Thursday, May 14, 2009

Updates...

As you've probably seen elsewhere, yes, things have calmed down quite a bit. Since that first week, the Monday or Tuesday after the announcement was made, things have really started to get back to normal here outside Mexico City. From pictures I've seen and friends I've talked to, things have been really different in Mexico City, streets deserted, etc. But here in the State of Mexico, even though we haven't had school and a lot of things were shut down this past weekend for the 2 back-to-back holidays, it seems as though people are returning to normal, daily life. I've been able to go out at least once a day since last Thursday, to a friend's house in Toluca (the capital of the State of Mexico), or for birthday festivities in Tenango, etc. It's good to get out of my house and return to a sense of normalcy.

I had really been looking forward to experiencing Cinco de Mayo here in Mexico, but alas, because of all of this all the festivities and parades, etc. that had been planned were canceled.

I watched a presidential address on Monday evening, in which the president (Felipe Calderón) congratulated people for following the guides about staying home, etc, and also congratulated the government and armed forces for acting so quickly to contain the spread. He told us that high school and university students will return to class tomorrow, Thursday, and that the younger students will be going back next Monday, May 11th. So a few more days of "vacation" before everyone's back.

I've been hanging out with friends lately, mostly my neighbor Francisco and work friends of his; they've all been very kind and welcoming to me... I wish I had pictures, but unfortunately, my camera broke a few weeks ago and I have to wait till I'm back in the States to get it fixed. :( hopefully I can piggyback on my friends' cameras for the remainder of the time...

But. I have to figure some details out, but if all goes well, I'll be home towards the end of May. I'm excited to see my family and friends, but I've also really enjoyed my time here. Whenever the subject of me leaving comes up, people ask, but, don't you want to stay? Haven't you liked Mexico? That's a hard question to answer in only a few seconds, which is what people are looking for. Yes, I have loved my time here, I've met some wonderful people, seen some incredible things and had experiences that I will never forget. However, I'm also excited to get back home and get started on the next chapter of my life, which will be a Master's in Hispanic Linguistics at University of Illinois at Chicago--where I'll have an assistantship, which means that I'll be teaching 3 sections undergrad Spanish-one of my dream jobs! :) So, I also have a lot to look forward to...

Thanks for reading~ Besos

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