Pa' Mexico!

One thing that will take my mind off of all this marriage/relationship stuff is a 10 day vacation to Mexico. I use the word "vacation" lightly because is it ever really a vacation when you are going to visit family? Ironically, we are going for a wedding. So actually, I guess I don't get much of a break after all. I really am longing for a change of pace, this mid western state is making me exactly like the mid west, dull and boring! I can't wait to take a tequila shot with my cousins. As much fun as it is to visit my Mexican family members, it is also a bit stressful.

7 years. 7 years is how long its been since I was last in Puebla (a large city two hours east of Mexico City)  since I last saw my cousins and my aunt. I had just exited my teenage years but felt as small as a tree from the vantage point of a passenger in an airplane. Now, officially an adult (well by age standards) I am traveling back to my mother's birth city with her as my nervous travel guide, a carry on suitcase, and a mediocre knowledge of Spanish. Awaiting me in Mexico are a variety of challenges, the challenge to prove that I'm less of a gringa than they all think, the challenge to avoid family drama (namely my uncle who did not attend my father's funeral one year ago) and dodging my cousin's constant efforts to fix me up...especially since...well I'm confused enough as it is!

My mother may have a bit of an anxiety disorder, its always been that way, we could arrive 5 hours early to the airport and she would still be convinced that we would miss our flight. I suppose, even though I've traveled a good deal, it is still nerve racking the night before a flight. We leave here at 7:30, then fly to Chicago, then fly to Mexico City where we will take a two hour bus ride and head to Puebla where two hours later we will be picked up by my borderline hippie aunt who is the total opposite of my mother. This may be part of the reason we have not been here in 7 years.

I have a constant need to find out more about my Mexican roots, and for some reason I feel I will get a closer look into myself, maybe see into my past, see my family, maybe then I will gain an understanding of what I want in my life right now.