Mexico Medical Student |

Hello all! Today begins Semana Santa, or “Holy Week” in the Christian calendar, which beginning on Palm Sunday, commemorates Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem and follows the last days of his life, his death, and his resurrection. It is the last week of Lent and is both the most pensive and important time in the church year.

In Mexico, it’s also the beginning of near anarchy. Being a 95% Catholic country, almost everyone has the week off. There is no comparison in the States; the entire country, with the exception of those involved in tourism/travel, all but shuts down. Especially here in Guadalajara, this also begins the mass exodus to nearby vacation spots, particularly Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Mazatlán. Yesterday, I was running errands, and instead of the full-but-manageable traffic of a weekend afternoon, it was mad gridlock, people running red lights to avoid being stranded in intersections, people honking non-stop, and grandmothers beating each other with their canes–and that was just getting out of my driveway!
I too will join this mass exodus, but I am going back to Texas to finally reunite with my wife and daughter whom I miss so much. I am taking some study materials, but since Claudia is having knee surgery next week, the priority is just maximizing time with them, relaxing as much as I can, and just enjoying getting out of here in general. Vacation for us is two weeks, and I plan to be gone as much of that as possible. I’ll have internet connectivity here and there, but posting will be sporadic, as it has been this last week because everybody and their mother wanted stuff turned in before this break (and with good reason–it’s a ghost town otherwise).

I’ll write in the next couple of days, but now I must brave the airport and the sea of people waiting out the door. Literally. Those who have never been to a Mexican airport taking a domestic (not to/from the U.S.) flight during vacation season are missing one of the wonders of human social interaction. It’s a tense mix of near-warfare under a facade of orderliness. People even go so far as try to fly with cardboard boxes that must be taped down to not collapse. I am not joking. This is not just because they might be poor, but because in general, people seem to take everything including the kitchen sink and will use anything to board it. Hopefully, my time will be more serene. I can only hope!