Rain Rain Go Away Please Come Back Another Day

D.F. was awesome. The day we met up with Coleman and Alex we walked around quite a bit and saw the center of the city. The next day we took a 3 hour tour bus and that showed all different parts and places to see and go. Definately worth it-except getting hit by the branches, but it was nice to go outside of where we were staying. That night we went out to dinner with Coleman for one last night, we stayed up late playing cards, having him play his guitar and doing what Alex calls 'warm fuzzies'. After he left us girl went to sleep again thinking we would wake up at 11 or so, but we ended up waking up at 4. By the time we got showered and stuff it was time for breakfast haha. We went to a ghetto movie theatre and watched Sex and the City 2 and went back home to go to sleep. The whole city is built on a lake and in the old churches you can see where the group has, and continues, to sink. Tuesday we went to Puebla, its a large city a couple hours out from DF and very historical. It reminded me of a more modern and larger version of Guanajuato. I liked it. And some of the churches were pretty cool. There are tons of angels everywhere in that city and cerramics are super prominant. That night we met and played cards with to guys from England who had just gotten to Mexico that week and were traveling all summer. Wens Alex and I said goodbye to Casey until Monday and went on a tour to the pyramids called Teotihuacan. We went to a church first that had the modern version right next to it. We learned that the design had been a mockery in response to the government that had killed hundreds of students in the square during the 70s or 80s, the designer was forced to do it also. Then we went to a place on the way to the pyramids to eat lunch and get sucked into buying things-most the people that went with us were new to Mexico and were buying a lot of it. I found a worm in my salad and lost my appetite. At least it was fresh. Then we went to the ruins. The Pyramids were HUGE. there was one for the moon and one for the sun gods. Each were placed so that when looking at one from the other you cant see the mountains behind it-all perfectly placed. Our guide also told us the legends and other facts. These were Aztec ruins. He even took us to one of the smaller stuctures and talked about the worshiping of a certain bird. When you clap facing it the echo sounds like a bird-no Joke. It was pretty crazy. We then headed back to Guanajuato where I am staying with Caseys roommates. Its been pretty slow and not exciting. I did watch the opening game with Mexico and South Africa in the world cup Friday and the USA England game yesterday. Today we went to Embajadores and bought lots of souveniors! Almost done! but not quite. I was supposed to go play volleyball but its started raining and hailing. Its rainy season now and has rained everyday that I have been back. I cant do much outside. You dont want to be in it because then youre soaked and cold-theres no heat in the house, although its not NEARly as cold as before when it was raining-it gets humid now. I cant do laundry or lay out...I hope that it goes away soon! and casey comes back tomorrow! Im excited because its so weird without everyone here. We will see how it goes...

Summer time officially!

It has been a complete whirlwind. And Im behind in writing, which means I will definately leave out some things. Becca has made a full recovery and we spent a lot of time together the last week or two. It was better, but also made it harder. Alex's family came to visit. Its always interesting to see people with their families, it adds a different element to them, but they enjoyed us a lot and we enjoyed them as well. We went to leon and did some expert shopping, I still havent found my leather jacket yet but the search is not over. I also do not know how I will get all my things home...The last week was rediculous. The new ISA group came in and that was actually kind of rough. It was like we were/are getting pushed out and they are replacing us-not only that but the feeling of protectiveness of the city and our places here really brought to the surface. We have hung out with a few of them and they are pretty cool, so that helps a little. I have spent a lot more time with my family and it just seemed easier, but that made it harder to move out. The last night Becca was here we had dinner and just joked around (they mostly joked around about my future life with another exchange student here that likes me, not fair but how it played out) I am glad that I stayed with my family the whole six months. Stayed up with Becca the whole night that she was packing and took her to the airport, I went to my art class that night, but couldnt finish all my work because I was leaving Monday. My professor said it was okay with it, but when he found out I was traveling to Oaxaca he was way more excited for me and even said he would finish my work for me. 3 classes over. Seminar friday I found out I got an A in also, 4 classes over-3 As. So Saturday Casey and I went to Starbucks to write our 10 page paper for the final class. Missed a goodbye send off for a friend and spent the last night out with all the people we wouldnt see when we returned from traveling. It was a bittersweet time. Sunday Coleman, Bouber, Peter, Kelsey, Casey and I all went to a favorite place to eat one last time together-except we all went to her roof for one last roof session that night later, with some added people.

The rest of the night I stayed at Caseys to write my paper all night long. We finished 30 minutes 30 minutes before it was due and hurried to meet our teacher. Two all nighters in 5 days. The teacher was actually nice about it and told us to meet him when we come back because he wants to take time grading so he wont knock off credit for grammar. Nice of him since this is the only thing we had turned in all term-no homework or tests. Then I hurried home and packed all of my belongings in less than two hours, I was impressed with myself. I moved it all to her house with a little help from a friend and we hurried to the bus station. We had a terrible goodbye to Aly because the cars behind we honking and got in the car. Once in the car we could FINALLY relax. But then it was sad, thinking about all the people we wont see when we are back or wont see again in Guanajuato.

Since then, we got to Oaxaca city on tuesday morning and slept a little more, then got up and walked around the city and came back to the hostel to chill a little, we were pretty wiped out. Yesterday we got up and went to Monte Alban, which is ruins-I even learned about it in class-and then came back and ate lunch-it was a long afternoon, I got some pretty hideous tan/burn lines I cant get to go away. We napped and went to a Baseball game. Got seats right behind home plate for free and ate traditional street food after and then stayed up in the hostel for awhile-its a bunk room but no one else is here, which is nice haha. Today we got up a little slower and went across town to see a church to take pictures and show to our teacher-suck up a little since he wants to meet us when we are back. It was Beautiful. By far the most ornate church I have ever seen. Gold, sculptures and paintings everywhere of everything from scenes in the bible to saints, to a family tree looking thing and it was so detailed-every part of it. I did not expect that at all. Then we went to the markets. Got lots of good stuff and gifts for people too. It was HUGE and so much stuff. It was super extreme because there was so many different things, but it wasnt bad. Except that the meat smelled too strong and so did the seafood. YUCK but at least it was all fresh. The have these things here called bugs that they season and eat-like grasshoppers. Those smell too so I know when they are close, but all the fruit and veggies and cheese looked amazing. The strawberries looked better than the ones from home even. Before that we had gotten pizza. Apparently there is no chimichurri this part of Mexico, but the pizza was A LOT better. Tomorrow we are going to go to DF to spend Colemans last couple days together and I will be back in Guanajuato while Casey goes to Eugene to watch her little sister graduate and I stay at her house. She will come back for six days while Im here and then I leave...its so soon.

UPDATE: Becca's friend Justin, that stopped responding to treatment, is on a experimental drung for prostate cancer even though he has a different kind and its removed 4 of 7 tumors. Its not over yet, but things are looking up. Such great news. Prayers are being answered.

Parting Ways

As our time here starts to come to an end our mental state changes. We reflect on the past, all that has changed what we learn and look forward to the future. I cannot help but to think of the faces of the people that have made my experience and forever be thankful. There is no doubt in my mind that each person I have encountered has impacted my time abroad with different perspectives, stories, experiences, lessons and personalities that are shared, each person has planted a little seed or an idea that may never be brought out of our memory for decades. But all the things that are there and have forever changed who we are and shaped how we experience the world that we live in. There people, who in some cases I barely even know and may never see again, are the people who I have grown to trust and love more than I could have ever hoped. These are the ones that will hold that special place in my heart called Mexico.

