you never know where you'll end up next...

And another pleasant surprise has reared its lovely head for me, thanks to my Dad's need for extensive dental work, equal to the cost of a car.

I'm going to Mexico, con mi padre, so that he can get dental implants and crowns done for cheap, and I get to do some much wanted travelling to a foreign place!

As a child my family travelled all over the world. I've been to the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, Morrocco, most of the United States to name the obvious ones, but all of this took place when I was very young. Too young to know where I was, or at least appreciate it.

Up until now, my only experience as a grown up of a place outside of the US borders was going to the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. Mexico is going to be new and different and absolutely awesome.

July 30 is the big day when we fly out to Guadalajara and begin the adventure, which will last through August 8. We're staying in Guadalajara for at least two days, then we'll try to go to Puerto Vallarta for some beach action, and Zacatecas to see the ruins. My Dad and I are both muy excited, and we've been preparing by reading up on the places we plan to visit. We've also been preparing for the obstacle of language... I've been doing a crash course CD of Spanish and it seems easy enough when I can listen to slow speakers, but I'm sure I'll draw a blank when I'm out in the real world. My Dad also got us an electronic Spanish-English translator, and hopefully that will help for the times when I just can't think of the right way to say something as simple as "Is there a restaurant nearby?"

Another purchase we've made for this trip is a digital voice recorder. I've already recorded a piece about our preparations, and plan to have plenty of material so that when I get back, I can start writing about this experience. What makes this trip especially special is that it's my first trip with just my Dad, which will be very interesting. I think it'll be a great bonding experience with my father, who is a lot of times difficult to really get close to. This will be great to get to really know my Dad on an entirely new level.

I'm absolutely psyched for this trip and am really looking forward to being thrown into a different culture and language in what I've found to be referred to as "the most Mexican city", with my father.