El fin del infierno

10 a 12 de Marzo

Winter Quarter went out with a groan and a quick prayer that it was over. The last few weeks of the quarter were hellish, with a professor who wasn't the best communicator nor supportive when we asked for clarification. 

It was a series of busy work, unproductive class discussions, lack of communication and just an eternal bought of frustration.

But its finally over, and I'm pretty sure my sigh of relief when I practically ran out of the classroom after turning in my final exam could be heard across campus.

And so began Spring Break 2k16

Mis amigas y yo had a day of freedom before we left at the crack of dawn for the airport for the next adventure: Guatemala.

As usual, I over packed for the 2 weeks I was going to be gone, but I managed to save enough room for all of the regalos and recuerdos I ended up buying (I regret nothing).

We got off to a rocky start when- for the first time in my life- Uber failed us. There were no drivers available, and when one did appear and accepted the ride, he cancelled it a minute later. So we had to resort to calling a taxi service. I always struggle with this because my Mexican phone is really low quality, and I'm not skilled enough with Spanish yet to be able to fill in the blanks the phone creates in the conversations.

But we made it to the bus station and bought our tickets to the airport. We made it in one piece on a really nice bus but we got lost for a bit in the airport itself. I swear the signs led us in circles. The best part- the security in the airport was so simple. There was no line, we didn't have to take off our shoes, it was absolutely amazing. Such a breeze. I think the airports here are going to spoil me for when I go back to the states...

Getting through customs in Guatemala was relatively simple too. They have you fill out a customs sheet when you enter AND when you leave the country. This freaked us out a little bit when they took our immigration form. How would we verify that we're legally allowed to be there? But apparently its fine and they didn't even have randomly selected bag searches- a plus for me since I almost always get randomly selected.

The best part of immigration was being greeted by this lovely relief next to the bathroom before we actually had to go through customs (shout out to Immigration Offices providing a bathroom, its a rare blessing)

Its Mona Lisa but 3D and much bigger than the original. 

She's also nude.

It was an unexpected sight upon entering a new country, but I love it all the same.