Damn, school is far away!

Today was the actual orientation, rather than the fake one that I convinced myself existed yesterday. It was more or less interesting - no, I take that back. It was complete bull shit. The whole chat in the auditorium was the same stuff you hear whenever you travel - safety tips, location propaganda, and warnings about feeling depressed. For two hours. Finally it ended, and we continued to sit and fill out paperwork for our student visas. That'll be fun, since I have until next Friday to pay $100 (dollars, not pesos) to get a visa that says I'm allowed to study in Mexico. Even if I had prepared for this beforehand in Seattle, it still would cost me $60. I guess it's typical, having to pay large sums of money to the government while traveling, but I'm still chafing over it.

Okay, so finally, after four hours of eating up our time, they show us to the lunch. Bowls full of chili, hand-made corn tortillas, pico de gallo, more bowls of meat and potatoes. It was like Heaven, and all of us were getting cranky from low blood sugar and dehydrated. And you know what they made us do instead of eating?

Play a game.

Yeah.

Getting to know you games when the food is getting cold right in front of our eyes.

It was interesting enough. The idea is to work together, lifting and pushing and pulling each other one by one through squares of rope without touching the sides. Once two people went through every square, the rest had to go over the top! With 60+ people, it was chaos. For a few moments we all just stood there and cursed in our respective languages, threatening to just walk away and go buy food somewhere else.

But we did it in the end. And then we ate, and the tortillas and meat were delicious. Then I won a free ITESO tshirt, got my school ID, and started on the longest adventure home yet.

It took Amber and I three hours to get home, from going to the wrong bus stops to taking wrong turns, asking for directions from nearly every person we passed. We finally got back to the casa at seven. TEN HOURS after we left for orientation. Gloria had had dinner sitting and waiting for probably two hours by then, but she reheated it and commiserated and pretty recognized that it was a necessary evil for us to finally figure out our way around. And just in case we haven't learned yet, her son Diego is printing us off a few maps of the city right now.

Meanwhile, I'm not getting off this couch until the battery in my laptop dies.

Day One

As soon as I realized I'd be getting in to Guadalajara two hours later than expected, I figured my night would consist of getting to the hostel, throwing down my suitcase, and falling lovingly into a hard twin bed with only one pillow.

I got that last part right. The rest varied.

Turns out, even though I have very little confidence in my Spanish, I'm doing well enough to meet kind strangers at every turn. Maybe it's just the cute and slightly lost American girl aspect that's getting me by, but I don't think it is. My experiences traveling have proved again and yet again that strangers are generally kind hearted, helpful, and willing to try an adventure. One example would be the girls who drove me to the hostel from the airport. None of us had any idea where to go, and after getting off the freeway we spent a good thirty minutes going up and down one-way streets, on the phone with the hostel, trying to figure out where we were.

As for today, I spent the better part of it walking up and down the local streets, searching for various destinations. On no less than four separate trips I've walked a minimum of a mile each time, looking first for a grocery store, then a bookstore, lunch, and finally another bookstore. Later I'll be heading out with another girl from the hostel to find some form of dinner for under 20 pesos.

I'm really satisfied with the trip so far. I was afraid I'd be overwhelmed, or that I wouldn't find someone to commiserate with, or that Guadalajara in general would just be too different to get used to. And yes, there was a moment this morning around 9 am when I was walking through the freshly-doused streets, dodging spray kicked up by the speeding cars, when I wondered just what the Hell I thought I was doing, signing up to spend four months away from all my friends and family just to run around by myself while barely understanding the words being spoken over my head. But now it's 7 pm, and I'm a bit sleepy, and I have a giant cup of horchata to soothe me. Whatever happens next, I'd be terribly disappointed to have missed it.

August 11th is Here!!!

Alright guys, this is it. In two hours I'll be at the airport, getting ready to start the adventure. My parents just woke me up so I could say good-bye before they went to work, and now I'm doing the final packing for my suitcase. There are just a few last minute tasks to take care of, such as changing my voicemail message and mailing off insurance information to the university (shit! can you believe I waited this long?!)

See you in Mexico!

My Sorrows

So I think I'm cursed. I've managed to abuse and destroy every digital camera I've ever owned. Last Christmas, I got my very first and favorite camera. Two weeks later I dropped it during low tide into the water and sand, permanently scarring the lens. I coughed up the money to replace it, and went along happily from there. Then this spring, during one of our better apartment parties, the camera got dropped onto the kitchen counter from, oh, maybe a foot in the air. It never recovered. Since Mexico is coming up very, VERY soon now, I finally hopped to it and replaced the second broken camera with a small, lovely new Nikon Coolpix. It even came with a carrying case, so I wouldn't destroy it when I inevitably dropped it!

