wow, i'm backlogged on photos

Jessie flew in, we went to Merida. Great Mexican city, good food and great museums which we never got to see because it was Easter and everything shuts down...We met some Germans. They had a car, and they let us ride with them to Uxmal and Kabah, two cool Mayan ruins....here's a link to that album...Not all of these are worth looking at, but I don't have the internet time to sift through them all!! Sorry! I will be going back and adding captions soon..

Uxmal and Kabah

Next, we went to Palenque, which is in the jungle and also in Chiapas...amazing. The people we met there were great - it was much more real Mexico than anywhere else we'd seen yet, even with all the tourists. We drove out to Agua Azul, one of the amazing waterfall systems out there, and saw another beautiful waterfall that reminded me of Multnomah Falls. We also went to see the Mayan ruins there, which were really impressive, especially surrounded by jungle...As I mentioned before, I don't promise that all of these photos are worth looking at, but I put up everything I took...The Palenque ruins were also the site of the infamous street mango...

Palenque

Post on Tulum and Coba coming soon...feel free to peruse the photos on Picasa and I will get captions up soon!

Much love!

on getting diarrhea during an 11 hour bus trip

FYI this is graphic but I think it´s funny....so welcome to last night for me.

Okay, so now I know what I´m made of. And it STINKS!

No, but seriously, at about 3:30 am today, I realized that I was going to lose my sh*t during the bus ride (of which there were still 4 hours left)...NOT a good feeling. Worst stomach cramps ever, and as I made my way to the back of the bus in a panic, I cursed Don Muchos and his stupid restaurant´s disclaimer that they "disinfect the food and water, always". I made it to the toilet, but couldn´t lock the door, so I proceeded to sit down and let loose one-handed. Yeah, I had to hold the door closed the WHOLE TIME. After I was sitting there for about 20 minutes, I realized that if I braced my feet on the wall next to the door, I could hanker it closed and force the lock. Ahhh, sweet victory. But it was soooo hot, sweat was dripping down my face and I was sure I was going to die in the sardine can bathroom on an ADO bus. Nausea was washing over me in waves, and I thought, what the hell am I supposed to do if I start puking, too?!?!?! About 1 hour and 4 bathroom trips later, all resembling the first, I felt like maybe it had passed...It´s been about six hours now, and while things are much improved, I can assure you that it´s not over yet. Bienvenido a Mexico.....Then I realize that I ate a street mango yesterday...Damn...it´s totally my fault. :)

But why stop there, when the entire bus trip was eventful! We began it by being stopped by the federal police, and they instructed all of us to get off the bus, where we were sniffed by drug dogs and got to watch them check our luggage, presumably for drugs or weapons. So that was a bit unnerving, but I felt okay since I didn´t have any drugs or weapons.

At the beginning of the trip, I had developed this amazing knack for sleeping while traveling. Yeah, that´s gone now. Now, diarrhea aside, I tend to wake up at the oddest times (like 1 am, after sleeping for 1 hour). The nice thing is that everyone else is asleep, and no lights are on in the bus, so you can see the star or moonlit country side. It´s a bit magical, really. I have been plugging in my iPod and letting the music take me wherever it will...It´s a nice little break from it all.

My camera battery is dead, but we supposedly have a private room at this hostel in Tulum, so I will charge everything and maybe get a chance to post photos from Merida (including Uxmal and Kabah) and then from Palenque (including Agua Azul and the Palenque ruins, site of the infamous street mango) as we leave Tulum tomorrow.

Wish me and my bowels well, I fear we´re in for a ride.

Hasta luego, amigos....

Merida

Still can't figure out the accents on the keyboards. This one shows a typical keyboard here, but types like one in the US. Huh?

Let me tell you quickly about today, and then I have to run to catch a bus. No photos yet, sorry, don't have time to upload, but today was an adventure.

We've been in Merida (a REAL Mexican city, according to all) for two nights. Same cool story: meeting great people and having a good time eating and lazing about. Also, went to see the ruins at Uxmal today with a group of German girls (3) and one German guy. They had a rental car, so we rode with them....um wow. I thought I was going to DIE. Driving here is crazy. At one point, we tried to get lunch in a little town called Ticul (a whole story in itself), and ended up going the wrong way down the busiest street. Crazy gringas....

