June 20, 2008

My internet is down at the house so this week will be shorter as I am using the computer at school. So here´s a quickie update...

1. Countdown to the end. With everyday, the fact that my time here is almost done becomes more real. With that has started to come the nostalgia for what I will miss here. So yes, I am ready to go home, but I am grateful for the year I have had and all the great experiences and people. All I have to say is strange.

2. My time not in school isn´t as "free" as I expected. I feel like I have had a lot more social interactions lately, mainly because I will be leaving soon. (I have people I´d like to hang out wiht before I go, and sometimes they are "Let´s invite Michelle" quick before she leaves.) Either way, it has been nice, but it sometimes makes school work hard to get accomplished. The plan is to make a list of "must do" for social, school, and moving-transition needs and desires so that everything will get done (as well as start to say no!).

3. The house: Love my new housemate! She is super easy to live with, considerate, younger than I expected, she has a 3 year old son who stayed with his dad back in the Baja, is gone much of the day so I still have space to my self, but we also get along well when we are around.
As of tomorrow, I will have a roommate, a fellow exchange student from Spain, who has had many unexpected difficult events happen at the end of her year stay here and so the Exchange program (and I) invited her to live at the house.

4. BGSU work... like stated above, time is slipping away. Sometimes all the other time demands make me super stressed and sometimes it´s a good break and motivator. Anyway, with that, I have changed my goal to getting all of the work done here and so will be saving 1-2 papers for the US. (I´ll have until the end of the TA training week in August.)

5. Ok, all! Have a good weekend!

Jesus and Carmen´s Carne Asada: pics

Top left: The carne asada grill with Carmen and I
Top right: Delicious veggies to make the salsa
Middle left: The carne and onions! (It´s really steak, then it´s cut up to make yummy tacos!)
Middle right: Happy Michelle post carne asada tacos and Tecate light beer (the whisky...just for show, sorry!)
Bottom: The gang (Yessica, Paco and little Paquito, followed by Ruben aka Tíó and Eloy, and my friends Carmen and Jesus)

Hungry anyone? I will miss Sonora´s famed food! (Their carne is considered the best in Mexico, hence the steak comment!)

Farewell fiesta pics!

Top left: Mexican Literature class
Top right: Friends from Mex. Lit class: Pedro, Marta, María Elena, and Ruby
Bottom left: party yumminess!
Bottom right: Writing composition workshop (maybe 2/3rds of the students are pictures)

June 15, 2008

Past two weekes update:

1. Still feel good about my living situation. I have loved the last two weeks living alone. However, as of today I have one (maybe two) roommates; a professor and her daughter, although I don´t know if her daughter is coming or not. I have met the professor, but very briefly, so I haven´t really gotten a chance to know her yet. She will be here the rest of the time I will be. I have been a little anxious about this change, but I knew it was a possibility when I decided to live here and was willing to take that "risk". As school is out, it might be nice to have a little company. Either way, it is for only for three weeks.

2. Farewells continue. Classes are finished, and most are also done with exams. I threw two official goodbye parties (celebrated with cake) with the two classes with whom I have been both semesters. I also said goodbye, earlier than expected, to my friend Alberto who is off to France for the summer. Needless to say, the these farewells have made me sad and melancoly. However, I am grateful for having gotten to know them: they have helped make this year a great experience and some of my best memories are with them. (It´s a good thing there are still friends here who I haven´t had to say goodbye to yet.)

3. Social time: Carne asada with Carmen this weekend, farewell for Alberto, lunch with Carlos (Veronique´s boyfriend), salsa/excercie classes, lunch with the family at the old house, running into classmates at school, etc. (I haven´t had a lack for those of you that worry about me!)

