Day 1: March 11, 2020

Despite having to arrive at the airport at 4 am to take a connecting flight to Guatemala City, we could not be more EXCITED! For some, this was their first international flight, which made it even more special. When we finally arrived in Guatemala, one of our classmates was stopped by customs due to bulky, suspicious-looking items. Little did security know, they were just orthotics to donate to Las Obras. After recruiting all our Spanish speaking classmates to convince security they were just medical items, we were still not allowed to take them with us. Don’t worry though, we did get our classmates back.

Next up was our journey from Guatemala City to Antigua, which is where we were staying. After surviving the crazy drivers and the cobblestone roads we made it to our beautiful home for the next 8 days. We were blown away walking in and realizing that we had this huge house with an interior corridor open to the outdoors. Waiting for us was also a home-made Guatemalan lunch of chicken stew, guacamole, salsa, rice and tortillas. We discussed the schedule for the week with the faculty and could not be more excited about the upcoming service opportunities that are ahead.

To end our day, Lisa helped get us acquainted with the city by taking us to the main square, Las Obras and a grocery store to get food for the week. We consider our afternoon a success as no one got lost returning home for the night! We are looking forward to getting started with service activities soon, stay tuned!

Austin & Mara