Rest, 5 Hour Bus Ride, Pyramids, Out Again

I haven't written since Thursday...and that's because I've been sooo busy!!! Really, nothing happened on Friday. It was the last day of class for the week, and we had to rest for our first excursion. Having to wake up at 5:00 in the morning usually isn't that hard for me to do, but I just happened to sleep through my first 2 alarms. We had to meet at 5:45, and I woke up at 5:30. We were supposed to leave at 5:35...

Definitely had to rush and didn't get to prepare myself like

I wanted to, but we made the bus and finally got there with the rest of the group. The bus ride lasted 4 and a half hours! I felt like I was back in high school driving to a marching band competition (ha, did I just admit that...?). We finally arrived and set out to climb the pyramids at Teotihuacan. The 2 main pryamids are El Piramide del Sol and El Piramide de la Luna. It was so beautiful there, and it actually wasn't nearly as difficult to climb to the top as we thought!

El Piramide del Sol

El Piramide de la Luna

El Piramide de la Luna behind me

While at Teotihuacan, I bought so many souvenirs for my friends and family and spent at least 500-600 pesos! Our director of the program told us that everything is cheaper there, so I just went ahead and bought almost everything I needed. It's good to have most of that finished already.

After the bus ride back to the city, we decided to go out to eat at a place called Santo Cafe. It's a really nice place, and you can eat on the bridge that overlooks the street. I love it. Here are some pictures:

View from the bridge outside, where we sat

Side of the restaurant, looking into the windows

All the girls...you can see the effect the sun had on us at Teotihuacan. ha

After that, we went out to Zilch and Boga again. There was a really good band who came to perform at Zilch, and then we went to Boga to try and practice salsa dancing. It didn't work out too well, but we had a good time as always.

Mariachi and Togas

3 fiestas in one night...it was fun!

Well, first we had our ISA Welcome Party at the office. We really didn't do too much besides talk with each other and eat some appetizers and dessert. The best part though was the mariachi band that came and played for us. Here's a clip of their performance:



Ok, party number 2. My professor for my music class had a get-together at his house to watch the soccer game (except we didn't watch the game). We spent most of our time taking pictures since the view from his house was so pretty! I felt bad for the guys because we took a group picture of all of the girls. Of course, we all wanted the picture to be taken with our own camera. It took so long to take the picture that it felt like we were going to prom again!! Here it is:

I loved the house. It was so beautiful, and I absolutely loved the decorations. Here is a photo of his stairs up to the house:

Now for the best party. Party number 3. The students who have been here for a semester told us that there was going to be a toga party at this place called Boga. A huge group of us ended up going...we bought fabric, ribbon, and everything we needed for our togas. When we got to Boga, no one was wearing a toga!!! We felt so dumb and actually though it might have been a prank that the semester students played on us! Luckily, some more people came and were wearing togas (they were much better than ours though). We had so much fun last night. We did the Soulja Boy dance when the song came on...and broadcasted to everyone that we were Americans. Ha. Everyone was looking at us like we were crazy because they didn't understand what we were doing.

Everyone dances downstairs, but there's another part to Boga on the roof. Upstairs, it's more like a lounge. They play house music, there's a nice bar and TV, and there are plenty of couches, chairs, and tables for everyone to sit on. It was so nice!!! I loved spending time upstairs.

We stayed out until about 2, and when I came home I couldn't fall asleep. It's been awhile since I've gone out and had that much fun. Everything was so laidback, and we were just enjoying our time. there. It was nice to go out and have a different, better experience than what I have at home or at school at parties and clubs I go to with my friends. It's just a completely different atmosphere and we really enjoyed ourselves.




Later this afternoon, some of the girls and I are going to "people-watch" at Teatro Juarez. It's sure to be interesting! It's possible that I might have some really interesting pictures after that!

Slow day

We had a pretty slow day yesterday, since we didn't have anything to do in the evening. Again, class was interesting. Our professor for music class is going to take us to el Mercado Hidalgo on Friday to look at the CDs. At the market, they only cost 10 pesos (less than $1 US)! Of course, I have already downloaded some songs on Napster, but I'd really like to buy some CDs before I leave. The Aztecs' version of the creation of the world is so interesting!!! I am absolutely loving that class.

I think I had the best soup ever today. It was tortilla soup with avocados in it, cheese, and some chips. Just delicious.

