Guatemala 2009!

In my last post (9 months ago!) I told you that I would be returning to Guatemala the summer of 2009 and that Dave would be coming with me. Thanks to a nice-sized tax return and some incredibly priced airline tickets, it's really happening! We'll travel for two weeks and be based in Quetzaltenango (also called Xela) the whole time.

This time Dave will serve as a "guest contributor" for the blog, which means you'll have the pleasure of reading what we both think about the experience. Here are some things we're each looking forward to and are a little anxious about:

Dave - Ok well i dont know about being anxious but i am starting to get a wee bit excited.
We have a lot to do before saturday yet. I have a feeling that i am going to get a first hand experience on what some of my spanish speaking workers feel like. Not being able to speak for myself will be a unique experience. Megan will give you good details i will give you what will be currently on my mind at the time.

Megan - In contrast to Dave's "wee bit" of excitement, I am near giddy with excitement! I'm looking forward to showing Dave some of my favorite places and having him meet my Guatemalan friends. Our host family will be Pedro Muñoz' family. Pedro was my teacher last summer when I attended ICA, and we became good friends. It will be great to see him again. I also can't wait to stand in awe at the sight of volcano Santa Maria again. I'm anxious about not being able to plan out every single detail ahead of time. I'm not someone who is comfortable with a high level of uncertainty, but I'm attempting to deal with not knowing everything right now. I'm also nervous about my ability to translate everything for Dave. It will definitely be great practice!

Here's a brief outline of our itinerary:
May 9 - fly from Chicago; spend the night at the Casa de Familia Bed & Breakfast in Guatemala City
May 10 - five hour bus ride through the mountains from Guatemala City to Quetzaltenango (also called Xela)
May 11-15 - attend ICA Language School; we'll do excursions with the school half of the day and have five hours of Spanish language lessons during the other half!
May 16-18 - free days; we'll probably do some short day trips or just hang out in the city
May 19-21 - spend two nights at Takalik Maya Lodge, where we'll celebrate Dave's 34th birthday!
May 22 - say good-bye to Xela and take the bus back to Guatemala City
May 23 - fly back home

If you would like more background info about Guatemala, Xela, or ICA Language school, read my blog entry from last year as I was preparing to leave.

We'll have quite an audience of readers for the blog this year. I loved reading your comments last year, so don't be shy!