Just Another Day in Paradise

Today went by in a blur (probably because I was super out of it all day).  Got up at 6 AM (late rising again), got ready, and actually ended up just missing the 6:30 bus.  I'll admit it, I was a little mad.  So, Christina and I ended up being about 20 minutes late to class (which was right when the lecture was starting.  #goodtiming).

Nothing too exciting happened in class, except today was one of those days where my brain was like, "Nope.  This Spanish thing?  Totally not happening today."  So class was good, but a little rough just because my tired brain had had enough.

After class, Christina, Raquel, Claire, and I road the same bus home (though they got off at a different stop than us).  I believe we got home about 12:30ish?  Somewhere around there.  So, we went in and put our stuff down...random interruption:  today was cleaning day!  And our maid is awesome.  Cause she can do cool things with towels.  Like this:

The baby elephant - found on my bed.

The mama elephant - found on Christina's bed.

*Ahem*  Anyway, so we put our stuff down, then went back out to talk to Elisa.  Or something like that, I dunno.  All I remember is that somewhere between there and the kitchen there were kittens.  And yes, we got very distracted.  And, of course, I took lots of pictures :)

I could totally see this being a meme sometime (called it!  As soon as I think of a good meme, I'm totally posting it to Facebook).

 

That look on that cat's face.  #classic #needsameme

Food time!  #mammacat

After that, we returned to our rooms.  And somehow (cause I don't quite remember when), I zonked.  Lunch time rolled round, and I guess Elisa knocked on the door several times to let me know it was time to eat, but I was out (I didn't even hear anything).  Finally, about 3 PM I woke up (just as Christina was leaving for the Museo de Art Popular).  So, I just told her to go, and then I went and had me some lunch!  (it was yummy)

Following lunch, I returned to my room (slightly bummed I wasn't going to the temple - which is what everyone was doing after the museum.  But I wasn't brave enough to traverse the bus system alone, cause I knew I'd get lost). and was in the middle of turning on a show when I hear someone come to the door.  It was Whitney!  And I guess they were there to pick up Christina (I guess there was some miscommunication or something), but she'd already left.  Sooo, they offered me a ride!  So I quickly got dressed in my Sunday best, put my temple clothes in my backpack, grabbed my recommend, and hurried out the door.  (I think that was God telling me that, yes, I really did need to go to the temple today).  

So, Whitney's MM dropped us off at the Museum.  And, I'm glad that we went!  (It was just a small group of us).  It was a cute little museum.  Unfortunately, Christina, Whitney, and I had to leave early so that we could get to the temple session on time.  But I got some of this picture!

So, we decided to get a taxi.  And, kudos to Whitney cause she has this taxi thing down.  She asked if they had an odometer, but was told that they didn't and would just charge the price of 70 pesos (I should note, the temple was not that far away from where we were).  So she was like, well, we can always walk.  So they talked some more and we got a taxi for 40 pesos.  Cha-ching!  #success  

And, serrundepitously, we arrove at the temple the same time as the rest of our group!  I wanted to do baptisms, but was unable to for some reason, anyway, so I ended up doing initiatories (I have never done so many at a time before!)  It was an awesome experience.  I loved it.

After that, Raquel, Becca, Christina, and I went to the centro to buy some food for the trip tomorrow (it's gonna be 8 hours in the bus.  Yee-haw!).  We split up at one point to get ice cream from different places.  During that time, Raquel and I (more like Raquel) spotted a panaderia (we'd been in one a few minutes ago and hadn't been impressed, therefore, we didn't buy anything.  There's just something unappetizing about bread and sweets left out in the open) that was super legit.  So I got a chocolate muffin and salty bread (I can't remember the exact name of it).  

After that, we stopped by 7/11 and I got a sprite and some water for the road tomorrow.  And some sweets :)  Then I got some ice cream from Colon (again.  I think I'm addicted).

After that, we headed home!  And had french toast for dinner (they fry it in oil here.  It was pretty good.  Not my favorite, but then again, I don't like fried bread).  Then I had a shower, got ready for bed, and wrote my blog for today (obvs, seeing as you're reading that blog right now).

But now I must head to bed, cause we got a long day tomorrow!  (So I probably won't be posting tomorrow's adventure until Saturday).

'Til then!

R J Carr  

Museo Maya

Today went rather well, I'd say, despite my not sleeping well last night (weird dreams, they get me every time).  Also, I think I've decided that Wednesday night must be local band night at the restaurant right by us (as you may have guessed, I can currently hear the band through my window). Moving on.

This morning I got up for school about 6 AM (woke up late again), got dressed, packed my bag (including a nice muffin breakfast), and headed out the door.  And today, class was exciting!  (Shocking, I know).  Why?  Cause we learned how to do Mayan math!!  Random Side Notes:  Did you know that the Mayans were the first ones to use the number 0?  Also, the Mayans used a base of 20 in all their mathematical equations (unlike us, who use a base of 10)   #legit

Anyway, here's how you count in Mayan:

1 = hun

2 = ka’

3  = ox

4 = kan

5 = ho

6 = uak

7 = uuk

8 = uaxak

9 = bolon

10 = lahun

 11 = buluk

12 = lahka’

13 = oxlahun (3 y 10)

14 = kanlahun

Etc

I would explain to you how the Mayans did mathematical problems (subtraction, multiplication, addition), but that would take too much time, and I'd probably not be able to explain it too well over my blog.  But if you ever want to learn the Mayan way to do math, you know who to talk to :)

So yeah!  Super fun class, mainly because it was so interactive.   I really enjoyed it.

After that class (and a 15-ish minute break), I went to my advanced grammar class (yay...).  And *drum roll please*  I got an 80% on my test!  Though, technically, I should have gotten a 66%.  Buuuuut, he graded it in a way that raised our grades A LOT.  For which I am grateful.  Though I still feel awful about my lack of Spanish.  If there's one thing studying abroad does, it's that it makes you realize how not good at a language you are.  #thestruggleisreal  However, I didn't feel bad for too long, mainly because I learned that I got into the Top 50 stage of a competition I'm in, AND I got a reimbursement from DownEast (two of my shirts I bought from them got destroyed after only 3 washes.  So I wrote them an e-mail and they were like, here's 27 dollars!  Use wisely)  Thinking back on it now, I still feel bad about my test, but I'll just try to do better next time.  But yeah, I definitely have felt very incompetent in Spanish lately.  Hopefully that will drive me to improve myself (I do believe it already has).

After class, our whole group had a meeting over what excursion we wanted to do this weekend.  Because, what had happened is Marcello (the co-conspirator that helps Profe plan excursion) found this opportunity for our group to go caving and to also explore cenotes (all within our budget.  Aka, no out of pocket expense for us kiddies).  A lot of people were chill with that, but some weren't, and there were lots of other ideas floating around, so Profe called for a meeting.  Anyway, in the meeting we threw around the idea of going to Campestre, Cancun, or Tulum, but all of those were waaay too expensive and would cost all of us extra money to go.  So, we decided to just stick with the original plan of going to the caves and to the cenotes - and whoever wanted to go could go.  (I was okay with that, part of me was sad because I'd wanted to go to Tulum - apparently it's on the world list of places to see before you die.  But, with my eye on my wallet, I knew it probably wouldn't be happening for me anytime soon).

UNTIL.  Fate stepped in.  We learned that (later on that afternoon) the caves were closed due to some government probs (which I learned about right after my epic deceleration/decision that I was gonna go caving.  And I was gonna enjoy it too,)  So, our awesome Profe (because he really is awesome) talked with Marcello and they found a fabulous deal!  In which we are now able to go to... 

TULUM!!!!!!!!  *ahem*  I'm just slightly excited.  And not only is our budget able to cover the bus ride there, but it's also able to give each of us 150 pesos for food, and (I believe) cover the park expenses.  It's gonna make a loooooong day (we're leaving at 6 AM in the morning and not getting back till 1 or 2 the next morning).  But totally worth it.  I am SO excited.  It'll be my first trip to the Caribbean Sea!  SO excited.   

It's gonna be awesome.  (Stay tuned).

Anyway, at about 1:30ish Christina and I had lunch.  We ate early today because we had plans to go to the Museo Maya at 3 PM with the group, and we had to catch the bus.  (Lunch was delicious!  Rice and this little breaded chicken thing stuffed with vegetables).  So about 2 PM Brandon came over to meet us (we were still eating), and we left about 2:10 PM.  Catching the bus was fairly easy, as was finding the museum, so we arrived about 20 minutes early.  So we sat in the shade and waited for others to come (I tried lying on the bench, but I totes got in trouble with a security guard for doing so.  Oops). 