4. Reflections: saying goodbye, end of semester, almost the end of my year here have made me very reflective. Much of this year has been so different than I expected; with many parts more wonderful than I antipated, and other personal things more painful and difficult than I thought. I have so many feelings that surface: readiness to go back to the US (to understand everything again, to be finished with my papers for BGSU); nostalgia and grief that comes with saying goodbyes and approaching the end; disappointment and suprise at the goals, hopes, expectations that haven´t been fulfilled like I had wanted them to be; realization about the changes that I will have upon returning to the US and the areas that wouldn´t get any easier (starting over again in a new place), desires to take advantage of the time I do have left with the people I know. Again, many many reflections. Shocker I know!

5. BGSU papers...still working on them. Slower than I´d like or should. (One reason to appreciate having classes done and some goodbyes made already).

6. Three weeks left. (10 1/2 month completed). Very strange to think that will no longer be my home.

7. Still cooking yumminess! Still insanely hot!

Week 1 Living Alone

-The first two days it was REALLY quiet (proof I have been living with people and lots of noise for nine months). However, with a little background noise (TV or music) does the trick and I’m already adjusting to having it completely quiet again.

-I have to prepare my own food again. Although I don’t cook everyday (obviously!), I have been taking advantage of the fact that I have an extra reason to learn some good Mexican recipes before I go, while I have the all the ingredients readily available as well as people to ask for help. (Otherwise I would have waited until the US, and that isn’t quite as convenient.

-It was a busy week, so I didn’t get the full effect. That might happen once school gets out, but living with people doesn’t equal not feeling lonely as evidenced the past semester.

-I like living alone : ).

Other news: social and cutlural calendar

-Said goodbye to Veronique this week. I am doing ok, but the week before she left I had a good cry at least three times.

-Went to the Fiestas of Pitic last night. It’s the town’s five day festival. All of the events are free, and they get some pretty good, and famous, musicians and others to come in. The one I got to see was Lila Downs, the singer who did the sound track for the movie Frida. She had a wonderful concert. I wish I would have been able to take advantage of the festival more than just last night.

-Next week is the last week of classes. I am hoping to make some extra time in the week to say my offical goodbyes to my current and former classmates. Although I am ready for no more class assignments, I will miss the community that I have gotten every day. (Even though I will be here until July, I probably won´t see many of them once finals are done).

-BGSU work? Hmmm….between all the other things going on (both expected and unexpected) the past several weeks, suffice it to say that I haven’t been spending too much time on school work. However, the deadlines and requirements continue to come sooner and sooner. Time to step it up again!

Drastic Recent Weather

The weather is crazy. The week before this past week, the temperature was extreme: at the beginning of the week it reached 42 degrees Celsius (107 F), then a cold front came through and it got down to 19 degrees Celsius (66 F). So this meant that at the beginning of the week, I was sleeping under the fan with a wet bandana and t-shirt to cool me off (as the AC in my old house had not been turned on), and a few days later I was wearing long sleeves and jeans all day. This week it´s been back to normal temps, although this weekend it got up to 107 again. (Thankfully, the house I am now living in stays relatively cool during the day if I open up the house at night, so I have generally been able to avoid turning on the AC, which is an expensive commodity.)

Pants vs. Shorts Part 2

Remember my comment in the fall about how almost no one wore shorts? Well, I think I’ve figured it out a little bit more, although not completely.

Up until the 15th of May, AC was pretty much unaffordable. As a result, air was usually not turned on, AND more people than before wore shorts because it was hot. Now that the AC is turned on in most indoor places, most people wear jeans or long pants. Part of the reason is that it’s often too cold with the AC to be in shorts and a t-shirt only. (Most wear jeans. I tend to switch between Bermuda shorts (shorter shorts means sticky legs when one is hot), capris, and sometimes pants. However, I also have a long sleeve shirt or jacket (and sometimes socks) along for inside the buildings at school.

Fun facts on AC here: 1) It’s outrageously expensive even in the summer (more than the US). 2) In general, the AC is set way too cold. The charge is based on time the AC is on; however, I haven’t figured out how temperature auto set doesn’t help out with that.

