And I almost didn't make it part deux

Last year, I almost didn't make it to Ecuador because I lost my green card a few days before, and I had to get some stamp in my passport at the immigration place downtown. This year, I lost my green card the day before right after I made copies of it at the Emory library. Of course I notice this about 10 PM when my flight leaves the next morning at 6 AM. I could've sworn I picked it up from the copier, and I don't think I lost it at the farmers' market or Walgreens, which were the only two places I went afterwards. I have no idea where I could've lost it after searching all over, and Sheena finally calls the Emory PD to see if they can check the library (since it's already closed). God bless her heart (and my stupidity) it was there, and we picked it up and got to enjoy ourselves at Neighbors before my early morning flight. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning.

My flight left at 6 30, got to Ft. Lauderdale around 8 30 (after a brief stop in Orlando) and waited a grueling 9 hours until my flight to Guatemala. Fortunately, I had a book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and I managed to finish that during that time, so all was not wasted.

I finally arrive at the airport in Guatemala around 9 PM East coast time, 7 PM here, and I wait in the taxi parking area for someone to pick me up. There's this site called couchsurfing.com, where people offer their couches for people to crash on (yeah, I know, a bit shady, but at least it's free), so I had arranged to stay with this girl who happened to work for the same airline I flew in on, Spirit Airlines. It turned out she got off work at 8, so we figured, perfect, she'd pick me up after work, I don't mind waiting an hour or so for a free place to stay (plus, she's apparently a cook). I wait one hour. Ok, it's 8, but you know those Latin American people, they don't take time too seriously, and she probably needs some time to make it over. 8 30. Yeah..... maybe she just needs a little time. She had given me her number, but for some reason, the airport, of all places, doesn't have a place where you can exchange currency, so I couldn't make a call. I finally muster up the courage to ask some fellow Asian student looking types for some change to place a call, and when I call, no one picks up. These fellow students, Jane, James, and Justin (alliteration's great, ain't it?) are studying at a school in Antigua, and a shuttle is supposed to pick them up. It's about 9 by now, and I figure, hell, why don't I just go to Antigua tonight with them? The price of a taxi to downtown Guatemala City (GC) is the same as the shuttle ride to Antigua, and there's the possibility that Blaire and Roffwarg are going to be there. At around 9 30, their shuttle finally comes to pick them up, and I tag along.

We pick up a couple more students going to the school, and we're chugging on our way...... or so we thought. We're on the road less than 2 miles, and we see the flashing lights. Crap, we're caught. But what did we do wrong? Apparently, DWT (driving while tourists), apparently Asian ones especially. They ask for all of our passports, and after a few minutes, they tell the 4 of us Asians to get out. I'm wondering what the heck, this looks like racial profiling. For some reason, they say that just the 4 of us (not the 3 other people in the shuttle) have to go back with them to the police station to confirm our immigration. We keep asking why, and they don't seem to have a very clear explanation, so I sure as hell am not going to go the police station. They call in to their HQ, and insist that we must go with them. "No way, this is crap", I'm thinking to myself. Our shuttle driver speaks to them as well to confirm that he works for a school, and we're all going to this school (although he leaves out the part that I'm actually not), but unfortunately, he doesn't speak any English, so I was put in the place of translating all of this with my semi-competent Spanish. Then, these officers come back and say that Justin and James have to go with them because they don't have the necessary stamp in their passport, but Jane and I are ok. I tell them we have to stick together, so we'll follow them to the station, but the officers say, "No, you two are fine, just go along." Hell if I let two people go with them to the police station and have the rights violated, I tell them no.

Then, I remember reading somewhere that Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua have some sort of agreement where their citizens can pass between those countries freely. Funny thing is, these three Asian kids are actually from Belize. So why are they in Guate to learn Spanish? English is apparently the official language in Belize (but Jane has a Taiwanese passport). Learn something new everyday. I argue that James and Justin don't have the stamp in their passport because of the agreement, but they act like they have no idea what I'm talking about (or more likely, I didn't make any sense in my Spanish). We just sit around wondering what the heck we're going to do while one officer goes to talk to James and Justin off to the side. After maybe an hour of waiting, we're finally let go, like there was no incident at all. This was obviously an attempt at getting a bribe from us, but unfortunately, they chose the wrong target - 4 cheap Asians, students at that. After this ordeal, a fellow passenger commented "I never thought having an American passport would be an advantage." Yes, quite ironic.

We finally make the 1 hour ride into Antigua and arrive sometime past 11. The city is gorgeous, especially at night. Cobblestone lined streets, pastel walls, colonial architecture. We pass under an arch that spans two buildings, and I read in my LP this morning that this arch was for the nuns to use, so they could cross without being seen.

The othe 6 get dropped off at their respective homestays and hotels while I find a cheap hotel to crash in for the night. We get off at one that was in my Lonely Planet, I pay my driver and tip him my hat, and I'm on my way.... except the hotel is full. We go to another place on my LP. Full as well. Third place? Closed by some ordinance. Fourth place is the charm, and I finally haul my pack up to my room and crash for the night.

This morning, I exchanged some dinero, paid for my room, got a cinnamon roll, and finally can get on the internet, since I didn't have any Quetzals (the currency here) to buy anything. The cinnamon roll wasn't that great, but it was the first real food I've eaten in over a day. I didn't eat anything at the airport because I figured I'd save my appetite for some delicious, cheap Guatemalan food once I got off the plane, but none was to be found - I guess it was a little ignorant of me to expect a food court at the aiport like they have in the States. Still, I figured my host/cook would have some good food too, but that didn't pan out either. So after subsisting on candied ginger and a pack of airplane pretzels, my taste buds are ready for an adventure. I hope my stomach doesn't have to come along for the ride.