Turning a new leaf

May has come to and end and I fear time will continue to pass at an insanely fast rate. However, while my time is a tickin', things have really been turning around.

The last couple weeks have allowed me to really throw myself into my relationships here and my community activities. Hedi and I have started to get to know each other and have been enjoying nice conversations during the school day. I'm learning each day that we are very different people but enjoying the friendship that has been building. Hedi is from a pueblo 6 hours away from D.F., where her husband and family live. She lives here in D.F. during the week and heads home every weekend, to visit her family and husband. While she doesn't seem to love travelling 12 hours every weekend, she confesses that its worth it to have a job and get to see her husband. While we may have grown up in very different worlds, it seems at the end of the day we both have a passion for working with the kids and trying to provide them the best of opportunities. I still miss Ariana but its nice to feel like I have someone to talk to again. Especially when im stuck thinking for an hour or two while drawing out the kids classwork.

I have also tried my hardest to throw myself completely into community activities and gatherings. I don't think I ever avoided them or didn't participate fully, however now I feel like I need to soak up every last minute since I won't be here after July. Eating and conviviendo (literally, living together) after mass every sunday has found a new meaning. Sometimes there is not anything exciting happening or anything to talk about but merely being there has provided a new joy and distraction from leaving. I have also spent great time with my friends Ricardo, Veronica, Andrea (and family) recently. As well as being invited to get togethers at Josues house with his family. Sometimes just sitting talking in front of the church, other times going to the center or watching a movie, but each moment is something to remember from my time here in Mexico and hopefully relationships that I can keep long after my time here.

This past Saturday we had a quinceañera for one of our good friends Abby. She had been planning and talking about her party for over a year and it was great to finally see it all come together. While all parties have their little glitches, I think it went over great and was a lot of fun. She really deserved to have something so special and it was nice to be a part of it.

I have started building my resume and planning moving home. While I still feel sad to go, im also getting a little more excited about the future that is ahead of me. So many possibilites... Trying to stay with this positive attitude. See the Joy. Don't let the man get you down.

lots of love.