Conflict with my theory: when people wear long sleeves and long pants and work outside all day. However, clothing is a pretty good sunscreen.

A Week of Farewells (2nd semester)

This week is Goodbyes Part 2. (More parts later….I am afraid the farewell process will not be short.)

In part, because it’s the 23^rd on Friday, which was the original day for the final day of classes before we had the strike. As a result, many of the other exchange students are leaving because their pre-existing summer plans don’t allow them stay to the end of the semester, which is now June 20.

Tomorrow, Thursday, my “Advanced Spanish for Foreigners” class is a having farewell party. The two I will remember from that class are Brian (US) and Hirochi (Japan), for all the times we laughed together in class; I enjoyed getting to know both of them.

On Friday, there is a carne asada for Veronique, who leaves next Wednesday. She will be the most hard to say goodbye to of all the people I have met this year; her friendship has been a tremendous blessing to me and in many ways she has helped keep me

(semi)-sane.

The timing of the other goodbye this week is more unexpected. The family with whom I have been living. I am moving out on Saturday. As you very well know, this semester I have been super stressed. I have not been able to do a good job of managing that stress and living with a family. In the last month, there have also been many incidents in which they have failed in their part of the housing arrangement. Both they and I have responsibility in the breaking of this arrangement, and therefore also our relationship.

I have been in contact with the Exchange Program throughout this process. They have graciously offered that I can stay in a house that is currently empty, similar to my situation at the beginning of the school year. (I have the most amazing Exchange Program ever!) My decision to move out was 1) that despite their efforts and despite appearances that all is well, there are still things going on that can resurface at any time, 2) That despite my efforts, my ongoing irritability and frustration in response to these incidents is not going to improve by sheer will power, and as a result it will continue to be a tense environment for me.

The decision has been very painful and difficult. I have doubts about my view of the situation. I worry about what impact I am leaving behind; especially in the groups I represent, i.e. an American, a Christian, etc. However, I also think and hope that my decision to move out will mean one less stress, and will prove to the better decision.

In regards to the relationship, I also hope, as a trusted family member told me, that I (and they) might even find a little grace.

PS
I wrote this last Wednesday before telling them. I have indeed received grace. Upon telling them of my decision, the "kids" (ages 16-21) responded very kindly, saying that I should come and visit. Luz Belia choose to not respond right away (which I said she didn´t have to), but the the next day she said the I could come and eat with them anytime (she sells food midday so I would pay of the food I´d consume) and that the doors are alway open and I am welcome anytime. I truly feel that there is there is hope for reconciliation and that my moving out will hopefully prove to help restore our relationship to something closer to what it was before instead of the tension and stress of the last month.

I am now in my new house as of Saturday, which I will have all to my self for most of the time. It belongs to the university, and although it is not the same house I lived in last August, it is a similar situation in that the Exchange program is allowing me to stay there.

"Cultural" experiences

Lately my "cultural" experiences happen from just living, in other words, not intentional. You´d think that there wouldn´t be room for too many since my days consist of 90% studying. Well... life has a way of suprising you. This week, it was a trip to the ER, my trip to the ER.

Before you freak out, I am fine; but here`s the story. On Monday night while I was studying in the grad study room with Veronique, I started feeling weird; my stomach felt funny, I was a little nauseous, light headed. Similar to a migrane without a headache. So I stopped studying, layed down, slept a little, awoke a couple times to other grad students popping in and out. However, the resting didn`t change how I felt.I thought about just going home, but one of the grad student`s boyfriend is a MD resident, and so they told me to wait so he could check on me. Well, I figured it was a weird migrane (usually I get the headache first) or food poisoning, although the food I ate that day was normal, and all I needed was to go home and sleep and wait it out (beign my dad`s tried and true expert medical advice). I took the check up from the doc; but when they suggested the hospital, I said no.

However, I did accept their offer to give me a ride home which I gladly chose over riding my bike. As we were walking out to the car, I suddenly got very light headed and then nauseous. All in all, I vomitted and fainted. So, needless to say, they again insisted on taking me to the hospital, and I had no energy to try to argue, even though I felt it was unnecessary.

