I haven't even been back in the States for four months, and I'm already planning my next trip abroad. What happened was this: my boyfriend put together an awesome travel video of our recent trip to India and SE Asia that got some attention. He sold a few clips to Lonely Planet TV, and got enough kudos from another travel site (www.tripfilms.com) to score us a (semi-) sponsored trip to make travel videos. And where do they want to send us? Guatemala and Belize.

STOKED.

It will be our first time to Central America--my parents traveled there 30 years ago (they got hitched in Costa Rica, with a marriage certificate in Spanish to prove it). We're planning about three weeks in Guatemala and one week in Belize. Would love to stay longer but, you know, $. So a month it is. We leave mid-Feb and might stay through Easter (I hear Easter celebrations in Guatemala are rockin').

One small confession: I read the US consulate sheet on Guatemala and--I'm going to be honest--it freaked me out. Now, I should have learned from traveling in Africa and the Middle East that these travel warnings LIE. Shamelessly. But when you look at a list documenting every violent attack on foreigners in the past year, it does little in the way of comfort. Still, I'm excited--I'll just keep reminding myself that I survived war zones in South Sudan... How hard can Guatemala City be?