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.