Starting Latin America with a Japanese Touch

My mom made a Japanese lunch-box for my red-eye flight to Miami, connecting to Guatemala City. I ate half of it at LAX with a Starbucks tall soy latte in hand (when will by next Starbucks be?!), while watching the new double-decker Airbus A380 park at the gate. I want to fly that!!!!!
Being the red-eye, I arrived in Miami before dawn. My connecting flight wasn't until noon. If only I could go into the airport lounge and sleep on the sofa there... But having purchased a separate, really cheap ticket for this leg, I didn't have that choice. I ended up on a hard, metallic bench (why can't airport benches be cushioned?). Too uncomfortable and cold for a nap. I found another Starbucks stand (when will my next cup of soy latte be?!) and proceeded to finish off my lunch box. I appreciated every single bite. I mean who knows when my next onigiri & tamagoyaki might be, right?! Thanks, mom!

Guatemala City is one of the more dangerous cities in Central America. Hence, I decided to bypass the city and arranged transport to Antigua. For about $8-10, you can hire a minivan transport for the 1 hour ride.

For the first time in my traveling career (really, I wish it was a career!), I opted to stay at a Japanese guest house/hostel.
Japanese backpackers are EVERYWHERE, traveling very cheaply as if it's a contest. The majority of them stay at Japanese guest houses wherever they are available. I assume it's because they're seeking Japanese-speaking company. There's usually one in major cities along the backpacker route around Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
I don't know why it never occurred to me to check one of these out before. Probably because I speak English and therefore have no problem meeting and communicating with most other travellers. I guess a time comes around for everything though, and Antigua seemed as good a place as any to get an introduction into these Japanese hostels.
My observations:
Neutral – 99.9% of lodgers are Japanese. Some are long-term travellers like myself, while others use the hostel as an apartment. I met soccer players, Spanish students, and teachers there.
Negatives – No breakfast is included. Majority choose to cook Japanese food in the dirty, greasy kitchen. Rooms & bathrooms can be cleaner. Loud. No free Internet.
Positives – Extremely cheap beds. LOADS of travel information and advice available from the guestbook (man, these Japanese backpackers are detailed!). Comic books in the lounge area.
Now, the comics books were great! I got hooked on Golgo 13. I'd stay at a Japanese guesthouse just for the comics alone. Seriously!

Antigua is a colonial city in central Guatemala, surrounded by volcanoes that often let out steam in the morning.
From Cerro de la Cruz (hill with a cross), you can get a great view of the city with one of the larger volcanoes in the background. Due to safety reasons (armed robberies), the Antigua police runs a shuttle service to the hills twice a day. You get to ride on the back of the police truck and they wait for you, with gun in hand, while you take in the views. The city itself is quite safe (at least during the daytime), and I took a pleasant walk along cobble-stoned streets to see Antigua's many churches and old, colorful buildings. Nothing particularly stood out though.
Guatemala, especially Antigua, is known for their cheap Spanish schools. Explaining why you see gringos everywhere in town! Private Spanish lessons for about $5/hour...VERY tempting. I seriously contemplated staying in Antigua for a week or two to learn basic Spanish. Considering that I'd be traveling in Spanish-speaking countries for the rest of my trip, it seemed like a good idea.
But then again, I didn't find Antigua to be a place I'd like to hang out for a week. Plus, I didn't really like the food. It's cheap – a set menu of meat soup, tortilla, and juice only cost me 12 quetzales (~$1.50). But not yummy. If I may be honest, I thought that the tortillas were disgusting! Thick, dry, and smelly. Since every meal comes with a bunch of tortillas, they're hard to avoid. I did, however, like Guatemalan coffee as well as the cut fruits (mostly pineapples) sold by street vendors for 25 cents!
So, forget the Spanish lessons. I'm gonna keep moving.

On an aside, I met a very inspiring Japanese backpacker. A year or two younger than me, she was travelling the Americas, overlanding from Canada all the way down to southern Argentina. Nothing to be amazed about in that alone, except that she was born deaf. I can't imagine what it must be like to travel in unknown places without being able to hear. Being deaf in your own home must be scary enough, but to travel... Wow.