“Once there was a way to get back homeward…”

Im not in a great mood right now cuz my host family just fed me something really spicy that looked like spinach but tasted like burning, so my stomach is a little weird.  Im in Mexico.  Ive been going back and forth between periods of euphoria and confusion.  I am speaking tons and tons of spanish but I get really tired sometimes.  After two hours at the dinner table I get pretty fatigued.  I am surprised at how much I know though.  Lots of latent information hanging around in the back of my head from 7 years of sitting like a zombie in the back of my spanish class.  I really love speaking but I have a lot of work to do to really be proficient. 

We got in to Mexico on Friday the 17th after having TWO St. Patricks days due to crossing the international dateline.  I was in LA for about an hour and a half and I got to see Monica for about 45 minutes.  I cant believe it had been so long since weve talked.  The next day was the festival for the beggining of Spring and there was a huge party which was good fun.  Highlight of the day was seeing the Diego Rivera murals in the Palacio Nacional.  They are breathtaking.  His big mural chronicles the entire history of Mexico.  I couldve looked at it for hours.  We moved to Santo Domingo for homestays the next day which is just outside Mexico City.  We are told that us going to Santo Domingo is like a bunch of students going to live in Harlem.  It used to have a lot of gang and drug violence but supposedly is more secure now.

I love it here though.  I live in a house with a family of 24 plus six IHPers.  I see someone Ive never seen before everytime I walk through the house.  It is incredible.  There is so much life there.  Everyone is always doing something different.  Plus I met a little twin named Erica.  She is so cute.  We have the same track pants.  The family runs a juice stand outside of the house in the mornings and nicole and I got up early this morning and helped make juice.  Good honest work.  I had such a good time.  My homestay mom is soooooooooooooooo adorable and the sweetest most talkative lady.  She is pretty easy for me to understand.  She has only about 3 teeth and she shows us how to do everything from closing the door, to pulling back the covers on the bed.  I adore her and am learning so much from the family.  The house is a weird assemblage of what seems like parts of lots of buildings and it has a big whole in the roof.  Emma bought new plates just for our visit.  Oh and the food is AWESOME.

Last night we had a salsa lesson and I must say Im not half bad.  I spent all day today putzing around the Zocolo which is the central plaza of Mexico.    Mexico is an incredible magical place.  I cant quite describe it.  Latin America is the place for me.  I thought this for a reason.  The food, the people, the music, the politics, the cities, the language, the families.  I love it all but I think it will probably frustrate me more than any other place.  Its frustrating to actually meet people who suffer through what Ive only learned about.  I have so much to learn.

I need to go to bed.  I wanna get up early and work the juice stand again.  Just because Im coming home soon doesnt mean you shouldnt still be sending mail.  Much love from Mexico.  Gah this email just seems so apathetic.  Blame it on the spice.

Besitos,

Andie

Last week in NZ.  Holy Cow.  Right now the group has been split in half to go on two different field trips.  I’m on the Golden Bay group which basically looks a lot at organic farming/earth building etc. in the Golden Bay area which is GORGEOUS by the way.  I picked this one over the one that is in the city cuz I figure I need to get some ideas for this Kansas thing.  We basically have lectures at all these different farms and the entire time we are there, we gorge ourselves on grapes and apples and pears and melons.  The other day we went to visit this guy, Pedro, who lived in a house bus on his farm.  Most hard core self-proclaimed hippie I’ve ever met.  This guy was wild. He was just spitting out advice on the best physical and emotionals states to be in for the consumption of marijuana.  It made our coordinator very uncomfortable. We’re staying in an adorable hostel and two days ago I made a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie AND homemade whipped cream from rhubarb we got out of the community gardens!  I’m not one to stroke my own ego but GOD it was delicious. 

I think the best part of New Zealand thus far though was right when we got back from vacation.  I went to this place called Tui, which is a community…or I should say commune, on the edge of Abel Tasman national park.  It is largely self-sustaining. They grow their own food, build their houses out of local materials, live in community and love each other and stuff.  I built the most beautiful compost heap you’ve ever seen and we made a worm farm, and I cooked dinner for thirty.  I’m starting to think I actually like cooking.  It makes me real nervous though.  It  was really nice and cleansing to be there though.

Mexico is a week away and I’m really nervous about that.  What if I HATE Latin America?  I am a Latin American Studies MAJOR!  What if I hate it there???  I’m nervous that I’m not gonna be able to understand or speak to anyone in Spanish.  Not to mention I’ve been in paradise for 6 weeks ad now I’m gonna have to go to a place that actually has poverty and suffering again.  I don’t know how ready I am for that, but otherwise I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.  I don’t think I’ll hate it but I do think it will have a bigger impact on me than any place thus far.  

 These past few days have been unreal and I barely got to describe how cool they were.  I finally am getting to get my hands dirty.  Although it seems like I have some direct contact with shit everywher I go.  I have serious squeezed and thrown and smeared shit on things in every single country…except England.  Shit is amazing.  People in the states need to realize that. This trip is coming to an end way to fucking fast, and that is all I have to say.

Cheers!

NandieBee

Last week in NZ.  Holy Cow.  Right now the group has been split in half to go on two different field trips.  I’m on the Golden Bay group which basically looks a lot at organic farming/earth building etc. in the Golden Bay area which is GORGEOUS by the way.  I picked this one over the one that is in the city cuz I figure I need to get some ideas for this Kansas thing.  We basically have lectures at all these different farms and the entire time we are there, we gorge ourselves on grapes and apples and pears and melons.  The other day we went to visit this guy, Pedro, who lived in a house bus on his farm.  Most hard core self-proclaimed hippie I’ve ever met.  This guy was wild. He was just spitting out advice on the best physical and emotionals states to be in for the consumption of marijuana.  It made our coordinator very uncomfortable. We’re staying in an adorable hostel and two days ago I made a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie AND homemade whipped cream from rhubarb we got out of the community gardens!  I’m not one to stroke my own ego but GOD it was delicious. 

I think the best part of New Zealand thus far though was right when we got back from vacation.  I went to this place called Tui, which is a community…or I should say commune, on the edge of Abel Tasman national park.  It is largely self-sustaining. They grow their own food, build their houses out of local materials, live in community and love each other and stuff.  I built the most beautiful compost heap you’ve ever seen and we made a worm farm, and I cooked dinner for thirty.  I’m starting to think I actually like cooking.  It makes me real nervous though.  It  was really nice and cleansing to be there though.

Mexico is a week away and I’m really nervous about that.  What if I HATE Latin America?  I am a Latin American Studies MAJOR!  What if I hate it there???  I’m nervous that I’m not gonna be able to understand or speak to anyone in Spanish.  Not to mention I’ve been in paradise for 6 weeks ad now I’m gonna have to go to a place that actually has poverty and suffering again.  I don’t know how ready I am for that, but otherwise I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.  I don’t think I’ll hate it but I do think it will have a bigger impact on me than any place thus far.  

 These past few days have been unreal and I barely got to describe how cool they were.  I finally am getting to get my hands dirty.  Although it seems like I have some direct contact with shit everywher I go.  I have serious squeezed and thrown and smeared shit on things in every single country…except England.  Shit is amazing.  People in the states need to realize that.  It does some incredible things.  Except when it gets stuck under your finger nails…and I’m a biter…hehe.  I actually haven’t bitten my nails in a couple weeks so just kidding!  This trip is coming to an end way too fucking fast and that is all I have to say.

Cheers!

NandieBee