Sparrow's Flight: Halfway Through!!!

Monday, February 27th

The airport taxi driver picked us up at 3:30 am to commence our long day of travel from Cancun back to SJI. Nothing of note happened during our travel day, just 12 long hours and lots of hangry silence. At home, I touched up my hair then went straight to bed. I didn't fall asleep until 2:30 the night before, and I didn't really sleep as we were traveling, so getting to bed early was a complete necessity for being functional at school the next day.

(Literally running on 30 minutes of sleep)

Tuesday, February 28th

It was fun to come back to school on Tuesday! The kids were excited to see us, and we were excited to see them. Cailey came to say her goodbyes to the kids since she was going back home the next day due to a medical emergency. The kids were all really sad to see her go...especially the 6th graders. She was their favorite teacher. We will all miss Cailey!

(Grecia)

After school, I wasn't feeling great mentally, so I naturally started baking. I don't know why I do it, but when I am stressed or sad, or even if I just have a headache, I like to go and bake. I made banana muffins, a cup of tea, then locked myself in my room with my laptop and wrote my blog. I wrote this in my journal; "It is so odd that I bake when I am n ot feeling myself...perhaps I do it because I can create something tangible ...I'm not sure, but I do know that it is where I run to when I can't run to the theater. As I drank my tea, ate my muffin and wrote my blog, I was perfectly content. It was a happy and lovely moment. I am starting to learn that it is those moments that make life worth living. I am a BIG dreamer., and sometimes I stress too much or over work myself to achieve my future dreams that I forget to be alive and present in the moment I am in. I forget to realize what a beautiful dream it is to spend time baking, or writing, or stretching or reading. I forget that living for the moment I am in is what the past me has worked so hard on. Living in Mexico has helped me learn that. St op rushing. Stop worrying. Stop stressing. I am in the midst of my dreams already , and that is what it truly all about."

I also had a huge perception shift. I have always felt older than I am, and I always feel like I am behind and need to achieve all my goals NOW....I realized that in 10 years I won't even be 30. I know that is so silly and obvious, but it was a huge realization. I have TIME. 28 is still SO young, and I can master any skill in 10 years. I can achieve any dream in 10 years. My close friends will be happy to know that I am learning to relax and rest a little more and a little better.

That night, all of us gathered in the kitchen and talked and reminisced. It was Cailey's last night, so we made it count. I left the conversation a little early, because I felt a headache coming on.

Wednesday, March 1st

On Wednesday, I woke with a terrible migraine. I am talking light makes you want to puke migraine...thanks for the good genes, mom. I was able to sleep off my migraine, so by the time everyone got home from school, I was able to talk. Apparently, school was a complete mess that day, and there were a lot of frustrations. While my roommate was filling me in, we both recieved some unexpected and troubling teaching news that upset us both greatly...Naturally, since I was upset, I went into the kitchen and made a homey dinner. Veggie soup, a yummy salad, and pretzel rolls. Allie W actually cried when she came down and saw that dinner was made for everyone. Sergio and Lulu are always so intrigued by my cooking, and they thought the pretzel roll method was bizarre. It's funny, they are always skeptical of my methods, but they LOVE my food. It makes me very happy. after dinner, a few of us went up to the roof and chatted. I will definitely miss our rooftop chats. That night, we got a bunch of info for starting two new curriculums that we desperately needed to start. With the late info, and starting so many new things, plus the stress of what had gone wrong that day, we were all pretty stressed and frustrated. Our group is good at laughing though, and we all laughed till we cried at the crazy situation we were in. Little did we know, the madness was only just beginning. Thank goodness Alli and Kayla walked down and got us all some ice cream. We needed it.

(Actually crying about dinner)

(He was very protective of his rolls)

Thursday. March 2nd

I woke up nice and early and got my whole morning routine in. I took it slow and didn't allow myself to stress until I got to school. At school, things were chaotic. Opening jobs weren't done, and the elementary teachers were scrambling to figure out what in the world they were doing...We were all looking for the elementary books, and it turned out that we didn't even have the right books! We had to postpone starting elementary yet again and stick with our too big classes and the madness that entails. Everyone was pretty frustrated.

