Mi cumpleanos

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I feel like I should have a shirt that says "I survived Acapulco." Wow, Acapulco was crazy. I keep thinking about the city of Acapulco and I really cannot get over the number of people that were there; I cannot even begin to imagine what that place is like during spring break time. We got into Acapulco on Friday, Feb. 13th early in the morning around 7:15 and just did as much as we possibly could until we arrived back in Puebla this morning at about 5:30. At this point in the afternoon (almost five), I feel as though I was in Acapulco about a month ago. This is pretty much how the first week in general went. I feel as though the trip is going so slowly and like I have been here for much longer than just a week today.

Friday morning we checked into our hotel, quickly changed into bathing suits, and headed out to the beach. At first we just went up across the street to a beach in the bay of Acapulco, but then the boys decided that they wanted to check out this beach that was about 30 minutes outside of Acapulco and I agreed to join them. So like the rest of my life, it was me and the boys on an adventure to find Playa Luces in Pie de la Cuesta. We hopped on a bus to head out of the city and this was an experience in itself. The bus driver had this "cool guy" vibe, if you know what I mean; he had intense sunglasses and spiky hair, not that my description can get across what this guy was like. A few minutes after we got on the bus he started blasting Souja Boy and few other American hip hop songs, before he switched over to some spanish music. A nice rooster also decided to join us on the bus and "coca-doodle do" some of the way to Pie de la Cuesta. So anyways if you are visiting a country like Mexico, even if you are in a touristy spot, you can get a fun taste of what life is really like for the people of these cities just by taking a public bus.

Eventually we made it to Playa Luces in Pie de la Cuesta. Pie de la Cuesta is this quaint little beach town with a gorgeous beach and a freshwater lake called "Laguna de Coyuca." We spent most of our day on this tranquil, unpopulated (no tourists) beach just reading, writing, talking, taking pictures and relaxing. Well that is more what I did, the boys also went swimming and snorkeling. (We also saw a dolphin!) After relaxing on the beach we headed up the the OXXO, which is kind of like a 7-11 and got some snacks to hold us over until dinner. We then decided to take a boat trip on the lake, which really ended up making the trip. We just toured around on the boat and got off at a small island for drinks. We got back to the beach just in time for a stunning sunset. And to just add to the scene, as the sun set, a couple of the guys I was with played a small four-on-four soccer game on the beach with some mexican boys, while Nick and I took pictures. As an aside, Nick really enjoys photography and has some great lenses and he has been very nicely letting me test them out and he is going to teach me about my camera so I can take pictures on some of the other settings other than Auto.

Now while you may think that this is the end of the day, guess what, it's not! We took the bus back to the tourist center of Acapulco (the buses had black lights on them) and met up with two other girls for dinner in the zocalo. After dinner we got the all important ice cream (Thanks Nick for the b-day helado) and headed up to La Quebrada to watch the 10:30 cliff diving show. (I have some videos that I will try to post later when I get them off my camera.) In celebration of mi cumpleanos (my birthday) we headed out to Ibiza, a club on the main tourist strip. Here we met up with the rest of the group. It was very modern with water streaming down glass windows (I have now decided that I will have this in my house one day) and had a fun outdoor beach area with pillows and small tables for people to relax and hang out outside and it also had a dancing inside so it worked out nicely. And although the boys were complaining because of the cost and the long day, I think in the end they enjoyed it.

Unfortunately I woke up on Saturday morning around 7:15 after about 3 hours of sleep in an anxiety attack and I still am not sure what triggered it. I made a few phone calls home to try to relax and get my mind out of panic mode, but it did not work so well. I thought maybe it was because I felt alone, but the anxiousness and sick feeling followed me around most of the day even when I was with the whole group. All I kept thinking was that I didn't want to be there and I am not talking about just Acapulco, I didn't want to be in Mexico at all anymore. I don't know if it was just culture shock, or frustration with the language, or being homesick, but I do know that it really is a terrible feeling. I didn't want to eat, I couldn't control my thoughts, and I was fighting back tears for most of the day. So in lieu of this issue, I met with my TA from Delaware today to talk about it, because as he says it is his job to make sure that I stay here in Mexico. So anyways the update is that we are in preliminary talks about moving me to be with another girl on the trip, so I don't feel so isolated and alone here. As of right now I am feeling a little bit better, but I really would just like to be comfortable and I am interested to see how long that is going to take. I think I am going to have to get back into the habit of meditation or at least reading my morning meditation and taking the time to relax. I know this is all a learning experience and it is going to make me stronger, blah blah blah, but sometimes when I feel this terrible I just don't want to be stronger. I just want normalcy in my life, so I am going to have to work through this and lean a little on the people here with me and just hope that they can lean back.

Just to throw it in there, my favorite part of the whole trip was probably almost missing the bus last night. On Saturday we all went out to Playa Luces (I suggest heading there for anyone going to Acapulco that is looking for a little relaxation away from the tourist crowds) and we were a little late heading back into town to catch the bus because we wanted to watch the sunset again. So half of us left right after the sunset to head back into the city. The other half of the group was running much later and ended up having to take cabs back into Acapulco to catch the bus. The cab group beat the bus group because they did not stop as much. So on our way we told the group that had already arrived at the bus station to check the tickets with someone to make sure they were at the right bus station, but because it was the same station we came into, they decided not to check. (Never do this) At 8:45 one of the girls goes to look for the bus and comes running back into the bus station to tell us we are at the wrong station. In a whirlwind we all gathered our things and ran out to grab taxis to get to the other station. I loved it, now that I think about it I am confused as to why I was not freaking out, but I was loving every second of the race to the other station. Good news is is that we made it, the funny thing is is that the next stop on the bus was the station we had gone to the first time.

So in conclusion, I had a wonderful birthday, that was for sure, and the last two days have not followed in suit, but I am hoping that I will start to feel better soon. Starting this Tuesday, for every Tuesday and Thursday till around April I will be taking a hip-hop dance class, so I think that will make me a whole lot happier. Anyways I'll let you all know if my week gets better.

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