You Never Know What Day It Is Until It's Saturday Night

Sun. January 11, 2009 2:53 am

What a day! Simply wonderful. Where to begin? Woke up and went to El Centro, where we had a tour of central historic Mérida. Most of it was very interesting. The big Catedral is going on 500 years. That is an obscene amount of time. We went to the central government building which is also very old, and there were wonderful murals of people and events throughout Mexico's turbulent history. Mexicans love murals. There were so many people who were remembered because they died fighting for what they loved: their land. I guess the murals had an agenda, but they were so beautiful and overwhelming, I ignored this.
The tour started to drag near the end because most of us were looking forward to going to Progreso. The beach in January?! I feel like I'm on vacation. Too bad classes begin on Monday. So we ended the tour where we started, and Eric and I wanted to go grab some foodstuffs before we went. I hadn't eaten anything that morning and was mad hungers. (I really do write the way I speak, if you know me well.) So we went off in search of food. I don't think we expected it to take that long to find something to eat. We were in a shopping area, and there were a lot of tiendas for clothes, random plastic merchandise, etc. All I fucking wanted was some comida, sunglasses, and a headband because my dumbass bangs were everywhere and Renee didn't let me take any of hers. But we couldn't find any!

We happened upon an arcade, and I looked inside, turned to Eric with a huge playful smile and went in. He paid for my game and we played "Arctic Thunder" or something. It was a snowmobile videogame, which was kind of ironic in our tropical environment. Finally, for food we went inside this indoor market thing and sat down at a little stand. I got a taco. It was really good because it was really Mexican. ^_^ I learned some things about Eric, like he used to be a vegetarian. I enjoy discovering people.

We found the bus station and bought a round trip ticket for P$24. That's less than 2 dollars. Damnn. We sat next to each other on the bus and talked for a bit. We spoke in Español most of the time too, which was nice. Finally we arrived in Progreso, and everyone else was already there. They were all grabbing stuff to eat, so we went to la playa, and que bonita! Progreso is wonderful. It's not a Cancun, with the clear blue water or anything, but it was wonderful all the same. Eric and I went into the water first, and it was a bit cool but felt great on my hot skin. After that, we simply chilled in the sun, listening to the birds and the surf, and relaxed. The sun kept hiding behind the clouds and it was cold when it did, but I still got a visible tan. Yay for being brown I guess.

We came back to Mérida around 6? and everyone went their separate ways. I usually go home with Gustavo, but I went by myself this time. I couldn't remember where to grab the bus that goes by my house, and I was very nervous with my obvious big brown backpack and barely covered tube top. While walking through the streets, your senses highten so much, and I was a little scared. But I called mi madre and made sure I was on the right corner. (I was. Go me.) Everything turned out fine, and I am proud to say I have successfully accomplished riding the camión by myself. (Thank you, thank you.)

I came home for a little bit, showered and played my uke, and got ready to go out to the discoteca. Mi madre drove me to Calle Montejo and El Cielo, the club. What a fucking disaster. It looks really nice, and it is the premier club in Mérida, but I was disappointed. It was too crowded. I was barely even able to stand anywhere, let alone move. I don't drink, so it wasn't fun for me because it was basically only for drinking and socializing. Mi madre later told me that's it's not a discoteca, but a bar. So that makes sense. I definitely could have started a conversation with someone there and had at least an interesting time, but I didn't feel like extricating myself from the clinging Mexicano later. Mostly, I wanted to dance. My expectations for the night were simply not fulfilled, that's all.

Joe was not feeling the atmosphere, so he and I just kind of stood near the balcony and talked. It was nice to get to know Joe a little better. I got to know Chris, Amanda S, and Rachel over the course of the night too, and it was good to get a better sense of their deeper personalities. Finally Chris, Joe, Rachel, Amanda, and I left to find a karaoke bar. We found one, and immediately it felt more welcoming. Everyone was laughing, and the DJs/hosts were really engaging. We grabbed a table and ordered drinks. I needed to do karaoke. Why the fuck not? I don't know anyone here. So I found a Shakira song that I know and like from her first English album way back in the day, "Te Dejo Madrid." The guy called me up and I just did it. It was really fun and even though I couldn't hear myself, it was pretty good. Hahaha, I just did karaoke in Mexico! Mary would be so proud.

Soon we were done and at around 2 am we parted ways. And I'm glad we were able to end the night this way. The other club was mostly for socializing and picking up chicks. We were able to have some fun and feel comfortable at the karaoke bar, so it was a satisfying night.

Wow. What an awesome, fun-filled night. They don't make these often. I am so happy I don't know what to do with myself.

Good morning,
-Shakira