I woke up around 4:15 and couldn't really get back to sleep. I tossed and turned waiting for Amber to wake up. The heavy metal doors are so noisy that I didn't want to wake up Amber and Katie. However, Amber never got up at 5. We ended up sleeping (ish) until almost 6. I got up and got ready. We went down with Sanne to buy bread. We got sweet bread (pan de mantequilla), galletas (cookies), and cubiletes (muffins). When we got back upstairs, the Rufinos were there. They did not want the bean soup they were served until we put crema and cheese on it. We all were eating it, too. I found a rock in my portion and bit down on it. I think my tooth is okay. I also had a salsa-sized jar of coffee (they use glass jars to drink out of because there are not enough cups or mugs), the rest of my strawberry soy milk, and some bread. Then I finished getting ready and Amber checked my hair for lice. I have tried to be careful to keep my hair away from children as much as possible and have worn it in a ponytail every day to school. Still, lice are a big problem with the children and most of the long-term volunteers (except Amber) have had lice. I also checked my email and my school email and set up a shared Dropbox folder for Amber and me so we can more easily share resources. I looked at Amber's Guatemala photos which are nicely organized in folders while Amber gave me a shoulder massage. I finished packing up and then we worked on setting due dates for Amber's curriculum project. I ate my chocolate soy ice cream which was good and kind of icy but did not really taste like ice cream. I said goodbye to Auralia who is the sweet grandmotherly woman who cleans the school. I took a picture with her and then she took one of Amber and me. I brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom and then Rachel showed up. I grabbed my stuff and we went downstairs to get our taxi. They have a favorite taxi driver who was going to drive us to the airport. He was not there when we went down so Rachel went to tell Lukas something and then he showed up. He loaded my backpack in the back and I lingered with Amber who was talking to Estella. We said goodbye and Rachel showed up and we were off. We talked in English for most of the ride. I think Luis must have left the windows open when it rained because the back seat was soaked. I noticed when I got in that he had a bath towel on the seat, but his car looked fairly new so I thought he was just trying to protect the seats. However, partway to the airport, I realized that the back of my pants were damp. I picked up my bag that was sitting on the seat, and it was damp, too. I held it on my lap the rest of the way to the airport, but there was nothing I could do about my jeans. It took about 40 minutes to get to the airport because there was a lot of traffic. Wen we got there, Rachel told Luis when she was coming back so he could pick her up. Then we said goodbye and Rachel and I went to check in. She was flying Spirit and I was flying United. The Guatemala City airport is not that big. Our ticket counters were actually right next to each other. My line took much longer, but we had plenty of time. I remembered at the last minute that you are supposed to put coffee in your checked luggage. I put it in the water bottle pocket on the side of my big backpack which was covered by the rain cobpver. When I got to the counter, they told me they would put it in a large plastic bag for more protection. Rachel waited while I filled out my departure form and then we went through security together. We walked through the whole terminal (20 gates or so) looking for a place for Rachel to get a sandwich or something. The prices were high by Guatemala standards, but she decided on a bagel with crema. I sat with her while she ate it and then we went to the bathroom and on to our separate flights. It was perfect that we could ride together and hang out until it was time to go. We couldn't have planned it better!
I sat next to a really old man. Later I found out he is 92! He and his wife live in Guatemala and they were going to visit their children in Texas, Florida, and Tempe. They get to fly free since their son works for United. They live at the end of the runway in Guatemala City. At first I did not know if he was Guatemalan or American. Later I found out that he and his wife have lived in Guatemala for 50 years and before that they lived in Peru and Nicaragua. He was originally from Minnesota and she was from Quebec which is where they met. They are U.S citizens and still have to leave the country every 3 months like tourists, but they just come to the States every 2 months and stay for 2 months and then repeat. He said that he would like to just stay in Guatemala but his wife wants to go to the U.S. to see their children. They have 7 kids all of which live in the U.S. he worked in mining, mostly gold. Now his son owns two mines, one in Mexico and one in northern Arizona. He was a fascinating man. He told me about the leader of Nicaragua and how he came to a dance they had at the mining town. When they lived in Peru, his wife was about to have their first kid and because the elevation was 15,000-17,000 feet, she had to stay in Lima until the baby was six months old. He recommended an author if I like to read biographies in Spanish. He gave me his business card and told me to contact him if I come back to Guatemala and he and his wife will invite me to lunch at the aviation club. He was incredibly with-it for 92 and he said his wife is in better shape than him!
When we landed, I hurried as fast as I could to get to border patrol and start going through the line. For some reason I had it in my mind that my next flight was at 5:40. As I entered the line, I saw a woman ahead of me who looked like Natanya. As I went closer, I saw it was her! Se had left Guatemala City at 7am, flown to Managua, and then on to Houston! What a coincidence, not only that we were at the same airport but also that we were in the border control line together. I talked to her more than I did the entire week at UPAVIM! We took a picture together. I was resigned to missing my plane when I double-checked my boarding pass and it said the boarding time was 5:40 and the flight didn't leave until 6:25. I was much relieved. I felt silly that I had gotten confused. I grabbed my backpack that was inside a plastic bag for protection (which meant that I had to carry it like a baby) and hustled through customs. I met back up with Natanya after security. I had forgotten to charge my cell phone before leaving Guatemala and it was nearly dead, so I wanted to find an outlet to charge it so I could contact Tammy when I landed in Chicago. I found one and Natanya hung out with me until it was time to board my plane. I walked to my gate about 20 minutes before departure and was surprised that they had not started boarding yet. I stood near the counter and after a few minutes, I asked if they had already boarded and they had. I got to walk right onto the plane. The plane was fairly empty. I found my seat next to an older Latina woman. She pointed at my window seat and looking questioningly at me. I assumed that she didn't speak English. As I sat down, I said something to her in Spanish. She immediately lit up and we started a conversation that did not end until we landed at O'Hare. She is from Honduras and her name was Adela. She doesn't speak any English and she was very nervous about flying and that she would get lost when we arrived. I translated for her to help her get a drink and we talked about all kinds of things. She told me that she had prayed that God would send an angel to help her on her journey and that she thought that He had sent me. She was very sweet. When we got to Chicago, I helped her carry her suitcase on the way to the baggage claim. She was terrified of going on the escalator and there were two escalators that we had to go on with no option for stairs. I went ahead because I did not realize that she was afraid and I wondered if she was going to be able to muster up the courage to come down. She did and survived the experience. When we got to the baggage claim, we found her good-looking son (who is married and has a daughter). Tammy called right as she was trying to introduce me. Her son was very appreciative of the help I gave his mom. I said goodbye and went to find my backpack. It took a while to appear but it came out without any wear and tear. Tammy met me in my car outside the baggage claim. It was wonderful to see her again. It was a great ending to a fabulous trip!