The Museo Maya was interesting.  I feel like a person could spend hours just staring at all the stuff they have on display there.  They also had three cool videos that we watched.  The first one was about the end of the dinosaurs (the whole meteorite thing).  The second was about the Mayan beliefs and how they viewed the universe.  The third was about the people today.  It was quite interesting.  I have to say, the more I learn about the Mayans...the more I'm unsure if I like them or not (kinda silly to say I guess).  I mainly say this because today in the tour, we learned some uh, interesting customs that the Mayans had (which I will not share because it grossed me out).  Sacrifice being among them (of which I already knew).  Anyway, yeah.  So I have a little love-hate relationship with them right now.

Regardless, the museum was still pretty and, of course, I took pictures.

And I thought the stick bugs in MO were huge.  I stand corrected.

A wooden version of Merida.  Pretty legit.  The place in the middle there, with all the trees, that's the centro

I should note, right above this little miniature Merida was a video about all the different sights here in the Yucatan.  What was cool is that I had been to most, if not all, of the sites they were showing (they was a lot of footage from the place where we did the boat tour.  It was just cool to be able to say, "I've been there!!"

This was cool cause it was in the floor and you could step on it and look down.  This is a map of the peninsula of Mexico.

Traditional Mayan dress (it's so pretty!)

So for each thing, they had an explanation in Mayan, Spanish, and English.  This is the explanation in Mayan.

The English translation 

Pelota court!!  It's a reconstruction of the one at Chichen Itza.  (Christina got some pretty good foot selfies when we were standing on some of these.  I'll be sure to post them later).  

The original Farmer's Almanac

Awkward selife

Me and Becca

So yeah!  It was pretty fun.  The tour guide was entertaining and made sure that all of us interacted at some point.  I recommend coming here if you ever visit Merida.

After the Museum, our group split up one again.  Brandon and I went with Profe (who kindly dropped us off at our houses.  Well he dropped Brandon off at the store.  Which, I should note, Brandon was a gentleman and took the back middle sit between the kiddies.  I got to sit up front).  Christina and the others went and saw Ant-Man.  Had I not been so tired or keen to do my homework, I would have gone with them.

As it was, I returned home, did my homework, then, by accident, took a little nap.  When I woke up, it was time for dinner!  We had burritos!  (My favorite!)  And then, Elisa and I talked for a good hour and a half about politics, our work experiences, religion, etc.  It was super interesting and fantastic.  A good way to end the day.  I can now say, I may not know everything there is to know about Spanish, but I can at least hold an hour and a half conversation with a native!

It was super interesting to get her input and views on America.  I think it was also good to realize that even though our news portrays Mexico as a country solely made up of lazy, war-mongering, and corrupt people, who are constantly involved in drug wars, that that's NOT the reality of these people. Just like the majority of people in the world, people in Mexico want to live in peace - free of drug wars and other forms of corruption.  They want to work and live out their lives in honesty, enjoying their families and their life experiences.  This conversation just helped me to realize and remember that how the world is portrayed is not actually how it is.  Yeah there's bad stuff out there, but that's not all there is.  And I think I can safely say that there are definitely more good than bad people in the world.  Hopefully that will never change.

Anyway, it's late, so I shall now be heading off to bed.  

'Til Tomorrow.

R J Carr  

  

Another Day Bites the Dust

This blog post is a little late, due to the fact that I was super tired last night (we had ten homework assignments to do.  I got, uh, most of them done).

Having said this *ahem*  Yesterday, got up at about 5;40 AMish for class (can I just say, I'm really looking forward to the time that I can not have a seven o'clock class), went to class.  First one was a'right.  I was a bad student and kind of worked on my novel in class.  In the next class, I took my test (that went...interestingly.  We'll see how I did today.  Stay tuned! :P)  At some point, I wrote this:

After class, we went home and did nothing much (except talk.  AND I wrote a blog post on my other, not Mexico Study Abroad trip blog, which you can read here) until lunch.  (Unfortunately, I can´t quite remember what we had for lunch.  Wait!  I remember now!  It was pork, baked potato - which I covered in sour cream and green salsa - rice and salad.  Though Christina ate my salad since my tummy was hurting).  Then we went swimming!  (Because I was blatantly ignoring my homework).