Scramble Scramble

It is so crazy how fast everything is going. Becca got her stitches out yesterday, Saturday, after her 65 dollar surgery and her last day of medicine is tomorrow. Monday I did not have my 4 hour class because of mothers day is monday and the campus was closed. No one knew-including the prof. I also found out that I had another presentation in my conversation class and it was teaching the class something. I ended up teaching how to give a baby pig an in muscle vaccination. It was interesting to see what the other people presented on. And definately entertaining. I have grown to appreciate the people in my classes very much. Tuesday I also had a presentation on the first emporer of Mexico and his whole one year reign. Thursday my art professor didnt show up so I left early. I actually have quite a bit of work to do in that class and only about two weeks. Friday was our seminar class again which we have a paper due Friday. Conversation is also done friday and tomorrow history is over. But enough of the school.

Tuesday I rode in the overpacked bus in the windsheild practically and again the same on the way back but backwards. It looks really fast when your backwards looking at the ground pass at 30 miles an hour. Thursday was the first official goodbye party for our friend Trevor. Goodbyes BLOW. Becca, Juan and Kelsey all leave in about 2 weeks. Junko made us sushi on Sat after a roof session with Casey and Saturday night was really relaxed. We watched tv, talked had pizza and one of our Korean friends came over to hang out. They tried to give me a mohawk but my hair was too long it didnt really work. Today I studied a little and then had Korean food made for us. It was amazing and really fun. We made a cheescake for them, but we all ate with chopsticks and everything on the roof. They even did most of the dishes and carried the trash out for us, showed us dances to Korean songs and were just plain precious. There's no other way to describe.

I have 2 weeks to write my long paper. I just finished writing the 3 page paper for seminar in english, and have to translate it tomorrow, and have 3 projects to finish in classes tomorrow and next week for my art class. Skit tomorrow in conversation. So much to do it seems, but still able to make time for friends as this is the last stretch for most people. Monday we had a formal ceremony where we 'graduated'. Ha pretty much got a certificate for being in the program but the president of the University came and everything, it was a big deal. It was also a reality check of how little time is left. Then later, after class, our asain friends came over and took me to ice cream and brought some back for Becca. One of them, Hee Won offered to make a video for me with all my pictures. So I am trying to go through the literally thousands of pictures that we have accumulated together. He's also making a video for our teacher with all of us saying "Gracias Veronica!" and came over to film me today because it was Dia de Estudiantes and I did not go to class. It was optional, and I probably should have gone, but took the opportunity to work on other homework and lay in the sun instead. It was definately worth it. There was a concert today also so lots of cowboys are in town, ha with hats, wranglers, boots and I even saw a lime green shirt. I like so much here. I like walking to dinner in 15 minutes notice. Seeing the jardin filled with people. Everything lit up at night, because all the buildings are different colors and levels, making everything look different but similar. Its beautiful.

Alex's family is here, and I have only met her younger sister so far, but she seems pretty cool. Alex's host family also has puppies and I keep forgetting to go up there, but I will soon. This ones written pretty badly and confusing since its two different times. I keep forgetting the things I want to write during the week and end up only writing about school, but a lot does happen. For example, my host mom talking about how fast its gone as all her students are moving out in a span of 4 days and remembering how little spanish I spoke when I got here. Remebering how I absolutely could not understand the asains speaking spanish, but now its mostly when they are trying to speak with random english words. I can recognize how much better I am at understanding people with any accent. How much faster I can reply sometimes when in a conversation and how even I will know how to ask for things, I still am timid not to. How many things I have learned from other countries, like in Korea people are a year older because they could the year that a person is in the mothers belly. The boys are also required to serve in the military and the people I have met are some of the happiest I have ever met in my life. I appreciate the fact that because it is not my first language the expectation of quality is much lower. While this sounds lazy, it is actually realistic. I dont know how to write well in Spanish and being from the states I already have the mentality to make a decent effort when I am doing something so I do try to present good work, however it is MUCH more difficult to do so when the expectations and topics for a paper are not given or very unclear. Obviously what is normal here is not the same as in the States, or other European countries. That difference is usually not clarified. For that, I am glad that the expectations are lower, definately helps with the stress. I appreciate that when native speakers learn you are trying to learn spanish they help you. And I enjoy teaching people english that want to learn, I also realized how hard things can be to explain when its somthing that we just know from growing up with it. I like juevos mexicanos, becuase it hides the taste of eggs, I could go without eating white rice for years and iceburg lettuce salads and I much rather prefer corn tortillas. I like oaxaca cheese better than cheddar and the saltines here are better. I do not like the coffee here much, and usually any kind that you order, including smoothies greatly vary depending on the restaurant. Rainy whether can be comforting after lots of heat, but I still like the sun over the clouds, and I will never get a small dog-they bark WAY too much. Children here are some of the cutest kids ever. The movie titles arent the same as as tranlsation and it bothers me a little bit. Lots of pizza here has cream cheese or hot dogs on it. Cake is soggy a lot of the time. Going to movies is cheaper. There's no recycling. Phones are a lot more expensive and a monopoly. Also, the richest person in the world is from Mexico and owns the cell phone companies. Drug cartel activity is UNHEARD of in our area/town. The area that I live in is in the center of the events of the Independence events of Mexico, for example Alhondiga, is in GTO.

Sleepless nights

It is currently HAILING. Huge, huge balls of hail and really hard. It had been not under 90 degrees the last few days and yesterday evening it was really windy. It just started to downpour, which is not as bad since it is not as cold anymore. The girls were playing in it like we used to play in snow back when we were kids. Even Mari Cruz and Angelica were excited about it. It is nice though from the swealtering heat we were having. This week was a doozer, and flew by. Last Saturday Casey and I went to Morelia for a couple days and then Guadalajara. In Morelia we went to an orchid museum and saw hundreds of different types and Guadalajara has 4 million people or more there. It was interesting to say the least. When we got back on Tuesday, I cleaned my room and when my roommate came home, her stomach hurt-a lot. After she talked to her family because she also found out her Grandma died, we went to the Hospital. First-it was the wrong hospital, the taxi driver was apparently retarded, and it was a public hospital. She had her appendix taken out late that night. Casey stayed with her to do the translating and only one person is allowed with her at a time. They also have few nursing staff, so when Becca needed to go to the bathroom, we carried her iv bag-or when she ate-we held her tray and helped her eat. She was a trooper. I stayed with her for a good portion of Wens and again all that night. I was completely sleep deprived. Friday was rough by the time I made it there. Today Alex, Coleman, Casey and I went to Embajadores. Its a market place, that is very hard to explain. The clothing section is like goodwill on steriods and theres food, veggies, movies, makeup-pretty much everything you can image. After that we made some guacamole and went home...and then the storm happened. Ps. Happy Mothers Day

