All is well here in Guatemala city! The plane arrived as expected at 11:30 and my bags were one of the first off the conveyor belt. I was lucky to skip a baggage check at customs, and Marco was there shortly to pick me up. It was wonderful to finally see the face of someone I had only known through emails and grainy phone calls. He gave me a wonderful calming hug before we headed out in search for food. Like any traditional introduction to Guatemala, Marco took me out to Chinese! Ironically, my first conversation in Spanish with him was me struggling to understand what I should order off the Chinese menu. The whole experience was a verywell-rounded cultural introduction!
Throughout the meal, we taught each other basic facts about our lives and family. While my Spanish tumbled out in a very unflattering structure, I was happy to see that we could maintain our conversation reasonably well. There were multiple words I couldn’t say, and he was constantly correcting my grammar, but at least I know now that I am capable of communicating.
After a delicious and extremely filling meal, Marco dropped me off at a little hotel near the airport where I am staying until our early 5:30 am start tomorrow. The road is supposedly a 14 hour drive on bumpy gravel! I am grateful to have my afternoon to relax and collect my thoughts before our big journey tomorrow.