My first week in Mexico!

Alright, so, here is a run down of what we have done so far.

On Sunday morning, we went to Teotihuacan, which is this place on the left. There are two pyramids to climb there, la piramide del sol y la piramide de la luna. The one on the left here is la piramide de la luna. We climbed both and it was so fun. This was really the highlight of the day: the climbing (I actually had a race up one of them...ouch!) and some new toys I bought there that I will only be able to reveal in time...:) That and the making of new friends. Como este:












The next day was la dia de las madres, a very important day here. So important, in fact, that our school was closed. So, instead, we went on a turibus around the city. It was so friggin long! This is actually where I got a sun burn, sitting on top of the turibus for hours. We stopped at the cathedral in the middle of the city and spent some time there, but we really just got to see different parts of the city. But we were so hungry! It was after 3 when we ate lunch...and I had breakfast at 7:30! That night I spent at home with the family for la dia de las madres and I brought her home some flowers.

The next day, we had our first day of class at la Universidad de Comunicacion:
It was soooo long. Class starts at 8:30 here for us and ends at 2:30! And we don't have a lunch break. We take about 2 or 3 5 minute breaks and one 15 minute break. We were soooo hungry by the time it was over. We are learning about Los Mexicas (part of the Aztecs that lived here years ago) and what happened when the Spaniards came over. We are also learing a lot of vocabulary for businesses and how different the business culture is here. By the way, its pretty different. I love everything we are learning now, and I may post some about it later. It's because I am a geek...:) I also spent that night at home. There was a big storm and we lost power and just sat and chatted over candle light.

On Wednesday, we went to El Templo Mayor en the center of the city. It is where the center of the Mexica city, Tenochtitlan, was before the Spaniards came, and some of the ruins you can see today. We spent a lot of time giving presentations on certain topics to each other. Another long day. But the reward was great: A chicken with mole and mango! Riquisimo! :)

That night was the first night I went out. We went to a bar and then to a karaoke bar. It was so much fun. We had some of Kristen's (one of our TA's) friends from the area last year come with us, as well as one of the brothers of the host mom's and the host mom herself. We had a blast! They have meter high beers here. They are five liters. Perfect if you have a large group like we do and share it. And it comes out to be about a dollar a beer, which is ridiculous. Here are a few pictures:

On the left is the meter high beer that we shared.

And here is Ben and me singing either "Danger Zone" or "Footloose" at the karaoke bar called Melodika. I don't know which one because I wasn't the one taking the picture.






The next day, we had another 6 hours of class. The stuff is truly interesting though. So I can pay attention well for at least 5 hours of it. That night we went out with friends that we met at the school we are going to. People here are so nice. We just asked them to show us where people go around here and they were so excited to do it. We had a lot of fun, and it is just cool to be able to go and hang out with students from a different country that speak a different language and actually be able to communicate and have fun like I would in the United States. It is really just so cool.

Yesterday, Friday, we had another 6 hours of class, and Dra Galloway barely had a voice to teach it. She was feeling really sick. But she is a trooper and taught for 6 hours straight. Geeze! Right after class we grabbed a quick lunch (I had a Mexican hamburger), and we went to the Basilica. It was beautiful there! A neat little town and just a lot of cool history that is connected with it. We climbed up on a hill and we could see the whole city.This picture came out a little blurry when loaded, but it was just beautiful! The gold top is the old Basilica, that is currently sinking into the ground, and the green top is the new one. Claro, we had to take a jumping picture, and here is also one with Lauren.













And last night I just spent working on an essay all night. And this morning I woke up and went to Coyocon (I think that's what the city is called) and went to Frida Kahlo's house. There went met some spanish students that had were taking English and had to do a project that was doing an interview in English. So we helped them out and did interviews. It was so fun! After that we walked around all the little tianguis (I think that's how you spell them) and tonight we are going out dancing.

So far it has been very fun. So much to do. I could say a lot more, but I think typing and uploading fotos for an hour is enough. I will post more on different aspects of the trip, but at least I have a log of what all we did so far everyday! I hope you enjoyed the pictures and stories!

The First 5 Days in Mexico

Alright, so this has been a whirlwind experience already, and I am not even 1/6 of the way through yet! We got here on Saturday evening and I met with my family for the first time. I am living with a lady named Alejandra, and two of her sons, between 35-40 years of age, Jorge and Gerardo, and Jorge's son (15 years old). But Jorge also has a girlfriend, Cecilia, who has 2 daughters, 13 and 15, and those three are over almost every night. Also, Alejandra has many friends that come over often. I only know two of their names, Letty and Betty (I know, awesome), but there are others. So my first night here on Saturday was a little overwhelming. I could only understand 50% of what was said directly to me, and when there was more than one conversation happening, I could only understand 20%, if that. Nobody speaks English in the house. Jorge knows some words, but never uses them.

I live in an apartment only 2 blocks from the school, the closest person to the school. My apartment is relatively small, especially for as many people that live here. I do have my own room though with a comfortable bed, so that is nice. There are 4 bedrooms, one bathroom, 1 kitchen, and a dining area. It is definitely small by our standards, but I think a better way to describe it is intimate. Family is so important here, and it is so evident in my house. We have spent hours sitting around the table just talking. I can understand so much more already too. Gerardo is a joker, and I am finally starting to understand some of his jokes. Definitely a different sense of humor here.

Something else that is very different for me are the breakfasts. I wake up every morning and shower, and my mom here makes breakfast while I am in the shower and it is ready shortly after I am done getting ready. I am logging everything I eat for breakfast, because it has definitely been an experience. Here is what it has been so far:

Sunday - Corn pops and an apple...nothing strange here
Monday - Sincronizados (basically quesadillas with ham and cheese and a sauce I am in love with here called Valentina), avaocado, bread, beans, and flan...yes, flan for breakfast...different but not too much...but wait, there's more!
Tuesday - Rice with shrimp and octopus (yes, the fish with 8 arms), chipotle chilis, bread, beans, avocado
Wednesday - Tostados with eggs and peppers and tomatoes (not like American peppers, they tasted pretty different), beans, avocado, and a flan-like cake made from the fruit called mamey
Thursday - I asked, but I am still not 100% sure what I ate this morning. Half of it was a kind of steak here cooked with peppers, but the other half was this weird red chili sauce and something that I can only describe as pork fat. Only the fat. I know it is a pork product, because that's what she told me, but I am pretty sure it was all fat. And you eat it with corn tortillas, like everything else here...

To say the least, it was been a very different experience here with food, and those are only the breakfasts...who knows what I am eating the rest of the time! I also drank my first coke in, I think, 8 years. They served it to me the first night, and I didn't want to say that I wouldn't drink it on the first night. But they have asked every time since then, so I think that that was a one time thing.

Anyways, I haven't said anything about what we have done yet, but that will have to come later. I got some work to do! Anyways, I would love to hear from any one of you! I will try to update with things I have done so far later! And post some photos! :)

First Post

Well, I now have a blog. This feels a little like LiveJournal (anyone remember that?), but I have a bit more reason for this one. I am going to try to blog about my time here in Mexico and then in Spain so people can keep up with me, and so I can remember all of this later. If I like this, maybe I'll continue on past this summer. But we'll see. Right now it is 11:30 in Mexico, and I am tired! I will have to post about the first few days later. Hasta luego!