To the emergency room I go. With the res doc, I got speedy admittance. They did a blood test, diagnosed me with gastroenteritis (the most ambigious all inclusive stomach issue ever), gave me an IV, wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic, and after about 3 hours sent me home.

The cultural part: First and foremost the hospitality and giving of the people here, ONCE AGAIN. 4 others brought me to the hospital, the resident doctor and girlfriend hang out for the waiting and checking up on me until 2 hours later they knew I was ok, the other student waited the whole tiem until I was released to give Vero and I a ride home (even though we said we could get a taxi), and Veronique keep me company in the ER. Everyone but Veronique are mere acquaintences from school. Vero is super stressed with finishing her thesis, but made the time for me. Again, so humbling.

Cultural part 2: Obviously the hospital visit. The hospital I went to was great. I hear it depends on which one you go to, but this one was great. I waited around for awhile more, probably more than the US, but I can`t say I`m an expert about US ERs either. The other thing that struck me was the cost: 250 pesos total (3 hours in the ER, blood work, IV), aka under $25 US. That was for me without insurance, when most here are covered by insurance. No wonder they don`t think twice about going to the hospital.My stomach is still on the mend, but I`m getting better, plus I got a trip to the ER out of the deal.

Post-post: My other "cultural" experience is my living situation. Whether or not it`s cultural, (a lot has to do with the particular circumstances going on or just the challenges of life in community), there are still differences. It`s been a challenging lately, challenging not only in the details of the situation, but also knowing how to respond with my various roles and all that I represent. And all that just from living with a family. "Culture" anyone?

School Update

With my stolen laptop, I lost the document with the calendar of my self-designated plan of action for my BGSU papers. As a result, I needed to remake it and reflect on where I am in the process. Well, more or less, I need to write a paper a week for the rest of the time I am here ( at the moment 5 papers, 6 - 7 weeks). Needless to say, that freaked me out. It`s also frustrating as that means my previous plans aren`t cutting it, but I still needed to let go of some things to create more time. The only thing left to cut was my class work here.

So a week and a half ago, I talked to all of my teachers about the need for me to do less for class, my asking for their help as I don`t like to and don`t know how to not give my all, and then either told them the ways I thought I could do less and asked for their permission to do that, or if they had a better idea. I also acknolwedged that it would affect my grade, which is fine.
All of them have been very supportive. It looks different for each class, but it will definitely help.

This has all been, hopefully, a step in my "perfection management"; you all know my tendency to do everything to 110% of my ability, sometimes for others, but often just for myself. "Slacking off" in classes and writing less than perfect papers is imperative, whether I want to or not. However, I as I wrestle with the negative side of this perfection, I am proud of the fact that I have accepted, albeit out of necessity, a plan to do a less than perfect job.

Not a week to repeat...

Well, this was not a week I`d like to repeat anytime soon. There are many reasons. One of the them has to do with living at the house, but the the one I´m going to share about is that my laptop was stolen!

The good news is that 1) all of my school work was backed up and so I didn´t loose any of my papers, 2) that I had a password protecting my computer so the person who stole it can`t just access my computer nor the information on it, and 3) that the Director of the Exchange Program loaned me a laptop (although it doesn`t have wireless internet access, it is a computer that I can use whenever!).
The bad news is that it was a costly carelessness...Not only was it a lost laptop, but it was my brother`s.

So, how does one get a laptop stolen? No, I was not held up at gun point. That being said, I unfortunatley was a litle careless and a little too trusting. So not only am I mad about the computer, I am also mad at myself for allowing it to happen, especially since I am normally a pretty cautious prepared person when it comes to things like this. So back to the question... How did it happen?

