Day 1: Special Needs After School Program

Hello everyone! This is going to be a quick post because I am currently sneakily stealing someone's Internet because I don't want to pay a dollar per minute! That's actually a ridiculous price. But today was such a fantastic day. This morning I had orientation and the tour guide took us around Antigua! Probably the coolest thing he told us is that there is a city of tunnels under the actual city! The nuns used it back in the early 1900s to travel in between the 70 cathedrals! Only 25 are in operation today. After our tour we went to a special needs after school program. This was easily the most magical moment of my life. Not only did I and the group of volunteers I was with receive the loveliest welcome from screaming kids but the entire day all the children were so excited to have us there. I was probably equally excited or more! We organized a few games like musical chairs and a balloon popping game. One of the cutest parts was when the kids put on a talent show for us. All the little girls dancing had so much sass; it was fantastic!! When we left though, I thought my heart was going to break. Maria, the little girl I worked with, wouldn't let go when we were hugging and it was just so heartwarming. It was truly a wonderful experience. Melissa and I did manage to get a run in today and the scenery here is like nothing I've ever seen :)

Ana is so full of life!

Taught Maria how to take a selfie! Success.

Day 1ish: Exploring!

After about 7 hours of traveling me and my friend Melissa finally arrived in Guatemala around 12:30pm CST and arrived at our homestay in Antigua at 1:30pm CST. Our homestay mother is Olga and she is the sweetest woman, but speaks absolutely no English! While I can speak a little Spanish, it is safe to say that I sounded like a complete silly goose! Buuuut, I'm taking the opportunity to improve. Melissa and I are staying with 2 other people from Long Island who are also doing the program. After settling in we took the opportunity to go explore the surrounding area. Apparently Antigua is 75% tourism so there are a lot of people out and about.The area is beautiful because the streets are cobblestone, the houses are all gorgeous pastel colors, and there are tropical flowers everywhere! Whats really astounding are the over 30 cathedrals, which are all intricately carved and designed. Walking around Antigua reminds me a little of India, but the area is definitely more developed and cleaner. The people here are unbelievably friendly and have a lot of patience when it comes to annoying tourists who cant speak Spanish! We went to the park today and there were so many beautiful fountains and flowers and people were just having a good time. There are also SO many street  vendors who are super sneaky and try to get you to impulse purchase things from them. To be honest, if I had any of the currency, the Quaetzal, I totally would have been suckered in! Here are some pictures I took today!

Tomorrow!

Hey! So I'll be in Guatemala for the next 2 weeks volunteering in an orphanage about 45 minutes outside of Antigua. I am super excited and decided to create a blog so my family and friends know I am still alive and kicking. Also, it seems like a creative way to document my experiences and urge people to volunteer! Volunteering, even if it is something small, is a great way to spend time and is truly very rewarding. Keep visiting my blog and I'll tell you all about my time in Guatemala :)