Early morning I left Philly after a great stay and royal treatment. Arriving at 1:41am in NYC, I jumped right into a taxi and off to LaGuardia, where I waited a few hours before being able to check in for my flight.
Spirit airlines brought me to Ft. Lauderdale for my transfer on to Guatemala City (the capital), where we were delayed a few hours and bounced around a few gates (haha), but which gave me some time to relax and enjoy one last Dt. Mt. Dew (gotta love yellow 5).
Leaving around 2pm, I ended up sitting next to my waiting partner at the gate, who only spoke Spanish, and which was therefore a great way to begin the trip. He was returning from his first trip to the US, and had truly appreciated the experience at 17 years of age.
On arriving to Guatemala, I was greeted by the warm sun and many smiling faces, including those of my shuttle driver and that of my partner for the travel (a missionary teacher in Antigua).
At around 5pm I arrived at the house of Christopher Morales, being greeted by his wife Neli and daughter Marisol. I was introduced to the family that were around, and shown my room, which is the perfect ‘box’ for focusing on my mission of construction and Spanish learning while here. Of immediate notice were the ubiquitous ‘collar de reina’ orange flowers (queen’s necklace) which served as a coating and partial wall for the second level, where my room is perched (see photo).
I had to scuttle to Fernando’s Café to meet with Karen, the volunteer coordinator with Constru Casa, where we shared a café con leche (coffee with milk), while in a Q+A session regarding the upcoming volunteering.
Afterward we walked the city for a tour of points of interest, as well as our meeting place for daily transit to/from the work site. I was happy to be informed (from a cultural standpoint) that we’d be taking the chicken buses to the site, perhaps the most Guatemalan of Guatemalan experiences.
On return, I shared my first dinner with the fellow Constru Casa volunteers who are staying at the house (4 of us total), including Bruce + Jacob (a father / son pair from Connecticut), as well as Julia, a university student from Sydney, Australia. It is awesome to meet people from all over with a passion to serve, travel, and share the gifts they’ve been given. I believe firmly in the ‘Bloom where you’re planted’ motto, and feel immensely blessed to be planted in Antigua for the time being.
Soon after dinner I retired for catch some ZZZ.
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