It was so weird to stand in the Texas airport and be surrounded by English speakers. I was standing in the line for panda express and just smiled. It felt so good but just so different. I was so excited that I turned to the man standing behind me in line and told him how excited I was to be speaking English. How embarrassing.

My parents and fiance were there when I arrived. It was so good to see there faces! It was also strange for the other WOU people to go to their families and realize we were no longer a group anymore. As we all stood with our families and waited for our bags, I suddenly felt so separated from the people I had been so close to for so many weeks. Switching back to normal felt so different and not normal. It was so good though.

My experience in Mexico was so huge and I did so many things that even now when people ask me how it was or what I did the most I can get out is that I studied Spanish and Education and stayed with a host family. There is so much to say that I just don’t know where to start. That is why I want to make a good old traditional scrapbook of Mexico and my other trips this summer. That way I can show what I did and kind of reflect on what I learned.
Sarah was definitely right about the carpet. All the homes and other buildings in Mexico were lined with tile, linoleum, or granite on the floors and sometimes walls too. It is so different to be in rooms with carpet and long, thick curtains. Noise doesn’t echo as much.

I really miss Spanish. I hadn’t spoken it since I came home from Mexico until this week (3 weeks). Two of my coworkers are native Spanish speakers and when I went back to work this week I got to speak. It was great to realize that I still have it. I was so worried I would loose my Spanish vocabulary. It was also really nice to see how impressed they were at how much my Spanish grew. One friend is from Mexico City, where I visited for a weekend, so it was nice to talk to him about it and remember my trip.