La Día Numera Una

I may have butchered that title…

Today was the day I left Watertown, Wisconsin behind and began a new adventure. Total travel miles to Antigua, Guatemala: approximately 2000. I woke up at 5:30 AM to shower and finalize packing, and by 6:20 my family and I were on our way to Goerke’s Corners in Waukesha. After we parked we didn’t have to wait long; the coach bus was a little ahead of schedule, pulling up at 7:10. My two heavy suitcases were loaded, hugs and goodbyes were exchanged, and the bus pulled out at 7:20. My family stood there waving until the bus was on the freeway. That was the hardest part of the day. I know I will miss them terribly, and I don’t know for sure when I will see them again. However, I do know that I am not alone. 1 Peter 5:7 has been a comfort to me: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares or you.”

The ride to Chicago was uneventful. The bus driver was a very friendly lady who made sure we were comfortable and chatted with oncoming passengers. I managed to take an hour nap and we made it to O’Hare in good time. I checked in at the American Airlines desk with my two giant suitcases. The lady behind the counter was also very nice and didn’t seem to mind. When she scanned my passport she got excited and told me that her son was born on the same day that I was, year and everything! I was able to check my bags all the way through to Guatemala, though I did have to pay an overweight fee (which I had expected).

The line for the security checkpoint was very short, which surprised me. However, the two ladies in charge of telling us where to stand and what to do were rather brusque and seemed annoyed with life. Because I did not put down my boarding pass and passport in a bin, I had to have a full body scan instead of going through the standard metal detector. It was my lucky day, because after that a security guard said, “I need a DPD (or something) over here!” I was told to stand by a desk where another man heated up a testing strip and told me to raise my hands, palms up. He swiped each hand several times and then put the strip back into the computer sensor. As the computer was testing the sample, the guy turned to me and told me I could relax and put my hands down. Apparently the tension I was feeling was showing… He told me I was good to go, then said, “You know the reason we have to do this is because you’re going on vacation, right?” I must have looked at him like a deer in the headlights because he burst out laughing and said, “I’m just messing with you!”

I found the gate without any problems, and it was conveniently right across from a McDonald’s. I read and had an early lunch (mildly irritated by how much more expensive McDonald’s is in the airport!), and before I knew it we started to board. (Andy had successfully made it to the gate also.) I was able to check my carry-on at the gate for free, which made boarding the plane that much easier. We took off right on time, enjoyed a relaxing flight, and landed at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Navigating the DFW airport was a breeze. It has a shuttle system that takes you directly to the concourse from which you are departing. As it got closer to boarding time, the attendants behind the desk announced that the flight was overbooked and they were asking for 3 volunteers to travel the following day. I may have considered that, had my host family in Antigua not been expecting me. I was one of the last people to board the plane. I just sat in the waiting area until the line had gone down. It was a very full flight! I was nervous someone was going to be in my seat, and sure enough someone was. We figured it out, however, and she ended up sitting next to me. Her name is Amy and she is a librarian from Columbia, Missouri. She told me that she was with 17 other people from her church on a week-long mission trip to Chichicastenango (Chichi for short). She was about my age, and it was good to be able to talk to someone for a little while. We both struggled through the immigration and customs forms, even with the English under the Spanish words.

The flight was a little longer than the first, and when we began our descent I was surprised to see how dark it was already. It starts getting dark around 6:30 local time. Guatemala is one hour behind Central Standard Time. At first it was just light enough to see how mountainous the area is. All the lights from the villages and towns were spread out and looked like beautiful strands of Christmas lights. The landing was a little rough, but it had been raining earlier.

We made it through immigration without a hitch, then went to the baggage claim. All my bags came through, but one of the wheels was no longer on my suitcase. It had been completely torn off, leaving a gaping hole in the corner. I really felt like a dumb tourist dragging that luggage behind me. Customs was next; it was almost too easy. I didn’t have to open my bags or put them through a machine like many other Americans did. The man looked at my form briefly and told me I could go!

When we got outside there were tons of people behind the barricade. Many of them had pieces of paper with names on them. In the information packet I had been given, it clearly stated that the driver would have a piece of paper with our names on it and that we should not go with anyone else, even if it said, “Antigua.” My heart sank when I walked all around and didn’t see our names anywhere.

At first I thought that maybe he was just on his way, but 5 minutes turned into 10 and still we didn’t see anyone. A man was calling out for a shuttle bus to Antigua, which the information packet had given as an option had we not arranged to be picked up. Andy wanted to take the shuttle, but I was hesitant to do that since I had been told that the pick-up had been confirmed.

A couple guys tried to help us out, and one lent me his phone so I could call the emergency contact number. There was no answer. After 15 minutes I almost gave in to take the shuttle bus, but I noticed a man in the crowd with a sign that included “PLFM” with a few other letters. I knew that the school I will be going to is known as Fundación PLFM, so I decided to go up to him and talk to him. Through broken Spanish and English (and a lot of informal signing) he assured me that he was there to pick us up, but just to put me at ease, he called a number and handed the phone over to me. The lady on the other end spoke in English and she confirmed that Juan was there for us. She used Professor Bases’ name and told me the host family I would be with (which matched the name I had been given) and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Juan had been standing there the whole time; we just didn’t realize he was there for us.

Juan was surprised to see how much luggage I had. I tried to explain that I will be going to the Republica Dominicana for a year, but I think my explanation may have been lost in translation. Not only do I look like a dumb tourist, I look like a vain dumb tourist.

Juan drives like he has a death wish. It was thrilling! We were flying down narrow streets at 60 kmph, narrowly missing other cars, bikes, and people. I had been thinking of my family at Jeffrey’s graduation party all day, and for some reason I kept picturing how Grandma Malchow would have handled such a trip. I think it would compare to the infamous log ride she went on with us at Six Flags years ago.

For me the experience was so much like Africa: the smell of diesel perfuming the air, the complete lack of traffic law enforcement, the juxtaposition of fancy cars alongside real clunkers, stray dogs roaming around the street corners, the meandering roads that don’t seem to make sense, the constant honking of horns. All of it made me feel more at home.

Of course, there are some major differences, like the people and culture, for starters. I was also not expecting some of the fast food chains I saw: McDonald’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Taco Bell.

I arrived safely at my host family’s house. Juan very graciously carried the suitcase with the missing wheel, and I took care of the others. We had to climb a lot of steps to get to the house, and I apologized profusely for the inconvenience. I offered him some money, “Tengo dollares; esta bien?” (“I have dollars; is that okay?”) and thanked him for getting me there.

My host family is very nice, though they don’t have much English, and I don’t have much Spanish so we can’t really make conversation. The host lady’s name is Olga. Thankfully, another MLC student is staying here for one more week and she is a Spanish major. Her name is Alyssa.

My room is simple, but clean. The bed is comfortable and I have a little desk to work from. There is only one outlet, but that’s better than none at all! I have no internet access from the house, but I’ve been told there is Wifi at la escuela (the school).

Wow, this post is much longer than I thought it would be. I think that as I get into routine I will have less to write about, but who knows?

Adios!

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.”

Psalm 56:3 – 4