We walked through the city after lunch and I took some pictures. The lighting for the pictures wasn't all that great, and I had also switched the megapixels on my camera (they definitely don't look as sharp). Here are a couple of my favorites though:


We went to another salsa dancing class because it was free (for the first time), and almost all of us decided to sign up for a month of lessons. I really enjoyed this class, and I feel like I can learn a lot in a month. The next time we'll go is Monday, so I can't wait! He also said that people come to dance on the weekends, so we can practice on the weekends if we want.

I definitely think salsa dancing has become my new obsession...

Estudiantina

Here's a video of one of the estudiantinas (the bands) that I was talking about!!! They play right in front of my house every night.

I bought a cell phone

Wow. It was a long day. And yes, I have a cell phone now to call the students in my group. That'll be so helpful.

Classes were better this time around because we actually started to talk about some important things. I already know that I'm going to absolutely love my music class and that I'll be downloading a pretty good amount of music that we cover in that class. Today, we listened to music de La Quinta Estacion, and I love it so much! I downloaded 3 of their CDs today. Also, we talked about Nelly Furtado and an artist named Flex (I didn't really like him all that much).

In Literature, we covered a lot of information about the Aztecs. It was so interesting to me! I never thought I would get this excited about the Aztecs, but I was obviously wrong. Here are some interesting facts:

• the name that the Aztecs gave to themselves was "Mexica." So...they're actually Mexicas, not Aztecas
• they based their arquitecture off that of Teotihuacan, a city of pyramids
• they were kicked out of their original home and had to find somewhere else to live. They ended up building their city (Tenochtitlan) on top of a lake
• it was common for them to create floating plots of land on top of the lake to grow crops like corn year-round

This evening, we had our first dance class. It was amazing, and I loved it sooo much!!! Some things were difficult to learn at first since he taught them so fast, but everything was fine, and I learned pretty quickly. I wish I could take more classes! There's a place called El Bar where they have salsa classes, and you pay for a certain number of visits. After paying, you can go as many times as your plan allows, whenever you'd like. I might do that, but I'm not sure yet. I've heard that their classes are really good. I can always go somewhere where they salsa dance all night though. Our Senora suggested a few places for Rebecca and me, and we both want to go.

Our Senora made delicious enchiladas for dinner tonight!! They tasted so good. I can already tell that I'm really going to miss the food here, and I'll also miss tortillas. We eat tortillas all the time, at every meal. They're good with everything!! I've only been here for a little over 2 full days, and I have been trying new food and new ways to eat things, which is very odd for me. But I looooove it.

Also tonight, our group planned to go out to a bar called Guanajuato Grill. It's supposed to be pretty big with good music to dance to, and drinks if you want to order some (of course). My roommate and I didn't make it to the Grill though, because we all went to another bar called Zilch first. It's quieter and more relaxing then the Grill, and many of the students in the group wanted to go there before the Grill. We were there for so long that Rebecca and I didn't even get to go to the Grill because when we left, they were still at Zilch. We didn't want to be out too late tonight because we're still tired and still getting used to everything. I am so tired.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We got lost on the way to La Plaza de La Paz, where we were supposed to meet the rest of the group. We turned the wrong way down a street and walked for what seemed like forever! We made it though. I'm getting more comfortable with walking through the city and knowing where I am.

En las calles de Guanajuato

I'm starting to think in Spanish, and I had problems writing this entry because I'd start writing sentences and phrases in Spanish instead of English. This is great!!!

Ok, buenas noches.

The tour

The tour was really long, and we walked so much! I'm glad we have to walk everywhere in the city, and I'm also glad that there are hills and steep callejones. At least I'm getting some kind of workout, even though it's small. My legs and feet were hurting, and I might be a little sore tomorrow.

It was great to walk around the city. There are always so many people out in the streets, and the city is so lively. You'll never see the same thing twice, and you'll always see something new, even if you take the same route every time.

First we went to El Pipila, which is a statue that historically honors a military official. I don't really know the story behind it yet. The view from El Pipila is very beautiful though! I love it.