At some point, Conner came over to swim.  We probably swam for another hour or so after he came...?   (I dove for coins.  It was a challenge since the water was all murky from the dirt).  Then we did the reading for class afterwards.  Following that, we decided to go to super aki and I bought dulces!  (sweets).  Fresh baked goods, candy souvenirs for my nieces and nephews, and chocolate for me.

On the way home, Christina and I stopped by 7/11 and got milk!  It was the first time I've had real milk in a month.  And it was strawberry.  And delicious.

When we finally got home, we did our homework (with dragging feet).  At some point, we had dinner (hotdogs!).  That´s when this happened:

Then I got ready for bed (and watched some Avatar: The Last Airbender in Spanish to make myself feel better).

That´s all for now, folks!

'Til Later.

R J Carr

Out With the Old Fish, In With the New

I have to say, I think I've finally relaxed into the culture here.  I remember how, at first, I was always germ-xing (is that even a word??) my hands, worrying about contamination, worrying about people stealing my stuff, etc.  Now, I'm still cautious (still got a brain), but I'm much more chill and capable of dealing with things as they come.  It's a nice feeling.

So.  I've been, admittedly, super hyper today.  And last night.  I think it's because it's out with the old fish and in with the new fish.  I.e. I have found a new love and joy in the novelty of swimming.  (It's officially the best thing ever, besides PTX, I mean).

Let's dive into my day (see what I did there?).  Got up at 8 AM, though I laid in my bed thinking and snoozing till about 9 AM.  I was gonna take a shower, but then I remembered that we were gonna go swimming later!  So, I dressed, ate breakfast, and then Christina and I headed off to City Center (also known as Wal-Mart).  We had to wait for the bus for foooreeeeeever, but passed the time by talking about politics (it's nice because we agree on lots of things.  Yet still see things not completely the same, so we can have a nice discussion).

At Wal-Mart, I had fun!  Okay, not really.  Well, I mean, I enjoyed it.  But what I was mostly enjoying was the AC (though it wasn't too hot this morning.  Emphasis on the too).  I bought two new shirts (because two of mine fell apart), earphones (because mine literally died yesterday), some sweets (sugar!!!!!!! #sugardeprived), and a drink.  All for under 30 dollars.  (Things here are cheap).

Here's the candy I bought/Christina bought:

These were delicious!!  Can you say gunabana?  (Such a fun word, right??)

The dogs at the bus stop - no, we did not eat them.  Or buy them.

Yummy hard candies :)  Like the good old days when I was a kid.

After we got home (quick side note:  on the bus ride home, totally had the funniest awkward moment ever.  So, it was time to get off, so I stood up.  But, my purse apparently was not on my shoulder, so it totally fell down when I stood, entangling my feet.  Probably took me a good 20 seconds to untangle myself.  I was laughing so hard.  I wish I had looked up to see the looks I was getting), we swam!!!!!!!!!!!!  *Ahem*

In today's swimming event, I learned how to dive in super deep (by super deep I mean almost 6') water (which before had been a deep fear of mine), surface, then tread.  (Still not perfect, but a work in progress!)  I practiced by throwing my hair ties into the water, then diving for them (at one point Christina tossed them for me, making it more of a challenge to find em).  I also practiced my mermaid kick and my underwater stroke.  AND, the best part was, I learned how to sing/talk under water.  (Course, I was laughing so hard, I could never do it for very long.  I always had to resurface to laugh).  AND, for the FIRST TIME EVER I swam, underwater, eyes OPEN, WITHOUT GOGGLES.  (I'll just go ahead and pat myself on the back here).  It was fun.  I think we swam for about 2 hours?  And by then, it was time to go in and eat lunch:

Chicken stir fry and rice.

After lunch, Christina and I decided to be responsible and study for a couple hours.  Which, I studied for most of that time.  I had about 20 minutes where I was resolving an issue with DownEast (the falling apart clothing I mentioned earlier).  But after those two hours...you guessed it, another hour of swmming!! (We found a dead centiped in the water this time round.  We got it out.  Also, it was during the swimming time that the singing/talking under water occured, as well as the adventure of swimming without goggles.  Can I just say, I never realized the whole reason you used goggles when swimming was to be able to see?  I always thought it was just to protect your eyes/make it possible to open your eyes.  But after swimming eyes open without goggles, I see that I was mistaken.  Also, this is the first time that I'd ever a)swam under water with my eyes closed b) swam under water with my eyes open without goggles.  As you can see, I was very excited about that).  Another random note:  I have to admit, I'm happy that I only got a little sunburned on my face after 3 hours of swimming.

