Back in Guatemala

jennifer

August 1, 2018

Blog Post

I thought this day would never come. The countdown widget that I set on my office computer at home some 250 days ago finally read “0 seconds” as I was powering down to get ready to head out the door. So surreal, and so exciting!

All of the fundraising, awareness-building, rummage-hosting, eBay-selling, and planning finally came to a head as we loaded up the van to head to O’Hare. It was just the four of us this time… a small group to handle the 14 bags it took to get 163 pair of shoes and 579 library donations and three laptop computers as well as medical donations and school supplies. Whew! I think there were a couple of times my kids wished there weren’t so many pieces of luggage, but I told them that each time they saw a child smile, they should know it might not have been possible had they been unwilling to bring all of the things that we did. It’s a minor inconvenience, and one that is short-lived.

We made excellent time to Chicago… something that I had not experienced just a few days ago when my famiy drove through there on the way to a family reunion in Indiana. In fact, we made it to our first gate with over an hour to spare!

The only disappointment with the first leg of our trip came when the ticketing agent at the Delta check-in counter told me that I owed $460 for baggage!

First, let me explain that, as a nonprofit, I was able to request a baggage fee waiver. Nonprofits can do this once per year, and it covers the 1st checked bag for each member in your travel group, up to 15 I believe. With the four of us in our group, that meant four checked bags in total for free. For international flights, Delta’s policy is $25 for the first bag, $40 for the second bag, and $150 for the third bag! With the first bag free for each of us, I was planning on spending $25 for each of 4 bags and $40 for each of two bags (the six remaining after the four free ones) and to carry on four small ones for free as well.

Well, I was mistaken! It turns out that the four free ones occupied the slot for the $25 bags and the first ones we paid for were $40. With six bags to check in that fashion, we owed 4 x $40 plus 2 x $150 — for a total of $460.

Despite the frustration on my face, I remained calm, and continued to explain that I had tried contacting Delta Customer Service about this very topic for over a week prior to our flight and I never got a reply. Although I didn’t state it out loud, inside I was thinking that Delta may not get my business next time… it was lucky to get the baggage waiver, and I appreciated that, but there are several other airlines, even with cheaper fares, that offer two checked bags per person for free, even to international destinations!

In the end, they volunteered to give us all six bags for $40 each… not the deal I was expecting, but much better than the amount I discovered I truly owed. I took it!

The flights ended up being very nice. We had the back row on the flight from Chicago to Atlanta (which is good if you want to be by the bathrooms or don’t want little kids kicking the seat behind you) but bad if you wanted a window — there were no windows in the last row of seats!

On the leg from Atlanta to Guatemala City, I took advantage of a free movie and the ride seemed to go pretty fast!

After our arrival in Guatemala City, it was quick getting through immigration and none of our bags were even checked by customs. We were just waived through. We were met at the airport by Pastor Jacob, Ada, Raul and Alex who helped us with all of our luggage.

On our way to Barcenas Villa Nueva, home of Nuevo Reto, we stopped at a Pollo Campero for dinner. Having not eaten lunch or dinner, it was a sight for sore eyes (and hungry stomachs!)

The chicken was good. The company was great!

One interesting tidbit I learned about transportation in Guatemala City — it was after 10pm when we left Pollo Campero and the traffic was STILL horrendous. I didn’t know how to explain why there was so much traffic heading out of the city on a Tuesday night. Ada explained to me that truckers only get two morning hours to drive in the city (without risking a fine) and otherwise have to wait until after 8pm at night to drive for free. Much of the traffic was large trucks!

I’m so happy to be back in Guatemala. I look forward to dedicating the library tomorrow, but right now I must get some sleep.

I hope you enjoy all the blogging from this day forward. I will try my best to share stories and photos from our experiences every day.