Birthdays, Taylor Swift, Throwing Up and Looking Cute.

 Monday, January 23rd

Teaching was really rough on Monday. One of my preschoolers just had a melt down the entire time, and I could tell that all he needed was someone to hold him so he could sleep. Unfortunately, as a volunteer, I can't hold the kids. It just made the whole class pretty difficult a and it was hard to just watch him cry. The rest of the teaching day was pretty hard too. I was really happy when class ended and we got to go to the gym. The upstairs area of the gym is extremely hot, so working out up there is like hot yoga. Anyways, it was just a long day. When we got home, our lunch lady/housekeeper, Luce (who is my favorite person), had made us dinner. Later, we had another meeting with Mica, and he did this one in Spanish! It gave me HUGE perspective on how my students are seeing me as I'm teaching, and I think it will help me to be more patient and understanding with my kids. Honestly, it was a pretty typical Monday, and I was pretty glad when it was over. I have gained HUGE respect for teachers since starting with ILP...It is HARD! 

Tuesday, January 24th

The 24th was Allie's birthday!!! Allison and I woke up early and made a big breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and a yummy egg and veggie scramble. I don't know what is different about their pancake mix here, but it smells and tastes 100 times better than any pancake mix I have ever had in the US. I wish I could bottle the smell of the batter and use it as a perfume. It is seriously divine. As Allie came down, we played Taylor Swift's 22 and sang to Allie, we then went off to school! 

Teaching was better on Tuesday and was all in all pretty uneventful. Sergio brought out a cake after school, and we sang to and celebrated Allie. While we ate cake, we had a little meeting and then headed home. At home, I got in a great vocal workout and then later that night, I made no bake cookies and while I made them, Mica and Allison came, and I somehow wound up talking with them for the next 5 hours. We just told our stories and got to know each other better. Other roommates would come in and out, and honestly, it was just nice to get to know everyone better and really connect with them...the cookies were good too ;)

Wednesday, January 25th

Oh boy. Wednesday was really, really rough. To start, in preschool, the kids kept hurting themselves and each other and me. I had one kid run into the wall and get a gash in his head, kids climbing on the tables and making in collapse on other kids, I got bitten and scratched and had a tough morning. It was the closest I have been to crying at school. It was just really tough. We also had an extra early morning because we had our first Spanish class. One of the moms is teaching us, but she can only do mornings, so it was just really early and I think we were all a bit tired. Spanish class was fun though! Anyways...back to teaching. I forgot that I had a bunch of prep for my afternoon classes and so I was scrambling at the end of lunch. We had to change our class setups that day because of an event happening on Thursday. My class was moved several times, so that disrupted it too and just made it hard to teach. My two bright spots of the day were #1 Mariona. She is my teaching companion in Preschool, and I would not survive without her. #2 was telling my 4th grade girls that I am an American Actress. I showed them some clips of my performances and it was fun to watch their eyes light up. 

(Mariona is an actual saint)

(Helping prep for the event)

Sergio and Lulu were planning on staying at the school late to prep for the event on Thursday, but we managed to bribe Sergio into taking us home so we didn't have to walk. Later that night, Josh and Kayla bought another cake for Allie and it was the best one we have had so far. It was absolutely DIVINE. Much needed after the hard day. A couple of us went out onto the roof and we talked and talked. We shared our first impressions of each other and talked about our fears in coming here. We are all really grateful for each other and that none of our fear's pre-departure came to pass. We watched the sunset together, and it reminded me of a St. George sunset with the sun going down behind the mountains.

(In my happy place)

It was also the 1 year anniversary of when I shared my first poem, so in honor of it, I decided to begin posting my music! "Juliet" was the first poem I ever shared, so I figured I would put it here.

'Juliet'

Stardust falls

Like freckles 

On her cheek

There upon

The casket

Where she weeps

A knife

Clutched tightly 

In her hand

And crimson blood

Stains white floors red

From flower crowns

To masquerades

To broken dreams

And gold parades

She lies there

On her lovers breast

Now none

Will wake her

From her rest

In death she dreams

Of roses, stars

A long haired boy

Who leads her

To her doom

Upon a balcony 

One summer night

A name 

She whispers

To the skies

Witha kiss

Her fate was sealed

And in a breath

Her tapestry revealed

Stolen kisses

And secrets kept

A family feud

She could not accept

Her marriage bed

She filled with lies

But love

She claimed 

Was her true prize

So I ask her 

Where her love resides

Now that she's 

A ghostly bride

Tell me

Juliet

Did you know 

That you'd die

For your young lover

Romeo?

Did you know to love him

Would cost 

You lives

Was the fantasy 

Worth the price?

Was the love affair

Worth your life? 

- Ivie Noelle

One more happy thing happened on Wednesday....I found out that I am getting another niece!!! I am so thrilled! It made my entire night. #auntieof7

Thursday, January 26th

On Thursday, we were up so early to head over to the event at the school. WE got to the school at around 6:30 am and we helped to set up and get the food ready. Once a year, the school has a day when all the parents are invited to the school to read to their kids and get served doughnuts and hot cocoa. Sergio said that for many of the parents, it's their first time ever reading to their children. The school was set up very cozily. Lots of couches, chairs, big stuffed animals, pillows and blankets. We walked back to the kitchen, and there were about 10 huge boxes of doughnuts, and Lulu was in the back making a big pot of hot cocoa. We got to work immediately setting out doughnuts on trays and filling cups with cocoa. Pretty soon, parents and kids were coming in, and Lulu and Sergio had us serving with fervor. Lulu was in her element as hostess. We weren't getting hot cocoa out enough for Lulu's taste, and she would  say each time I brought a tray out to her "Ah! Gracias, Bonita. Mas, Mas!". Sergio made sure we all ate plenty of doughnuts and he kept us laughing. The doughnuts here are much breadier. I really liked them, but they weren't my favorite. It was really nice to see my kids with their parents, and the pride whenever a parent saw their kids converse with us in English. It was just a beautiful and wholesome experience. I am very glad that I got to be here for it. 

(I want to be Lulu when I grow up)

Classes started late due to the event, so it was a shorter teaching day. Before we started classes back up, I bought some candy from two of my students. They were amazed when the total came to 9 pesos and I gave them 10. They kept checking with me that I was sure it was ok. It was really cute. The candies were really good. I actually really liked the spicier ones.

(I'm proud of my students for being innovative saleswomen!)

Teaching was really, really good. We did a "fashion" day, and the kids seemed to love it. My pride presented itself during my last class, and I learned how string it can be. One of my students offered a very hot pepper to me, daring me to eat it. All my others students were violently shaking their heads no and one said "No teacher! It makes you cry!". My street cred was now on the line, so I of course had to take it. I knew this was my moment. Either I pass the test or I fail. As I inched the pepper to my mouth, I commanded my face to completely relax. I called on all my acting abilities and as I chewed the pepper and swallowed, I didn't move a muscle on my face. I felt all the eyes on me, searching for weakness. By this point, my mouth was burning, but I was in too deep. I willed tears not to rise, and I simply proceeded with my lesson. I waited a full 5 minutes before allowing myself a drink. I felt something shift with the group, and suddenly I felt like a super star. All the kids wanted my attention and wanted to teach me Spanish. Later, when I told Mica the story, he said that the peppers that grow at the school (which is the one I tried), even makes Sergio and Mario tear up. Somehow my pride managed to override my pain levels. 

(Matias drew me in Preschool.)

After school, I had a really sudden tummy ache come on. I assumed it was from the pepper, so I sat in the sun and blocked out the rest of the world. Back at home, I started to get chills and a fever, and overall, I felt horrid. My roommates were all really sweet and helped me out, and I assumed I had gotten food poisoning. I got my lesson plans to Mica, we hung out with Sergio and we had a meeting, but I could barely keep my head up during the meeting. I felt terrible. I spent the rest of the night in my bed in fetal position wishing for my moms essential oils and a warm bath. Mica and Kayla were sweet enough to make me tea though, so don't worry, mom, I was well taken care of! 

Friday, January 27th

Friday was terrible for me. Mica had also fallen sick during the night, so we both stayed home from school. I haven't been sick like this in a very, very long time. I forgot how terrible it is. I basically spent the whole day in bed watching shows, reading or sleeping. When they all got back from school, Kayla was also suddenly feeling sick, so she got into bed as well. It was a long hard day. Everything seemed to come in waves, then it would die down for a bit only to hit you again twice as hard. Ginger chews, tea and nausea medicine became my greatest companions. My only jpy pertained to the fact that Taylor Swift finally released the 'Lavander Haze' music video. I don't have any pictures of Friday, so I will instead bless you with Taylor Swift memes. You are welcome.

(Pretty sure I am in love with TS at this point...how can anyone else compete?)

Saturday, January 28th

I woke up on Saturday feeling 100% better! All symptoms gone, and I hadn't thrown up since Thursday night, so I deemed it safe to get on with my life. We had brunch at our student, Carlos' house, and it was really fun. Carlos' mom, Gloria, had us over for almost 5 hours, and she taught us loads of Spanish. She is an extremely good teacher, and she was fun to talk to. She told us about her family, her house, and made us laugh a lot. My energy was starting to really wane by the time we headed home, and once we were in the car, Josh seemed to suddenly get very pale and quite. At home, Josh fell victim to whatever is going around the house, and unfortunately, I had a relapse late that night. Mica had made a full recovery in a day, so that was the blueprint we thought the rest of us would follow, but I felt even worse than I had on Thursday. I couldn't fall asleep due to it all, so I was up into the wee hours of the morning just laying there reading. It was pretty rough for all of us sickies that night. 

(Carlos had an amazing lego collection)

(Allison in her element)

Sunday. January 29th

Sunday proved to be pretty bad as well. I would feel really great, but then the second I would eat some toast or drink water, a wave of nausea would overwhelm me for hours. I don't even know how many episodes of 'Once Upon a Time' I watched. I read two full books in the time I had been sick, and I was feeling pretty tired of my phone and my bed. Nothing really changed on Sunday. We all just stayed in bed and rested as much as we could.  I got to talk to my mom and sister a bit, and that really helped. Gosh, I wanted a hot bath so badly. My one consolation was that my curls were really amazing on Sunday. I didn't do anything to them...the curl gods just knew I needed SOMETHING good. By this point I was very tired of my bed, my phone, toast, and this thing called 'resting'. I missed the sun and my whole body hurt from lack of use. That's where I will end this post. Sorry, it'll take a few more days before your girlie got to feeling better. 

(At lease I looked cute.)

The thing I said over and over again during this period was, simply, 'I miss my mom'. No one takes care of you when sick in the same way a mom can...I will say that my healthy roommates have all been angelic towards us and they have all gone out of their way to make us comfortable and make sure we have what we need....it just doesn't beat having mom there though. 

Love, 

Your favorite sickie,

Ivie Noelle <3

The Family Jicama

Monday, January 16th

Monday came with more teaching and some adjustments. Our teaching hours were changed from 8-10 and 1-3 to 10:30-12:30 and 1-3. It was also my first day doing a normal rotation. Last week, I had been with the preschool for the 2 hours in the morning, and then done a normal rotation of 25 minute increments in the afternoon. It felt really long, and the morning classes were a bit crazy. The class I planned was "A Day at the Airport", and we acted out going to the airport, going through security, getting your tickets, etc. I even showed them my Passport, and they didn't believe it was me. I got my passport before cutting and dying my hair, and they kept saying "No teacher Merida it's not you." I had to hold upo my bangs as proof that it was, indeed, me. At the end of the day, we were rewarded with cake. 3 of the faculty members had birthdays that day, so we had three cakes! Erika, Fernanda and Fernanda had their birthdays. We learned the Spanish birthday songs, and in an interesting turn of events, the people who's birthdays it was served the cake to everyone else before getting cake themselves. I thought that was really interesting and very different from what I am used to. The cake was Tres Leche cake, and oh my goodness! It was divine! So moist and delicious. The baked goods here really do beat everything we have in the states.  

