#Also I almost forgot about this but I've been going to church in spanish all my life

[stargazing-enby]

Well, you asked for a story, and I'm not sure if I've told you about the time I went to Mexico. So, during my Junior year of high school (I would have been 16/17) we had and exchange student from Mexico. Her name was Susanna. She came from Culiacán, in northwest Mexico. If you looked at a map it would be north of Mazatlán. I'm not exactly sure how we became friends, but we did. I think it was through art. She was a fantastic painter. In fact she painted our school mascot in the cafeteria. PT. 1

Yay! Story time! I’ll add the rest under a cut 💕

PT. 2 So, when school was over I made plans to go see her in Mexico. We spent a few days in Mazatlán with her family (which included her parents, and her two sisters and one of her sister's husbands.) Mazatlán was a lovely city, as long as you stuck close to the beach. At least this is what they told me. We didn't venture too far into the city, except to go to a fancy restaurant and to church (which was a huge Catholic Cathedral). Now, I had never traveled alone, or out of the USA before.

PT. 3 And, I also did not speak Spanish. Like. At. All. I new a few basic words that I'd learned on Sesame Street. And that's it. So, WTF am I doing in Mexico? Smh. It was OK, I thought, because Susanna was speaking English to me, and her sisters spoke English. No worries. I loved hanging out with her. We went to the beach, and laughed at the men trying to sell things to the tourists (like hats and sunglasses). We went to Seashell City, where everything is made from shells. It was a blast.

PT. 4 Then we left Mazatlán, and headed up north to Culiacán. The drive should have been my first clue things were going to be different. Think of a scary Rollercoaster ride, but with cars on your other side. Yeah. Like that. OMG. I was dying. Plus squashed in the back. And I get a little carsick anyway. It was a nightmare. I was too introverted and a little intimidated by Susanna's dad to say anything. So I just clammed up, and hoped I'd be okay once we got to her hacienda.

PT 5 (sorry I had to work, and I lost part of my ask because I'm writing it here on Bunglr instead of on a Google doc like I should be. Duhhhhh. It is known I'm an idiot sometimes, 😂) So to continue - we finally get to Susanna's family hacienda in Culiacán, and it's really nice. There are separate rooms for her sisters, though the married sister, I think, lived outside the home. Or Possibly in their own cottage (I can't remember exactly). Susanna did have a separate cottage, though.

PT 6 Also her family had a cook/housekeeper. They seemed very well to do for that time. Though that didn't really make any difference to me. I never care about things like that. So, the first full day in Culiacán was spent looking around the city a little bit. We went to the school Susanna went to, and just walked around. The major difference was that her sisters stopped speaking English. Like completely. They didn't even speak to me in English at all. Susanna had to translate everything.

PT 7 I couldn't understand what was going on. Like why the sudden change? Unfortunately, it's been so long ago now that I can't remember if I asked Susanna why they did this or not. It was all very surreal at the time. Like once we got to Culiacán I entered a strange dream. Well, almost when I stepped off the plane in Mexico really (it was hotter than anything I'd experienced so the heat could have fried my brain). I had no clue what was going on. Mazatlán had been so fun.

PT 8 I think I was only in Culiacán for two days and then I started getting sick. People always say you should only drink bottled water when you're in Mexico, or you'll get Montezuma's Revenge. But my sickness had more to do with (now I know) extreme anxiety. I was sick to my stomach, and feverish (but no actual fever), and all I really wanted was to go home. Sad but true. So, that's what I ended up doing. Susanna's parents seemed very nice and understanding about it (at least in my memories 😂)

PT 9 As you can imagine, I was very embarrassed to have to call my parents, long distance, and explain why I needed to come home from my, initially, fun time so early (I think I was supposed to be there 10 days total maybe, and I lasted about 6ish iirc). I get that I had Culture shock from being in a place I didn't know, around people whose language I didn't know, and I was traveling alone for the first time, after being a major introvert. It was a very eye opening experience.

PT 10 I think this may be why I tried to learn some Spanish in college. And, unfortunately for me the teaching was not stellar then (in the early 1990s). But thankfully I do know more now than I did in the 80s when I took my trip. And, I could probably, sort of, get by if people spoke slowly to me. I'll never forget Susanna though. We kept in touch for a little while after I came home, but as it seems to always happen to me, we drifted apart. Sad day. I hope to visit Mexico again someday.

PT 11 Oh shoot, I forgot to say at the beginning, 🎉☆*･゜ﾟ･*\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆🎊 Congratulations on the 1.1k darling! I'm so happy for you! 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️💕💖Xoxo Carey

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Thank you!!! And thanks for sharing this story! I love stories, especially about journeys -- you already know I travelled to Ireland and lived with an Irish family when I was 11, and honestly, it was sort of terrifying at first! In fact, the only other Spanish girl that got assigned the same Irish school as me didn’t even last a week, she had to call her parents and go home, so I was all alone for almost two months. Scary, but eye-opening, as you said! 

Also, for a moment there I totally shipped you with Susanna, LOL, SORRY SKLGJSLK. Seriously though, wtf was up with her family?? Guess we’ll never know! 

💗💕💗💕💗💕

#1k followers #sleepover #personal stories #Dewitty1 #Lovely story!!! I love travel stories!! #dewitty1