first moments

hola!

i´m safely at the hotel backpackers - a youth hostel 20 minutes up the river from the orphanage. i flew out of chicago at 5.30 am yesterday, stopped in houston, arrived in guatemala city at 1 pm. my first glimpse of the country side from the plain was breath-taking, literally. the clouds parted for a moment and lush greens and raw browns showed amazingly dynamic mountains with small towns on their tops looking like silver icing. taxi to bus stop and 6 hours later i was dropped at the huge bridge that spans the rio dulce (that´s the "sweet river" for non-spanish amigos). great friend patty McC recorded my favorite guitar riff that he composed and i listened to it as i began the trip - it was a wonderful moment combining home and adventure. the bus ride was beautiful, the terrain here is all the more enthralling because darling chicago is so flat! we stopped for a meal and i had roast chicken with rice and salsa, and fried plantains with creme fraiche. pretty great for a truck stop - i think i´m going to like it here...

i arrived in the pouring rain and they quickly brought a volunteer down who speaks english. there are 3 other girls who have started over the last 10 days. we all work 2 weeks at the hostel in the restaurant/bar before we move over to the casa. volunteers from the casa come to the hostel for after-dinner drinks on wednesdays and saturdays so i met a couple of them last night - of course, very nice people.

i´m about to head across the bridge into "town" - fronteras or el relleno - not sure which. my first shift will be at 3 this afternoon and go to 11. already i´ve begun to experience the latin culture so working tonight will be fun. within moments of sitting down last night i was shaken hands with, kissed, told i was beautiful, complimented on my teeth, and invited to go dancing. friendly doesn´t begin to cover it!

apparently the internet doesn´t always work so i will be posting as often as possible.

i´m already missing home, but as i fell asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof above my head, and the breeze blowing through the screens that serve as walls, i was and still am, very hopeful.

love and peace to you

s