It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

Alrighty, a catch-up on my final days in Mérida!

On Monday, Kelsey and I didn’t have class since we did double-duty on Thursday. So we got to sleep in! It felt sooo good! That night we went to FHE and had a wonderful final lesson given by Emilio. We then all shared a reflection of our experience. And then we all headed off to the beach to go see THE METEOR SHOWER!!!!!

When they announced we were going to do that a couple weeks ago, I was so excited. I was kicking and dancing around in my chair!!

The people around me were telling me to CALM MYSELF DOWN. But they didn't understand!!!

Stargazing is one of my favorite things! (Okay, I have a lot of favorite things…. But activity-wise). Add shooting stars to it, and I’m a happy camper! Falling stars are the greatest. They’re beautiful AND you get to make a wish on them. SO COOL!

It was a perfect night because the sky was so clear, we were in a dark area so we could see so many stars, and we were on the beach! There was a sea storm in the horizon, so we saw flashes of reddish lightning off in the horizon while there were MILLIONS of stars up the sky and occasional shooting stars... Gorgeous. 

Too bad cameras can't capture stuff like that. But here's a shot of us!

You wouldn't believe how bad that flash hurt...

A little bit later, Kevin, Emilio, Kate, and I decided to take a swim into the ocean. You could never do that at night in Oregon, cuz you'd freeze! We didn't stay in the water too long, but now I can say I've swam in the ocean at night! In total that night I saw 11 shooting stars, and it was dang awesome! YESSS :)

Tuesday, Daniel, Sam, Mario, Kate, Gabi, and I went to one last cenote. It was a ton of fun, SUPER COLD, and of course pretty! 

Here's a little peek:

Mario had an underwater camera too, so we used that a bunch! Unfortunately we aren't very good at getting pictures taken of us...

But in general, we're a pretty good-looking group, huh? :)

That night we had a final fiesta with our entire group since nearly everyone was leaving in the morning, and most people were leaving through Cancún. Only 4 of us left through Mérida :( 

In all honesty I didn't do much since I was feeling so down about the program ending. I just talked for the most part... 
Okay, I'm not that lame. I ended up doing a little experimenting to amuse myself :)

While we were at the table talking, Kelsey told me that when you lick people's elbows without them knowing, they don't feel it. I had heard that before, but thought that it was just a lie. But, to satisfy my desire to know, while Emilio was distracted, I licked his elbow. AND HE DIDN'T NOTICE. 

As you can imagine, Kelsey giving this newfound knowledge to me was like giving candy to a baby. I WANTED MORE. So, of course, being mischievous and to prove to Emilio that YES, I did lick his elbow, I did it a few more times. He was so surprised every time I told him that I did it! It was super entertaining and I was giggling so much!

In total, all within about 20 minutes, I licked Emilio's elbow 8 times, Gabi's once, and Eric's once. And they had no clue. It was so funny! A little strange of me, I'll admit… But totally worth it! My entertainment for the night!

When it came time to say goodbye to everyone it was absolutely awful. The hardest goodbyes of my life, since it's not certain we'll all see each other again. Hermana Stallings, the director's wife, was the one who first got me to break and shed a few tears. She's such a sweetheart and I'm going to miss her so much!

The next morning we left bright and early at 6:30 to head to the airport. While we were waiting in line to check our luggage, Emilio showed up! He said he'd come to see us off, but I honestly wasn't expecting him to show since we stayed up late the night before. 

He stuck around with us until it came time for us to go through security, and then we said our goodbyes.

It was hard to say "see you later" to him since he was really sad and taking it pretty hard. He and I had gotten pretty close and I got a little attached to him because he reminded me so much of my older brother, Adam. He mentioned maybe coming to visit us this Fall... That'd be so awesome!!! Luckily for now we can keep in touch with Skype!

My travel back to Oregon was a bit of an adventure. While I was getting a smoothie during my layover in Houston, I had been chanting what I was going to say in my head so that I wouldn't mess up and slip Spanish in. After I ordered, I started to say "por favor", but I shut it down at "por f-" because I realized what I was doing. 

The barista totally noticed. I tried to recover and say "please", but it took a good 3 seconds of "uh um" to get the dang word out of my mouth! 

Also, you know how on flights they give you a complimentary drink? When the stewardess was confirming with me, I responded, "sí". Instantly I apologized and explained I had just spent 2 months in Mexico and it was habit. Then the ride home with my parents I couldn't think of SO many English words. It was so frustrating!

I never thought that I would have trouble speaking English like that... I got a little taste of how missionaries feel after their missions. Yeah, imagine what I'd be like after my mission if I go foreign...

... Speaking of my mission! I had my mission interview with the bishop yesterday, and I passed! My interview with the stake president is on Thursday. Then my papers can be turned in this coming Monday, the 26th since that'll be exactly 120 days before my availability date. SO CRAZY! So I should get my mission call in just a bit over a month. I'm really nervous, but really excited!! EEP :)

And on the topic of missionaries... I have a favorite one of mine to talk about! :)

He's been a bit annoyed with his companion. He's a bit of a slob, so Elder Gibby cleans up after him. Then for four days this past week him and his companions were without water! His companion forgot to pay the water bill, so it was shut off. He was making due by showering with his neighbor’s hose. Hahaha. I must congratulate him on being innovative though!

One of the days this past week he went on splits with an Elder that has been out the same amount of time as him. Elder Gibby mentioned that they had finished 6 months of their missions, and the other Elder replied, “Sad, isn’t it?”

That response changed Elder Gibby’s view of the time he has left. Rather than being excited because he’s closer to coming back and being with his family, he realized that he should love every day and enjoy it while it lasts.

I can already tell that Elder Gibby has grown since going out. I’m so happy and proud of him! It's a little touching...

"My little baby's all grown up and saving China... Do you have a tissue?" 
Well, in this case, he's saving souls! :)

Anyway, rewinding back to earlier in this post... This study abroad has been the best experience of my life so far. I also got to experience the Church in another language, and that was just incredible. Doing baptisms for the dead in spanish three times?!? AWESOME. I also got to experience and enjoy another culture and bond with some really amazing people. I learned so, so much. Not just about Spanish, but about life in general. 

I learned that need to go outside my comfort zone and take everything life offers me. Each person in the program taught me a lot and helped me realize things about myself. It was a real eye-opening experience, and I'm going to miss it so, so much.  I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the opportunity to have the experience that I did. I'm such a lucky girl!

I'm not going to lie, it's been hard for me to be back in the United States. Don't get me wrong. I am LOVING this constant, strong wi-fi, refrigerated milk, carpet, smaller bugs, and whatnot... But this pretty much sums up my feelings:

I miss Mérida so much. And after every day being such an adventure, now I'm just... Here. Being boring. I don't know how I'll keep you guys entertained anymore... Oh boy.

PS - Sorry about the video from last week of the juego de pelota. Now it works! :)

728 Days Left! :)