Safe and Sound

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Dear Friends,

I´ve arrived in Guatemala safe and sound. I´m living with Lizzie (my traveling companion)´s homestay family from the last time she was here. Our trip has just begun, and it has so far been uneventful. We arrived in Quetzaltenango (Xela) after 8 hours of air and bus travel. Our stay in Guatemala City was short, as we caught the 8:30 bus to Xela, despite being ripped of by the cab driver onthe way to the station. However, without a real point of reference for prices here, this is to be expected.

After arriving, we met the family, and spent the night. I clearly know ZERO spanish. Perhaps the structure of my last trip led me to believe English was more spoken there than here, but regardless, English speakers are quite few and far between. Consequently, as my homestay mother, Bilma, put it, Lizzie´s spanish ability is Bueno Para Ti, ¨Good for me.¨ We got lost wandering Xela yesterday, but that was our plan. This afternoon we plan to go to a fiesta in a small town near here, and hope to see some other highland towns this weekend before we head out to the coast.

Wish us luck! I will write again in about a week´s time to chronical my adventures. Until then, thank you all for you responses and letters of good will, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love,
Carl

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