El Pipila

The view from El Pipila. The big, white building is the University of Guanajuato

We saw plenty of plazas, gardens, and churches on our tour today. Another one of the attractions that we saw was el Callejon del Beso (the alley of the kiss). There is a legend behind this attraction: 2 different families lived in the homes on each side of the alley. One family had a daughter, and the other had a son. The daugter and the son began to fall in love with each other, but the daughter's father forbid her to see him. As you can see, the homes are very close to each other, and you can easily reach the person on the other side. And that's what happened...the son and the daughter saw each other by meeting at the top and talking through the windows. Most importantly, they kissed there. One day, the father caught the daughter and son kissing, and he tried to shoot the son but ended up killing his daughter instead. Then he proceeded to kill himself.

It's a really depressing story, and I'm not sure if that's how the legend goes exactly. Someone told me that story, but I have yet to have a child tell me (there are always kids there who want to tell you the legend). I'm sure they know exactly how it goes.

El Callejon del Beso

Every night, there are musicians that play songs and tell stories in the streets. They most commonly pass through the callejones in the center of town, and that would include ours. These musicians don't stop coming through the streets until really late at night: around 11 Monday-Wednesay, and very late into the night Thursday-Saturday! They are really good, entertaining, and fun to watch though. Sometimes it's hard to get to sleep because they are playing so loud, but it's fine with me. I like listening to them, and if I really do need to get to sleep, my Senora has offered me earplugs to use!

Me with the band (la estudiantina)

Well, I have homework to do. I've already procrastinated for an hour and a half, so I need to go ahead and start.

Un saludo de Mexico!

First Day of Classes

It's going to take a long time for me to feel comfortable finding my way to school! We walk through so many callejones to get to our class, and it really is confusing. After this week, I should be ok though. Oh yeah, since this city is built in the mountains, some of the callejones are very steep. I'll be getting a little workout by walking to and from class every day!

This morning, we had our orientation as a group with ISA, and then we started our classes. I was able to switch from my Business Spanish class to the Contemporary Music class, and I can say that I'm very glad I switched! This music class is going to be so fun and interesting, and I am happy that I get to learn about the popular artists and groups. I don't really know anything about music in the spanish speaking world, and I know I'll come back to the States with plenty of new music to listen to! On the syllabus is a list of artists and groups we will cover extensively, and Daddy Yankee, Fat Joe, and Pit Bull were on it. I thought that was funny, and it is sure to be interesting when we talk about them in class!

I am also in a class that covers Mexican Literature from Prehispanic to Modern eras. Of course, we are only going to have a general idea about the literature because we can't get too specific (we only have 5 weeks). In this class, our professor said he wouldn't judge any of our thoughts or ideas. We can say anything that we think about the literature, and none of it will be wrong. Honestly, that's how it should always be in a literature class, and I'm glad that it's going to be that way here.

For both of my classes, I have group and individual presentations to finish. Of course, we'll have tests, regular homework, and work to do during class as well. These classes shouldn't be that difficult, but I'll definitely have to manage my time since most of the presentations and tests fall on the same day.

Here are some pictures from today. The weather has been perfect!

The view from our classroom

Our classroom

My classmates looking at the view

Stress changed to happiness

Ok, I'm settled in my home now! Guanajuato is amazing...and so much has happened in the last 5 hours. I've felt a good variety of emotions; more than anything, I've been stressed.

My flight from Mexico City to Guanajuato left an hour LATER than it was supposed to leave, so I arrived an hour late to Guanajuato. I started stressing over getting a ride to Guanajuato because I didn't think the resident director, Alma, would be there to pick me up (I landed close to 7 pm, and ISA had specified that we had to be at the airport before 7 to be picked up). As a result, I rushed to get off the plane and rushed to find my luggage, only to find that my luggage was lost.

I started crying. Yes, I admit it, I cried. Everything was supposed to go smoothly today (well, I wanted it to go smoothly at least), and I felt like so many things had gone wrong. I was so upset and choked up that they had to speak to me in English (again) and they tried to make me feel better. Also, Alma was there, so she helped me with everything from that point. Of course, we had to file a report for my lost luggage, and we found out that it was still in Chicago at the time. That wasn't encouraging at all...

Guanajuato International Airport!

The mountain of the statue, El Cristo Rey. You can see it at the very top. (click the picture to make it larger, and you'll see the statue)

Alma and I left the airport to head to mi casa in the city. I felt much better after filing the report and finding out where my luggage was, so I was more talkative in the car with Alma. Everything came out smoothly (FINALLY! Where had that been all day?), and she told me that I spoke Spanish very well. That really helped me feel better.

