Life Update

So it's been a while since I've updated with what I've been up to. Finally back to loving Mexico but definitely excited to get back to the States as well. I have about 11 weeks left of work/school and 13 weeks till I head back. One of these days I swear I'll post about what I've been learning at ITAM and how work is going. It's why I came to Mexico but somehow always falls to the wayside when I'm blogging.

Back when I was going through my hostility stage (see post), I talked about a couple of the things that I thought were going to help in overcoming it.  Here is an update on a few of those things and a list of the trips/activities I think will keep me going in the weeks to come.

Things I've been up to:
With Work: 

• Went to a sustainable rural village
• Started working with MAR Fund and taking on more responsibility with fundraising campaigns 

This project funded by FMCN (where I work) is called Sustainable Rural Life and provides rural communities with eco-technologies (dry bathrooms, hot pots, solar panels etc) to allow families to live off of their resources and preserve the environment. 

In life: 

• Finished reading the Hunger Games and now on to the 2nd book of the Millenium series
• Started taking a Salsa class 
• Filed my taxes as an independent for the first time (this is exciting I swear) 
• Enjoyed time with my roommate (who had just moved in when I posted last) 
• Finished my blasted accounting course  

The roomie. Laura Bufi from Buenos Aires :)

With my travels: 

• Went Whale watching and played on sand dunes in La Paz 

 My new nickname among several FBs is Sand Dunes cause um..after this, I had a lot of sand in my pants and kinda made my own little sand dune in the baño. That sounds so gross...

My parents came and we:

• Visited San Miguel de Allende and Guanuajuato
• Got a massage from a blind man
• Went to Teotihuacan
• Went to Estadio Azteca and Basilica de Guadalupe covering the religious bases- God and Soccer 

Teotihuacan with the parentals 

Estadio Azteca is the largest stadium in Latin America and 5th largest in the world. 

• Went to see Kathleen Russell, (a friend from Vandy, fellow ASBer and overall baller at life)  in Queretaro
• Took a trip to Zipolite and Puerto Escondido during Semana Santa and had the following adventures: 
• Went to a turtle reserve 
• Stayed on a nudist beach (my friend went totally nude for the 1st time and LOVED it) 
• Went to a full moon rave on said nudist beach 
• Got an orthopedic massage under palm trees
• Got a braid woven into my hair thereby passing as a cool hippie all weekend
• Witnessed my very first bar fight-TERRIFYING

Zipolite is a nudist beach 

Proof that I was not naked on nudist beach

At my first rave 

Watching the Sun set in Puerto Escondido 

Prom Picture of FB's out to celebrate my 23rd

Things to look forward to:

• Joint birthday party with my friend Lulu
• Running a 5k! It's my first organized race and I'm really excited about it because I can now cross one thing off my 2012 resolutions list.
• Learning a lot in my Macroeconomics course 
• A trip to Puerto Vallarta in May 
• Launching the Aguila Real project on Global Giving 
• Spending July 4th in Cancun with all my fellow gringo tourists 

So things are going well for the most part. Still kinda missing friends from college and just having the stability that I was used to but I know that this year will be a good platform for me to head to Google and start over. It is unlikely that life in San Francisco will be as unstable as life in DF but I am sure it will come along with its own challenges and I will be ready to face 'em.

I walked to work the other day and started thinking about leaving Mexico and actually started tearing up. Getting choked up has become a new part of my being. I tend to tear up much more than I ever have in my entire life since I feel living here has these unbelievable highs followed by debilitating lows and since there is no legitimate explanation, I tend to have emotional as opposed to logical reactions. Still, I flippin' love Mexico. I think based on this post, you can probably see why.  Alright, soundtrack to my life: