I have arrived!

Greetings friends and family, from sunny Guatemala City!

I made it to my hotel just before midnight last night after a 15-hour travel day, flying from Albany>Orlando>Panama City>Guatemala City. Phew!

My travel day was interesting. Copa, the Panamanian airline I flew for my last two legs, was not as thrilled as I am with the fact that I have only a one-way ticket to Guatemala. At the counter in Orlando I was peppered with questions about my travel plans. I explained that I am going to be studying Spanish and volunteering in Xela for about two months, then plan to take a bus to Honduras to go scuba diving, then am not all of the way certain after that but that yes, I do intend on returning to the States in several months. They asked to see emails from my Spanish school showing that I was in fact going to be studying, and when they were fairly satisfied with my story they handed over my boarding pass.

Once I got through the hour-long security line full of post-Disney World meltdown madness at the Orlando airport and made it to my gate, I was again stopped and questioned before boarding. Four airline workers pulled me aside and said they would not allow me to board without a ticket out of Guatemala. They said to take out my phone and book something now–as people were streaming past onto the waiting aircraft. Yikes! I said I’ll be studying Spanish for 8 weeks, perhaps 10, and that I don’t know when exactly to book a bus ticket to Honduras for. One of the women mercifully just told me to go ahead and board and that she’ll put in the system that I have an exit ticket. She won in my book yesterday!

The plane to Panama City is where my Spanish immersion began. The plane was full of exhausted but smiling Panamanians with Mickey Mouse ears, excitedly sharing stories of Disney World and Universal Studios. The rapid fire Spanish was such that I was picking up maybe 40% (if that) of what was being said with my passive eavesdropping. This definitely gave me a fleeting moment of Oh shit, am I in over my head here? But then I laughed to myself thinking well of COURSE you are, that is the definition of immersion. Diving right into the unknown and figuring out how to swim!

Getting into Guatemala City and through customs was uneventful and mellow, and I stayed in a cute little hotel close to the airport last night. I’m still here now, and will soon be taking a taxi to the bus station for my 4-hour trip north to Xela. There I will be heading straight to my school to complete my enrollment, and to meet the Guatemalan family I’ll be living with for the next two or so months!

I’m so excited about my homestay. It’s exciting that I know nothing about them yet–how many people I’ll be living with, if they have children, if (hopefully!) they have a pet I can snuggle. Later today these questions will have answers. Stay tuned!

During these next few days I’ll be getting to know my family, clumsily hacking my way through conversations in Spanish, and exploring my new city Xela a bit before I start my 25 hours/week of one-on-one Spanish instruction on Monday. More on all that later as well.

Time to get ready for my bus trip now. Sending love to you all! Hasta pronto!

Author: Annie L

California girl. Lover of light. Fighter of the good fight. Here to share reflections, musings, and tales of travel. Join me on my journey! View all posts by Annie L