Study Study

Last Friday was the last night that one of the girls was here because she left for home early the next morning. A bunch of us went out to dinner and then out to Fucilado where Coleman and Alex were working. It was a lot of fun. Its a smaller place and further out of the way, so generally the only people there are those that are laid back and easy going who like to laugh and joke around. About nine of us were there and the owners and maybe three other people, but the owners are so laid back that they hang out with anyone there-they also stayed open two or three more hours because we were all up there. Then I went to Amy's house to help her finish packing and spend a little more time with her. It was hard to say goodbye. Its going to be even harder at the end of this month when so many people leave. I want to cry just thinking about it. I walked home and ran into a friend and was talking to her when some guys from Leon were looking for a place to go so we took them to La Dama, its another salsa place, but actually a lot better than El Bar. I didnt want to stay there so I walked outside where one of the Leon guys was waiting because he didn't want to stay there either. He was actually a lot nicer than I thought he would be based on what his friends had been saying and even walked me home. The best part about it is that we took the smallest hill in the city of Guanajuato to my house because its only three minutes from where La Dama is and he was so out of breath he could hardly talk. I felt a little proud of getting used to the altitude and massive hills-it was rough after spring break. Then next night was really relaxed. I laid out in the sun on Casey's roof for two hours during the day and got pretty burned, but its all tan now:) I lose my tan so quickly here, its ridiculous! That night we got pizza and had Jecca, Becca, Alex, Alex's boyfriend Andrew and Kelsey over and Caseys to watch a movie and chill out. It was nice to not have to get ready or anything like that and I do not even remember what happened Sunday, but I am pretty sure I wasted the whole day. So much happens here I forget things quickly. Monday started class again and my 4 hour class was rough, the prof was in a bad mood and we didnt even get a break. Tuesday I found out that I didnt have my art class all week and because I didnt go last week and we have next Tuesday off I will have missed two and a half weeks. Wensday I procrastinated and wrote my paper for yesterday. Later yesterday we all got dressed up and went out to a nice resaurant before we went salsa dancing at el Bar. Arturo said that I had a mischeivious face...I dont understand it but both Becca and Alex agreed with him. I should really find out what they mean by that. For some reason, we have both Monday and Tuesday off so tomorrow Casey and I are leaving for Morelia. Its supposed to be really pretty and not touristy with really gorgeous and historic towns until Sunday. Then we will leave to go to Puebla, where the biggest celebration is in Mexico is for Cinco de Mayo, where Alex and Jecca are going to meet up with us. Its interesting here because Cinco de Mayo isn't even really a holiday here. Its when the Mexicans beat the French in a war, but the French came back and overthrew the Mexicans a year later. Puebla is where the battle happened apparently. We will see how this goes. Also, the girl in my class from Turkey is leaving Monday and today was her last class. I feel like this month is going to FLY by and I will not be ready for it!

Clock is ticking

It has been a rough reality getting into the swing of things again. I havent even been home much, spending a lot of time at Caseys house with her and with her french roommates. Which, another one arrived thursday. His name is Greg and hes doing an internship here. It is so interesting to get to know people from other countries, like sometimes these girls are so french! it sounds stupid but its kind of funny. Monday our prof gave us a ride home, but before that I had somehow managed to sit in gum and step in it 4 more times in ten minutes before we went to get actually signed up for the worst class here. Then during class we found out that we have to write a 10-15 page paper in spanish...UGH. Wensday there was an 80s and 90s party and El Bar, and I promised a couple people I would go, so I got way into it with Alex with big hair, funny clothes, makeup and everything and we were the only ones dressed up! And there werent many people there. Once Lily got off work, she was dressed up too but the bar closed soon after. So all the people that usually hang out there with us and work there were able to go out for a night and we got to hang out with them. We ended up running into the owners of Fucilado, a place out by where I have my 4 hour history class. They arranged a anniversary party Saturday with donkey races and a bbq. Coleman and Alex worked and it was a lot of fun! Everyone stayed out way late and I ended up working the next day for their weekly bbq. Its all really good food and they are really fun to be around. Thursday we were walking around because Greg had arrived and Amy went home with my key, so I decided to try to run and catch up to her. Only thing about that is that there was a dispute about an unpaid bill at el bar, where I know all the waiters, the owner and people that hang out regularly there. Anyways-they were all out in the street with the police and I just happened to sprint by them and through downtown then Casey following me. I am sure that they all saw me but a little suprised that no one has said anything yet. Friday I went to a friends soccer game, it was caged to make it indoor like (size and rules) and it rained while we were watching but it was still a lot of fun. We also found the best quesadillas in town. Wensday me and Casey had a roof session and it was pretty amazing. I miss that-so I am pretty sure that there will be one tomorrow. I have a presentation Thursday and a paper due next week. My art professor offered me to go to class to listen to an artist instead of his class today when I saw him saturday at the Diego Rivera museam. We also went to the Alondiga one, but I still do not like them. They are a little boring for me. Go figure. Not that this blog is any sort of organized-its kinda my mental state right now as time is starting to run out and I feel like there is still so much that I want to do. Its sad, and makes me sad to think about leaving, but someone once said "all good things must come to an end." I wish they hadnt.

Part 2

I forgot to put things in part one that really only applies to that content, but it was a long one and I was bound to forget stuff. Like I saw the 4-H fairgrounds in Belize, there is no speed limit making it 20% more likely to die in a car accident there than in the US and its probably the most dangerous thing you will do in that country, the public buses are old school buses-sometimes with luggage racks, the dollar is half as strong as the states, its humid, bugs love me there, the water is usually warm and clear, it rained while we were there a couple times and is not as refreshing since it makes it more humid. It's really pretty in Belize and all the formations in caves look cool, but the water and dirt smells real bad. Plants grow in caves, but only as long as the nutrients in their seeds allow, they are even green. In Guatemala, the buses are equally or worse than Belize and the money is worth less, however more than a peso. I was happy to be back in Mexico, but in Chiapas there were A LOT of military check points that we got stopped at. The border crossing from Guatemala to Mexico is a river and I thought the boat was going to tip. We could have gotten student discounts on all our buses but thought it was only one line, meaning we spent twice as much as we should have.

When I got back to Casey's on Tuesday, I did not actually leave until Thursday for dinner. We slept in late both days and kinda lazed around. It was really nice. Casey made bomb cheesecakes for us when we got back and also broke the pyrex pan one of them was in. It shattered. We had a roof session and talked to her friends on skype that I met while they were here. Amalee, one of the french friends threw a little welcome back/birthday party for Marie Caseys roommate and brought some fruit over. Then Coleman and Alex and I proceeded to have a fight wiping the rines on each other, immature, but fun. Thursday night after dinner at Truco, I cut Colemans mullet off. I think it turned out alright given the tools and lighting I had to work with. Then Casey and I left at 1:30 to take buses from Guadalajara to Colima, Colima to Cuyutlan and see the sea turtle santuary they have there. They also help crocs and iguanas, but the turtles are the cutest. I even got to hold some babies! A 31 day old and 4 month old. They are precious. We then went to a black sand beach-the sand gets so hot and the waves were HUGE. its on the Pacific coast. There are lifeguards on duty and when people go too deep they use their whistles. Casey and I ate at a really bad restaurant, but made up for it with ice cream bars, it was pretty hot out. After that we decided to come back another day and spend some time in Colima. To get there we took a bus to Armenia, then indirectly to Colima. In Colima we walked around, got coffee, saw a mural on stairs painted by some famous person, walked by a concert in one of the plazas and a clown performing in the other. We saw the cathedral and a bulk store that had different sizes of dried fish and shrimp. Gross. Then we went to a restaurant that is my favorite in Mexico. The bread was just cooked, and still hot and tasted the best. The butter with that was also the best Garlic butter I have ever had and the salsas were equally as good. The tortillas in the tacos were fresh made and the server was very patient with all of our questions. It was even not too expensive. We left after that and getting back was a little more difficult. We went to Guadalajara but had to wait two hours for the next bus because we had just missed the bus to Guanajuato. Instead we took the bus to Leon and then Guanajuato. It wasnt too bad except we hadnt slept much in two nights and did quite a bit that day and just wanted to be home. The buses in Mexico are SO much better and with the discount-really cheap. The seats recline and unless your on economy class, almost all the way. Usually you get food and a drink-unless economy and movies play. The seats are big and roomy and comfortable and generally there is air conditioning also. Music if you want and lights at night, if needed. Minus economy-theres always at least one bathroom, sometimes two and Casey loves the nasty ham and cheese sandwiches they give out. I gave all mine to her.

We dont really have plans for the weekend, but got some homework to do and at some point I have to move back to my house. My roommate comes home from france Sunday I think and I will be excited to hear her stories.

