Saying Goodbye

I'm not one to cry. Really, I'm not. But this past week has been full of tears. Between little cries with Alexander and busting out into tears over breakfast with my host mom, the tears have been flowing this past week.

I've never had to say goodbye to someone incredibly close to me knowing that I will probably never see them again. Saying goodbye to Charlie and the other exchange students was way harder than I expected it to be...

We went to El Bar, the salsa club downtown. It was weird that we ended up there, because I haven't been since we took salsa lessons my very first month in Mexico. Being there with everyone and with Alexander was so weird. The bar hasn't changed a bit, but I have. I was in a strange reflective mood all night. Remember that time I tripped during my first salsa lesson? Remember the first time Charlie tried to teach me how to dance salsa? (hey, let's try it again a year later...nope, I'm still a horrible dancer...). Look at everyone working here, think of the ridiculous nights you had with them a year ago, and try not to bust out laughing every time you look at them....(ESPECIALLY Armando....though Gustavo and Turus were a bit of a challenge too...).

Mexico, I already miss you.

Noise

As much as Americans have a reputation for being loud and obnoxious when abroad, we live very, very quiet lives compared to the rest of the world.

Mexico is constant noise. Between street vendors calling out, music blasting from storefronts, children running around yelling, and the ridiculously loud buses, finding a quiet space is near impossible.

Like right now, for example. My host brother is playing American music loudly on the speakers throughout our house. The house that is sort of diagnally above us is blasting banda music. As if the clash between these two playlists weren't enough, the students who live above us are continuing their never ending party. The callejonadas continue leading tourists through the streets as they sing old love songs. Any minute now, the parade that has been happening every single night will start up, and there will be a marching band and hundreds of people cheering them on.

The social norms we have in the States about making noise in public absolutely do not exist here. No matter where you are in this town (and the few other places in Mexico I have been), finding a quiet place to sit and frantically write a final essay is near impossible.

Last week.

So much has happened since going to Puerto Vallarta, I don't even know where to start. It has been a rough month, not because of drama or illness, but just because I know that I'm leaving Guanajuato soon. Over the past year, this city has truly become my home. I will miss sitting on the steps of Teatro Juarez doing nothing in particular, drinking in the sketchy basement bar La Pinta with Alexander and his co-workers, watching a really gruesome autopsy show with my host mom as we eat dinner.

The day after I got back from Puerto Vallarta, I went to Alexander's cousin's birthday party. It was SO much fun. I spent the night chatting with the family, dancing salsa and cumbia, and getting caught in the middle of a flour/confetti fight. Best birthday party ever.

The first weekend of April I went to Lagos de Moreno with Alexander to visit his uncle. It is a city in Jalisco, but only about two hours away from Guanajauto. Hospitality in Mexico is unlike anywhere else. When you visit someone, you are always told estas en tu casa, or you are in your house. Sort of like mi casa es tu casa, but deeper and more sincere. We started off the visit by spending the day at the pool with the whole family. His uncle has three children, roughly 12, 9, and 2. I'm in love with those kids. In the pool it was boys vs girls, so Denise (9ish) and I teamed up against Alexander and Axel (12ish) in some sort of game. After the pool, we went grocery shopping, ate dinner, then stayed up all night playing Guitar Hero. Just like home. The next morning we stayed in watching movies, then headed back to Guanajuato that night. I felt more at home with his family than I have felt in a very long time, and was very sad to have to leave. The family might be taking a trip to the US sometime next year, hopefully they will drop by Portland!

Nothing all that exciting has happened since. Friday night was the program's goodbye dinner. Afterwards, I finally went out drinking with Imelda, Charlie, Allison, and Abram. We started off at La Diabla and ended up at the UG Foreign Language Department's goodbye party. SO MUCH FUN. Within twenty minutes of getting there, I was getting salsa and cumbia lessons from a really nice student. He kept saying "See? I told you it was easy. You're a natural." He was just being nice, but it was still so much fun. After an exhausting hour of dancing, I joined back up with Imelda and met a lot of other exchange students. I'm really sad that I'm only just now meeting them, because I can see most of them becoming pretty good friends.

So that is all for now. Less than a week left in Mexico. I still have so much to do. I still have my final essay and presentation for 19th Century Latin American Literature, packing (how am I going to fit everything in the two small suitcases that I brought?), and gift buying. Sigh.

Oh, Mexico, I'm going to miss you so so much.

Pizza with chimichurri. SO good.'

Me, Alexander, Denise, and Axel after a day of swimming.

Puerto Vallarta

I spent the second week of our spring break lounging on the beach. It was fantastic.

I ended up going to Puerto Vallarta. I was a little hesitant because it is a huge tourist city, meaning it would be expensive, full of tourist traps, and not my type of vacation. But since I was traveling alone for the first time, I thought it would be a good idea to stick to the beaten path. And I had an incredible vacation.

The best part was my hostel. It was about a twenty minute walk from the beach, in a residential neighborhood, so it was away from all the tourists. The staff and the other people staying at the hostel were fantastic, and it made my vacation.

I spent the first day sitting on the beach, reading, eating seafood, and drinking some yummy beer. It was so relaxing.

