AN ADVENTURE: the statistics

january 20th is HERE! today i'm making my way down to merida, yucatan in mexico for a semester jam-packed full of spanish speaking, biologizing, mexican food eating, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. to give you a break from my rollercoaster of emotions as of late, here's the stats of my weekend:

2,529 -- the number of miles between pella and merida.
811 -- the number of hours it would take to travel to merida from pella on foot. directions
              found here. and this means i will no longer accept not being able to afford plane fare as
              an excuse to not come visit me, my friends.
              (but use caution! this path may be missing pedestrian pathways!)
49 -- the number of pounds my suitcase weighs. and this was on our "light scale."
50 -- the number of suitcase poundage the airline allows before charging you moo-koo extra bucks.
           it's been previously arranged that if for some reason my suitcase is over weight, i will just pull
           out a few outfits and throw them on over my clothes. good thing layers are so "in"!
2 -- the number of flights i'm taking [one way].
4.5 -- hours of my sunday afternoon will be spent on a mexican bus traveling from cancun to merida.
5 -- pairs of shoes packed in my suitcase
112 -- the approximate number of hugs i received yesterday. and it wasn't enough!
4 -- the number of times i cried yesterday. i consider this to be an incredible accomplishment?
3 -- the number of hours of sleep i got last night.
398 -- the number of heart beats per minute my little muscle of a heart is pumping out because
              it is JUST SO EXCITED IT CANNOT STOP.

and now, an awkward family photo from our hotel bathroom photo shoot:

gosh, they're the most terrific. i could not have had a better last day in the US of A.

[stop that rhyming, and i mean it!]

[anybody want a peanut?]

thank you, my dearest father, for shuttling me around all day and getting me to the airport early this morning!

and shout-out to my momma, i miss you more than words describe. get well soon!

and to you, my lovely reader, stay tuned! for i'll be blogging to you live from mexico, like, SOON!

ps: please comment away! i would love to stay in touch as much as possible! let's take advantage of all these social media hubs! hoo-rah!