Spring Break part 1

We left at midnight actually on Thursday and missed most of the flower festival because we didnt want to arrive late in Belize since we didnt actually know how long the trip was going to be. We had a five hour 'layover' in D.F. and then was on a bus for over 20 hours straight. We arrived in Belize saturday late afternoon and was picked up by Alex's uncle. We rode in the back of his truck, 6 of us, for about an hour into the jungle where he co-owns a jungle resort with a buffet eating style, pool and different kinds of lodging options. Since we were not really paying for this, we got put wherever there was room. The first one was a tree house with a outside shower to complete it. The windows were only screens as it was hot and you could hear the jungle noises all night. The tree houses were off of a bank so half of it was supported on stilt things and not the ground. prolly my favorite place. except that the howler monkeys in the trees around us were RIDICULOUS. They were so loud and close and they sound kinda creepy too. woke us up several time nights. The next tree house was similar but actually had a tree through the middle of it. The last area was just a room with a large bathroom and lots of beds and some hammics. It was nice, but not as nice as the tree houses, those were pretty cool.

The jungle was humid. Really humid. Sunday, our first full day there, we went to the ATM cave. Sometimes you swam, walked in water or climbed rocks but the further you went back the more Mayan artifacts there were and at the very end there was a full skeleton of a sacrificed girl. We learned lots of things like the royal people were sacrificed, blood letting was through the tongue and penis with a vine, they were dying of anemia before the spanish came and caused problems and there were A LOT of offerings. Before we got to the ATM cave, we went by Alexs uncles farmhouse (also owns a lot of citrus) where we swam in the river. It was so clear, warm, perfect and tropical. It might be my favorite part. The next day we went to mayan ruins and could see Guatemala. They are so HUGE with big steps so that you would always be bowing to the gods as you climbed to the top. Mayans were only about 5 feet tall, so they woulda had to bow more. Tuesday we went ziplining throught the jungle and then to the zoo. Both were really cool, but the zoo was awesome. All the animals were rescued or saved from illigal activity and are attempted to be released into the wild again. All are local to Belize and in really nice natural habitats. There were even some running around free. The fences were low and you could get really close to all the animals. All the cats, big and small, smelled really bad. There were HUGE falcon bird things and tapirs too, (mountain cows). We saw nesting macaws that flew to the fence trying to chase us away from their egg to protect it. The next day we went to another cave where we climbed up waterfalls in the cave and then jumped down the ones that were deep enough. It was a rush. You have to land in the right spot and only have a headlamp and hard hat to protect you from hitting the rocks above you in the air as you jump. There were bats flying around in the small spaces and even hit my arm and really gross large scorpian-spiders. They are kind of both, not a spider or scorpian. The crickets in the caves also have really really long anteanas. I kind of always thought that nothing really lived in caves, but some small fish were in the water and we caught some crabs also. There were some mayan artifacts in this cave too. I was a little sick this day and was definately worried about having an incident. And the mosquitoes ate me alive. And sometimes the fish will bite at your fingers, its a weird feeling. It was pretty bad. Later that day we left and went to Hopkins where her uncle owns a house and another resort.

It was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. The water was perfect, pool, docks, hammocks, warm and sunny. The first day there we all kinda lounged around, swam in the pool and the ocean, jumped off the docks and chilled out. We even saw a manitee in the water eating. It was nice since having so much other stuff to do in the past few days. None of us even stayed up late since we had to get up early and be ready for everything. The next day we got up and went snorkeling. That was SO cool. It was on the barrier reef, second largest in the world to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There were so many different kinds of fish, eels, coral. Small fish, big, black, white, green, blue, pink, purple, yellow, red, reflective, florescent, striped, spotted, both, clearish, funny fins, skinny, round, baracoudas, tiny ones in the water around you, rays, schools of fish and lobsters too, it was pretty amazing. We stopped at another picture perfect beach on an island and went to our second location. The rest of the day we chilled out and left the next morning. Alexs uncle took us to the bus station, where we took the bus to Belmapan and split up with Kelsey and Booper, our new German friend. From there they went back to Mexico and Aly, Coleman, Alex and I went to Guatemala. The buses in Belize are old school buses. Apparently on Good Friday in Belize, no buses run anywhere.

In Guatemala we took a bus to Flores, a little town on an island in a lake. It is colonial and similar to Guanajuato, but we liked it a lot. I was also not feeling too great this day and lost my appetite for the next several days. The hostel that we stayed in was really cool and even had their own restaurant that was really good and really cheap. There were dogs and a rabbit just wandering around that were friendly and obviously lived there. There were lots of types of people but everyone seemed pretty cool. We met a funny guy named Rob who graduated from Humbolt and has been traveling 10 weeks already. We took a boat ride with him and went to their zoo and some water slides. The zoo was not nearly impressive and it was really humid. We met some isreali guys that just got out of the army and were traveling around. Rob got into a heated conversation with them over dinner as they were pretty close minded about americans and california. I was taught how to play a card game by Alex that was a lot of fun and we left at 5 the next morning to head back to Mexico. From there it took us until tuesday around 4 pm to get back to Guanajuato. Long Long ride, but the buses in Mexico are really nice with lots of padding and room, even a bathroom in the back and they play movies. It was so much better than the buses in Guatemala and Belize. We watched "The boy in the Striped Pajamas" it was really sad, but they played lots of other movies also. Sleep schedual is pretty messed up, but it is super good to see Casey.

Semana Santa!!!!!!!!!!

Leaving in less than 12 hours for Belize!!! We have to leave GTO around 4 am I think then to D.F. and then a border city-its gunna be close to 30 hours I'm sure. I can't even imagine how I will be feeling then, but its worth it. We will stay in a tree house in the Jungle for two days then on the beach two days and then up to Cancun to meet Casey where we will travel around the Penninsula. We can hike or snorkel or go horseback riding or diving, theres tons to do and its all relatively cheap since Alexs uncle owns the resort...like 50 a day including everything. Its going to be so sweet.
And a break I need. This week has been rediculus! I have STILL been sick and Caseys friends are all here also so I have tried to hang out with them as much as possible. To top it off some random lasy at Valenciana told Casey that we are not signed up for our class and she cant find us in the system. She also thinks we tricked her into signing the papers and that we are illigal. Also, she wasnt in her office when she said that she would be. AWESOME. not. Anyways, buying tickets was rough too, we couldnt use international cards unless it was an American Express so I asked Mari Cruz and she let me use one, thank goodness. Except that you can also only buy 5 tickets on one card and we needed six...had another presentation and it took almost an hour with my partner, but i got a 9.5 on it-which is decent.
Flower festival is tonight and tomorrow, but we are pretty much gunna miss all of tomorrows part. I guess the girls walk around in a circle one way while young men walk around the outside them the opposite way and give roses to the girls they like to start a conversation. Its one of the biggest festivals here and it sounds huge since the whole city stays up. and if thats big then it must be HUGE. I also found out that Guanajuato is the Kissing city because they tried to outlaw kissing in public but everyone protested by making out all over all the time-explains why SO many people are always kissing with not a bit of shame. Yep, but since I need to be getting ready for that, that meaning the festival and pack i will have lots of stories to share when I come back I am sure.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

