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A visit to Quetzeltenango brought us what we were most hoping for from our trip. A chance to immerse ourselves in Guatemalan culture and learn how people live in different places. We traveled via public bus to a local food market, where vendors carried vegetables in bulk, sometimes six or more feet high and weighing over a hundred pounds on their backs from stall to vehicle to be taken to local stores and restaurants. People began before dawn, often leaving their villages at

Our Memorial Day trip this year was to Philadelphia. A visit to the city was part of our f*ck it list, our name for the list of things we want to do and places we want to see in the US before we move abroad – eventually. We arrived to grey skies and temperatures in the low 60s, a far cry from the 95-degree days the beginning of the week in the city provided. After a red eye, we were groggy, eyes heavy, but excited to see the city. The history of Independence Hall and other pr

After the sun dipped below the horizon, we looked up from the lacquered wooden picnic table in an outdoor beer garden that is typical of Roosevelt Row and stared blankly at one of the most colorful sunsets we'd seen in years. The light cotton candy pink and azure sky had darkened, first to a burnt orange reminiscent of a Texas Longhorn, then to a deep red and purple. The blood red backdrop filled every inch of the sky while the light darkened and darkened. All we could do was

Antigua's famous Iglesia de la Merced - Visitors can climb to the roof and watch El Fuego erupt at sunset! Over Thanksgiving Weekend, my partner and I took a trip through southern Guatemala. Upon arrival to Guatemala City, we left the airport in the early morning, few people up at the strange hour. We gathered our bags and strolled past the waiting families and hotel transfer coordinators with last names written on whiteboards or typed on paper slid inside plastic sleeves to

Anticipation for an upcoming trip is what gets me through the day to day slog of an extremely stressful day job. Have we planned everything? What are we going to do once we’re there? When the day finally comes, it doesn’t matter what time it is. I can’t wait to get to the airport. Becki, understandably, would rather not spend a minute more at the airport than necessary. This makes sense. The act of traveling is undoubtedly the worst part of travel. If only there was a way to

When deciding to move across the world, the logistics become barriers. One of those logistics are pets. As DINKS (Double Income No Kids), our pets were our children. And we had to consider what was in his best interest. Would DJ be healthy enough to travel? We figured out a way to get him to New York in coach, but he’d have to go from New York to Spain in Cargo. He had a heart murmur. Could he make the trip? The guilt if he died in transit would be overwhelming. We couldn’t r

The Needle pointed the wrong direction. A knotted feeling permeated through my body as the results came in. It was clear. We lived in a country where a majority of our voting citizens lived through four years of the man as their president, knew what that felt like, knew what he represented, and signed up to do it again. Becki and I had discussed leaving in 2016. I wasn’t ready. We talked about leaving in 2020, but he lost. We didn’t talk about leaving this time. We didn’t n

As an aspiring author, I eagerly read the author’s notes every time I finish a book. Yes, I like to see the recognitions of the team of people who make publishing great work possible. However, I always am on the lookout for the process of other writers. Some authors write chapter by chapter; others discuss the months it takes to complete a first draft. The precision in which their stories develop certainly gives credibility to this approach. Other authors develop their first