33 days and counting

So as some of you already know, I have been blessed with the opportunity to study for a month this summer in Mérida, Mexico on the Yucatán peninsula.  I will be studying with Central College, a small college based in Iowa.  Mérida is on the Western coast of the peninsula, a few hours from Cancun.  Its a non-touristy somewhat large city with a colonial feel.  Did I mention its in a safe location?  I will not be anywhere near the United States-Mexico border nor Mexico City.  Despite the travel warning issued by the United States government, I'll still be studying in Mexico.  Several travelers have presented it to me like this: "Would you not visit North Carolina because of violence in New York?"  I will not encounter any narcotraficantes [drug dealers], I won't become a drug mule, and I'll come back alive.  Don't worry.  I'm pretty sure this will be like the trip of a lifetime.  I just have no idea of what to expect.  I don't even feel like its real that I'm going.  I'm stuck in a perpetual world of Meredith and TFS.  My trip will be a wake up call for sure.

I'll be eased into my month-long stay in Mexico.  First of all, I'll be traveling with a friend, Christy, who began attending Meredith this year, and who I played 4 years of varsity softball with in high school.  You won't have to worry that I'll be aimlessly wandering the airport alone trying to figure out how to navigate myself, because we'll be aimlessly wandering together.  We booked our flight a day early since Saturday flights are cheaper than Sunday flights.  We'll be picked up at the airport by a representative from Central College, and taken to a hotel for the first night.  Did I mention that its super nice and only $44 total for a one night stay?  I think I like Mérida already.  

The next night will be spent in the Central College house while everyone from the program arrives from various locations.  The next night I'll be swept away into the home of a host family, where my Spanish skills will be put to the true test.  And classes will start the next morning.  I know I'll get my practice in.  I'll be finishing all required coursework for a BA in Spanish, and in the fall back at Meredith I'll [hopefully] pass the proficiency exam--the last requirement for a Spanish degree.

I've started "preparations" for my trip, but I've still got a ways to go.  Follow me on my life-changing adventure.  There is only one month before my departure--reality better sink in soon.