Central America
Video Chat with People from Guatemala
Guatemala has volcanoes on the skyline, colorful markets and a mix of cultures you'll notice right away. You might meet someone from Guatemala City, the cobblestone streets of Antigua, Quetzaltenango (better known as Xela), Cobán or one of the towns around Lake Atitlán. Spanish is the official language, and many Guatemalans also speak a Mayan language such as K'iche', Q'eqchi', Kaqchikel or Mam. English turns up mostly in tourism and among people who've studied it.
Guatemala keeps Central Standard Time (UTC-6) with no daylight saving, so it matches Chicago in winter and Denver in summer. Its evenings fall in the early morning hours in Europe, which makes it an easier match for people in the Americas. Easy topics: highland coffee, pepián and tamales, local football rivalries, hiking volcanoes like Pacaya and Acatenango, and the ancient Maya city of Tikal. Antigua and Xela are popular places to study Spanish, so chatting here is natural practice.
Guatemala at a glance
| Flag | 🇬🇹 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Republic of Guatemala |
| Capital | Guatemala City |
| Region | Americas · Central America |
| Official language | Spanish |
| Currency | Guatemalan quetzal (Q, GTQ) |
| Calling code | +502 |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (America/Guatemala) |
How to say hello
A few words of Spanish make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | ¡Hola! ¿Qué onda? | OH-lah, keh OHN-dah | Hi! What's up? |
| Spanish | Buenas noches | BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs | Good evening |
| Spanish | ¿Y vos, cómo estás? | ee VOHS, KOH-moh ehs-TAHS | And you, how are you? |
Tips for chatting with people from Guatemala
- Guatemalans often use "vos" with friends, so "¿Y vos?" (and you?) sounds natural and local.
- "Chapín" is the friendly nickname Guatemalans use for themselves; you'll hear it in food and football talk.
- From Europe, try your late evening, when it's afternoon in Guatemala; from North America, evenings line up nicely.
- Practicing Spanish? Tell them at the start so they can slow down, and keep some Spanish phrases handy.
Only meet people from Guatemala
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Guatemala, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Guatemala and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Guatemala, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Guatemala are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Guatemala borders 4 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: