More Gushing About How Much I Love Mexico

My host mommy made a comment today about how dark my skin already is, after only being back in Mexico for a week. I spend a huge portion of my day out in the sun doing homework (which usually ends in me being sleepy...but sometimes can be productive). The sun beats down on the tiny staircase in our garden that leads to my bedroom, and I sit there for hours every morning reading.

This weekend was great. Between the sun, the food (I can't even count the number of times I have had chorizo this weekend...we may need to have an intervention), the beer, and the company, I was kind of in heaven. I spent the weekend people watching on the steps of Teatro Juarez, eating chorizo tacos in various plazas around the city, meeting new people at the dirty hippie bar, catching up with my other exchange buddies who also went home over break...like I said, heaven.

Getting Resettled

There is something so wonderful about Mexico that I can't possibly put into words. The people, the food, the pace of life...I'm completely in love. Oh, and the weather. It is January and I have a giant sunburn (my host mom saw me and was terrified that I was getting sick again). It isn't hot yet because there is a nice cool breeze, but the sun definitely beats down on our little mountain town. I have to get back into the routine of putting on my sunscreen every morning.

Today I had class with my fantastic Spanish teacher Imelda. For the first time we actually stuck to the course plan, but luckily we ran into her after class on the steps of the Teatro and had time to catch up. I spent hours sitting on the steps in the sun before my next class, 19th Century Latin American Literature. It could either be a really challenging course or just something that I have to sit through three hours of every week. If anything, it will be great practice in listening to Spanish since the professor speaks faster than anyone I have ever heard in my life. I absolutely cannot believe how quickly words flow out of his mouth, but surprisingly I was able to follow him during our entire class today. (Yes, I'm bragging about that...it was quite the task.)

After lunch I spent almost three hours on homework, then finally got a chance to sit down and talk with my host dad Jesus. All of last term we wanted to have English/Spanish conversation practices, but our schedules didn't match up. This term we are making an effort and will be practicing together around 6 each day. Last term I always loved finding a few minutes to chat with him, so I'm really excited about making time to talk each day. Today we ended mainly speaking in Spanish, but it was still great. My host dad is definitely an intellectual and had a lot to say about migration, our topic of the day. He is really fun to discuss topics like that with, and he is so encouraging when it comes to my Spanish.

Tomorrow I have class again with Imelda, then a new class called Migration and Contemporary Social Issues in Mexico which I am really excited about. After class I'm heading to my favorite park down the street for some journaling, homework, and maybe even some fun reading. And this time I will remember my sunscreen.

Mexico: Parte 2

After a crazy ridiculous break, I have finally made it back to Mexico. I wasn't really sure how I would feel coming back. Could I really leave Portland behind? Would I go through culture shock all over again? The entire plane ride I was driving myself crazy with questions like those.

The minute I got into a taxi, all of those thoughts disappeared and I was smiling like a crazy person the whole ride home. Surprisingly, I wasn't just excited, but I felt like I was home. I didn't get to my house until around 10 when everyone was already asleep, but the sound of me failing miserably at getting my suitcases up our enormous staircase (picture below) woke up my host mommy Berta and she came to my rescue. I was assaulted with hugs, kisses, and crazy fast Spanish while I tried to catch my breath and answer all of her questions. After finally managing to convince her that I wasn't hungry, I passed out on my bed and slept through the night for the first time in weeks.

We have a new water heater (and it works! I can take a hot shower whenever I want now!) AND they put a new showerhead in my bathroom (washing my hair doesn't take half an hour now!). The walls inside my closet sort of fell apart so I have a dresser now, which I like a lot better. My clothes don't smell like damp plaster anymore. The house above us that was under construction all last term looks like it is almost done, and the family painted it a gorgeous turquoise color that I'm loving. Lots has changed in the two months that I was gone.

I had my first class today, Contemporary Mexican Literature, which I am really excited about. Our professor teaches at UNAM, Mexico City's massive and prestigious university, but is taking a year of sabbatical and teaching this course in our little university. I knew immediately I would like him when he introduced himself by explaining that one of the greatest joys of his life is writing with fountain pens.

