Scared then humbled

by Sanaz Maria Amin (Canada)

I didn't expect to find Mexico

I opened my eyes from my sleep from the sound of the of the car honking on the street just outside of my new condo that I had been so excited to move into. I took a deep breath and remembered my boyfriend ending things just two days before which resulted me making a last minute decision to join my friend Emmeleen and her mate from australia and two of her co workers on their trip to Mexico! I was scared yet excited to just leave and forget the heart break i had just experienced. I wasn’t going to a resort filled with north American tourists. I was going to a place unknown to stay with a family who lived in Mexico city! Jumped out of bed and started to pack. I was handling my break up very well which I didn't think i was capable of doing without laying in bed crying and feeling sorry for myself. My flight was at 6 am. With my favourite back pack and my tiny silver carry-on i arrived at the airport about 3 am to meet with Emmeleen and her 3 mates. Talitha was her friend from Australia, curly hair, smile on her face and excitement in her eyes. Carlos was her friend from work, calm and very sweet. Then there was grace, the girl who was from Mexico city who's family was kind enough to host us during our stay in Mexico. She was the youngest and was not ready to open up when I first met with them by our checkin. Tired yet excited i checked in and went to find my seat in the plane. There wasn’t much talking between us all as we all were a bit tired and sleepy still. Because i booked my ticket last minute, we were on separate flights, but were going to arrive approximately around the same time. I arrived to Miami, my first stop then asked for an earlier flight and what h know , they out me on a plane that was about to take off! Excited yet still a bit scared i arrived to Mexico city! First person to arrive after me was Grace! I was a bit intimidated. I was going to stay with a girl and her family who I had not met! But as soon as I saw her approaching me with a smile along with her mom and her aunt, i relaxed and felt the warmth of their welcoming approach. They drove me to their home which was above their small, cozy and very welcoming family restaurant. Her big family was all there to welcome Grace home! It was beautiful. After settling in a bit, it was time to go back to the airport to pick up the rest of our travel crew from the airport. It was around 9 pm i think when they arrived. We pulled in and right away started to scream out of excitement that we were all together and excited about our adventure. For the next few days the gamily took us around and showed us Mexico city ! The first place was a church that is sinking. It broke my heart. City of Mexico is sinking as we speak, due to their water system. The city goes days and weeks without running water. People are forced to either leave the city during that time or simply save water in any way they can. We left Mexico city during that time and went to Acapulco for the remaining of our stay! We arrived to a beautiful highly secured condominium facing the ocean. After settling in i walked down stairs and on to the sand to watch the sunset. Although i was in an aw of it all, i felt so extremely humbled. That we forget sometimes how blessed we are. For me to wake up and be able to take a shower and to have Clean drinking water was a huge blessing. Yet we concentrate on the negative and trouble our minds with the unfortunate passed. My mexico trip continued into Cuba, and That moment where i felt humbled and blessed will forever stay with me! Check out my cuba story! T End