Tuesday morning I went to my 8:00 class. I had debated about taking the laptop in the morning, but I had a class and a meeting with a professor that it would be helpful, so I decided to bring it. Upon arriving at class, I sat in my seat, organzied my things, and decided to drink my juice outside the room. I did notice that I left my backpack open and that one could see my laptop, and did consider closing it, but didn`t. In addition I left my purse in my backpack. My rationale for not closing my backpack and leaving it was: 6 of my classmates were in the classroom, I trusted them, the professor would come anytime, and I would be sitting on the bench in front of the door to the classroom.

Within less than five minutes, my laptop was gone (although I didn`t fully realize it until after class, in part because I had debated so much about bringing it in the morning that I thought maybe I had left it in the house).

Reconstructed, this is how I think it was stolen. I had noticed a man dressed in a bright red shirt and khakis look into the room and then later enter (at that time I was sitting outside). My classmates told me after the fact that they noticed him, but no one knew him, but thought he was either a guest listener or a friend of someone else in the class (overly trusting like me). He had followed a classmate into the room, sat down (near my seat). No one saw him take my laptop nor did I see him leave the room (I was not looking out onto the patio and not at the door). However, as my backpack was open and my laptop was easily accessible, I think he saw it, waited until no one was looking, took it, hid it under his shirt or in a newspaer, and left. Again, all within a time frame of less than 5 minutes.

Again, who would have thought? but that`s apparently when these things happen. I am reminded of my time with the Colorado Mountain Club; in the wilderness, utlimately you can depend on no one but yourself for your survival (having extra food, water, knowledge, map-compass, etc.). The same is true with my laptop; ultimately the security of my things is up to me (or at least the parts I can control). It is not my fault that someone stole it, but it probably wouldn`t have happened had I been a little more cautious. An unfortunate occurence indeed! Moral of the story: don`t let up your guard!

Again, a very costly carelessness. Between the laptop and other issues going on, it was not a productive or good week!

Short (?) Snippets

So I tend to be long winded when it comes to words. My writing class the past two semesters hasn’t improved the length of what I have to say, in fact it’s probably made it increased it (although hopefully I now say it more clearly.) Since many of my entries tend to follow suit when it comes to volume, I thought I would try and shake things up this week, and write a few brief snippets!

1. After three weeks! After three weeks with no classes, the strike has finally ended and we are back to school on Monday! I am excited to get back to classes, to have a library again, to spend less time in the house, that the conflict has ended, and that I now know how many more weeks we will need to make up at the end of the school year. Woo hoo! Rumor has it that the governor got involved. Whatever the case, I am glad it’s done!
2. GRRRR…. Did you know that if you write “grrrr…”, it is the same in English, Spanish, and French? (However, I think that the sound might change!) Thanks Veronique for this fun fact!
3. Lame duck: In a conversation with my parents this week, my dad appropriately used this phrase to life here. I have been in Mexico nine months (wow!) and have only two remaining. So, I am starting to be neither here nor there, and I don’t want to put forth energy in people or events when I have limited time left and /or when I am not particularly interested. I don’t know if my lame/sitting duck attitude is good or bad, probably both, but that doesn’t matter. “It is what it is,” a part of the process, and describes (in part) where I’m at.
4. “Culture is when you think things should go a certain way or be done a certain way and there’re not (or vice versa).” My mom said something similar to me when I was describing to her a situation going on in with the family with whom I’m living. I have caught myself thinking how I would “solve the problem” with internal thoughts like, “If only they did this, then…” or “Why don’t they just…?”. However, I try to remind myself that there are lots of factors, cultural and other, of which I know nothing, and having cabin fever doesn’t help either. And so I try to be patient, observe, wait, and most importantly, keep my opinions to myself! (Hopefully I have been successful.)
5. Well, as this is "short"....I am going to call it a night/post! Until next time...

This week's posts

I have an overabundance of posts today…Check out all three: an update on the strike, Spring and the letter D, and Kino pictures.