(Sergio is the greatest)

(We hide in the shop room when we're stressed)

Back at home, I finally got back into my dance shoes. I figured I had enough time off and it was time to start training again. It felt SO GOOD to get back to it. I have definitely lost some strength in the past few months, but I am determined to get it back. I forgot how much I love the feeling of being achey after a dance class. Just to be able to feel yourself getting stronger. I am SO glad to be working on that discipline again.

The rest of my evening was spent drawing, writing, doing Spanish and just hanging out. I also moved rooms! I moved from a room of 3 to Allie's room since she lost her roommate. I had a blast re decorating. I'll have more space in this room, and my bed is much bigger. I am excited about this change!

(This bear is the only reason I fall asleep)

Friday, March 3rd

On Friday morning, we had an event for the school, so morning classes were cancelled, and we helped with that instead. We again almost didn't start elementary, but we came up with a solution to make it work and fought to get it started for all our sakes. I didn't feel super prepared for basic reading, but I improvised and I figure I'll find what works. I had an important email to write, so a large portion of my afternoon was devoted to that. That night, us girls talked about how sucky womens medical care is, and just hung out in the kitchen. They had some pretty horrifying stories about not being listened to, trusted or cared for. AS we talked, I made MnM sourdough cookies. I had never tried making sourdough cookies before, but I loved the depth of flavor it added. It's been really fun to experiment with my sourdough starter here. I have learned that sourdough just makes everything better. After that, my roomate gave me an hour long massage. It was lovely. There is this magical thing called a guasha, and I highly recommend it. It is a massage GAME CHANGER. Using it on my calves after a pointe class has literally changed my life.

(Romina)

(she gave me a star)

(Roommates are the best)

Saturday, March 4th

I slept in on Saturday and had a nice and slow morning, then I did a long ballet barre and got ready for the day. The barre class I did was really challenging, and it gave me a good indication of where I need to put in more work and how I can improve all around. Around 5, Tania, our Spanish teacher, hosted us for dinner. I LOVE Tania. She is a complete party, and her little boy, Bruno, is just the cutest. We had jimaca tea, a creamy carrot soup, and I had a salad. She also had these delicious peanuts covered in tajin, bit they weren't regular peanuts. They had a shell around them, and they were crunchier. They were amazing. I don't think I can go back to normal peanuts after having those. I also tried these little mango candies that were covered in chili powder or tajin and I am addicted. I ate so many. I will for sure be buying a big bag of those and I will be bringing them home with me.

(I am obsessed with Jicama tea)

After dinner, we had a dance party, and I spent a good portion of time teaching Kayla how to move her hips. I saw great improvement in our short class :) Tania is an awesome dancer, so it was fun to dance with her. She then made us the most delicious Pina Colada I have ever tasted, then we went home. At home, I got my poetry blog updated a bit, then I went to bed. It was a good day.

(I take teaching very seriously)

(I taught them the cha cha to help with hip mobility, lol)

(Hip moving lessons)

(Get it, girl)

(Tania and Josh)

(Pina Colada)

(I felt pretty :) )

Sunday, March 5th

Sunday was wonderful. I had a rejuvenating and relaxing day. I finished reading my book, learned new song on uke, talked to my best friend, talked to my nieces and nephews, ate some nourishing and yummy food, and just spent the day with myself. It really was wonderful. I highly recommend getting away from the places and people you know. Going into the unknown by yourself is so rewarding. Coming to Mexico has given me the chance to fully get to know myself. Get completely comfortable with myself, because I only really have myself to fall back on. I almost feel like I have been dating myself while being here. I have gotten away from everything else, and there is just me. I fear I am falling hopelessly in love with my life and with the person I am choosing to become. Anyways, I cannot recommend leaving the country to get to know yourself and grow your soul. It is well worth it. Hard, but worth it. On another note, March 5th was my official halfway point! The countdown to coming home begins!