Claire Joseph - Guat’s Up Guatemala

Guatemala is nothing compared to my expectations. I walked off the airplane into the scorching airport and I looked around as we walked towards customs. The only thing that worried me the most was that there was no one else there besides the 26 other people that made up Junior Journey and the employees that took their places behind their stands. I walked out into the street and took my first breath of Guatemalan air. The way to explain the air? Fresh. New. From this point on and within the next 3 weeks, I will be away from home, away from close friends and family, and away from the life I once lived back in the United States.

The school bus pulled up and we loaded all of our bags onto the back and sat in our seats, preparing ourselves for the bumpy ride yet to come. The bus began to move, and once we entered into the light, I immediately saw how beautiful the scenery of Guatemala was. The massive mountains behind  the small houses were impossible to miss despite all of the other beautiful distractions that my eyes continued to see as we drove closer and closer towards Antigua, and farther and farther away from the place that gives me the ability to make my way back home. As the bus continued to move, I began to notice the little things that aren’t seen much back at home such as the armed guards at almost every doorstep, small fruit vendors at the end of every block, and a smile on all of the faces the bus drove past. The smiles reminded me of Haiti. The people are carefree and are simply enjoying life. The bus stopped suddenly and Mr. Martinez stands up and announces that we have arrived in Antigua. Here we go, I think to myself. This is the start to something great.

I stepped out of the bus onto the cobblestone along with my housemates. After the struggle of finding my luggage at the back of the bus, we finally began to make our way through the streets of Antigua, closer and closer to my new home for the next 3 weeks. After a couple of minutes of dragging my suitcases over the lovely (but bumpy) cobblestone, we stopped and the door opened wide. A small, cute, old woman stood in the doorway with a huge smile on her face and she said, “¡Hola, Bienvenidos!”. It was at that point that I realized… Junior Journey has finally began.