Days 122-123: The Return

On Wednesday morning, I said my goodbyes to Angelica and her family, paid for my room and got special treatment from the shuttle service. It was a private van, and they drove right up to the door. I felt very spoilt during my trip to the City.

Let us hope prices never make it here in USD

Leaving shot of Antigüeño street trash-cans

Final view of Antigua

Once in Guatemala City, the shuttle service would not go to a place of residence, so they dropped me off at the Westin Camino Real Hotel that is located in the same zone as Carmen's parents's house. Their names are Carmen and Edgar, so that I do not have to keep referring to them as Carmen's parents.

Edgar came and picked me up from the hotel and brought me back to their house. Carmen's sisters who live next door have kids, all of whom were off from school this week (along with the rest of Guatemala) due to the state of calamity and national emergency they are experiencing, and these kids in particular had had only one more week before their break, so now they are on an extended vacation. They were naturally quite disappointed.

Volcanic ash piled on curbs

I had relaxed afternoon, had lunch at one of Carmen's sister's house, went to the supermarket with one of the girls and Edgar to get some groceries, and experienced a full-blown Guatemalan sugar rush that evening when we dined on sugary cereal and key lime bars. While I started feeling a bit ill, Nicolas (who is 8) starting buzzing around the house. The girls just got increasingly giggly.

Happy family

I woke up quite early this morning. I had breakfast and made sure everything was packed and ready. I said my goodbyes to family, thanked Carmen (mother of Carmen) for her hospitality, and Edgar was so nice to give me a ride to the airport. He definitely did not have to do that, but it was very much appreciated. As soon as I arrived at the airport, things went very smoothly.

I was excessively early for my 2.15p flight departure (I arrived at about 09.30), just so that I did not have any problems with security or with what was expected to be a busy airport. When I checked in, there was a flight also going to Houston leaving at 11.40 that I asked about boarding, but I was told it was completely full. It turned out, however, that it was leaving from the same gate, so when I got there, I asked the gate attendant if I could be placed on the standby list, behind just one other person.

As it turns out, I got onto the flight and arrived in Houston at the local time of 3.30. My scheduled flight to Austin was for 7.15p that night, but again there was an earlier flight leaving at 5.50. This time I was not sure if I could get on because of the size of the standby list, but since the airport was experiencing a lot of delayed arrivals, there were about 10 or 15 seats available on this small flight. So, I lucked out again and got into Austin at about 7.00p. I had called my Mom (using my Guatemalan phone from Houston, do not know how much that 2 minute phone call cost), and I had told her about my new arrival time. It was very nice how things worked out, I much prefer spending time with family over spending it reading a book in an airport terminal. Even if I did have some of that bread left over.

The flights were good, only about 3.5 hours total flight time, and I am very happy to be home. My Mom picked me up with our dog, Zona, at the airport, where the only hitch the entire day came in the form of my bags staying with the 7.15p flight instead of jumping with me on the earlier one. Still, Continental was super gracious and the bags arrived this evening to our doorstep free of charge.

Just arrived in Austin airport

I went out to dinner tonight to the restaurant where my sister, Lana, works to surprise her (she did not know about the early arrival), and she did not have to close tonight, so we got to do some picture sharing at home. I have over 1,700 photos, however, so we are going to have to go through them bit by bit.

Oh, I have to mention the decorations that my Mom put up in the house. Inside the garage were the words "Welcome Home Dylan" spelled out on sheets of paper, and there are bunches of balloons with ribbon hanging from the hallways of the house and in my room. Very sweet.

It feels bizarre to be home. Almost like a stranger in my own home. I know everything, my body moves through the house on autopilot, yet my time away leaves me with a different perspective.

This trip has changed me through and through: as a student, as a tourist, as a person, as a friend, as a family member, as a part of humanity. The experiences I have had barely translate across with the blogs I have made, the photos and video clips I have taken; there is definitely a large portion of the experience that is very personal and individual. I am so incredibly thankful that I chose to take a gap year between high school and university. For me, it was 100% the right choice. I think that I am a better person today for my time abroad.

Now, though, I am excited to work again, to share stories, catch up with friends here and in other parts of the United States, and I am also excited about university, starting in mid-August. The next adventure. I feel, though, that after my travels this semester, I am up for every challenge that freshman year can throw at me.

I want to say a couple of thank you's to people who made this fantastic experience possible:

To my family, first and foremost, to helped me make this crazy idea into such a wonderful reality. To each and every one of my hosts: Betty, Carmen and Nick, María Elena, Susan (however indirectly), Angelica, and Carmen and Edgar. I want to thank all of the friends I made while on my trips, especially to Paula, Flor and Andrés, and to the students with whom I shared my Spanish classes. And also to my volunteer coordinators Josh and Courtney, and Jonathon and Emma, for letting me be a part of the two communities.

Finally, I would like to thank you personally for reading my blogs. I hope that they have provided entertainment and insight, provoked thought, and shared with you in whatever form the truly special time I have had these last four months.