Strike Update

They’re still on strike. It’s been two weeks. The judge declared it illegal this Thursday, but the union leader failed to acknowledge the decision by immediately claiming the strike legal and failing to turn over the University, as well as rejecting the University’s most recent proposal. Seriously? I don’t get it.

I still feel good about the work I’ve gotten done, but I’m more than ready for classes to resume (as are all the majority of students). I had hoped that the ruling would mean we’d be back to classes this Monday, but that appears to not be the case. Although the University president can use police to force the Union to turn over the University, it appears he is avoiding it for now in hopes that the union does it voluntarily. Again, who knows, except that this strike seems to be very political, and I find that extremely irritating.

“Spring” in Hermosillo: brought to you by the letter D

Dry: There is absolutely no exaggeration here. I have never been in a place as dry as Hermosillo in the spring. Example number one: Skin. I never put so much lotion on my body and face in my life, with the exception of my hands. Example number two: eyes. Although I wear my glasses 95% of the time (soft contacts the rest of the remaining %), but eyes still are super dry, probably in part to all the hours I spend in front of the computer. This week I bought eye drops for my eyes, eye drops for eyes, not contacts. Example three: hair So I have naturally well hydrated hair; I almost never use conditioner, except for the non-scalp part in the dry winter months in Denver, and must wash my hair every day in the morning, to avoid getting an oily head. Well, I have found the ideal place for my father’s oily hair…Hermosillo in the spring. Conditioning my hair and scalp everyday wasn’t doing the trick, so this past week I started washing my hair every other day, and conditioning every day, without it getting oily. I have NEVER been able to do that in my life.

Dusty: Last weekend, I awoke to the sound of wind blowing against the plastic blinds in front of my window. When I looked outside my window, I was unable to see the mountainous hills of Hermosillo due to a dust storm. Although that was a one time occurrence, the dust is not; it is tremendous the amount of dust that enters the house. As a result, I have become extra cautious about closing my laptop when I am not using it (even just an hour) and covering it at night in hopes to prevent it from dying from a dust stroke.

Pic 1: dust storm, pic 2: normal day

Drastic (temperatures): We’ve had many 100 degree afternoons (without air conditioning as the price doesn't drop until May). However we’ve also had evenings where pants and a long sleeve shirt with flip flops is chilly. Not every day or evening has these extremes, but overall it’s already gotten “hot”. I can’t wait until June…just kidding!

Desert beauty: Although I don’t get out of the city much, it’s been fun to watch the various different blooms that occur on the trees here. Furthermore, the trees, especially in the University (when it was open), have staggered blooming seasons; so every couple weeks it’s something new. This is a picture of the Palo Verde’s yellow flowers.

Palo Verde with spring blooms

Pictures from Kino beach: April

Last weekend I headed to Kino and the beach. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it has a rocky section, which is what I love about San Carlos and its beach. In addition to sea urchins, sea anemones, and an oyster catcher (which I had seen in San Carlos this December with my parents), I got some new wildlife…jelly fish (aka bad waters in Spanish). So needless to say I was thrilled with my day away! Enjoy… (I recommend opening the photos in a new window.)

Picture 1: urchins, a school of fish, and lots of jelly fish
Picture 2: a live jelly fish washed up on the rocks!

STRIKE! (And we’re not talking about baseball, however it seems Hermosillo is a fan of both.)

For your reading pleasure this entry has a shortER and long version. The underlined sections are for those of you that want the shortER version. The long version is for those of you interested in some of the details of the strike. Not sure if it’s cultural, but it’s definitely complicated. The bolded is just for organizational benefit, or the really really short version!

The big news here is that the workers of the university are on strike, since last Thursday the 3^rd, which means the school is completely closed. Everything is inaccessible, under lock and key, plus patrolling union members. As a result, I have had a week and 2 days of no school.

Here’s a little background information: there are two unions here, the teachers’ union STAUS and the workers’ union STEUS. However, there are also other employees who fall under neither category. Both the teacher’s union and the worker’s union voted last Thursday whether or not to accept the University’s budget proposal regarding their salary, benefits, and other compensations. Both unions were requesting for more than the university was offering, but in the end, only the workers’ union voted to strike.

