Hey there everyone!
As I sit here typing this, I realize that this will most likely be my last post from Mexico! I can not believe how fast the semester went by and yet it seems as though I have been living here in Merida for way more than 4 months! In many ways, I feel as though I have emerged a changed person...Studying abroad does that to you I guess. There are so many things to share about this past week and I will do my best to relate all my stories to you here although I look forward to being able to tell all about my adventures face to face! (They are always better that way)
Tuesday morning I met up with Dez, Sarah, and Shannon to buy all the tickets for our trip. It was a little stressful trying to figure out how much money to take out and convert to dollars (we didn't want to carry too much with us) and exactly what tickets to buy but we eventually figured it out and grabbed some ice cream before heading home. That evening, we were invited to the home of our program director for pizza. She has one of the most gorgeous houses I have ever seen! It was so much fun to see all of the artwork and enjoy spending time talking with her and her husband who teaches at UADY. It was great to reminisce about all the adventures we had this semester together! We got home super late that night and went to bed.
The next morning, I woke up early to go to breakfast with my parents at the casino..they wanted to bring me there one last time before I left. When we got home, I headed to the ISFA-Butler office to watch the movie Elf with Sarah, Dez, D, and Pearl. It was fun to see a Christmas movie and made me realize just how fast Christmas will be here...it's hard to get into the Christmas mood without cold weather and snow but we're doing the best we can! That night, we all decided to go out to celebrate our last night together in Merida. It was fun to get out (we just went to a place that does Karaoke and danced) but we ended up getting back home around 3 in the morning! After saying goodbye to Pearl (it was the last time we would see her), we all headed back to our houses. Most of us decided not to sleep and got packed up and ready to go to Tulum.
By the time I arrived at the bus terminal, I was exhausted and ready for the 4 hour bus ride. D ended up sleeping in past her alarm so it was just Sarah and I. Dez and Shannon (and D) met us there later on in the day. We checked into our hostel and got our bikes that came along with the hostel and biked to a nearby grocery store to buy lunch. We then hung out at the beach until everyone else got there. That night, we all biked to the beach and watched the sunset and then biked to the grocery store to get food for the rest of our time there. I was really excited to use the bright orange reflective vest and helmet they gave us to wear :).
Friday, we all enjoyed a day at the beach and saw some ruins that are right on the beach in Tulum..it was pretty sweet. The best part of the hostel was being able to have bikes to get around to places. Tulum was my first hostel experience and I have to say it wasn't too bad. That night, we enjoyed our last night all together and got packed up and ready to head off on our adventures.
Saturday morning bright and early, we said goodbye to D and Sarah who were headed back to the States and boarded a bus to Chetumal, Mexico which is super close to the border with Belize. Our goal for the day was to get to San Ignacio. I had researched the trip as well as I could and had somewhat of an idea of how to get there but buses in Belize aren't as reliable as in Mexico so that that makes getting anywhere an adventure. We ended up waiting at a little restaurant until a man came and told us he was going to Belize City and we could catch a ride with him and then take a bus to San Ignacio. The bus ride through Belize was long but it was fun to be able to see a different county. Right at the end of the trip into Belize City, we got stopped by a Christmas parade and it took us an extra 2 hours to get there! We were pretty worried about catching the next bus to San Ignacio especially as it was now dark but everything worked out and we arrived in San Ignacio around 9 that night. We found a cheap hostel and ate food from a street vender close to where we were staying for supper and then headed to bed; we were exhausted from a long day of traveling!
Sunday, Dez and I explored San Ignacio and enjoyed hanging out at the hostel reading and relaxing. Shannon went on a tour of an archeological site inside a cave but it was pretty expensive and we didn't feel it was worth the money. It was nice to just have a day to relax and I almost finished Three Cups of Tea, the book I was reading.
Monday, we slept in and went to a market in San Ignacio to buy fruit and food for the day and then took a taxi to the Guatemalan border. After going through customs, we found a bus going to Flores where we were headed. On the bus, we met a couple from California who had just finished volunteering in Honduras and several girls from Australia. We arrived at our hostel around 3 and walked around and explored Flores for a little while. Flores is on an island and is a really sweet place with all sorts of cool shops and cobble stone streets. The big adventure of the day happened when we went to the nearby town of Santa Elena to get money from an ATM. For some reason, our cards didn't work at several of the ATMs we tried and we ended up trekking all over town trying to find some way to get money. Eventually, we found a machine inside a grocery store that worked but it was enough to make me thankful for all of the places that accept credit and debit cards in the US and the availability of ATMs! That night, we hung out at the hostel which was a sweet place. It reminded me a lot of a giant tree house and had an amazing restaurant in the middle of it where we ate supper.
The next morning, we woke up and went to explore a cave with the couple we met from California. It was a neat experience and we met a family from Guatemala city who wanted to take a million pictures with us..we got a kick out of it. That afternoon, Shannon and I decided to rent a canoe and go canoeing. She has been on multiple boundary water trips and with my rowing experience, we figured we were set for an easy afternoon on the lake. Not so. The canoe we were given was super hard to steer, especially going against the current. We eventually had to hug the weeds growing on the side of the lake to get back; after 6 hours of hard rowing, we were exhausted but pretty proud that we had managed to get back! That night, we relaxed at the hotel.
Wednesday morning, we woke up early and headed to the nearby city of el remate and went hiking in the jungle. It was about a 3 hour hike up a huge mountain but it the view from the top was worth it! On the way down we saw spider monkeys which were amazing! We returned to the hostel and Dez decided to relax there, Shannon stayed back to swim, and I took my journal, Bible, and book out a dock on the Lake and spent some time with Jesus. It was nice to take more than the time I usually set aside for my quiet time to just be with Him; I don't know why but for some reason, I always feel closer to God when I'm by a huge body of water like a lake or the ocean. Maybe that's why people would gather by the river in Bible times when there wasn't an established church! Watching the sunset from that dock and praising God for His faithfulness to me this semester was probably my favorite part of the whole trip! As I sat there, I was overwhelmed as I remembered all the times God met me here and sustained me when I thought I couldn't go on any longer. Eventually, I went back to the hostel and changed into running clothes and went on my last run with Shannon. We spent the rest of the night together saying goodbye and getting ready to leave early in the morning.
Thursday, we left and took a bus to Chetumal. The ride seemed like forever but eventually we arrived and got on another bus to Tulum. In Tulum, I said goodbye to the other gals who were headed to Cancun and then to the States, and went to the bus station. It was my understanding that I would be able to catch a bus back to Merida but it turns out the next one didn't leave until 1:40 am so I hung out at the station as I had no other choice. The bus eventually came and I slept the entire way back. We arrived in Merida around 5 am and i took a taxi to my house where I set my stuff down and crashed on my bed.
This morning I woke up around 10 and ate breakfast and swam for a little while and then took a shower. My parents then invited me to go out with them for lunch at a cute little spot with live music. We stayed there talking for about 4 hours and then headed home. I worked on getting unpacked and stuff around my house for a while and then went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie in Spanish which was great!
Tomorrow, I plan to spend my last day at the beach and then pack up on Sunday! Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for all of your prayers and support while I have been here. I can't wait to be able to share my stories face to face with all of you!
Un abrazo,
Brenna
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Last week of school, Hannah Montana, and Cockroaches
Hey there guys!
I am officially done with school here in Merida! Whoot whoot! My last class was on Friday and I have enjoyed relaxing and getting things done around here. It's hard to believe that I am on the final stretch of my semester here. I praying for endurance to "finish the race well" and looking forward to being home soon.
Monday began my last week of school. We had our last lecture for International Relations which made me a little sad because that was my favorite class and I really enjoyed our professor. The sadness didn't last too long though because after class, Dez and I headed to Progresso where we enjoyed spending the day together. I haven't spent a ton of one-on-one time with her and it was really fun to get to know her a little better. It was cruise day at Progresso which meant a lot of Americans. It was weird hearing so much English and I got a little annoyed when vendors would call out to me in English as I walked down the street...it was kind of a surreal feeling to not really want fit into your own culture (or at least be perceived as a tourist). We eventually headed home where I ran, ate supper and then watched Elf to try to get into the Christmas mood. It's so odd to hear Christmas music and see decorations when it's 100 degrees outside! It just doesn't feel the same.
Tuesday, we had our final exam in Spanish class and it was nice to get that done and out of the way. I was able to Skype with my parents that night and that was good. I can't wait to get home and be able to have conversations face to face!
Wednesday, we had a take home test in international relations so I worked on that and then we had our last underwater archeology where we turned in our final paper. After classes, Dez, Sarah and I headed to a coffee shop in El Centro to work more on our tests.
Thursday, our communications class was canceled so I spent the morning putting the finishing touches on my test and sent that in. I then was able to go for a run and headed out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I had my last tutoring session and we proofread a final paper. It was sad to say goodbye to my tutor; she really helped me a lot and I feel like I am able to write better thanks to her help.
Friday morning was my last class: History of US-Mexico relations. I had a final presentation and that went well. I headed home after class for a little bit and then met up with Shannon. She volunteers at an orphanage on Mondays and Fridays and I asked if I could go along with her to see what it was like. When we got there, we were greeted by two little girls; one who obviously needed glasses because her eyes were crossed-she was adorable. They immediately grabbed our hands and pulled us in. We spent the first part of our time there working with them on homework. It was hard to see them struggling with simple addition and subtraction problems but I enjoyed working with them and was happy when several of them seemed to really understand by the time we were done. Those are the times I wish my Spanish was better so I could explain things in an easier way but they seem to get the concepts I was trying to get across. Afterwards, we played with the kids for a while. One of the little girls pretended to faint and I joked that she was dead and had a pretend "funeral" for her, "burying" her with things that were lying around and putting "flowers" (tissue paper in her hands). The kids thought it was hilarious and all wanted to be dead..they spent the rest of the time "dying" and having funerals. One of the girls grabbed my hand and told me she was going to call me Hannah Montana ( i guess that's easier than Brenna) because I look exactly like her. I got a kick out of that. They also all though Shannon and I were sisters because we both have blond hair and the same color eyes..it was fun trying to explain to them that we were just friends, not sisters. They didn't seem to quite understand how we could look so similar and not be related! It was really fun to spend an afternoon there and play with them but it also made me really sad thinking that they didn't have parents. While it was obvious the orphanage tried to provide the kids with everything they needed, it was pretty sparse and everything was old and had obviously been used before. It made me realize how lucky I am to have a family and a gorgeous home!
Saturday, I woke up bright and early and headed to el centro to go on a trip to Campeche, a city about 3 hours away from Merida. Some of the girls from our program are in a history of art class and the class was taking a trip at the end of the semester and the cost was only $30 pesos (about $3) so we were invited to come along. Shannon and I were the only ones who showed up as everyone else had gone out the night before to celebrate being done with classes and didn't want to wake up early. Our first stop was some ruins. It was fun climbing around on them and not having a guided tour so we could do what we wanted. After the ruins, we went to a Spanish fort built around the 1600s that had cannons that were used to shoot pirates..it doesn’t get much cooler than that! There was a great view to the ocean and a sweet draw string bridge. We then hopped back on the bus and headed to Campeche where we spent several hours looking around the city. Shannon and I explored a path along the beach and got into a really great conversation about faith based on works or belief. Eventually, we loaded back on the buses and headed back to Merida.
Sunday, I enjoyed a day around home where I swam in our pool and worked on organizing all of my pictures from the trip. After a run ( I am sure going to miss being able to run in such beautiful weather), I went to go see the movie "entangled" in Spanish. It was hilarious and probably one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Oh also there was another cockroach in my shower so I killed it with my tennis shoes. Man, I hate those things! They are so gross but I would rather know that they are dead than crawling around my room!
Today (Monday) I woke up and met Shannon and Sarah at the beach. A little bit after we got there it started getting really cloudy and cold and rainy so we went in a little store to wait it out. Eventually the rain stopped so we went for a walk on the beach but it was still cloudy so we decided to head back. Shannon and I went shopping at Gran Plaza where I helped hunt for a dress for her and then we headed home. I don't really have any exciting plans for the rest of the night; I’m just planning on hanging around home.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Nos vemos pronto (see you soon)!
I am officially done with school here in Merida! Whoot whoot! My last class was on Friday and I have enjoyed relaxing and getting things done around here. It's hard to believe that I am on the final stretch of my semester here. I praying for endurance to "finish the race well" and looking forward to being home soon.
Monday began my last week of school. We had our last lecture for International Relations which made me a little sad because that was my favorite class and I really enjoyed our professor. The sadness didn't last too long though because after class, Dez and I headed to Progresso where we enjoyed spending the day together. I haven't spent a ton of one-on-one time with her and it was really fun to get to know her a little better. It was cruise day at Progresso which meant a lot of Americans. It was weird hearing so much English and I got a little annoyed when vendors would call out to me in English as I walked down the street...it was kind of a surreal feeling to not really want fit into your own culture (or at least be perceived as a tourist). We eventually headed home where I ran, ate supper and then watched Elf to try to get into the Christmas mood. It's so odd to hear Christmas music and see decorations when it's 100 degrees outside! It just doesn't feel the same.
Tuesday, we had our final exam in Spanish class and it was nice to get that done and out of the way. I was able to Skype with my parents that night and that was good. I can't wait to get home and be able to have conversations face to face!
Wednesday, we had a take home test in international relations so I worked on that and then we had our last underwater archeology where we turned in our final paper. After classes, Dez, Sarah and I headed to a coffee shop in El Centro to work more on our tests.
Thursday, our communications class was canceled so I spent the morning putting the finishing touches on my test and sent that in. I then was able to go for a run and headed out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I had my last tutoring session and we proofread a final paper. It was sad to say goodbye to my tutor; she really helped me a lot and I feel like I am able to write better thanks to her help.
