My last few weeks in Chiapas...

Just an Update

I don't have any cool new pictures to post or exciting adventures to rave about but I want to give you all a little update.  Life since Cancun has been pretty tedious.  I finished the fieldwork portion of my research project the week after got back from my fabulous vacation.  Now, it is pure writing.  It is going pretty well.  I have plenty to say.  I am of course, super hard on myself, and am not thoroughly impressed with my analysis.  But, I am going to stick with my same ideas for my senior thesis  so hopefully, they will develop.  And of course, I will be better able to articulate myself in English.  I have until April 25th to finish everything up.  Then, I will take a week to make corrections and receive feedback from my mentor.  I leave for Mexico City on May 3rd.  I present on the 4th.  I wasn't nervous until I learned last week that the presentation counts towards my final grade.  That adds to the pressure. Dave and I are meeting up in the Mexico City airport on May 5th and then it is off to Cancun, Palenque, Yaxchilan, and Bonampak.  YAY!  That sort of shows how much I love Chiapas.  I leave and then come 2 days later!!  But there is so much that I didn't get the chance to see.   And besides, this way I can leave a lot of my stuff with the lady I live with.  I will pick it up right before heading home.  I didn't really want to travel with 3 months worth of crap.  I head back to the US on May 17th. But I fly directly to the bay area so that I can move out of my apartment and figure out all the details of where I will live next year.  Adult stuff.  I can say that for reals now that I am an official adult.   Hopefully adult life will be more exciting than my 21st birthday was.  I didn't do much.  But that's ok.  I will make up for it in a few weeks!  

I am really starting to miss everyone.  I love Chiapas.  Although I could definitely live and work here forever, I don't know if I could leave my family and friends.  I know that the Lord put me in my family for a reason.  I am who I am because of them.  I have a testimony that we will be together forever, no matter what.  My testimony is not perfect.  But nobody, and I mean nobody, can convince me that there is nothing more to our existence than the short time we live on Earth.  Perhaps I could accept it if I lived in a bubble.  I could say to myself, 'my life isn't so bad.  i am pretty comfortable.  maybe this is as good as it gets...'  But when I see people living in extreme poverty, when I see people struggling with mental illness or physical handicaps, or when I see people grieving over the loss of a loved one, I am overwhelmed by the feeling that there is a God.  Their pain will be but a moment.  We will all have the chance to live in perfect peace in the presence of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Parents for all eternity.  I believe that we will be surprised by the mercy of our Savior.  Black, white, rich, poor, Mormon, and not Mormon--everyone will have to opportunity to accept the infinite and intimate Atonement of Jesus Christ. That's what I believe.  That's what helps me make sense of the pain and suffering that I have seen people endure.  My faith doesn't make me perfect, but it makes me a better person than I would be without it.  And that's precisely why I believe.  

I love you all!

CANCUN

I take back all the bad things I ever said about Cancun.  It is wonderful.  Yes, it is overly touristy.  You could get around without ever speaking a word of Spanish.  You don't need pesos--everywhere accepts dollars.  There are outbacks and tgi fridays and all the other american chain restaraunts.  But it is still wonderful.  The water is beautiful. Parts of the ocean are turquoise and other parts are a deep blue color.  It is warm and perfect for snorkeling.    The sand is soft and doesn't get hot like the sand in California beaches.  It was great to spend time with mom and hanna and hayden.  And grandma and grandpa tanner!  How cool is it that my grandparents came?!  Hayden has changed the most.  He is 6 ft tall and has armpit hair!  When did that happen?  Hanna and I had a lot of fun together.  She is growing up.  I feel like the age-gap between use is starting to close.  Most of the days were spent migrating from beach to pool to bar for pina coladas.  Not too bad!  One of the days we went to Chichen-Itza with a Mormon guide.  I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.  Our guide, Nephi, had a lot of interesting things to say about the connection between the Mayan people and the Lamanites.  All in all, it was an excellent vacation.  I dreaded coming back to Chiapas because now the pressure is on.  I have the goal to be finished writing by April 25th. That gives me just enough time to make corrections and prepare a presentation by May 4th.  

I love and miss you all!