The Scouring of the Shire

It's been a long time since I've written on this blog, and now I think it needs some concluding, or at least more concluding than I was able to give it when I simply announced the "Well, I'm back." So, since I am not a hobbit, and my story does not end with a trip to the Grey Havens, I will continue with more of an epilogue.

I'm sure at some point I'll look over these entries and marvel at them a little. For now, I think I'll just let them sit and marinate. I can't even remember what I must have written in many of them. But I have some perspective. A summer and most of a semester at SU has revealed all the changes that were only beginning in Mexico. I find myself starting sentences with, "Well, when I was in Mexico..." to explain myself. Sometimes it's to explain something that happened to me, but a lot of times I have to explain why I'm not reacting like I did. Sometimes it's strange. I feel like a broken record, but after some time of saying it my attention has been drawn to it.

Now I look back on those four months and see a turning point. It's the point where Frodo accepts responsibility for the Ring at the Council, where it was no longer a task thrust upon him, but something that he elects to follow through on. Mexico is a trial, but one that I can look at through a mirror and say, "Yeah, it was good that I did that, and you know what else? The hair cut's not half bad." While I was there I wasn't sure I was going to be able to say that.

I think I learned lessons that I would not have been capable of learning in any other way than that. There were no short cuts. No one could have told me their stories about them and said, "Take it from me..." They were lessons I had to learn the hard way, through repeated attempts to continue in the old way only to finally become fed up with it and forge a new path.

And being back has been hard. It's been most of my meals alone in a crowded cafeteria. It's been weekends doing homework for lack of anything better to do. It's been occasionally wishing things didn't turn out this way, but knowing that in the end it's better.

But it's been okay.

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? ...But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you... But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."

Sometimes you just keep plowing through. And eventually, I imagine, I'll look back on even this semester and be able to draw little links. Little plot twists and character developments that have fashioned my "present." And I'll be better for it.

This semester, I'm ready for graduation. It was something I never would have expected ever. And maybe I've even excepted the idea that change could even be a good thing. And that's a core change. A core change for the better. And I'm glad. It's a light that shines in the darkest of places.

So I hope that I won't be stuck mulling through the effects of the change forever. That with graduation will come other changes that include new people, people who know me as I am now instead of people who know me as who I used to be.

And I'm optimistic. Graduation is like moving. You can change your name. You can go from Katelyn to Kate--or vice versa. There is hidden opportunity. And so, a deep breath, and we keep on moving.


“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Well, As most I think are already aware...I'm home now. After some split second decision making that I'm probably becoming notorious for, I ended up with a plane ticket for 12 hours later on Thursday at 7 AM. Unfortunately, that didn't leave me with much time to say goodbye to people. But I hope everyone stays well down in Merida (for those who stayed and for those who live there too).

It's very nice to be home, although the semester isn't actually over now. Still have papers to write and all sorts of fun academic stuff like that. But just figured I'd make a closing note here so that everything ends up complete and no one is hanging around waiting for other adventures in Mexico that..well...aren't going to be happening.

Cheers!
Kate

¡¡¡¡INFLUENZA!!!!

Hey Guys. So. Some of you may have heard about this little thing going around…swine flu… Hahaha So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal. Just wanted to let you know I’m fiiiiiiiine. Aside from my toe getting into a fight and loosing today, I’m pretty much dandy. We’re actually out of school now until the 6th of May. The Mexican government shut down all schools. I’m hopin’ that means we don’t have to make anything up. I’ll probably have to e-mail my professors and ask them to pass along that information we need to writing the essays. Otherwise I’m probably going to generally be board but doing what I do best: wasting a lot of time on the internet. I’ve actually recently just been let in on a pretty decent site for watching movies. I’ve seen the Professional (1994), Lucky Number Sleven, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal in the past week or so. (I see the lightbulb going off…ah…so that’s why she hasn’t been updating the blog…) yeah… I’m hoping to watch V for Vendetta soon. =)

Anyway, you all take care. Please do not kiss, shake hands, or cough on me for the next little while. I would appreciate it if you’re sick that you keep your distance. I don’t want them to suddenly decide I can’t go back to the States or some other nonsense like that because I’ve gone and gotten myself sick. That just wouldn’t do. I only have 20 days left here, my little paper chain is getting shorter. This little window of self-imposed house arrest is going to make my “doing everything I want to do before I leave Mexico” a little more difficult (Campeche may no longer be an option) but hey, we’ll see what I can do.

