Short and Sweet

Tuesday July 28, 2009    5:31pm 

My friends and I are trying to go to Guadalajara this weekend. I am sitting in my brother-in-law and sisters cafe/art store that is pretty freaking sweet. This is my first time being here. I need to write a paper but instead I am uploading my blog. I think I lucked out with this whole homestay thing. 

Back from the City

July 27, 2009     6:10pm

Well, this past weekend I went to Mexico City with my study abroad program. If I could ever find my camera cord, I would put up some pictures (either on here or facebook). We left Friday morning at around 8:30am and arrived around 2pm-ish in Mexico City. We took a small bus, but it was fine. We stayed in a Hostel which was pretty nice. There were a lot of people from all over the world, and a majority of them spoke english. We saw the National Palace, which I found incredibly interesting because that's where Diego Rivera's most famous murals are located. We went to a church that had an incredible amount of gold inside. We also saw some old ruins, which I also found incredibly interesting. I kept telling everyone I thought it was a government ploy just to be a jerk, because the government must make a ton of money from all the travelers that pay to go through it everyday. Some people laughed, some didn't. That night I went with some friends to a Salsa bar, which was a ton of fun. My friend Jack and I went first and had to share a table with this couple that lives somewhere near Mexico City. They were really nice and friendly, and the man took a million pictures of and with us on his iPhone and said he would email them to us. I hope he does. We went back with our other friends and danced the night away. Saturday we hiked up some INCREDIBLE pyramids, both Luna and Sol. We went to an onyx store where I got some cactus shampoo and split it with Jack. (Come on, if you saw cactus shampoo, wouldn't you want to try it as well?) I also bought a surprise for someone back home. Sunday we went to Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo's house) which was very interesting. There were paintings of hers and of Diego's. You weren't allowed to take photos inside, however. We also went on this boat ride restaurant thing down a canal. It was so much fun. There's floating mariachi bands who follow along and play for you. Of course, I got picked out of the group and got serenaded the whole time by the lead guitarist/singer man. I got a picture with him, but my friends have that one. Somehow, I always get singled out of the group. My luck. A lot of the students came back today to Guanajuato to schedule for classes. I am pretty excited that they are here, so I can finally get to know some more Mexicans! This is my last week of CIEE classes, and next week I start at the actual university. We get this weekend off. Lets see where we decide to go! 

Monday July 20, 2009   3:27pm

I have had one heck of a first week here in Mexico. I am finally getting around to writing now, because I have been so busy. My Mexican brother had his baby, and named her Carla, after his wife. He says she is doing well. Let me catch up on what I have missed out on:

Friday I only had my grammer class until 12pm. I then went on a walk to find the gallery my Mexican sister and her husband owns. My friend Jack and Jourie came with me, and since it was closed, we ended up talking for a while outside and then finally went home. My friend Jourie left to go to Salamanca, Mexico with her family for the night. I went with Jack and my other friend Abby to some bars around the city. The bars here are like the bars in the Short North. (nice. nice. niiiice!) Not that I've ever actually been in those... ANYWAY. We saw Jacks mexican brother, who is probably the funniest as well as probably the most inappropriate 25 year old I have ever met. He kept telling Jesus jokes, cursing up a storm, so on and so on. Nonetheless I really couldn't help but laugh at him. He was hilarious. 

Saturday I took a lot of sleep time. My friend Jack and I went to see Harry Potter, because all our other friends had either already seen it with their family, or had a party to go to that night. The movie theater we went to is in a mall and it has both a McDonalds and a Subway. Good to know for when I get American food cravings later on. The cab ride to the mall (a 5 min drive) was only $3US. We had the option of seeing the movie in Spanish or in english with subtitles. Of course we chose english. Surprisingly enough, a lot of other people did as well. I kinda liked this Harry Potter, but since I haven't read the books I was mad it ended so quickly. 

