viva mexico!

today it's mexican independence day, which means it's also the start of a loong weekend for all of us at school. celebrations began last night, and since it was also our school director's birthday, we went for a private boat cruise that left from marina vallarta and sailed by the malecon to catch the gorgeous fireworks and other festivities going on at los arcos (a little outdoor amphitheatre by the water with arches in the background). it was quite a beautiful night, especially since it didn't pour, as it usually does. they were telling us that it's rained for the past 10 years, so i guess we lucked out yesterday!
watching the rest of the school staff (and myself) get progressively more tipsy as the night wore on was quite amusing. i don't think i'll ever get used to seeing teachers partying and drinking and slurring their words, even if i am one myself.
two cuba libres, two tequila shots and a few coronas later, and i was pretty tanked.
i was so carefree when we docked at the port back in marina vallarta that i approved the decision to head to the malecon and dance at one of the notorious tourist-trap dance clubs where we'd agreed never to go b/c our high school students hang out there, and we don't want to see them when we go out. [going off on a tangent: my gr. 12's and 11's have already asked me where i go on the weekends and have offered to take me out and buy me drinks, and i've refused. i explain that i would like to have a private life, and they laugh at me and remind me that i'm living in vallarta and this place is too small to keep secrets. they may be right, but i will persevere on no matter how futile my attempts appear to be!]
a group of us new teachers hardcored it out and cabbed over to this previously-forbidden club while the rest of the staff went home. it was a fun night; nothing too scandalous happened, and to the surprise of us all, we didn't run into one single student! maybe they were all away for the long weekend?

i've been hanging out with a group of new teachers for the past month, and we've become quite good friends during this time. we go to a beach every weekend and check out cover bands and go dancing on saturday nights and watch sunsets on the malecon and just plain talk. we're all very different from each other, personality-wise and life experience-wise and whatnot. we're all in our twenties, but i'm the youngest, of course. perhaps we hang out together so much out of necessity since we don't really know very many other people here, but we always have a great time, so maybe the reason why we're together doesn't really matter (although i suspect we actually do really all like each other--otherwise, i don't think i'd have a problem becoming a hermit). i've also learned waaaay more about these guys and girls in four weeks than i have about some other ppl i've known for longer back home.

i hate to get all touchy-feely sentimental (especially on a stupid blog!), but i've realized that i'm genuinely glad that i came here. yes, it's very different from home, and i have a feeling that i may always be a metropolitan city girl at heart (even though i actually lived in a suburban hellhole that calls itself a city), but i think i really need to be having this experience right now. coming out here on my own and making it (although the "making it" part has yet to be determined, i guess) is something that is helping to define me more. my interests and knowledge of useless things defined me back home, and i guess they possibly always will, but i think i need more than that to become an actual, well-rounded person. i feel i'm almost living a real _life_ now. does that make any sense?!?? eh. enough of this.
if you're reading this blog and actually know me from back home, i'm not saying that i don't appreciate you! now come visit me, dammit!