For the last time,

Chao. Chau. Goodbye.

Day 121: The Final Day in Antigua

Today I had the laziest morning of my time here in Guatemala, possibly during this entire experience. I woke up, read some, ate my breakfast, and read some more.

I was monitoring the Continental website, looking for more information on my flight. I came across two other websites that seemed to be reporting that there were flights arriving and departing from the airport, but I was not sure if they were incorrect. Carmen, however, confirmed that the airport was indeed up and running. What a relief. With the airport open two days before my flight, I feel confident that I will have no problems.

Tomorrow the shuttle will be coming to my house at 11.00 in the morning. With all luck, I will be arriving in the City at about 12.30-12.45. Carmen's parents are expecting my arrival, though I will call when I have made it and let them know where the shuttle dropped me off. The shuttles normally only go to hotels, so we chose one hotel, but I will ask the driver tomorrow if there is any chance he can take me directly to where Carmen's parents live. I sort of doubt he will, though.

I had a very nice dinner with Carmen, Nick, and Santiago. We went to a restaurant/bar called Hector's with a very nice atmosphere, very rustic and cozy. The food was quite fancy, and delicious. I had an open-faced steak sandwich with french fries that were home made within earshot. I had a chocolate fondant for dessert that was warm in the center and had a strawberry plopped on top. Quite excellent.

Nick, Carmen, Santiago

Santiago and Nick

It was nice to have a chance to see their family once again before leaving. I had not seen them for quite a while, I saw Carmen and Santi briefly when she dropped off my bag after I returned from San Marcos, but really it had been a few weeks. I shared some stories of my experiences in San Marcos as well as in El Hato. We also discussed the recent weather-related news. The neighboring city where Santi attends school was devastated by the storms. They had a huge amount of water/mudslide damage. We were very lucky here in Antigua.

I am excited for tomorrow. I have become accustomed to my life here, so it will be nice to change things up a little. And there are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong in the next two days, so I can expect plenty adventure.

Angelica (pink), husband, daughter and María household helper

I have almost finished reading all of my Spanish literature that I have with me, so I am saving it and trying to make it last as long as possible. Therefore, I will do some reading in English tonight before bed.

Chao.

Day 120: The Beginning of Overtime

Today was the first day spent in Guatemala that was not originally scheduled. I had the whole day to run around and do nothing, so I decided to head up to the school and say some goodbyes.

I got up at 08.30 and had a relaxed morning. I left the house at a bit after 11.00 with the aim of catching the midday bus up to El Hato. Something went wrong though, I got the times or places mixed up and I ended up missing that bus. So, I went and had lunch at Pollo Campero, figuring it might be the last chance I got for a while, and made it back to the market to catch the bus leaving at 2.10.

Waiting at the bus stop

Part of the market

One of 'my' former children was riding up to El Hato with her mother and two siblings. She was happy to see me, and it was nice for me to be able to see at least one of the kids before I left.

"Pretty kitty"

María Fernanda and her brother

Road between school and Earth Lodge

Two children, girl is student

Happy to show off

Laundry with a view

I went to the Earth Lodge and chatted with Emma for a while. I also talked with British, Canadian, and an American guest who were all sitting at the table. Conversations are always interesting at the table, full of opinions. Topics today included English football teams and smoking bans, especially in how they differ between British Colombia and Guatemala. We also covered the Olympics briefly. And the Arizona immigration law. I finally got a picture, though it is not the best photo, with Emma and Jonathon, which was an important accomplishment. They were really great, and they are doing wonders for that school.

Emma, Jonathon, Me

View of Earth Lodge from entry path

I also jotted down a little note for the kids of Dora's class, saying thank you and telling them to study English so that when I return I will not have to speak a word of Spanish with them. I also gave Dora's classroom key to Emma, along with the keychain with its little, white, stuffed dog. It is a bit of a bummer that the school does not have classes this week, since the school was essentially undamaged, but the whole country has no classes this week (as I read in this morning's paper). It would have been really nice to get to see them all one last time, but if I had to choose, I would rather have the assurance of a flight home again.

"Number of deaths rises to 82"

"Week without classes in entire country"

"Hard work Thurs. (l) and Sat. (r)"

The latest on that front is that the airport is supposed to open Wednesday or Thursday. I am hoping it opens on the former so that I know that my flight will leave. But, if I am one of the first flights out of the airport, I will not complain one bit. My shuttle is scheduled to take me into the City on Wednesday around midday, so I will have just over 24 hours before my flight the next day.

Tomorrow, being my anticipated last day in Antigua, I shall go out into the city to do some walking around. I would like to meet up with Carmen (and family) if possible, but I understand they have separate lives. It should be a pretty relaxed day, like really this whole month has been. The lifestyle here is very in the moment, there is not much fuss about the future. A mindset that is good for me in the short-term, but would frustrate me a little over a longer period of time.