutrient-dense soil just waiting for us to root into.

Every month at the hub included a mix of weekly activities, intentional cultural immersion events, and field trips, all covered by the cost of the hub, which included airport transfers, breakfasts, lodging, and hot Guatemalan coffee in the mornings. The program was called “Old-School” because it featured classes such as shoemaking, weaving, welding, cooking, and carpentry that offered kids the opportunity to learn traditional skills they would never learn in conventional school.

Here are a few more of our favourite things about our time at the Culture Chalk Old School hub:

• Our kids were able to make lifelong friendships with other kids at the hub (we’re meeting a few later this year)

• The Lake Atitlan location offered so much variety in a very traditional setting

• The hub and local hotel staff were all amazing and kind, and loved on our kids as if they were family

• Culture Chalk organized boat trips to other pueblos (towns) around the lake

• Fun and unique adventures beyond the lake (such as a night at a volcanic hot spring in the mountains) were arranged for the entire group to experience together

Guided sunrise hike and pancake breakfast at the summit was a special part of the program.

Through this process, we also saw our privilege. We saw how the locals live and were surprised by the contrast between their “normal” lives and what we had considered “normal” while living in the US (though, I guess “normal” is resetting for us each place we land as we settle-in to slow travel life and mostly avoid the touristy expat-friendly amenities). Part of this privilege is the pace of life – things move much more slowly because there aren’t as many modern conveniences. We take for granted how little it takes to fill an entire bathtub with 50 gallons of perfectly hot, (and perfectly potable) water which we then lay in and send down the drain. Bathtubs are not standard in Guatemala. Neither are hot showers. The families we visited were thankful to have their non-potable water turned on for a few hours each week so they can fill a rooftop tank for dishwashing. Bathing in the lake is still a common practice.

During our time here, we also learned about some real needs within the community. Sometimes it's a pair of hands to help move or fix something. Sometimes it's a complete home renovation that includes installing functional toilets and basic plumbing. Our family was specifically drawn to the nutritional needs of families and their kids; getting the right vitamins and minerals is much easier in developed countries, but high-quality food is much less affordable here when incomes are low and varying degrees of poverty are common. If you come to Guatemala, be prepared to fall in love with the people and contribute however you can. Small things like bringing hard-to-find medicines or vitamins from your home country (within customs limits) can make a significant impact on their quality of life. There are also some great organizations and grassroots groups that can help you find a way to plug in.

"Casa Nueva Esperanza" (New Hope Home) -Culture Chalk's community centre.

One of the most incredible parts of our time in Guatemala was getting to know the people; their stories, their lives, their kids. The Culture Chalk program was explicitly designed to introduce us to the local Guatemalan community and featured weekly “family events” that were quite different each week. We walked the city with our host family, played futból with their kids, and shared a pot of afternoon coffee while sharing stories, asking questions about each other’s lives and fumbling through broken second (or sometimes third) language barriers.

We met many locals who are now friends, sharing life on WhatsApp, or checking in to say hi. We’ll get voice notes from their kids, who dearly miss ours and want to stay connected. The connections we made while there are, interestingly, much deeper and easier to make than those we experienced in the US. People want to connect. They care to get to know you. They aren’t afraid to share life with you and are genuinely curious about yours.

A local School parade in San Pedro

This connection, though, is the hardest part of the experience. We didn’t consider how our roots would drive down into this rich soil, but – just like a transplant – it’s in our nature. We crave connections to the soil we’re in. That’s how we thrive. It’s a connection between the root and the soil that fosters growth, and while it was tough to say goodbye, we’re forever grateful for the time we spent in Guatemala. Thanks again to our friends (true friends) at Culture Chalk who gave us this beautiful, meaningful experience.

We’re truly grateful.

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Amongst other cool things, Chris Alvarez is a photographer and travel blogger. Check out his full page here to continue to follow their family journey around the world:

MUNDOSCHOOL

If you are considering joining one of our hosted trips, here is our 2026 itinerary, which is filling up fast! Reach out to us via our contact page if you have any questions. We would love to make this happen for YOU!

HUBS AND HIKES

OLDSCHOOL 2026