9:20 pm
So much has happened today. I don't even know where to start! I guess the beginning will work. At around 8:45 this morning we arrived in Antigua because the Spanish class takers needed to go into the city to pay for their lessons for the week. I just walked around the place for the three hours and it was great. I love going to supermarkets in new cultures. They really show what the people use on a day to day basis and you can get a good idea of what life is like. I then went to the market and just lost myself there. Most of the market is just for tourists: bracelets, bags, and other souvenirs. But at the back, there is a completely different world filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, shoes, clothes, and real, homemade goods. I bought a pair of shoes which sounds weird but they're cool dress shoes that I can wear and be reminded of this trip every time, plus I talked the guy down to 200 Q which is about $25. Not too bad if I do say so myself. We all met up at McDonalds, probably one of the nicest McDonalds I've ever seen. I got a Big Mac and fries and felt very much at home...even though I think the last time I ate at McDonalds I was in Paris. I waited for the group there for about 15 minutes and met a 6 year old little boy while I was waiting. I don't know what he was doing there, but we played games on the iPod Touch that I won from Wofford Study Abroad. We left McDonalds and went to Ruta Maya travel agency to arrange a trip to Pacaya a few hours later. There were going to be 13 of us going, so we had to pay an extra $2 (so $15 total) to take a private van. It was really fun on the way down there because we had some absolutely outstanding views. At one point I just thought to myself, "And He made that in seven days? Wow." So we arrive at the Volcano around 3:30 or 4:00 to do a sunset night tour. This volcano is active and spews lava all the time so we were supposed to be able to get right up beside it. I bought marshmallows back in Antigua to say I ate a marshmallow roasted by lava. I said supposed to for a reason, though. Although it was very cold and SUPER windy, the weather didn't keep us from marching on. We got to a part of the volcano that was almost straight down and covered with tiny rocks, the texture of sand, and about a foot deep. It was a ton of fun because we just sprinted down the whole thing and stopped by the bottom. Well, most of us stopped at the bottom. Adam, a 25 year old Gringo employee of Casa who came with us kept going just a little too far until he fell and split his head open on a huge volcanic rock. It was pretty scary at the time because the blood came rushing down his face onto his blue jeans. Our Guatemalan tour guide, though, immediately took his shirt off and started wrapping his head before he lost too much blood. Needless to say we didn't go any farther. Before Adam hurt himself we took some pictures of the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. We headed straight back, taking shortcuts over private property, and moving hastily. They don't exactly have Regional One (Spartanburg Regional's Helicopter) down here. Adam could walk, though, and he remembers everything. He should be okay, which is a big relief. So instead of roasting marshmallows we got to essentially run back to the base and rush to the hospital. We had fun no matter what, though! So it's been a pretty long day and I'm definitely ready for a good night's sleep!
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