He was only gone for about five minutes though because I soon realized I was in the wrong terminal. He circled back around and we threw my bags back into the car. Now I was no longer on time. We headed for the domestic terminal and as we got closer, signs revealed there were like three of those [panic levels rising].
"I HAVE NO IDEA, I have no idea, Jon. Just pick one. Just stop drop me off somewhere!" We pulled up and pulled the bags out of the car again. Quicker hug this time. It still ended up being the wrong terminal. I had to run to the right one. But I arrived to my gate with five minutes to spare before boarding time.
Phew.
For a few minutes, I held on to the hope that there was going to be an empty seat in between myself and this other guy. What a joke. Some dude came running onto the plane last minute, and of course, the empty seat was his. He was a little sweaty and smelled like fast food. But his name was Rajesh, and if you're thinking Big Bang Theory "Raj," you're pretty much on track- minus the extreme nerdiness.
Anyway. Rajesh told me all about his crazy morning and how he almost missed the flight. He asked about my morning, my destination, etc. We ended up talking the whole flight. I learned about the best casinos in Fort Lauderdale, the best bars in the airport, and advice with each of those ("Some people get drunk and don't know what they are doing. They act crazy and make very bad decisions." "If you go to a casino, take the first winnings you get; don't stay for more."). He asked about tourist destinations in Alabama (uhh...?) and told me he already had the Space museum and Talladega on his list. I told him that was pretty much it. He was cool, super polite, and made the flight go by really quickly. I really love meeting people who are good talkers!
On my second flight, I ended up right in the middle of a Guatemalan family that lived in Mississippi. I let their kid have my window seat ticket so they thanked me about a hundred times. I ended up sitting by the mom. It took me about fifteen minutes to work up the courage to talk to her in Spanish, and when I finally did, I was so glad. She was so kind. We talked about her family and mine. When I told her my name, her eyes got wide and she told me it was too hard to pronounce. We decided after talking for a bit that I might need to change it to something different for my trip.... (Suggestions, anyone? The prospect of getting to rename myself for two months is pretty exciting.) When the plane started moving, she bent over to pray and I listened in "Guard my children. Guard my husband..." As soon as the plane touched the ground, she was thanking the Lord.
When we landed, she told me that the airport was a little dangerous, I just needed to keep moving as best I could. She told me to stick close to her and her family through customs and getting my luggage. They were so precious. Another family near us on the plane was traveling from the airport to Xela as well. The mom told me that city was very dangerous and said if the family I was waiting on wasn't there to pick me up, I could ride with them to Xela. I don't know if I would have taken them up on the offer, but their kindness touched me.
Luckily, amidst the chaos of the airport, the Lastrapes were waiting! After getting my luggage to the car, we went to a store called PriceSmart, which is like a Guatemalan Costco. Prices are so expensive here. I'm talking $13-for-a-jar-of-peanut-butter expensive.
After PriceSmart, we drove on the windiest roads I've ever been on. People drive crazy fast and motorcycles are constantly zipping by in between cars. We stopped at an Italian restaurant to eat lunch, and the food was so good. I ordered carbonara (fettuccine alfredo), and I could only eat about a third of it, but it was delicious!
After that, we drove a ridiculously windy road up a mountain. We started to see little shops on the side of the road with beautiful woven items and pottery. We saw men and women in traditional Mayan dress- which is super colorful. It all made me so exciting to get out and explore the city!
The Lastrapes have been so kind- answering my many questions and telling me about Xela. They set up a meeting with the woman who is going to be my teacher at the school, so I will meet her tomorrow and they will take me to the school! I cannot wait!
Also, check out the Lastrapes' beautiful garden that is inside their front door.
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