On Sunday I went shoe shopping with Abby. She bought some cute silver gladiator sandals for only 14US$. It's a steal. Everything here is very cheap, but I have restrained and not bought ANYTHING (besides water and drinks at starbucks) because I'm afraid my $700 is not going to go very far this semester. Later last night I went over to Jourie's house with my friend Jack and played bingo. Jourie's family's entire family was at their house playing. They play for money. They don't joke around here in Mexico. I, of course, lost. A lot. I only got a bingo twice, and every time had to split the money at least 3 ways. My life in a nutshell, I swear. 

I went to the pharmacy and told the lady I was having stomach pains (probably from all the constant starch in all foods) and she gave me these pills that I have no idea what they are, but they sure do work wonders! My Mexican mom said they were ok to take. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm not going to come home addicted to something. 

This weekend we travel to Mexico City. I am excited to go, especially after Prope class today (our class about mexican history/culture). I didn't even know Mexico City was built on a lake. Apparently everything's sinking and they can't build transit easy because they keep hitting old ruins and pyramids that have sank (although we were told the transit in Mexico City isn't safe and therefore we shouldn't take it). We are going to be staying in a hostel. That will be the first hostel I have ever stayed in. I'm actually pretty excited.  

Well I'm about to go meet up with my friends at the cafe. I'll write more later. 

PS--- the Starbucks is currently playing gold-digger. Not the Kanye West version however, the old school version. The good version. 

this city is weird

July 15, 2009   6:31pm

The title is correct. Last night I went out with my friends Jourie and Jack from my program and Jouries family (who are also my neighbors) and my other neighbor Pablo. They are all my age. Jourie's family had people staying with them for three days in Guanajuato as some kind of exchange thing with the lions club. Yes, here the lions club is young and active. We went to the Guanajuato Grill. Wouldn't you think that means theres food there? No. It's only a bar. A dance club bar in fact. There are only young people who go, and it's a lot of fun. They play a lot of english songs as well as spanish. I just thought it was funny that we went to a "grill" that doesn't actually have a grill. Mexico is weird. The dogs here are so smart. They don't come up and bug you for food or anything, but they somehow can figure out how to survive without disturbing the peace. They are EVERYWHERE. It's insane. There are these bells here that go off around 6:30 every day in memory of some saint. Theres also these LOUD explosions everyday for that as well. It scared me the first few days. I bought a Mexican cell phone so I can talk to my friends here without costing an arm and a leg (especially for them to call me). There are lots of people here that are very nice and very patient. My spanish is getting better. My family was making fun of me today at lunch. They said the first few days I said very little but now they can't get me to shut up! Oh well, I'm finally starting to remember the words for things, so I get excited to use them. The drivers here are extremely skilled. I don't understand how they can manuever and park around here. Seriously, they would laugh at the United States drivers test. The streets are narrow, there's people everywhere, and small parking spaces exist for big cars to fit in. I don't understand how so much disorder can cause order, but I guess it's the Mexican way! I am sitting in a Starbucks right now. They have some really cool clothing here. It's very bohemian. I like it. Today my friend Abby and I went in a store, asked for something in spanish, and the man answered us in english. It was quite funny. My commute from my house to the city and to school is insane. San Fransisco's hills have NOTHING on this city. I seriously walk for 10 minutes on a 60 degree incline home every day. I am going to have some killer leg muscles when I come home. 

Well... I think that's it for today. I'll have more updates later. 

Classes have begun!

July 14, 2009    5:27pm

Yesterday I started my classes. I got put in the dumb spanish class. There are two levels, and I'm in the lower one. Oh well, I guess losing to the natives or semi-natives isn't that bad. Classes are interesting but ok. We'll see how it goes. I am sitting in a starbucks about to go hang out with some friends. Talked to my parents on Skype today. I still don't know how to communicate well with my host family but I am learning. 

