Still moving, Still learning

Hello! I realized today that I hadn't updated anything on this blog in quite some time. Things have been normal and nothing interesting has happened. I had classes this past Tuesday but haven't had anymore the rest of this past week because there was a little break Thursday and Friday. And my last day of classes is this coming Tuesday! and I have my first final on Friday! I have to say, this is probably the most relaxed finals time I have ever had in my college career because I only have 1 real final that is an actual exam! The rest are group projects, or a paper,  which I already finished (The paper, not the projects). The group projects are another story. I like my group members, but of course procrastination takes the best of us, basically all the time. My group members don't seem too worried about the final project or putting off different phases of the project until a night or 2 before that phase of it is due. Thankfully, they all seem to care about the grade we get, so they definitely do put in work, it is just all at the last possible minute, which kind of drives me nuts, because I like having projects done early, or at least not doing it all the night before, I'd rather gradually work on it. It will all get done though and I will be happy when we present this final project and turn in the other one in my other class - once someone in my group figures out or says they know how to join different video clips together.

We have our closing ceremony/ "graduation" for the international students on Thursday so that should be fun! I was told we even get some type of little diploma thing! I'll be sure to frame that when I get home :)

Since I didn't have to be at school all week basically this past week, I spent every day at home and just hung around and occasionally worked on a portion of the projects, and for the most part, I just watched netflix, mostly Friends, but an occasional movie here and there. I was quite upset when I found out that the gym wasn't going to be open this past Thursday or Friday or Saturday or Sunday, because that meant that I could only work out 2 days last week. I was really bummed, so I am actually quite excited that the school is open tomorrow and that I can work out again! I really missed it as weird as that sounds! I am also missing a ton of  american food as my time here is coming to an end, so I guess it's just at the right time! The main things I miss are vegetables, any kind, I really just want vegetables, granted there are some here in this house, but it's like lettuce, onion, and those types of veggies that you can't really do anything with unless you have other veggies to make with it. I also miss cottage cheese a lot too, protein powder, and american ice cream. While I was thinking of all the foods I want to eat when I get back, I decided to make a list of them and then emailed it to my mom, so hopefully there will be a giant table filled with all those foods when I come home?! OR I will probably end up cooking what I desire when I get home. Either works fine for me!

Something else I was thinking of today was about starting to pack up all my stuff and put it back into my suitcases, I still can't believe it's almost time to go back to the US, this semester has gone by so fast, and as cliche as it is to say, I think it's true when people say that when you are in college, every semester goes by faster and faster. IT'S TRUE! Anyways, I have to figure out how to fix one of my suitcases first because I can't get it all the way zipped again and it's missing some teeth.  I am very determined to get this suitcase shut because there's no way I want to buy a new one just to go home, which is only 2 plane rides of 2 hours long each! So if anyone knows of any temporary fixes or ways I can hold my suitcase shut, that would be great! It zips 3/4 of the way already.

As a little final thought or synopsis of what I have learned while I've been here in Mexico, I would say that I have learned a lot about myself, life, my passions, and about Jesus. This semester has been by far the hardest and that's not even relating to the difficulty of my classes, that's just relating to the ups and downs you experience when you are dumped into a country and culture that is completely different from your own, and being torn away from all that you think is normal and all your friends and family. I've been able to have a lot of time to myself to think and grow which I have enjoyed, but I have also remembered some advice someone else who studied abroad told me "Go out and don't just sit in your room all the time." I listened to that advice and because of that have been able to experience new things, go to new places, and meet a lot of interesting people! I have overcome a lot of fears here that I didn't really know I even had. Taking public transportation, taking taxis, flying alone, speaking with professors, asking for help, dancing on stage, using foreign ATM's, etc. All of these I wouldn't really like to do in the US, but I was forced to do all of them here and of course all of them had to be done with spanish communication! After facing all of these fears, I've realized that if I can do these in Mexico, surely I can do these same things and conquer so many more fears in the US while speaking in English! It feels so good to know how much I've grown in that area of my life, and I had to rely on Jesus throughout all of it so my faith was stretched deep and wide and I realized just how faithful God is. I also realized how much I love church and being in a christian community, because I never found a christian church or christian community here so I was stuck with only listening to my home church sermons online on the weekends, and sometimes I would listen to other sermons during the week because I missed it so much, and just needed to be with Jesus in that way and be taught, I was eager to hear and learn something from God. For the whole time I've been here in Mexico, my prayer has been that I don't backtrack in my faith or remain the same, and I can finally say that God has moved and worked within me and I'm not in the same spot in my faith as I was when I left, and for that I am so grateful!

That's all for now, I'll be writing my last post while in Mexico probably next week, and then a final post once I return to the US. :)

Hasta luego!