When a few of us left for Antigua on Saturday, the sun was
shining and the sky was clear. However, the decision to leave my rain jacket
behind turned out to be a very bad one. All too quickly, dark clouds rolled in
and a few raindrops here and there turned into a torrential downpour. Among the
5 of us, we had 1 umbrella and 0 rain jackets. (I’m glad we were so prepared
for the elements…) Seeking shelter, we wandered deeper into the parts of a
market with a roof. Eventually, we realized we would just have to make a run for
the camioneta (bus) back to NPH. When the rain seemed like it had let up a
teensy bit, we started speed walking/running to the buses. Apparently the
weather was just being a tease though because about two seconds after the point
of no return, the rain started pouring again. Once we got to the buses, for
reasons I will never know THEY WOULDN’T LET US ON and there was no where else
to go. At one point in the history of life on Saturday, there were 5 soaked
American girls huddled and screaming under a single umbrella in the midst of a
storm in front of a bus in Guatemala. Absolutely ridiculous, I know. Best one
liner from the whole experience from one of our girls: “tan incómodo” (so
uncomfortable).
Things didn’t exactly get better once we were finally on the
bus. When I went to pay for my bus fare, I realized I had been pick pocketed in the market womp
womp womp. (Everything was/is fine, don’t worry!) Then, we arrived back at NPH
only to find a very clogged and disgusting toilet. An hour later, the power
went out leaving us in the dark. You know what, though? It’s all good. Am I
happy somebody robbed me? No, definitely not, but I’m going to assume they
really, really needed the money. The scene of screaming girls in front of the
bus? Pretty comical now (and let’s be honest, even when it was happening too).
I think I’ll probably remember that for the rest of my life. Did I look like a
hot mess getting on the bus? Oh yes, but at least I was able to make a few
Guatemalans smile, even if it was at my own expense. The nastiness of the
toilet gave the group something to bond over, and scrambling to find
flashlights in the dark was fun too. No matter where you go in life there are
going to be challenges- what matters is how you deal with them. Positivity is a
big thing here at NPHG, so I’m keeping a smile on my face and laughing. Keep it coming, life.
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