Central America called out for us to visit in late August, and who were we to deny a trip to the beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala? Plus, it was a chance for Ernan and I to pull out our rarely-used-in-the-office Spanish.

Our Attractics division supported Baxter’s booth at ISPD-LAC with our custom newsletter program. Here we had a crowd from a very respected and serious profession being asked to flex their muscles for the camera, and every other passerby. You can imagine that it took a bit to get them to overcome their shyness; so, I took one for the team, and posed for the camera in a super awesome Arnold Schwarzenegger fashion. That’s all it took! Once they saw the concept in motion and viewed the finished personalized custom newsletter starring me front-and-center on the cover, we couldn’t keep them away. In fact, we were asked by the event coordinators to hold off on taking more photos until the following break, so that they could commence the next lectures without falling behind schedule. No worries, though, the crowd came back time and time again. So much so, that our poor laser printer couldn’t keep up with the demand; it just about exploded of exhaustion on the last day of the show.

All in all, it was an amazing show in a city full of character. The beautiful green landscapes overgrowing the antique Spanish-Colonial architecture barely held together in ruins, nestled between three gorgeously lush volcanoes — one of which, is still active. And we must not forget to mention the heart of the local people. All of whom greeted us with open arms equal to no other place I’ve ever been. Many of whom offered us a chance to own a multitude of hand-made masterpieces for only a fraction of their true worth.

Oh, Antigua, Guatemala… what a trip.

¡Siempre tendrá un lugar muy especial en mi corazón! Espero muy pronto visitarte de nuevo.

(You will always hold a special place in my heart! I hope to visit you again very soon.)

-Shani