Yeah, it's been a fair while, hasn't it?
Well, here's a little update, then!
I'm currently sitting in a hostel in Flores, Guatemala, which is by Lake Petén Itza. It's a beautiful place here, but pretty boring if you have nothing planned or if it's raining, as it is doing now. The hostel has a community area and only part of it is covered. It's really nice, the rain is causing a cool breeze and it feels nice with all the humidity. It's brutally humid here (well, actually, it's not too bad; I'm not used to lots of humidity) and hot. I like the heat, though, and the sun; my tan is coming along quite nicely! I need to work on my legs though, my arms are quite a bit darker than my legs. Wearing pants more than shorts doesn't really help.
Living on the road and out of my backpack is a new and exciting experience for me; I'm loving it so far. I have a small amount of clothing that doesn't even take up half of my backpack, I suppose majority of the space is taken up by books; I packed Anna Karenina and Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller, Bambi by Felix Salten (just found that book in Antigua at a used book store- I was so happy!). I think that's all.. but I'm also packing around my laptop and some liquids, towels and other miscellaneous items. The feeling of having all you need on your back is awesome, I love it so much! I love my pack.
Yesterday, my friend and I went to Tikal to see the Mayan ruins. It was fantastic, we climbed three temples and wandered through the jungle. I was happy to hear that Tikal was George Lucas' inspiration for the Ewok's and the bases on Yavin 4 in Star Wars. I could definitely see the resemblance. The whole forest was amazing, it's seemed so tropical and awesome, it was almost fake. It reminded me of the tropical exhibit in the Calgary Zoo, so that's why I was thinking it didn't feel as real. But everything felt old; the stones had different types of moss growing on them and were black with age, all the plants and trees were huge and had long vines hanging off them. We actually saw some Spider Monkey's in the canopy too! And some.. Pizotes? Yeah, they were so cute. Some British guys were calling them Nose Bears. They make cute little chirping noises and it looked like there were three babies and an adult; I wanted to take one home with me. Yeah, Tikal was a great experience! I was waiting for some dinosaurs to come crashing through or something, too; the whole place reminded me of Jurassic Park. Everywhere down here seems to remind me of it!
So far my travels have been great. I love it down here, but I don't think I'll ever feel really comfortable and truly at ease here. Homesickness has been an issue, but I'm getting a lot better. A lot. I'm feeling really comfortable right now, but that's because I'm talking to people from home. We are heading out sometime today, heading out towards the coast, I'm thinking! Hopefully, we really want to see the ocean.
For the past few days, I've been traveling with a girl I met in Antigua through my other friends. She's so nice, I like traveling with her. My one friend that I came down here to be with went to meet a friend of her's and spend some time with him before he left the country, so we split up for a bit. It was okay, we did just fine without her, but at first I wasn't sure if I was comfortable to travel around without her. But we're fine now, we're all back together.
The rain is crazy here. It's awesome. It's snowing back home. Ha. No regrets.
Rachel
31.1.10
10.1.10
I really need to learn Spanish.
Still no sign of my luggage. I'm getting antsy, I need my backpack so we can leave and go see the country!
Stupid airports. I hate flying and security and everything. It's all too stressful.
So I've been wearing the same clothes for about 4 days now. I just bought some new shirts today, though, so I won't smell too bad, ha.
I'm so excited to go backpacking! Me and two friends are planning to go to Rio Dulce and hopefully the Caribbean coast. That would be awesome. Mannn, it's going to be so fucking sweet.
You know, I don't really mind not having my luggage. I've been getting by pretty well without it.
Ha, I don't really know what to talk about. So far my days have been lazy. We slept in until noon and didn't really leave the hostel until 2 in the afternoon. Wandering the city is pretty fun, we walk at such a slow pace, it's awesome. There's no where we have to be in a hurry so we take our time going everywhere.
Oh, exciting news: our hostel just got hot water today. That is bigggg news for us, me and my friend are so excited. The cold showers are so brutal.
But that's all I have time for. I'm at an internet cafe and my battery is dieing. So off I go!
Rachel
Stupid airports. I hate flying and security and everything. It's all too stressful.
So I've been wearing the same clothes for about 4 days now. I just bought some new shirts today, though, so I won't smell too bad, ha.
