Guatemala & Mexico – No Plans Needed

A few years ago I decided to take a 10 week vacation over summer, partly to learn Spanish and partly to explore Latin America. Spanish classes were of course the main excuse, while exploration was the drive that made me go. I didn’t have much plans for this trip, since the whole thing happened on an impulse. My mind was struggling with intense boredom from school and during finals week I couldn’t take it anymore. I piled up my savings, bought a round-trip ticket to Mexico City and told friends and family I was going to learn Spanish over summer.

The day after my last exam, I sat on the airplane. No time to spare. This two weeks after I first came up with the idea to go on this trip, and I had done literally no research for the trip. No hotels booked, no Spanish classes booked, no knowledge of the countries I was heading towards. But I had heard rumors from friends that there was a good place in Guatemala, where a lot of people went for Spanish classes. Antigua. That was all I knew. Oh, and I should mention that I lived in Norway at the time, and had never been traveling in these areas of the world before, so Mexico was more exotic to me then than it is now that I live in San Diego.

Mexico City – “What? No English!?”

After a countless hours in an airplane, a few of them listening to my Spanish CD-course, I arrived in Mexico City. On the way I had also flipped some pages in my guide book and had understood that for safety reasons I should not take taxis at night and not haul taxis of the street. In stead they tell you to make your hotel to call them for you. So I landed at the airport at 11 pm, get my luggage, cruise through the customs and out on the street. I step into a random taxi and hope the guidebook was exaggerating the risk of robbery.

Soon after, I find myself in a nice hotel room. The taxi ride was fine, I probably paid twenty times the normal price, but what the heck, I’m a stupid tourist. To expect a decent price would be ignorant. So I am happy. I text my parents, “I made it, everything is fine”. And finally I could sense the adventure feeling that I love. I am in the middle of nowhere. Not really, I was in one of the world’s most crowded cities, but to me it felt like nowhere. I knew nobody there, I had no idea how to get around, where I would be the next day and I did not speak the language.

For some weird reason, the whole fact that they speak Spanish in Mexico kind of surprised me. Or, more precisely, I was not surprised that they spoke Spanish, but that they only spoke Spanish. My short sighted brain had imagined that I would easily get by with speaking English. I would of course speak fluent Spanish after a few weeks of intended heroic studying, but until then my non-existing plan was to speak English. However, now I know that Mexicans speak Spanish, and that it takes more than a few weeks for me to learn it.

Mexico City- Food and Sightseeing

My Lonely Planet Phrasebook helped me get the food I needed. Which led me to the first Quesedilla of my life. “Kesiero uno KesediLLa”. I don’t know how I at the age of twenty-something, still didn’t know that two L’s in spanish is not pronounced like an L. It actually took me several weeks of being in Latin America to realize that two L’s is not like one L. And when I finally found out, everything made more sense. And people instantly understood more of what I was saying.

Anyways, back to the food. I had quesedillas. A tasty discovery that I have returned to several times here in San Diego. And I still remember the first time I got one. I had not been patient enough to look up the words in the dictionary, so I had no clue what I was ordering. So when a few pieces of tortillas with cheese in them was put on my table, I was pretty disappointed. Is this it? Well, it was, and it turned out to be surprisingly good. And I was also pleased to find a few chunks of meat hidden somewhere in there.

After my quesedilla experience, I continued to explore the real Mexican food. I had of course had “Norwegian Mexican food” before. Which is like comparing a ham&cheese sandwich to an Italian pizza. Or the other way around. I often found that Mexican food in Mexico is way simpler than Mexican food in Norway. But it was so good! And I would never trade my Mexican taco for a Norwegian one.

My successful food discoveries inspired me to move further away from my safe hotel room, so I managed to make my way to the Zocalo. Zocalo is a huge square in the center of the city, and basically where everything important happens. When I was there, it was extremely crowded because of the upcoming presidential election in Mexico. So I was trying to blend in, which would make you laugh out loud if you have ever seen me. The best way to describe me is a white long-haired tower. Two meters (6′6″ feet) is not the average height in Mexico. But it gives me a nice view, and I have always imagined it keeps some of the potential robbers away.

So, after a few hours around the Zocalo, I was tired of Mexico City. It wasn’t that entertaining since I had no clue what was going on. At the time I didn’t even know that all the people where there for the election. I didn’t know there was an election coming up. I literally didn’t understand anything. So that was the end of my sightseeing, I realized I would have to learn Spanish before I started exploring more. And the only place I knew of was a place called Antigua in Guatemala. And after some intense use of my phrasebook I was the proud owner of a bus ticket to Guatemala City.

This was supposed to be my ticket to paradise. Or at least a ticket to an easier life in Spanish speaking Latin America. However, a ticket to Guatemala City doesn’t mean that you will get there any soon.

This story will continue with the rest of my Latin American travel adventures. So come back soon!