From Oct. 11 until Oct.18 tropical storm 12E abruptly hammered the west coast of Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador. Another natural disaster in Guatemala with floods, mudslides and turmoil left a handicapped people in a handicapped nation.
This week of downpours put the nation into “Red Alert” status of emergency. The winds weren’t high enough for hurricane status, but for many students on Spring Arbor University (SAU)’s semester abroad, this kind of extended storm was a first.
Students had different opinions about the week straight of rain:
Alyssa Bulow: “I love the rain. I just wish I didn’t get wet every time I walked in it. It makes it a lot harder to get people motivated to go buy ice cream because they say ‘it’s wet and cold, I don’t want to go get ice cream,’ and for me that’s a big problem.”
Kyle Bowers: “Every time it rains, it rains in my soul. It makes your feet wet, it makes your underwear soggy, and rain in general is just very wet.”
Rachel DeSimpelare: “I don’t enjoy it because everything gets soaked, but it makes you appreciate the sunshine! You’ve got to look at the bright side!”
Jenna Curcio: “I had long pants on and they got wet up to my thighs. Wet. Up to my thighs.”
Kayla Hadley: “I happen to really enjoy the rain. I recognize that having my shoes wet all the time is not great, but I’m thankful for a pair of cowboy boots that I own because they keep my pants dry. It has been fantastic and I even choose to step in the puddles because rain is one of my very favorite weathers. It’s purifying.”
During the rains we learned in our classes the word “inundaciones,” which means “floods”.
Thankfully the rain stopped Thursday, Oct. 20, permitting a beautiful view of the three volcanoes around Antigua.
Halloween weekend we have plans to go to Lake Atitlan, arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world, but we can only go if the roads are passable.
