You Say Goodbye, And I Say Hello

Hola!

Have spent the morning lurking around our hotel here in Antigua (Guatamala) giving goodbye hugs and promising to keep in touch-- the first section of this trip is over. Of the 8 people from our group who are leaving, none of them are going straight home. The Chicago teachers are staying in Guatamala City. The Sweeties (Swedish couple) are going to Mexico. Team Canada is going to Belize for 10 days. Lisa is taking a private trip to Tikal. It is her I will miss the most, though I will most likely be seeing her again tomorrow, as she is going to stay for two days in the next place we are going. Wherever that is. On the first day of this trip we were given an itinerary for the fist 17 days. Now we are technically ¨starting over¨ and I have no idea where we are going. It´s okay though, it´s an adventure. I have clean laundry and three new CDs of burned pictures, and am ready to handle anything. Now a little something I have been working on...




You Know You´re In Central America When...

-The first question you ask about a new hotel is ¨Do they have power?¨
-The grass is cut with machetes
-5 vehicles fit in 2 lanes
-Showers have two temperates, icy and boili... wait it´s icy again
-The only english on television is CNN and Law and Order
-You have to wrestle your bag away from people at bus stations
-Ice cream make an excellent breakfast
-The horses are thinner than you are

-A truck stop is a hammock suspended underneath a truck on the side of the road
-Rice, beans and avacado.
-¨Yo, mummy, I love you!¨ is used as a pick-up line
-Every rock is decorated with political symbols
-Trucks, Buses, Vans, Rick Shaws, Motorized Rickshaws, Bikes and Horses belong on the road together
-The bus driver honks and waves at the driver of every passing car
-You twist your ankle walking down the sidewalk
-The centre of every town is a church
-You check all beds for bugs before getting in to them
-All prices come in American dollars first
-You fear the only Spanish words you´ve learned are chicken and bathroom
-The term ¨chicken bus¨ makes sense to you, terrifyingly so


This list covers several countries, so may not (do not) apply to everywhere. Still.