Bankhead to Guatemala

Obviously my favorite past time is traveling... No brainer.  But I'm not a selfish traveler I want everyone else to travel too.  I'm so lucky to be able to do both at the same time.  As a Spanish Teacher each year I take a group of well-behaved students from my school the study and volunteer abroad.  What makes these trips even more special to me is that I work at an all boy school in Bankhead Atlanta.  If you've ever heard of Bankhead you would also know of its infamous reputation of drugs, gangs, and violence.  Everyday I get to witness, and be a part of, the amazing change that is happening in that area.  One way I try to contribute to positivity in my community and in the world is by introducing my students to the global community in which they were previously unaware that they belong to.  

Each year my students live with host families (2 students per family), take Spanish classes in the mornings, volunteer with children in the afternoons and tour during the weekends and evenings. In 2012 we traveled to Panama City, Panama, in 2013 we traveled to Granada Nicaragua, and this year we are in Antigua Guatemala.  Yes we are in Guatemala at this very moment!!!!

Today we all met at Atlanta's airport at 4am and after a 2 hour layover in ft lauderdale we landed in Guatemala at 11:40am their time (2 hours behind EST).  Our program coordinator and driver from Spanish Academy Sevilla were there to pick us up and take us to our new homes and schools.  One things we were all pleased to see was the nearly silent Easter procession in the street.  Our new caretakers informed us that for the Easter season they will be a procession every Sunday.  I got great video footage of it and look forward to sharing it with you all.  We are all exhausted now, so now I lay my pretty dread head to sleep!

To read the many post (2 weeks worth!) about my student trip to Antigua, Guatemala please go to BestBoysGoGlobal.blogspot.com  and subscribe to our YouTube channel: EchosJourneys