Well, the city is gorgeous. My senora is so kind and generous, and she really does cook some amazing food!!! We went downtown to walk around for a little bit tonight, and I absolutely fell in LOVE with Gto. Everyone was out in the streets with their families, just walking, sitting, standing, talking...just relaxing outside. The callejones are so pretty and I just love the atmosphere. Because of the way the city is structured, it's going to take me awhile to find my way around, but it's soooo beautiful.

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato

El Teatro Juarez

I can't wait to walk through the city during the day to take pictures! I love it so much. Well, I have my orientation and first day of class tomorrow. I'm glad everything has been great tonight. I already know I'm going to love everything about being here.

From Benito Juarez

I’m writing this while sitting in the airport in Mexico City. Getting around in this airport wasn’t nearly as bad as getting around O’Hare! O’Hare was pretty much a nightmare for me. It took me half an hour to find out how to get to the International Terminal, and once there, I had a disappointing experience that made me feel that my Spanish speaking skills were inadequate. I walked up to the AeroMexico counter to check in, and the man started speaking to me in Spanish. Sadly, he had to switch over to English because I wasn’t responding quickly or anything. Once I got on the plane, I had the same kind of experience. The flight attendants reverted to English. Hopefully this gets better…I’ve been taking Spanish for awhile now and can listen, read, write, and speak pretty well. I think I may have just gotten nervous, but as I have already said, it was really disappointing for me. I don’t want people to have to speak in English to me when I’m in Mexico…

The flight from Chicago to Mexico City seemed so long! We flew over the Gulf of Mexico, and when we ran into the coast, the view was gorgeous. Here are some pictures:

Here's the Gulf coast

Mexico City

Anyways, I’ve been in this airport for a good 3 and a half hours now. Luckily, I met a girl named MiMi, and we talked all afternoon. She was really kind, and she is heading to Lima, Peru to do some volunteer work. We had a great conversation about different cultures, travelling, languages, and more. It was nice to have someone to talk to, considering that I’ve been all alone for the majority of the day.

Can’t wait to get to Guanajuato!

Pre-Departure

When I checked my flight itinerary this morning, I was unpleasantly greeted by a surprise. Instead of departing from Mexico City at 3 PM, I am now departing from Mexico City at 5 PM. This means that I now have a 3 and a half hour layover in Mexico City...that isn't bad. I'll be able to practice my Spanish and check some prepaid cell phone rates with the companies in the airport. It's just that it's a huge disappointment that I'll be arriving in Leon/Guanajuato 2 hours later than I had planned! On top of that...I'll be worrying about the swine flu the entire time. I know things have improved drastically, but I won't be able to stop thinking about it.

Today I also talked with everyone for the last time. I'm thinking that this trip might break my cell phone/Internet addiction. I won't be able to use my regular cell phone for 5 weeks, and I won't be able to pick up my laptop to access the Internet whenever I want. I'll be restricted to calling a select number of people with an international calling card from the house phone (and not talking for long periods of time because of the amount of minutes on the card) and Internet cafes. This will be tough.

Anyways, it's 12:04 AM. My flight leaves at 6 AM, and my dad wants to leave at 3:45 AM. To put it shortly, I'm not getting much sleep tonight! I just finished packing, and I'll wake up early tomorrow morning to double check everything.

Packed everything in one suitcase! Surprise...

My precautionary Tamiflu, Spanish-English dictionary, and personal travel journal

Right now, I'm feeling so many emotions all at the same time: I'm nervous, excited, impatient, sad, happy, and anxious. It's giving me such a rush that I can't sit still and I know I will be having problems falling asleep.

It's crazy to think that, by this time tomorrow, I'll be asleep in my home in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The Start

To keep everyone up to date with my trip to Guanajuato, Mexico this summer (as well as others I may have in the future), I decided to start this blog.

To receive all of the updates, you can:

• visit my blog daily
• subscribe to my blog
• follow me

I'll start writing actual entries tomorrow, and I will continue to write almost every day after that. Depending on when I can access the Internet, some of the entries will be delayed.

In the entries will be accounts of my time spent in Mexico, as well as select pictures. If you are my friend on Facebook, you can also see pictures there (I most likely will not post all of the pictures on Facebook). To see the all of my pictures, you can click on the link to my Flickr account on the right-hand side of the page. I will be sure to post every picture there.

I hope you enjoy it!