I know, I know, I need to put up more about the Ruta Maya, and I will. But so I don't lose track of what's going on in the present, I'm going to keep up on the day-to-day stuff too. I made a list during lunch today, but evidence suggests I was a little tipsy at the time (see below), so excuse me if all this gets a little off track.
First of all, I seem to be suffering from the mother of all persistent coughs. I know, not really relevant, but it seems to be increasingly defining my life at the moment (haha), so I thought I should warn you. I'm taking cough syrup, drinking lots of water, all that jazz. I don't really feel that sick in any other way, just that little hitch in my throat, which suggests it's probably something to do with the change in temperature (or the change in humidity, here. I guess it makes people cough sometimes, who knew), or maybe just a reaction to living within spitting distance of a giant, exhaust-belching petrol refinery. Who knows?
Anyone, on to happier or less relevant news. Our house in in a state of complete uproar. They finally made the decision to extend Petrona's already gigantic closet (this is Mexico. The girls have clothes). But, since this house is built a little...differently, it meant boarding up a window and a door, knocking down a wall, and building a new one. This is made all the more joyfully exciting by the fact that this house is made of painted concrete enforced with metal poles. So construction suddenly involves constant hammering and a whole new level of headache medicine for the occupants. They figured while they were at it, they might as well fix the kitchen, too. They want to make a little box-shaped add-on to kitchen (which will spill into the front porch)to house the refrigerator, thereby opening up all the space the refrigerator was using, and offering them the opportunity at a later date to knock out some of the cabinets, add some more cabinets, and put in a breakfast bar. It's a whole big thing. I'm going to be leaving this family around the start of January, so I won't get to see any of this finished anyway.
My language skills are getting...weirder. I'm now quite good at swapping between English and Spanish, and although I feel like I've barely learned anything since I got here, everyone says I have, so I guess I must. I'm hitting the place in the exchange where lots of people stop really learning, since they know enough to live comfortably. I want to keep learning, but I'm definitely going to need some help. Hopefully, we will have Spanish language classes starting soon, so that should be a really good thing. I even heard a wisper that they are going to be for 2 hours after school, every day of the week. I'm excited (at least right now), although I'm fairly certain some of my more social fellow exchange students aren't feeling quite so festive. It doesn't matter anyway, since nothing will be starting until after winter break. Stay tuned!
I seem to have acclimatized a lot, too. Things (
cosas) I seem to remember thinking (
pensando) of as strange (
raro) are very commonplace (I'm starting to wonder how odd the U.S. is going to seem when I get back. I'm already having very scary thoughts about re-learning how to drive (
manejar) and ride my scooter. Although really looking forward to the Farmer's Market). I no longer even try to ride in the car(
coche) without bracing my hand on the ceiling or holding on to the handle on the top of the door (the roads here are not good). I don't walk around the house without shoes on (although some of that may be that the house is covered in concrete dust -
polvo). I haven't really started dreaming in Spanish (I shouldn't expect that for at least 2 more months), although from the dreams I can remember, the people in my head have started speaking fluent Spanglish. On the other hand, yesterday I'm fairly sure they were speaking (
hablando) Swedish or something. And today they weren't speaking at all, so who knows. BTW, the Spanish may be horribly mis-spelled. I learned most of these words by word-of-mouth, so spelling is a toss-up.
Anyway, life goes on. There are good days and bad days. But, the bad days are fewer and further between. And the bad isn't really that bad.
Oh, I can't remember the story I was going to tell, so I'll just put this out as some friendly advice: if you ever come to Mexico, be sure to check exactly what's in whatever you're drinking. My drink with lunch, which I
thought was juice with fruit cocktail turned out to be sangria. And proper sangria, with a bit of a kick too. I didn't really notice until I'd gone through a bit of it, but I guess it was stronger than usual, because half my family was tipsy, too.
I have lots to say about discoveries and the future and all that, but I don't really feel in an elaborating mood, so I'll save it for later when I think I can wax a little more poetical. One thing I do want to touch on that kind of hooks into the whole becoming accustomed thing is homesickness. Here's where my head's at now: I still miss all the family and friends same as before, but I think it's a little more manageable. I can read up on Facebook or get news from home, I don't feel completely cut off. The things I am most looking forward to back home are pretty much all food or freedom related. By food, I mean I have a list of all the places I want to go and all the things I want to eat there when I get back. Don't believe me? Magic's in Chicago, Eggs' Benedict. The Courier Cafe, banker's burger with Swiss cheese and normal fries, followed by a chocolate and peanut butter shake. The Black Dog, pretty much anything on the menu (and possibly some of that fancy beer everyone's going on about). I want to eat apples and homegrown lettuce. I want to make tomato and mozzarella salad with homegrown basil and Brandywine tomatoes and organic mozzarella. By freedom, I mean I think living in another culture, and having to be a little more guarded with what I say and act more socially acceptable has finally impressed on me the things I liked back home that I always sort of took for granted. I want to register to vote, I am thinking about getting a tattoo (I know what I want it to be of, I'm just looking for a good design and deciding where I want it). I am also going to henna my hair that red color I like so much and put it back in dreadlocks (hopefully I can bribe Ed into helping me again, he did such a good job the first time -although I stand by my decision to take them out, they would so
very much not have flown here, more's the pity). I also have some news which may seem a lot bigger to some of you than to others (some of you already know, I would thank you to keep your
very loud mouths shut, *Cameron*). I can't tell you what it is right now, since some of my Mexican friends have been reading this (I love you guys!). I will tell you, don't worry, I'd just like to be back in my friendly, supportive family atmosphere before I have to handle this. And without confusing you further, have a great week, happy holidays! Is anyone else eagerly awaiting the return of Supernatural? I was so doubtful, but now it's getting good again! If you will excuse me, I'm going to finish reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods. How did I manage to miss this one? I think I must have read Good Omens instead and gotten them confused. That reminds me! I would like to publicly thank my pure bossome parents for once again kind of creepily reminding me that they know me just as well as I do. I love it, you guys. Thank you so much! In a future post, I will undoubtedly be bringing up another interesting change this gift has brought about...
Stay tuned, and once again, happy holidays!
