Monday, March 20th, 2023
Monday was the final day of our long weekend, and it was wonderful. Allie and I slept in, I wrote my blog, worked out, journalled and cleaned. It was nice to just have a relaxed weekend in which we didn't have to see or talk to anyone else. It was a great re charge. Sergio learned my middle name after seeing a sign Emily embroidered for me, and now when he see's me, he sings "The First Noel". Later that day, Allie and I got to try on our Princess dresses for the spring festival, and it made me SUPER excited for the whole festival. Allie and I then dressed up cute and took some pictures on the roof. By the time we finished with that, everyone was home from their vacation. We swapped stories of our weekends in the kitchen as I prepped a bunch of veggies for the freezer to use in smoothies. As much as I love the food here, there is a part of me that is really missing my old eating habits, and I am ready to get *mostly* back to them. It was nice to go to sleep at a decent time again on Monday after a weekend of staying up far too late each day.
Tuesday, March 21st, 2023
I was pretty lethargic on Tuesday. School was fine...a pretty typical Tuesday. At home, I read, organized all the snacks that Alli's family brought us, altered a Princess dress for one of the girls (thanks for the sewing skills, mom!), worked on the first half of my solo for the Spring Festival, had a meeting, and went to bed. As I said before, it was a pretty typical Tuesday here. The day felt pretty long, but the week after vacation is always the hardest to get back into, and we all definitely felt it.
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023
Wednesday was really, really rough for me mentally. I stayed home from school due to how bad it was, plus, I had a tummy ache. I have found that I set un realistically high standards and expectations for myself, and I am not always very kind to myself if I do not achieve them perfectly. I don't hold such high expectations for anyone else, and if I heard any of my friends setting these goals then being so hard on themselves when they simply need to rest, I would likely tell them to stop being to stupid and remind them that they're human, and that rest is what makes the work work. Alas, that logic doesn't seem to work as well on me, especially if I am having a dark day. I cried, danced and journalled the day away to try to feel better. I also talked to my bestest fairygodmother and best friend, and they knew just how to cheer me up and make me laugh a bit. I wrote this in my journal, and for me, it's profound and important; "Maybe rest is the answer, not work. Maybe I'll take a nap and then see how I feel after that." Such a simple thing, yet so hard for me to allow myself to do! I did manage to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for an hour while listening to Taylor Swift, and that helped. Taylor Swift always helps.
Thursday, March 23rd, 2023
Woke up again feeling sick to my stomach, so I stayed crammed at home once again. I managed to get my poetry blog updated, lesson plans done, and lots of reading done. Kayla also was sick that day, but we were like two ships passing in the night. I don't think we spoke once all day. I finally took some medicine, and that changed the game for me. I was feeling so much better that night, and managed to be social and hangout with my group for a bit. We laughed a lot and had an overall great evening. I got to bed nice and early with hopes to go to school the next day.
Friday, March 24th, 2023
I woke up feeling much better, and ready to get back to school. I skipped my morning routine, and instead texted Emily all morning about Taylor Swift and wondered for hours over what in the heck I would be wearing to the concert (I have too many ideas, and I can't seem to commit to one...luckily, I have until August). School was delightful. I missed my little hooligans, and we had a good time in class. Unfortunately, it was Marionna's last day of school, so we all said goodbye, and shed a few tears. I then spent the next hour teaching our dance number to the other teachers, and I must admit, it is a brilliantly funny dance. I am very proud of it. Afterwards, we went to the event center and practiced our dance onstage, and I polished it. It reminded me how much I MISS directing. I love acting, but directing has a special place in my heart, and it's been nearly two years since I directed last. There is just something so satisfying about having a whole vision and seeing it all come together. As an actor, you never get that moment of stepping back and having a 'finished' moment. Each performance is another test. Another moment to improve and discover, but as a director, you do get a moment of stepping back and seeing it all come to fruition. It was nice to have that on a much smaller scale with our silly little group dance.
I then finished choreographing and polishing my Merida dance...I didn't think it through as far as I could've...I practiced on the tile, and unfortunetly, I developed the worst blisters of my life. One on each foot, right on the balls of my feet where I turn, and each about the size of my big toe. By the time we started setting up chairs, I was limping. After setting up, Sergio treated us to Los Primos, and we went home. I took care of my poor feet and spent a couple hours putting all my hair into tiny straw curls to get the full Merida affect. I finally got to bed around 1 am, and spent my whole night tossing and turning.
Saturday, March 25th, 2023
On Saturday, I woke up bright and early, and got started on hair and makeup for all the girls in the house right away. It took awhile, but by 9:15, we were princessed up and on our way to the school. At the school, I helped the girls get laced and pinned in their costumes, and when it was time to get on the float, one of the zippers popped on one of the dresses. All the others got on the float while I did my best to pin the dress closed with safety pins. We missed being in the parade, but it gave me time to go to the event center and work on my dance a little more and ensure I knew what I was doing. My blisters still hurt, but not as badly as they had the night before.
Sunday, March 26th, 2023
On Sunday, I spent my morning working on my novel, Willow. One of my goals in coming to Mexico was to work on it, but I have neglected it since being here. I have just over a month left here, and I instead to write loads in the next 35ish days. I was able to revise the chapters that I have already written, then add another chapter or so. It was a good morning. That afternoon, we went to a student, Alberto's house (He was crowned king at the festival!). We saw his families farm, walked to the dam, had the most delicious mole, and utterly enjoyed out time. Mica got pooped on by a rabbit, we were gifted eggs, and we played tons of spot it with his mom. Alberto's house was in a SJI, but farther on the outskirts of town, and we were all jealous. It was a beautiful neighborhood. There were loads of flowers, and the houses were all so colorful. It reminded us of the Mamma Mia Island. Alberto was an amazing host, and I drank way too much Jicama tea in the 6 hours that we were there. We also sampled Albertos stash of spicy candy, and I once again proved that I have the best spice tolerance of the group. I love how hospitable and welcome all the families of our kids are. We have only had amazing experiences with the parents of the kids. By the time we got home, it was pretty late, and I was beat and more than ready for bed.
Well, until next time.
Love,
Your Dancing, Writing and Taylor Swift obsessed Princess,
Ivie Noelle <3