The ruins, though, the ruins! I took over 200 photos today, I'm pretty sure. I will sift through and upload some probably when we are in Tulum in a few days. By then, We'll also have seen the Palenque ruins, too. It's really quite touristy (or, touristic, as the Germans say) at Uxmal, but we got there early enough to have a bit to ourselves and before the heat was unbearable. Amazing that these structures still exist like they do, and it's amazing to climb up and down them and realize that the steps are so small because they fit the people that built them. My duck feet barely fit on the steps, and as the wind was blowing I felt a few times as if I might tumble down as a punishment for my huge Chacos.

Lunch in Ticul was amazing, we paid 188 pesos for 6 people to eat a full, wonderful, local meal - with drinks. The people here take Easter seriously, too - we got to witness the locals walking around town singing, chanting, and carrying lifesize crosses as a way to begin celebrating....It is Good Friday, after all.

Jessie and I catch a night bus to Palenque tonight, and I hope we will get some much needed sleep because I am exhausted. So much sun, sweat, and not enough water, no matter how much I drink.

I can't get enough of this region: the food, the people, the places, the weather, the sights, the language....It's a shame I have to come home. But then I realize something cool about myself, as I'm thinking this: part of what's going to make me an excellent teacher is my openness to people who are different from me. In fact, not just openness - excitedness or interest or something. It's what makes me able to hang at these hostels, with a bunch of (let's face it) sometimes weird people...it's what makes it so much fun. But my drive to use that part of my personality and others to really serve a population that deserves high quality teachers is what really brings it all together.

It's funny, because I was thinking about this trip today, and how it's probably the best thing I've ever done for myself. Oddly enough, I'm not doing very much soul searching, not like I thought I would. I'm mostly just RELAXING....which is what I needed anyway. I know who I am (or who I am becoming), and what I want, but I work too damn hard. So I don't need solitude and soul searching - I need fun and adventure! Exactly what I'm getting.

Photos soon....

Muchos besos!!

Isla Mujeres Photos

Here are some photos that show the spirit of Isla Mujeres. I am definitely coming back here. It's so easy and fun to be here. It might make me lazy, though.

The three lies of Isla Mujeres:
1. "I am leaving tomorrow" - the running joke is that everyone comes for a few nights but stays for a few weeks. It is hard to leave
2. "I am not drinking tonight" - even if you aren't getting drunk, you are having a beer or two, because after about 8 pm there is nothing to do but have a beer, and you can't sleep because the music is so loud
3. "I love you" - the same story wherever there are groups of Latin men, I think

So far, I have stuck to my leave date, I have had beers even when I said I am not drinking, and only one man has told me he loves me. Ha! The three lies hold true....

And now, on to some photos, ya? I can't get the captions to work, so here are what the photos are of...I am sick of messing with the layout so deal with the ugly ok?!?!?!

#1: The ferry ride to Isla Mujeres...one of the most beautiful boat rides I have ever taken!
#2: Las chicas...
#3: Snorkeling trip...
#4: Kerstin and I!
#5: A typical day..
#6: Me gusta Isla Mujeres...
#7: New friends...Jito, Kerstin y Kian

Still in Isla Mujeres

I don't want to leave Isla Mujeres. In fact, I think I'll come back and spent my last few days of the trip here. There are so many cool people, and it feels much safer here than in Cancun, of course. It's nice because there are so many turistas here, backpackers and otherwise, so lots of ease getting around and communicating, and all of that. I like it. Tomorrow, I leave to meet Jessie in Cancun, which will be sad and happy, because I will leave here but start a fun week with a good friend.

Not much to update, other than yes, I'm still alive. Been going to the beach during the day, reading a lot, and at night just hanging out at the hostel bar reading or playing games. I love it here. Everyone is very interested in the book I'm reading, Subtractive Schooling, and then I get to talk about teaching. I guess I never will leave it behind anywhere, you know?

I haven't figured out how to upload my photos to these computers, yet, but sometime when there is no, as they say, long row for the computers, I will have another whack at it.

Ciao!

Current place: Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Learned today that they don't let you board a flight to Mexico unless you have a ticket back. Therefore, I'm coming back on April 20th. Cheapest fare I could find, and I decided that I'm not going to push the solo traveling past a month.

