The 4th without the festivities

So yesterday was the birthday of the country I tend to call home. No big celebrations here, though. It was really hard thinking about all the family gathered together up in Loveland, my mom home alone, and me a million miles away speaking a different language with people who barely cared that a big holiday was being celebrated in the country that oppresses them. I tried to keep my head up, but I was really homesick.

Last night we (Mami, Tiffany, and I) went to the salon (Moises was in tow, but he didn't get his buzz cut styled). It was definitely an adventure. I was really never taught "what to say in a Latin American salon." Must have been sick that day or something. Between they lady cutting my hair trying her hardest to express herself, Mami trying to put what she was saying into words I knew, and my horribly broken Spanish we finally came to an agreement on what to do with my hair. Oops, didn't realize that was the agreement we came to. It looks nice, but it's very different from my straight, unstyled hair that I've always had and always been too afraid to stray away from. I kinda like it...I think it's just so different that I'm having trouble adjusting. The front is shorter, layered almost, to frame my face. The back is long, like always. It's hard to explain. But, everyone else loves it and I'm sure I'll get used to it. Maybe I'll buy a curling iron and see what I can come up with (although with all this rain, it just might be pointless). I have to go find a camera battery anyway, so we'll see what happens.

Then we went out for pizza. Tiffany and I wanted something American on our non-holiday. We treated Mami & Moises to an all American dinner, complete with breadsticks and red soda (strawberry flavor, but they just call it red). It was really fun and nice to treat our family to dinner in honor of our holiday. We had such a good time. It's so nice to be able to spend time with our family. Other students don't have nearly as close of a relationship with their families, but Tiffany and I love ours. Mami loves talking to us and doing stuff with us, taking us to the mall, beach, salon, whatever. It's really nice to have someone here care for me so much when I'm missing my family so much. It's going to be really hard to leave.

It's week four of six and I'm getting pretty homesick (I know, completely opposite of what I just said). There are people I want to talk to, but I can't. Phone cards aren't that expensive, but they are...and you have to buy them with cash, which I'm running low on. People are doing stuff back home, friends hanging out without me, Mom's busy being Mom and doing random things to our house, life goes on and I'm so far away. I don't know, I guess I'm just mopey today, or something. Let's blame it on the incessant rain.

Well, I'm starving and it is getting close to lunch time. I think I'll wander home in the rain and see what's for lunch (other than the assured rice and beans--which I'm still loving). Happy pseudo-Monday for all those who enjoyed the day off yesterday and Happy Tuesday to the rest.