Road Trip

The morning after the Promotion Ceremony, Don, Judy, Katherine, Chris and I piled into an SUV for a Road Trip to Antigua Guatemala. We had great directions, a beautiful day, and 3.5 hours of driving ahead of us.

The roads of Guat (pronounced Whhhhought)are not the safest place to travel, but we took all precautions and started on our journey. Chris and I understand that crime is high in this region, but we refuse to hole up in our apartment in hopes of avoiding an unfortunate event. We can’t really blend in, but we can leave our money, watches and rings at home when we go out. We don’t travel with things we can’t live without. If you are approached you are instructed by the force protection agents to hand over whatever you have or whatever they want. Do not put up a fight. Many people told us that we shouldn't’t drive to Antigua, they of course were the ones who had never done it. The people who had driven didn’t even think twice, their advice... be smart and have fun.

Chris has developed a habit of putting his hand up, shaking his head, saying ‘no gracias’ and whether in auto or on foot. There are vendors and pan handlers every where you go. This habit has carried over into all situations where we are unsure how to proceed. People are always trying to get your attention, trying to get you to stop walking, stop driving and buy their goods. The best course of action is to act like you know what you are doing and that you are suppose to be there in that exact parking lot even if you don’t have the right official invitation. If you stop to ask a question, there’s going to be problems…

Recently when driving on the road to the Cumalapa airport a person standing in the middle of the Pan American Highway (standard – usually in the process of herding a rouge cow or selling an endangered iguana) tried to flag Chris over. To which he said “no gracias” to himself and pressed down on the accelerator. About 500 meters ahead there was a police checkpoint where they issued him a speeding ticket, (bizarre in so many ways… for starters, half the cars on the road are operating with MAYBE one light, not just one tail light, but one TOTAL on the whole car! No problem) at this point his ‘no gracias’ did not work. Turns out the threatening street character trying to flag him down was with the fuzz and radioed ahead his PNC colleagues.

Out of necessity, Chris and I have become very comfortable behind the wheel in this Wild-Wild West Country. So much that it may be a little difficult to return to the civility of the Nebraska straight a ways. We have been driving here for over 7 months and continue to shake our heads at what appears to be a fatalistic mentality. On the way to Antigua I think I counted 13 white knuckled “Oh MY GOD” ‘s from out Yankee kin, who were not accustomed to the Darwin driving methods of Central America.

You name it, people froggering across the Highway, tanker passing tanker going up a hill on a curve – right before an oncoming tanker comes into view, and our favorite, the GIANT stick trucks toppling to one side with their overloaded cargo. Actually, I think I just stopped keeping track at 13. It’s not right, but Chris and I kind of chuckled at how unresponsive we have become to the madness of the roadways. I am just thankful that Chris is an excellent driver, excellent driver, and that we will be able to return to the peaceful roads of Eastern Nebraska.

Upon arriving into Antigua we checked into a five star hotel, Vista Real. Not as popular as neighboring Santa Domingo Convent, but 10 times as nice. There are only 5 suites in the entire hotel, and when I say suite, I mean sweet. I think Katherine's room was bigger than my first apartment. Within 4 minutes of dropping our bags down we were served cold beers, crisp linens and knock your socks off tapas on Don and Judy’s private patio. We could have spent the entire weekend lounging in the decadence of Vista Real, but we managed to break free and see a little of the town as well.

It was Don, Judy and Katherine's first trip to Antigua and they loved it. We spent the days alternating between eating, walking the streets, browsing in galleries, eating, exploring museums, eating, napping, and eating. The temperatures were a perfect 75 degrees Fahrenheit for Chris and I to act as Guias to our favorite haunts, after a nap of course.

Teniete Coronel

On February 8th Chris was promoted from a Major to a Lutenent Cornel in the US Air Force. Chris’s parents and sister made the trip down to El Salvador to be present for the ceremony. The promotion ceremony was attended by approximately 50-60 friends and presided over by the Cornel and Ambassador.

Chris’s commanding officer served as the MC and began the ceremony by telling a story about the first time she met Chris…. “I called up Chris while he was still in Nebraska to talk to him about the position. I remember thinking after I hung up the phone…What are we getting ourselves into…but we were desperate.”

After getting a few laughs from the crowd she went on to recount many of the accolades and accomplishments of Chris’s 20 years of service leading up to today. As Chris’s biggest fan, I was especially proud to hear all his praises sung in front of his friends, colleagues, family members and Embassy dignitaries.

She said that Chris was such a humble guy… (yes, I actually laughed out loud, but they were not joking). Chris’s easy going personality is not what you would expect from a decorated war veteran with 3 tours in Iraq and Afganistan. Many in attendance had no idea he was among one of the bravest, honorable and select few A-10 fighter pilots providing close, slow moving air support to the soldiers on the ground. Many in attendance had no idea that Chris’s father was a retired two-star General, or that the Nebraska Attorney General was a personal friend and traveled down to help pin on his oak leaf clusters. She made her point by saying that Chris was a good, God fearing, earnest man, raised in the heartland of America, who works his tail off without telling everyone how cool he is. The MC joked that she wouldn’t be surprised if President Bush was waiting in the next room.

After Chris’s father, the Ambassador, the Cornel, AG Brunning, and I pinned on his new rank he spoke to the crowd. He hadn’t been feeling well and I bet his dad that he couldn’t make it thru the speech without mentioning the bug. He didn’t say five words before the gig was up, “Thank you for coming… except the small paracite in my stomach…har har har”. Chris spoke about the one-man theory, his quest to be the same man regardless of the environment; work, home, pool, chuch, in the car…etc. It was very well received and our good friend commented that Chris Stokes is best unscripted. He cracked some (actually funny) jokes on the fly and won over the admiring crowd.

