architectural marvels, modern and medieval

only 4 months after i'd originally planned to arrive, i am writing this update from chicago. i got back from cancun saturday afternoon and then left for chicago sunday morning, and monday was my first day of training at my job. i currently live on a couch on the north side, and if i want to i will move into the tiny bedroom soon to be evacuated by one of the two guys who live in the apartment which houses the couch. this apartment, and this neighborhood, and all that business is really nice, probably significantly better than i need to live comfortably, so for this first week or so i'll also be looking for other options that are more of a dive and are a bit cheaper. you know how i roll. or walk, as the case may be. being here for more than a weekend and seeing things from the perspective of "i live here" is pretty great overall, and i'm pretty excited to see what's next. it's another new deal, another inertia reset, another place in which to figure out which direction is north (almost always a challenge for me). i'm exploring, uncertain about most of the details most people know before they move, and therefore basically happy.

there'll be more to say about chicago (and me in chicago, of course!) but for today let's have a look at some pictures of mexico.

this is the big pyramid at chichen-itza ("chicken pizza" to my family). it's pretty big--those figures at the base are actually not upright-walking ants, they're people. it's also really old and full of historical and sacred religious significance, but to be honest, i sort of wasn't listening to our tour guide. so i'm not really sure what any of that would be. except i can definitely say the mayans built and used this building.

when i wasn't ignoring informative guides in ancient archeological sites, this was the kind of scene i was taking in. the resort we stayed in was about 45 minutes south of cancun, and about 10 minutes north of playa del carmen, whose street and beach view is currently making you jealous of me. it's not digital trickery--the sky really was that blue, the water that clear and bright, and the americans that plentiful and amply sized.

just in case the mayan riviera wasn't exciting enough, jordan and her family came down and stayed at a place a few miles (quite a few along the beach if you're walking there, by the way) from my place, so we hung out down there quite a bit. idyllic moonlit beach walks are better with a friend than alone sometimes even if you're like me and often enjoy the peaceful solitude. so it was a good time. plus we had fun taking pictures in the middle of the night. here jordan perfects her scary kung-fu face and poses. i'll let you in on a secret, though--it's all show, and you can probably take her. look how unimpressed i am.

so that was last week. this week has been pretty interesting, and don't even get me started on next week--probably i'll still be in this country, but who knows what developments will have developed!