Cheers!
Kate <3

VIP Movies

Thursday is just your average day of the week. It’s the day before Friday, so it kind of has that “wanting-it-to-be-the-weekend” sentiment, but it’s really not close enough to the weekend yet for any sort of real feeling of relief. It’s a lot like Tuesday in that it’s in between the milestones of the week. Except that here, for a while, Thursday is actually a very special day.

After classes were over (and after a hour of conversation just for Spanish practice) Chelsea and I went to Altabrisa for a movie. Why on a Thursday? I’m glad you asked. Thursday at Altabrisa is half off the price of VIP movies. That means for a VIP seating, it’s only 55 pesos. Now, first off, you should realize that this is less than you are going to pay for your average matinee movie in the States.

VIP. So we walk into the movie theater. We walk up to the ticket counter and buy our tickets. We’re kind of early, like we’re going to go walk around the mall a little before hand, but we figured we’d just get our tickets. Good. Call. It’s assigned seats. At first, I’m scoffing a little. Why assigned seats? That’s silly.

Well, We walk in and there are a series of little restaurants/concession stand and a menu. Yes. A menu. On this menu, you can order sushi, chai lattes, popcorn, soda, milkshakes, smoothies, a baileys café. Yeah. Hard core.

So we walk into our theater and take our place in our spacious leather seats complete with foot rest/reclining capability. Yeeeaaaaaah now we’re talking. Then a guy comes up to us. Would we like anything before the movie starts? Suuuure. I’ll have one of those chai lattes. This guy was miiiiighty intense. I paid, and then someone brought me my latte. Prett-tty sweeeet. And we were basically super super comfortable for our wooooonderful viewing of Fast and the Furious. =D

Conclusion? The Movie Theater in Mexico clearly trumps theaters in the USA where everything is overpriced and generally uncomfortable anyways. Why do we pay ridiculous amounts of money to them. Mexico Movie Theater = better choice haha. VIP = best choice.

Kimbalá

So two weeks ago or there abouts now I went with my Rural Anthropology professor to Kimbalá which is a small town just outside of Izamal. Starting Friday and ending Monday they were having a sort of “town party” where they had food stands set up and things for sale, a game of darts, and, the more spectacular events of dancing and la corrida de toros (which in the Yucatan is more like a bull fight).

When we got there, they had strung together this stadium type thing where everyone was gathered and in the center were the bull and several bullfighters teasing the bull. Several times he was put back into his cage, and then let out again so they could continue to harass him. Lucky for me, they had already killed one bull before I got there and weren’t going to be killing anymore. The meat, however for the first one, was strung up outside. Hence your lovely picture there at the top of the page.


After the bullfighting, we learned that the dancing didn’t actually start until midnight, so we took a very quick trip over ot Izamal to see the city which was very pretty. It was interesting to see people still out and about at eleven o’clock at night. Either way, after we just took a circle around the painted centro, we went back to Kimbalá and got seats for the traditional dancing.

Groups were introduced one by one and the head couple for each group was lead around by a host couple. They began dancing and it was neat to see. There was a large variety in age groups from very young to quite old. Everyone seemed to be having fun.

We headed back to Merida and got back in around 1 or 2 AM. It was definitely one of those really special things that we got to participate in because most times people wouldn’t be aware of the festival, etc. We were sort of special to get the invitation just because my professor was doing a study in the pueblo.

---->o Cancun o<----

We arrived in Cancun much the same way we did to Playa del Carmen. There was a poorly dubbed movie playing and then we all got off…well…a few people got off including us. When we got off, we looked around and didn’t exactly see any beach, nor did we know where we were going but figured we could just head in the direction of the beach and go from there. So we asked for the general “is the beach over thatta way?” and started walking.

And we walked for a while…through what seemed kind of like a small neighborhood and then along a street where we thought we had a general idea of where the beach was. So then we dropped into a hotel and the guy said he would only charge us 800 pesos a piece…which we said we’d pass and kept on walking. Then we began to realize where we figured the beach was there was a building standing over there. And then it wasn’t really looking like we had any idea at all where the beach was. So we stopped into an OXXO (the Extra was a few more blocks down the street and not worth the walk so that we could just say we went to the Extra again). In the OXXO a guy told us to catch a bus (the R-1) and that the futbol stadium was in that direction.

