The journey back from Guatemala was a rough and unforgettable one. The day started out great! We headed out of Antigua at 3am. The ride to the airport was smooth and quiet. When we all checked in Dan and Cassie were able to get on the flight that Brian, Jessy, small Brian, and I were on instead of the flight that left later that day. When we were boarding the plane we said goodbye to Kristen and Shea. I hated saying goodbye to these awesome girls! I am not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes as I waved goodbye to them and walked down the hallway to the plane! Our flight was smooth but I was unable to sleep because I had come down with a cold and could not stop blowing my nose or coughing. Once we landed we all got through customs and to our gate with no trouble. This is where our luck ran out.... Big Brian was flying to Tulsa and would be on a different flight so we said goodbye to him. It was just the four of us now. Dan, Brian, Cassie and I all waited for our flight to KC that was scheduled to leave at 3. When 3 rolled around they told us that maintenance needed to work on the door and would be just a few minutes before we could board the plane. About 10 minutes later they said that door couldn't be fixed and that they would be doing a plane swap and we were assigned to a new gate. So we all gathered our stuff and headed to our new gate where we would wait for about 20 minutes. After all of this, they ended up cancelling our flight completely! We had to stand in line to get assigned to new flights. Fortunately, Dan and Cassie had originally booked a later flight then ours, so they were able to leave. Brian and I were not so lucky. The next available flight out of Houston to KC was in the morning. So they booked us rooms at the local Holiday Inn and we were shuttled there for the night. The next morning we got on our flight and landed in KC safe and sound!
The night we spent at the hotel was rough for me. There I was in my hotel room, by myself, after having been with my study abroad family 24-7 for the last 2 and 1/2 weeks. The feeling of loneliness was strong enough to break me down into tears. This was the first time during this trip that I felt homesick. But I wasn't homesick for Kansas, I was homesick for Antigua and my study abroad family. This trip has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I can't put into words how this trip has changed me. I am truly grateful that I was able to go on this trip and I am eager to do it all over again next summer!
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