Today has been the definition of change. Flying in a plane for six hours and driving in a mini-van for three hours through a hilly road has brought our group from a first world country to a place I've never imagined of the living conditions.I have traveled a lot, but today´s trip to Guatemala was truly unique in that I have never been to a third-world country.

The city was packed with cars ranging from rusty corollas from the 80s to brand new Mercedes; chucky cheese and oddly-designed burger king stood by the dirty streets; police and security guards armed with shotguns and submachine guns guarding certain locations in the city. This was quite expected, as I learned from CIA website that Guatemala is a very dangerous country filled with organized crime that has been stuck in a poverty after the civil war. I was honestly very scared, and I regreted coming to this trip; however, as we drove away from the packed city and drove to a hilly mountains, my view slowly changed.

We drove through a mountain for three hours. The roads were very steep and curvy, and Ray was getting sick from this. Actually, everyone got somewhat sick, including me. Me! I never get car sick, yet I was getting a headache too. However, despite the slight pain, I couldn't take my eyes off the road and be amazed at the sight of Guatemalan countryside. The first thing I noticed was the numerous roaming dogs, stray dogs. Second, the poor infrastructure and poorly built buildings made of simple bricks and metal pans. Third, students in uniform coming out of school at an evening. Seeing these things quite made me nostalgic, as it reminded me of Korea in the 90s. When I often visited my grandparents in the country side of Korea, it would hold the exact view.

Once we arrived at Panajachel, my view toward Guatemala changed dramatically again. I actually expected shady streets and gang members, but it actually the complete opposite. Peopel were very friendly while the streets had that Miami-feeling. The place was filled with nice restaurants and bars, which I didn't quite expected it. Speaking of restaurants, our group ate a restaurant by the lake with Mike and Bethany, members from the Mayan Families. Even though it was dark, I could still feel the lake through the sound of wave splashing and birds chipping. The meal was excellent too (I had beef. There were choice of beef, chicken, pork, and vegetarian. Ohhhh, there were also a choice of lemon or orange juice)

Sam