Because nobody wants to read about me writing my finals

This has nothing to do with what is currently going on in Mexico, but I thought it would be good to play some catch-up!

So, as a lot of people know, I have never had a pet. Leaving aside all sorts of arguments like something vital and essential was missing from my childhood, I have enjoyed having my adopted pets here in Mexico. The family I live with has a dog (Manchas) and three cats. Now, I have never considered myself a cat person, but Rita, the oldest of the cats and the only one who stays inside, and I have become good friends over the past year and she often keeps me company by sleeping at the foot of my bed at night.

One day wayyyyy back last semester I got back to the house one night and was informed that Rita had been taken to the vet for emergency surgery. Arturo had gotten back to the house and found her wounded and bleeding from her leg. Somebody had shot her when she had been wandering outside and there was a bullet still lodged within her!! Poor Rita had to have two surgeries: one to remove the bullet from her stomach and the other to sew up her leg. Thankfully she recovered fully and continues to shed hair all over my bed and my clothes...

This semester Chilipa (the youngest of the cats) was wandering around in the house and I mentioned to Octavio that she looked like she was getting fatter. Turns out she was pregnant and had four little kittens in the patio out back. They were soooo cute and I really enjoyed going out and playing with them after I got back from my morning classes. Unfortunately, we didn't keep them and Octavio found other homes for them as soon as they could eat by themselves. But, to make the signs he posted around, he did borrow my camera to take photos!

Cute, huh? Maybe my own pet won't be too far in the future!!

Sometimes it is good to not be as responsible and forget all about obligations :)

This past weekend I went to the beach, right before the last week of classes and with deadlines coming up within the next 10 days. But I went anyway :)

Shannon and Lisa and I went to Barra de Navidad in Jalisco which was really small, and with very few people...exactly what we wanted. I didn't take anything to do with schoolwork, but I did read two books in English!

So, the weekend was full of sun (I'm a little burnt) and lots of swimming. This was my third time in the Pacific Ocean (since I'm such an East-Coaster), and it is so different. It seems to me a lot rougher in general, and I have total respect for the ocean since it is so powerful, and if you lose control, well...that's it. We were constantly watching out for each other, probably a lot like worried moms, and made sure we swam when the waves weren't as big. Eventually, we figured out that where all the kids and families were swimming, closer to the boardwalk, was probably where we needed to be as well. Good choice.

Barra de Navidad:

So, my last viaje in Mexico was perfect. And, last night, Shannon and Lisa and I celebrated our last anniversary with coffee and cake. 10 months.

Now begins the times of "last": last anniversary, last trip, last class, etc. I can't believe it's all coming to an end so soon.

North American Moments

I think Mexico is pretty awesome (in case you haven't gathered that), but I think it's also important for me to acknowledge that sometimes life here isn't all fun and easy and picturesque. Sometimes I get frustrated, and it's necessary to remember this side of my year here as well as the overwhelmingly good times...which still do far outweigh the bad ones.

Shannon explained to me once that sometimes she has "North American moments" where she idealizes how something would be done in the States as compared to here. Today I had quite of few of these moments.

The orchestra I'm a part of here played this morning in a ceremony to celebrate "Day of the Teacher." (There's a day for everybody here in Mexico...coming soon, Day of the Student...which means no class!) We were scheduled to play at 12, but had a short rehearsal starting at 10...which really means we started at 10:30. To make a painfully long morning short, we ended up playing at 1:30 because the governor arrived late, the speaker went overtime, etc. I was so frustrated at the end of it all because I spent more time sitting around waiting for something to happen than actually doing anything more productive/fun. What I would have given for Dr. Geraldi and the UNCG orchestra...

Another thing that has me thinking about home a lot right now is that today was graduation at UNCG. I've spent some time today looking at everybody's pictures they've posted of their cap and gown, the ceremony, the diploma, etc. And I think that it could have been me. I don't have any regrets about spending this year in Mexico...definitely one of the best experiences of my life. Still, it's somewhat strange to think that I could have offically been a college graduate by this time. Time goes so fast and while I am still very grateful for the chance to still be a full-time student, part of me would have liked to participate in the festivities today with everybody else.

In closing, I'm sure that when I wake up tomorrow I will be in a much better mood. That's the good thing about it...I can never stay bummed for very long :)

Waging War

Recently (maybe because of the almost-unbearable heat) cockroaches have been somewhat invading my bathroom. During the day, I never see them, but I'm always a little cautious entering at night because you never know exactly what you'll find. I've taken to closing the bathroom window at night, but that doesn't deter them much.

The positive side in all of this is that I have yet to kill one myself. I can be kind of a wimp when it comes to cockroaches (read: disgusted and unable to do anything) so I always call Octavio or Arturo to come help me. And it's not like these cockroaches are small and harmless. The Mexican variety is enormous and ugly. And, I keep thinking that cockroaches are the only species to survive nuclear bombs...and that's completely revolting.

Anyway, last night I entered my bathroom only to find a visitor (really big) on the floor by my shower. I immediately called Octavio who came to look for it and end its miserable life. He saw it, but somehow it disappeared and neither Octavio nor I could find it as much as we looked. Cockroaches are fast.

