Well, S Squad has finally made it! We're here! We were all really ready to hit the road on the 4th day of training camp. So, bright and early Sunday morning, it was finally time. We were told to be up and ready/packed by 3:30am to head to the airport. Hah. Any of you who know me right now are giggling to yourselves knowing how thrilled I was about that. So, because I still had to pack my day pack…and it was midnight by the time we got to our rooms, I just decided to pull an all nighter with my roommates. So, we played some music, packed, realized about 45 mins before our wakeup call that an all nighter was a stupid idea…and brought our stuff downstairs to the lobby. At this point, I was exhausted…Lugging around a huge pack and day pack…not to mention a hefty purse…
The bus came and picked us up in three groups…and soon we were trudging through the airport carrying, scooting, and dragging out bags across the massive terminal to check in. I weighed mine, came in at 49.5lbs (PRAISE JESUS) and went through security with my team. At this point, future racers, you will feel nothing but adrenaline. I know for me at the time…it was like 4:30am and dude. ANY other morning I would legit be in a mini coma. Thankfully, it was time for Coffee and breakfast after we found our gate. When I say coffee, I mean a double shot venti iced coffee. Soon, thankfully, we boarded the plane. And after sitting in my seat and laying my head down on my pillow pet, I don't remember ANYTHING. I was out! It seemed like as soon as I fell asleep at take off, we were landing in Miami. We had about a two hour layover in Miami. I took the time to FaceTime one last time with my mom and Jacob and eat some lunch. Then it was time to turn off my phone service. WEIRD. I can't tell you how weird it was walking down to the plane…walking through the doors of the gate to the entrance of the plane…my last steps in America for at least three months (Most likely will have a layover in LA before hitting Southeast Asia). My heart was racing. It was so surreal. I didn't sleep that flight…I watched below us as the last little bits of America disappeared behind us, and the blue water of the ocean took it's place below.
My mind was everywhere as we flew closer and closer to Guatemala. I prayed that this month would be something that stretched me as a person…little did I know exactly what he had in mind. We began to descend. I looked out the window at the incredible mountains. What was fear was now excitement. It felt right…like I was landing exactly where God wanted me. Once on the ground, the airplane passed little shacks…shacks of people who had no home. All it consisted of was metal walls and a metal roof…covered in tarps and garbage. My heart was broken for these people already. And I hadn't even left the plane. We walk into the airport, go through customs, and soon I am seeing…smelling…and living what I have prepared SO long for. Right away little girls dressed in beautiful traditional Guatemalan clothing come up to us with an arm full of flutes…playing them and asking us to buy one. Their eyes sparkled. I literally wanted to cry they were so beautiful. It was really hard not to buy one! Their mom was in the corner of making more flutes watching closely to make sure her daughters were doing the work they were told to do. It made me angry. These girls should be playing. These girls should have to worry about nothing but waking up and playing with their dolls.
Soon, 4 buses pulled up to the front of the airport and we began loading our luggage inside, then going into the buses and starting our 4 hour road trip to Santa Cruz del Quiche. I put in my headphones and watched Guatemala through my window. We passed through the city. There were street dogs every where…the city was cluttered…dirty. After we passed through the city, we began climbing the mountains. The city looked ritzy compared to what we were seeing outside. Shacks…crumbled ruins that people used as homes. People carrying heavy loads of firewood and groceries. Children carrying way more than they should for as little as they were. In the midst of my broken heart as I watched these people as we passed, the scenery was incredible. Trees. Clouds. Flowers…I'd never in all my life seen such beauty. Not even in Maui! I had Mumford & Sons playing in my headphones as I watched it pass. My eyes welled up with tears as it finally began to hit my that I was here. After 1 1 months of prep.. I was finally here. The road trip was fairly short…then again, I took a pretty decent nap on the bus. We stopped in Quiche for dinner at a place called Pollo Compero…which essentially was a KFC on steroids. So good. I think some of the street dogs near me agreed. And I got my puppy fix. So it was a good compromise.
It was dark before we pulled into our ministry site. As we drove, we saw a hospital to our left with people piled outside of the ER. A little passed the ER we pulled into a driveway to our right. Home. We quickly set up camp. Next to the facilities building was a field. Sectioned off was the girls camp. What I didn't realize about Guatemala is how cold it got at night. But seriously. That first night was a little rough. The next morning I woke up around 6am to singing and weeping. I looked outside my tent and saw two Guatemalans praying on their hands and knees. I heard them saying "Cristo" and "Dios". How awesome to wake up to someone praising Jesus!? It was an awesome way to start the day for sure.
Our first day was spent at the market. Goodness. Talk about a headache. I mean, it was beautiful…but at the same time, it was really chaotic. Our task was to get dinner for the squad, as we were cooking the next day, and two days of lunch. Well, let me tell you. Their grocery store does not have peanut butter. And to make it better, we didn't have a fridge to put lunch in. So that limited us big time. No PB&J…no cold cut sandwiches…like…seriously. So we ended up with Tuna (BLECH) and Granola for the people who didn't like Tuna. The milk we got was some weird packaged milk that was warm…and safe to drink until you open it. After getting lunch items and stuff for Pasta the next night, we went home in a Tuk Tuk (aka : 3 wheel go cart on steroids).
The next few nights were intense…to read about them please see my next blog. If you're a future racer…it'll be an awesome read.