However, the strike is much more complicated then salaries and budgets.

One, the strike was immediately declared illegal because they didn’t strike under the established procedures, supposedly. That decision was appealed. This past Wednesday the judge was to give his verdict on that, however, that day was pushed to Thursday. However, the University president failed to show up on Thursday so the meeting between the two parties (and the judge?) has been moved to next Tuesday, the 14^th. That means I for sure don’t have school until the 15^th.

Two, this strike is both politically entangled with the state and nationally supported. The workers union is supported by several other Mexican university union equivalents, Canaea’s mining union (which has been on strike for several months) and PRD, one of the national parties. PRD is involved because it wants the strike to reflect poorly on Sonora’s governor Bours, who is with the PRI party, and is up for reelection next year. (Hermosillo is the capital of the Sonora, the state). All this to say: it’s quite complicated.

When will this end? Potentially this coming Tuesday. However, if it is declared legal and they don’t reach an agreement, they are proposing a strike until May 8^th (supposedly a strikes come in time increments, such as 15, 21 days…I don’t get it.)

So how has this impacted me?

The good part is that it has given me some time to study without worrying about classes. I have taken full advantage and have put in long, fairly successful days, working ahead on school work, including reading the next novel for my lit. class, as well as finishing one paper and starting the next.

The bad news:

Bad news #1: The library is closed, and although I have many books to read for my papers yet, not having a library means what I have is what I get to work with.

Bad news #2: I have zero access to the school library, which means I can only use what I have. I do have many novels to read, can write my opinions, but I would have to save most of the research and support for later. (Plus I can’t work at school, which is always a nice option.)

Bad news #3: The strike has potential to last until May 8 (and maybe longer), depending on what happens this coming Tuesday.

My opinion on this all?

Primary opinion is quite selfish. I was glad for a week of no classes, but I am ready to get back so I can have as much as possible of June to use for Bowling Green papers.

Regarding the union and the university: both have some just fair reasons for some of their requests and actions; however, both have also failed in how they have approached and responded to the entire process. Overall, I support the university over the union.

Again, we’ll see what happens on Tuesday. It’s hard to say what’ll happen. Everyday it changes, so until this ends, this is just a whole lot of drama!

Spring Break: Intro

The week leading up to Easter was spring break, which I spent with my college friend Carissa. We went to three different cities in one week, which meant hypothetically a whirlwind tour. However, our trip was quite tranquil as we didn’t overly pack our time and had great lodging, which meant I was able to return ready to get back to studying. I enjoyed leaving my studies; being able to talk, share, and listen in English with an old friend (aka be understood and understand); and getting to see more parts of the country,although it was just enough to know where I'd go should I return there some day. Check out the next three posts for photos of our three stops. (Photo of Carissa, myself, and Andres, when we met up with him in Mexico City)

Picture of Raul and Ofalia, a couple I had met on my fall trip with Karen. They were fabulous help: advice and reservations on a hotel, prebought our bus tickets, picked us up from the airport, and a reminder to watch my purse! Much appreciated, especially in Mexico City.

Spring Break Part 1: Veracruz, Veracruz

Veracruz: A great place to begin our trip:

Sunshine for my Seattle friend Carissa and humidity for me with a beach to enjoy them (although not the place for true beaching),

drinking coffee with a view of the port and the great blue of the Gulf of Mexico,

a festive atmosphere in the plaza in front of our hotel with the

celebration of Palm Sunday and all the vacationing Mexican tourists on holiday (Spring Break occurs at the same time for all schools and universities, although the south gets an additional week after holy week),

plus many kind helpful locals to welcome us.

(1st picture: distant view of jam packed beach; 2nd pic: San Juan de Ulua Port;
3rd pic: plaza in front of our hotel, 4th pic: plaza at night.)