I'm so excited to go backpacking! Me and two friends are planning to go to Rio Dulce and hopefully the Caribbean coast. That would be awesome. Mannn, it's going to be so fucking sweet.
You know, I don't really mind not having my luggage. I've been getting by pretty well without it.
Ha, I don't really know what to talk about. So far my days have been lazy. We slept in until noon and didn't really leave the hostel until 2 in the afternoon. Wandering the city is pretty fun, we walk at such a slow pace, it's awesome. There's no where we have to be in a hurry so we take our time going everywhere.
Oh, exciting news: our hostel just got hot water today. That is bigggg news for us, me and my friend are so excited. The cold showers are so brutal.
But that's all I have time for. I'm at an internet cafe and my battery is dieing. So off I go!
Rachel
9.1.10
Hola.
I don't know why blogging seems like a chore right now, I have more than enough to talk about.
Bahhh. I'm tired. Really tired.
Well, I'm in Antigua, Guatemala! After a very long day of flying, I arrived in Guatemala City at around midnight. I wish I could say the same for my luggage... I have been without my stuff for about two days now. I'm sure it's at the airport now, but I need to get an address and phone the airport so they can deliver it to me. Fuckkk.
But navigating the airports was pretty crazy. Especially LAX. Flying over Los Angeles was insane, I've never seen anything like it; it's HUGE. From the coast to the mountains and beyond, it's amazing. I didn't see much of Mexico City, it was dark and raining when I landed there.
I've been getting by with my lack of Spanish pretty well, luckily. I'm going to be taking Spanish lessons for sure though. I think I was the only one on the flight from Mexico to Guatemala who didn't know any Spanish. The stewardess didn't seem to be very nice though.
It's so different here; everything. The city feels like a movie set and has the feel of a mall. The streets are small and cobble stone and full of tourists. People from all over the world, it's neat.
One thing I like is how people greet each other; guys do this hand shake, it's like a grab and slide then pound the fists together; girls hug and kiss each on the cheek. That's how guys greet girls too, the kiss on the cheek. Everyone is so personal here.
You can also walk around drinking in public. And foreigners usually don't get ID'd either.
Listening outside, I hear birds that I'm not familiar with. I've only seen one bird so far though, it was like a magpie or something but with a solid yellow and navy blue mix and without the long tail. Also there is lots of dogs barking; there's quite a few strays running around. There is a Guatemalan family next door and their kids are cute when they start talking in Spanish. Little Spanish speaking children are the cutest.
I want to go out and take pictures but I can't leave the house; my friend didn't leave the keys before he left to go surfing and so if I left, I couldn't get back in. Smooth. There's three volcanoes that surround Antigua and there's quite a scenery around the city. Bah, I want to go take pictures! Tomorrow, I suppose.
I'm going to move into a hostel with my other friend tonight, I think. I don't like having to depend on my friend to let me in and out because he doesn't have an extra set of keys. And there is only two beds and a hammock so someone is always outside.
Ahh, I want my thinggggs. Clothes that belong to me would be nice instead of wearing guy clothes. I actually wore his deodorant yesterday as well since I didn't have any (I now have lady's deodorant, I didn't like smelling like a man). Also, I would like to shave my legs. I'm wearing shorts and I don't like having fuzzy legs with shorts. Ha. Man, I'm just glad I have my camera and laptop; if I didn't have them then I'd lose it for sure. And all my money.
I miss people back home, though. Even though I wanted to come here so bad, I still miss home. I think it's only natural.
90 days.
Rachel
Bahhh. I'm tired. Really tired.
Well, I'm in Antigua, Guatemala! After a very long day of flying, I arrived in Guatemala City at around midnight. I wish I could say the same for my luggage... I have been without my stuff for about two days now. I'm sure it's at the airport now, but I need to get an address and phone the airport so they can deliver it to me. Fuckkk.
But navigating the airports was pretty crazy. Especially LAX. Flying over Los Angeles was insane, I've never seen anything like it; it's HUGE. From the coast to the mountains and beyond, it's amazing. I didn't see much of Mexico City, it was dark and raining when I landed there.
I've been getting by with my lack of Spanish pretty well, luckily. I'm going to be taking Spanish lessons for sure though. I think I was the only one on the flight from Mexico to Guatemala who didn't know any Spanish. The stewardess didn't seem to be very nice though.