Anyway, after swimming, we came in, studied, and showered, then had dinner at 8ish.  (Some yummy bread spread with re-fried beans and cheese, then toasted.  Then topped with green salsa and sour cream.  YUM).  Then we studied (I'm very, very scared to take this test).  Now I'm heading to bed.  (Feeling less than prepared to take this exam *ahem*).

'Til Tomorrow.

R J Carr

PS Because I can (my favorite line:  "Don't you worry, don't you worry, child.  Heaven's got a plan for you").

PPS Also, totally switched my phone over to Spanish today.

Chill Day Take II - Novel Day

Today was chill (once again).  I didn't mind.  It's nice to have a few chill days here and there.  Especially since tomorrow is gonna be pretty busy.

Christina and I got up at about 7:30 AM.  Christina was up before I ('cause she's cool like that).  I got ready pretty quickly.  Though, neither of us ate this morning because both of our stomachs hurt super bad (basically, anyone who ate the pizza at the restaurant yesterday got sick.  One of the boys was throwing up last night, poor guy).  I didn't want to go to church, but then I decided to suck it up and go since Christina was still going despite her stomach pain.  So off we went (probably around 8:50?  Our MM got up late this morning.  Which I don't blame her.  I slept as long as I could this morning too).

Church went well.  My stomach started feeling better at the beginning of Sacrament meeting (a blessed answer to prayer), which was a huge blessing.  I learned a little from all the meetings today (though was hard pressed to stay awake).  And, one of our own gave a talk today!  (Great job Jeanice!  I sincerely hope I do not get called upon to give a talk while I'm here.  That would be way too nerve racking).

After church, MM, Christina, and I stopped by the store as MM had to buy some things.  (At which point, Christina, Conner, and I decided that we had to return tomorrow in order to try the delicious looking pastries on display).  When we got home (MM dropped Conner off first), Christina and I helped MM with the groceries, then waited in our room til lunch.

At about 1:30 we had lunch (soup with rice and chicken, bread, and guacamole.  I also had Pepsi with some lime in it.  This was all to help my stomach feel even better).  We talked for a while with MM and her mother, which was fun.

Afterwards, I started to work on my novel, but ended up taking a two hour nap instead (felt SO good).  At which point, I wanted to go down to Centro, but Christina was asleep, so I ended up just working on my novel some more until she woke up.

Then, round 7ish, we went and played some volleyball with one of MM's daughters.  (There was no net, so we just played a makeshift game.  I totally lost).  Then we had dinner (bologna, cheese, and mayo on a toasted croissant roll.  Which basically means that, from now on, anytime you have a bologna sandwich you can be like, "I'm totally eating Mexican food!")

After dinner, I excitedly ran to my room to skype my family (I was in the kitchen when I got my mom's message saying, "Do you want to skype?"  I jumped up with a, "yes!"  then said, "Mi mama quiere skype!" or "my mom wants to skype!" before running off towards my room and getting on my computer).

After skype, I worked on my novel, again (I'm beginning to see a pattern here).  And now I am heading off to bed (though I'll probably write some more/watch a short episode of something on Netflix).

That's all for today.

'Til Tomorrow -

R J Carr

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

Today was a lazy day.  A very, very lazy day.

I think I got up about 11 AM?  And then Christina and I basically stayed in our room watching Once Upon a Time until it was time to eat lunch.  But we were okay with that because we knew that later this evening we were gonna PARTY.  'Cause it's Jordan's birthday today!

But eventually, I got up and ready (probably about 1ish?  I know, I know.  But the important thing is, I looked fabulous.  Aka, tried a new hairstyle today):

Front view (obvs)

Back view
(Side note:  I discovered the other day that the light over the mirror actually works.  Ya just gotta turn it on manually.  And by manually I mean you have to pull the little string to turn it on.  Best discovery ever.  It is dark in that bathroom).

Anyway, after lunch (which was SO good.  For rizzles, I'm gonna miss the food here), we still lazed around.  I had intentions to write yesterday's blog.  But, yeah, that didn't happen.  Then I was going to work on my story, but then that didn't happen either (kinda fell asleep there).  BUT, at around 5 PM, Conner came over and we played banana grams!  It was intense.  We did Spanish and English words (it's really hard for my brain to think in two languages at once.  I almost won the second round).

