Hola!

Hola! I am writing from the office of Máximo Nivel, the wonderful organization that I am going through here. So far, everything has been amazing. Here's a little recap on the full 24 hours that I've been in Guatemala.

I left Easton, MA to head to the airport at 330am on New Years day - did not sleep, and was too excited to sleep once I got to the airport. Had a flight from Logan to Miami, then had a 3 hour lay-over and then I left on a full plane with probably 5 other Americans to head for la Ciudad de Guatemala.  Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala, and from what I've learned not exactly the safest city.  It was a very small airport although it is international, and flying in I remember seeing a soldier walking around with a gun as my plane landed.
          I was pretty nervous getting off of the plane, because that was when it really hit me that no one speaks English. Spanish is such a gorgeous language, and I was overwhelmed listening to the other passengers talking quickly to one another. I was able to pick up a few words here and there, but did not understand any of the full conversations.  I made my way through customs, got my lovely visa stamped onto my passport, and headed outside where I was supposed to look for a representative from Máximo that would be holding a sign with my name on it.
          Outside I go, and lovely; cannot find anyone holding a sign with my name on it. I must've looked extremely confused because an older man who worked for the airport came over to me and was trying to help me, but the language barrier made it difficult.  Luckily, I spotted my name in the crowd of people and mimed that I had found my ride, said "gracias" to him and headed off. My driver was very nice, but he also spoke very little English. He pointed out the sites as we passed them leaving Guatemala City, and enjoyed pointing out the numerous McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Subways along the road to Antigua.
        The scenery we passed on our ride from Guatemala City to Antigua was breathtaking. I sat in awe as we passed through valleys and up mountains, and was astonished to see a volcanoe off in the distance.  There are a few volcanoes surrounding Antigua, which I didn't know until I got here. The largest one is called Volcanoe de Agua and is directly south of the city. The other volcanoe that I have heard about is known as Volcanoe de Fuego, and is an active volcanoe.  Guides have told me that it erupts anywhere from 15 to 25 times a day, which is why people are not allowed to hike up to the very top.  The mountains are nothing like I have ever seen before;  it's really hard to even describe how beautiful the landscape here is so hopefully I'll be able to post a few pictures sometime this week.
        We stopped quickly at Máximo where I got a folder telling me my instructions for my orientation the following morning, and then off to my homestay.  The women who answered the door was not the owner of the house, Olga, but a friend of her's who often helps serve meals to the many volunteers.  She did not speak English either but after miming and my broken Spanish, she gave me two keys; one to the front of the house and one to my room, and then took me to where I was staying. I met the 3 other girls who are sharing my room, and had a relaxing night overall.
        This morning I had an orientation introducing me to Guatemala, Antigua, and the different options for Spanish courses and adventure outings that we can do in the time that we aren't volunteering.  We did a small walking tour of the city, which is fairly small, and then went home for lunch.  The interesting thing about Antigua is that there are ruins from a large earthquake that happened almost 300 years ago still in the city, so I walk past a few of these everyday when I go to Máximo. After lunch was when I finally got to go see the orphanage I'll be working at for the next two weeks.
        This particular orphanage is a Catholic orphanage run by nuns, and almost all of the children there are HIV positive.  There are around 60 kids living in the orphanage ranging from new borns to 12 years old, and the majority of them are boys.  We got a tour of the orphanage, which is aabout 45 minutes out of Antigua, and learned about what sort of work we will be doing.  I'm going to be working in a class room with kids ages 2, 3, and 4 years old starting tomorrow morning.  Two other girls who are working there with me will be dividing time between the nursery and helping to clean and cook.

Thats all that I have time for today, but I will be sure to blog again soon and describe the kids I'll be working with and what a typical day is. But for now, I am off to a salsa class with a few of the friends I've made :)