It's getting harder to write about things as I am hear longer and get used to things more. I seem to appreciate smaller stuff that seems meaningless to write about that I know I will miss when I leave. Like walking everywhere, taking buses, buying 3 smaller mangoes for 5 pesos, the taste of the bread and chimichurri, the weather of course, not studying a lot, staying out all the time, always being around friends, being able to go to Puerto Vallerta for a three day weekend, cucumber water, Fito's restaurant, being rediculous all the time, the pretty city, hiking here, flowers, certain foods, the people, relaxed life style, sleeping in a lot...but then I also think about the things I will appreciate more when I am back like my bed, longer showers, drinkable water, a dryer, no cats making weird noises at all hours of the night, not worrying about scorpians, better internet, seeing friends, salads, not always eating fat, bread, rice, pasta and torillas in the same meal, normal icecream, healthier food and less expensive cell service.
The time is flying by! I cannot believe that I am almost half done already. Puerto Vallerta was AMAZING and it was awesome to be able to tell other college students that were there for spring break, we were there for a three day weekend. It was sunny and my cold went away, pretty cheap comparatively with rooms that had a kitchen, balcony, 2 queen beds good shower and ac, 3 pools, beach, all inclusive. It was a dream. I did not sleep much, but that means I got to experience it more! I didnt even get much tanner just because I used so much sun screen. Then we got back to classes with our dumb presentations and my stupid being sick. I hate them, mostly because I cant wing it and its hard to memorize in a different language so I gotta read off the paper and that is never good. Found another scorpian, it was in my jeans as I was putting them on yesterday and it slid across the floor when I was shaking out the leg to get my foot through. It was just a baby maybe two inches long, but I was told the smaller they are the more poisonous they are. Good thing I killed it. Also was told that if they realize they are going to die they try to commit suicide. Never having my clothes on the floor again.
Apparently there is a flower festival next week that is amazing and that pretty much starts off spring break I think...since we will be leaving for Belize the next morning. CANNOT wait, but we have to figure out small details like how to get there with bus scheduals or if it would be better to rent a car and the what to do after. Those two weeks are going to be AMAZING. As long as we can figure out a way to get Casey there it will be perfect. We are even staying in a tree house in the jungle/rain forrest for two nights. I wont even know how to write down everything that we see or do in those two weeks. We will have to see how that one pans out I guess.

Shenannigans

It has been such a good week-minus the part that Casey was gone all week. And that I am still sick- I have missed her a lot. Monday we went on a feild trip kinda thing and holy cats it was SO dumb. Wasted, worthless, awkward, boring and stupid day. Plus, we got back almost two hours late so I missed my 4 hour history class. Kinda sad, but mostly I just hope that I wont get in trouble for it. Wensday we went to El Bar, the Salsa bar and watched the Mexico vs New Zealand game. It was actually a lot of fun-they project it on one of the walls plus the other tvs. Mexico won, of course. Thursday I was supposed to give a speech in one of my classes, but my teacher was not there as she was in negotiations for teachers wages and such that started a strike later that afternoon, so I only had class for one hour! ha also, no class friday. Friday we had lots of plans to workout and lay out in the sun and such but none of that happened since we got invited to go camping for Aly's birthday. We had planned to go Saturday, but a couple of our friends were already going and had everything ready...
Camping, think of camping...Trees, cold, stars, campfires...chairs, no people around, fire pit? No, this camping was nothing like that. First of all it took us almost 6 hours to get there...only 1 hour and forty five minutes away. Welcome to Mexico pace. So we got to our place at like 11 to set up camp. Mind you there was 4 cars of people full and a truck of stuff, they were way more prepared than we thought they would be, but our 'spot' was on some random guys farm, in the driveway of a cement building with his truck in it right next to a mostly dirt, gravel road. They set up the tents really fast and it was impressive. Alex helped of course with all her camp experience and was in her element. It was entertaining. Coleman brought his guitar and Kelsey and I introduced mexican smores since the marshmellows here are flavored and they dont have grahm crackers, we had to substitute. They sang Mexican songs and we sand American ones, it was quite fun. I couldnt sleep until it was getting light outside since there were like 6 people in our tent, not a lot of room-the zipper on the door was broken so it was cold all night and I had no blanket. Everyone was pretty much up again before 7 and some of the guys made breakfast then we watched the Rally. Its a competition with drivers from all over the world that race on this 'course'. It happened to be the dirt road next to us around in the mountains. Its cool to watch the cars drifting and stuff-some of them go really fast, but really dusty and not very climatic-you just watch a car for ten seconds or less and wait for the next one. The food at lunch could very well be the best I have had here, it was SO good. Coleman and I went on the roof of the building when we were waiting for the second round to start and he played his guitar-it was pretty amazing. I didnt bring sunscreen cuz I thought our camping was going to be in like a forrest with lots of trees, and I am SOOO burnt. My face looked like a tomato yesterday and is still pretty red today. Got some awesome tan lines that will take forever to go away but its alright.
Aly had fun for her birthday and thats the most important thing:) AND Belize is a go for sure-we even know when we are going. I cannot wait.

Bitter Sweet Symphony

I am finally legal! Casey, Becka, Aly and I went to San Miguel on Friday. Casey and I are now legal to be in Mexico and won't get deported haha. We have until mid July before we have to leave, but I am sure that I will be back before then for work and my internship. It could not have come at a better time. Late Friday morning or early Saturday Casey was informed of a family emergency and booked a flight last night to go home until next week. She left around six this morning. The lucky part is that when applying for a student visa you cannot leave the country until you get your documents back...she could have left today-but not been able to get back in on Sunday. So lucky we went Friday. I already miss her! I cannot and do not want to imagine what is going to happen when we all have to say goodbye for real. We are all so close already. That was the sad part of the weekend...
The good parts. Had an awesome workout Friday, it was the best I have worked out since I have been here. Saturday we woke up and drove almost 5 hours to the Monarch Butterfly reserve. It was incredible. In the forrest and so beautiful. There were millions and millions of butterflys! If you just looked up you could see them all swarming and flying above you. The trees looked orange like in fall because there were so many on them and the branches were heavily weighed down by having so many on them! Pictures do not do justice but I wish I could post some just to show how crazy it was. The only bad part was that at the bottom there were also a ton of red wasps and they stung two people. It got confusing trying to figure out if a butterfly was on you or wasp...we tried to walk fast through that part. The driving was not too bad-I mean being in a van for that long...however the roads. ha They have speed bumbs EVERYWHERE. Its really annoying and so randomly placed. Its like those replaces stop signs, slow signs, speed signs and yeilding. and they are no little bumbs you just zip right over either. Last night we went salsa dancing! Casey went with us to say goodbye to people and left early to pack while Alex and I decided to stay longer. At three or so we then decided that since the salsa bar stayed open until 5 we would stay there until then and go see Casey off...love our random ideas. We ended up staying until after 6 and then seeing Casey off. It was actually a ton of fun even though I was tired for a lot of it. The "boys" there can dance so well its crazy just watching them, but then they make it fun for the people, like me, who cannot dance well. I will say though that people we telling me I was doing really good...yes....My favorite part last night was prolly two of the better dancers, both guys, and some of the nicest I have met here, were dancing together. "Pollo", thats what we call him, is a tiny little cute guy and took the girl role while Armando was the man role-even though he is equally short, but doesn't have so much of the cute little boy factor that pollo has haha...they were so crazy good that even a people circled around them to watch so they had their own space on the dance floor! While it was super fun and a lot of the people that stay that late are really cool, there are some really crazy people too. Everytime someone broke a glass...prolly happened three times in the last hour I was there the whole place(especially people working, owner and friends) would break out into a loud song to embarrass the 'tonto' who broke the glass. Slept a few hours and I was going to work out, but I definately did not sleep enough for that so now I am trying to figure out the rest of my Sunday!

Look at everything through the eyes of a child

Its like I am a child all the time here and everything is new! Today I had coconut yogurt...its prolly possible in the States, but never seen it and it is SWEET. Yesterday during class Andrea and I started pouring the plaster on our sculptures late so our professor asked us to stay later and finish...that means close to 9 pm, and thats is kinda late since not very many buses come after about 8:30. Anyways, he gave us a ride to a plaza close to our houses and it felt SO weird to be in a car, and we almost got hit twice, not that it is funny to get in a wreck in Mexico, but pretty humorus at the same time. First time in a car since the day I left the states...and on the bus up there-it was so crowded I was on the steps with my head bent towards the windshield. Gotta love Mexico. Anyways I also lost my cash wallet that had prolly close to 80 American dollars in it. Good job Lisa. Today I had an exam and it was a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be, but still hard since I could not remember the words to explain stuff during the essay question-what did I do? Oh I drew pictures, seriously. Again, I am a child haha. During my next class we were talking about flags and a guy from Korea knew that the stars represented the 50 states, and asked if I could name them-so with a little help of my fellow Americans-we did. He couldnt believe it and said his friend in Korea that is American must be stupid because he couldnt haha. This is all pretty boring, if you arent here, but its entertaining if you cant communitcate with others much here. ha. seriously.
Tonight we went to a cafe after working out (all the men sitting on the machines and talking instead of using them-reaccurring theme maybe?) and started to officially plan our spring break road trip with a destination. Pretty darn exciting. Apparently students get 1/2 price bus tickets, but of course there are lots of stipulations with that. And Saturday we are going to the Monarch Butterfly reserves to see the migration-apparently there are MILLIONS of them and they cover everything. I am stoked. Coldplay is playing in Mexico City this weekend too-sold out already, Muse is playing too...I want to see them! Moreso Coldplay however. Tomorrow I have class again, blah and Friday back to San Miguel and hopefully I will be legal, for real. I need my visa to go to Belize!

p.s. I got a 92% on my test-I only missed one question and I even knew the answer, but I got confused as to what it was asking. Lame.

Belize Bound

It has been a crazy week. Monday's really long class actually went okay since the professor pretty much said that he did not care I couldn't understand anything. He just wants me to do the reading so that I know a little about what they are discussing...sweet deal-how am I going to write papers? I have not the slightest clue. We apparently will deal with that when we get there. We also moved rooms Monday and it smells much better! I like our room a lot, even though it is much colder since it is less connected to the main house. Tuesdays are always busy because I do not have a lot of time between classes and comida, but I managed a workout in there. Wensday after classes Casey and I went to a convent that also runs an orphanage and volunteered there. We are trying to teach a nun english, but she knows more english than I do spanish I think. I didn't say a whole lot the whole time. But I guess next week I will get to meet all the kids. I am excited about that. We worked out after a nap and comida. There are so many people that just sit on the equipment and don't use it-so frustrating when its already crowded and you have a time schedual. I guess its kinda the same in the states, but I am less intimidated there since I can talk to other people haha. Thursday I had class and it was raining again! Wensday too actually. It does not seem like a big deal with the rain and all, but its so cold and you have to walk in 3 inches of water all the time-so you get even more wet. And there is no heat in any buildings so you stay cold. Both Thursday night and last night I stayed at Casey's. Last night we started with a roof session: guacamole, Coleman playing guitar and blankets. It was pretty much perfect. We could see the stars and were just listening to Coleman's musical talents-pretty awesome. There are two yellowish stars and I think those are planets-or what I have been told, but I am not entirely sure. Anyways after Coleman left we went downstairs to upload pictures since my internet is too slow at my house, and watch Mrs. Doubtfire. The movie stopped about halfway through and after over an hour-none of my pictures loaded. I really do try, but it just is not happening here apparently. Today we are gunna go to Leon and see what we can find. I gotta get my laundry from the lavendaria, because I wanted my clothes to actually dry-or I wont have them until Monday! That's about it I think...oh and we got the forsure okay on going to Belize for spring break...35 days away!

All yah need is love.

Just Kidding, we didn't go to D.F. We did other stuff instead, like Friday we went to Dia de los Deportes-or day of sports. They have a GINORMOUS facility up by one of my campuses. Like huge diving pool, basketball courts and soccer feilds, they have a really nice set of beach volleyball courts and even teach zumba classes and stuff outside. Oh and a kinda small rock wall. So Casey, Kelsey and I went and played beach volleyball. It was pretty slow since the only girl that knew what she was doing was trying to teach everyone-she plays in Norway. But I did fairly good for me and my hand even has a purple spot from hitting the ball! it was going flat and hurt. When we went to leave, Coleman had gone to the rock wall and brought his climbing stuff-SO HE TAUGHT US HOW TO CLIMB!!! and I made it to the top. After, he taught Casey to bule(dont know how to spell it) but I was the second security so if I didnt feed her rope Coleman couldnt come down, and if he tried to drop a little, she would be lifted-it was pretty funny...they were swinging and messing around with it and stuff. It was sweet. Yesterday we hiked up to the taller crusita...higher than the bufa and WAY harder. Took us about two hours to get to the top-at least and we crossed a fault line. Plus Alex forgot the right way so there was part of the mountain we literally went straight up. But it was fun and more difficult with my bag on. We had a picnic and then came down-the view was amazing though. Casey couldnt go because that morning she took a cooking class from Alex's dad, who owns a resaurant, and the soup spilled on her feel leaving pretty nasty blisters...they are still there. Then we watched The Boone Dock Saints and went to el Bar for dancing...oh wait, I even fell on my face while dancing to "I like big butts"-so classy and embarrassing. Pretty sure no one is going to let me live that one down.



Today....is V-day. Oh man is it a huge huge huge deal here. Imagine all the Valentines day stuff you have seen and multiply it by ten. ITS EVERYWHERE. Stores, street venders, restaurants-EVERYWHERE for like a whole week. and people get super super into it-even the boys-they do crazy stuff supposedly and even propose and stuff! haha. but really. All the resaurants and bars were all decorated and people are everywhere. There's even more making out than usual! I went to church this morning with Aly and Elvis. There church is outside and 1/4 the people are deaf so the whole service is also in sign language. SUPER cool. pretty small but it was easier because it was not as long-not such a brain overload. It also doesnt start till noon which is also motivating to wake up for...I dont really have to. Then I borrowed a dress from Kelsey and shoved two tostadas in my mouth at my house to go to a Valentine's get together with the salsa instructors and a few exchange students-where I ate again...this time a sandwhich, veggies, chips and salsa. Ten minutes before we left we were served desert...chocolate cake with strawberries on the side and hearts drizzled in carmel on top as well as a dessert with yogurt and whipped cream with brown sugar on top and frozen fruit in it-strawberries and peaches. Super amazing and fresh. From there we went straight to our dinner reservations where me and Kelsey split a tuna fillet and the other girls had pasta and oh wait, we walked around and had MORE dessert. All kinda shared our chocolate fans, cheesecake with pb and choco chips and 4 layer choco cake with dark fudge frosting...hello gym, again. So now I have to clean up my stuff so that when Mari and her friend move my stuff into another room it will be easier. Buenas Noches.

Shuga Shuga

Saturday we watched professional dancers at El Bar, the salsa bar and continued to dance the night away until after 4! They are so so so good. It was a lot of fun. I also lost my phone...aka someone stole it out of my jacket, but left my money so I already had to get a new one. Sunday we went to different places and watched the superbowl and did not do much anything else. Monday I went to San Miguel to pick up my papers, really early to get back for my history class and missed both grammar and conversation. Not successful, I was not able to get my papers back...but I was forewarned a little so it was not too much of a dissapointment. The bus station is by the circus and I saw a bear there, camels, mini horses and alpacas. I did not actually go in, just when driving by. My history class is sooo long. And boring. However, before class Casey and I found a dulceria, or candy shop...oh boy is that bad news. Not only was everything amazing in there the girl working was really nice and gave us samples of EVERYTHING. She would even open packages so we could sample. It was amazing. So during class everytime we got sleepy we would eat something sugary...we ate a ton of sugar. I felt so sick and had such a bad headache. Not that I never eat too much. I eat all the time and I always want to eat more! I cant figure out if its because most food here is not that healthy...um, unhealthy actually-mostly all carbs also, so I want more unhealthy food or if I just want bad food all the time because its here. For example-I crave a lot more sweet things here than I do at home. Its weird. The class location does not help either-we are pretty much in a cold dungeon with no windows and little lighting. Yesterday I had my sculpture class again and it was not as cold, but I went prepared with lots of clothes on-we even slowly started our self portraits. I also worked out pretty good and I am getting sore. We even saw the cows that leave all the poop everywhere. Class was easy today and Im so glad since I hung out way to late last night....
People have been getting sick! Amy was sick all weekend, Alex went to the doctor with an abdominal infection Monday-she is much better now since all the drugs and Kelsey was also really sick Sun-Mon-Tues. But they are all better now, I hope I don't get sick! I have been venturing out a little and trying different food so I REALLY hope that doesnt bite me in the butt. Today I had a tamale-amazing and monday a gordita in a made-right-in-front-of me corn tortilla. I could just eat warm tortillas all day long. And they always smell so good. Its so nice to walk by the places that make them. Its probably my favorite smell here. Especially since most stuff smells really bad...all the time.
It is possible that we will be going to D.F. this weekend. D. F. is Mexico City, the capital, but everyone here just calls is D.F. (sounds like de effe) I will be so excited to get out and go somewhere-I like excursions and I want to travel quite a bit while I am here. Its also supposed to start raining again and I want out of it. Spring break is two weeks...its a possibilties that some of us will go to Belize. So amazing. And I think the plan right now is to go to Cuba when finals are over...illigal country for my birthday! YEAH!!!! jaja. but it would be really cool.

Rain, Rain Go Away...

I don't mind the rain if it isn't cold, but its been freezing here! Today I had to get my supplies for art class and my jacket, snow jacket, got soaked through so I changed before class and was wearing 3 shirts, a zipup hoodie and a water proof layer ontop of that with my hat. To bad my 3 1/2 hour class was outside under a cover so I was freazing the whole time. By hour two my hands were two stiff to draw...oh yeah, I'm also an art student in Mexico now. Im taking sculpture-we'll see how this goes haha. It was rediculus...Also with all this rain, without dryers, clothes do not dry so its been two days since I did laundry and they still arent dry! Shoes dont dry from the rain, neither do jeans, towels from showering or even my backpack! its pretty rediculus, actually reminds me a lot of Oregon except there isnt as much water in the streets that you have to walk through in Oregon. Talk about getting soaked. However, if it doesn't rain now, then there will be no water this summer so Im trying really hard to be tollerant.

I bought a gym membership and have taken a few classes-Fusion, Spinning, Step and Pilates...Fusion includes Zumba which I cannot move my hips at all-meaning that I cant do most of it. All the other times I just look retarded. The only other hard part is getting yelled at in a language you dont understand. Think its hard to listen to a conversation? Try excersize classes. ha much worse. Even the treadmill has to be translated because the speed and everything is in the metric system and I dont know how far or how fast I'm running. Sweet deal. But Im excited to start working out again and get into shape. Although, with all these hills my legs will be so buff when I leave.

I love three day weekends:) So appreciated! Sunday night a few of us stayed at Caseys again and in the morning she made crepes while Coleman made omelettes...SO MUCH FOOD. I wasnt hungry again until after I had worked out for two hours at almost eleven. But it was fun anyways. The best part was the Nutella...hello gym.
Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to register for my classes finally and then its Thursday already! Gah the weeks seem way shorter when there isnt class Mondays...I like it:)

I am legal in Mexico!!!! well, almost...I have to pick up my stuff next monday but holy cats was that a process. I spent all week getting my papers ready and such, took pictures THREE times to get the right ones and had to take a taxi in San Miguel to go to the bank to pay $669 in pesos more...but hopefully I got it. The two hours of sleep I got the night before probably didnt help that process out.



Classes are going to be hard, mostly because of the language barrier, still not registered-we'll get to that next week. Mondays I have class from 10-12 and then in Valenciana 4-8 for a history class. The 10 am class is history in the language school and the 11 class is conversation. Conversation might be my favorite. Tuesdays I have 10-12 and in Usea/Marfil 5-8:30 sculpture class and I have to buy A LOT of stuff for that one. On top of that our 'building' is behind the campus fenced off and we could not get the alarm to shut off so we stood outside the whole class...pretty sunset at least. Wensdays are my favorite, one its hump day and two I only have class from 10-12. Also, hump day just means youre through the week halfway-all downhill thursday and friday. Thursday I have class 10-12 and 6-8:30 for the art class, fridays only the 11-12 class and a seminar from 1-2:30...not excited about class Fridays but I guess I have to learn to embrace it. Even just finding the classes is brutal here, however I do not have class early which I am SO blessed.



Wensday night we went to Cafe Tal and got drinking chocolate, its like straight chocolate with 6 oz of milk, little bitter and strong, and now that I have experienced it I am not sure I will again... They also advirtise for a circus by driving around trucks with cages as the bed with animals in them. We've seen male and female lions, a lepeord and monkeys. They smell bad and look so sad. And underfed. Last night we say "Up in the Air". Movies are like less than 4 American dollars here...and in English with spanish subtitles, I would not like it if I had to read all my movies in english subtitles, however its nice for me jajaja. After the movie we saw the CUTEST smallest little dogs EVER. They could fit in one of my hands. The lady that owned them was super nice too and let us play with them for a little bit. The night before we went Salsa dancing! It was so fun, all the guys there just lead you and its easy-except that Im so bad I even mess them up, I will learn!

La Bufa

Thursday Night I met Casey's roommates who are from Francia. They are so fun and amazing. We hung out at their house and ate fresh pinapple. It is so tasty! Yesterday was good, but not as great as planned with academics, we figured out our classes and everything. We got allowed to be in classes in Valenciana, but couldn't turn in our stuff to actually sign up-so we went and bought 8 avacados, cilantro, lots of the little limes, tomatoes, and an onion for less than 5 american dollars. With those ingrediants plus salt and galic we made the best pit of guacamole ever. We used 7 of the avacados and ate it all! We meaning Coleman, me and Casey for the most part. Her roommates helped us out a little. In addition to that we had watermelon, fresh strawberries and the mini bananas while on top of casey's roof laying in the sun. It was amazing. So warm and we could look over the city, which is beautiful...I will put up pictures sometime. It was so relaxing especially since Alex-who joined a little later, Casey and I all got less than 2 hours of sleep the night before. Last night I slept, showered, unpacked, found the scorpian under my shoes and slept more.
This morning we got up really early to hike the bufa! Its so incredible and so amazing. It took over two hours to go up and because I'm getting sick I was having a really hard time breathing, so it made it a little harder than it shoulda been haha. Anyways, we could see Leon and Guanajuato and all the mountains in the area. Everything was so BIG, all the crevasis, gaps, rocks, cliffs, it was incredible. Literally felt like I was on the top of the world. The aloe vera plants here are huge too! I tried to pick one of the leaves and the plant was taller than me and it was not even the biggest we have seen! They are everywhere even growing out of the rock walls around the tunnels.
Side note-Coleman is from Montana, Casey is from Eugene, but doing the exchange through SOU, Alex and Olivia are from Canada and Becca and Aly are from West Virginia. Jessica, my new roommate is from Ashland also and Junko my other roommate is from Japan. Becca is the only one that I accually share a room with. Alex and Aly live next to each other, both up the mountain. Aly lives with the same host family as Stephen who is also from West Virginia. Elvis is from Ghana and there is apparently a whole other group from Michigan and stuff that we haven't really met yet. My mother is Mari Cruz and her daughters are Fernanda and Pamelah.
Food: Increible. Delicioso. Amazing. The big meal is at like 3 or so and Mari Cruz always makes delicious food. Today it was tacos. In the morning there is always fruit with cereal or waffles or eggs or even pretoasted toast ha. At night its usually either quesadillas or sandwishes but I always eat quesadillas. I haven't eaten out much just because I want to hear about all the good stuff first plus Mari Cruz always has food for us. There is a drink that Mari Cruz gives us at dinner, but since I liked it so much now for breakfast also, its called avena. It is my favorite, better than coffee or hot chocolate or anything. It is cinnamon sticks boiled in water, oats, a little milk and I think sugar but not sure-some kinda powdery stuff.
Mari Cruz has a friend that helps her clean, like every single day. Every part of the house even our room so our floors are always clean and beds made. I thought it was only supposed to be once a week, but learned and felt bad about my mess after a few days. The roads are crazy! Super tiny and there arent really large sidewalks or sometimes side walks at all. All the roads in the city go one direction and the tunnels underneath the city allow the cars to go the other direction. Makes it easy to cross the road! time to nap....

