One week out...

When I suggested to HPU student Katie Mulig that she should think about proposing an international alternative break trip, I didn't think she would take the recommendation seriously. She's an RA, president of the Outdoor Activities Club, an avid traveler, a Phi Mu sister, and a hundred other things. Surely, she wouldn't have the time to undertake such a endeavor!

So we're exactly a week away from Guatemala. This time next week, we will be touching down in Guatemala City, gathering our luggage, loading our bus, and preparing to hike a volcano.

I can't even begin to figure out how I came to be on this trip, but I'm excited! Those who know me well know that I typically don't start packing and making blogs until the day before I leave. Two days out at the most. Surprise! I've just printed Max's recommended packing list, and I'm preparing to run the obligatory errands. Batteries, snacks, wet wipes, mosquito netting for 10 people, 400% picardin bug repellant. You know, the usual suspects.

Internet access will be non-existent outside of Antigua and Guatemala City, I'm sure. In fact, I'm having doubts about whether my international cell phone will work there. We'll see. While the pre-trip blog will be written in real-time, posts about the trip itself will have to wait until we return. Instead, I'll be writing feverish notes on a tablet, paper towels, toilet paper (Scratch that! Toilet paper will be too valuable for other uses!), anything I can get my hands on. I'm hoping that the students will contribute as well. A few lines each night that reflects on their impressions of the country, the work, and probably most notably, the people.

We started our malaria tablets yesterday, and last night I had the first round of what commonly are referred to as "vivid dreams." Well, since I was a kid, I have had vivid dreams without the assistance of modern (or primitive) pharmaceuticals. If last night is any indication, this is going to be an interesting 7 weeks of crazy dreams that seem so real that I may have to ask the next morning: "Uh, did I jump from the top of a mountain with 2000-count Egyptian cotton sheets as my parachute, or was it a dream?"