After that, we headed over to Los Trompos at City Center to celebrate Jordan's birthday (we were a little late.  And by a little I man 30 minutes late.  I felt so bad.  But our bus didn't come, so we sat around waiting for a while.  And, when we got there, they had just ordered their food).  In case anyone was wondering, the food was delicious!  (Photo-graphical proof shall follow):

I got the bistek y queso combo.  Three tortillas.  Tons of delicious meat and cheese.

Guacamole!  The first time I've had it since I've been here.  I was super stoked so I took a photo (if you need more evidence, just as Profe, he was there to hear my, "Yes!  This is the first time I'm eating guacamole in Mexico!!")  

Yes, I took a selife in the restaurant.  Because...guacamole!   

My little self made taco.  They had three different sauces so I tried them all.  Two were not spicy.  The third was very spicy.  But I...enjoyed it.  Which was a first.  I actually liked the spiciness (what's happening to me????)  And it was delightful - well, as delightful it can be to have your mouth on fire.  I was pretty proud of myself).

I should note:  so, I was feeling pretty good about the spicy sauce and got a little too excited about it on the last taco.  If I hadn't been so stuffed, I think I would have finished it.  As it was, by that point my stomach was like, "Don't you remember...?  You're a gringo!!  Stop this craziness!"  So I stopped.  BUT I successfully ate one full taco with the hot sauce on it.  It was like deliciousness with fun pockets of hotness.  And yeah, totally took tums right after to keep the stomach happy.

After dinner, we went over to one of the girl's house (bout a five minute walk away) to party!  The MM of Jordan decorated the backyard so nicely (it was beautiful).  And we had cake (Hershey's cake...need I say more?) and Neapolitan ice cream  (which I haven't had in forever).  I don't know how I managed to fit more food in me, but I did!  And it was totally worth it.

After cake and ice cream I decided to go for a swim (Profe, his kids, Christina, and Conner did too.  Eventually Oliva joined us).  I practiced floating on my back (I floated for 1 minute at one point tonight.  Which is better than the 2 seconds I usually float).  I learned the backstroke.  And I learned how to swim with my face in the water (did a little exercise where I went under, blew air out of my nose, came back up, and took a breath.  What had previously been impossible for me is now possible).  I thought it was super nice of one of the girls to comment on how awesome I was for trying to learn how to swim (didn't know how to reply because I never know how to reply to compliments).  I never thought of it that way, but I guess it is kind of awesome :)  I don't know what it is, but this trip has definitely encouraged me to learn how to swim - I just have this passion and desire that I've never had before.

I think the best part of tonight was after everyone else had gotten out of the pool to play games (though there were people close by) and I just practiced swimming and floating.  It was funny because as I was floating, I couldn't help but giggle at the cool sensation of feeling like I was falling backwards, but knowing that I was supported by the water.  That and I was just so happy to finally be doing what I've always dreamed of doing (as tacky as that sounds).  My whole life I have never known how to float on my back.  But now, what was impossible for so long is now possible.  And it was so great to just float, look up, and enjoy the night sky.  I just have to say, I'm so grateful that God has given me this chance to have so many great teachers to help me learn how to swim.  And for helping me to slowly overcome my fear of the water.  I may not be a great swimmer yet...but I am definitely a great swimmer in the making.

After swimming (I think I saw for about 2 hours?  I may be sore tomorrow) and more ice cream, I finally headed home with Scott, Brandon, Conner, and Christina.  Unfortunately, the buses had apparently stopped running for the night (which we discovered after 30 minutes of waiting.  Strange, considering the buses were still running at that time last night).  Luckily, Conner had the number of the taxi service on his phone.  So after we walked to City Center, he called and ordered 2 taxis.  But we had to wait for about 20 minutes til they arrived.  So, we reverted back to our elementary days and played some fun games (quack-didali-oboe, alphabet game, and tag - which wasn't really tag since we were just sitting on the curb tagging each other).  Finally, one taxi arrived, so Scott, Christina, and I went home (first time in a taxi!  Twasn't very exciting.  Most of the time everyone was silent and we listened to a children's choir on the radio).  

Got home about 12 AM?  And MM got up and asked us what time we were heading to church tomorrow (9 AM) - she's so sweet.  Then we both got ready for bed, and I decided to catch up on my blogging (very exciting).

And now I am (finally) heading to bed.  #its2AM   

'Til Tomorrow.

R J Carr

PS The party tonight felt like a real Mormon college party (complete with swimming, food, music, and laughter - or, at least, how I always imagined a party to be.  Kudos to those who planned it!  

Celestún -The Rebecca Express

Today I got up at 7:30 AM.  Probably dragged myself out of bed at about 7:45 AM.  BUT, I managed to get out to the bus on time.  (I believe the bus came around 8:20ish).  We had to pick up the rest of our fellow students, but by about 9 AM we were off to Celestún.

As always, the bus ride was...exhilarating (okay, that's a little sarcastic).  Most people had their music in (including me).  Some slept.  Some talked.  I think I did all three.  Sleeping, talking, and listening to music.  And I had a really cool experience.

When we were about 20 or 30 minutes away from the Celestún, we passed through a little town (I didn't catch it's name).  Wide-eyed, I stared out the window to drink in the scenery, trying to better understand the life people lived there.

I saw big baskets/carts (big enough for more than two people to sit), the top covered with a tarp for shade, attached to the front of bikes (or mopeds).  I saw ads painted on the walls, trying to warn adolescents about the hardships of teen pregnancy.  I saw women in Mayan clothes (white dresses, the tops decorated with beautiful embroidery).  I saw a group of laughing, sweaty adolescent boys playing soccer in a concrete, fenced in field.  Close by to the field, I saw a group of adolescent girls sitting around (and on) a bench, in school uniform (burgundy and white) chatting.  I saw men sitting down on curbs and walking around.   I saw worn down houses with thatched roofs, some of which were in major need of repair.  I saw dogs and cats walking in the streets.  I saw an older woman walking with two little tykes, crossing the street.  The little girl holding the hand of her brother (how I wish I could have caught that scene on camera).  I saw people eating in small little restaurants - open to the outside air and bugs.  I saw containers of purified water stored in various places.  And a water tower that looked old and worn.  There were skinny streets - barely large enough for the van - and colorful buildings.  There were walls with government ads painted on them (PRI).  I saw a boy bike past us - obviously with a pain in his stomach (I said a little prayer for him).  I saw people smiling and enjoying their food, friends, and family.  I saw a little family on a bike - the boy pedaling - the mother looking out for traffic (as they tried to go around a semi).  I saw grey stone.  I saw five people on one moped (that was interesting).  I saw a poor community.  But a happy community - still full of hope and life.  I saw my beautiful Mexico.

I learned a lot from looking out the window today.

I learned that I am very blessed to live the life that I do.

And I pray that I'll be able to remember that moment in that van for the rest of my life.  To remember that, yes, my life may be hard sometimes, but it could be so much worse.  SO much worse.

I hope that someday I can return to Mexico.  Not as a study abroad student, but as a volunteer.  Or a missionary.  Someone who can help the people down here in the Yucatan.  But we shall see what life holds.

*ahem*

Moving on.  Shortly after this experience, we arrived in Celestún.  And it was a BLAST!!  Why?  Cause we got to do a boat tour!!!!!!  And it was the BEST DAY EVER.  See?

This is the first picture I got of the town (this picture basically captures what I thought all of Mexico looks like - before I came here, of course).

This is the little moped carts I was talking about earlier.

That's Becca, myself, and Ellora at the beginning of the boat ride.  (See how nice our hair looks sitll?)

And this is us near the middle of the boat ride (when we found the flamingos!!  See how crazy our hair is now?  The boat was so fast!)

This wasn't our boat (the group was split into three boats.  Six in each.  They were speed boats.  And they went so fast!)

This is where the river and gulf mixed.

This is the same place as pictured above but it's the "other side"  AKA this is the ocean.  The other picture was the river.

I rode on the same bus as the Profe and his kids, so we got to share their snacks! 

Us coming up to the bridge.

All these boats were parked in front of the bridge.  (By in front I mean, on the bank in front of the bridge.  So we slowed down at this part so we wouldn't create too many waves and hurt the boats).

It was super hard to get a good picture of the shore.  But I thought it was cool with all the trees and the roots going into the water.  It's own little habitat.

Flamingos!!!  (Side note:  flamingos are loud!  They sure love to gab!)

More flamingos!!

Even more!

And more!

My selife with the flamingos.