I also realized that when you travel, you find "safe spots". You know, you spend all this time embarrassed, finding a bus, but once you are nestled into that seat, no one can touch you. I'm in a safe spot right now, on the computer, instead of out meeting people like I should be. So, here I go....but Isla Mujeres is beautiful - full of Europeans as it turns out. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I hope its more than just a bunch of safe spots all over the world.

I already made a bad move: I took a colectivo which you are apparently not supposed to do. But I waited for 35 minutes for the Ruta 13, which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist, and it was HOT as HELL, so I jumped onto a colectivo (on accident, really). So far, I've only been ripped off twice and had someone not get what I was saying once. I'm on a top bunk and have no idea where to get food. Follow your nose?

Hasta luego....

Current town: Orlando, FL

This is suddenly morphing from a teaching blog into a travel blog. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. I'm currently in Orlando, FL, by way of Cedar Key, FL, en route to Mexico.

Some current highlights of my life:

1. Just found out that I am a 2010 Knowles Teaching Fellow. If you don't know what that means, Google it. It's pretty amazing, and to be quite honest, was VERY unexpected.
2. I am a finalist for the 2010 Bonderman Travel Fellowship. Again, Google it, surprised, amaaaaazing.
3. On my way to Mexico for ___???___ weeks. Not sure when I'm coming back, but I do think that I will be in Mexico for the entire time. No border crossing for me this trip, save the U.S.-Mexico water border.
4. Spent a few days in an idyllic town called Cedar Key, FL. Amazing place. So many types of birds, I couldn't even begin to count them or name them. Among the many, though: pelicans - such awesome birds! Egrets, herons, bald eagles....wow! Saw manatees, too! They are SO CUTE and SO UGLY all at the same time. Confusing, really. Such a beautiful place....Got to visit with family that I don't see enough, as well, and ate the most wonderful food.

EDIT/ADD!
5. Also! Forgot that this morning I got to grab a quick breakfast just off the UF campus in Gainesville with an old friend from the SRS Research days. Julian gave me lots of good advice for places to go and see in Mexico....got me really excited to get there!
6. Last, but not least, I dyed my hair. It's a little hilarious, because I did it out of a box, but whatever. Don't worry, to all who know me well, of COURSE it's wash out, non-permanent dye. It's already been through 1 of the 28 washes that will take it out. Actually, it's still coming out of my hair. Pretty funny, especially because I missed a big chunk in the front. Oh well, can't do anything about it now. All the blond I tried to cover up has turned reddish brown, so I hope that goes away. I know I won't wash my hair 28 times over the next month, though. :) Who knows what will happen on that front!

All in all, I'm having a great post-teaching program life. Money is getting tighter, but my worries are fading away. My biggest decisions facing me are which Mayan ruin to visit first. But before that....Isla Mujeres. Google it. :)

This is how I will be keeping people (mostly my mother) posted during my trip. So don't expect a quick email response. Check here first!

Hasta luego...


EDIT!!
A parting thought: I've spent most of the afternoon in my hotel room, packing, showering, eating, prepping, checking over and over that I know where my money is, and then had a brief conversation with my friend Heather. After talking with her, I realized that even though this is a minor adventure to some people, this is a huge one for me. This is the first time that I have left the country on my own. This is the first time I have really traveled on my own, period. It's certainly the first time I've ventured somewhere on my own that isn't English-speaking (well, let's be honest, a lot of the Yucatan is English speaking...). But still. This is a big deal for me, and even though I know it will fly by, I am really proud of myself. I am really proud of who I am becoming, and the way that I allow (and do NOT allow) things that happen to me to shape who I am. This is a sort of liberation movement for me, one that can't really be taken on by anyone else. To me, that's really exciting (scary too). Aside from all of this serious crap, it's also just really FUN. I haven't even left the country and I'm already having fun meeting people and just having pleasant interactions with strangers.

Either way, I'm proud of myself, and I'm proud of anybody who's been through tough things and not let them define who they will become. Wheeeee haw!!!!!

On a side note, I have no idea if I will be able to post pictures to this at any time, but I'm going to try my hardest.

See you on the flip side!