Day 2 -- Continued

July 11, 10:52pm

Tonight I moved into my homestay and met my family. There is an older man and woman who have three grown and married children. They all stop in to the house often is what Yolanda (my house mother) told me. I met Ana and her husband, who live next door. They seem very nice and can speak some English, which might end up being most helpful in the end. My house is very big, but does not have internet, so I don’t know when I will be able to update anything. My neighbor, however, has internet but I don't want to be annoying and ask to use it all the time. I wish I could pick up the internet from their house, but I'm not able to. Oh well. Internet cafe's will end up being my best friend this semester. 

Day 2

July 11, 2009     4:49pm

Today was our first day of orientation. We learned a lot about the program/expectations/yadda-yadda. We also got a post card from our host family. We went up the mountain on this bus, and went to a very cool locale. There were mountains all around us and the clouds felt as if they were close enough to touch. The people here are very cool as well. I am making friends with some of the other kids a lot easier than I had expected. Tonight we have an examination which tells us which class we are in for the rest of the July program. I will probably be at the bottom, because all these others kids seem more fluid and have bigger vocabularies, but that’s fine with me. I just want to get as good if not better than they are now. Tonight I meet my family for the first time and move into the homestay. I learned today that I have to walk through Guanajuato’s infamous tunnel system in order to get to class everyday. At least another girl that is here, named Jourie, will be living next door to me at my hacienda (we even kind of have the same address). I’m pretty excited to see how tonight plays out after dinner. The food here is great. Seriously, splendid! The bathrooms however, are a little sketchy. They don’t flush toilet paper down the toilets because there’s not enough water pressure. They also don’t have toilet seats on all the toilets. It’s like when a man goes to the toilet in the United States and lifts that lid, that’s how it is always. Weird. Excited but scared at the same time.

 

I am here!

July 10, 2009    10:47pm

 

Today was interesting. My first flight left home at 5:30a.m.. Port Columbus is a great airport compared to the others (especially Houston where I had to walk a million miles with a 40 pound bag on my shoulder to the next terminal). I think it’s funny how great Columbus airport is compared to the cramped style of the Houston airport. On my first flight I met a nice man who was dropping off his kids to his parents for the week while he planned his wedding. On my flight from Houston to Guanajuato I met a man from Leon, which is the town next to Guanajuato. He told me about the city and what to expect. He basically told me Guanajuato was boring. Once I found someone who was in my program I was set. Jack is his name and he seems very friendly and fun. We met up with some other cool people and went to the bar in town. There, we got a lot of free food, which I was skeptical to try. I tried it anyway, and it was among the most amazing free bar appetizers I have ever had. This bar has a lot of pictures of old baseball teams. The second time I was in there today (yes, I was in there twice) the Indians were playing. I talked to a nice old Mexican man about the Indians for a while, where he informed me he was a Yankees fan. It seems there are a lot of Yankee’s fans here in Guanajuato. We came back after hanging out to have dinner with the CIEE program. I met a few more people, read the guidebook, took a shower, drank some bottled water, and now am sitting on my bed writing this script for my blog. That’s all that’s happened, and I’m super excited to see what else occurs.  

Tomorrow = Big Day!

Well, looks like I have one last day in the United States (and that would be today)! As I finish packing I wanted to thank all the people that made time to stop by yesterday or see me this week before I leave. Tomorrow morning at 5:30a.m. I will be boarding the plane and on part one of the three part tour de airports until Guanajuato. Apparently first from Columbus I land in Charlotte, then somewhere in Texas, and finally the Leon/Guanajuato airport. This will be quite an adventure. The information they have given me is that I will be living with a woman who designs and makes dresses and a man who is a painter. I know they have three grown (and out of the house) children, one of whom lives next door to them. They live on a former hacienda and have one dog. I am excited to meet everyone, but honestly, am most nervous about this peso-dollar conversion. I don't want to be the dumb American who doesn't understand she's paying overprice or complains she's not getting a fair deal when she is. Hopefully I'll figure it out. I do have a lot of time until I arrive tomorrow. Maybe that should be my airplane-assignment.