(Erika, Fernanda and Fernanda)

After school, one of the students families offered to feed us at their restaurant. It was my first time having rice and beans in Mexico! I also tried Jicama tea, and it was really good! They also served us chips and salsa, salad, and quesadillas.  It was all really good, but we were all pretty tired and ready to go home. We said goodbye and made the walk back to the house. At home, I texted with my mom, called my sister and played Ukulele on the rooftop. My voice still wasn't back to 100%, but I was at least able to sing a little and spend some time under the stars.   

(Cailey and Allison)

(Jicama Tea)

(Me and my Calypso)

At around 8 pm, we had another meeting, in which Mica modelled a lesson for us and we were the student's. Poor Mica. We didn't shy away from the acting side of it. I think it was honestly therepudic to act like some of our crazier kids, but I don't think Mica was expecting us to eat paper, refuse to participate, speak in Spanish to each other, touch his supplies and give him heaps of attitude. Like I said, therapy. Afterwards, I journalled and then read until I fell asleep. It was a pretty un eventful day. 

(My favorite bullet journal pages)

Tuesday, January 17th

Oh boy. Tuesday was ROUGH. It's partly my fault. I ignored my alarm and slept in, so I didn't have that morning time to do yoga, meditation, journaling, etc. I've found that my morning rituals 10000% make a HUGE difference in how I experience the rest of my day. Teaching was, in a word, terrible. The kids were feral and nothing was really going right. I had to give SO many strikes, and one of our roommates, Cailey, fell sick on Monday night, so we were down a teacher and had much bigger classes due to that. We were almost done with teaching...Only had 1 25 minute rotation left. We were in the home stretch, when one of the kids brought an egg from the chicken yard into Allie's class. Another child broke it and unfortunately the egg was rotten. Allie has an inside class, so they had to evacuate and clean the room...meanwhile, the outside classes (Mine and teacher Allisons) saw the other kids leaving the class room and decided that class was over. All at once all the kids got up and ran off thinking they were done with school. By the time we got them all back, we had about 5 minutes of class left. Us teachers were exhausted and went to the yard for some bunny holding therapy. That morning, 2 baby goats had been born, so we also got to see them...it made me miss my baby goats. I decided to spend some time helping our handy/animal/farm man, Mario with the Roosters. He showed me this throwing technique that apparently calms them. The roosters here are beautiful and it was nice to spend some time quietly working with the animals. Another happy thing from the teaching portion of the day: A few students gifted us blankets, and they are very soft, so at least we have those as compensation for a hard day. 

We then went straight from the school to Queretaro. I had my first moments of annoyance with my group, but it was purely a me problem. I was tired and hangry and just wanted silence on the car ride, lol. Even though I felt annoyed, I knew it was a me issue, so I put in earplugs and read my book. In Queretaro, we went to the mall and got food, and I felt 100 times better after eating.  I also tried Boba for the first time, and I am obsessed! I got a Coconut Boba, and it was the best thing I've ever drank. Something about the tapioca pearls just makes me happy. I am hooked.

(True Love)

Sergio and Lulu also decided to bring us to the theater, and the movie we ended up watching was called, "The Menu". None of use realized it was horror when we choose it, but honestly it was just weirdly funny. Mostly because I was watching everyone's reactions to the movie. I wouldn't have even called the movie horror...more disturbing and thought provoking. Anyways, I knew from the first 3 camera angles that we were dealing with some sort of suspenseful murder movie due to how the cameras were positioned and based on the shots the director chose...no one else realized until it got weird. Realizing that I could tell what genre it was going to be purely based on the camera angles was really cool. It made me appreciate the art of film even more, and I think it would be such a cool challenge to be able to direct a movie someday. Anyways, between Allisons death grip on my hand, Kayla hiding under her blanket, Mica covering his eyes, Allie's screams and exclamations and Josh's and Cailey's looks of confusion, I got belly aching laughs. After the movie, I asked Lulu what she thought, and she said,

 "hmmm...hungry". 

(These two are my favorites)

We went to Walmart and Sam's club to stock up on things that we are unable to get in San Jose at the Bodega, then we went home. At home, I got in a yoga practice, journaling and got ready for bed.  

Taking this time with myself in Mexico has been amazing. I almost feel like I'm dating myself, you know? I am really getting to know myself fully for the first time. I've always had a really good sense of identity, but I've never been in a position in which I could spend so much time with the young woman that is me without interruptions, and I really like her and who she is becoming. 

Wednesday, January 18th

I woke up sick. Stomach pains, nausea and fatigue. I was left home while the others trekked to school. I slept and slept, then read and read. Luckily, Cailey was feeling better, so they were down only one teacher again instead of two. I basically spent my day reading, sleeping, journaling, watching How to Train Your Dragon and Embroidering. I had a really long nap later in the day, and I felt significantly better after that. I called a friend and then the group came home from the activities that had been planned for the day. They only stopped in a minute before heading out to dinner, but they promised to bring me something to eat. I finally had an appetite back, so I devoured the veggie plate they brought me, and then we all played "Code Names" It was really fun. We laughed until our abs hurt, and my team won. (3 out of 5). I really like being the "coder" in that game. The best part was that the other team seemed to be cheating while Kayla was the coder, and she KEPT giving obvious hints by looking at the coder card and such....after our team severely getting on their case and accusing Kayla of playing on her teams cheating, she finally revealed that she's color blind and had to check each time to  make sure she was getting the colors right. We felt so bad, but it was also hilarious. Josh yelled "SEE SHE WASN"T CHEATING, SHE HAS A DISSABILITY." Our group is really loud and we are always ribbing eachother and fake fighting, so it gave the other team some good ammunition against us....whoops. 

(Game Night)

(Lots and Lots of Laughs)

I then went to the roof and thought about my grandma. It would've been her 79th birthday. I ate a little piece of chocolate and some fruit snacks to celebrate. I wrote a little tribute for her on my socials, then I wrote some poetry. I've been feeling really homesick for the stage. I don't really miss much else. I mean, I have access to talking to my family, so I haven't really been homesick for them since I can talk to them whenever...but performing? Oh man, I miss it. It's been doubly hard because I have been on vocal rest as I recover from the cold that's plagues me since new years. I am taking time here to train and work on my performance skills, but I do miss the process of putting on a show. I can't wait to come home and get back into it all, but I am also loving my experiences here. As my Bestie, Bekah said, "You're dealing with artist's withdrawal." 

Since I'm dramatic and my only coping mechanisms are 1. singing and 2. Writing, I wrote a poem about it. I present to you:

 " Homesick"

Lights on my skin

Pins stuck in my hair

And the audience sits

in rows of chairs

Homesick

Oh I'm homesick

And I don't even know why

I'm living an adventure

But I'm afraid my dreams will die

How do I achieve it

When I'm afraid I've lost my voice

Have I made a bad decision? 

Should I have made a different choice?

Four months isn't very long

But it's long enough to fall

And if I fall behind

Will I get back up at all?

How will I ever face myself

If I never get onstage

How with this story end

I'm still on a blank page 

And I'm having a good time

But also, I'm afraid

And maybe it's because

I've had to drop my masquerade

I can't hide behind the curtain

Can't paint each moment pretty

I have to face myself 

I must get my hands dirty

And someday I'll return

To those lights and the applause 

But for now, it's time to grow

Discover my own laws

And when I go back home

Take my place upon the stage

I'll only be improved

After learning to be brave

- Ivie Noelle 

As I said...dramatic :)

Thursday, January 19th

Classes went SO WELL on Thursday. We did "A Trip to the Moon" and the kids loved it. I regulated my energy really well and I was able to mold my class to my different aged kids to keep it entertaining and fun for all the rotations. The kids were also much better behaved, and we were fully staffed. I had a lot of fun teaching, and found myself looking forward to each new class that came into my rotation. We also had Alphabet soup for lunch, and that made me very happy. My voice was also feeling better! My stuffiness was gone, so at home, I was able to warm up and sing. I am trying to take it slow since I haven't been able to use it for a couple weeks, but the temptation to just start belting my head off, or tackle some opera is overwhelming. After school, I went to the gym and worked on did some barre, worked on leaps, worked my walkovers and got over my fear of going into my backbend from standing. 

The real event of the day was Sergio and Lulu's long awaited "Cow head party". It's exactly what it sounds like. He cooked an entire cows head and people ate it. I have mixed feelings about this event. I am glad that at least every part of the animal is being used, but at the same time, I have never been so grateful to be a vegetarian. I took my cheese quesadillas joyfully as I watched everyone else squirm as the cow head was pulled from the pot. Sergio was in his element. He took every opportunity to make the others as uncomfy as possible. They ate tongue, eyes, and meat from the face. Sergio even pulled a tooth from the mouth and tried to give it to Josh. The chase down that ensued was hysterical. Something I love about the Mexican culture is how laid back and relaxed everything is. I feel like parties and such in America are so high stakes and very showy in a way. For example, the cake was set out with the rest of the food, and people just got into it as they finished up. There was no big deal made about waiting until everyone was done eating, then serving everyone a piece, etc.  I know it's such a simple thing, but it spoke volumes to me for some reason. The cake was really, really good. It seemed like it was soaked in milk, but it somehow wasn't soggy...I am still perplexed on how it was made. 

(Sergio and his creation)

(Sergio trying to give Josh the tooth)

The Reactions:

(Helping Allison "Not Think About It")

(My Dinner)

(Anne busting the moves out)

(Granma Lulu and Baby Scarlet)

 Anne was at the party too, so we had a dance party, albeit it wasn't as long as our last one, but Anne taught us a few dances and was really impressed by how quick Josh and I picked up the choreography. Josh and I want to put together a couple of choreographed dances to practice and surprise her with next time we do a dance off. We have some pretty fun ideas, and I think we are going to start working on them this coming week. 

After everyone left, all the roommates gathered in my room to finish lesson planning for the week, and that somehow turned into us placing each of us into different family roles. Our family is as follows: Mica - The Father, 

Cailey - Wine Mom, 

Allison - The cool Aunt, 

Allie - Responsible Big Sis, 

Me - The Older and Prettier Twin,

 Josh - The Younger more Dramatic Twin, 

Kayla - The 5 Year Old

Also, our last name has each of the first letter of our first names....we searched for the perfect last name, and the only thing we could think of was Jicama...it seems fitting. 

(Josh wrote it, so it's a tad bit confusing....someone hasn't been doing their indexing)

(Fav quote of the day - "I'm NOT an abusive mom. I only hit you twice!" - Cailey)

(I don't even know)

We stayed up way too late talking and laughing, and I got an amazing surprise! My friend (basically sister), Liv McCune's first single dropped. It's called " You Make Me Feel Like a Fool" and I listened to it about 25 times just that one night. I also cried because I am so proud and I am so grateful that I know her...anyways, you should listen to her song. Her next single drops next week and I cannot be more excited.

Friday, January 20th

Friday was our best day of teaching so far. Everything went smoothly and time seemed to fly. My mom will be thrilled to learn that I play soccer and basket ball every day after school with the boys as they wait for class. She will also be overjoyed to hear that I no longer flinch when a ball is thrown my way, and I have impeccable aim and hand-eye coordination. I am pleased to announce that my tom boy mom cannot be utterly disappointed in her girls, and I no longer deserve the title of, and I quote, 'wimp'. Hahaha. But seriously, I have gotten over my fear of things being thrown at me, and I actually enjoy playing sports with the kids. Who knew, am I right? It's all mindset. 

Fast forward to later that night, and Mica, Josh, Cailey and I walked to town square to get ice cream. I cot Fresca con Queso, which is Strawberry and Cheese. It tasted like cheesecake. That night, we hung out in the kitchen and played a chaotic game of code names. I laughed till I cried, Josh actually spit his drink all over, and someone who will not be named, actually peed their pants. All in all, I would say that we are having WAY too much fun. We got to bed pretty late, and I set my alarm for 4 am and packed my bag for an adventure.

(I also tried this, and it was amazing)

Just some teaching shots. Today's lesson centered on 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Saturday, January 21st

My alarm didn't go off, and my roommates were expecting it to go off any minute, so they didn't wake me up until they realized it was 4:40....we had to be out the door by 4:45. I would like to note that I was out the door by 4:44 AND I looked cute, had all my stuff AND even grabbed a snack for the bus. We sped walked to the SJI bus station, and got tickets all by ourselves. Mica was staying home, so this trip would be a real test of how well we can communicate. I love bus rides, so I had a great time. I put on my favorite playlist and watched the Mexico streets go by. We got to Quartaro and it was pretty cold. We had a layover in the station, so we all snuggled up on the bench and played a game of 'Who's Most Likely To?'. Honestly, the buses in Mexico are 100x nicer than any I've ridden in the US. The seats were more comfy than an airplane, and it honestly was great. The roads here are smooth, but they have random speed bumps EVERYWHERE. Like, why is there a speedbump on the 65mph road? We don't know, but it does make for lots of stop and go and lots of speed changes.

We arrived in Leon around 11am and got brunch. I got a plate with eggs, beans and something that started with a C and was basically fried corn tortillas covered in sauce. The waiter was very sweet about our less than lacking Spanish, and the food was really good. I guess it's a pretty traditional Mexican breakfast dish. I really liked it, and it was perfect for a long day of walking around in the hot sun.

Afterwards, we went to the Cathedral, and on our way we ran into another ILP group from a different part of Mexico who had just been to the Cathedral! It was fun to connect, and we talked for about 45 minutes. They were nice, and their head teacher had been in SJI last year, so we were able to connect about the experiences there. If they come to Quaretaro, we might drive out and meet up with them since it's so close.

 The walk to the Cathedral was beautiful, and the Cathedral itself was stunning. My experience there was absolutely amazing...It was honestly transformative. There was a wedding happening when we got there, so in true tourist fashion, we peeked through a side door. The chapel was massive and I have never seen stained glass windows so huge. There was a singer singing an operatic rendition of 'A Thousand Years', and it echoed through the cathedral and range with a beautiful clarity. There was a live orchestra, and the wedding precession was lovely. The bride looked like an angel, and the lights from the stained glass window covered her white dress in a pattern of bejeweled light. It was really cool to watch.  

We walked to the back of the building, and paid 10 pesos (50 US cents) to enter the crypt/catacombs underneath. I don't know what I was expecting, but as I descended, an extreme sense of reverence set over me, and my heart realized the sacredness of the place. My heartbeat elevated to over 110 BPM (Thanks Fitbit), and tears sprang to my eyes. The art, the maze of names, and the statues will forever be imprinted in my mind. The first painting I came across was a painting of Mary Magdelene in her caves, and just beyond that, in a room with an alter, was a Lifesize statue of the Mother of Christ in blue robes, holding the crown oof thorns. I had a very personal spiritual experience there and spent quite a bit of time there.

(I didn't realize Kayla was behind me)

My group had gone another way, so Kayla came and found me, and together we descended further into the catacombs. There were dozens of rooms, corridors, name plates, and intricate little details to see. I honestly could've wandered in there for days. There was a stillness that came over me from the moment I stepped down the stairs. Other than that first room I wrote about, there were two others that really struck me. As we wandered, we chose a corridor thar was slightly larger than the rest. All the corridors were small, nearly brushing my head, and I had to keep my arms close to my side. This larger corridor opened to a very large and spacious room shaped like a rectangle. In the center were statues that were elevated, and were lined up in a rectangular shape, and in the very middle of the statues was a smaller copy of the Cathedral we were in, but it was all white, and the spires were just outlines instead of solid. On the long ends of the rectangle were statues of various apostles, but I didn't get a close look at them because on the short ends of the rectangle there were two different statues of Christ and they were facing each other. The one closest to the door was Christ on the cross, and the one across from it was of a resurrected Christ in red robes, gazing at his broken body. The coolest part was that if you stood at the feet of one and gazed at the other, the other Christ was framed by the outline of the Cathedral spire. I had another profound moment here, then found a staircase below the resurrected Christ's feet, and descended further. 

