I'm in heaven 8/6/10

My first day in Guate, I woke up to beautiful blue skies! We didn't have to catch a bus to the school until 10:30am, which was nice. We had a quick continental breakfast at the hotel and then the school picked all of us up. I was blown away when we arrived at the school. It was absolutely beautiful!! Tons of people were waiting to welcome us and I just felt so happy to be here. They introduced us to everyone and then took us on a tour around the beautiful campus. It was just like being on a nature trail. The whole school is indoor/outdoor. I love the classrooms. The rooms all have two walls of windows, so there is a lot of natural light. They also have a workout room and pool we can use too! The early childhood classrooms have bright green doors!

I cannot wait to get started working here. The people are amazing! The school arranged a delicious sit down lunch. The food was great, nothing especially traditional though. After orientation, the school arranged a trip to the airport for me to track down my suitcase. I was told that I would have a driver and a bilingual companion to go with me. I find out that both speak only Spanish!!! I was really worried, because I would not be able to communicate with them. They were both very nice and knew where they had to bring me, but I just didn't feel comfortable. Luckily, one of the new teachers volunteered to accompany me! He was bilingual and it made me feel so much better to have him with me. Long story short, I GOT MY SUITCASE BACK!!! I've never been so relieved! The suitcase weighed over 70lbs and I was afraid I was not going to see it again. The reason being that when I was waiting at the carousal the only suitcase unclaimed looked exactly like mine. I figured someone took my suitcase on accident, which made me think someone just might not return it! But all worries disappeared as I saw it being wheeled around the corner. I started feeling myself again. I was on cloud nine! After getting my luggage, the drivers from the school dropped us back off at the hotel. We had till 6pm to relax, and then we all met in the lobby of the hotel to go for dinner. It was TGIF pizza party at the Middle School principal's house. His house was nicer than any house I've been to in the states. Indoor outdoor garage area with a nice sized back yard. Beautiful! He moved here from Iowa with his wife and daughter. There are so many families that move here. I love it! It's great to see that it's possible. The American children that go to this school get a better education than the ones in the states. They become bilingual is just months. All the principals, a few teachers, and all the new teachers were there for the party. It was great to meet even more new people and learn more about Guate and the school. I had so much fun. We were invited to go up on the roof to take a look at the views. It was a little cloudy, so there wasn't a ton to see, but it was still really cool. It seems that there is always things to do and people to see. The whole staff is so enthusiastic and positive about being here. It doesn't feel like I'm hanging with colleagues. It feels like I'm hanging out with old friends. I look forward to more nights like these..