Celebration comes in all shapes and sizes. From Wednesday night's get together in honor of my two year seizure-free milestone to sharing dinner with the sweetest friends, my stay in Mexico has quickly become a bittersweet hour of elation. The time spent on excursions bring people closer as we search for greater risks and conquer the wildest fears. We get on the bus each morning with a cemented schedule filled with tourist checkpoints and American common ground, but we leave in the afternoon with a deeper appreciation of the ruins, of the cenotes, of the nature walks. We leave to remember the times of fear and the times of joy, the times that beckoned each person closer to the next and each memory louder than the last. We surround ourselves with loud (and mildly off-pitch) singing to echo the brevity of time on the vans. We find comfort in one another as we move to the music that strings itself across Merida. We listen for the right moment to grab the makeshift microphone and, when the chorus comes along, we sing.
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Day sixteen is sweetened by savory treats! From the glorified "juice shop" on the town square to the tempting donut shop beside my bus stop, we have claimed every place that offers fantastic food. Marking the days through the intake of food is far more enjoyable than simply crossing a number off of a calendar. Food is an international staple, an offering that is placed on a table to tempt a smile and treasured friendships. We may play charades to engage with the locals, but every human is fluent in the language of fine cuisine. A day of celebration and clown cars! Today is Maddie's 18th birthday, a girl who became a dear friend of mine in a matter of days. Her kind countenance can brighten a day and switch the light on for any smile and I am constantly grateful to know that she will be beside me for the next four years. Similar to the other students on the trip, Maddie is exceptional. She earnestly listens to anyone and offers irreplaceable advice. She enters a life and ensures permanence. She is a model of grace and I am reminded every day that I am surrounded by spectacular people, both at home and abroad. There is a special bond between a person and their hometown, a bond that creates cravings for BettyCakes and overdue hugs from friends. But for today, we are celebrating. We celebrate the serendipity of life and the people that are introduced in life at unexpected moments. Though they may enter unexpectedly, you can expect them to stay for the long haul. Okay, a daily blog is extremely difficult when I am surrounded by adventures at every second. The excursions are packed with cave diving, running up Mayan ruins and standing 200 feet above sea level in a watchtower to stop and enjoy the view. Each moment offers a different perspective on life. Cave diving enveloped each person in an inexplicable calmness, a silence and a darkness that is only found in the depths of nature. Visiting the nature reserve exposed the breathtaking preservation of the Yucatan, touching on every topographic detail from the tower. To listen to the pregnant breaths of life from above and below ground is to listen to the rawness of the wild. Each pause, each gentle gust of wind, each natural detail that defies normal beauty, traces back to patience. We waited and we received the greatest gift. We stopped in the caves and embraced the transcendence of our surroundings. We stopped in the tower and watched the birds pass by. We were graciously greeted by nature and we all said hello. The parks of Merida are perfect for a little competition. A three set match of inventive volleyball, we created a makeshift net out of an old soccer goalpost and played until the rust on the poles questioned the stability. There is a quaint cafe adjacent to the park where the owner treated us to a decadent dessert that I will certainly return to. Burning energy with a pickup game of volleyball can bring people together. The intensity elevated with every point but the intentions were always lighthearted. Or maybe we were just extra happy from the free dessert. All smiles as the sun shines on day nine! Besides the minor detail of waiting an hour for a bus, each problem seems to have a positive underlying theme. A story is stemmed from the times when you are past the point of exhaustion, past the friendly smiles, past the breaking point of that very minute. A delayed bus is never the best way to spend an afternoon, but being surrounded by incredible people alleviates the agitation. The people that surround me are the people who inspire greatness in common areas; they inspire and, in doing so, they make the little moments bigger. So, yeah, we took the long route to our destination. But we enjoyed the outrageous journey along the way. P.S. I found a secret sun deck on my rooftop so brownie points for today. Rainy days in Merida are appropriate for long talks over pancakes, cold cups of coffee, and...bee stings? Every day has to have excitement, today just so happened to include a bee deciding to sting my arm as I walked into the cafe. After icing the battle wound and drowning the pain with syrupy sweetness on my pancakes, we began to plan our ecology presentation. One thing led to the next an we conquered the corner in the cafe, claiming territory and chatting on both sides of the spectrum as we jumped from the cosmos to favorite music. There are moments that are unrecognizable in the happening time. They are so minute that a gentle breath will blow them into the past. The moments become memories, the time carries like the wind, and I sit nursing my bee sting with the biggest smile on my face as I realize that this is the envied lapse that I would not dare to miss. Constant movement calls for relaxation. After a trip to the Grand Museo del Maya in the afternoon and a fulfilling lunch of American indulgence (pizza, of course), I continued the excitement with - you guessed it- a nap. The week has been filled to the brim with activities, so much so that a day of rest was on the agenda. Today also allowed me to catch up on Netflix and what could be better than that? Slowing down is not always wrong, it is the right thing at the right time. Listen to the signs that tell you to slow down, grab a blanket, and sleep! From coast to coast, the land of the Yucatan remains vibrant and inviting. The west coast, our location for today's excursion, reflected native habits and untouched foliage. The mangroves drape above the cerulean waters and drip into a puddle of greens and blues. The flamingoes spot the sea with shades of pink and ripple the silence as they begin their ascent into the air. I am learning to fly from this journey. Each excursion is a step towards where I hope to be and who I hope to become. I am finding myself in unknown places, marking uncharted ideas in my head that are exposed through adventures and unforgettable friends. Cultural immersion is the opportunity to find the most unlikely artifacts of life. Our excursion today carried us to Dzibilchaltun, a site of Mayan ruins and a refreshing cinote to cool down from the heat. Prior to the ruins, we journeyed to a local farm that held indigenous fruits and plants that are harvested for the market. The farm was a lively spot for sheep as well, sheep that were scared of humans but certainly not scared enough to stay quiet. Experiencing the ruins was humbling. I stood next to a man-made object that was so large as I have the rest of my life ahead of me. I hope my impression on the lives of others is as large as the ruins, and I hope to never harbor fear as I jump into unknown waters. |