Oh one of my favorite travel stories: my 21st birthday in Mexico. It was definitely one to remember. I am still working on my post for my time in Mexico, but I will give you a little sneak peek of that trip with this story.
It already started as a pretty unusual birthday. You know it was a little awkward dropping hints that my birthday was coming up. Like how do you let someone know without it sounding like you are trying to be the center of attention? But also then people would feel bad if they didn’t know! I tried to slip it in when I could, especially because this was the big 21st and I was spending it with a bunch of boys instead of my friends and family. I wanted it to be special since it wouldn’t be a traditional birthday, although it already was going to be because, well, MEXICO!
I was really happy with what we had planned for the day. It was considered a study day so we had more of a learning day than doing mission trip work. We went to a beautiful old part of the city (which was probably my favorite spot on the trip). We went to mass at this beautiful church at San Jacinto Parish and then toured some museums. We had a speaker at the Institute for Christian Social Thought to tell a us a bit about the politics and economics of Mexico today, which is my jam, so that was fun! Then we went to Museo de El Carmen which is a history museum focused around religion in Mexico during colonial times and now. From there we went to a market in the city that was a lot of fun. I love markets! I bought myself a necklace and enjoyed people watching. It was fun to see what the local artisans made, so overall I would say it was a great day! It is exactly what I would do when visiting a city in a foreign country. Besides awkwardly checking my phone to answer birthday text messages and worried about being judged because we were supposed to disconnect, I had a great day.
I got ready for dinner in my hotel room by putting on a nice skirt and listening to Bad Bunny. I was big on Un Verano Sin Ti during this time. Reminder, it was January 2023. Then we walked over to dinner. It was a nice Italian restaurant. We only ate at one Mexican restaurant on this trip which is sad, but they didn’t want us to get sick, so I get it. I just prefer fresh and light tacos to hearty meat and pasta dishes. I was just glad we went to the Italian restaurant over the Argentinian restaurant. I seriously don’t eat just slabs of meat which is what Argentinian food is. I can get on board with pasta even though its not Mexican food.
At the restaurant I sat with a couple of my seminarian buddies. Oh yeah, did I say I was the only girl on this trip? Everyone else was seminarians other than the professor and the female teacher on the trip as well as one grad student. Anyway I got along with all of the seminarians, but I had a few that I stuck with more. My seminarian pal Dominic and I order bruschetta. That was probably a mistake because it had tomatoes on it and we were not supposed to eat any fresh fruits or vegetables because they are washed in the water which we also weren’t supposed to drink They brought out wine for the first part of dinner and I had a class. I know they all were hoping I would take it easy, but this wasn’t my first rodeo. I am sure though that they were thinking I am a small girl, plus Butch, our guide, came up to me to tell me he was getting me an Irish coffee. Him and I had talked about my love for Ireland and my semester abroad there. He was so sweet and I still remember him so well. I miss talking to him about life. He also had bought me flowers at the market earlier in the day. It was so cute when they brought that out. I had to leave the flowers in Mexico, but I still have the pot they were in, He also wanted to get me a dessert for my birthday as a substitute birthday cake.
We had our pasta dishes and then came my cheese cake with the words “Felicidades Emma” written on it. As it came out all the seminarians stood up to sing me a dutch drinking song. It was really cool! I had so much fun! Even though its not the 21st birthday I had imagined for myself, I couldn’t have asked for a better day!
That was until 3 am, when I awoke to a strange feeling in my stomach. Then I was off to the bathroom. I will save you from describing the things that were happening so lets just say it was a mess. It was terrible. After it felt like I didn’t have much more in my system I took a pepto and tried to go back to bed and prayed that I would be better in the morning. I did not want to admit to anyone that I was sick, especially after I was talking up a big game earlier in the week about not getting sick from drinking the water.
Sadly, I was not better in the morning. I got up at the time I was supposed to to get ready to go to go to breakfast before daily mass, but I ended up in the bathroom instead. I texted Nancy, the female teacher on the trip and she came in with stuff to help me feel better. She had been talking with the professor, Dr. Naughton and our guide, Butch. She was willing to stay with me for another day or two until I felt well enough to fly home since we would be heading to the airport later in the morning. I really wanted to go home, so I decided I would wait the few hours until we left to see how I felt. I took the antibiotic that the doctor had prescribed me before I left for a case such as this. I never thought I would use it because I didn’t in Thailand, but I was so happy I had it. Everyone went to mass and I swear during that time something happened. For anyone that says prayer doesn’t work, this is my response to that. In the basement of our hotel the seminarians, professors, our priest, and guide were praying. After mass I felt better. There was no more diarrhea or vomiting and so I decided I would go home. I just wanted to be in my bed, even if it was my stiff dorm bed. I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want my last few days in Mexico to be remembered as being sick and stuck in a hotel.
I got on the bus with everyone else and I swear it was one of the most embarrassing things I have ever done because everyone was so happy to see me. They all kept making jokes about how this probably how most people felt after their 21st birthday. I wish mine was for the same reason.
I closed my eyes most of the bus ride to the airport. If I could make it to the airport just fine then I would survive being on the plane. Then we arrived at the airport and checked in at the desk for Delta. That is where they asked for a wheel chair for me. And I thought the embarrassment couldn’t get worse. It definitely is a story now. Even though I probably could have walked just fine, having the wheelchair got us through TSA faster which helped so that I wouldn’t be waiting in a line if I needed a bathroom. It was a humbling experience though. So much of this trip was. I experienced so many new things that opened my eyes to what the people we would consider less fortunate experience.
At the gate I was able to get back to normal life a little bit by pulling out the next book we needed to read for the class. Then the priest on the trip with us asked if he could pray over me. He didn’t want to make my uncomfortable, but at this point I would take whatever I could get. I appreciated it. I think it did help me to get through the 5 hour plane ride home. I sat next to Nancy the entire time incase I needed something. I watched movies and slept pretty much the entire time. I didn’t feel sick though which I am so grateful for! Even though my stomach and head still felt a bit crummy, at least I didn’t throw up in the bathroom among other things.
Once landed in Minneapolis we deplaned as usual and found our way to customs. When I came out to get my luggage there was my mom and grandma with the most sympathetic looks on their faces. They gave me a get well card they had picked up from Kwik Trip with some kind of rodent with its hands up saying “be healed”. It was so funny! I still have the card because it was perfection. After thanking Nancy and Dr. Naughton, they took me back to my dorm. They had picked up a few things to help me feel better, so I had lots of ramen, powerade, and pedialyte.
I was a bit sad to be left alone, but I pretty much went right to sleep. The next day we were supposed to have a field trip to the Mexican neighborhood in St.Paul, but I opted out to have another day to feel better. They gave me some makeup work to do, which I didn’t mind doing. I really was sad to miss that day, because it was one I was really looking forward to! I needed it though to get well. It was also my second day of the antibiotic so I was starting to feel a lot better and could eat.
The next day was the last on the antibiotic and I was almost 100%. My brother took me to get my drivers license renewed because I forgot to do that before I left for Mexico. Now I like to joke that I had food poisoning in my picture. Later that day we had dinner at one of the professor’s house and reflected on the class. I was happy I was feeling well enough to attend. I hitched a ride with a few of the seminarians, which was a lot of fun. Seminarians are so cool! They are just like everyone else if not funnier and happier. I really enjoyed spending time with them all.
It really was a great trip! Even if it ended in a disastrous way, it was still an experience I learned so much from. It has also become one of my favorite travel stories. The caption to my Mexico instagram post was, “Never thought I would spend my 21st birthday sunburned in Mexico with a bunch of seminarians and then get food poisoning from my birthday cake (I promise its funny).” I don’t know if people thought I was being for real, but I was. It was not a joke. I mean I wish it was, but also I don’t. It is stories like this that shape you and your travel experiences. I would not change anything about this trip.
That is the in depth story about how I got sick in Mexico on my birthday. Stay tuned for a Mexico post describing all the mission work and sight seeing we did there!
The Journal of Wanderlust 