24 hours down and 8,736 to go.

I am happy to report that I turned 24 on the 1st of July. Yay for finally being in my mid-twenties. Then on the 2nd I went to the wedding of my dear friends Carrie Pope and Dave Smith. The wedding was lovely but sadly I had to leave sooner than I wanted due to the fact that I needed to finish my packing. Later that night I was exchanging tearful goodbyes with my friends and flying to my new home.

I met Bailey, a fellow volunteer on the plane from Seattle and we are getting along very well so far. We have a lot in common and she is very sweet.

Once we arrive in Mexico City we still have to travel to Cuernavaca. Thankfully we were picked up by the volunteer coordinator. I am not totally sure how long the car ride was because I slept the whole way to the orphanage. After a small amount of settling in we went out for tacos which were AMAZING. Bailey is a vegetarian so it is nice for us to have each other. I am gathering that she is thankful that I understand her way of thinking. But as some of you may know, I have been practicing being carnivorous for the last few months, and let me tell you, slow cooked pork tacos are fantastic. Holy Hannah. I am in heaven with this food.

For the next two weeks I will be in language school in the morning and then orientations in the afternoon. I am feeling optimistic and excited about improving my Spanish but at the same time I am a bit embarrassed because my classmate is a 15 year old boy who is kicking my butt. His name is Ben and we have a strange relationship. At first I felt that he was very proud to be better (only slightly) at Spanish and that he was talking down to me a bit. But then once he found out that we had similar taste in music I think he fell in love with me. He says he will play me some music on his guitar sometime. I'm just hoping he shares his Spanish work book with me so that I do not have to buy one.

The NPH orphanages in this area are separated by age. I will be in Cuernavaca but the other location is Miacatlan. Miacatlan has the younger kids and where I am is the older kids, the high school age. At first I was disappointed not to be around the young kids at least a little bit, but now I am getting used to it and I think I will enjoy this location. It is a much bigger city so more to do and see. Also. I hear the cook at my location is a bit better than the other so that is music to my ears. Today my lunch was scrambled eggs with some veggies in them along with beans and toast and then TONS of fruit and then you can put salsa on the eggs and beans. And to drink is a like a fruit water. I think they pureed some cantaloupe and then mixed it with water. Muy interestante!

Thus far I have enjoyed every second of this experience. Of course I get nervous and fear that I will not be qualified enough or that my Spanish will never improve to where it needs to be. But the other volunteers are so supportive and encouraging. I have faith that this will be a good move for me and that it will be a transforming experience.

Pictures to come!