Ben was flying for SpiceJet in India during June & July and we had planned to return with Kelsey & Larissa to spend the school year living and traveling there while Ben continued to fly. It seemed the perfect time to embark on an international adventure: the girls are still in middle school so are not yet caught up in sports and grades and boys and all of the other trappings of high school. And with the horrible economic climate and crazy pre-election political atmosphere, we figured we wouldn’t miss too much by being gone for a few months! After a few twists and turns, we now find ourselves living abroad….but with a slightly different plan. Many of you know of the challenges we faced in trying to figure out living in Delhi, including:
1. The high cost of living in Delhi.
2. Spice Jet's recent cost cuts and moving pilots to a hotel with smaller rooms.
3. Ben's mother's poor health - worrying about being literally halfway around the world and wondering what we do if she takes a turn for the worse.
4. Ben's flying schedule (or LACK thereof!) and Spicejet's apparent inability to schedule any time off for him with any advance notice.
5. My uneasiness in doing a lot of traveling with the girls and without Ben
6. And then.....the bombings in Delhi recently. Two were in Connaught Circle and our compatriots at Spice Jet heard/felt them in their hotel a few blocks away. Another one was at the India Gate - a popular tourist area. This factor alone isn't enough to scare me away; but the thought of having to be hyper vigilant, avoid all crowds and worry constantly about public transportation didn’t thrill me!
When taking all of these factors into consideration, we've decided to make a complete left turn and are in Antigua, Guatemala to study Spanish this fall.
We arrived yesterday after an uneventful journey down. The travel gods seemed to be smiling on our journey: everything was on schedule, all the bags arrived in good shape and we arrived safe and sound. The apartment manager Sofia sent a taxi driver to Guatemala City and he was waiting for us at the airport while Sofia stayed up late in Antigua to unlock the apartment for us. We’re staying at the El Solar Apartments, a lovely place only a few blocks from the central plaza in Antigua. Here are some pics of our unit (#3) from their website:
Apartamentos El Solar
Today we walked around the city getting acquainted with our new ‘hood. Antigua is a very old city – verging on 500 years old with ruins and cathedrals galore. The roads are cobblestone and all of the building walls come right to the sidewalks.
Peering into doorways as we pass, we can see that the entryways lead to beautiful garden courtyards inside each structure. The streets can be somewhat hectic, but the courtyards inside provide a cool and calm escape immediately. I can see that we’re going to have to get into an afternoon siesta habit soon!So far the weather is pleasant – partly cloudy and in the 70’s. It is the tail-end of the rainy season so will only be getting nicer and nicer as we head into November. I noticed that the forecast is for snow in Driggs this weekend. I won’t be sad to miss that, but hope it keeps coming so it’s another good powder year!
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