Hoops

So...this week is definately teaching me to relax and roll with the punches....a lot. Monday we had orientation from 9 until three or so. Didn't really learn a whole lot but whatever. Monday I got a phone that still doesn't work. Tuesday we had orientation at ten and were supposed to be done at 2....we finished at almost six. No break, no direction, no idea it was gunna take so long and no idea that when it would be over. AND we sat around for NOTHING. literally, just listening to people talk in spanish forever and argue about how to register on their cell phones with other teachers. It was my favorite day ever. ha not. THEN yesterday we were supposed to sign up but everyone said something else. We were also supposed to take a test monday that we took yesterday and had already taken. Also we were told we would be doing a lot of paperwork for the migration papers....it took THREE HOURS to fill out and print ONE paper on the computer. That was it. So today, I went to sign up and we went to different places. Paid for insurance, thats about the only thing we accomplished in 5 hours. The plan tomorrow is to be at offices at 9:30 am for signatures then go to campus at Marfil(40 min from center of town) then to Valenciana (20 minutes from center the other direction) back to Marfil. That will only get me signed up for 3 or 4 of my classes-I still have to sign up for another class at a different campus Monday. Classes start Monday.
Oh and while we are trying to figure all this out, some of the classes we had planned to take are not offered or have time conflicts. Don't worry, our advisor at SOU doesn't know anything and got mad for us asking if we could take all our classes in the language school. Pretty amazing since we don't know what we are doing-no one else does either.

On a lighter note, we had a school function tuesday night that was a lot of fun with dancing and such, last night we went to a salsa bar and the intructors were teaching us. It's fun but really hard. Tomorrow a few of us are planning a roof session in the sun with a guitar and food if we get done in time and Saturday we are going to hike the Bufa at 8 am! SO early!

I'm learning a lot and its so much fun, but sleep is definately lacking, there is just so much to do! throw in church and bible studies and a basketball game or something and its pretty nuts!

ME ENCANTA GUANAJUATO!!!

MUCHO! MUCHO! MUCHO!!!!! I can't believe I have only been here for the weekend, its so amazing.



Friday night we ended up just sleeping and Saturday we woke up to meet Christain at 10:30(EARLY!!!) to get phones...too bad I didn't bring my passport and have no pesos still...so Becka and Alli did instead. Christian is from Mexico, but best friends with Becka since he went to school in West Virginia also...all these WV people! Before getting the phones we walked around and after we went to Mercado Hildago....above the city-meaning we had to climb a huge hill...seriously nothing is like these hills down here. Even the stairs are hard because they are 2-3 times the size of standard stairs in the states. After lunch Becca and I went to a Youth Service with our sisters-also out of town, but we rode the bus...for a whole 4 pesos! It was hard to stay concentrated when you don't understand much, but one of the songs was one that we knew so we sang in English while everyone else was singing in Spanish. It was amazing to be connecting with these people I barely know through worship.

After service, I showered:) and got ready for the Birthday celebration. (side note-apparently in Mexico it is tradition for the Birthday person to bite the cake then everyone else pushes their head into it, so that their face is covered in frosting...we took it easy on Becca) Alli, Steven and Steven's friend from Ghana-that goes to school here, met us at our house for a wonderful night of dancing. The night life here is amazing. I love it. Lots of people are out walking around and at resaurants (Cena is between 8-10/11 pm) There is a plaza close to my house with outside seating resaurants, candles, even tvs put out so that the atmosphere is very open, calm and fun. You can hear the music from the clubs or street vendors and the lights make is so pretty. I cannot wait until its warmer! There are lots of clubs to dance at and we went to a few...also here clubs are open till 4-5 am so when we started at 11 it was DEAD, hardly anyone was there. A lot of people smoke in the clubs-my clothes, hair and skin REEKED like stale cigarette smoke this morning. Thank goodness for perfume when there isn't time to shower! The music was so loud my ears were still ringing when I got home. It was a superb night! Happy Birthday Becca!

Today, after getting little sleep, I went to church at 10:00 am, we did not get done until 2:00! They sang for a VERY long time and had the LONGEST prayers ever. Also hard when you don't understand the language its hard to tell when they are going to say 'amen' and can miss it easily so its a little embarrassing to look up and the prayer has been over...oops. After that, we waited and rode on a bus for an hour and a half for una fiesta for the baby that was dedicated before the service started. It was Mexico. We were on a two level patio, the grandpas (I think) were playing guitar the whole time and singing, lots of laughing, different conversations, traditional mexican food(mole-..didn't like it much) and everything. Mother: Mole is pronounced mow-lay. Everyone is so welcoming and nice. Us foreigners stumbled through convo and I even gave english lessons to the pastor of the young persons service! He said he would help me with piano and spanish...he has a degree in music!

Dia Uno

Well, it has been surreal thus far. I got to my house at 6:30 am and did not sleep at all during the night. I did not have any problems with travel and got a green button!
It was warm last night, well compared to what Oregon is, and I was kicking myself for packing so many warm clothes, however, this morning I was so glad. I woke up at about noon to POURING rain, hail, wind and thunder. So glad I brought the warm clothes. It stops and gets sunny then starts again. Plus no houses have heating so it is cold all the time, not just outside.
My family is amazing so far. My mom has two daughters and is also hosting 3 others until tomorrow and the end of this month. There are also two little cute dogs! One is called Chaquita and the other one is Oso, or bear. Oso is a puppy and my favorite even though he barks ALL the time. Even comes in our room just to bark and then leave. My roommate, Becca, is from West Virginia and already knows several people from her school here and a couple were here last semester. They all speak much more spanish than I do. I'm like a chicken with its head cut off, I have no clue really what is going on. My house is right by down town, super grateful for that one. Everything is a ten minute walk away and no major mountains to climb everyday to get home. My house is green. And we have hot showers. Although, I am having a little trouble remembering to not flush the toilet paper:/ The city is amazing and beautiful. There are huge bright red flowers all over, and I have not gone very far. It is very clonial like I was told, but ALL of it is, not just patches and there are amazing buildings.
Today we walked around a bit, the buildings are really bright and streets are narrow. We went to a farmacia so someone could get shampoo and such, I think I forgot my toothpaste somehow but I was sure I packed it so I will be getting that tomorrow. We were watching spongebob in spanish with the girls and talked about twilight and avatar! Tonight we're gunna go dancing, jump right into it haha and tomorrow is my roommates birthday so we're planning on celebrating somehow...
Thats all for now I guess, I havent even been here 24 hours yet so I know it will get way more exciting later.