The second day I went on a snorkel cruise. The water was murky that day so I couldn't really see anything, but it was my first time snorkeling and I enjoyed it a lot. It was also really nice to be out in the ocean swimming. I was the only American on the boat, though there were a few Canadians. (Even in Puerto Vallarta there were hardly any Americans. Almost all of the foreigners were Canadian or British. It was the same in Chiapas, everyone was surprised to see Americans- we have been majorly scared away by the reports of violence).

Day 3 was spent with some of the other people at my hostel. We took a bus a little outside of town to a more secluded, less touristy beach, where we hung out for most of the day. After a few hours we headed back to the hostel and just hung out the rest of the day, until Ladie's Night at Harry's. So much fun.

Friday was my day to go home. My bus didn't leave until the afternoon, but I spent my day at the hostel because I knew that if I went to the beach, I just wouldn't get on my bus.

Dia de los Flores, Random Updates

Hey everyone.

April 15th was an awesome holiday, Dia de los Flores. As far as I could tell, it is a celebration of the Virgen de Dolores. All over town, people set up altars for her and left offerings, mostly fruit and ice cream. The entire city stays up all night eating, drinking, and partying. Plaza de la Paz is completely converted into a giant tent full of food and flower vendors.

I started off the evening with three fellow study abroaders that I hadn't hung out with much previously. We started really early so the streets weren't to crowded. First we got some food at the giant food tent, got some drinks at Zilch, then headed to a party a friend had invited us to. We continued the festivities there for a few hours, and a learned a few drinking games. (New favorite: Pendejo. A lot like Spoons but more intense, involving tequila and markers.)

From the party the rest of my study abroad friends went to go salsa dancing and I met up with Alexander. We ended up just wandering around for most of the night, with a quick stop at some cantina-like bar where he tried to teach me how to dance (fail). I ended up getting home around 4 in the morning (which is early for Dia de los Flores!)

Since that day I have been nursing a pretty nasty cold, so nothing much to write about April.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Puerto Vallarta until Friday. I'm going by myself, which I'm not going to lie, I am a little nervous about. Not so much about safety issues, just about logistics. The last trip I went on, I was with Lisa, who is the ultimate trip planner. I definitely channeled my inner Lisa when I was planning this, so hopefully everything goes smoothly. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Now some pics from Dia de los Flores:

Most of the group from the party

Giant food stand!

Example of one of the hundreds of altars set up around town

Random Thoughts

I've been meaning to post for the past few weeks to let everyone know what I have been up to...I keep having random thoughts pop up that I want to share with everyone but they were never quite enough to justify a post. But it is a hot Friday afternoon and I have nothing to do until later, so here are just a few of those thoughts.

1) Studying abroad can be such an emotional roller coaster, it is exhausting. Some days, this is my favorite place in the world. Spanish rolls of my tongue and I'm never going to leave Mexico. Then the next day, I can have a completely different attitude. I'm so homesick that it physically hurts. I can't focus on what people are saying to me at all. The past few weeks have been mainly low (personal drama, family emergencies, missing birthdays back in Oregon, the cold that WON'T go away)...but I'm starting to get myself out of that rut.

2) I just read an article about how students who have studied abroad tend to do better in school after their experience than before, which was really interesting. First of all, when you go to school in a foreign country, the systems they have in place are completely different. You're going in blind, and have to figure everything out (in your second language...). By the time you get back home, you're so used to having to work five times as hard for something that the familiar is a piece of cake. If you can figure out the way they organize their books at the library in Valenciana (something that still alludes me...), you can pretty much handle anything the university system back home can possibly throw at you.

3) My tastes in food have changed so drastically since I have gotten here. Now I gobble up my papaya with my breakfast in the morning. I looooove micheladas (beer mixed with tomato juice, chile, lime, and some other stuff...also the variations with juice are yummy), salsa verde (the spicier the better), light dinners (washed down with a glass of milk, which I couldn't even drink when I first got here). Just a few examples.

4) Semana Santa. Our spring break is in April (Easter week and the week before). 2 weeks! I am going to the beach. Not sure which one, or with who, but it will happen. My host mom says I should go to Ixtapa. My friends want to take me to Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco. I want to go back to Chiapas and check out Boca del Cielo. Also I have an offer for Puerto Escondido. We shall see what happens. All I need is some quality beach time and I'm good.

Alis volat propriis

The past few weeks have been pretty dramatic. I'm not going to rant or go into details, but I lost someone I thought was a dear friend over something so ridiculous, leaving me with absolutely no women friends here in Guanajuato. For the first time in my life, every single one of my friends is male. This has ups and downs, but I have to say, I reallllllly miss my girls back in Oregon.

Right before coming to Mexico, I participated in a week long conference with Portland State's Center for Women, Politics, and Policy (CWPP). There, I met 20 of the most amazing women I could ever hope to meet. 20 women of all ages lived together, worked together, and partied together for an entire week with absolutely no drama, cliques, or whatever other ridiculous shenanigans women have a bad rap for. It was absolutely incredible to be surrounded by such strong, ambitious women, and it is an experience I will never forget.

Since then, I look at most women that I meet through a completely different lens. Naively I automatically assume that I'll get along with everyone as fantastically as I did with my lovely CWPP ladies, and it is always shocking to me when I meet a woman who doesn't have the type of confidence, self respect, and ambition that these women do.

That is about as much of a rant you're going to get from me. Parting words: I miss my girls.

My CWPP ladies and Barbara Roberts, Oregon's first woman governor, June 2010