So we went and waited for the bus, and just when we were about convinced that we had misunderstood where the bus passed, one came by and scooped us up. And we rode the R-1. And rode the R-1. And then we got down into what’s known as the Hoteles area of Cancun. Everything is humongous, and everything is similarly *EXPENSIVE* well…admittedly we didn’t check at the Hilton or Mayan Palace or (…you get the point?) We just looked out our window of the bus rather helplessly and wondered where we were going to sleep tonight. I was kind of at that “this is too funny” point where I wasn’t exactly worried so much as just thinking creatively (we could totally just…sleep on the beach…wait til we get kicked off and move on down the beach…). So then the bus driver told us “everybody off, I’m turning around, this is the end of the route” and we asked him generally where the stadium was and he said it was waaaaaay back there. Back in the city. So we just stayed on and were on that bus for about 2 hours. The bus driver gave us the heads up on when to bajar, and we talked to some guys in the tourism industry and got a map for the area and where the stadium was. Then we went hotel shopping…again.

The whole hotel shopping didn’t take very long. There was a hole in the wall hotel right there across the street with rooms for 395 pesos a piece (no AC). So we got a room for two nights and settled in for the next little while. By this time, it was late afternoon and we both took showers. Chelsea was a little homesick and didn’t feel like doing too much but we went out and got dinner not far from the hotel. We had tortas al pastor with virgin piña coladas that were fantastic. We, because we spoke Spanish and the manager was really nice, were given the menu with the lower prices which we found to be pretty amusing. I also rather inadvertently ended up buying this soccer jersey, and then going back and changing it for a different one which was a rather stressful hour or so.

I think we went to bed pretty early that day.

The next morning, we went over to the Cheddraui (sp?) and got granola bars and yogurt drinks which we took to the beach and ate. The beach was beautiful. We set up camp under this thatch umbrella and stayed for most of the afternoon. The water was red flagged where we were, but there was a yellow area not too far from us (so for a little bit I went down there and played in the waves). Laurie met up with us later in the afternoon. Somehow she managed to find us (we couldn’t really give her good directions since we weren’t entirely sure ourselves).

We packed up shop and went to Chilis for lunch which was delicious. Love Chilis. And then we went back to the room, showered. Laurie and I went out briefly shopping again though I don’t think I got anything besides this sweet bread thing. Then we went and got our piña coladas again (since they were so good and they were so nice). And then we headed out for the GAME!

We had only a small amount of trouble getting there. Just the normal asking, then asking again, then asking again. And then we were kind of on the wrong side of the stadium so we had to walk around.

We got in and, as it turns out, I can’t read (still) and it was general admission seating but because we got VIP tickets the seats were still really good. So we settled in and commenced routing for the red white and blue team since the first jersey I had bought was for the Chivas and it was red white and blue. And they scored! So we cheered. And then we looked at the scoreboard and it was a point for the other team. So we were a little confused. And then they scored again and we were even more confused though we finally put it together that the other team was in fact the Chivas. The Cancun team also had red white and blue jerseys and that’s why we were having trouble distinguishing from those fans. Then we had it though and we learned some cheering techniques.

The guy behind us was so stereotypical it was hilarious. I think he knew all of about 3 words, none of which am I going to repeat here. He also kept ordering beer…though it was for other people too I think. Interesting tidbit is that they also sold vodka at the game and the guy in the seat next to me had a “barra libre” wrist band (open bar). Crazy stuff.

The Chivas weren’t going to be showed up 2-0 however. They scored the next two goals and we were able to cheer for the right team with the confidence that we were in fact doing so. You see, we were cheering for the Chivas basically because Gustavo likes them.

The game ended with a tie 2-2. We basically had a blast though and it ended with enough time for Laurie to get to the bus station and go back to Playa del Carmen so she didn’t loose her money for the night.

Chelsea and I then went to sleep, and the next day got our stuff together and went to the bus stop that was within walking distance. We bought our tickets back to Merida and sat down to have breakfast that we bought at the Cheddraui and ate. We had half an hour.

