Woohoo! I made it to thirty-two! I have to be honest, I tried to put on a brave face (for the most part,) but for much of this year I varied from uncomfortable to downright terrified. However, it was a fabulous year, by God’s amazing grace. A lot happened. I hopped around the planet a little bit, from North Carolina to Georgia to Mexico. I played around with culture and food and language. And as one who does not tend to embrace the unknown easily, it was an experience. An experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. Let’s get down to business . . . 31 new things for my 31 years of life:
1. Attended a UT football game
2. Moved out of the country
3. Hailed a taxi in Mexico
4. Taught school in another country
5. Ate tacos al pastor
6. Navigated the public bus system in Acapulco
7. Went salsa dancing
8. Ordered Starbucks in another language
9. Ate mole from Pueblo
10. Swam in a lagoon
11. Rode in a VW Bug with 6 additional adults
12. Ate at Hooters because I wanted to
13. Learned how to say “That’s how I roll” in Spanish (sort of)
14. Joined a gym (well, for a month)
15. Learned how to conjugate Spanish verbs
16. Ate a cow that I talked to 24 hours before
17. Drove in Acapulco
18. Visited a place that I have yet to locate on a map. In other words, I have no idea where in the world I was
19. Made tortillas
20. Felt a 5.6 earthquake (quite a shake!)
21. Ordered an entire meal in Spanish
22. Experienced a wake-up call given by a donkey
23. Ate fresh chicken (like, really fresh . . . 15 minutes fresh)
24. Survived the Mexican Swine Flu outbreak of '09 (I mean, so far)
25. Celebrated Christmas in another country
26. Celebrated Easter in another country
27. Saw a movie in a VIP cinema: recliners, full meal, the works!
28. Taught Sunday School in Mexico
29. Became accustomed to seeing policemen carrying automatic weapons
30. Missed rain (didn’t see a raindrop for 6 months)
31. Visited the silver capital of the world
I really didn't mean to take a month off from blogging. Between the three week swine flu vacation and the business of returning from the three week swine flu vacation, time just slipped by. I also am at a weird place where I can't articulate my stories. When I try to write, I can't find the words. But, in an effort to save this blog from extinction, here is a smörgåsbord (love that word!) of happenings from the past month.
Did you hear about this swine flu thing that went around? I don't know if it made headlines or anything in the states like it did here, but schools in Mexico closed for three weeks and I watched every episode of Friends on You Tube. All 10 seasons. Good times. I also mopped my apartment three times, and once, just to stifle the boredom, I cooked.
You know how taxis here are Volkswagon bugs? So, I had a really weird dream on Monday night that I got in a taxi, and instead of continuing our journey on a street, we got on roller coaster rails. Terrifying. Even more so than a normal taxi ride.
My precious third graders have been slackers since they only went to school 8 days in April (thank you Spring Break and Swine Flu Break) and missed half of May (more Swine Flu Break.) So now I give them a quiz every morning to promote listening in class and completing homework assignments. I have learned some brand new Spanish vocabulary. Sometimes, not so precious, those third graders.
I have been a little whiny lately about my missing Zaxby's (among other things . . . family and friends, I miss you, too!!) So, I have tried to remind myself lately of all the things I am really thankful for here in Mexico. The list is long, and God is so gracious. Some highlights:
