Playa del Puebla

Here we are, in paradise for the last week. Through the generosity of a group member’s mother, who is a saint, we have been able to stay in a five star resort for what we paid per night at most of the hostels we stayed in. It is beautiful here, but very different. I think I experienced the greatest culture shock of the semester when we arrived. The Riviera Maya, which extends from Cancun down the Caribbean side of the Yucatan peninsula, is heavily speckled with resorts and seemingly run entirely on tourism. All of a sudden, we were thrown into an environment populated by Americans and Canadians, where everyone speaks English, and about 95% of the only Mexicans around are the workers. They were all super nice, and appreciated us speaking Spanish to them, but it was still very different.

That being said, it has been an incredible week. Here are some highlights:

-One of the biggest, if not the biggest, pool in Mexico at our disposal.

-Sun, lots of sun. We had a few days of clouds and wind, but got creative and kept ourselves occupied.

-Some of the best beach volleyball I’ve ever played (by best, I mean most fun. This is not a comment on my personal skills or lack thereof). The week culminated in the assembling of a Puebla team which dominated in laughter and testosterone.

-A visit to Tulum, an archeological site located on the shore of the ocean. By that time, we had seen plenty of ruins, all of which have started to blend together, but having the rock structures near the ocean gave it a distinguishing magnificence.

Good location, eh?

-Snorkeling!

-Beaches with white sand and turquoise water.

-Dying Regan’s hair. Between that experience and some haircuts I have given in the recent past, I might just drop out of college and go to beauty school (JK Mom and Dad).

-Resourcefulness. Inspired by the ancient civilizations that populated these parts in the past, who used every part of the boar they slaughtered with their flint knives and poisonous darts, we took every opportunity to use what resources we had. The week started with a grocery run in order to avoid paying for any resort meals. Oh, and who needs to buy water when you can melt down the ice a few times a day from the ice machine on the stove? Also, I began to run low on t-shirts and underwear, and the eight-dollar laundry fee was unacceptable and unnecessary. Therefore, I spent an hour in the bathroom with my clothes. I threw them in the tub, filled it with water and a liberal amount of hotel shampoo, stomped on it as if I were crushing grapes into wine, wrung out the water with my man shoulders, and hung them out to dry. All over the room. We won’t mention that it ended up being unnecessary because none of them dried in time to actually use…Also, while packing, the worst smelling clothes were the ones I had washed. 

-One of the best Christmas parties I have ever been to. We turned our hotel room into a home for the holidays with crafty decorations and creative drinks and food. There was a carol-off (which I believe ended in a tie, but I was quite impressed on how long it went and just how many Christmas songs exist). We also went caroling at the balcony of one of our rooms in an attempt to spread some cheer to one of our crew who was stuck in the room with illness. This led to caroling to strangers who came out to their balcony as well. The Christmas cheer cannot be contained.

Each of the stockings had one of our names on it. 

Dressing the part is easy when Mexico colors are the same as Christmas ones. 

-Being with (almost) the entire Puebla group the whole time. I could have stayed in a shack on the beach with these folks and loved it. We had one last chance to bond, get to know each other, cook together, live together, and most of all laugh together. Our group is so diverse (and really, every single one of these people are pretty weird) but we just click. I’m so grateful for each and every one of them!

As I write this, it is the night before my flight home. I don’t think anyone is really sure how to feel. We are all excited and ready to go home but also sad this is coming to an end. I guess we’ll see. Next post will be written from California!!!