It was so shallow where the flamingos were (you could see the bottom very easily).  So the flamingos were just walking around.  Anyway, we ended up getting stuck in the mud, so we had to redistribute our weight to help the boat become unstuck.  So I moved up a row and sat in the middle bench part (there were two chairs on each row).  And profe sat up on the front part, which is when I snapped this fabulous photo.

Moving on.  (to more fun pictures).

There were these huge pterodactyl looking birds everywhere!  This is where we found a whole flock (basically, I felt like I was in a nature video this whole boat tour).

If you look closely you can see the little ripples.   This is where one of the underground rivers flows into the river (a spring).  It springs forth sweet water (literally).

After this bird and spring part, we did something crazy.  So I'd been thinking the whole time, man, I wish I could get an upclose look to the trees in the water and see what kind of animal life lives there.  And then, as we were heading back, we totally did!!  We did a turn into this cool little stream with trees and roots surrounding it (this little thorough way).  I was exclaiming, "oh my gosh!  This is so cool!" like a thousand times while this was happening.

Then, after we went through this little canopy thing, we docked at a nearby place and got to tour the sweet springs!!  And we got to swim in one!  (SO BEAUTIFUL.  See how clear the water is?).  Course, it was super deep, but luckily, the boats had life jackets, so after hesitating a little (I hate wear a life jacket, I feel so embarrassed about the fact that I can't swim.  But hey, it was either not go in at all, or go in with a vest), I went and grabbed a vest and came out.  Everyone was very supportive and helpful :)  I even was brave enough to not be holding on to anybody the whole time.

Oh!  But as I got in the water (they had a little ladder I could climb down), Profe was there to help (and Whitney).  So I got in then went under the rope Profe held up for me (which you can see in the picture below), then Profe grabbed the back of my life jacket and, as I floated on my back, pulled me to the center of the swimming area (and I said, haha, the Rebecca Express!!  Hence the title of this blog).  Here's some pics of those gorgeous springs -- there were three.

The one we swam in.

In the very back, next to the shore, is where the spring is.

The 'board walk'  A very creaky, old, holey walkway.  

Another picture of the spring we swam in.

After swimming there for about 20ish minutes, we got out, dried off, and headed back!

The coast line/end of our journey.

Then we had lunch!  (I was SO hungry.  And this food was good!  We all popped pepto beforehand because it always gets dicey with fish round there.  Luckily Profe had sufficient for those of us who forgot our pepto).

Chips and fish dip.  I tried two of the three kinds.  I wasn't in the mood to try octopus (it still had its little suckers on it *shudder*)

Vegetable soup!

Grilled chicken, rice, and veggis.

So there were a lot of flies...so at one point we decided to catch the flies in the pitcher (there were probably 20 in this one).  Yeah...it was a struggle.  But the food was still good!

After lunch (srsly, I'm going to miss the food here so much!!) we were all tuckered out.  (Some slept).  But the kids wanted to go into the water, so they went down to the beach and then we all followed suit (we were already dressed in our bathing suits, so why not?).  It was fun.  We looked for shells and I practiced treading water.  (Side note:  So at this point I found out that I had left my sunscreen on the boat, which I was a little frustrated with because I had just bought it the day before.  So I asked Sandra, our tour guide, if she knew were I could find it and she pointed me in the direction.  The driver was kind enough to accompany me to the boat drivers to ask for it.  And he helped me search the boats.  We actually hadn't found it, and were on our way back to the pavilion thing when one of the guys - who'd also looked in the boats - said, "amigos!  I found it"  (in spanish, but I can't remember the wording he used, lol.  I was very happy to get my sunblock back).

After about 40 minuts in the water, we finally headed home.  We all slept on the ride home.  Including me.  It was a nice little nap.

Then, we got home about 5ish?  Christina took a nap and I wrote on my novel.  Then about 8 PM we had dinner, then headed over to one of the houses for a movie night.  (I didn't want to go at first, but I'm glad that I did!).  We watched "10 Reasons I hate you" - not one of my favorites, but that's okay.  The importnat thing is is that I got to eat a peanut butter cup blizard from DQ (because Scott was kind enough to bring me one).

After that, we came home (got home about 12?) then Christina and I watched Once Upon a Time.  (Stayed up super late.  Which is why I didn't write this blog post until today).  Then we went to bed.
And yep!  That was our day!  Here are some videos I took of the flamingos and of the stream with the trees part:

'Til Tomorrow.

R J Carr