Tomorrow I have to unpack, figure out why my phone is not working, make a photocopy of our 240 page workbook for my lit class, drop by the study abroad office to sign some papers, and buy school supplies. Once I get all of that done, I'm heading to the steps of Teatro Juarez to soak up some sun and celebrate being back.

Our staircase. This is only about half of it. Lugging my suitcases up here while extremely nauseas and exhausted was so fun.

Tonsils out!

My time in Oregon is coming to a close, I fly out in just 8 days.

It has been pretty incredible to be home. I got to spend lots of time with friends, family, and the boyfriend. And like I wanted, I got my tonsils out! It was ridiculous how often I was sick in Mexico, so I'm really glad that I got that taken care of at home. The surgery was not too bad, I think the worst part was the pain meds they gave me after. They made me so nauseated that I couldn't keep anything down. Yesterday I stopped taking them during the day and I feel so much better. My throat hurts, but I can eat a little bit. I'm stuck in bed basically until I fly back to Mexico, and I am SO BORED. I went back to posts about my trip (which I never finished...still have 3 days to go. I'll get to it) and added some photos.

I'm sad that I can't end my time in Oregon on a high with lots of adventures, but I'm excited to get back to Mexico and be able to push myself more than last term. So far I don't have any concrete plans for the semester, but I do want to try and get to the Yucatan Peninsula and back to Chiapas. Some beach time is most definitely in order. We will see what happens.

Hiking!

The boy.

Christmas

A few more weeks in the States

Being home has been absolutely incredible. I was so homesick, and so ready to be surrounded by family, by friends, and by my usual life. The initial excitement has worn off, and even though I absolutely love being here, I'm ready to go back to Mexico. It is slowly starting to work its way into my dreams. I miss everything about it, even things I used to complain about (like my INSANE cat Meow or the obnoxious rooster that crows at all hours of the night).

Heading back in 15 days...

Reverse Culture Shock

I realize I haven't quite finished the posts about my trip, but I will get around to it eventually.

I have been back in the US for just under a week now. It is good to be home, it really is, but it is so weird. Reverse culture shock is crazy, almost worse than just regular culture shock. When you first arrive in a foreign country, culture shock is expected. Everything is new, different, foreign. Eventually though, it becomes routine. Coming back after an extended amount of time away is so strange. You expect to be comforted by the familiar, but instead everything familiar is foreign at the same time. Everything I do, think, feel, is followed by a "Oh, weird, I have been doing this thing this way my entire life? In Mexico we do it this way." It is a strange, almost unsettling feeling.

Other than getting around to writing about the last three days of the Oaxaca and Chiapas trip, not a lot will be happening in this blog until late January when I go back to Mexico for Part 2 of the year abroad.

The Great Adventure: Day 6

Day 6

We decided to check out Cañón del Sumidero, and take a boat ride through the river that runs through it. Not being able to find much info on hour to get there ourselves, we took a taxi to the national park where we thought the boats departed from. Our cab driver, Alex, was super interested in our lives. He told us that not a lot of Americans come to Chiapas (especially to Tuxtla), and asked us all about everything about the States during the drive there.

We got to the park, which is basically a road leading up a steep hill. Along the way, there are five miradores, or lookouts, which look down on the canyon. We kept crawling up the hill, and were starting to get really confused about the whole boat idea. Finally we got to the top, and there was nothing up there. Lisa asked someone about the boats, and we found out that they leave from a different city on the outskirts of Tuxtla. We had our hearts set on the boats, so we negotiated a cab fare with Alex to the city.

At the docks, we had to wait about thirty minutes for enough people to come to fill up a boat. We were ambushed by curious workers, they said we were the first people from the States they had seen in a very long time. They were even more curious than Alex about life in the States.

The boat ride through the canyon was incredible. We saw lots of crocodiles and a monkey or two! About halfway through, we reached an area full of trash. During rainy season, trash washes into the river and gathers in certain spots. Our boat driver said that at some points of the year, the trash is so thick that boats can't pass through it. It was absolutely heartbreaking.

After the boat ride we called up Alex to bring us home, then spent the rest of the evening hanging out in the house. We worked on the Thanksgiving dinner for the next day, watched Friends, drank some beer, and met a few family friends that had come to the house for their daily group yoga class.

View of the canyon from one of the lookouts