Schools in, Vacations done!

Today is the first day back to school! This is also my last semester for my bachelors and I am so excited to be done with it. Actually, I'm a bit excited, but also a bit scared. Like, what happens after I graduate? Where do I apply? Who wants to hire me? All these questions! But for now it is just the first day of school.







I haven't done the cliche question of, "What did you do for your summer vacation?" since grade school so I'm going to share it with you. I'm usually one of those people that stays home all summer and works her bum off to pay for books, parking, school supplies, etc.







This summer though was one of the best summers, EVER! I didn't work all summer, but only some of it, and I didn't just stay in the states. This summer my family and I went to Cancún. This remarkable place is located in Quintana Roo, México. I can't explain how magnificent this place is. I've been to México before because my parents are from there, and I'm still so amazed by how beautiful it is. The weather was super hot and humid, but it was amazing! I honestly went out for three hours and tanned one shade darker, which isn't a surprise because I tan easily but never that quick.







We went to Playa del Carmen, which is pictured right above. It is a little island that is around 30 minutes from Cancún. The area is really nice and there are locals around, but there are also a lot of golf cart business locations. It takes a long time to go around the whole island if you plan on walking, so if you do end up going, just rent the cart. As you can tell, the water is so clear and blue. There were a lot of iguanas as well.

 One day we went to a park called Xcaret, which is a very well known park in Cancún. It is a self-described ecotourism park. They have dolphins, leopard, sea turtles (big and small), sharks, etc. It is not a zoo, but a place where they take care of these animals so they aren't harmed by the tourism. I had so much fun here and I ended up exhausted mid day. There is a long river that you can swim in, and it was exhausting. They also have a lot, A LOT of food. You would imagine they would because of the amount of people who visit the park each day. They really give you a little taste of Méxican culture. There a show called "Xcarete México Espectacular", which is kind of a presentation of the history of México and a little taste of what sports the Mayans would play. Its amazing! I'll put a few pictures below of Xcaret.











I want to say that this lady is dressed in Oaxaca clothing. This isn't how they always dress, but it's how they dress for festivals or celebrations. Each state in México is different and have their little bit of history.

She was one of my favorite performers in the show because she put so much energy into her performance. She also seemed to really enjoy it. 

Look at these costumes! aren't they fantastic?

Here is some of the typical jewelry you can find in México. It's common along the beaches of México but also in places where there isn't a beach.

The picture below is my sister and I para sailing. We saw turtles from above and just the water and view was amazing! Everything was amazing! 

It's been a while....

Well I've certainly missed writing just for pleasure. I can't say how fast this semester has gone in school and how close we are to the end of it. Spring flew by so fast but I can't complain really, except for the fact that I wish we had more time to work on my grades or at least opportunities. I haven't done much but school and work but I've done several interesting things along the way. I'd say they are small but none the less good things.

Not too long ago I went to volunteer for Race for the Cure and it was amazing! I didn't run the race this year but even just watching people come out and support a great cause. Some people were running for a loved one that passed away but others were running or walking for someone who survived. I went to the event with some coworkers of mine but it was as if it was just friends since we were separated from the group.

I also volunteered with the Food Bank and I can't say how shocked I was at how much food is thrown away. They pulled out crates of food and we sorted through all of them and threw out the majority of it for reasons like, it wasn't packaged correctly, it didn't have an expiration date, or just the bag was not sealed properly. I suppose it all makes sense because we don't want people to die but all the food we threw out we could have cooked and given out to the poor. It was a really great experience though and I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Also for my winter holidays, I went to visit some family in Mexico. At first I was a little resilient on going but I think that it was the best idea I've had in a long time. I enjoyed being with my family and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I actually grew closer with my family which had been a while since I felt that way. I ate a lot of food and I will probably make a separate post on that because of how much I ate. I do have some pictures of the places I went to. I can't wait to go back for another mini holiday.