My time in Mexico has officially drawn to a close. Tomorrow morning I am waking up at 4 o'clock to get to the airport for my day full of seemingly endless flights and layovers. I leave out of Merida at 650, get to Mexico City at 830 and have a 5 hour layover there. I then arrive in Atlanta after a 5 hour flight and have a 3 hour layover there before finally getting to Dallas at 11 tomorrow night. But that isn't the hardest reality that I am going to have to face in the next 24 hours. I already said goodbye to most of my Mexican friends last night, but the family that I have been a member of is having their Posada celebration today, where they will dress up and act out the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary are searching for a room in an inn. I have been asked to play the role of Joseph so that, and I translate and quote, "the pictures come out very handsome." This will be fun but the goodbye process will be brutal. The 20 family members that have taken care of me and literally been my family for four months will all be there with gifts and cards to give to me hugs and send me off. Family is a huge huge deal in this culture so we had family gatherings quite often and this last one will be very tiring emotionally knowing that I will probably never see most of them again. Granted, I get to see my family and girlfriend tomorrow night in the states which obviously makes this whole situation much easier on me. But I will have so many restless hours of sitting in airports tomorrow to think about what I am leaving behind.

I remember before I came abroad and people would ask me why in the world I wanted to study abroad in Mexico. I have come to the conclusion that if you want to study Spanish abroad, you really should not go anywhere else. First of all, name 5 cultural elements from any other Latin American country than Mexico. Can't do it easily can you? But let's brain storm here...sombreros, tacos, Pancho Villa, piñatas, tamales, hammocks. Mexico easily has the richest culture in Latin America (bold and slightly biased statement, I know). As far as Spain goes, great place, but living in Texas with a degree in Spanish I really need the vernacular and accent of a Latin American. Seriously, have you ever heard a Spanish speaker in Texas using the lisp they use in Spain? And specifically this part of Mexico...the culture here in Yucatan is even more rich than the rest of the country. I live within 3 hours of 500 Mayan ruin sites and within 8 hours of over 1400. I live less than a 30 minute drive to the nearest beach. A 15 minute bus ride to the oldest Cathedral on the Continent. I can walk to the nearest Cantina. And I haven't been cold since getting here. Not to mention Merida being one of the safest cities in the world and Yucatecans being as hospitable and helpful as your average small town Texan.

I guess I just say all that because this has been a really good semester full of tons of memories. But to be honest, my time has come to an end here and it is time to go home. I can't wait to be close to my friends, family and Ashley. I can't wait to go to Crossroads on Sunday. I can't wait to eat Tex-Mex, i really miss it. And I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. So until we meet on the other side of the border...

Hasta luego México. Te he disfrutado más que podrías creer.

Today my beautiful little sister, who is on her way to becoming a beautiful young woman, turns 11. I hope that your day is amazing, Dana. You are a giant blessing to me and I look forward to being able to see you grow in who you are as a person, but most importantly in who you are as a follower of Christ. I love you sis!


So here was the problem. 3 days in the 2nd largest city in the world really doesn't give you enough time to do much of anything. But, with the help of an eight hour tour bus ride I got to see a good portion of the center and south of the city. I would say that everyone needs to see the Center of the town where the Cathedral is located at least once in their life. It is built on top of the Aztec city of Technochtitlan and the ruins are visible in the square AND all of the building from the 1500s onward that were built by the Spaniards are sinking because they were constructed on top of old Aztec pyramids. It's way cool.
I also got to celebrate the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the home of a Chilango family. Chilango is a word people in Mexico use to describe those from Mexico City. It was really neat, mainly because they gave me enchiladas verdes. Side note, in Mexico City all types of non carbonated beverages are called "agua". So with my enchiladas I had agua de manzana which was more or less homemade apple juice. The tour bus took us by some really cool places, most notably the house of Frida Kahlo, the infamous artista. The following day I went to the ruins at Tlateloco and the 3 cultures plaza where the Mexican government opened fire on 14000 students during a protest in 1968 and killed about 2000. After that venture we went to the Basilica where 8 million people had been the day before and saw the original cloak with the Virgin's imprint. Then we trekked it out to Teotihuacan to see the ancient city there and saw the 3rd most massive pyramid in the world. That was a very quick overview, but here are some pictures to help fill in the gaps. I'll be home in 5 days so I can show you all of my pictures then.

Cathedral in the center square

One of Diego Rivera's paintings criticizing the Spanish rule

The Old Basilica

Teotihuacan

More Teotihuacan