A picture summary


A view of Mexico City



Dad and I at UNAM



Making friendship bracelets with Karla


My host family and I



Tortillas, the essence of Mexico


Teaching the intermediate class


Me+my classmates+Kelli, on of our tutors (not sure where Richard is)



Teotihuacan

The Close of a Chapter...

This time tomorrow I’ll be on a plane to North Carolina. I’m soooooo ready.

On Friday I successfully finished CELTA, and what a relief that was! I’ve never felt such a sense of accomplishment and success after completing a course. And what I gained from it is so worth all of the stress!

The last few days I’ve been wrapping up my time here, hitting the last couple sights and saying my good-byes. On Saturday I went to Teotihuacan with three classmates. About an hour north of Mexico City, Teotihuacan is a pre-Aztec civilization, famous for its two gigantic pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. It really was an incredible sight—the vastness of the pyramids, the striking view of the Avenue of the Dead leading up to them, and just the thought of the centuries this complex has been here.

On Saturday evening I went home, said good-bye to my host family, and took a taxi to the Sassers’ house for my last few nights. They left to go to the States yesterday so I’ve got a couple of days here by myself.

Yesterday after church Tim and I did some souvenir shopping at a huge artesanía market. Afterwards we headed back to the neighborhood of our school (we just can’t stay away, apparently), attended a Catholic mass on a whim, then had dinner at Daša’s (one of our classmate’s) apartments.

Today I had the morning to myself—quiet time on the roof, a quick trip to the grocery store, then lunch. In the afternoon I met up with Jaaziel—we had some delicious crepes in Condesa (once again, the neighborhood where I went to class). We randomly ran into Tim and Leti (a student from the English class we taught) in a park there. From there the three of us met up with Abby (a classmate—who by the way already got hired by International House and started teaching English today!) for coffee and to say goodbye. Then I got caught in a lovely downpour with no umbrella, once again chose the wrong exit from the metro and had to walk around a million street vendors and through mucky puddles before finding the right bus to get me home. Now here I am—my stuff is packed and I’m ready to get on that plane tomorrow!

I’m so glad I’ve had this experience of living in Mexico City for 5 weeks. Each week was different, with its own highs and lows, but I can look back on this summer and see God’s faithfulness and wisdom:
Week 1: A great time with my dad and the chance to see Karla (my World Vision girl) for the second time.
Week 2: A rough week as I had so many new experiences to deal with “alone”—but a poignant reminder that God is my strength and portion; weakness and vulnerability led me to depend on him.
Week 3: A great week of making more friends, loving my classes, and having an in-depth God conversation with a classmate.
Week 4: The third and most difficult week of class, got robbed on the metrobus, began feeling ready to come home. But another opportunity to trust in the Lord and not in stuff and to thank him for all that I have.
Week 5: Wrapping things up at school and thinking a lot about post-graduation options; gaining experience and qualification in TESOL and finding out more about employability has given me a lot to process. We’ll see what God has in store for after the fast-approaching end of college.

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog this summer, I appreciate it! I’m so excited about seeing all of you soon!