Andrew Schanne 5-5-2014

5/05/2014 Andrew Schanne

After months of waiting, we finally made it to Guatemala. This trip was something I had been excited for since March. Sunday was a long day of travelling. I woke up in the early hours of the morning to catch the flight from Detroit to Atlanta, then another flight from Atlanta to Guatemala City. One thing I will never forget about the flight is looking out the window as we flew over Guatemala City and seeing Lake                                                 

  Atlitan. The lake is surrounded by mountains and looked absolutely gorgeous. I am looking forward to seeing more of the country and experiencing a new culture.

Once we got off the plane and went through customs, we had a hour long drive to Antigua. I was amazed to see various restaurants such as Burger King and Domino’s Pizza that we have in Michigan. The summer before senior year of high school, I went to Lima and Cusco in Peru. When we arrived in Antigua, I was instantly reminded of my time in Peru. Both have Spanish style architecture and a large Christian influence, which is evident through the grand churches and the religious symbolism throughout the city. Our first day was spent simply exploring the city of Antigua and trying to experience Guatemalan culture the best we could. This included trying new foods and drinks, shopping in new places, and learning about how to protect ourselves against theft. As a result, I think I have improved at being more flexible and adjusting to change.

One of the best parts of our first day in my opinion was the time we spent as a group. I learned something new about everyone and had lots of laughs. I believe this trip is a valuable learning opportunity in regards to living and working with different people and engineers. This feeling became stronger the more I talked to my fellow travelers and discussed various ideas and goals with them. I know we will have a great time on this trip and be successful on our volunteering efforts.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the trip has in store for me. I hope to achieve my individual goals of learning to work effectively with people of different cultures, improve my communication and Spanish skills, and develop new and stronger friendships with the other people going to the trip.