Coming Home

I am back in Guanajuato!

It's been very interesting for me to see how comfortable I've become in Mexico, and specifically Guanajuato; so much so that I now refer to it as "home" without even thinking.

When I was in Belize and Guatemala it was great to see different countries and experience new cultures. But, it was also somewhat exhausting because we had to adjust to everything and figure out what, for those that lived there, was normal and ordinary. It struck me how much work it really was when Shannon and I entered Mexico again in Chiapas. Road signs became familiar, brands and advertisements were things that I was more used to, and I began to hear "no manches" again!! There was definitely a feeling of being back in my comfort zone (who would have thought six months ago that Mexico and the Spanish language would be part of my comfort zone?)!

This morning, we got back to Guanajuato and there was an even stronger feeling of "home-ness." I was walking around downtown and ran into two people I knew who stopped to ask me about vacations, and then, when I was up at school looking at class schedules, I had lots of conversations with classmates and old professors. The feeling of being in a place where you belong and have a life and friends, and you're not merely a tourist, is one of the best in the world.

This does not signify, by any means, that I am done exploring the world. (I think my next two destinations are going to be Alaska and Argentina.) It is, however, nice to be settled back in Guanajuato for one more semester!