Katy Brady: The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.- St. Augustine

I woke today feeling excited, anxious, and unprepared. How could I ever be ready for such an adventure? Like many travellers I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach and the thought in my brain that was telling me I forgot something; and I know that as soon as I get on the plane I'll know exactly what I forgot. It feels like just yesterday that I was saying that I would be going to Guatemala in a few months and knew absolutely nothing about the country or culture. I still feel quite similar in the way that I have no idea what to expect or what to be prepared for. But even with this feeling, I am extremely excited and can't really even put my feelings into words.

I am looking forward to truly immersing myself into a previously unknown culture and hope to learn more than I could ever read in a book. I've heard many times that Guatemala is the country that cameras were made for; but I have also heard that there is no possible way forthe beauty of Guatemalato be captured in an image, that it is something that is needed to be seen. With that being said, I am ready to be amazed and bewildered by the undescribable beauty of Guatemala and hope that I will be able to do it some justice by either my descriptions or photographs.

I am especially exicted for the visit to Tikal where we will be experiencingthe Mayan ruins. Although I had no previous knowledge about the ruins, I have discovered a passion for Mayan history and culture that I would have not discovered if not included in this experience. I am very interested in the information that we will gain from the Del Monte banana plantation and hope that I walk away with a new knowledge of how the workers in Guatemala are treated. And as mentioned previously, I am excited to experience the beauty of such an exotic country. I have never been to anywhere tropical (hopefully I don't burn too badly) and am very excited to experience a whole other collection of scenery.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. Martin BuberWith this quote in mind, I truly have no expectations because I'm sure that anything that I expect will be completely blown out of the water. I am sure that coming back to Vancouver I will have gained knowledge, experience, love, and an evenlargerpassion for travelling.

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