On my flight from Atlanta, I sat next to a Mormon couple. They were coming down to see their son who has been here on mission for the last two years. The wife, Angie, was very interested in talking to me during the flight, but was also very worried during our rough (attempted) landing and jumped over me before we’d even finished taxiing to get out. I never said bye.

The following day, in my second mall of the day, far from my hostel and while searching for a small secondary wallet, I wandered up to the 4th floor food court. Trying to decode all the different types of chicken, I heard “Hey! Hey!” She and her husband were sitting and eating lunch up there, at the same time I happened to have walked in.

Small world.

The rooftop of my hostel, Quetzalroo, in Guatemala City. They have a dog named peanut.

DJ Pauly D (of Jersey Shore fame) is performing in the city on the 21st. The bottom of the advertisement reads, “Excessive consumption of this product is harmful to the health of consumers.”

A street performer who didn’t seem to be asking for money?

Last night a bunch of us joined the owner of the hostel on a trip to a local crepe shop and then to an art opening that his friend has some work in. I learned at dinner that one of my fellow travelers was vegan, which was surprising but cool. She’s fluent in Spanish and is having a much easier time finding food because of that. The art opening was in an old colonial home with a gorgeous courtyard, a DJ, free drinks, and art prices comparable to the US.  Some really cool work though.

Today I organized housing in Antigua for Clayton (my brother) and me, got lunch at a hippie restaurant with vegan shop attached, and wandered the streets. I brought my camera out for the first time, but was still a bit apprehensive about using it. I had originally planned on bringing my small lens, but decided I’d rather have good photos than save space. Now I’m realizing the conspicuousness of my camera means I may have very few photos of any quality, which is worse. Live and learn, I guess.

Clayton arrives tomorrow at noon, and we’ll head straight to Antigua from here. He wants to hike a volcano, and I’d love to find one that’s still active.