EIGHTEEN DAYS...

...until I fly home. So I'm taking stock.

First of all, what I will miss.

1) The food. It is so delicious, nearly all of it across the board, and also quite cheap, again, nearly across the board. The cafetería here on campus? I can go in there and get the most delicious sandwich on a grilled 'bocadillo' loaf with delicious marinated 'pierna' meat, chorizo, and queso blanco and by the way they put crema and frijoles on the bread then lettuce, tomato, and avocado and then I load it up with onions and cilantro and some dank salsa rojo and also I get a delicious refillable glass of horchata or jamaica or melon water or limonada or tamarind water or whatever choices they have made that day... for thirty pesos or less. Or maybe I get a couple of barbacoa tacos and a quesadilla with vegetables. Still about thirty pesos. Or maybe I go to the other side of the line and get the complete meal with soup, my choice of two entrees, my choice of two of the three sides, bread, dessert, and a delicious agua fresca for only forty pesos. Oh salad too. Tacos in the street are cheap. A huge soup of pozole that I shared with a friend and we couldn't finish between the two of us was thirty pesos. Just for point of reference, it's about thirteen pesos to the dollar. This will make me very sad when I come home to my own cafeteria.

2) The weather. It's November 23 and the high today was mid to low seventies. It's just starting to drop leaves and dry grass around here. A little chilly in the nights, in the mornings, but hot midday. Coming home to winter will be quite a shock.

3) Being able to do this by pressing only one key on my keyboard:
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Being able to do this by pressing only two keys on my keyboard ó¡äêù
Some of these keyboards, I accidentally hit a key sometimes and the c with a little squiggle tail comes out. Not sure how that happens still.

Things I can't wait to have/do upon my return:
1) Hug my daddy
2) Cuddle my puppy
3) Eat ribs
4) Eat Memphrican tamales
5) Eat a steak that is more than a quarter inch thick
6) Be with family for Christmas
7) Spend time in my father's house
8) Drive a car. Drive *my* car.
9) Walk in the door of my own house.
10) Sleep in my own bed
11) Spend time naked because I won't be sharing a room or a house.
12) Masturbate without worrying someone's gonna walk in on me.
13) Be on my own campus again
14) OMG SEE ALL MY BELOVED FRIENDS at the cuddle slumber party I'll throw upon my return.
15) Stand in my kitchen...

The cruise was great. Not at all what I expected, but still very very cool. Got to go to two countries I'd never seen before: Belize and Honduras.

Went to the center to buy a new suitcase so I'll be able to bring home all the presents I got people. Then got home and remembered more people I still need to buy presents for. Whoops.

This last two weeks of school is going to be pretty busy. Everyone cramming in tests and papers all at the last minute.

This weekend I hope to go to see Frida's houses.

OH MY GOD EIGHTEEN DAYS.

Things I should have updated about by now:

1) Wed Oct 28, the trip to the Hacienda, the ruins at Guachimontones, hanging with the Mexican kids, and then getting ridiculously drunk with all sorts of exchange students in the closed restaurant our Chinese friend worked at where they showed us some serious Chinese hospitality and we played in the playground afterward.

2) Going to Morelia last weekend to see what they do for day of the dead there.

3) Hooking up an Altar for my dead friend Lucie with the help of some exchange kids.

But right now I'm packing to go on the cruise for a week, so that probably won't happen.

What I miss

When I first get back to my own home,
I will climb into my bed, big as the ocean
and begin to nap. I will sleep
until I cannot force myself to sleep any more
and apologize to no one. My dog will sleep
right there on the bed with me and we will both
sleep the best we have in months.

My second day back in my own home
I will wake up and take a shower and I will not
put on a stitch of clothing. I will make calls,
business calls, get the land line turned on,
get internet in the house again, get the bills
sent back to my own address instead of my fathers,
turn on my netflix account. I will then
watch at least two movies and call for a pizza.
I will tape the money to the door with a note:
"Set the pizza down. Knock. Go back to your car.
Today I cannot be convinced to put on clothes."

My third day back in my own home, I believe,
I will love myself several times in a row,
as frequently as I please, and I will be
loud about it. No one will complain.
When I feel the need to do something
that some might consider rude, like burp
or fart, I shall also do that just as loud
as I please. There's a chance my dog
might look at me funny, but lord knows
he does it too. I will leave my dishes
in the sink and I will lay in the floor
and I will listen to loud music and I will
still be naked by the way and I will cook
naked too and watch movies naked and then

I will put on some clothes and invite over
everyone I have ever loved and throw every pillow
I own into a pile in the floor and say,
Friends, here is where we cuddle. I missed you.
And it will be almost as if I had never left
except there will be Mexican artwork on the walls.