Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Day 1, Jan. 15: Bienvenidos a Guatemala

Before we start, apologies before the delay in posting these - we ended up having little to no Wifi during the trip!

Most of us were able to spend the night prior to departure together in College Park, which was good because we had to be ready for the airport shuttle by 3:45 AM. We departed DC for Atlanta at 6 AM, arrived around 7:45 AM, ate breakfast during our layover before leaving again for Guatemala City at 10 AM, and arriving at our destination around 12:45 PM their time (we're an hour behind). Needless to say, it was a long morning!

We were greeted at the airport by one of our community partners, Irene from Operador Latino, before we packed up our luggage on the shuttle that we'll be using during our stay and headed to Casa Chapina in the city for a yummy lunch: chicken, rice, black beans, and tortillas. Afterwards we visited an archeological museum which contained a beautiful fountain and lots of interesting artifacts from the Mayans. Almost everyone took advantage of the 1.5 hour travel time to Antigua, our home for the first couple of days as well as the last day of the trip, to sleep.


We exchanged our dollars for quetzals, the local currency, at a bank in Antigua once we arrived. Around 6 PM Guatemala time, we found ourselves at Donde Monica! The hostel has its own enclosed yard and it already feels like home. We're split into 5 different rooms, all unique but with plenty of space. We ate dinner together soon after: horchata, spaghetti with meat/mushroom sauce, and ice cream for dessert!


Our first reflection consisted of discussing something positive that happened today and something that surprised us. Some were happy that the flight went well; others were happy to finally be abroad and in the midst of a new culture. The surprises consisted of the terrain, the armed military personnel in parts of the city, and how modern the city is. We then watched a TED talk (Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford) to inspire us to live life to the fullest and also to enjoy this opportunity to serve the community! 


The group seems to be getting along really well and some are still talking late in the evening. All in all, it was a great first day and we can't wait for what else this experience has in store for us.

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