Well we're here! We arrived in Antigua at around 10am #GUAT time. I thought Guatemala was on the same time zone as Texas, but I was wrong, they're set with Mountain Time. We flew into Miami and then grabbed our connecting flight from Miami to Guatemala City. A lady named April picked us up, along with these two dudes. I didn't really catch their names. I spoke a little spanish to one of them, just trying to ask him if he needed another strap to tie the suitcases down, but he said no. The way he answered me made me feel like I asked the question wrong, but maybe he was just trying to get stuff done. The hotel we're staying at is totally legit! We've got WiFi too? Say guaaaat? I'm rooming with Mathias and another guy named Cole I didn't meet until Friday. Seems like a cool dude, though. We've got a KING SIZE BED in here! Along with a fire place, a fridge, a safe deposit box, a hot shower, a toilet, hardly "roughing it", more like we've got our own Guatemalan Penthouse!
We went around the city a little bit, had lunch in this Camino Cafe place that looks like it's adjacent to the church that we'll be working with. The church is called Iglesia Del Camino, which means Church of the Street, or Sidewalk, or Pathway. I think we're going to church there in the morning. They said the service is bilingual, which I guess is cool, but I was kinda hoping that it would only be in Spanish. Kinda sucks, but it would be kinda pointless & useless for others to go if they couldn't understand. It'll be cool, hopefully.
We walked around a little bit, but didn't really get to see too much of Antigua outside of the semi-tour that April gave us from Guatemala City to Antigua. She said that Taco Bell is better here? I'm thinkin, maaaan gimme some GUAT food! Haha but I'm sure we'll get some of that soon enough. The dinner they gave us tonight was pretty good. We went to this place called Pollo Campero... Kinda hectic, but the food was pretty awesome. It's basically exactly like KFC but with a Spanish name lol.
One thing that was cool is there's a VOLCANO right by where we're staying!! April said that one of the volcanos erupted like TWO DAYS AGO but it wasn't the one that's right by where we're staying ha. The volcano's pretty pretty though!
Anyway, I guess that ends day 2. Not too much to say outside of being STOKED to be here! Eddie/Eduardo as Colin has decided to call him, told us we'll each be
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Guatemala day 1: TN to NC: Prep Time
Day 1: Prep day, Friday, May 25, 2012
Well this morning was crazy. I woke up at 5am, in order to get to the University of Tennessee campus (40min away from our hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN) for my second DI performance of the week. We didn't go on until 8:30, but we obviously wanted to be awake. The performance went fairly well, and my improv team decided to do our tada, which is something normally done after our instant challenge (that we'd done the day before) but put off until today. Tiera, my ride to North Carolina, had arrived in Tennessee just in time for the first performance, and was actually able to participate in the second! It was an unscored element, so we were allowed to have anyone we wanted.
That said, we left Knoxville around 1pm (after a good lunch of course) headed for NC. I don't remember much of the first part of the trip because I fell asleep, but the second half we were able to have pretty good convos. We arrived in Boiling Springs around 3:20pm, just under the 4pm deadline to sign in, where I was greeted by old friends: Britt Becker, Colin Mukri, & Dustin Wells. Dustin & Colin were both going on the trip, and I ended up putting my things in Dustin's car, so that Tiera could go on to her destination: Fayetteville, NC.
After signing in officially with the Crossroads office, we were sent to the YMCA, where Justin Brock gave us a rundown of everything to expect, referencing the book we read on Cultural Intelligence & Sensitivity prior to our arrival. We ate some pretty shweet comida too ;). There we also established a number system for each person, to ensure that we never lost anyone. Eddie Stepp, our leader for the week, formally introduced himself, and briefed us on a little more of what we will be doing during the coming week: VBS, manual labor, and "whatever they require of us". So I'm thinking, what exactly are we going to be doing? How will I get to use my Spanish!?? Met a couple of cool-lookin dudes named Reid and Wes. Recognized a couple of old campers from last year. Mathias for sure, Natalie, Taylor (that's whose house I'm staying at) & I think there's a Emily in there, not 100% sure, dude w/ the Zac Efron 'do. Oh! And a girl named Elvia that goes by Beth. I'm probably gonna call her Elvia... Just cause...Idk we'll be in the #GUAT and I feel like it'd be fun... So yeah.