Friday morning was my last class: History of US-Mexico relations. I had a final presentation and that went well. I headed home after class for a little bit and then met up with Shannon. She volunteers at an orphanage on Mondays and Fridays and I asked if I could go along with her to see what it was like. When we got there, we were greeted by two little girls; one who obviously needed glasses because her eyes were crossed-she was adorable. They immediately grabbed our hands and pulled us in. We spent the first part of our time there working with them on homework. It was hard to see them struggling with simple addition and subtraction problems but I enjoyed working with them and was happy when several of them seemed to really understand by the time we were done. Those are the times I wish my Spanish was better so I could explain things in an easier way but they seem to get the concepts I was trying to get across. Afterwards, we played with the kids for a while. One of the little girls pretended to faint and I joked that she was dead and had a pretend "funeral" for her, "burying" her with things that were lying around and putting "flowers" (tissue paper in her hands). The kids thought it was hilarious and all wanted to be dead..they spent the rest of the time "dying" and having funerals. One of the girls grabbed my hand and told me she was going to call me Hannah Montana ( i guess that's easier than Brenna) because I look exactly like her. I got a kick out of that. They also all though Shannon and I were sisters because we both have blond hair and the same color eyes..it was fun trying to explain to them that we were just friends, not sisters. They didn't seem to quite understand how we could look so similar and not be related! It was really fun to spend an afternoon there and play with them but it also made me really sad thinking that they didn't have parents. While it was obvious the orphanage tried to provide the kids with everything they needed, it was pretty sparse and everything was old and had obviously been used before. It made me realize how lucky I am to have a family and a gorgeous home!
Saturday, I woke up bright and early and headed to el centro to go on a trip to Campeche, a city about 3 hours away from Merida. Some of the girls from our program are in a history of art class and the class was taking a trip at the end of the semester and the cost was only $30 pesos (about $3) so we were invited to come along. Shannon and I were the only ones who showed up as everyone else had gone out the night before to celebrate being done with classes and didn't want to wake up early. Our first stop was some ruins. It was fun climbing around on them and not having a guided tour so we could do what we wanted. After the ruins, we went to a Spanish fort built around the 1600s that had cannons that were used to shoot pirates..it doesn’t get much cooler than that! There was a great view to the ocean and a sweet draw string bridge. We then hopped back on the bus and headed to Campeche where we spent several hours looking around the city. Shannon and I explored a path along the beach and got into a really great conversation about faith based on works or belief. Eventually, we loaded back on the buses and headed back to Merida.
Sunday, I enjoyed a day around home where I swam in our pool and worked on organizing all of my pictures from the trip. After a run ( I am sure going to miss being able to run in such beautiful weather), I went to go see the movie "entangled" in Spanish. It was hilarious and probably one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Oh also there was another cockroach in my shower so I killed it with my tennis shoes. Man, I hate those things! They are so gross but I would rather know that they are dead than crawling around my room!
Today (Monday) I woke up and met Shannon and Sarah at the beach. A little bit after we got there it started getting really cloudy and cold and rainy so we went in a little store to wait it out. Eventually the rain stopped so we went for a walk on the beach but it was still cloudy so we decided to head back. Shannon and I went shopping at Gran Plaza where I helped hunt for a dress for her and then we headed home. I don't really have any exciting plans for the rest of the night; I’m just planning on hanging around home.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Nos vemos pronto (see you soon)!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving...Mexican Style
Hola a todos! (Hey everyone)
Hope everyone had a great week and a fantastic Thanksgiving! It was a little strange celebrating another Thanksgiving abroad. Last year, I didn't really feel that different celebrating in another country away from my family but this year, for some reason, it made me miss being home and all the Thanksgiving traditions we have.
Sunday, after finishing up my paper, I headed to Wal-Mart to hunt for supplies to make a thank you card for my mom ( we all decided to write notes for our moms to give to them during our Thanksgiving dinner to show them how appreciative we are of all that they have done for us). Unfortunately, Mexican Wal-Marts don't have a very good stock of card making supplies but I was able to get creative and find a few things I could use. After my run that night, I came home and listened to a sermon from Blackhawk church. It was about being a servant and really challenged me to serve those who I am here with even when it's tough and no one notices.
Monday after class, several of us decided to head to the fair that is being held in a city close to Merida. There were live animals, rides, food, and games (it reminded me a lot of a state fair). Because we decided to go on Monday, there weren't too many people there..Mostly just kids on field trips with their schools...so it was a little boring but we enjoyed looking around. Eventually we headed back to el centro where Sarah, Dez, and I stayed to walk around and take pictures and do some shopping. That night, I went for a run and ate supper and then worked on making the card for my mom. It was fun to be able to do something creative. I really miss all my art supplies back home and being able to sit down and work on different art projects when I’m away from home.
Tuesday, I had my communications class where we were assigned our final reading assignment and topic for our final paper. I had Spanish class that afternoon and then went for a run and worked on my reading.
Wednesday, my international relations class was canceled because my professor had a conference to attend so i had the morning off. I finished up my reading for communications and then headed out to my underwater archeology class that afternoon. I got there a little early so Dez and I decided to go explore a part of the school we have been dying to explore all semester. In the middle of our school, there is a circular ramp that leads to all the floors of our school (check out facebook for pictures) . On the top level there is this gate/door that we have nicknamed the "secret door" because we had no idea where it lead to and is usually locked but it was unlocked on Wednesday so we decided to see once and for all what it lead to. We discovered that it lead to the roof of our school here there are all sort of benches and sweet lookout spots. I was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever discovered and I’m bummed that we just discovered it now instead of earlier. That night, after class, I had a tutoring session where we worked on correcting my paper for underwater archeology and then I was able to Skype with my entire family for Thanksgiving which was awesome!
Thursday, it was a little weird waking up and going to school. After Spanish class, our host moms arrived at the ISFA butler office where we have our Spanish class and we had our Thanksgiving fiesta complete with guacamole. We shared a little about what Thanksgiving meant to us as Americans and some of the traditions we have as well as different foods we eat and then it was time to eat. The food was delicious and the moms love it! We even had homemade pumpkin and apple pie! Silvia started crying when she read my card and loved it which almost made me start crying. I am not looking forward to having to say goodbye. ..it's going to be waterworks central. After dinner, 6 of us headed out to see the David Bisbol and Luis Fonsi concert which was amazing. Shannon and I rode the bus there to save money and it was fun talking and getting to know her a little better on the ride there. We arrived there about an hour early so we found our seats and then walked around for while. The concert was absolutely amazing. They opened up with Ave Maria and I just about died (family- I thought about all of you the entire song). The rest of the concert was incredible; I think my favorite part was when they sang the song from the World Cup this summer. The entire stadium when crazy and it was the coolest thing ever. We got home late that night which made it hard to want to wake up and go to class the next morning but it was worth it!
Friday, after class, I came home and swam hung out by my pool for a while. I then spent the rest of the night writing my paper for communications.
Saturday, I woke up and decided that I would put the watercolors I brought with me and spent the morning paining which was a blast. It was so nice to be done with all of my homework and spend an entire morning painting. After lunch, I headed to Wal-Mart to look around and then Sarah and I decided to head to el centro to eat at a cute pizza place we had seen there. After eating, we walked around for a while, looking at random shops and enjoying being outside on such a beautiful night. There was even a clown show in the zocolo and a kid's contest to see who the best dancer was. The kids were adorable!
This morning, I woke up and went for a run and then spent the morning getting things organized for our trip at the end of the semester. Later tonight, we are heading over to Shannon's house to finish planning everything.
I think that's about all the news from here in Mexico. Hope all of you are doing well! :)
Hope everyone had a great week and a fantastic Thanksgiving! It was a little strange celebrating another Thanksgiving abroad. Last year, I didn't really feel that different celebrating in another country away from my family but this year, for some reason, it made me miss being home and all the Thanksgiving traditions we have.
