I must say that this rates as the single best weekend of 2011. Just does.
But, let's start at the beginning...
I wake up Thursday morning. Very nervous. Debate + trip, right? We talked for the better part of two hours, back and forth. Ben and Benja's opening remarks both went super long, but even after we got into the talking part we still went forever. We were debating the pros and cons of CELAC, which is sort of like a Central/South American version of the European Union.
The best part? I talked! My teacher LOVED it and told me at least 3 times that she was very impressed with me and my speaking. Which, after what I've been through with my speaking, was one of the best compliments I've gotten all trip. I know that a lot of my comfort level is due to hanging out with Drew, Ben, and Benja a lot over the past week or two. They randomly speak in Spanish quite a bit, and I had to pick it up or be lost the whole conversation. Plus, they really don't care if I stumble over my words. I think I've asked Benja "como se dice..." more times than I can count.
So, after the debate, we got on the bus for a 9 hour bus ride to SONTECOMAPAN! Which was awesome. The place, not the bus ride.
Although, we did have some fun on the bus ride. Played some serious Spades (which Ben and I rocked socks at), and some 500 (which we, again, won). I read some, slept a tad, talked, etc.
We finally arrive at like 8 that evening. We got to take a 20 minute boat ride out to the little island where we were staying for the weekend. I love the water. I love the peaceful bliss of boating over calm water with the wind in your face and the smell of salt in the air. Oh, sigh.
When we arrived and dumped our stuff, I immediately headed straight for a hammock. I love hammocks. We chilled in the hammocks until dinner was served. Ian, Ben, and Benja fit into one hammock, which was quite a funny sight, I might say.
We had fish tostadas for dinner, which were supper yummy. Of course, the usual batter involving hot salsa and wimpy mouths went around. Ben and Miguelito both love super duper hot stuff. I like a little spice, but not like they do. But the tostadas were good and had tomatoes and aguante on them. Yum!
After dinner, we watched a short video about Los Amigos, which is the place we were staying at. They're trying to promote reforestation of the area as well as sustainable water practices and recycling. Seeing the before and after pictures of the trees was so cool because it showed how well its really working.
Then, on to bed. It was almost 11 before we headed that way and we all knew we'd be getting up early!
Friday morning, we got up to head to yoga at 7:30. I enjoyed that. It was difficult and I realized that I'm not so very good at it. But my back really let loose for the first time in a long time. Some of the students didn't finish, but I'm semi-suicidal in that way. Never quit.
Breakfast was yummy. Started a tradition of a fruit appetizer before the main meal. Fruit for breakfast is a tradition that I think I must continue once I'm home. It's just yummy. We did have omelets of a kind to go with it.
Friday was an interesting day. After breakfast, we talked for a bit with the people that own Los Amigos and figured out our schedule for the week. Then we headed to LA PLAYA!
For those of you who don't understand Spanish and so have no idea why I just got excited, that would be THE BEACH!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. We spent a few hours out on the sand (la arenja) and in the ocean (el océano). I hung out with Ben and Benja as we explored the beach. Ben tried to surf on a log. Needless to say, it didn't work. Although it did lend itself to some heavy laughter from me and Benja. We also found some random jalapenos and limes on the beach. Ben and I tasted the jalapeno. He liked it, I didn't really.
More fun in the waves. A little in the sand (which was insanely hot!).
After we got back, Antonio took us on a tour. Of course, it was beautiful. That whole place is. We got lots, or at least separated from the group. By "we" I mean me, Travis, Miguelito, Emily, Summer, Roxy, & Rebecca. I have no idea how I ended up with them (except that I was slow due to my love of picture taking) but it ended up being pretty fun.
Friday afternoon we had some free time to kinda chill. Of course, for me, chilling and fun aren't always the same thing. So we went kayaking through the mangroves. My idea of fun :). I double kayaked with Ian, which was quite the experience. But the mangroves remind me so much of childhood fun, since I kinda grew up in them. There were TONS of crabs too! Fascinating, even when they drop into your boat since you and your partner can't steer and end up crashing into branches :).
That night was the Temazcal. This is like an ancient steam room on steroids. It was probably the hottest hour and a half of my life, and I loved it. They started off with a ceremony where they "beat" us with a healing plant all over. Then we headed into the steamer room, which is basically a tarp-covered bamboo tent with a dirt floor and a hole in the middle for hot rocks and water. After we all got in, we "welcomed" the "abuelitos" or the rocks with chants in Spanish. Our guide, a Mexican Shaman, tossed water on the rocks, thus producing steam :).
We proceeded to spent over an hour in that steaminess as we went through more Spanish songs and chants and supplications for purity and healing. All in all, a very unique and cleansing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish chants too!
After we got out, we came down the mountain and jumped in the ocean! Much cooler and very refreshing. We went on to dinner after that, even though it was almost 9 by this point!
Saturday: The day of holey kayaks...
So, we got up early Saturday morning to head out in our kayaks to see the sun rise. By "we", I mean me, Ben, y Benja. Once we got out there, Ben and I decided to beach our kayaks and watch from the ocean so we could take pictures. Benja wanted to go out farther...
Great idea... until his kayak turned out to have a hole in it! So, we did see the sunrise over the lake... then proceeded to spend over an hour trying to drain Benja's kayak and get it back around the peninsula and into calmer waters so he could paddle it back to the ranch.
After all that, we still made it back to the hacienda in time for breakfast! Yay! After breakfast, we headed up the mountain once again for another Mexica ritual: a dance. Basically, you brought a blindfold, covered your eyes, and danced to old-style Latino music to your to your heart's content. Since no one could see the others, I'm sure the dances got pretty wild. I know mine did :). I loved this music and this time of movement that connected me back with myself. The movement was all about emotion and the beat. For me, dance is feeling. Dance is emotion. Dance is balance. Dance is connection. I loved it.
After dancing, we came down for a lecture by Antonio on Bioarcetectura. Or Green Architecture, in English colloquialism. Although I didn't understand everything, I was fascinated by this lecture since its exactly what I'm going into. I want to practice bioacretectura and permacultura in Latin America. Of course, God may yet have a different plan. But I like this one.
Lunch then more free time. We played some cards, then decided to have another kayak adventure. Of course, we left the holey kayak at home ... or so we thought...
We (meaning me, Ben, and Benja) kayaked through the mangroves. Drew, Migelito, and Doctora followed us for a while in the larger row boat, but they couldn't go as deep into the mangroves because their boat was bigger. But we went in as far as we could. Of course, the guys wanted to get out at one point. I sunk in mud up to my knees. It was great.
They went off into the woods to experience nature's finer qualities *cough cough*... I decided to be brilliant and see if I could balance in the kayak while standing. Needless to say, I couldn't. And as my yelp and a giant splash sound through the woods, the guys come hurrying back already laughing because by this point in the trip, they know me well enough to guess what happened...
After that, we headed back to the ranch to pick up Drew, who wanted to go to the other side of the lake and climb on the mangroves. Of course, another group was out kayaking too... so there wasn't an extra kayak... so (yes, it was my brilliant idea) we decided that I'd hold onto the back of one of they guy's boats and swim across... Much fun... much exhaustion...
We climbed around there for a bit. I managed to get to the back without stepping in the mud too much because I didn’t have shoes due to swimming across. Of course, my momma used to tease that I was half monkey, so that wasn’t a hardship for me :).
We came back to the Ranch and decided to try again to kayak out to the ocean and play in the waves. Thankfully, there was an extra kayak by this time, so I got my own as we paddled out into the deep recesses of the ocean…. *cue theatric music*
Anyway, we got out there, started playing the waves... and what should happen? A giant wave crashing over the kayak that I'm losing control of... and I fall in. Thankfully, getting back into the kayak wasn't that big of an issue. It was, of course, full of water. After an excruciating journey to the beach, we dump it out. And what should we find, my dear reader?
Yes, you guessed it... a hole. Yay. Of course, Benja's new kayak had one too, so I wasn't alone. We pretty much figured that all the kayaks of that kind were holey. But we dumped it and tried to start around the island again. Needless to say, I ended up in the water three or four more times. I got really good at getting back in the boat...
Finally, I gave up and just started walking the kayak around the peninsula to get to calmer waters. What should happen next, for of course this would be no fitting end to this tale?! Yes, my dear readers, una medusa. Or, in English, a jellyfish.
I was stung on the knee. It's true. My cry echoed out over the waters to bring help... okay, dramatic. But I did groan some and let Ben and Benja take the kayak as soon as they got there. That HURT! Ben and Benja switched out kayaks so that I was in the plastic one and the only one without a hole. We paddled our exhausted bodies and full kayaks back to the ranch. That took over 20 minutes.
