Antigua

Sunday, August 13, 2017
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez Department, Guatemala
Today was our last day to wake up to the dozens of marimba bands- we were starting our journey home! We piled all our bags on top of the van/bus and snuggled in- with the people we picked up this week (mentors + our PMEL) the van was more snug than usual. Surprisingly, I was picked to have the tire seat... with my bag that I had to put on the ground. Can't lie, I was a bit crammed, even for me. My feet were above my head for the majority of the ride. We stopped at a gas station on top of a mountain and Matt and I had a fun time checking the GPS as we went further. We almost made it to 9000ft, according to the iPhone at that time. I really enjoyed talking with Matt on that car ride- it turns out we're interested in a lot of the same things engineering-wise, and he gave me some good people to follow on twitter and who to look out for in the field. It was really cool to talk to someone who is 10 years further than you in your career but shares your same passions. Just makes me want to be a civil engineer even more... (although I've never needed convincing)
We finally made it to Antigua and dropped off our bags and started to explore before dinner. Some people went out to a nearby town to get some nice leather cowboy boots, but I stayed in town and just walked around the streets and markets. It was nice, definitely nicer than Joyabaj, but also maybe touristy? Well, definitely touristy, but I couldn't tell if locals would shop at any of the shops since they might be better off, or if they preferred to go elsewhere. I dunno. People kept warning me that it was overly touristy, so I was bracing for the worst (cough cough Nice, France) but it still had the Guatemalan charm. I dunno, it was cute, maybe not somewhere I'd vacation 24/7, it's kinda small, but definitely a lot to see.
We went all over town checking out this shop and that shop and finally it came time for dinner- good cuz we didn't eat lunch. Tonight we got a fancy dinner at a restaurant as a celebration for the entire trip. We met everyone else just before they started ordering (phew) and once our orders were in, we went around the table saying our best memory from the trip and something we're thankful for. With 20+ people, this lasted a while, and food was starting to come out by the last few people. It was a really nice way to wrap up the trip, Dr. Federle even cried (shocker). I got a SUPER yummy stuffed bell pepper with beans and yay guacamole! Woah this was a really good meal. YUM. Afterwards, some of us headed back to the hotel to drop off our things, hoping we could meet up with the students from Guatemala City later on. We met them at the wine bar (Dr. Federle's favorite part of the trip every year), but Mark wouldn't let us go out with them... Understandable, but this was maybe truthfully kinda getting on my nerves a bit... I really respect him and appreciate everyone's effort to keep us safe, but after living on our own in college, plus a semester abroad, I was kinda getting antsy to get off mom and dad's leash. I couldn't help but feel a bit constrained. But it was for the insurance...
Instead, we just hung out with the students at the wine bar with Mark and the mentors. I was kinda banking on tonight being a crazy night out with lots of reggae and dancing, but that's okay... We all liked the wine bar and we were able to chat a lot. I talked a bit with Marco who we spent last weekend with, but I also got to meet some of his friends who were also studying civil engineering. They weren't necessarily on his team for EWB, but they were super nice and fun to talk to. We talked about the normal stuff- music, hobbies, family, etc. but we also got to talk about civil engineering and where our passions lie within our major. Super cool. We talked and talked and talked until some other people wanted to enjoy the bar (two Brits, super funny- Kassie and I had a good time talking with them) so we left. We went back to the hotel where Mark allowed the students to stay for 15 minutes, so we took some pics and said goodbye. We'll see them next year, hopefully when they're building a bridge of their own. I spent the rest of the night hanging with a couple other groups around the hotel, and eventually got to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow for that flight...
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2025-02-18

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