I'm just waiting till the firing starts...

Well, we're back to the US(SR)... and oh how lucky we are!

Mexico was real, and great, and really great (and it seems that my mind is only operating in quotes right now. oh well, here's looking at you, dolt). Coming back seems to ask for a change of skin, and aridness seems to suit my pallet for now, so enjoy.

Anywho, wouldn't it be nice if I could just put out a list of "99 Useful life lessons that I learned in Mexico that I won't have to learn any more..." Somehow the burrito just doesn't seem to roll that way.

It's not that I didn't learn things, lots of things; they just seem to go all gushy and gray when I try to quantify them into neat little platitudes. Perhaps I wasn't learning so much about México in the end - after all, wikipedia will tell you any number of facts you are looking for, this is not why your travel. At the risk of being sappy (a risk I'm always dangerously happy to take) I get the feeling that somehow the thing I learned the most about in the end... was my own wittle self. Dangerous faring indeed, seamates.

But enough about that, for today let us stay in more navigable waters. In fact, why not just go to the old list idea...

21 not-so-life-altering yet usefull things I learned in Mexico:

1. In any situation “Por Favor” and “Gracias” can do a world of good
2. Some countries are just a nation full of people waiting to be your friend. Then, there is America.
3. Don’t drink the water
4. water from the tap will make you sick
5. no bebe el agua
6. if you drink the water, you diiiie. X-P
7. A “gringo” is a white foreigner from a different culture
8. we were gringos
9. Mangos, though a delightful fruit, can leave certain acids on your skin when you bite their juicy rinds. We gringos called the resulting rash “Mango Chin” and it is not an attractive facial accessory.
10. You can put lime juice on *anything* and it will taste good.
11. You can also put chili sauce on *anything*, and it will sometimes taste… bizarre.
12. Chili sauce on papaya…. baaaaad idea.
13. Honking while in traffic is a perfectly acceptable way to vent frustration. Never mind that four cars in front of you have already poured their wrath on some random object – somehow adding your own blast will still help the situation along…
14. Beware of altitude. Just because the air is cool, doesn’t mean your skin won’t be crispy red at the end of the day.
15. Being the temporary teacher in a language school does not save you from any number of personal questions, but if you tell them how much you like Mexico, the outcome will be good.
16. McDonalds is everywhere.
17. The Simpsons is everywhere.
18. we grieve over this.
19. “Ahorita” meaning ‘a little moment’ is a time unit that spans anywhere from 2 minutes to several hours. Somehow no one thinks this ambiguity diminishes its usefulness.
20. Goth or emo kids are not to be taken at face value. Oftentimes if you make a crack, they get it first, if you ask them their opinion, they will eloquently express it, and if you shoot them a smile they are suddenly your friend.
21. When the day is done and you are abroad, you may be lonely. You may be exhausted. You may have frittered another precious 24 hours away on google or youtube or facebook, trying to fill a void. But behind it all is a God that is stretching your brain, viewing both successes and failures with mercy, and saying to you in your darkest moments “It is I; do not be afraid” (Jn 6:20).