Sunday, after finishing up my paper, I headed to Wal-Mart to hunt for supplies to make a thank you card for my mom ( we all decided to write notes for our moms to give to them during our Thanksgiving dinner to show them how appreciative we are of all that they have done for us). Unfortunately, Mexican Wal-Marts don't have a very good stock of card making supplies but I was able to get creative and find a few things I could use. After my run that night, I came home and listened to a sermon from Blackhawk church. It was about being a servant and really challenged me to serve those who I am here with even when it's tough and no one notices.
Monday after class, several of us decided to head to the fair that is being held in a city close to Merida. There were live animals, rides, food, and games (it reminded me a lot of a state fair). Because we decided to go on Monday, there weren't too many people there..Mostly just kids on field trips with their schools...so it was a little boring but we enjoyed looking around. Eventually we headed back to el centro where Sarah, Dez, and I stayed to walk around and take pictures and do some shopping. That night, I went for a run and ate supper and then worked on making the card for my mom. It was fun to be able to do something creative. I really miss all my art supplies back home and being able to sit down and work on different art projects when I’m away from home.
Tuesday, I had my communications class where we were assigned our final reading assignment and topic for our final paper. I had Spanish class that afternoon and then went for a run and worked on my reading.
Wednesday, my international relations class was canceled because my professor had a conference to attend so i had the morning off. I finished up my reading for communications and then headed out to my underwater archeology class that afternoon. I got there a little early so Dez and I decided to go explore a part of the school we have been dying to explore all semester. In the middle of our school, there is a circular ramp that leads to all the floors of our school (check out facebook for pictures) . On the top level there is this gate/door that we have nicknamed the "secret door" because we had no idea where it lead to and is usually locked but it was unlocked on Wednesday so we decided to see once and for all what it lead to. We discovered that it lead to the roof of our school here there are all sort of benches and sweet lookout spots. I was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever discovered and I’m bummed that we just discovered it now instead of earlier. That night, after class, I had a tutoring session where we worked on correcting my paper for underwater archeology and then I was able to Skype with my entire family for Thanksgiving which was awesome!
Thursday, it was a little weird waking up and going to school. After Spanish class, our host moms arrived at the ISFA butler office where we have our Spanish class and we had our Thanksgiving fiesta complete with guacamole. We shared a little about what Thanksgiving meant to us as Americans and some of the traditions we have as well as different foods we eat and then it was time to eat. The food was delicious and the moms love it! We even had homemade pumpkin and apple pie! Silvia started crying when she read my card and loved it which almost made me start crying. I am not looking forward to having to say goodbye. ..it's going to be waterworks central. After dinner, 6 of us headed out to see the David Bisbol and Luis Fonsi concert which was amazing. Shannon and I rode the bus there to save money and it was fun talking and getting to know her a little better on the ride there. We arrived there about an hour early so we found our seats and then walked around for while. The concert was absolutely amazing. They opened up with Ave Maria and I just about died (family- I thought about all of you the entire song). The rest of the concert was incredible; I think my favorite part was when they sang the song from the World Cup this summer. The entire stadium when crazy and it was the coolest thing ever. We got home late that night which made it hard to want to wake up and go to class the next morning but it was worth it!
Friday, after class, I came home and swam hung out by my pool for a while. I then spent the rest of the night writing my paper for communications.
Saturday, I woke up and decided that I would put the watercolors I brought with me and spent the morning paining which was a blast. It was so nice to be done with all of my homework and spend an entire morning painting. After lunch, I headed to Wal-Mart to look around and then Sarah and I decided to head to el centro to eat at a cute pizza place we had seen there. After eating, we walked around for a while, looking at random shops and enjoying being outside on such a beautiful night. There was even a clown show in the zocolo and a kid's contest to see who the best dancer was. The kids were adorable!
This morning, I woke up and went for a run and then spent the morning getting things organized for our trip at the end of the semester. Later tonight, we are heading over to Shannon's house to finish planning everything.
I think that's about all the news from here in Mexico. Hope all of you are doing well! :)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
One More Month!
Hey there everyone!
As of yesterday, I have only one month left here! Looking back, one hand, I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by, and yet in other ways, I feel as though I have been here for way more than 3 months. It's strange to think that in 4 short weeks, I'll be making the adjustment to speaking completely in English, living again in the cold, and being back the States. I look forward to coming home (and surprisingly to the snow) but, I also know that there will be many things I'll miss about my life here....joking around with my host dad, sleeping in hammocks, seeing iguanas on my walks home from school, being honked at whenever I walk somewhere (ok,I actually probably won't miss that), conversations after super with my host mom, and so much more.
Last Sunday, my family took me out to eat at a Chinese buffet which was delicious. I don't care what people say about Chinese food in Mexico being made of dog meat..This stuff was delicious. I got a kick out of how similar it was to Chinese restaurants back in the States..I never expected that going to a Chinese restaurant would remind me of home! After lunch, my mom, Silvia (my host sister) and I went shopping. We had fun just walking around and looking at everything and found this sweet jewelry store that we all loved. Later that night, I headed to the cheap movie theater close to my house to watch Sammy en el pasaje secreo (Sammy and the secret passage) all by myself. Originally, I had plans to go with two friends but stuff came up for them so I decided to still go. It was an animated movie but it was good practice for my Spanish and was cute. I got several strange looks from the other kids and parents who were there to see the film; they were probably wondering what in the world I was doing there! :)
Monday we didn't have school to celebrate the Mexican revolution (which was actually on Saturday but if the school wants to give us Monday off, I'm not complaining!). I spent the day working on homework and swimming in the pool. It was nice to have an extra day to get a head start on some stuff!
Tuesday, I had class in the morning and then had lunch and Spanish class. We played a Mayan trivia game and I was surprised at how much I knew about Mayan history....I guess we picked up quite a bit from just being here in the Yucatan! After class, Gaby, Sarah, and I headed to Gran Plaza to hang out for a while. We got ice cream (there is an awesome stand in Gran Plaza that sells really good ice cream) and then the best part: we went and saw puppies in the pet store there! They were adorable and it was really hard not to want to take one home with me.
Wednesday, my class in the morning ended up being canceled so I spent the morning at school working on my final paper for International Relations. I then had underwater archeology where I gave my final presentation on Mayan gods. It went pretty well and it feels good to have it done and over with. We got assigned another 6-7 page paper for that class which I was not too excited about but there wasn't anything I could do but accept and it try to get it done. That night, after my run, we ate supper, worked on some homework and went to bed.
Thursday, I skipped my morning class so that I could sign up in time for classes for next semester. I was happy to be able to get into pretty much every class that I had wanted and think I'll enjoy all of the my classes. I spent the rest of the morning finishing up my paper for International Relations. Thursday we celebrated a bunch of birthdays in Spanish class which was a nice break. After class, I met with my tutor and we corrected my paper. After that, I dropped my stuff off at the house and went out for a run which was absolutely gorgeous. I am going to miss the sunsets here so much!
Friday, I had my Mexico-US relations and we had a good discussion about some of the problems in Mexico right now which left me feeling a little depressed thinking about all the problems in the world. It makes me thankful that I serve a God who has all the answers and is bigger than all the problems plaguing the world today. After class, another gal and I went to go buy tickets for a concert that is coming here to Merida: David Bisbol and Louis Fonsi. I am super excited to go and can't believe that I will have the chance to see David Bisbol in concert! After eating lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some reading. That night, I met Pearl and Dez for pizza al pastor (which is right up there with tacos al pastor) and then we went to go see Harry Potter which was fun although I never have really been that into the movies or the books so it wasn't as exciting for me.
Saturday, I woke up and headed to the beach which turned out to be quite the adventure because Saturday was the celebration of the Mexican revolution so a bunch of the streets were blocked off but eventually I made it there and met up with Sarah, Gaby, Shannon, and Des who had gotten there before me. Eventually we had our fill of the beach and headed back to Merida. Later that night, Sarah, Des and I headed out to noche mexicana to check it out. It happens every Saturday night here and we figured that we should probably go at least one time while we are here. The city blocks off a section of a main street here and there are stands with all sorts of crafts, food, and there is a stage with different dances going on. It was a fun place to walk around and just chill at.
This morning I woke up and decided to tackle my underwater archeology paper. I know that as school gets closer to the end (we only have 10 more days left), I will get busy with studying for finals and papers and stuff so I thought it would be smart to get it done. As for the rest of the day, I don't have any big plans. It will be nice to just have a day to get caught up on things and organized before the next week starts!
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to Thanksgiving!
As of yesterday, I have only one month left here! Looking back, one hand, I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by, and yet in other ways, I feel as though I have been here for way more than 3 months. It's strange to think that in 4 short weeks, I'll be making the adjustment to speaking completely in English, living again in the cold, and being back the States. I look forward to coming home (and surprisingly to the snow) but, I also know that there will be many things I'll miss about my life here....joking around with my host dad, sleeping in hammocks, seeing iguanas on my walks home from school, being honked at whenever I walk somewhere (ok,I actually probably won't miss that), conversations after super with my host mom, and so much more.
Last Sunday, my family took me out to eat at a Chinese buffet which was delicious. I don't care what people say about Chinese food in Mexico being made of dog meat..This stuff was delicious. I got a kick out of how similar it was to Chinese restaurants back in the States..I never expected that going to a Chinese restaurant would remind me of home! After lunch, my mom, Silvia (my host sister) and I went shopping. We had fun just walking around and looking at everything and found this sweet jewelry store that we all loved. Later that night, I headed to the cheap movie theater close to my house to watch Sammy en el pasaje secreo (Sammy and the secret passage) all by myself. Originally, I had plans to go with two friends but stuff came up for them so I decided to still go. It was an animated movie but it was good practice for my Spanish and was cute. I got several strange looks from the other kids and parents who were there to see the film; they were probably wondering what in the world I was doing there! :)
Monday we didn't have school to celebrate the Mexican revolution (which was actually on Saturday but if the school wants to give us Monday off, I'm not complaining!). I spent the day working on homework and swimming in the pool. It was nice to have an extra day to get a head start on some stuff!
Tuesday, I had class in the morning and then had lunch and Spanish class. We played a Mayan trivia game and I was surprised at how much I knew about Mayan history....I guess we picked up quite a bit from just being here in the Yucatan! After class, Gaby, Sarah, and I headed to Gran Plaza to hang out for a while. We got ice cream (there is an awesome stand in Gran Plaza that sells really good ice cream) and then the best part: we went and saw puppies in the pet store there! They were adorable and it was really hard not to want to take one home with me.
Wednesday, my class in the morning ended up being canceled so I spent the morning at school working on my final paper for International Relations. I then had underwater archeology where I gave my final presentation on Mayan gods. It went pretty well and it feels good to have it done and over with. We got assigned another 6-7 page paper for that class which I was not too excited about but there wasn't anything I could do but accept and it try to get it done. That night, after my run, we ate supper, worked on some homework and went to bed.
Thursday, I skipped my morning class so that I could sign up in time for classes for next semester. I was happy to be able to get into pretty much every class that I had wanted and think I'll enjoy all of the my classes. I spent the rest of the morning finishing up my paper for International Relations. Thursday we celebrated a bunch of birthdays in Spanish class which was a nice break. After class, I met with my tutor and we corrected my paper. After that, I dropped my stuff off at the house and went out for a run which was absolutely gorgeous. I am going to miss the sunsets here so much!
Friday, I had my Mexico-US relations and we had a good discussion about some of the problems in Mexico right now which left me feeling a little depressed thinking about all the problems in the world. It makes me thankful that I serve a God who has all the answers and is bigger than all the problems plaguing the world today. After class, another gal and I went to go buy tickets for a concert that is coming here to Merida: David Bisbol and Louis Fonsi. I am super excited to go and can't believe that I will have the chance to see David Bisbol in concert! After eating lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some reading. That night, I met Pearl and Dez for pizza al pastor (which is right up there with tacos al pastor) and then we went to go see Harry Potter which was fun although I never have really been that into the movies or the books so it wasn't as exciting for me.
Saturday, I woke up and headed to the beach which turned out to be quite the adventure because Saturday was the celebration of the Mexican revolution so a bunch of the streets were blocked off but eventually I made it there and met up with Sarah, Gaby, Shannon, and Des who had gotten there before me. Eventually we had our fill of the beach and headed back to Merida. Later that night, Sarah, Des and I headed out to noche mexicana to check it out. It happens every Saturday night here and we figured that we should probably go at least one time while we are here. The city blocks off a section of a main street here and there are stands with all sorts of crafts, food, and there is a stage with different dances going on. It was a fun place to walk around and just chill at.
This morning I woke up and decided to tackle my underwater archeology paper. I know that as school gets closer to the end (we only have 10 more days left), I will get busy with studying for finals and papers and stuff so I thought it would be smart to get it done. As for the rest of the day, I don't have any big plans. It will be nice to just have a day to get caught up on things and organized before the next week starts!
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
la semana
Happy Sunday!! Another week has come and gone in Merida...I can hardly believe I only have 5 more weeks left. While a part of me is super excited to get back to the States and see my family and friends, another part of me never wants to leave Mexico (or the warm weather :) ). This week went well. We are in the midst of final projects, term papers, and exams so school is keeping me busy but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and am excited to be done with classes in three weeks and travel!
Ironically, my host brother and dad (the one back in the States) have the same Birthday so Monday was a day of celebrations. My international relations class went well that morning and I got a kick out of the way our professor talked about the possession of fire arms in the United States and how we can pretty much just walk out of a store with a cart full of guns! ( he was exaggerating of course but I still found it hilarious). I came home from class and did some homework by the pool and swam for a while. We then ate enchiladas swisas for lunch which are incredible and I worked on more homework and figuring out classes for next semester.
That night around 8, the family and guests started arriving at our house for supper. It was fun to get to meet some more of the family and celebrate all together. Plus, I now am pretty good at the song that is sung for Birthdays here.
Tuesday, I had communications class in the morning and then came home for lunch and did some homework and headed out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I got together with two other gals from my US-Mexico relations class and we did some hard core studying for our test the next day. When I couldn't think straight anymore, I headed home and ate supper and then went to bed.
Wednesday, I headed to school early to take my test which went ok. I'm a little worried about it but the fact that most people in my class are worried about it too makes me feel a little better. I know I did the best I could and now just have to wait to see how I did. After the test, I had class until 6:30 that night and then we had our program meeting. We have decided to have a Thanksgiving meal here with our program and invite our host moms so that should be fun. We did a little planning for that and then we had to fill out a bunch of evaluation forms which made me realize that we're going to be done soon and it hit me how much I am going to miss Mexico!
Thursday, I had communications class again and then I came home and finished a presentation I had for Spanish class that day. After Spanish class, I came home and went running and then worked on homework for the rest of the night.
Friday morning, I woke up and headed to the beach where I met up with Sarah, Dee, and Shannon. We just spent the day working on homework, talking ,and enjoying the sun. There was virtually no one there so it was fun to have the beach to ourselves. Dee and Shannon headed home mid afternoon and Sarah and I left a little while after them. We decided to go to gran plaza to hang out for a little bit. We got gorditas for lunch and then just walked around and looked at different stores. Around 4, we headed home and I headed to a planning meeting for our trip at the end of the semester. The meeting went well and I think we now all have somewhat of an idea of what we are going to do. After the meeting, I came home to shower and eat and then Sarah and I met up and went to el centro to hang out.
El centro was absolutely gorgeous! On weekend nights, they block off the streets and restaurants put tables out in the middle of the streets and there is music playing everywhere. Sarah and I had fun walking around seeing everything that was going on. After walking for a while, we decided to get ice-cream and headed to a park to eat it. As we were sitting on a bench talking, a guy covered in tattoos and piercings came over and started talking to us. It turned out that he just wanted us to smoke pot with him..no thank you! After that encounter, we decided that it was getting late and we should probably head home so we flagged down a taxi and headed back. Our taxi driver was really funny and chatted with us the entire way home. Fun fact we learned: Uh-huh is Mayan for "esta bien" or ok...I've been speaking Mayan and I didn't even know it! :)
Saturday, I woke up at 5:15 and headed to Hoy en tu Comunidad. The village we went to was 3.5 hours away so I spent the trip sleeping and working on homework. I worked with trabajo social and our job was to walk around the village and see if there was anyone who couldn't come to where we were providing free medical services because they were bed ridden. We eventually were led to a house of an elderly couple and their son who was handicapped. The woman had just had surgery on a tumor in her stomach but still was in a lot of pain. We talked with them for a while and promised to come back with a group of people to help them. We returned tot the site we were working at and gathered a team of doctors, nurses, lawyers, pharmacists and a couple others and headed off to the house. It was neat to see everyone working together to help them and using their skills. Eventually, we headed back and ate lunch and then headed home. On the way back we got a flat tire and had to stop to change that which was an unexpected adventure. Eventually I made it home and did some final planning for our trip to Guatemala, Belize, and other parts of Mexico and went to bed.
This morning, I woke up and worked on some homework and cleaned my room. Later on, I am planning on listening to a sermon online and having a date with Jesus and then heading to Altabrisa and walking around for while and later tonight, a group of friends and I are planning on getting together. It should be a pretty chill day and I'm looking forward to not having school tomorrow. Hope you all are doing well!
Ironically, my host brother and dad (the one back in the States) have the same Birthday so Monday was a day of celebrations. My international relations class went well that morning and I got a kick out of the way our professor talked about the possession of fire arms in the United States and how we can pretty much just walk out of a store with a cart full of guns! ( he was exaggerating of course but I still found it hilarious). I came home from class and did some homework by the pool and swam for a while. We then ate enchiladas swisas for lunch which are incredible and I worked on more homework and figuring out classes for next semester.
That night around 8, the family and guests started arriving at our house for supper. It was fun to get to meet some more of the family and celebrate all together. Plus, I now am pretty good at the song that is sung for Birthdays here.
Tuesday, I had communications class in the morning and then came home for lunch and did some homework and headed out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I got together with two other gals from my US-Mexico relations class and we did some hard core studying for our test the next day. When I couldn't think straight anymore, I headed home and ate supper and then went to bed.
Wednesday, I headed to school early to take my test which went ok. I'm a little worried about it but the fact that most people in my class are worried about it too makes me feel a little better. I know I did the best I could and now just have to wait to see how I did. After the test, I had class until 6:30 that night and then we had our program meeting. We have decided to have a Thanksgiving meal here with our program and invite our host moms so that should be fun. We did a little planning for that and then we had to fill out a bunch of evaluation forms which made me realize that we're going to be done soon and it hit me how much I am going to miss Mexico!
Thursday, I had communications class again and then I came home and finished a presentation I had for Spanish class that day. After Spanish class, I came home and went running and then worked on homework for the rest of the night.
Friday morning, I woke up and headed to the beach where I met up with Sarah, Dee, and Shannon. We just spent the day working on homework, talking ,and enjoying the sun. There was virtually no one there so it was fun to have the beach to ourselves. Dee and Shannon headed home mid afternoon and Sarah and I left a little while after them. We decided to go to gran plaza to hang out for a little bit. We got gorditas for lunch and then just walked around and looked at different stores. Around 4, we headed home and I headed to a planning meeting for our trip at the end of the semester. The meeting went well and I think we now all have somewhat of an idea of what we are going to do. After the meeting, I came home to shower and eat and then Sarah and I met up and went to el centro to hang out.
El centro was absolutely gorgeous! On weekend nights, they block off the streets and restaurants put tables out in the middle of the streets and there is music playing everywhere. Sarah and I had fun walking around seeing everything that was going on. After walking for a while, we decided to get ice-cream and headed to a park to eat it. As we were sitting on a bench talking, a guy covered in tattoos and piercings came over and started talking to us. It turned out that he just wanted us to smoke pot with him..no thank you! After that encounter, we decided that it was getting late and we should probably head home so we flagged down a taxi and headed back. Our taxi driver was really funny and chatted with us the entire way home. Fun fact we learned: Uh-huh is Mayan for "esta bien" or ok...I've been speaking Mayan and I didn't even know it! :)
Saturday, I woke up at 5:15 and headed to Hoy en tu Comunidad. The village we went to was 3.5 hours away so I spent the trip sleeping and working on homework. I worked with trabajo social and our job was to walk around the village and see if there was anyone who couldn't come to where we were providing free medical services because they were bed ridden. We eventually were led to a house of an elderly couple and their son who was handicapped. The woman had just had surgery on a tumor in her stomach but still was in a lot of pain. We talked with them for a while and promised to come back with a group of people to help them. We returned tot the site we were working at and gathered a team of doctors, nurses, lawyers, pharmacists and a couple others and headed off to the house. It was neat to see everyone working together to help them and using their skills. Eventually, we headed back and ate lunch and then headed home. On the way back we got a flat tire and had to stop to change that which was an unexpected adventure. Eventually I made it home and did some final planning for our trip to Guatemala, Belize, and other parts of Mexico and went to bed.
This morning, I woke up and worked on some homework and cleaned my room. Later on, I am planning on listening to a sermon online and having a date with Jesus and then heading to Altabrisa and walking around for while and later tonight, a group of friends and I are planning on getting together. It should be a pretty chill day and I'm looking forward to not having school tomorrow. Hope you all are doing well!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Settling back into the routine...
Hey there faithful blog followers!
Hope you all have had a great weekend and are looking forward to the coming week! This past week has been a good one for me and I’m just getting settled back into the routine of life here in Merida.
We returned home late Tuesday night from Chiapas but luckily, I didn't have class till 12 the next day so I was able to take some time to unpack and get caught up on a few things before class on Wednesday. Class attendance at UADY was suspiciously low-most likely due to the face that many students were still traveling. Both my international relations and Underwater Archeology class went well that day. We didn't have our program meeting that night so that allowed me for some extra time to get some homework done. I finished up a paper we have due soon for our Spanish class and worked on some reading for my International Relations class.
Thursday, I had communications class in the morning and then I came home to eat lunch, do my laundry, and head out to Spanish class. Our Spanish teacher was sick so we sat in on the other two Spanish classes which was fun to see what they are up to. Afterwards, I had my tutoring session and we just worked on correcting a paper I had written...I was pretty excited because I was able to correct a lot of my mistakes before my tutor even did. I am really trying to work hard to improve my written Spanish as I feel like I can speak and read better than I can write. I then headed to the gym where I rode bike and lifted weights. Back at home that night, we ordered pizza for dinner which is really different here but tastes great and I worked on some more homework.
Friday morning, it was up early for my US-Mexico Relations class which I always have a hard time staying awake in even though we talk about some really sweet stuff. This week we learned about frauds in the elections and the history of the PRI and PAN parties (the two main political parties) here in Mexico. After class, I met with some gals from my class to finish up our final project for that class and then I came home where I spent the rest of the night doing homework and figuring out classes for the next semester.
Saturday, our original plan was to go to the beach but it was too cold and cloudy. Ok, cold might not be exactly the right word as it was only 70 but it felt cold because it is usually around 100 here every day...I know, I'm going to die when I get home!
I was able to Skype with a few friends throughout the day and get quite a bit of homework done so that was good. Later that afternoon, I headed to a mall to do some shopping and eat supper. It was fun to get out of the house and take a break from homework and studying. I then returned home and watched some stuff from the Lausanne conference in Cape Town, Africa which was sweet. It's so neat to see the way that God is working all around the world and I especially enjoyed hearing some of the things that are happening here in Latin America!
Today, I woke up and ate breakfast with my family. At breakfast, my host mom asked me if I wanted to go to some ruins with her this morning. I agreed and after breakfast, we headed out. When we got there we found out that foreigners had to pay $107 pesos (about $10USD) and decided it wasn't worth it. I guess i'm still not tan enough to pass as Mexican...bummer :).
We decided to go shopping instead which was a lot of fun. After a few hours of shopping, we met my host dad and brother for lunch at the casino where they were at and then headed out to do some more shopping. It was a lot of fun to have some one-on-one time with Silvia.
We got home around 6 and then I was able to Skype with my parents and ate supper. My plans for the rest of the night include finishing up some homework, studying, and having some time with Jesus.
Hope you all have a great night and great start to the week! Love to all!
Hope you all have had a great weekend and are looking forward to the coming week! This past week has been a good one for me and I’m just getting settled back into the routine of life here in Merida.
We returned home late Tuesday night from Chiapas but luckily, I didn't have class till 12 the next day so I was able to take some time to unpack and get caught up on a few things before class on Wednesday. Class attendance at UADY was suspiciously low-most likely due to the face that many students were still traveling. Both my international relations and Underwater Archeology class went well that day. We didn't have our program meeting that night so that allowed me for some extra time to get some homework done. I finished up a paper we have due soon for our Spanish class and worked on some reading for my International Relations class.
Thursday, I had communications class in the morning and then I came home to eat lunch, do my laundry, and head out to Spanish class. Our Spanish teacher was sick so we sat in on the other two Spanish classes which was fun to see what they are up to. Afterwards, I had my tutoring session and we just worked on correcting a paper I had written...I was pretty excited because I was able to correct a lot of my mistakes before my tutor even did. I am really trying to work hard to improve my written Spanish as I feel like I can speak and read better than I can write. I then headed to the gym where I rode bike and lifted weights. Back at home that night, we ordered pizza for dinner which is really different here but tastes great and I worked on some more homework.
Friday morning, it was up early for my US-Mexico Relations class which I always have a hard time staying awake in even though we talk about some really sweet stuff. This week we learned about frauds in the elections and the history of the PRI and PAN parties (the two main political parties) here in Mexico. After class, I met with some gals from my class to finish up our final project for that class and then I came home where I spent the rest of the night doing homework and figuring out classes for the next semester.
Saturday, our original plan was to go to the beach but it was too cold and cloudy. Ok, cold might not be exactly the right word as it was only 70 but it felt cold because it is usually around 100 here every day...I know, I'm going to die when I get home!
I was able to Skype with a few friends throughout the day and get quite a bit of homework done so that was good. Later that afternoon, I headed to a mall to do some shopping and eat supper. It was fun to get out of the house and take a break from homework and studying. I then returned home and watched some stuff from the Lausanne conference in Cape Town, Africa which was sweet. It's so neat to see the way that God is working all around the world and I especially enjoyed hearing some of the things that are happening here in Latin America!
Today, I woke up and ate breakfast with my family. At breakfast, my host mom asked me if I wanted to go to some ruins with her this morning. I agreed and after breakfast, we headed out. When we got there we found out that foreigners had to pay $107 pesos (about $10USD) and decided it wasn't worth it. I guess i'm still not tan enough to pass as Mexican...bummer :).
We decided to go shopping instead which was a lot of fun. After a few hours of shopping, we met my host dad and brother for lunch at the casino where they were at and then headed out to do some more shopping. It was a lot of fun to have some one-on-one time with Silvia.
We got home around 6 and then I was able to Skype with my parents and ate supper. My plans for the rest of the night include finishing up some homework, studying, and having some time with Jesus.
Hope you all have a great night and great start to the week! Love to all!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Chiapas: One of the most amazing places I have ever visited!
Hey there everyone!
We just got back last night from Chiapas so I thought while everything is still fresh in my mind; I would tell you all how it went. Let me start off by saying San Cristobal de las casas ( the city we stayed at in Chiapas) is one of my favorite places I have ever visited! It's surrounded by gorgeous mountains and has cobble stone streets that are lined with beautiful buildings...there was a definite European feel to it and I fell in love with it from the moment we entered the city.
We left Thursday night at 12 midnight (It is a 12 hour bus ride so we needed to get started early). Thursday morning, I woke up feeling really sick so I just spent the day working on homework, packing up, and resting. Around 11:30 my family drove me to where we were to meet the van that would take us to Chiapas. The whole day they were so worried about me being sick and having to be on a bus...it was really cute and I felt really cared for. The ride was probably one of the most miserable ones in my life but I managed to fall asleep for a few hours on the floor of the bus. Around 8 in the morning, we arrived in Palenque which are some Mayan ruins about 6 hours away from San Cristobal. We spent a few hours there exploring the ruins and climbing up pyramids. Part of the ruins were in the jungle and there was even a waterfall which was pretty sweet. Even though I was feeling pretty crappy, I enjoyed seeing the ruins. We then hopped back on the bus and drove for about an hour to a waterfall. it was absolutely gorgeous and some people swan in it. Since I was sick, I decided that probably wouldn't be the best idea so I just went exploring with some other gals from the program. We found a sweet path behind the waterfall and explored that. After around 2 hours we headed back to the van for the 5 hour trip to San Cristobal.
It was quite the trip! Chiapas is in the mountains so we were whipping around curves and going up and down mountains for a straight 5 hours. It was pretty intense and there were a few times I thought we were going to end up going off the mountain but the gorgeous view made up for it! The pressure changes along with the bumpy ride and the fact I was sick made it pretty miserable but eventually we arrived in San Cristobal and I was able to go to sleep.
