I didn't realize the excitement I was getting myself into when I decided I was going to drive a thirty-one foot long motor-home into Boston. I had been to other busy cities so this should be no problem. The size and height of my RV however proved to give me a hair raising experience than I had least expected. One that not only stressed me and my entire family out, but one that left us with no desire to see the historical sights of Boston. Within half an hour I squeezed through enough of Boston to last me a lifetime.

I got lost after entering an underground tunnel that was taking me into the centre of Boston. This tunnel went on forever and had 6 exits with unfamiliar names. Being underground my GPS did not work well as it simply...

First Day at a Guatemala Orphanage


The warm sun shone through the hostel's curtains and onto my face as I woke up reminding me I wasn't in Canada anymore. The night before we had arrived in Rio Dulce at about 10 o'clock after a 5 hour bus ride. My gut tightened with anticipation as I wondered what the first day of volunteering at Casa Guatemala would be like. After packing up and grabbing a quick bite to eat at Hotel Backpackers, the hostel we were staying at, we got into the small motorboat that was going to take us to the orphanage.

Climbing aboard I thought I saw something glinting on the captain's belt. Looking closer I...

Our plan to catch the7:30am chicken bus was quickly changed after we looked at the clock. I had woken up to the irritating screech of an exotic bird mixed with the “Ola, ola, ola” of the parrot that lives as a pet in the hotel. Dad's watch alarm hadn't gone off, so I ended up waking everyone up at 7am.

We all had to get ready and shower, so by the time we left our room, it was already 7:31am. Needless to say, we ran the whole way to the bus station. Someone was supposed to pick us up at 8:30 in Parramos to bring us to the orphanage, but we had no idea how long the bus would take. We had no choice but to take the 8:00am chicken bus and cross our...

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