The embassy appointment was uneventful. Way too early in the morning. Lots of waiting. But we got to wait inside, sitting on chairs, unlike the crowds of Guatemalan nationals outside who were waiting for visas.
The Westin is odd. My mom loved her “Starwood preferred guest” thing, so I have been in many Westins, with my mom. She loved getting free stuff, and I remember that once she used some of her rewards on a gorgeous hotel on St. John, right on the beach. I joined my mom and dad there on a lovely trip that feels so much like the recent past.
This particular Westin is gaudy and pretentious in décor, but really lacking in basic service. I stood for 20 minutes waiting to check in, with Liana in tow, only to find that our room would not be ready for another hour, at 4 PM. The restaurants seem surprised to have customers. This morning after out long and boring embassy appointment, we rushed to the more modest of the two restaurants, only to be seated at a table that had not been cleared yet. After 10 minutes of sitting at a dirty table, I decided to go to the other restaurant, which was having a buffet. Liana was hungry and restless, and had spent hours already this morning waiting, and I didn’t want to make her wait any more. So I ran through the buffet and got some watermelon and a hard boiled egg and some bread, and got back to our table where I had to wait 5 minutes for silverware. Ummm. And it was a loooong 5 minutes with Liana pointing at the egg and the watermelon indignantly insisting that she wanted to eat. But I could not even slice the egg or get the seeds out of the watermelon without a fork or knife. I then had to hail someone down for coffee. And then someone else for milk with my coffee. I then noticed we had no napkins, and finally was given one. One napkin. With a 14 month old. Ummm. At this point I went to get some food for myself.
Now I’m not exactly a spoiled traveler. I’ve done the chicken buses and the backwoods motels and lodges. But if I am overpaying for Westin quality, blah blah blah, I expect, ummm, Westin quality.
But our room number is the first three digits of my parents’ phone number. The secular part of me dismisses this fact as irrelevant. The spiritual part of me thinks that this is a sign that my beloved parents are somehow here with me on a level that I cannot begin to understand. And the literary part of me thinks it makes good metaphor.
But overall, Liana is having fun here. She loves the rugs and the long hallways, and new places in general are just fun. I bought her yet another little dress this morning, and an illustrated Popul Vuh (the Mayan creation story) and a children’s book about growing up in the Guatemalan highlands by nobel peace prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, a woman I met many many years ago when I was working with Guatemalan refugees.
Now I’m not exactly a spoiled traveler. I’ve done the chicken buses and the backwoods motels and lodges. But if I am overpaying for Westin quality, blah blah blah, I expect, ummm, Westin quality.
But our room number is the first three digits of my parents’ phone number. The secular part of me dismisses this fact as irrelevant. The spiritual part of me thinks that this is a sign that my beloved parents are somehow here with me on a level that I cannot begin to understand. And the literary part of me thinks it makes good metaphor.
But overall, Liana is having fun here. She loves the rugs and the long hallways, and new places in general are just fun. I bought her yet another little dress this morning, and an illustrated Popul Vuh (the Mayan creation story) and a children’s book about growing up in the Guatemalan highlands by nobel peace prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, a woman I met many many years ago when I was working with Guatemalan refugees.
