el 21 de julio 2011

I woke up at 4:30 and finished packing my suitcase. The bus arrived at 5:05. The morning was warm and dark. There were only three other people on the bus. I was the last person to be picked up. As we drove to the airport, I chatted a bit with the other girls. When we arrived at the airport, I went to the money changing place to see about changing my lempiras into dollars or quetzales, but the rate was horrible (about 28 lempiras for one dollar instead of the current rate of 19-20 lempiras per dollar). I decided to wait. When I tried to check my suitcase, the woman asked me if I had coffee in my carry-on. I did because it is a heavy item, but she told me I had to put it in my checked bag. I am not quite sure why. I went through security after eating my apple and juice box. I found my gate and wrote my journal on the computer for more than two hours before boarding the plane. Our bags were inspected one last time on the way to the plane. The plane left at 9:45 from Guatemala City. I had tea with sugar, and I didn’t like it that the stewardess spoke to me only in English, although she was speaking Spanish with the Guatemalan passengers. We arrived in Dallas at 2pm after a flight of 3 hours. I went through customs and security without a problem. I talked to Tammy and my mom. We entered the plane, but before we took off, the pilot informed us that there was a tiny problem with the plane and the mechanic had to come and check it out. We waited a half hour and I used my phone to text Tammy and my family. Finally, we left and I wrote in my journal and took notes from my Debbie Diller math stations book. I arrived in Chicago and found my suitcase. I called Tammy and she came in and helped me with my suitcase. We had to run quickly to where Brennan had parked because it was only a loading zone, not a parking area. It was wonderful to be at Tammy’s house with her. Laura arrived and we were together for the first time since December 12. It is so fantastic that Tammy and I get to spend six days together before she heads off to Costa Rica!