I don't have any pictures to prove to you all that I am not exaggerating since I kind of freeze up when I see them, but believe me. It is not a joke.

Today is May 13th. I will be back in North Carolina for the first time in 10.5 months on June 13th. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have said that I'm ready to go back. Today I'm not so convinced.

Weekend

Sometimes it can be overwhelming with all the terrible things that humanity does to one another. It's so easy to be cynical and bitter. But, then there are moments where you see the generosity of others, and it restores my hope :)

On Saturday Shannon and I went biking with Jenny and Mark (a couple from Idaho), and Guido and Lalo from the Bike Station. The plan was to go from Dolores Hidalgo to San Miguel de Allende where there are some natural hot springs. This trip is part of a tour that the Bike Station offers, and the four of us had been talking about going for several months. Jenny and Mark asked about it and told Shannon and me what it would cost. It was pretty expensive and more than what we wanted to spend in one day. Shannon and I said we would think about it, and, the next day, we received a message from Jenny and Mark saying that they had negotiated the price and it was going to be a lot more affordable than what we originally thought. I was really excited and we immediately committed to the trip. To make a long story short, Shannon and I found out (although we weren't supposed to know) that Jenny and Mark had talked with Guido and supplemented our part of the trip to make it more economical for us college students. So sweet.

When we arrived in Dolores Hidalgo before starting out on the bikes, we wanted to find a restroom. We were definitely in a poorer section of the city, but we asked a senora who was outside her door if we could use her bathroom. She said that it was fine, and we entered her home which had a big dirt courtyard. There were lots of dogs running around, and the rest of the family was outside doing chores. The bathroom was a room apart from the house and we had to flush by pouring a bucket of water into the toilet. Afterwards, we offered the senora a little bit of money (you have to pay for bathrooms in most places in Mexico anyway), but she refused saying that it wasn't necessary. It was evident that this wasn't the most wealthy family, but they invited three foreign strangers into their home without hesitation.

So, even little things can make the world seem so much brighter.

Other highlights from the trip:

-One of Shannon's bike wheels was left in the store in Guanajuato...another one was bought in Dolores Hidalgo

-We got lost and asked for directions several times. Everyone tried to get us back to the highway...they didn't understand that we were trying to do off-road biking.

-Mark's six holes in his wheel. Who even knows how he got so many thorns in there?!

-Seeing some of the most beautiful countryside everywhere

-Being chased by dogs

-Guido flagging down a passing truck with fruit and buying bananas and mangos off the back of it

-Seeing the church where Hidalgo came out with the banner of the Virgen of Guadalupe in 1810

-Having a carne asada...without any utensils! All natural :)

-Going to hot springs on one of the hottest days of the year

-Having a wonderful time with great friends, and laughing the entire day because it was all so bizarre!

Come Thou Fount

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be.
Let that goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, o take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Yesterday I was waiting at the bus stop and this came on my iPod. I think I listened to it at least three times. I'm so glad that others can put things more eloquently than I can.

2 hours, 4 minutes, 24 seconds

That is how fast I ran my first ever half-marathon. Actually, it was my first race, period. So much for starting small. (Although, when I think about it, it's kind of how I do the majority of things in life: I start with tons of enthusiasm, never realizing how extreme it is...until later.)

Anyway, we got to Chapultepec at 6:30 on Sunday morning (way early) and there were already tons of people warming up and running small laps. It was extremely intimidating since everyone looked really professional and hardcore. Shannon, Lisa, and I put on our numbers and our chips and waited for the race to start. We also participated in the group warmup which was led by three people on a stage with mics...it was soooo funny to see everybody in their matching shirts, moving their waists around in a circle, etc. Needless to say, I was cracking up the whole time (and I'm sure all the Mexicans were like "who is this gringa?!").

This is pre-marathon...we're pretty excited! Oh, and did I mention that there were 2,500 runners in total? Here are just some of them...

So, we started (about 1 minute after the actual start time since there were so many people in front of us) and started running down Av. Reforma. While this might sound bad, I felt better about the race after the girl in front of me started running after the first km marker. It was so fun to run through Mexico City (because it was a lot flatter than Guanajuato) and there were people all through the race at the sides, watching us, and encouraging the runners on. There were also tables set up every so often with water and gatorade, and so I got to run by, grab a cup of water, and then throw it over my shoulder afterwards (like all the professional runners on TV! Haha). I did, however, feel rather guilty about littering...

Although I didn't think we had trained sufficiently for the race, I actually felt really good the whole time. We kept a really consistent pace, and talked and told stories the whole time. Running is definitely a lot easier with friends! The last 20 minutes or so I was kind of ready to quit, but it felt so good to get to the finish line and achieve what we had been working so hard for!

Of course we had to take one photo with our arms raised over our heads!! After the race, it was kind of like Christmas because we went through this whole process where they gave us all sorts of things like water bottles, gatorade, hats, flip flops, bags, and pizza and tacos (only in Mexico!).

So, it was pretty much a perfect memory. Good running, pretty scenery in one of the largest cities in the world, great friends...and all in a little over 2 hours!

AND, I just went running again this morning :)