Guatemala - really

OK, Guys. I already have enough yeses to inspire me to do a blog. I would love your comments and suggestions about what you want to know and hear about. This is all new to me.

Here's a link to some beautiful photos of the Atitlán region, where I'll be heading:
http://gocentralamerica.about.com/od/topattractions/ig/Atitlan-Gallery/SPLLVista.htm
I'm not much of a photographer and there are tons of beautiful photos of Guatemala, so anything I add will probably be pictures of people I meet.

Our adventure, due to bad weather, continued last night. After midnight, when the airline found us rooms and transportation, we were bussed an hour to San Salvador to spend the night (or at least part of it) at the Sheraton. When we got there after 1:00am, we were offered a buffet with especially great desserts. As one man said, "I can't resist free food," so we dug in and ate and talked until 2:30. Wake-up calls were at 5:00, and after a huge breakfast buffet, we were on our way back to the airport by 6:30, on the plane by 8:00, and in Guatemala City by 8:30.

The whole experience was like being at camp, including the not sleeping part, and we parted fondly and sadly this morning. Some people especially touched me. There was an older (than me) man from Italy who valiantly tried to speak Spanish and/or English and/or Portugese to the rest of us. We all had a hard time understanding much of anything he said, and in fact I was never certain whether he was speaking Spanish, Portugese, or Italian, or maybe a combination. He seemed disoriented and perhaps unwell, so we all took him under our wings and helped him through.

I met a family from Guatemala in Houston, and by the time we got to the hotel last night, we were on hugging terms. The mother commented at one point, "La gente en Guatemala es muy friendly," and I both agreed and enjoyed her code switching, the first of many occurrences in conversation during our adventure since almost everyone I talked with spoke both Spanish and English.

I met a man named Patrick who is from the US and has been in Guatemala for 25 years working on human rights issues, in particular human trafficking. He invited me to a "Congreso" about this topic next week in Antigua and suggested that I think about coming to work with one of his (many) projects if nothing gels in Atitlán. His websites are:
http://www.itemp.org/ and http://www.congreso08.com/ (in Spanish).
He seemed, at first blush, to be one of the most intense and high energy people I have ever met, but even he was overwhelmed by our adventure. He started to tell me about the conference Wednesday through Friday and ended up describing Monday's events. It took me a minute to realize that HE was the confused one, and he graciously accepted my teasing. Patrick has a remarkable grasp of political and social issues in Guatemala, and I think he will be a great resource. One woman this morning called him an "institution."

I met a woman named Gladys and a man named Otto, both from Guatemala. Last night at the airport Otto downlaoded Skype on my computer so Gladys and I could make phone calls. That was the spirit of the evening.

One of the flight attendants took it upon himself to correct my Spanish and teach me some as well, so I had a temporary replacement for my very strict teacher, Jesús. As it turned out, he and the other flight attendants had done this diversionary maneuver to El Salvador two days in a row because this is apparently the start of hurricane season, but they were as good natured as everyone else.

Now I am at my hotel, listening to hard hard rain. The bird who was wolf whistling periodically out on the patio for over an hour has stopped. It is cool and damp here, so no one needs to worry about my being too hot or, if you like hot weather, envy me either! Soon I will have lunch with the family who owns the hotel, and then I'll try to rest and gather my thoughts for my trip to Atitlán. To echo my friend, Lori, who is in Istanbul as a result of our pact to help each other get to exotic places this summer, I plan to stay here the rest of my life. However, that may change in a few minutes. Who knows?

Many blessings to all of you.