Olé!

I'm going to Mexico!! This time next week, I'll be in the air. Two weeks from now, my liver is going to be angry with me. But that's okay.

I'm both terrified and exhilarated. Mostly, I'm super excited, but there are some aspects that are intimidating.

The scary parts being that I basically have never traveled before and I'm going on my own. It's not too bad, considering I'm going to an all-inclusive resort, but what makes it worse is that a bunch of my friends/family are scared for me.

Quit that - it makes me second guess myself!

In my head, I'm convinced that this trip is going to be so much fun: I'm going to meet a bunch of new people, have a bunch of new experiences, get out of the cold and into the warm, drink my face off, eat a bunch of great food, see and do all kinds of new things. Basically, I'm pretty sure it'll be the time of my life.

But... people that care about me are scared. Scared because people have a "nasty habit of getting murdered in Mexico". Scared because "nice white girls (like me) get abducted for ransom money". Scared because I'm going alone and will have no one there to protect me. Scared because they love me and want me to be safe.

I get that. I do. And thank-you, really! But all these conversations will hit me from time to time and make me think "Oh geez, what am I thinking? I'm going to Mexico... alone... what's wrong with me?"

After a minute or so of panic, I remember that I'm going to be at a resort, and if the neighbourhood is sketchy, I can easily just not leave the property.

And then, I start researching the area and the resort and the excursions available and I get sooo excited. I get so excited, I can't imagine how something someone said could take away that feeling. I start doing online Spanish lessons even though I'm told it's completely unnecessary. But I just want to learn and immerse myself in the culture and not put a wall up between myself and the people of the country I'm visiting.

I want to say "Hola!" to the waiters/waitresses, I want to say "Como estas?" to the vendors, I want to say "Buenos noches!" to the bartender (we're sure to be good friends by the end, after all). I don't want to be a typical tourist experiencing typical tourist experiences. I want the Mexican experience. And I think I'm going to the right place for it.

My resort is 1km away from a small fishing village. Will people speak English? Yes, almost certainly. But I'd like to see the things these people do and how these people live. I want to experience it through them. And going to a small town will probably be the best way to do it.

Also, the food in this town is to die for apparently. I can't wait to sink my teeth into a real taco. I'm not even sure what it'll taste like.

I'm so excited to absorb everything I can in a mere 7 days. I think I can, and I think I'm going to love every minute of it.

So... I won't be posting for at least a week. Probably 10 days or so. I'll probably do another post or two this week and then nothing until I'm back and get back into the swing of things. I'm sorry and I know you will all be at a loss as to what to look at on the internet in my absence. But fear not, I'll probably have enough material to write about 17 posts when I get back.

Wish me luck!!