alone time

I do a lot of things solo, including going places. But I don't do a lot of out-of-state travel (or out of country travel) alone. And this week, I'm at a conference and I feel like I have this opportunity to just check out the city solo. Nothing crazy, obviously, but just take some time, find places to take photos, just see a little something. And maybe not eat huge lunches and dinners and always be busy with people.

So, day 1? Ran into some people from work and spent lunch and the museum with them. Ran into a friend I worked with, and spent the evening with her. Which was great, but I'm really hoping that tomorrow I can hang out by myself. I love traveling with my team and my family, but I just want to see how I like doing some travel where I can make decisions and not worry if the whole group is down with it. Just to see what it's like. 

So fingers crossed!!

Central America

Guatemala

I have been to Guatemala City several times, and someday, I hope to see more of the city than views from my hotel and where I'm working. But, for now:

The airport is in the center of the city, so you get lots of flyovers

View from the rotating restaurant

El Salvador:

We didn't do much sightseeing, so it's mostly from the road or from the places we were working. We spent time in Ahuachapán and Santa Ana. These are from the trip to Santa Ana.

San José, Costa Rica:

Panamá City:

There's lots of photos here, because there's the views of the city, the views of the canal, the nature...yeah, this is where we took a break from working. You guessed right. 

The city:

The canal:

Another one of the city, specifically the architecture:

The nature:

The ocean (not the canal):

Dreams do come true

We went to Panamá, and I SAW SLOTHS!!!!!

Travel season

My travel season has begun. Well, begins, tomorrow, very early in the morning. It will be fun, but also whirlwind (4 countries in 8 days, 3 of those days all in one country). 

I never feel prepared for trips--none of us on the team ever do really, which is funny because we actually have a lot of it down to an art. We have grab bags with all our stuff (not sure what happened to the stuff part of it since the last trip. Things seem to have disappeared!) which makes things pretty easy, and I have my own version at home. No joke. I have two of certain things, one specifically to reside in my suitcase for trips so I don't have to worry about forgetting. And we've actually had a good bit of lead time on this trip. I have my presentation done, I have been piling up what I'm packing for a few days, it's all just sitting waiting to be put in a suitcase. Heck, even the airports have been sorted out quite a bit!

But I still don't feel ready. On reflection it is probably that mentally I'm not ready, to which I say, that is totally fair!!! Mentally, 2026 has been throwing non-stop curveballs and I'm not sure I can keep up! And it feels like ages since I've traveled (it has been 6 months, which considering that last year I went on a trip every 2 months more or less, it kind of has been ages!). It's gotta be like riding a bike, right? Once I get going, it will all come back to me? I really hope so! 

Anyway, one way or another I'll be at the airport bright and early. (No joke--we leave a 7 am. I cannot express how grateful I am things are better at airports!!!) Let the adventures begin!

Overheard in the hallway

So I work for an international organization. That makes it interesting when global politics go a bit sideways (or a lot sideways. Any amount of sideways. It all makes it interesting). For example:

We have an team that covers the US and a team that covers Europe/Africa. (My team covers Latin America and the Caribbean. You likely already figured that out). 

I was walking down the hall a week or two ago and overheard this conversation between a member of the US team and the Europe/Africa team: 

US guy: Hey, Europe/Africa guy! How's it going?

Europe/Africa guy: Well, y'know, my area is just trying to start WWIII.

US guy: Hey, so is mine!

For some reason, it is the most hilarious conversation ever while also just being kind of depressing. And that is just one example. 

In my own travels, I know that there have been worries about whether we'll be able to travel, whether we'll be allowed back in the country after traveling, how people in the countries we are visiting will react, ticket prices, and myriad other concerns.* I have friends in other countries who are definitely impacted by global politics. The news isn't as remote and far away as it used to be. Although, I suspect that is true for most of us, not just people at global organizations. 

Anyway, here's hoping that WWIII gets postponed indefinitely. We have too much to do at work as it is, without the apocalypse getting in the way!

*I should note, for an archivist, this is a pretty unusual problem to have. Like, a statistically insignificant (statistically non-existent, probably) number of archivists likely have to deal with this. At least in the US. Which on the whole, I think makes me pretty lucky.

Puerto Rico