Weekend In Flores Guatemala!

This weekend we were in Flores Guatemala. Our plans for this weekend were to relax from the week of school and to go to Tikal to clime the pyramids in the Mayan Ruins. We took a plane from Antigua to Flores Guatemala. We had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning because our transportation was coming to pick us up at the house at 6:00am. We drove down to the airport station in Guatemala City and waited for our flight at 7:00am. After the flight we arrived at Casona De La Ilsa Hotel we were given the keys to our rooms. As soon as everyone unpacked we all went for a swim in the beautiful tropical scenery pool located in the center of the hotel. Friday was pretty much a relaxing day, we all went out to a beautiful restaurant. All of us ate things that were similar to the food we eat back at home (No it´s not because we miss our home!!). Saturday morning we awoke and met up in the lounge for breakfast at 6:15am. We ate and awaited our tour bus for Tikal. When it arrived we went to Tikal which was about an hour away. Tikal is so beautiful it is all rain forest with big beautiful pyramids that were built many years ago by the Mayans. The tour guide walked us through the rain forest and gave an explanation of all the Mayan pyramids. The pyramids were so beautiful, unique and extraordinary!! I couldn´t believe that I was actually standing on history. We all were also able to clime the tallest pyramid! Although it was very tiring, it was very rewarding. The view was awesome... one could see all of the rain forest and the tips of all the other pyramids. I felt like a god looking over a great deal of my land! It was the greatest feeling being on top everything. I didn´t realize how beautiful the rain forest could be. I didn´t like the idea of being around lots of wild animals, but after seeing the nicer animals like the...... Spider monkeys, Tucans, and nice bright orange Centipedes my feelings changed. The rest of the weekend at Flores was wonderful.

Bienvenidos "Antigua, Guatemala"

Today is day 2, in Guatemala. My first impretion of Guatemala was OMG!! When we arrived to Guatemala City all you could see were beautiful tall buildings, colorful houses, and lots of other businesses (A mini New York). I was so excited, I don't even remember if I was the one who grabbed my luggage. It was kind of scary seeing how tight the secruity was at the Air port, every where we went we had to pull out our passport. Some very kind gentalmen from the Spanish Abroad School helped with our luggeges. During our ride to Antigua I saw many interesting things like the "Chicken bus" that is public transpotation here in Guatemala. They are so beautiful and very colorful, with very unique designs and stickers. Most of the chicken buses were over crowed, but it looked like a normal situation, im guessing it's probably the most popular tranportation option. One of the things that really stood out while riding to Antigua, is how crazy the people were driving. I already knew that the same driving laws that we have in the US are nothing similar to the ones in Guatemala, but it was still shocking. People weren't putting signal lights, speeding, and they didn't really care to much about the people that were crossing. When we arrived at our host families houses, we were all introduced and given a tour of the house. We all went to our rooms and made ourselves at home. After that we all went to walk around and tour Guatemala. It was so beautiful... all the nice colorful houses, big cathedrals, and statues. I couldn't help but take pictures of everything. My finger did not want to get off of the camera. The people didn't seem to be shocked to see us probably because their are many tourist that come here. After having dinner at a beatiful resturant we went back to our homes to get rest for school the next day.

Who am I, Why Guatemala??

Hi, my name is Maxie! I am currently a senior at MetEast High School in Camden, NJ. I’m a curious traveler awaiting a once in a life time trip to Guatemala with some fellow classmates this July. Here is a little about me… I love to play x-box 360 whenever I have a chance. I love first person shooter games like Halo 3/Call of Duty 4 and Car games. I love playing softball. I like to hit the gym once in while to get out the house. I like hanging out with my best friends. Shockingly, I love school to, it’s my home away from home. Most importantly, I love my FAMILY! As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I will be traveling to Guatemala in July to study abroad. I’m really looking forward to this trip, it is a once in a life time experience. Although I am Latina, my Spanish speaking skills aren’t very well. No one really speaks Spanish in my family, I learned on my own. The little that I do know is not proper Spanish. That’s why going to Guatemala to study Spanish will be beneficial to me. Also, we will not only be learning Spanish in another country, but we will learn and live in a different environment and culture. This experience will be an eye opener to most of us, who don’t understand how fortunate we are to live in America. We will meet different people and learn about there culture and life style. This will be by far a very interesting and beneficial trip. I’ve traveled to Puerto Rico last year for the first time and that was a great experience. The experience started from when we were walking through the metal detectors and security at the airport. There was more to my culture that I had no idea existed, until I lived it.

I am looking forward to improving my Spanish speaking skills in Guatemala. Speaking fluent in two languages will be beneficial in the working life in the future. There are many employers’ that search for people who are fluent in more than just one language. I am looking forward to meeting the people from Guatemala. I like learning about new cultures and life styles; I think that Guatemala has lots of new things to teach me. I am looking forward to growing as a person and the way I see things one of the things that I am scared of is not being welcomed into there home. I’m very excited to the volcanos that are in/around Antigua, Guatemala. I don’t know enough about the Mayans, but I do know that they still do exist in certain parts o Guatemala. I really would like to see how do things because I know they don’t have everything that we (Americans) have. How do they washcloths’? How do they get around? Education? Are there certain beliefs in Marriage or relationships? What are common jobs? What do they do for fun? Music? I want to know what they think of America. I wander if they have any questions for me about America? Do they want what we have? Or do they only know what they have?