The corridors got smaller and tighter as we descended, and we wandered the maze and saw so much. I felt pulled to a certain corridor, so we followed it, and it opened to another large room. Not as large as the one with the Christs, but larger than most of the rooms. My footsteps echoed as I walked around the room and gazed at the elevated statues lining the wall. The 12 apostles. I didn't notice the center of the room at all as I studied each statue. I got to the last one and turned around to look at the rest of the room, and I stopped dead cold in my tracks. Here, in the center of the room was Maria Regina la Apostle...Mary Magdelene. She was cloaked in red white and gold, with a golden halo of stars and a scepter in her left hand while her right hand beckoned to me. The joy that enveloped me was so complete in that moment. I could barely keep it together as I wiped away my tears. It was a confirmation of many things for me, and a deeply important moment of my journey. The rest of my thoughts on this room are very personal, so I am going to leave it at that. 

I was left behind again, but I found Kayla in a small corridor, next to a ventilation shaft that echoed each sound of the Chapel. Heavenly music and words spilled into the hall, and we just stood and listened. I was gazing at all the name plaques on the wall, and I realized they all said the same thing above the name. I recognized the first two words, bit not the last, so I pulled out google translate. Each said 'Gloria, Amor Y Expiaction' or Glory, Love and Atonement. I thought that was lovely.

We wandered around more, and then left the catacombs.

The rest of our day was filled with shopping! Leon has over three thousand market vendors, so we had plenty to look at. Leon is known as the Shoe Capitol of the World, and rightly so! They also specialize in leather goods. I got myself a belt, and two for Emily, and, in a twist of fate, found a man in a remote corner who asked if I would look at what he was selling. I wasn't planning on buying anything else, but I said sure, and the first thing on his pile was a romper that had a scene of a sparrow embroidered onto the bib. I had to get it. Sparrows are my omens, and I can't pass up a good jumper.

I followed everyone else around as they shopped, and then we headed back! I was very tired and hangry again, so I was glad to get on a bus and put on my music and read my book (I finished 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' and I highly recommend it. I started re-reading one of my favorite books, "Daughter of the Forest" on the bus and I also HIGHLY recommend that book as well.). The trip home was pretty uneventful. We did have one moment when we thought we had gotten on the wrong bus, but all was well. We got to SJI and practically sprinted home. We hadn't gotten any food since brunch, so we all got a snack and then dropped into our beds. 

( We were gone for 20 hours)

Sunday, January 22md

Today I slept till 12pm and I have no regrets. My whole body hurt from the walking and sitting. I had a nice stretchy yoga practice, talked to my sister, wrote poetry, embroidered and spent some time out in the sun writing. Lulu made us an amazing dinner of Carrot soup, beans, the best mac and cheese I've ever had, veggies, cucumbers and some chicken for the others. We all kind of just took time to ourselves today and reconnected a bit at dinner time. We never get into real fights, but we will get into yelling matches about literally the stupidest things. Today's fight was over mispronounced words and whether or not 'Crick' is a word. I say it is. It's not to be confused with 'Creek' which is a different word. Honestly, everyone agreed with me except Josh. It got heated. Luckily, we all like each other and still get along even after yelling that the other person is a dummy and is completely wrong. Apparently, theater people shouldn't get into linguistic debates. I've pretty much spent the rest of my evening writing this and going over lessons with Mica. I need to finish lesson prepping and then we are going to go make brownies for Lulu as a thank you. 

I love you all and miss you! Excuse any mistakes in here, I don't proofread because of how long it takes me to write it with such detail, lol. I am so glad to be able to share my experiences with you all. 

Love, 

Ivie Noelle <3