Good riddance, Puebla

Returned from a short 2 day trip to Taxco and Cuernavaca last night. It was alright, not my favorite trip, but it was nice. Taxco is a town famous for its cheap silver and enormous quantities of silver and I spent Friday there walking around, buying gifts, and eating some delicious pizza. It was a pretty town with lots of markets and I think I am blind from the reflected light off of the silver. It was really a ridiculous amount, trays and counters and tables full of silver everywhere. The town also boasts some cool architecture which was kind of cool. Friday morning I went to Cuernavaca where I spent most of the day before coming back to Puebla. I didn't really like Cuernavaca actually, there wasn't that much to see besides colonial architecture which I'm not into. It was a nice day, though and I went to a little garden, walked around, ate my lunch in the center for the arts which was a cool building (sadly without any art displayed...it's more a performing arts center). Overall, it was a nice two days and a good chance to spend some time alone which I enjoyed.

And, it's my last day in Puebla today! The city never grew on me, but I'm a little sad to leave my Mexican mama and my cool room. Plus, it also means my time in Mexico is almost up. I have really enjoyed being here and discovering so many new things, and I don't think three months was really enough time to explore. Hopefully my Spanish is the better for it, though, and I'm already trying to plan my return.

On the other hand, I am really excited to go home! I had a conversation with someone recently about how Mexico has been for both of us our first real experience of homesickness. I miss people usually when I travel, but I've never had any serious longing for home feelings; I've never really been that excited to end my travels and go back to Washington. And it's true that I don't even really like Seattle that much, but for some reason I miss it and can't wait to go back to it!

And that's all the introspection I'm willing to offer for now. Because...

It's not over yet!

Tonight we're leaving for San Cristobal de las Casas which is the beginning of a two week long adventure through the Yucatan. We're visiting Palenque, Merida, Chichen Itza, as well as some other places, and it all ends with 5 glorious days on the beach at Playa del Carmen. After that I am spending 3 days in Mexico City to finally see the art with Regina and then I'm going home! I did not accomplish my goal of finishing my essay (my last assignment of the year) before our trip, but it's only 4 pages so I'm not too worried. Maybe I'll even get a little done today.