things

Yesterday was an amazing day... At 12:30, I got picked up outside Teatro Principal by my two friends Amanda (they have the same name so they´re called Amancita and Amandota), Johnny (Mexican, really really nice), Katie, and Johnny´s two brothers. We were all stuffed into Johnny´s car, with heads bumping the roof and limbs sticking out the windows. It was an important soccer match for Johnny, who used to be semi-pro, so we were going to cheer him on. The game was a lot of fun and Johnny´s team won and he scored three goals. Afterwards, we went with some of his teammates to this store where they sell huge Micheladas, which is beer with chili, lime, and salt. They are a Mexican drink and at this store, they served them with shrimp. Delicious. We hung out in the shade for a while, drinking beer and talking, which was really nice and relaxing. Later, after dropping off people and picking up others, we got dropped off. That night, I hung out with some people and went out to dinner where I ate an amazing meal full of cheese and vegetables and tortillas (not corn, thankfully, which I am so sick of). And then after that, we went to a bar and people watched and just talked. Granted, I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got into bed.

On Wednesday night, we all said our goodbyes to John. It was pretty upsetting and I think we were all somewhat surprised by how much it shook us. By the time we hugged him goodbye, it was 1 am and everyone had probably drank too much and so we sat in the bar shedding tears and hugging each other. I think it was about John, and the end of this experience, but also the realization that this time is going to be over and we have no control over its finality. We are all leaving and are aware, be it consciously or not, that we will never be able to get this time back. We will go back to the U.S. and we will return to our lives and soon this will just be a study abroad program we did for a few months, but right now it feels like a lot more than that. The reality is most of us have made real friends here, both Mexican and American, friends that could last a lifetime if we weren´t separated by state and country lines. It´s upsetting and it reminds me of camp when I was thirteen and we all stood there on the last day sobbing and hugging each other, knowing that no matter how many times we said we would visit, we knew we never would. I hope that maybe now, now that we have some of our own money and are older and have all the fancy technology, that we can change that camp history and actually stay in touch, actually see each other again, but it over Skype or even in person, maybe even in Mexico.