Dirty Laundry

Well, today was a typical day in Akumal. Nothing worked out as I had planned for the day before. It started when I took my laundry to the "pueblo" yesterday. I had heard that the rates and service were better, so I made the 'long' walk into 'town' to use their services (rather than the slightly more expensive service in Akumal 'Wonderland', as I have come to refer to it as). I wasn't that dismayed when I was told that my laundry would not be ready until the next day, after 2 pm. That's ok, I thought, I'll survive with only a few items of clothing and one towel. I needed sheets, but I asked the CEA cleaning lady (with an interpreter's help) for another set (which I got).

It is now 6:30pm, and I just got my stuff back 10 minutes ago. )-: This really bothered me, but I guess it has taught me some kind of lesson... patience? the fact that the pace is slower in other countries and no one can really be counted on to do something when they say they will? or maybe I am just grumpy because I have been attacked by mosquitoes for 2 weeks straight and I've also had quite enough of the intense heat that starts here at 8am and doesn't let up until about 7pm.

Today, I had decided to devote my entire day to trying to get some work done (taking an inventory of the books in the Reef office). But that plan was thwarted when I found out at 11:30am that they would be fumigating all the dorm rooms, including the office I was in. When this happened, the six kittens that are residing in CEA dorms all had to clear out too, so I had to give up my work plans to kitten-sit from 1pm to 4pm. It's not like I had anything else to do, and it wasn't all that bad (hey, kittens are cute and someone has to help them out, right?). The afterno0n also involved the comsumption of several alcoholic drinks because we stationed ourselves at a table at the nearby outdoor pub. I am going back to the office after this blog post because I know the combination to get into the Reef office (and I know that the a/c actually works in this dorm room). It is very, very, very hot in Akumal in June. I don't feel very good as a result, and I also seem to be fighting another cold (sore throat, cough... or could it be dengue fever or malaria? hmm) I can't wait to get back to civilization next week: my life will be boring once again, but it will be more tolerable than this.

On Sunday, I'm leaving the CEA dorms for the solitary life in a hotel in Playa del Carmen. I picked an inexpensive place ("Hotel Casa Tucan": the only perk is the 15 foot deep swimming pool... other than that, I'm not sure what I'm in for (no a/c, only a fan)... but I will be sleeping in a room by myself... ahhh, the luxury of it...not having to be woken in the middle of the night by drunken youth... I am truly astonished by how much alcohol the Mexican university students can consume: surely it is enough to kill people, under certain circumstances. And they don't just come home really late from their nocturnal activities: they come home in the morning (6am) and sleep for most of the day. It's really incredible. (or maybe I am just jealous that I can't handle such as schedule of drinking and not sleeping much? I'll have to ponder that.)

I visited Tulum last Sunday and it was really beautiful, I'm really glad I went. I have some great photos, but I'll wait until I am home to post them here. I've made friends with the Brits from the Reef program (I can speak to them in my language!) because they are caring for several of the abandoned kittens (there are 6 in total).

5 days left.

Adios,

Tam