My Experience with Ancestry DNA Testing

May 5

May 5 My Experience with Ancestry DNA Testing

I have always been interested in my ethnicity and knowing where I come from. My parent’s adopted me at five months so I never really knew exactly what my background was. I was born in Guatemala so obviously I am Guatemalan but I always have been interested in knowing more.

Four years ago I ordered my DNA kit from Ancestory. Since then it has constantly been updating. My DNA hasn’t changed but their technology has improved over the years. So what exactly am I?

38% - Indigenous Guatemalan

This is no surprise to me. Most Guatemalans have a good portion of Mayan in them. Before there was today’s society the Maya roamed the land of Guatemala. My first photo is of me outside my old house in Guatemala. I lived their until I was 3 with my parents who moved to Guatemala to adopt me.

24% - Yucatan Peninsula

I was a bit more surprised about this but Yucatan Peninsula is pretty close to Guatemala so it makes since. This is the portion of Mexico by Belize and Guatemala that curves up. This area was also historically claimed by the Mayan people.

21% - Spain

Again, this makes sense. Spain colonized Guatemala and Mexico so most of us have some sort of Spanish DNA.

The rest? Small percentages of the following countries:

England/ Wales

Senegal

Cameroon

Portugal

France

Nigeria

I definitely recommend getting your DNA tested. I just happened to choose Ancestry for my test because it was pretty affordable. Any DNA kit is going to give you really cool results. I was surprised about countries like England, France, and Nigeria. Even though they are small percentages I just always thought I was 100% Guatemalan so its cool to have other ties to different places in the world.