Los Ahuehuetes

Okay folks, so this will be my last post from Mexico (for about a month, anyway). I've pretty much finished packing and am now awaiting the arrival of 1:40 AM, when I will call the taxi, thus beginning my 15-hour journey home. I am starting to feel sort of sad to think about leaving my friends, but I'm also sooooo ready to go home. I can't wait to see everybody!! I've actually been making a list of things I can't wait to enjoy while back home/in the States.

The list includes, but is not limited to:
friends and family
reliably hot water
cats
no mosquitoes
SNOW
drinking from the tap
chocolate desserts
pizza/wings/rootbeer
driving
three-pronged outlets
Hulu and Pandora
windows that close all the way
punctuality
sneakers/sweatpants/no makeup in public


But I will also miss the amazing Mexican street food, the openness of the people, that all the boys can dance, learning street slang, and of course my wonderful friends and family. Only a month before I return to this magical place; not sure whether that's good or bad. I want to be in both places at once!! I guess that to quote a dear friend, it is what it is.

Anyway, today as my last blast with my friends, we went to a place called Los Ahuehuetes, which means "The Montezuma Cypress Trees" (Taxodium mucronatum). This is another one of those amazing places to which I will most definitely return. It is a very small spot with a natural spring-fed swimming hole, surrounded by the giant cypress trees. The water is completely clear and blue, and you can see all the way down the 3 or 4 meters to the sandy bottom. When you open your eyes underwater, you can see everything! Also, the warm water doesn't even mildly irritate the eyes, in fact it felt soothing after an hour on very dusty roads. Anyway, the bottom is white sand, but is not a normal solid bottom. It is more like a layer of suspended sand swirling around. I don't know where the actual bottom is because I couldn't find it, no matter how deep I went. Maybe there is no bottom... (cue Twilight Zone music)

There is also a cypress log which spans the entirety of the swimming hole and makes an excellent perch/diving platform. Above the water, the log is sun-bleached and completely smooth from years of use. Under the water, the log is covered in slippery moss that schools of tiny fish feed on continuously. I was absolutely enchanted watching them! I didn't get any pictures because my camera battery was still dead, but I promise that when I return there (which, of course, I will do many times) I will get lots of pictures.

After swimming for several hours (once the sun went down and we got cold), we changed into dry clothes and sat on the banks talking and enjoying some boxed sangria (my birthday present!) and unas caguamas, which are basically family-sized bottles of beer. Like 2-liter bottles of soda, they're more economical. Plus it adds to the feeling of camaraderie when you all share a single bottle!

By that time we had worked up a healthy hunger and decided to drive into the pueblito nearby. There we discovered the most amazing tacos and tortas I've ever eaten. Simple fried beef and red salsa served on a tortilla (taco) or on a bun (torta), they were amazing. I ate 2 of each, and then we moved on to elotes al carbon (grilled ears of corn) served on a stick and covered in lime and chile. Next on the menu was caña, chunks of sugar cane which I think had been boiled. You chew the hard fibrous pieces, sucking out all the sweet juice and spitting out the spent fibers. It's a very refreshing treat! We finished off our eating tour of the neighborhood with something I had never tried before: champurrado, a hot drink which is composed of corn masa, chocolate, and dark brown sugar all dissolved in boiling water. It was delicious, and apparently put me to sleep because I remember getting back into the car and closing the door, but nothing more until we pulled up to my door. I didn't even put on my seat-belt!
So in conclusion, swimming+food+friends=(sleepy/happy)!

My bags are packed, I am ready to return to the good 'ol U.S. of A., having wished goodbye to all my new-found friends and family here in Mexico. I guess that since we have officially come to the end of my first semester of study abroad I should do a bit of reflection. That said, I think that all I can really say is that this has been one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. I say that without exaggeration. I have learned, done, and (of course!) eaten more than I could ever have imagined. Therefore, I encourage anyone and everyone to take every opportunity they can to experience something similar, and I would like to thank each and every person who has made this possible. You are responsible for a huge amount of personal growth on my part, as well as a huge amount of fun! I hope you all realize how much you all mean to me and how immense has been this gift which you've given me.
Los quiero mucho (I love you guys so much!).