Guatemala is a long way from Paris. Unlike the French, the Guatemalans are almost always delighted to speak with foreigners no matter how bad their Spanish is. Spanish is not all that different from English and it's not all that difficult to communicate on a essential level.

Keep these books handy. Use them well and you'll be surprised at how much Spanish you'll speak by the end of your trip.

1) Berlitz Latin American Spanish Phrase Book & Dictionary: Basic it may be, but you can communicate with it. I once met a couple from Texas traveling in a big Ford pickup who went to some distant and, at the time, dangerous corners of Guatemala. They spoke no Spanish, but communicated with a dog-eared Berlitz Book. They were having the time of their lives. I have to admit they were game, not too bright perhaps, but very game.

2) University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary / Spanish-English English-Spanish.
There are more complete Spanish-English dictionaries, but this one is small, inexpensive and virtually always has the words novice and intermediate Spanish students are looking for.

Don't make the mistake of just bringing a dictionary, especially if you know absolutely no Spanish at all. Knowing a particular word is of little use if you can't use it in a sentence, and a dictionary won't help you with that. The other three books will.

3) Spanish Made Simple.
I'll admit Trigonometry Made Simple didn't do me any good, but that says more about me than the Made Simple books. If you learn everything that Spanish Made Simple has to teach you, you're doing pretty well. It gives you a decent handle on the language and a solid foundation to build on.

4) Madrigil's Magic Key to Spanish.
To tell you the truth I haven't seen this book, but I like their approach and the reviews on Amazon.com are very positive. Besides, Andy Warhol, of all people, did the illustrations. Now how cool is that?

On the boat to Santiago Atitlan.

Get in the habit of carrying these books with you and refer to them as needed or when you have a moment to study.

Then practice, practice, practice! Don't worry, you'll make plenty of mistakes, but you'll learn more figuring out what everyone was laughing about than you ever will conjugating verbs (though eventually you'll have to do that too) and you'll have a lot more fun in the process.

College Spanish textbooks are great for learning Spanish in college, but they won't find you a bathroom in a hurry. With the above books and, more importantly, the willingness to stick your neck out and go for it you will be speaking Spanish by the end of your trip. You won't be fluent, but you will be communicating in Spanish.