Instead it's either stolen or lost. One day it was sitting happily in the bottom of my purse, the next, I go to take a picture and it's gone. I really, really don't want to buy myself a fourth camera in less than two years. Unfortunately, I can afford it (but damn I'll be sore about it) so if it hasn't shown up by Sunday evening, I'm going back to Costco.

Current Events

Sometimes I like to catch up on the most obvious forms of corruption and deceit in our country. When the mood strikes, I turn to Don't Tase Me, Bro. Often, and tonight is no exception, by the time I reach the fifth or sixth entry, I'm ready to puke, hide my head under my pillow, or attempt to erase the entire reading from my mind. It's a challenge to confront those feelings, recognize what they say about my country, and try to reevaluate my opinions. While the experience is never enjoyable, I keep the website readily available. Reading about these dealings is the only way I can claim to be educated and informed. I can't back up my side of an argument without evidence, no matter how sick I may feel about researching it.

Passing Judgement

I'm officially declaring this summer as the #2 Best Summer of My Life So Far. With time, I might re-rank it up to #1, but I'll need some perspective first. I've managed to completely avoid stress, emotional instability, and severe boredom. In fact, even if it's a day spent sin human interaction, I'm still getting out and exploring the area and plowing through books. Basically, it's just been entirely relaxing, a time for me to fill up on good memories and warm sun and lack of responsibility before I go off and kill myself over the stress of living in a foreign country and not knowing the language.

Since I'm leaving Bellingham a week from today, I'm trying to pack in as much time with Irene as I can. We went out for drinks and fries yesterday, then finished off the night watching The Neverending Story. Today we spread a blanket and read books in the sun, baked a cake, found Super Mario's Taco Truck, and best of all, we raided her boyfriend's record collection and made ourselves a pile of old classic rock/blue grass/ country music to listen to. Right now Jethro Tull is showing off his fluting skills, earlier Bob Seger was telling me how I'm still the same, and up next Dolly Parten, EmmyLou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt are going to step up to the mic.

Transitioning

Very, very soon, this is going to turn into my travel blog. Traveblog? A little less than a month from now, I'll be in Guadalajara! Four months of living abroad! Okay, I know I'll get homesick and feel out of place and I might even be disappointed in it all, but right now, four months seems far too short.

To prep for my going-away, I packed up (some of) my suitcase. I think I'll be able to fit everything, but I also haven't done the real deal so who knows what I'll try to jam in at the last minute? The shoe corner is steadily morphing into a shoe layer, and..

.. and I just watched my neighbor across the street walk around her living room in her underwear. I feel like such a perv, except I put on the same show most nights of the week. Not tonight, though. In response to an achy sore throat and stiff muscles from all that swimming yesterday, I've curled up in my favorite rowing sweatshirt with a nostalgic Latin American novel written by Isabel Allende.

Anyway, Mexico. Coming up. Very nervous, very excited, kind of afraid to talk about it with people because it is just so BIG. and IMPORTANT. And I'm leaving so many people/ things/ relationships behind, I don't want to think about it all having an expiration date.

Home Sweet Home

Well! Being back in the Federal Way has been very, very nice. While I'm disappointed that Chanel never returned my calls (we're pushing over 6 months since our last visit), I've been on really good terms with Scott this time around. No fighting, no snarking, no yelling... The days when we can have a decent conversation, let alone tell jokes and hang out, are few and far between. Instead, we spent a few hours playing with my laptop's webcam, talked about books, and took Mom out to see Wall-E.

The other piece of even mildly interesting activity down here was the shopping trip Dad and I took to Fred Meyer. We spent a good 45 minutes dragging suitcases up and down the aisles, fiddling with handles, kicking sidings, checking seams, and of course comparing prices. I'm pretty sure I can fit and zip myself up inside the thing. Hooray!

Long Hot Summer

Coming home from work just a short while ago, I didn't take time to wonder what I would do with the evening. After a 30+ bike ride in the glaring sun during the hottest hours of the day, followed by four looong hours at a too-loud workplace, I was in no position to question my instincts. I simply acted on autopilot.

That's how I've come to find myself laying in a pile of nearly every blanket I own, head propped up by pillows, laptop resting on my knees, drinking a beer and preparing to watch Dexter until I fall asleep.

