I should be packing...

Alright, well here we go again with yet another installment of me going south of the border for some good old-fashioned travel adventures! Guatemala has been on my list for some time now...actually I think the idea was born sometime during last summer's 11-hour bus ride back up from Nicaragua to Costa Rica. It's funny because when I think of countries like Guatemala or Nicaragua, I'm reminded of the 80's where you'd hear these names and think, "Those places sound really dangerous! I'd never want to go there!" But really, from my experiences, these countries are some of the best-kept travel secrets around. Why? They're beautiful, the people are friendly and welcoming, and perhaps the best part...they're CHEAP! Seriously, where else can you get 25 hours of one-on-one language instruction, three meals a day, and room and board for $150 a week?! Honestly, I'll spend less money down there than I would up here. Plus, seriously, what on Earth am I going to do in Stockton for two months besides eat and drink myself stupid?

So I leave tomorrow. My friend Eric is going to take me to the BART station mid-afternoon where I'll fart around until Meis (frat brother, former roommate, and one of the few people in this world who I've known for a long time AND still puts up with me) gets off of work. I figure we'll do dinner (maybe Cha Cha Cha's off Haight?) and then he'll swing me by the airport for my 1:30 AM flight. Speaking of which, last summer's trip was set in motion much the same way, and when I got to the airport a tad bit late (meaning NOT three hours early), they had overbooked the flight. While initially annoyed, this resulted in a $400 voucher being issued and paid for more than half of this trip. I'm hoping I can get lucky and have the same thing happen this time, not to mention the fact that I'm already thinking Peru next summer...

So anyway, that's the deal. If you keep up on FB, you've probably already read that I decided to stay in Quetzaltenango or Xela (pronounced "shay-la) for short. I was initially going to live in Antigua, but I decided that I wanted to be around less tourists and have a slightly different travel experience this summer. Don't get me wrong, hanging out with 20-year-old Dutch girls and the college crowd is nice (even though it makes me feel like a dirty old man), but this summer needs to be all about the Spanish. Right?

Oh, and perhaps you've seen Guatemala in the news recently. They've had a number of natural disaster(ish) things happen lately. First, it was the eruption of Pacaya (one of the many volcanoes, and also the one that I'll be hiking my second weekend there while in Antigua). Then, it was tropical storm "Agatha" (which I think was good timing as it washed away a lot of the ash) and finally, the giant sinkhole that swallowed up a three-story house and, so says my sister, "Goes down to the core of the Earth." I'm going to try and get a picture of it...and maybe even throw a nickel down into it and make a wish. We'll see. People keep asking me if, amidst all of these happenings, I still want to go. My answer? HELL YES! The way I figure, there's a slightly smaller chance of any of these things happening while I'm down there since they already happened. But to say that also disregards the fact that since these are independent events, the risk is always there. But this is MY blog, so I get to make the rules!

I'm including a couple of links below...one of the school I'll be attending and the other has info on the city where I'll be living.

¡Bueno, gracias por leer mi "blog" y hasta luego!

http://www.spanishschool.com/index.php

http://www.xelapages.com/index.htm