Pre-trip Jitters

I always get kind of anxious the last few days before I go away.  First of all, I hate packing but at the same time always seem to drag it out over several days which therefore makes it more stressful than necessary.  You would think I’d have it down to a science by now, but no, that hasn’t happened.   There there are the usual worries:  Will I get to the airport on time?  Will my flight be overbooked?  Will my cat be OK without me?  You get the idea.

For this trip, there is additional anxiety related to my plans of studying Spanish and staying with a homestay family.  Because I did this before, in Costa Rica in 2002, and had such a great experience, the bar has been set pretty high.  I spent 8 weeks studying Spanish on that trip.   7 of those weeks were in one school in San Jose where I lived with the most wonderful family.  My two teachers from that school are still friends to this day and my host family continues to treat me like part of their family every time I go back to visit.  I have such wonderful memories of that trip and can’t imagine ever having another experience to equal it.  I also  spent one week at a different school in the beach town of Tamarindo where my experience wasn’t nearly as positive.  I am aware from my own experiences as well as talking to others who have done similar programs that there is a huge range in the professionalism of schools, the quality of teachers, and warmth of the homestay families.    Of course, Guatemala is not Costa Rica  (despite their geographic proximity), 1 week is barely enough time to even get acclimated, and private classes (which I am doing this time) are very different from group classes (which I took last time).   So I really need to go with an open mind, without expectations or preconceived ideas, and see this as a totally new adventure.  

A new thing to worry about it this blog!  Will I  have time  to write in Guatemala?  Will I find convenient internet access?  And is anyone even reading this?  Just in case anyone is, I will make a great effort to  write at least a short post soon after arriving.

Hasta luego!

Off to Guatemala…

This blog is a bit of an experiment and I have no idea what will happen.  Let me start with some background.  Whenever I travel (and that is quite a bit) I keep a journal which I rarely share with anyone.  Since I enjoy reading other people’s blogs and all kinds of writing about travel, I decided to see how writing my own  travel blog  will work out.

On Saturday  I am heading to Guatemala.  Last year my friend Carolina and I made plans to travel there during Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Another friend of her’s, David, and his friend Natascha also joined us.  I had a great time and loved the country, but just prior to that trip I had  discovered the joys of travelling alone, so during the time I was there, I kept thinking that it would be wonderful to return to Guatemala by myself and discover it in a different way.   A few months ago I happened to find a great deal on airfare and was inspired to book a return visit for May 2009.  Always on a quest to improve my Spanish, I will be doing 20 hours of private 1-1 lessons and a homestay  in the colonial city of Antigua.  My enitre trip is just a week (Saturday to Saturday) and probably my biggest fear is that it just isn’t enough time!  But that’s all I can take off from work right now, so it will just have to do!