Rough waters

¡Ya!

Today is my last day in Merida, folks. I have been here for a tad over 2 weeks, and I am finally heading out tomorrow morning. My family is observably disappointed, as we are finally understanding one another and treating one another as family. Oto is fast becoming one of my better friends (don´t worry, Josh; he is never going to be my brother), and Mayra is actually warming up to me (I thought it would never happen!). It was appropriate, then, that I spent the last few days of my trip with them in Chuburna--a small port north of Merida where the family has a casita.

We left for Chuburna on Saturday afternoon after I had to bear listening to about a dozen presentations on distinct topics related to our stay in Merida. That and a lecture on the increase in suicides in the Yucatan peninsula and the country... What inspiring topics, no? Friday was just about the same, except for the inclusion of my presentation on the identity of a Yucatecan college student. It went pretty well, although the announcement at the beginning of class that we would not be receiving real grades for the assignment threw me off a bit. As if receiving an arbitrary letter from the alphabet as payment for hard work wasn´t demeaning enough; now it is either check or no check. Estoy deprimido...

Back to this weekend. We arrived in Chuburna to find horrible weather (windy, cold, dark) and simple living conditions. We immediately decided to go to the beach, which proved to be completely misguided. There was virtually no beach left because of the violent current that had drastically increased the size of the waves. We also had trouble seeing what was occurring in front of us due to the beach foam, salt, and sand that was flying into our eyes. We rapidly turned tail and jogged back to the beach house only to spend the rest of the evening eating sweets and watching sports themed-films in Spanish (I caught the tail end of "Like Mike" and most of "Space Jam"). I crawled into my hammock at about 10:00 p.m. and slept until about 8:00 a.m. this morning, at which time I unsuccessfully attempted to wake up Mayra and Oto (the dormiones slept until 10:30 a.m.!!!). The rest of today has included the car ride home, lunch at a relative´s home (it all occurred so fast that I have no idea who I met or who served the food), flamingos, and absolutely no showering. Actually, that is what I am about to do now. Then...pizza time!!!

You might not hear from me until a day or two before we head back to Michigan, as I will be traveling by bus all day tomorrow and spending Tuesday in Xcaret, a Disneyworld-like ecopark. Then on to Playa del Carmen, where I get to relax until the plane leaves for the U.S. of A.

I miss you all very much, and although I lament having to leave here so soon, I am excited to return home.