We have arrived!

It has begun! Our first day in Guatemala for the 2009 research is completed. What an exciting day we had as we traveled during a flood of notices from all sorts of media sources warning of a dangerous virus call the swine flu. If you haven't heard of that until now, and you are reading our blog, maybe you should re-prioritize your reading list. Anyway, just to put everyone at ease, I (Bryan), as you can imagine, am taking all the necessary precautions I can. We bought one of these suits. We were going to buy two, but they are a little expensive, so we are trading who gets to use it each day.
No, but in all seriousness, we are washing our hands frequently and avoiding people displaying the symptoms. I read some 15 articles on it this morning, so I feel well-versed, for now, on what everyone supposes to be the problem. And, we will continue to stay updated.

Anyway, so our plane flight left Salt Lake City, Utah at 12:50 a.m. MST on Saturday, April 25, 2009. We flew to Atlanta, Georgia, arriving at 6:07 a.m. EST. We then had a wonderful 3 hour layover, during which I ate a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel from McDonald's (this was only to help me prevent too much weight loss while in Guatemala). I also paid $7.95 to use the internet in the airport, and I ended up infecting my computer with a virus because of it. So, yes, I have a virus, but not the swine flu. My symptoms include "Anomalous Behavior". My bad. Sorry.
Anyway, at 9:45 or so, we left for Guatemala City, taking 2 turns around the runway, waiting for a backup of several other planes. The flight was fantastic. I loved the biscuit I was served on my Delta Flight, and I washed it down with some tomato juice. Lucky for Dave and me, I have one of the most caring and prepared mothers one could ask for. So, while others ate their biscuit and were left wondering what other scrumptious foods they might see a little further on in the flight (which ended up including a glass of free water), Dave and I, and the other people on our row, enjoyed boiled eggs, pea pods, carrots, broccoli, fruits, delicious sandwiches, graham crackers, and gum. Thanks, mom!

We worked our way through the Guatemala city airport. I made sure to thank the workers, all equipped with face masks, for taking proper precautionary measures:) Dave's friend (and previous companion from his two year mission he served in Nicaragua with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Hector, did the huge favor of picking us up at the airport. This was an awesome reunion, seeing Hector again! He traveled a little with us during our research last year, including a beautiful visit to Semuc Champey. It should be noted that Hector's first comment to me was, "Hey, you got a little chubby." So I have decided that going on grueling runs through the highlands of Guatemala will need to be part of my experience here. With that increased activity and the parasites we will likely rendezvous with while here, I might come back a new man. Watch out!

Anyway, (is that the third time I have said that word in this post?) just in case any of you think I am going on and on about nothing because I like hearing myself blog, you are right. This is still a pretty new concept to me, as a habitual thing at least. I hope the content will be more interesting as time goes on. But, hey, if you are bored, please go read more about the swine flu on some other site.

We love you all, family and friends! Really, thank you for all the help many of you offered to make sure Dave and I were able to wrap up the semester, move out, work, pack, and get to the airport in time to leave for this trip ready to go.

One last quick note: this research is awesome! I love it! But, the thing that makes the experience most enjoyable is the chance to see and be with all the loving people of Guatemala again! Here are some pictures of our experience thus far (and please, no comments on our physical condition--Dave and I both know that he looks perfectly normal and I...well I do too--I'm tired and just finished a crazy semester--give me some time to recover :)