When it was time as shown on the ticket, we went and asked someone (the lady taking tickets) if they had called our bus and she told us that it wasn’t here and that we were to wait in waiting room one and kind of gestured to the side. So we went and sat down and waited. And waited. Then Chelsea realized there was a separate room. So we went in and the guy who looked at our ticket didn’t say anything so we sat down. Then, being 15 past the time on the ticket, I asked someone. Apparently that bus had left fifteen minutes ago (imagine that). He told us to go and try and get the tickets switched for the next bus.

We went back to the ticket counter and explained what had happened, being sure to say that we had in fact asked for information but weren’t given the right instructions. In the end we still had to pay again (and these tickets were really expensive) but only half the price.

Finally on the bus we were offered a free soda and headphones. The first movie was Freaky Friday which I declined to watch (not a fan of Lindsey Lohan) and then the second was Cars which I hadn’t seen so that was cool.

We arrived in Merida and my host parents were there to pick us up. They brought a card for me and a package that Chelsea had been expecting (given to them by Diana). And effectively that is what we did on our vacation! =D

Cheers!
<3>

:* Playa del Carmen *:

We got [back] to Playa del Carmen pretty quickly and with no drunken sombrero incidents. The plan was pretty much to find that Extra where we could get the tickets so we walked around and asked directions, then asked again, and then some people seemed to generally gear us in the right direction but maybe not with the right number of blocks so we did some back tracking and were sad to find that a hotel that would give us “just a bed/mattress” was going to cost us 550 pesos. We kept walking, kept walking and came across another hole in the wall type place (though this one had a box light with the word “hotel” on it). We went to check out how much it would be and they told us 250. Sweet!

We ditched our stuff (it wasn’t much to look at, especially cause the maid was in there cleaning at the time) and continued our pursuit of the Extra. Upon arrival, (yay we did actually find it!) we asked about the tickets and they confirmed that in fact the tickets were sold there they just hadn’t arrived yet. Okay, we thought, we’ll just hang out and have some lunch and wait for them. It was about lunch time anyway.

So we ate pizza in a way that was particularly reminiscent of our failed attempt to go to the Disco oh so long ago only we weren’t dressed up fancy. Same kind of pizza though. And after a while of eating, the tickets were still no shows. We figured we’d come back.

I believe that Chelsea actually said she was tired so we made our way back to the hotel and took naps. I actually ended up sleeping much more than her even though I wasn’t the one who felt so tired apparently. Who knows what the deal with that is. But after we got up, we walked back to the Extra who still didn’t have tickets.

We spent the day doing a little bit of shopping. Chelsea got a purse which we later discovered was the culprit for her suddenly pink shorts and trying-to-turn-pink white jacket. I got video taken with this adorable little monkey named Lola (who's in the picture at the top). For dinner we met up with Megan and Laurie who were also in Playa that day. Originally we were going to try to find a place with live music but finding that, the time we wanted, and within relative price that we were willing to spend, we were out of luck but dinner was still nice. Afterwards, with Lauie, Chelsea and I went *back* to the Extra. This time they had the tickets! WOO!

As it turned out, what we would have spent in Merida for general admission tickets we were able to get VIP tickets for. So we got VIP.

Upon return to the hotel, I tripped. Well let me backtrack a little. Chelsea had been tripping over the sidewalks all day as we walked along and did so right in front of this group of Mexican guys which we found to be rather hilarious but she never actually fell down. So we were walking, checking to see if maybe there was another hotel because *OUR HOTEL WAS ANT INFESTED*. YUCK. Bleh. So we were checking out our options when I tripped beside this Marquesita stand into the mud-slime-guts of the gutter. Thing is, there probably really were guts that I tripped into; I’m pretty sure there was a butcher shop like right there.

But anyway, we made it back to our hotel. I looked at the yellow stained walls, the ants crawling around in the bathroom (The ants go marching eight by eight HURRAH HURRAH). And contrived to rinse myself off (because I don’t think I would have felt much better if I had actually showered. And so much for my jean shorts.

After that experience we decided we’d head out to Cancun early and just hope we could get a good place. So we went to bed, and then in the late morning walked over to Wal*mart where we ran into Megan and Laurie and informed them of our change in plans. We also bought granola bars and yogurt drinks which made for a very tasty breakfast on the ride from Cancun to Playa del Carmen which we just hopped on the bus for.