I found that many of us have recently been mentally preparing for this extraordinary voyage to come to an end. For a few days at sea after leaving Hawaii I was wrestling through bittersweet feelings and coming to grips with returning to "reality"...which for me is looking like unemployment and homelessness =).

It had been over two weeks in new country, and after a fast paced Asia tour, two weeks seemed like forever. Perhaps our two day visit in Hawaii made us feel like we were already at home. Then Guatemala happened. Everyone found themselves packing up their book bags for one more adventure, and we then realized...."wait a minute...this isn't over yet!"

Guatemala turned out to be a perfect last port, as many things seemingly came full circle in our voyage; beginning and ending in a Spanish speaking country. Our visit to Guatemala was a short stay, 3 days and 2 nights. I spent the whole time on only my third SAS trip. This one (much different) was a home stay and Spanish language class in the city of Antigua, the former capital, now rich in history and surrounded by natural beauty.

Six of us stayed in the house of a 60 year old woman named Amaparo who lived with her 24 year old daughter Lillian. We had all our meals with the family and for two days went to Spanish language class for four hours each morning at a school down the street. We had our afternoons free to explore Antigua. We walked around the city, visited the market and various ruins, and on the second day, we hiked up one of two active volcanoes in Guatemala, Volcan de Pacaya. We found some salsa dancing near the Parque Central and enjoyed some tasty local food at a restaurant recommended by Amparo, our house mom.

Atigua is becoming one of the most popular cities to visit in Central America and I can see why. This quaint city was lined with beautiful ruins and cobble stone streets, surrounded by towering volcanoes, and bustling with culture and tradition.

The volcano hike was an amazing experience but I take away the most from time spent with my Spanish teacher, Rosalinda and with our house mom, Amparo. It was so valuable talking to them and hearing about their lives, stories, and being able to share a little bit of the same with them. We had a total of 8 hours of one on one language class. My teacher Rosalinda, was an educated woman in her late 30's that has lived in Antigua her whole life.

If I could communicate with locals throughout this trip, I found myself asking people if they'd ever visted the United States. The answer was overwhelmingly "no" and it made me think about how many people dream of the opportunity to see "America". On the second day of class, Rosalinda began to share her story. In Spanish of course, she told me about giving up on the process after years of failed attempts, waiting in long lines, and paying money to apply for passports and visas through the US Embassy in Guatemala City.

She had a friend and former student whom she was hoping to visit in Orlando and after giving up; she got a call one day and returned to the embassy, heart pounding with anxiousness. This November, thanks to an inside letter of recommendation, she will be living a dream and visiting the United States as she was finally granted a visitors visa. It reminded me how fortunate we are as Americans to go where we please and even more grateful for this extraordinary opportunity that I've had the past four months. What a perfect last port.