January 20th, 2013
5:25am- I wake up to my “uh-wooooog-uh” alarm, finish packing my things, and bang bang bang there’s my mom knocking at me and my sister’s hotel room door. It’s time to go!
6:15am- My Mom, my Dad, and I load up in the good ole Buick and head to the Austin Airport as my sister follows behind us in her car.
6:45am- Can't contain myself, excitement at its max, and the fun has just begun. After an elementary lesson from my padre on how to check in and check a bag I head for the terrorist-finding-I-see-you-naked-nope-take-all-that-stuff-out-of-your-pockets line. After I take off my fancy new shoes and pass the checkpoint I head for terminal 18. I find a familiar face there, Ozvaldo.
8:00am-After being joined by Professor Astrid and Grant, the four of us board our flight to Houston.
9:30am-I see H-town poking its head up from the heavy fog…oh yeah we are about to make a scary-ass blind fog landing.
10:00am- We all exit the plane into the Houston airport and head to our next terminal.
10:30am- After grabbing some non-gluten free gluten free food from the airport food mall we rush back to our terminal and board the flight to Guatemala City.
1:10pm-Land. Perrrrty water. Green…!!!!!!
2:00pm- That there is Guatemala City!!! Holy Shizzat!
2:10pm- I don’t see an airport but the plane is chopping tops off of tin houses now. The wheels hit the ground and I guess we are landing. Now the pilot is lead-footing the brakes annnnnnnnnnd boom goes the dynamite!…lol i mean we landed.
2:20pm- We exit the plane, go through customs, and we are officially entering the beautiful country of Guatemala! I would later find out from my professor that she once exited this airport to a crowd of hooded figures burning a bus…. cool, sounds safe.
3:20pm- After meeting one of our other travel companions we load up in the Taxi and head for Antigua.
4:00pm- WOW, WOW, WOW… Most beautiful city I have ever laid eyes on!!!!!! Volcanoes, lots of bright plants and buildings, and cobblestone streets. This place is the real deal.
4:30pm- Time to meet my host family! With my awkward gringo smile in place I go through the doorway to meet two of the kindest people that I don’t understand! Doña Lucrecia and Don Jose. After a short talk and a brief unpacking, me and Ozvaldo, my home stay homey, are picked up and we head to a quaint hotel-restaurant for our welcome dinner.
6:00pm- I am served the best chicken and guacamole I have ever had in my life.
6:01pm- I consider how fat I will be by the end of this trip.
6:02pm- Oh wait, I am allergic to gluten, corn, sesame (street), and peanuts. Nah, I’ll be nice and anorexic since that rules out the staples of this part of the world.
6:03pm- Depression.
6:04pm- I take a second bite as I watch the peers at my table smile at the hotel staff doing a traditional Maya dance. Damn this is good chicken. Then I realize, I am here and there is a ton of stuff on my plate! Paradise.
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