I think I felt more outside my element coming back into the US than I ever did in Mexico. I felt like I adapted really well, and I knew I would have a hard time adjusting to things when I got home. I am only here for a month and then I return to Mexico for one more semester. And I'm so thankful for that. Before I left Mexico to come home for a Christmas visit I was feeling comfortable in Mexico, like it was starting to feel normal. I finally knew where I liked to do homework, get my produce, favorite place to get tacos and still exploring and discovering new surprises. I feel even more confident traveling and even more intrigued by what I don't know or haven't seen. A lifetime will never been enough to experience all of Mexico. Sounds so cliche but Mexico stole my heart my first visit when I was 13 years old. The food is rich, the people kind and humble, and the streets unchanged. Just before I left Mexico I went to the state of Oaxaca and fell even deeper in love with Mexico. I stayed two nights in Oaxaca city, dined on the most delicious mole, grasshoppers, and mezcal the region had to offer. The rooftop restaurant offered views of the famous cathedral, the street became flooded with a wedding parade of oversize puppets and folklore dances and even a small firework show. You just never know what you will you see when you go exploring. We made to a Sunday market outside of town an hours bus ride. A woman selling tortillas, the basket balancing on her head, her hair long and grey and braided in two and connected at the ends by a red ribbon. Languages other than Spanish fly through the air and mix with the smoke from the barbecue pits in the middle of the food stalls. We purchased two slabs of beef, onions, a chile and threw them on a grill like the others. We ate our food in the plaza in the center of the market. We just ate and witnessed the rhythm of this small Oaxaca town. We left the city and stayed a night high in the mountains, the altitude and climate were that of Pacific Northwest, and the views were vast and green with few house speckled about. We went on a short day hike and traveled on to the beach. We stayed four days on the beach in Oaxaca and did nothing but keep cool swimming in the ocean, obsess over the next fresh seafood meal we would eat, and read our books. We visited a eco reserve to visit crocodiles and Iguanas, and went swimming with sting rays. It was the perfect end to a perfect semester. The last thing I did before I left Mexico was see my very favorite Latin American band in concert in Mexico City. Every time I leave a place I have been in Mexico, I wonder how it could get any better, or in sheer amazement that was an even better trip than the last. Those experiences make me so happy and relieved I have one more semester in Mexico. Next semester I will travel to areas I have not been yet such as Puebla and Chiapas, I have plans to attend two more concerts, plus I have friends and family visiting in the Spring so I will get to play tour guide. I am beyond excited and hope I can keep up my Spanish while I'm home on break. On an educational note: I will be teaching in Spanish next semester in a public 5th grade classroom and hopefully taking another Literature class with my favorite teacher from last semester. Yeah! So much to look forward too.