The whole time, my knee screamed. I think the venom or whatever a jellyfish has spread, cuz my whole knee and half my leg was going numb by the time I got back.
Some vinegar, a shower, and some rest later, I was okay. Yeah, it hurt for several days, but I was walking and back to my old, perky self. Yay!
So, moral of this story? Holey kayaks = bad. Una medusa = cool name but BAD. :)
That evening, after our adventure, things seemed strangely tame... We had dinner and ended up sitting around talking forever. Antonio gave us a slide show lecture, explaining more about reforestation and stuff. Eventually, we all headed to bed out of exhaustion ... and it was only 11pm...
Sunday: a return to DF
That morning, we got up for breakfast then headed back across the water via boat to get back to our bus. I love the water. The bus ride was 9 hours long. We did stop in a small town where Ben, Benja, and I managed to negotiate a dude out of three hammocks for a great price! We also stopped for lunch, but strangely none of us were very hungry.
We didn't get back in until almost 11 that night.
Monday and Tuesday:
Doctora cancelled class for us, so we spent these days working on our debates and projects. Not a whole lot to say about it, except that we worked. I'm glad we didn't have class or we would have gotten practically no sleep at all that week.
Wednesday:
Debates! Yay! Okay, so actually it was kinda terrifying. But I got into it after a while. My group had Transgenic Seeds, and I sure learned a whole lot. We talked for the better part of two hours, but it was all good. The other team had already had their debate about TLCAN.
That afternoon, we spent more time working on projects and studying for a test the next day.
Thursday:
But, let's start at the beginning...
I wake up Thursday morning. Very nervous. Debate + trip, right? We talked for the better part of two hours, back and forth. Ben and Benja's opening remarks both went super long, but even after we got into the talking part we still went forever. We were debating the pros and cons of CELAC, which is sort of like a Central/South American version of the European Union.
The best part? I talked! My teacher LOVED it and told me at least 3 times that she was very impressed with me and my speaking. Which, after what I've been through with my speaking, was one of the best compliments I've gotten all trip. I know that a lot of my comfort level is due to hanging out with Drew, Ben, and Benja a lot over the past week or two. They randomly speak in Spanish quite a bit, and I had to pick it up or be lost the whole conversation. Plus, they really don't care if I stumble over my words. I think I've asked Benja "como se dice..." more times than I can count.
So, after the debate, we got on the bus for a 9 hour bus ride to SONTECOMAPAN! Which was awesome. The place, not the bus ride.
Although, we did have some fun on the bus ride. Played some serious Spades (which Ben and I rocked socks at), and some 500 (which we, again, won). I read some, slept a tad, talked, etc.
We finally arrive at like 8 that evening. We got to take a 20 minute boat ride out to the little island where we were staying for the weekend. I love the water. I love the peaceful bliss of boating over calm water with the wind in your face and the smell of salt in the air. Oh, sigh.
When we arrived and dumped our stuff, I immediately headed straight for a hammock. I love hammocks. We chilled in the hammocks until dinner was served. Ian, Ben, and Benja fit into one hammock, which was quite a funny sight, I might say.
We had fish tostadas for dinner, which were supper yummy. Of course, the usual batter involving hot salsa and wimpy mouths went around. Ben and Miguelito both love super duper hot stuff. I like a little spice, but not like they do. But the tostadas were good and had tomatoes and aguante on them. Yum!
After dinner, we watched a short video about Los Amigos, which is the place we were staying at. They're trying to promote reforestation of the area as well as sustainable water practices and recycling. Seeing the before and after pictures of the trees was so cool because it showed how well its really working.
Then, on to bed. It was almost 11 before we headed that way and we all knew we'd be getting up early!
Friday morning, we got up to head to yoga at 7:30. I enjoyed that. It was difficult and I realized that I'm not so very good at it. But my back really let loose for the first time in a long time. Some of the students didn't finish, but I'm semi-suicidal in that way. Never quit.
Breakfast was yummy. Started a tradition of a fruit appetizer before the main meal. Fruit for breakfast is a tradition that I think I must continue once I'm home. It's just yummy. We did have omelets of a kind to go with it.
Friday was an interesting day. After breakfast, we talked for a bit with the people that own Los Amigos and figured out our schedule for the week. Then we headed to LA PLAYA!
