Xalapa, parte dos

I've been up and down and all-around this past week, with of moments of adventure, action, anxiety, and everything else (including a LOT of Spanish).

On Wednesday I met with Azalia, the assistant of my professor Dr. Rebecca Torres- I can't even begin to express how helpful she's been. She's basically arranged my accommodations in Papantla, has been trying to contact the community where I'll be working, and held my hand as we went around the city and talked to multitudes of people for help on the subject of vanilla. When I could barely understand or communicate to the people at UVI, la Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural, I panicked in my usual way- "trapped rabbit," or "deer in the headlights," or my favorite: "squirrel with a dog on it's tail trying to make it safely up a tree before it loses its life."

I questioned why I came here, what I was doing, if I could actually make any difference to anybody. I wanted to go back to Oregon, to Texas, somewhere within my comfort zone, with people I love, who love me and with whom I can be completely ridiculous and laugh at myself.
Thanks to some encouragement from Tabby, I felt a lot better about everything- I don't have to be perfect, but I can try my best, laugh at my mistakes, and keep up my spirits to actually do some positive work for both myself and others. And these past few days have been phenomenally better.

Azalia and I took care of some errands, went to a library to get some material on the Primero del Mayo community and vanilla and afterwards visited the local farmers market, where they sell all sorts of crazy-looking fruit that's super-rico and loads of fresh vegetables. I bought some helote (a type of maiz), green beans, calabaza (squash), cebollas (onions), tomatoes, and some hand-made blue corn tortillas. I sauteed/steamed it all and stuck it on a warmed up tortilla with cheese and some jalapenos- que rico fue todo!

I also signed up for individual Spanish classes which I hope will help, am practicing Spanish almost all the time, and am having a blast just seeing the area, hanging out, and letting go. My friend Coleman from UT is here studying as well, and it's been wonderful hanging out with him, meeting people, having fun. And today we went with others from his class to Coatepec and Xico, two small towns near Xalapa. It was so beautiful- the ancient churches have such a warm prescence and are built and decorated with so much care down to the smallest detail, from the murals on the ceilings, to the stuccoed outer walls, painted a cheery orange and yellow. And the coffee from Coatepec is famous; needless to say, I felt justified to have two cups (and didn't get too twitchy!)

In Xico we had lunch at a beautiful restaurant near the river, and although it was delicious, I'm swearing off both fish and restaurants for a while. It was just too much, and I feel so guilty for not being able to finish it! Plus I need to save some more of my scholarship money; it just keeps slipping through my fingers....
Afterwards we walked it off by hiking to a beautiful waterfall called The Waterfall of the Nun; the name is a bit strange, but it didn't look anything like a nun- it was gorgeous. Everything is tropical, green, flourishing, and flowering, coffee and bananas spring up like weeds everywhere, and it isn't nearly as hot as Texas! I love finding all the little things that make a place special, like the cracks in the sidewalks, ridiculous signs, libelulas (dragonflies), mosses, and mini-ecosystems that hold so much life. Cheesy as it sounds, it makes it feel so incredible to be alive.

Besides that, I've just been exploring the city, talking to people, seeing free movies and concerts (an awesome classic guitar one and a piano one tomorrow), and doing a bit of work for my Spanish and research. I'm excited and a bit nervous to get to Papantla Wednesday, but I know I'll get there, maybe have a breakdown from the stress of it all (really, I'm a squirrel), and finally adapt to my surroundings, the dialect, and the people and learn to make it home (it's where the heart is, and I have to be present). Once again I feel lucky to have such an opportunity- so much to learn, see, and do in so little time!

And sorry for the lack of photos- I keep forgetting my camera and honestly don't really like to experience everything through more lenses than I have to (I already have a lot accumulated in our mind) and I feel self-concious as well for being a white, American tourist. But I'll try more in the future. It's just so hard to capture things as they really are...

To all you Spanish speakers- cuidate! My guns are loaded with rounds of new refranes y palabras de las calles, gracias a los jovenes Mexicanos that I've been hanging out with. Like that Spanglish? :)

I love you all dearly will check in again soon!

Allison