An Adventure I Didn't Really Want to Have

So, the coolest thing about traveling is having adventures. Already I've met so many interesting people, seen so many different aspects of Mexican culture and scenery, learned tons of new Spanish words, and, of course, made an idiot out of myself a couple of times...(what else is new)

I have, however, had one adventure that wasn't so much fun: getting robbed. I think this is the first time I've ever been robbed. It happened on the bus from Palenque to Mérida. We traveled 8 hours overnight, and, of course, I slept the whole way. I had put my purse in my bookbag, but, at some point, one of the other passengers must have taken it without me hearing everything. I lost my wallet with every single identification I have, my cell phones, my toothbrush and toothpaste, AND my camera. I think I'm most upset about the loss of my camera because there were some AWESOME pictures.

Actually, I was surprisingly calm when I found out that it was gone. I left a description of my bag with the bus company and the number of one of my friends. I do, however, still have my passport, visa, and bank cards...so things could have been worse.

This is not something that could have happened in whatever situation in whatever country. It's just bad luck that it's all more complicated because I'm in Mexico and traveling. I do, however, have some great family and friends who are helping me with everything from sending me new stuff to letting me send texts to the US from their phones...not cheap. And I do hope that the thief at least spent something worthwhile with the money in my wallet and that he has some good laughs looking through my photos (because I would if I still had my camera).

This means that I'll have fewer photos of this trip than I hoped, which in turn means that you'll have to invite me out for coffee or lunch or something when I get back so I can relate all the rest of my adventures to you in person!!

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick update about my Christmas eve:

Lisa, Laura, and I were on a two day tour in the south of Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border, to visit two archeological sites of Mayan ruins and explore the Mexican jungle. The night before Christmas eve we stayed in an indigenous community that has been partially altered to include campgrounds. Yesterday, the 24th, we hiked over 5 hours in the jungle with an indigenous guide who showed us all the different native plants and how they're used for medicine, construction, etc. In the middle of this hike we spent a while swimming in a river (in the jungle in December!!) which was amazing...much better than any man-made pool. After all the excitement, I took a nap in a hut full of hammocks.

Hiking, swimming, hammocks...I'm pretty sure life doesn't get much better :)

Highlights from Puebla, Veracruz, and Villahermosa

Puebla:
-walking around the beautiful downtown area
-moving all of our stuff from one hostel to one right across the street
-trying tons of typical food of the area including cemitas, una pasita, y tacos árabes
-eating TWO crickets (this is absolutely for real...pictures to come)
-seeing tiles on every single building
-visitng the university where I would have studied had I not gone to Guanajuato
-getting to spend time with some great people :)

Veracruz:
-spending the first night there looking for Lisa's contact lens...which we never found
-hanging out with Pablo and his family
-not traveling in a single bus or taxi while in Veracruz (thanks Pablo)
-swimming in the beach for about 2 seconds before getting yelled at by the lifeguards

Villahermosa:
We arrived in Villahermosa at 6 in the morning when nothing was open, so we sat in Starbucks. We walked around the city for a little while and then left at 3pm. So, not much to report for those 9 hours...

Now, we are in Palenque Chiapas which is by far my favorite city so far on this trip. We're in the middle of the jungle and today went to explore the Mayan ruins which are so impressive. We're staying in a little hut that's part of campground and we're going to spend tomorrow night in an indigenous village in the jungle. Needless to say, it's AWESOME. We're going to spend Christmas in Palenque as well since we like it here so much. And then, on to Mérida...

Merry Christmas!!

Highlights from Mexico City

-being in the Mexico equivalent of NYC! (I love big cities.)
-riding the metro
-seeing the famous Diego Rivera murals in person
-meeting tons of interesting people, both from the US and Mexico
-having a conversation with Saúl about education in Mexico
-talking with a French girl about Middle Eastern and Asian literature...in Spanish (how global is that?)
-watching a bull fight
-attending a family birthday party (completely random)
-visiting the Frida Kahlo house and the Castillo de Chapultepec

Note: I can't possibly blog about everything AND travel at the same time, so this will be like the Cliff Notes version until I get back to Guanajuato :)

Goodbye Guanajuato

Tomorrow I am leaving to go travel for the next 5ish weeks! I'm so excited to go see new places, meet new people, experience new things...

It's a little weird to not be spending the holidays in NC with the cold weather (I'm still wearing tank tops here) and with my family, but I keep reminding myself that this is going to be an awfully big adventure! And I'm SURE that there will be lots of stories that come out it...

So, I will not be able to update much in the next few weeks, but it will give you something to look forward to!!

Some pictures of Guanajuato at Christmas time :) Merry Christmas!

"Why, I'd like nothing better than to achieve some bold adventure, worthy of our trip." (Aristophanes)

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure." (William Feather)

Status Update

Final history presentation? Check.
Phonetics exam? Check.
Cine y literatura paper (7 pages)? Check.
Lengua y redaccion paper (12 pages)? Check.
Literatura paper (10 pages)? Check.

Getting things ready to travel for the next five weeks? In progress!!!

:)

I should be writing my lit. paper

This afternoon I was walking downtown toward Plaza de la Paz when a car passed by me. Nothing out of the ordinary, normally, but attached to this truck was a giant trailer. On top of this trailer was a huge cage with a giant white and black striped tiger inside of it, pacing around. People turned to look at it, but I can't say they seemed very shocked. Come to think of it, I've experienced so many random occurrences that I can't say I'm all that suprised either.

True story.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas...

...well, only kind of.

In my mind, Christmas means the smell of fresh pine tree, hot apple cider, sitting at home all day in my pajamas, cold weather, Christmas music, etc. There are signs of Christmas here in Guanajuato: downtown there are all sorts of Christmas lights, poinsettias (I had to look up how to spell that) are everywhere, there's a Nativity scene in Plaza de la paz, and a GIANT Christmas tree beside Teatro Juarez.

However, I can still go outside in the afternoons with short sleeves and I ate kiwis and cantaloupe (looked up that word, too) for breakfast, which are certainly not Christmas-y foods. Also, I keep remembering that I'm traveling south for the winter which means the chances of me seeing snow and/or ice are about 0%.

I'm sure it will be a good Christmas, just different.

P.S. Mom, I've decided that, since I'll be deprived of one this year, I want a Christmas meal when I get back in June: potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie...Mmmm :)