Finally!

After yesterday's woodland adventure, I've had an insatiable craving to get outside again and be on the move. Luckily for me, I moved my bike into the living room and pumped up the tires a few days ago.
So post-work, I took to the roads and did the warm-up loop from last year. You know, around through Fairhaven, along State, downtown and back again. I continued on down Old Fairhaven until I hit 32nd, then detoured for a glass or two of wine from one of my favorite redheads. It felt great to be moving, exercising old muscles, flying down streets on my little red road bike, and eventually climbing off and finding my legs shaking from the exertion.
I think tomorrow I'll run a mile or two on the track. What better time than now to rekindle my old loves?

Day Off (Sort Of)

Since I don't work until 5, and dumb Irene works until 5, I found myself with an empty afternoon. I took the time to finally clean the apartment, and after two hours of scrubbing and vacuuming and dusting and rearranging, guess what? I know it's clean, but nobody else would be able to tell.

We wrecked this place this year. Oops.

Home Comfort

Brent got a Wii about a month ago and never told me. (Granted, we don't see each other as much as last year.) He brought it home with him this weekend, though, and it's been mad fun playing it on our parents' giant plasma tv.

Right now is really adorable. We're behaving just like we did in high school. I'm on the couch with a book, Brent's doing his video game thing, and there's a laptop with a walkthrough set up for me to read to him when he gets stuck.

Before I Sleep

Fuck bitch shit. The calf is still knotted up and twisted and painful. I take hop skips to get started after standing up.

Went and saw Hulk with my brothers and dad tonight. Great movie? Terrible? Hard to decide. It was definitely entertaining, but not something that will stick with me for very long. Can you believe they all thought Hulk was terrific and Indiana Jones was hokey? I can't. I love the men in my family, but we obviously appreciate completely different things from our movies.

My dad and I had a late-night argument/discussion about our political beliefs, values, and the choices he made that led him to where he is now. I'm walking away from the conversation feeling torn. He was young and idealistic once, just like me. But he had kids and settled and picked the easier route and essentially walled himself up in the middle class suburban lifestyle so I could be raised happy, healthy, and protected. He did a great job. Any complaints I have about my childhood or the way my parents raised me are simply comments coming from the ungrateful and consistently dissatisfied part of me that I try to shut out.

He also warned me that, when it comes down to it, having kids myself will probably bring out the same behaviors from me. I want to disagree. I want to say that I'll always be up for an adventure, to help people and be self-sacrificing. I think of the couple I met in Peru, whose names I can't recall right now, but they had a one year old daughter named Ilana. They seemed to be successful on both fronts. She was an engineer, he took tourists out on white water rafting trips. They traveled on and off throughout the year, switching between his mother's ranch in Peru and her parents' place in Colombia. They were young and educated and idealistic, they worked on sustainability projects with Pocha on the ranch, and meanwhile they raised a kid. Maybe Ilana won't have the same safe protected childhood my parents envision kids need, but I feel that her parents' lifestyle is going to bring her so much more.

I want that for my future. For myself, for my kids, for anyone else who thinks it sounds good. I don't want to compromise and choose a way of life that isn't great, that makes me feel uncomfortable when I think about it, all for the sake of feeling safe.

I can't walk =(

I woke up with a nasty charlie horse this morning. I was still a bit drunk from the night before, but even with the numbing effects of alcohol I was crying and cursing and writhing in pain. It even left a little friendly reminder behind - all day, I've been unable to walk/stand up/climb stairs/do anything requiring the use of my left calf muscle without first stumbling and saying "fuck" under my breath. A coworker claims she had one that stuck around for days.

If that's the case, I will be relying heavily on the rest of my vicodin prescription.

There's been a rash of robberies going on lately, or at least ones occurring to people I know. My brother's girlfriend had her house broken into a few weeks ago. Then just a few days ago another boy I know was robbed. Worse, he's been calmly and professionally selling huge quantities of weed to pay for college. He lost thousands of dollars, and thousands of dollars more worth of electronics and computer equipment. Petty thieves or people who knew him and knew what to find, those robbers went home rolling in their newfound wealth.

I know we're supposed to hiss and spit and give the evil eye to drug dealers, and the majority of them I've met have been completely sketched out, but this boy comes from a different line of suppliers. He's clean cut, hard-working, intelligent, friendly, and basically everything but what you'd expect. No one deserves to be robbed, but this kid least of anyone.

