Antigua, Guatemala: A Note To Dr. Daughtrey, by Jude Lathen

Dear Dr. Daughtrey,

Today was full of lots of activities. We woke up at ~6:30 and had a tasty breakfast. After, we gave our goodbyes to all of the people who prepared our meals and helped us throughout the week working at the complex we stayed in. Then we headed out for the day.

We began at the Antigua Overlook. We took lots of cool pictures before going on a walk to the town. Once we got there, we went to a Jade Shop. It takes a lot of time and effort to make jade jewelry. The people making them were really skilled. Everybody in the group got to find out what their Mayan spirit animal was based off of their birthday. I was the jaguar. We stayed and scrolled through all of the beautiful jade items, and some of us bought some to take home.

After the jade shop, we headed on to lunch at Pollo Campero. It was super good and everybody finished their meals with ease. I wish we had the restaurant in the US.

Then we went to the marketplace. It was super cool seeing all the different shops. The atmosphere was nice and it felt like there was something for everyone. I got a jersey for the Guatemalan football team. We had fun looking around and exploring the place.

Next, we went to a park. Everybody got ice cream. Now, most of us were running very low on money. In an attempt to round up a bit more money, we set up a performance where we sang some songs. The pigeons didn’t enjoy our singing very much. While gathering together after all the excitement, we caught Grayson wandering off. Luckily, we were able to retrieve him before he got lost.

We then headed to our apartment. We took some neat photos in front of a huge volcano before arriving. The hotel was nice and cozy. We settled down for a while before heading to dinner.

For dinner, we went to a popular French restaurant. The entire menu was made up of all kinds of crepes. I had no idea it was possible to have so many kinds of one food. There was lots of cool art scattered across that we took pictures of. We then celebrated Ford’s birthday (one day late). The workers came out with a ton of instruments and sang the Guatemalan version of Happy Birthday. We then went back to the hotel and fell asleep after the long day.

Guatemala is an amazing place that I love a lot. The community is warm and welcoming and the culture is super interesting. I definitely plan on visiting again. Thank you so much for providing me this opportunity.