For those of you who don't understand Spanish and so have no idea why I just got excited, that would be THE BEACH!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. We spent a few hours out on the sand (la arenja) and in the ocean (el océano). I hung out with Ben and Benja as we explored the beach. Ben tried to surf on a log. Needless to say, it didn't work. Although it did lend itself to some heavy laughter from me and Benja. We also found some random jalapenos and limes on the beach. Ben and I tasted the jalapeno. He liked it, I didn't really.
More fun in the waves. A little in the sand (which was insanely hot!).
After we got back, Antonio took us on a tour. Of course, it was beautiful. That whole place is. We got lots, or at least separated from the group. By "we" I mean me, Travis, Miguelito, Emily, Summer, Roxy, & Rebecca. I have no idea how I ended up with them (except that I was slow due to my love of picture taking) but it ended up being pretty fun.
Friday afternoon we had some free time to kinda chill. Of course, for me, chilling and fun aren't always the same thing. So we went kayaking through the mangroves. My idea of fun :). I double kayaked with Ian, which was quite the experience. But the mangroves remind me so much of childhood fun, since I kinda grew up in them. There were TONS of crabs too! Fascinating, even when they drop into your boat since you and your partner can't steer and end up crashing into branches :).
That night was the Temazcal. This is like an ancient steam room on steroids. It was probably the hottest hour and a half of my life, and I loved it. They started off with a ceremony where they "beat" us with a healing plant all over. Then we headed into the steamer room, which is basically a tarp-covered bamboo tent with a dirt floor and a hole in the middle for hot rocks and water. After we all got in, we "welcomed" the "abuelitos" or the rocks with chants in Spanish. Our guide, a Mexican Shaman, tossed water on the rocks, thus producing steam :).
We proceeded to spent over an hour in that steaminess as we went through more Spanish songs and chants and supplications for purity and healing. All in all, a very unique and cleansing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish chants too!
After we got out, we came down the mountain and jumped in the ocean! Much cooler and very refreshing. We went on to dinner after that, even though it was almost 9 by this point!
Saturday: The day of holey kayaks...
So, we got up early Saturday morning to head out in our kayaks to see the sun rise. By "we", I mean me, Ben, y Benja. Once we got out there, Ben and I decided to beach our kayaks and watch from the ocean so we could take pictures. Benja wanted to go out farther...
Great idea... until his kayak turned out to have a hole in it! So, we did see the sunrise over the lake... then proceeded to spend over an hour trying to drain Benja's kayak and get it back around the peninsula and into calmer waters so he could paddle it back to the ranch.
After all that, we still made it back to the hacienda in time for breakfast! Yay! After breakfast, we headed up the mountain once again for another Mexica ritual: a dance. Basically, you brought a blindfold, covered your eyes, and danced to old-style Latino music to your to your heart's content. Since no one could see the others, I'm sure the dances got pretty wild. I know mine did :). I loved this music and this time of movement that connected me back with myself. The movement was all about emotion and the beat. For me, dance is feeling. Dance is emotion. Dance is balance. Dance is connection. I loved it.
After dancing, we came down for a lecture by Antonio on Bioarcetectura. Or Green Architecture, in English colloquialism. Although I didn't understand everything, I was fascinated by this lecture since its exactly what I'm going into. I want to practice bioacretectura and permacultura in Latin America. Of course, God may yet have a different plan. But I like this one.
Lunch then more free time. We played some cards, then decided to have another kayak adventure. Of course, we left the holey kayak at home ... or so we thought...
We (meaning me, Ben, and Benja) kayaked through the mangroves. Drew, Migelito, and Doctora followed us for a while in the larger row boat, but they couldn't go as deep into the mangroves because their boat was bigger. But we went in as far as we could. Of course, the guys wanted to get out at one point. I sunk in mud up to my knees. It was great.
They went off into the woods to experience nature's finer qualities *cough cough*... I decided to be brilliant and see if I could balance in the kayak while standing. Needless to say, I couldn't. And as my yelp and a giant splash sound through the woods, the guys come hurrying back already laughing because by this point in the trip, they know me well enough to guess what happened...
