leaving on a jetplane

I am sitting beside a tiny window just behind the wing of a -checks safety info card in seat pocket- 737 jet headed for Houston. Well, it will be headed there, as soon as it gets off the ground somewhere here between "Baltimore", "Washington", and "International". Once in Houston, I will have an hour to reaccustom myself to solid ground before hopping onto another plane (I cannot guarantee that I will remember to hop down the boarding ramp, but it could be amusing) which will take me to Mérida, Mexico. That will be my home for the next seven weeks, and the stay is expected to be the greatest adventure that my juwinaq years have witnessed. I shall do my best to keep you informed of the highlights and (if there are any) the lowlights.

Recap of the last few days: I flew home last Wednesday (which explains my lamentable absence from the blog party), and there I was reminded of what GREEN looks like. I also spent a few days catching up with the fam, got several inches of hair chopped off (Naiad has photos), visited my high school Spanish teacher (after my family, she is the first person I just have to see whenever I am in town -¡cariño, señora!), got to tell a high-school Latin 1 class how scary and intense College Latin is (because I'm such an expert, right?), and ran around town buying things like hats and flip-flops and diarrhea medicine (not because I am sick, but because I am going to get sick, I swear. And did you know that diarrhea means "flow through"? You can thank Naiad for that one. Moving on.) Oh yeah, and I finished my translation project. FINISHED! It was Very Hard, and I started Way Too Late, but like I have said, I have Wonderful Professors. I sent it off to my prof's email today, about ten minutes before I left for the airport, along with a translator's introduction entitled "What Rhymes with Procrastination?" I'm not sure it quite fits...

Okay, One More Thing and then I think it's time for a Nap. (I'm feeling rather German, with all these capital Letters.) So I'm walking to the gate at BWI, feeling pretty great about the fact that I finished my translation project, managed to take pictures with my family so that I can show them to the nueva familia en México, and made it to the check-in counter with fifteen minutes to spare. And I'm thinking, "Wow! I'm going to Mexico! This is going to be the best summer ever." And then, "Hmm, I remember putting a few pairs of underwear in my carry-on bag, and the rest must be in... oh crap! (NO pun intended. Gross.) They're in my underwear drawer at home, NOT in my checked luggage, and therefore NOT going with me to Mexico." D'oh! Isn't there an unwritten law that says that, Every Traveler, traveling Any Where, on Any Day, must forget to pack One Thing? Well, I guess that's the one for me this time. But not to worry. As far as I know, Mexicans also wear underwear, and there are stores in Mexico that sell underwear. I will just be going shopping a little sooner than I had expected. If you ever need an excuse to go shopping, I know a pretty good one.