Felt a little segregated when we were sat down in the library of the Y, kinda like we had separated the "20-somethings" away from the high schoolers, while the "real adults/parent-types" kind of intermingled in various places, but it was nothing overwhelming or intentional, it just happened. I also felt super weird cause I was wearing like a pretty deep cut-off T that I'd worn for travel (it was HOT) & didn't want them to get a weird first impression of me. I got over it though. Hopefully no one thought I was weird or anything. Later, we weighed our bags and stuffed random things in them that we would be using both for gifts to the church we'd be serving, and for the crafts we planned on leading the kids in.
Tonight? I just got done playing basketball IN SOMEONE'S HOUSE. That's right, Taylor's parents (Charmagne? Charmain? Charmane? And her husband, Rick, I think, have a basketball gym in their house. Pretty tight. Had a pretty shweet convo with the two of them tonight too in their little upstairs loft area. How do they sleep with that ball bouncing?!?!?!? #CoolParents. Just got off the phone with Bobbie Sue. It's like midnight and our plane takes off at like 5:30 in the AM, so we're getting up BASTANTE (means quite; fav spanish word atm) early, like two, and meeting at the Crossroads office at 2:50. #QueLoco.
Guess I'll get some sleep. Noche!
Well this morning was crazy. I woke up at 5am, in order to get to the University of Tennessee campus (40min away from our hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN) for my second DI performance of the week. We didn't go on until 8:30, but we obviously wanted to be awake. The performance went fairly well, and my improv team decided to do our tada, which is something normally done after our instant challenge (that we'd done the day before) but put off until today. Tiera, my ride to North Carolina, had arrived in Tennessee just in time for the first performance, and was actually able to participate in the second! It was an unscored element, so we were allowed to have anyone we wanted.
That said, we left Knoxville around 1pm (after a good lunch of course) headed for NC. I don't remember much of the first part of the trip because I fell asleep, but the second half we were able to have pretty good convos. We arrived in Boiling Springs around 3:20pm, just under the 4pm deadline to sign in, where I was greeted by old friends: Britt Becker, Colin Mukri, & Dustin Wells. Dustin & Colin were both going on the trip, and I ended up putting my things in Dustin's car, so that Tiera could go on to her destination: Fayetteville, NC.
After signing in officially with the Crossroads office, we were sent to the YMCA, where Justin Brock gave us a rundown of everything to expect, referencing the book we read on Cultural Intelligence & Sensitivity prior to our arrival. We ate some pretty shweet comida too ;). There we also established a number system for each person, to ensure that we never lost anyone. Eddie Stepp, our leader for the week, formally introduced himself, and briefed us on a little more of what we will be doing during the coming week: VBS, manual labor, and "whatever they require of us". So I'm thinking, what exactly are we going to be doing? How will I get to use my Spanish!?? Met a couple of cool-lookin dudes named Reid and Wes. Recognized a couple of old campers from last year. Mathias for sure, Natalie, Taylor (that's whose house I'm staying at) & I think there's a Emily in there, not 100% sure, dude w/ the Zac Efron 'do. Oh! And a girl named Elvia that goes by Beth. I'm probably gonna call her Elvia... Just cause...Idk we'll be in the #GUAT and I feel like it'd be fun... So yeah.
Felt a little segregated when we were sat down in the library of the Y, kinda like we had separated the "20-somethings" away from the high schoolers, while the "real adults/parent-types" kind of intermingled in various places, but it was nothing overwhelming or intentional, it just happened. I also felt super weird cause I was wearing like a pretty deep cut-off T that I'd worn for travel (it was HOT) & didn't want them to get a weird first impression of me. I got over it though. Hopefully no one thought I was weird or anything. Later, we weighed our bags and stuffed random things in them that we would be using both for gifts to the church we'd be serving, and for the crafts we planned on leading the kids in.
Tonight? I just got done playing basketball IN SOMEONE'S HOUSE. That's right, Taylor's parents (Charmagne? Charmain? Charmane? And her husband, Rick, I think, have a basketball gym in their house. Pretty tight. Had a pretty shweet convo with the two of them tonight too in their little upstairs loft area. How do they sleep with that ball bouncing?!?!?!? #CoolParents. Just got off the phone with Bobbie Sue. It's like midnight and our plane takes off at like 5:30 in the AM, so we're getting up BASTANTE (means quite; fav spanish word atm) early, like two, and meeting at the Crossroads office at 2:50. #QueLoco.
Guess I'll get some sleep. Noche!
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