UNESCO Site: Antigua, Guatemala (8)

The next day, our professor took us up into the hills around the lake (once well clear of the town, we stopped by a nice, dry, sandy patch and set Juan Carlos free). We were heading to a small community which was well-known for its church. She wanted us to see the church, but she also wanted to introduce us to a group of women she’d been working with. Some of the women from surrounding villages gathered at the church to combine their craft-making efforts and form a cooperative. She was working with them to help them market their products to a wider audience, and was hoping to give us a view of life outside of the cities. We had a chance to chat with a few of the women, get a feel for what their lives were like, and basically share an afternoon with a people who lived so differently from us, and yet we found we had more things in common than expected.
The next morning we headed to Guatemala City to catch our flights out. The flight home felt like a time warp, where I had to wrap my head around being back in the big city, in the land of hustle and bustle. I found that I missed the city, but not nearly as much as I would have thought. As a first experience abroad, I couldn’t have done any better. I felt like I’d accomplished my goal with the vast improvement in my language learning, I’d gained a deeper understanding of Guatemalan culture, had some wild adventures, stretched my own boundaries, expanded my perception of myself, and landed myself a new BFF. Not bad for three week’s time. I had a sneaking suspicion this wasn’t going to be my last trip abroad.