I got a second job for the summer. I'm basically doing the same things I did as a lifeguard, only minus the water and plus giant inflatable bouncy rooms. I'm determined to use my employee benefits to jump and tumble and play on them myself after hours. My first day is Tuesday, and I'm actually really excited to start. It seems more interactive with the customers, low-key, and even if the place smells a bit funny I'm sure I'll enjoy myself.

Awwww Yeah

At sixteen, my parents sent me out to find a summer job. At each of the 5 places I applied to, I got a job offer.

I picked the swimming pool, which was maybe a good idea and maybe bad, because I haven't had to seriously apply for a job since. Once in the pool network, all surrounding facilities will take you.

This summer, though, I need more hours. Mexico is going to be costly, and I need to prepare.

I sent out two 4am applications to part-time job openings in Bellingham.

I have an interview tomorrow at 11:30.

Still got it.

Fun Fact

Since Brent took back his TV, our only option left is my old 12-inch with a VCR. My laptop screen is bigger - just more of a reason to watch Surf the Channel instead.

Also. I should've known tonight would turn into an all-nighter.

Disconnected thoughts

Went out to Jalapeno's for Happy Hour with two of the roommates and Ky, and it was GREAT. Big Mamas are not notorious for nothing. After downing two and a pizza pan full of nachos, my entire goal for the rest of the afternoon was to find someplace warm to fall asleep. The boys steered me away from the park across the street, seeing as it's been raining intermittently for the last, oh, FIVE YEARS.

Ended up in my bed, which is never a bad place to find myself after a drinking bout.

Woke up to yelling in the kitchen, as usual. Meghan had come for a visit, I'm not sure why, I was still a bit muddled. Right before she left, though, she threw out that her friend from Friday thought I looked like I'd be fun to cuddle with. Of course, now I'd like to track this boy down and give it a go. Facebook made finding him a non-issue, but I don't think I have the guts to follow through.

Where was I going? Oh, yes. After an excellent kung-fu movie viewing with Nick, we trundled off to campus to take advantage of the beautiful, wonderful, heart-squeezing event known as 25 Cent Coffee During Finals Week.

Now it's a bit late, more than a bit late, actually stupidly late considering I have one last final tomorrow. Caffeine is coursing through me, my fingers are jittery, and the urge to sleep is completely gone.

Speaking of sleeping, last night I dreamed of pterodactyls and running away from them while wearing filmy, floaty Victorian-era dresses. And kid gloves.

Waiting for the sun

It's been yet another gloomy day here in Bellingham. I locked myself in the computer lab for four hours after acing a final, and I have mixed feelings about the experience.

Pro: finished my portfolio that is due tomorrow
Con: was in the computer lab for four hours
Pro: did not have to walk home during the onslaught of all rain in Bellingham's clouds
Con: missed the thunder and lightning show, and the lights flickering
Pro: ran into an old friend and we agreed to go out for a drink soon
Con: now have blisters on my feet from walking in wet shoes

Also I spent a lovely evening catching up with Sharron. Sometimes I just want to kidnap her and make her spend a day talking to me. She's completely inscrutable sometimes, we'll spend a few hours together and I'll still have no idea what's going through her head. Then other times, like tonight, I get a real solid idea of what makes her tick, what's been effecting her everyday.

The three glasses of sangria helped, I think.

More Notes from the Computer Lab

Fun story learned from a mostly tedious presentation day.

Horchata is a traditional Spanish drink that has variation among all Spanish-speaking countries. Legend says that the name comes from King Juame I, King of Aragorn. After being served the drink for the first time by a servant girl, he asked her the name. She told him, and he said, "No, això es or, xata!" (No, that's gold, girl!) And thus, horchata.

Made from milk, rice, vanilla, and cinnamon, it was the most deliciously comforting drink I have ever had. I'll be making lots of it over the summer, I'm sure.

AND OH GOD. I forgot I downloaded Lil Jon's Get Low. It just came onto my iPod and I swear, for a second I thought some jackass was blasting terrible music in the computer lab.

Warning: Dangerous Website for Women

I could totally spend thousands on a vacation in the French countryside. This one was the most garish I could find, and I'm in love. Proof that even oodles of money could never give me class.

Dead Week

Dead Week is just beginning, the true Finals panic has yet to set in, and the computer labs are only at half-capacity. Written on the white board at the front of the room is this poem:

My candle burns at both ends,
It will not last the night.
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-
It gives a lovely light.
-- Millay

It's rather ominous, wouldn't you agree?

Brent asked what I wanted for my birthday. I told him to get me some pants.