Guatemala: Dia uno

Being home for only 36 hours was not nearly enough time, but I pulled it off, exhausted and all. Our Social and Cultural Foundations course (along with some Psych students) met at the airport at 11:30pm on Friday night in the middle of a snow storm. All together there are 14 female students, 2 professors, Dr. Clemente and Dr. Ochoa, and Dr. Ochoa´s wife, Monica. In talking with many of the girls, a lot of us have traveled to various places and different experiences to discuss. Some of the girls studied abroad in Australia or Asia and some just went to places on vacation. It was a little hesitant explaining my travel background at first, but I am getting more and more comfortable with the girls.

Our flight left at 2:30am and arrived in Guatemala City around 6:35am. It was a long flight, but I think I managed to get a couple hours of sleep. I noticed that going through customs was much more lax than I have ever witnessed before. They basically just stamped our passports and sent us on our merry ways. We found our bus driver and all toook the 3 hour journey to the University where we will reside for the week. We were able to stop at a little restaurant for some food and we all agreed that we did not pack enough warm clothing for the trip. It is probably mid 60s and we mostly packed warmer weather clothing. Oh well, I am sure we will manage just fine. From the bus, I immediately noticed the local Guatemalans wearing traditional clothing. The women are dressed in beautifully colors wraps around their waste and pinned together with a colorful belt and a matching woven shirt. Some of the men wore the traditional garments, but most wore clothes to work in. I think it is wonderful that the country is keeping it´s culture and traditions alive. There are so many countries that are loosing their own identity in these times, that it is nice to see a culture hanging on to their beliefs. With that, I did witness an older woman in traditional clothing stuff a cell phone down here shirt before getting on the bus, so I guess the technological age is upon all of us.

I did not expect Guatemala to be so rich in tradition and so unlike Costa Rica, where I just visited prior to this trip. Not that I am an expert on heritage or nationalities, but I see much Indian or Mayan descent in the faces of the Guatemalans. Some of their faces remind me of the Peruvian descent as well. I am anxious and curious to learn much more about this culture in the coming days.

The university we are staying at is quite cozy. We were greeted by a male soccer team who really wanted to befriend a bus full of girls. Our dorms are really nice and better than I expected. It´s a single floored building with one single hall and about 10 rooms. We have bunkbeds, a single bed, and a desk with a chair. They remind me of my college days and I already claimed the top bunk! Down the hall are shared toilets and showers that are all clean. We had a tour of the facilities we are using and our classroom is almost better than our classrooms at Roosevelt and they provided us with a great computer lab. Breakfast and dinner will be provided by a sweet woman whom we met with today. I am so excited to try some of the food.

Once we wondered around our new home for the week, we took the "Chicken" bus into town. I do not know how the country got so many buses, but their buses are old American school buses; some are the yellow kind and some are painted wild colors. Some even say the township that the bus is from. It´s quite different from what I have seen before. The little town was very cute and full of life. I loved the cobblestoned streets and the culture that was all around us. We walked through the market and walked down to the lake area with a beautiful view of the volcanoes around it. I do not think picures or words could give that view justice.

So far I am impressed with Guatemala and I am excited to see and learn more about this country and its culture. It is also nice traveling with other students who are new to some things that I have become accoustomed to I guess. I am kind of living through their excitement. I am realizing with the amount of travel I have done, some things do not stand out as much to me. For example, I am used to the no toilet paper in the toilet rule, but some of the girls are having a really hard time with it here. I am sure they´ll get used to it, just as I have. So, I can see a different light in my travels this time around.