Flying Solo

Hi Mom & Dad,

Yanina left yesterday morning. Her flight was around 7 AM so she left the house around 4. It's really hard to say goodbye when you can't be certain of when you'll see each other again. Feels so weird to come upstairs and not pop in her room or not to be waiting for her to come home from Spanish lessons when I eat dinner. Heads up: if she doesn't come to Chicago sometime soon I'm going to Germany.

Started my Friday night off with Francisco and we went to Zoola, the nearby Israeli hostel/restaurant. There we met up with one person he knew and ended up meeting everyone there. With Francisco, that's usually how things go. It's dimly lit there and we sit on pillows and eat on tables low enough that sometimes it's a struggle to fit your legs underneath. There were so many of us we ended up needing an extra table ha it was really nice. Everyone just chatting chatting chatting about all kinds of things. I've learned so much about Israel from going to Zoola. For example, everyone in Israel has to do service in the army from two-three years. Afterwards, most people take time to travel and most of them go to Central or South America where they bump around for a few months. One of the girls there just got here from Nicaragua and was robbed of her toiletries so I'm taking her to the store to get more today. Francisco & I ended up leaving with two new girl friends from Zoola and told them we'd show them around.

But I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of the sites that Francisco holds near and dear. He goes for the more touristy spots while I prefer the more authentic ones. Usually Yanina and I would go to them together but I no longer have her as a wingman...wahh. Intent on not throwing out my Friday night at a place I didn't want to be, I ended up meeting some of my friends and going to a salsa spot. Although I'm not the hugest fan of salsa, I felt much more at home there than anywhere else I'd been that night.

It's Guatemala's independence day so the streets are packed and there's constantly music, drums, and packs of kids running around with whistles- just like there has been all week. Think I'm going to the park today with a friend to check it out.

Happy Saturday!

Xo, Rach