guatemala
In 2008, I decided I would leave my great job and team and use half of my life savings to backpack solo through Latin America. After months of preparation, I landed in Guatemala in March 2009, starting a journey that would last 9 months through 7 countries.
I started by attending Spanish class in Xela (Quetzaltenango) to hone my Spanish lit college degree skills. It ended up being 4 weeks of my teacher Eduardo taking me on day trips everywhere- markets, textile factories, hikes, college campuses, parades, museums- riding on chicken buses, old school buses from the US that have been converted to the cheapest (and most colorful) mode of transportation in the country. The whole time he told me stories of history, culture and even his own heartbreaking experience as an immigrant in the USA. I learned more of value in those weeks than all of my college years.
On my way to Belize I went to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, watching the sunrise from the top of one of the tallest temples. It was still just the beginning.
____________________
Translation of mural in photo: to feel so deeply any kind of injustice committed against anyone in any part of the world is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary.