It's so different here; everything. The city feels like a movie set and has the feel of a mall. The streets are small and cobble stone and full of tourists. People from all over the world, it's neat.
One thing I like is how people greet each other; guys do this hand shake, it's like a grab and slide then pound the fists together; girls hug and kiss each on the cheek. That's how guys greet girls too, the kiss on the cheek. Everyone is so personal here.
You can also walk around drinking in public. And foreigners usually don't get ID'd either.
Listening outside, I hear birds that I'm not familiar with. I've only seen one bird so far though, it was like a magpie or something but with a solid yellow and navy blue mix and without the long tail. Also there is lots of dogs barking; there's quite a few strays running around. There is a Guatemalan family next door and their kids are cute when they start talking in Spanish. Little Spanish speaking children are the cutest.
I want to go out and take pictures but I can't leave the house; my friend didn't leave the keys before he left to go surfing and so if I left, I couldn't get back in. Smooth. There's three volcanoes that surround Antigua and there's quite a scenery around the city. Bah, I want to go take pictures! Tomorrow, I suppose.
I'm going to move into a hostel with my other friend tonight, I think. I don't like having to depend on my friend to let me in and out because he doesn't have an extra set of keys. And there is only two beds and a hammock so someone is always outside.
Ahh, I want my thinggggs. Clothes that belong to me would be nice instead of wearing guy clothes. I actually wore his deodorant yesterday as well since I didn't have any (I now have lady's deodorant, I didn't like smelling like a man). Also, I would like to shave my legs. I'm wearing shorts and I don't like having fuzzy legs with shorts. Ha. Man, I'm just glad I have my camera and laptop; if I didn't have them then I'd lose it for sure. And all my money.
I miss people back home, though. Even though I wanted to come here so bad, I still miss home. I think it's only natural.
90 days.
Rachel
5.1.10
Only two days left; oh shit.
I leave for Guatemala on Thursday.
Fuck me.
It's very crazy, my body is on the fritz right now- stress has been making me so uptight. Even when I went drinking the other night, I was still feeling stressed; the alcohol didn't seem to help me unwind at all, only exaggerate my stressful moods.
Well, I'm almost there, though.
I booked my flight today, two days before I leave. Leaving that until the last minute was the most stressful thing I did; looking for tickets freaked me out because all the flights were costing at around $1000USD. I lucked out with a $630 flight. That lifted a bunch off of my shoulders.
Packing will be fun with my room being a complete mess. I'll have a bunch to do tomorrow, getting all my shit together.
The airline security going into the US will be a blast with the heightened security measures they're taking. It should be fine, I don't see why I'd have any problems going through customs but it's always stressful going through the checks. They say I can't have any carry-on bags, but I can take my laptop, and camera. Can I take it in a backpack then? Or would that be considered a carry-on? It's kind of confusing, but again, I don't think I'll have that much of a problem with three or so items in a small backpack.
I'm not looking forward to saying good-bye to a few people though.. but I know I'm going to be back in 3 months for sure, so I guess I can say "I'll see you soon/later" or something instead. It still sucks going away.
This is going to be a flippin' gong show.
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen.
Rachel
Fuck me.
It's very crazy, my body is on the fritz right now- stress has been making me so uptight. Even when I went drinking the other night, I was still feeling stressed; the alcohol didn't seem to help me unwind at all, only exaggerate my stressful moods.
Well, I'm almost there, though.
I booked my flight today, two days before I leave. Leaving that until the last minute was the most stressful thing I did; looking for tickets freaked me out because all the flights were costing at around $1000USD. I lucked out with a $630 flight. That lifted a bunch off of my shoulders.
Packing will be fun with my room being a complete mess. I'll have a bunch to do tomorrow, getting all my shit together.
The airline security going into the US will be a blast with the heightened security measures they're taking. It should be fine, I don't see why I'd have any problems going through customs but it's always stressful going through the checks. They say I can't have any carry-on bags, but I can take my laptop, and camera. Can I take it in a backpack then? Or would that be considered a carry-on? It's kind of confusing, but again, I don't think I'll have that much of a problem with three or so items in a small backpack.
I'm not looking forward to saying good-bye to a few people though.. but I know I'm going to be back in 3 months for sure, so I guess I can say "I'll see you soon/later" or something instead. It still sucks going away.
This is going to be a flippin' gong show.
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen.
Rachel
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