Today started as another travel day. We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel in Miami before heading to the airport. We made it through TSA and found our gate, where we had plenty of time to wait and we even met up with some of the Energy Systems Engineering students before they left for Costa Rica. At around noon, we had a quick lunch and boarded the plane. Thankfully, I had volunteered to be in the emergency exit row so I had a little extra legroom for our flight. After about 2.5 hours in the air, we finally landed in Guatemala.
This is my first time visiting another country so I wasn’t sure what to expect. When we entered the airport we each filled out a simple form about where we were coming from and what we would be doing while in Guatemala. Going through immigration and customs was a lot more simple than I would’ve thought and we made it through very quickly. Guatemala City is divided into zones and we took a bus from Zone 14, where the airport was located, to our hostel in Zone 10.
At Quetzalroo Hostel, we met the owner, Marcos, got into our rooms, and had a quick meeting to go over some health and safety precautions. Marcos suggested we go on a walk to try what is known as the best coffee in Guatemala. After about 2 miles of walking, we made it to El Injerto and did our best to order in Spanish, which many of us struggled with. We all agreed that the coffee was definitely worth the walk. On the way back, Marcos told us some things about the economy in Guatemala City including the biggest industry, which is actually call centers for things like internet and cable access. We also discussed the minimum wage, which recently increased by about 10% and is now slightly over $500/month.
After walking back to the hostel, we had some time to get our things ready for tomorrow and then sat down for dinner. We had Pepián de Pollo, a traditional Guatemalan dish consisting of chicken, vegetables, and spices. We also had a hibiscus drink and freshly made tortillas. I am an extremely picky eater so I was nervous to try something that looked so different from what I am used to. However, I definitely enjoyed it and am excited to keep trying new foods. During dinner, we discussed the differences in the culture of food preparation, like how all of the ingredients for our dinner were bought fresh from a market this morning and food is rarely stored for more than a day.
We ended the night with a quick meeting to go over how everything went today and our schedule and expectations for tomorrow.
Written by: 3/C Makynzi Sprague