Hola a todos!
We are in Anigua, Guatemala after a long day (for some, it was a couple of days) of traveling. Sleep has never felt so amazing!
Last night, we were marveling over the fact that we have been together for such a short time, yet it feels like we have been together for much longer. The leaders, Alex and Michelle, have been wonderful at making orientation interesting, and getting us to learn everone’s names and to learn more about each other.
We are staying at the Yellow House Hostel during our three day stay in Antigua.
Today, we are doing a scavenger hunt around the city! This blog post is one of the things on the list, but it is also nice to update everyone back home. We are also going to be learning how to budget and travel safely in smaller groups within a foreign city (which will be very useful in the future). Right now we are getting some practice as we are in groups of two and three and have to navigate the city on our own.
The culture here is so different from the US! The buildings are very colorful, as is the traditional dress. It has been interestintng to run into street vendors and learning how to deal with beggars. It had never occurred to us that giving money might do more harm than good because it only encourages them to stay locked in the same cycle.
Asking for directions has been a challenge, and we look forward to our language classes and being able to improve our conversational Spanish during our home stays.
We hope to update you all again soon!
Miss you all and sending love to home,
Becca Lee and Russell Huang