Ok, It's Friday but I'm writing about thursday, so if I float in and out of "today" and "yesterday" just remember that it's all thursday.
What a fantastically Mexican holiday it was yesterday. It started out with no water again (yes, again) so I walked to school, took a shower and rubbed on the sunscreen because we were taking field trip to Chachalacas, a wonderful little beach about an hour away from Veracruz. It was me, Jessica, her two cousins, cousin #2's boyfriend, and our charlante, Divian. It took two busses to get there, and on the way Jessica, Divian and I were quizzing each other from our magic vocabulary notebooks. It was all fun and games until I realized that I was yelling words really loudly that I probably shouldn't have been. Nothing too terrible... just a little cry of "armpit!" or "hard liquor!", things that may seem a little strange coming out of the mouth of this white girl in a bus :-)
When we got to the beach we met up with our friend Barb that we saw last thursday in Xalapa. She was at the beach with her two wonderful friends, Bobbi and Betsy. They are both in their 60s and have been living in Mexico for about 40 years each. They both married Mexican men, and now have children and grandchildren living in Mexico (but the husbands are history). They were fascinating women. They flowed from english to spanish and back to english again without thought. I was just enamored by them and hope that in one of my lifetimes I can be like Bobbi and Betsy. Breaking rules, breaking ground, going places and doing things women aren't supposed to do and never, ever appologizing for it.
The beach itself was all I could've asked for. The sea was clean, the beachfront restaurant was ours alone, the sun was out but not hot and the breeze was perfect. We swam, we talked, I ate some fish and beans and rice with tortillas, we swam more and then I laid out on a reclining chair and listened to some wonderful cds (thanks Allie). It felt like the perfect day. I changed out of my swimsuit in the tiny sandy bathroom at the restaurant and we were on our way. I was salty, dirty and smelly, but thoroughly pleased.
When we got back home I went to the aquarium shop and then to the market with two new students. We had a lot of fun and I bought some flowers for a few of the students at the school. We returned and I was expecting to have dinner with two of the Chinese students, but they had gotten an offer to go eat with a Chinese family in Veracruz, so they were gone when I got back.
That was probably a good thing. I took a shower, got myself all ready, and then Jessica and I (and the two new students who are mother and daughter) went out to Mambo Cafe again. We met our charlante friend there and proceeded to have one of the best nights I can think of. Most of the bars here sell by the bottle, and there was a huge discount on alcohol by the bottle, so, of course, we bought a bottle of vodka, got a pitcher of pineapple juice and proceeded to drink the night away. Ok, I realize that everyone thinks they're better at everything when they're drinking, but I have never been a better spanish speaker than when I had a few drinks in me. My words were flowing freely, I felt no trace of an accent and I was so unafraid to make mistakes that I took the chance to express myself and I did it right. I think if I ever move to Mexico I need to watch out for some possible alcoholism :-).
We danced, joked, danced some more (and at one point one of the waiters came up to my charlante and Jessica and they went fleeing from the floor because Jessica had a huge tail of toilet paper hanging out of her pants. It was absolutely classic), drank a lot, and then around 3:30, I reached my limit. I took off in a cab and my head was throbbing. I had passed the point of being the world's best spanish speaker and moved into being unable to really communicate in any language. When I got out of the cab, it was raining so hard I could barely see, and I was stumbling down the broken sidewalk/street in my huge heels with makeup streaming down my face... it felt like a movie. I somehow managed to get into bed, and I let myself sleep in an hour this morning
I'm still feeling the effects of yesterday, but all in all, it was an incredible day and I'm so glad that I did everything I did yesterday. I am getting ready to start packing soon to come home. It's really bittersweet here because it's starting to feel like a second home, but I can't wait to get back to see all of you. Thank you again for being so supportive of me in regards to this trip. To all my co-workers, my cat watchers, my family and friends (and many of you fall into several of those categories), thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are all terrific and I am lucky to have you.
Stay tuned to the travel journal for the next few days. I'll try to post when I get home, give a few more reflections and post more pictures. Amor y abrazos para todos. Tracey
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