We made it!

I've been meaning to start a blog about our trip this summer for the last 6 months.  I thought I'd talk about what we were planning, how things were going, etc.  Obviously, it didn't happen.  Now that we are finally here, I plan on keeping a journal (online because I can type much faster than I can write) and hopefully having the kids update it too.

One of the things I regret most about college was never spending a semester abroad.  It never occurred to me and quite honeslty I was so ready to get out that I didn't waant to do anything that would slow that down.    As an adult I can see the value in language immersion.  Tim and I have talked for awhile on how it would be nice to put the kids in immersion school.  We finally bit the bullet.  As Ethan gets older (13), his desire to spend time in a developing country with his family is diminishing.  We figured it was now or never.  I still can't believe we actually did it.  We rented a house for 4 weeks in Antigua.  The kids will be in immersion school from 8-12 and 2-5 every day.  Jake is probably the most excited about it.  I loved watching him talking to the stewardess on the plane last night.  He's so excited to learn the language and use it.

We left yesterday morning at 4:30 in the morning.  Tina and Kristy offered to drive us.  We had 3 suitcases full of our belongings for the next 3 weeks....and 9 full of donations!  We packed the back of both the Sienna and Explorer up and they drove us to Chicago.  We need to do curbside service more often.  They dropped us at the international terminal...and there was no wait to check in and no wait in security.  The first flight was 5 hours to Panama.  Jake and Lily were ecstatic when they found out we actually got fed on the plane. :)  I told them it's nice to fly international once in awhile!  Lily did want to know when we were at the airport why swiss air has a health care symbol.  I tried to explain Switzerland, it's neutrality, etc.  I'm not sure she cared. :)

We had a 5 hour layover in Panama which was miserable.  It was supposed to be 1 1/2 hours but Copa cancelled that flight completely several months ago.  Not only that, they didn't let us know and had us rebooked on a flight the next morning.  I'm glad I checked our reservations because we were able to get booked on a later flight.  The Panama airport is strange.  There is a huge area that is almost brand new and air conditioned.  The gate we flew out of was in a satellite area that was 90 degrees with huge fans.  We hung out in the air conditioned area.  We also grabbed food here.  $11 for a personal pizza hut pizza.  Ridiculous.  I'll remember to pack snacks for the way home.



The second flight was a little over 2 hours and thankfully on time.  Lily slept the whole way.  We got fed again.  Cheeseburgers.  The best one I've ever eaten.  I think being hungry will do that to you. :)  We got through immigration with no line...and customs waved us right through as well.  Good timing on this trip.  We landed at 8:30 Guat time (or 9:30 our time) so the kids (and parents) were starting to get a *little* tired.  When you leave the Guatemala airport, you step into this gated area.  There are people lining the gates waiting for the arriving passengers.  Several are holding signs with names...and we are standing there with 12 suitcases and 4 kids looking around for Guillermo.  We met Guillermo on our trip 2 years ago.  He speaks fluent English and lived in the US for awhile.  The kids loved him.  I messaged him on facebook and asked if he could pick us up. He saw us first and came running over.  It's amazing how good it feels to see someone you know when you are landing in a foreign country.  He drove us to our house in Antigua.  It's about a 45 minute drive.

The house is amazing.

This is the upstairs landing.  You can see we came in and dumped our suitcases. :)

This is the room Jake and Lily chose.

This is the porch off of Jake and Lily's room.

This is the view from the porch.  The complex has 4 houses that surround a community pool/hot tub.

When you walk upstairs to the landing area, there are the two beds in the first picture...or if you go right, there is the room Jake and Lily are in and if you go left, it's the room Grace and Ethan chose.

If you look out the window in Grace/Ethan's room, you can see the courtyard.  The doors on the left go into the master bedroom.

Here's another view of the landing.

To the left of this picture are the doors to go into the courtyard that is off of the master bedroom.

It's hard to get too many pictures right now because everyone is sleeping still!!!

Today we are going to go to the Bodegona to get some food.  I did have them deliver some food for when we arrived last night.  A loaf of bread, jam, bananas, a pineapple, cheese, tortillas, eggs, butter, juice and one beer for Tim.   At least this way we can make breakfast today before heading out.  We are also planning on getting little phones for the kids so that they can call us.  Guillermo told us we can find some in front of the Bodegona for around $100Q or $12.

Until later!  We have arrived!