After that, we headed back to the ranch to pick up Drew, who wanted to go to the other side of the lake and climb on the mangroves. Of course, another group was out kayaking too... so there wasn't an extra kayak... so (yes, it was my brilliant idea) we decided that I'd hold onto the back of one of they guy's boats and swim across... Much fun... much exhaustion...
We climbed around there for a bit. I managed to get to the back without stepping in the mud too much because I didn’t have shoes due to swimming across. Of course, my momma used to tease that I was half monkey, so that wasn’t a hardship for me :).
We came back to the Ranch and decided to try again to kayak out to the ocean and play in the waves. Thankfully, there was an extra kayak by this time, so I got my own as we paddled out into the deep recesses of the ocean…. *cue theatric music*
Anyway, we got out there, started playing the waves... and what should happen? A giant wave crashing over the kayak that I'm losing control of... and I fall in. Thankfully, getting back into the kayak wasn't that big of an issue. It was, of course, full of water. After an excruciating journey to the beach, we dump it out. And what should we find, my dear reader?
Yes, you guessed it... a hole. Yay. Of course, Benja's new kayak had one too, so I wasn't alone. We pretty much figured that all the kayaks of that kind were holey. But we dumped it and tried to start around the island again. Needless to say, I ended up in the water three or four more times. I got really good at getting back in the boat...
Finally, I gave up and just started walking the kayak around the peninsula to get to calmer waters. What should happen next, for of course this would be no fitting end to this tale?! Yes, my dear readers, una medusa. Or, in English, a jellyfish.
I was stung on the knee. It's true. My cry echoed out over the waters to bring help... okay, dramatic. But I did groan some and let Ben and Benja take the kayak as soon as they got there. That HURT! Ben and Benja switched out kayaks so that I was in the plastic one and the only one without a hole. We paddled our exhausted bodies and full kayaks back to the ranch. That took over 20 minutes.
The whole time, my knee screamed. I think the venom or whatever a jellyfish has spread, cuz my whole knee and half my leg was going numb by the time I got back.
Some vinegar, a shower, and some rest later, I was okay. Yeah, it hurt for several days, but I was walking and back to my old, perky self. Yay!
So, moral of this story? Holey kayaks = bad. Una medusa = cool name but BAD. :)
That evening, after our adventure, things seemed strangely tame... We had dinner and ended up sitting around talking forever. Antonio gave us a slide show lecture, explaining more about reforestation and stuff. Eventually, we all headed to bed out of exhaustion ... and it was only 11pm...
Sunday: a return to DF
That morning, we got up for breakfast then headed back across the water via boat to get back to our bus. I love the water. The bus ride was 9 hours long. We did stop in a small town where Ben, Benja, and I managed to negotiate a dude out of three hammocks for a great price! We also stopped for lunch, but strangely none of us were very hungry.
We didn't get back in until almost 11 that night.
Monday and Tuesday:
Doctora cancelled class for us, so we spent these days working on our debates and projects. Not a whole lot to say about it, except that we worked. I'm glad we didn't have class or we would have gotten practically no sleep at all that week.
Wednesday:
Debates! Yay! Okay, so actually it was kinda terrifying. But I got into it after a while. My group had Transgenic Seeds, and I sure learned a whole lot. We talked for the better part of two hours, but it was all good. The other team had already had their debate about TLCAN.
That afternoon, we spent more time working on projects and studying for a test the next day.
Thursday:
Our last test in the morning. Both easier and harder in some ways than the others.
Then off to Rebecca's house to finish our project. We worked on it for most of the evening. That evening, we also went on the Touribus, but it was late so we didn't get to spend much time on it. Oh well.
Friday:
We showed our commercials! I'll have to post a link soon so everyone can see mine.
I didn't do a whole lot that afternoon. Took a nap, worked on some non-Mexico related stuff.
That evening, we had our farewell dinner. We showed our commercials to our families and had a huge dinner. All the host families came and ate with us. I got to talk to quite a few fun people and I loved it! Such awesome conversations.
After we left there, we went to Emilie's for her birthday celebration. That got wild, but I had fun. I didn't go out to the club with them afterwards, which I'm thankful for.
Saturday:
We spent Saturday shopping and hanging out. We took the Touribus again, and this time got the 3 hour version. I spent all day out with the others just having fun on our last day together in Mexico. Finished finding all the gifts I wanted and stuff. We ended the day with coffee and smoothies about midnight. :)
Sunday:
COME HOME!!! :) And man, was I ever glad for that!
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