It has been quite a packed schedule so I’m a little late getting yesterday’s post out, nevertheless, here it is – Friday, June 9, 2023.

Our day started very early, arriving to the airport at 3:00am. There are 38 of us total so getting 38 people and bags checked in and through security was a bit of an adventure but luckily the people at American Airlines opened up a special lane at check in just for our group so that we could all stay together. We flew to Miami where we had about an hour layover, and it is a good thing we had the hour because our connecting flight was on the opposite end of the terminal from where we came in.

There was some weather in Miami so we had a bit of a delay and we were stuck on the tarmac for about 30 minutes before we were able to take off. The only downside of this was they didn’t have the air on in the plane for the first 15ish minutes of the delay and it was very hot on the plane.

We arrived into Guatemala City, made our way through customs without any issues and retrieved all of our bags. We loaded all of the luggage onto one bus and all of us got on a different school bus to start making our way to where the convent is in San Andres. We drove for about an hour before stopping for a late lunch. The place we stopped was a market with several restaurants including McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Little Caesars. I opted for a non-American option and went to a place called Pollo Brujo (which directly translates “Chicken Witch”) the food was great! After lunch we walked around the local grocery store for a little bit.

We then made the rest of the drive (about 30 minutes) to San Andres where we were greeted by the sisters. They are the cutest little things you have ever seen! We all got settled into our rooms just as it started pouring down raining. I sat in a little gazebo and read for a bit and then played Uno with a few of the high school students, Tony (one of our interpreters) and his son Tony Jr.

We had some time before dinner would be ready so we went for a walk up to the town square (about a 10 minute walk). On the walk back home I tested my Spanish skills and chatted with Tony Jr. He knows very little English, and my Spanish is very rusty, but I learned he is a chef and I attempted to explain what an electronic medical record was! When we got back the sisters has dinner ready for us. I definitely will not go hungry on the trip, the food has been amazing! We had chicken, black beans, rice, some sort of soup (maybe a bone or chicken broth of some sort?), bread and TORTILLAS!! The tortillas are heavenly and luckily served with every meal!! 😍 For dessert we had a slice of cantaloupe.

After dinner we were all pretty exhausted so while some of the high schoolers stayed up playing Uno, I went back to my room to shower and go to bed! The rooms are cozy, no air conditioning so a bit warm but it honestly wasn’t bad, I was also pretty exhausted so that helped!

Overall, it was a really great day!

Mileage Tracker:

• 11,078 steps
• 4.69 miles