I am now officially on Christmas break! (Yeah, it's ok to call it Christmas break here. We don't have to be all PC and use "holiday" or "winter" cuz everyone here celebrates Christmas, even if they don't know the real meaning.) I stayed up late last night finishing my 10-page paper on the Mexican novel Aura (it ended up being only about 6 pages, but oh well; I'm just glad it's done) and I just took my last final. It feels great. Tonight is our group's farewell dinner at a fancy restaurant (they're paying) and then our last hurrah out on the town. Tomorrow Mary and I are taking an overnight 15-hour bus ride to Aculpulco, where we will hang out on the beach for a day or so and then continue down to Oaxaca. That's the tentative plan, anyway. We're going to be spontaneous and we are hoping to meet some travel buddies somewhere along the way. My birthday is Tuesday and I have no idea what I will be doing or where I will be. It definitely has the potential of being one of my most underwhelming birthdays ever, but I guess I'll find out in four days!

I'm finally looking forward to coming home. I miss seeing my family and friends, I miss Bellingham, I miss getting mail, and I miss homemade cookies. I'm sure it will take some time to get used to the American Way of Life again (my Mexican lit teacher called it AWOL and we laughed every time he said that) and the reverse culture shock. I'm probably answer the phone "bueno" and say "salud" whenever someone sneezes.

What I'll miss about Mexico:
*yummy meals prepared for me three times/day
*the music (the norteño/ranchero radio stations in Eastern Washington doesn't cut it)
*cheap fresh mangos and avacados
*all the great people I've met here
*roof access and sunbathing in November
*SPEAKING SPANISH
*feeling beautiful and popular whenever I go out (even though I know it's only because of my hair color)
*warm rain in fall
*8 tacos for $1.50 at the corner shop
*men who can dance
*having a live-in Spanish tutor

What I won't miss:
*all the smoking
*crazy drivers
*paying to use public toilets
*whistles and stares on the street
*dressing up to go to clubs
*7-8 hours between meals
*cold showers
*paying $8 for a load of laundry
*not being able to drink from the faucet
*wearing the same clothes every week
*sleeping in a hot room