The second best event of the day was the party following the ceremony at pool. There were margaritas, mariachis, and a fabulous balloon arch. At the risk of being a corny cheese ball, I have to say that I am so honored to share my life with my unassuming husband. He is an inspiration to me and I look forward to the day when we pin on the star.

Chris's take on Antigua

I cannot recommend this place enough. Of all the places I have seen in the world, it is definitely in the top ten with Rome, Paris, NYC, Aspen, etc. I am writing this on a bus coming home from a visit with Alisha in Antigua Guatemala. Antigua is a great town of 60,000 people that is about 40 minutes from Guatemala City. By bus from San Salvador, it is about four hours. The bus is nice and comfortable, assuming you splurge and pay the extra $17 for a first class seat! The bus has big comfortable leather seats, food, drinks, and movies. If it were not for sitting in the same place for four hours, I would say it is downright comfortable.

Antigua was the capital of “the new world” when the Spanish conquered the region in the 1500s. The capital has moved a few times over the last 500 years due to earthquakes and floods, and eventually ended up in Guatemala City. The Spanish still have their embassy located in colonial Antigua, though. The architecture shows its history, with very Spanish style buildings, cathedrals (huge), and homes. There are no modern buildings anywhere in the city, and the city planners/government has done a great job of maintaining the colonial feel. There are many ruins of old churches, convents, monasteries, etc., all over the small city. Actually, probably the finest hotel in the city is called Santo Domingo and it a hotel made in the middle of the ruins of a 15th Century Convent. It is a 5-Star hotel and Alisha and I ate dinner at their great restaurant. When we were there, there were a number of different events, namely a gringo wedding, that was going on. If you know someone who wants an awesome destination wedding, this would be the place. It is one of the nicest, most peaceful hotels I have seen.

For the last three weeks, Alisha has been going to an accredited language school where the State Department sends many of its employees who are learning Spanish. It is called Escuela Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquin and it is located in a beautiful part of Antigua, near the main Arch. The school’s courtyard is surrounded by an huge arched ancient convent wall made of a stone/brick combination. The individual classrooms line the walls (outside) and you sit in the box-like classroom with a table and two chairs with your teacher and learn. I actually went with Alisha this morning, since I had the day off (MLK Day) and spent my Monday morning in a grueling four-hour one-on-one session with a Spanish teacher. After the morning was over, I was so worn out I went home and slept for a half hour. I went to the bus and Alisha went back for another four-hour session in the afternoon. I really admire her for her perseverance and dedication in learning Spanish. She has another week and a half to go and she will take her exam that the school provides to give her an official rating as a Spanish speaker.

Guatemala is really a nice country. The place is beautiful, green, not full of trash (like El Salv), and the city seems to be tranquil and Europeanesque. Wide tree lined avenues, stores, reasonable traffic, etc. Of course it has its typical Central American issues like crime, corruption, disparity of wealth, poverty, etc. But from a gringo tourista’s point of view, it is a nice safe place to visit. I wouldn’t walk around at night or walk in an unlit (or lit) park at night, but I wouldn’t do that in many places in Kansas City either. The brand new president just fired 263 mid to high level police officers for corruption last week, and that is the big news. He also went to a local police station at 5am on a surprise visit, and woke up a bunch on “on duty” officers. I like his style.

Habla espanol?

The embassy community has welcomed us with open arms, bbq cookoffs at the pool, bible studies, adventure shopping, you name it - everything has been overwhelmingly accomodating. We have said that we wish that the didn't enjoy the company of the ex-pats so well, then we would reach out to our Salvadoran friends more often. Another down-side of surrounding ourselves with fellow Americans is that we are not using our Spanish as much as we should. I have been attending a language school in San Salvador for 4 hours every morning, and Chris has a daily class at the embassy. My school is named after a revolutionary El Salvadoran who was martred during the civil war. Chris calls it my "commie school". There have been a few political pitches made and he keeps joking that I am going to start wearing Che Guevera t-shirts.

After returning from the states for the holidays we decided the most effective way to learn spanish would be to go to Antigua Guatemala to study everyday at an official lanuguage school. I enrolled in Francisco Moroquin Proyecto Linguistico for four weeks of 7 hours a day of one-on-one instruction - ALL SPANISH.

The schedule was grueling, start at 8:00am sharp - study new material until 10am, break for 30 minutes to walk around town, grab something to eat, email - resume class from 10:30 to 12:00. Break for two hours - lunch and brain melt, then back from 2:00 to 5:00 to review material and participate in more interactive learning, i.e. shopping around town, playing soccer, or scrabble with the other students. Antigua is a hot spot for intensive language schools, over the past 50 years they have built a quiant little nitch in the middle of central america. There are well over 50 schools nestled into the tiny little town. My school was very nice and one of the oldest schools in Antigua. There were 52 classrooms, and each classroom consisted of a desk and two chairs. Some of the classrooms were in little wooden rooms and some were out in the garden or under the Church arc ruins among the avacado and orange trees..

I was fortunate enought to be able to stay at a near by Bed and Breakfast owned by Roberto and Beatriz Gonzales. There was only one room in the B&B and therefore it was much more like a home stay. We had breakfast every morning at 7am and occassionally lunch or dinner. Chris traveled up from San Salvador (5 to 7 hours) every weekend to visit. Let me know if you want more info on Antigua...