Chaos

Alright, so an update is sorely needed after the last month or so of chaos. Exactly one month ago today I was on my way to Chicago to spend a lovely week with Nicole and Mike. Appropriate that the visit was punctuated by 4^th of July celebrations, in a good ol’ tribute to the country I had vacated for the previous ten months.

The plan for the last several months prior to this was to come back to the States for two weeks before heading down to a teaching job in Cozumel on the 15^th. As it happens there was a – we shall say, misunderstanding – between the owner of the school and myself during my final days in Spain, culminating in my resigning from the job and revising my plan to go to Istanbul instead. I was having second thoughts about the Mexico job to begin with; a hot, tropical, paradise island sounded like heaven when I was in the middle of my overworked, under-indoor-heated winter in Madrid, but by my last few weeks in Madrid, with the 99 degree temperatures, the lack of air-conditioning, and with both Masters and Colegio classes having come to an end, it was starting to feel not so necessary. Combine this with the fact that in my last two weeks in Spain I visited Turkey and Tunisia, and came to the realization that I really really like language, and maybe it was about time that I get on learning a new one. Plus as far at the countries I’ve lived in, I’ve been pretty focused on the Spanish-speaking world, and maybe I ought to branch out a bit?

So that was the plan, I’d get a job in Istanbul, explore that little pocket of the world some more, learn Turkish – it would be a cinch. But since I already had my ticket to Cozumel, I might as well make use of it, right?

Right. Instead of moving to Mexico I would go down for the weekend, stay with the teachers, probably drink a margarita or two, and say my goodbyes, at least for now, to the Hispanic world. It was a reasonable plan in theory but what actually resulted was that I loved the island, the ocean, the incredible colors of the water and the sky. Sheesh. I met some really great people and got to speak the language that I’d been lonely for during the last few weeks, and man, those margaritas, they weren’t kidding. I realized too that, yeah, I really do like being in new places like Turkey and Tunisia, but Latin America is my homeboy and I didn’t want to give up the chance to experience it once again.

I met with the school’s owner Monday morning before my flight out. We had a chatty chat and when I got back to Minnesota that evening he had re-offered me the job. I accepted and spent the next several days frantically buying swimsuits and adorable sundresses, and going to Valleyfair with Joe (p.s. he vomited twice). Now on my Friday flight back, I proudly got to look at all my fellow passengers with disdain; mere tourists, I live here. Muahhahah.

And since then many developments have taken place. I completed my first week of teaching. I am the proud owner of an apartment, where yesterday I saw a lizard crawling up the wall. For the first time in my life I finished an entire bottle of beer - won’t do that again. Discovered a way I actually like lime – squeezed over peanuts with chile pepper. It seems like I’m really growing up or something.

A little story I must report: the guys that I’m friends with here are all in the Air Force and on Friday after they picked me up from the airport we made a stop over at the base. On the drive to the airport in Minneapolis, Dad had cautioned me not to be killed by a giant wild boar, when lo and behold, at the base I see a baby little precious sweetie boar. He was following one of the captains or generals or something, and the boys told me that the boar had lost its mama and had latched himself onto this man instead. He thought he was his mommy and was always after him like a cute little duckling. Picture a tough military man and this cute little precious sweetums. Awwww!!! By the way I want all to take note that this is the second time a baby pig has made an appearance on this blog.