I slept until the next morning and woke up feeling a lot better. Shannon, Francia, and I decided that we wanted to spend the day biking around and exploring the area. After eating breakfast, we walked to a place where you could rent bikes that was close to our hotel. The Italian man working there was really friendly and helped us get bikes and showed us some places where we could go. While we were getting ready, a guy around our age walked into the shop and said he wanted to go biking too. He was all alone and didn't have anyone to go with so we invited him to come along with us. We had a really fun time getting to know him throughout the day! His name was Demetree and he was from Switzerland but is backpacking through Mexico and South America for the next 9 months. He had only been speaking Spanish for about a month so Shannon and I ended up doing a lot of translating between him and Francia who only speaks Spanish. After getting our bikes, we all decided to go check out a state park in the mountains about 10k from the city. The ride there was pretty intense and basically straight up the mountain with cars zooming by but the view was beautiful. Huffing and puffing, we finally arrived at the park and locked up our bikes. There were giant caves there so we decided to explore those first. They were pretty sweet and really long. Afterwards, Shannon and I were challenged to a race down these cement slides by some other students at the park. We quickly agreed and started talking smack to them in Spanish...they got a kick out of that. The way you slid down the slide was by using crushed coke bottles which I found rather comical but it worked great! (For those of you wondering, we lost the first two rounds and won the last one) After sliding, we took a break to eat some lunch and then went biking on some trails in the park and headed back to the bike shop to return our bikes. The ride back was way easier and it was fun to cruise down the mountain with cars speeding by...Defiantly an adrenaline rush. We returned our bike and returned to the hotel and then went exploring in the market and the city. It was really sweet and it was fun shopping in the market.
That night, we went out dancing with some other students we had met who were in San Cristobal with their university form Tabasco. They were all super nice and we had fun dancing the night away with them and didn't get back to the hotel till 3:30 in the morning!
After sleeping in the next day, we ate breakfast and then went to a little Pueblo close to San Cristobal to see what life there is like. We got a tour of the church and went to visit the house of a lady who sells beautiful textiles. She invited us back to the little shack that is her kitchen and taught us how to make tortillas...they were delicious! Afterwards we were invited to a ceremony at another house. It was pretty neat that we were invited as foreigners usually aren't invited to stuff like that.
The ceremony was pretty long and we all didn't really know what was going on but it was interesting to see. The part that broke my heart was the fact that their religion is a mix of Catholicism and ancient traditions and involves a lot of idol worship. Many of the people believe that if they don't complete these ceremonies, bad things will happen and it made me sad to think that they are praying to empty things that have no power.
Afterwards, we returned to San Cristobal and I did some more shopping in the market and walked around and took pictures. I then went back to the hotel where I worked on some homework and had a quiet time.
That night, we just hung around the hotel and talked to our new friends and then went to bed.
The next day we got up and all ate breakfast and then we went to another pueblo to see Day of the Dead celebrations. People there were decorating the graves of loved ones with flowers and leaves and it was really pretty. We also visited the church there and then returned to Merida.
That afternoon, one of my friends here wanted to get a tattoo. Never having seen one done in real life, I decided to tag along and see what it was like. The place was pretty sweet and they did piercings as well. We decided to ask them how much it would cost for a nose piercing and they told us $15. I've been wanting to get my nose pierced for awhile but I didn't want to do it right away so I watched my friend get her tattoo and then we went out to eat tacos al pastor. By that time, I decided that yeah I really wanted to get my nose pierced and it wasn't going to get any cheaper so we went back. Another friend decided to get her ears pierced. The entire process was crazy! First, I had to pick out the stud I wanted and then I sat down in a chair and the man showed me the packaged needle he was going to use to pierce my nose so that I could see that everything was super clean and not opened. First, he put the needle through my nose and then he left it there while he turned around and grabbed the stud so for about 10 seconds I had a huge needle sticking though my nose..i felt pretty hard core. He then inserted the stud as he pulled the needle out and that was that. It barely even hurt!
After Sarah pierced her ears, we all walked back to the hotel and spent some time doing homework and I had a quiet time and then we went out for dinner at a really cool restaurant and came back to the hotel to go to bed.
The next morning, we woke up, packed up and headed back to Merida. It was another long 12 hour bus ride but it was defiantly more bearable than the trip there as I was feeling a lot better!
Today was back to school which felt weird after not going for about 10 days. The trip was amazing though and I would love to go back someday!
Hope you all are having a great week!
We just got back last night from Chiapas so I thought while everything is still fresh in my mind; I would tell you all how it went. Let me start off by saying San Cristobal de las casas ( the city we stayed at in Chiapas) is one of my favorite places I have ever visited! It's surrounded by gorgeous mountains and has cobble stone streets that are lined with beautiful buildings...there was a definite European feel to it and I fell in love with it from the moment we entered the city.
We left Thursday night at 12 midnight (It is a 12 hour bus ride so we needed to get started early). Thursday morning, I woke up feeling really sick so I just spent the day working on homework, packing up, and resting. Around 11:30 my family drove me to where we were to meet the van that would take us to Chiapas. The whole day they were so worried about me being sick and having to be on a bus...it was really cute and I felt really cared for. The ride was probably one of the most miserable ones in my life but I managed to fall asleep for a few hours on the floor of the bus. Around 8 in the morning, we arrived in Palenque which are some Mayan ruins about 6 hours away from San Cristobal. We spent a few hours there exploring the ruins and climbing up pyramids. Part of the ruins were in the jungle and there was even a waterfall which was pretty sweet. Even though I was feeling pretty crappy, I enjoyed seeing the ruins. We then hopped back on the bus and drove for about an hour to a waterfall. it was absolutely gorgeous and some people swan in it. Since I was sick, I decided that probably wouldn't be the best idea so I just went exploring with some other gals from the program. We found a sweet path behind the waterfall and explored that. After around 2 hours we headed back to the van for the 5 hour trip to San Cristobal.
It was quite the trip! Chiapas is in the mountains so we were whipping around curves and going up and down mountains for a straight 5 hours. It was pretty intense and there were a few times I thought we were going to end up going off the mountain but the gorgeous view made up for it! The pressure changes along with the bumpy ride and the fact I was sick made it pretty miserable but eventually we arrived in San Cristobal and I was able to go to sleep.
I slept until the next morning and woke up feeling a lot better. Shannon, Francia, and I decided that we wanted to spend the day biking around and exploring the area. After eating breakfast, we walked to a place where you could rent bikes that was close to our hotel. The Italian man working there was really friendly and helped us get bikes and showed us some places where we could go. While we were getting ready, a guy around our age walked into the shop and said he wanted to go biking too. He was all alone and didn't have anyone to go with so we invited him to come along with us. We had a really fun time getting to know him throughout the day! His name was Demetree and he was from Switzerland but is backpacking through Mexico and South America for the next 9 months. He had only been speaking Spanish for about a month so Shannon and I ended up doing a lot of translating between him and Francia who only speaks Spanish. After getting our bikes, we all decided to go check out a state park in the mountains about 10k from the city. The ride there was pretty intense and basically straight up the mountain with cars zooming by but the view was beautiful. Huffing and puffing, we finally arrived at the park and locked up our bikes. There were giant caves there so we decided to explore those first. They were pretty sweet and really long. Afterwards, Shannon and I were challenged to a race down these cement slides by some other students at the park. We quickly agreed and started talking smack to them in Spanish...they got a kick out of that. The way you slid down the slide was by using crushed coke bottles which I found rather comical but it worked great! (For those of you wondering, we lost the first two rounds and won the last one) After sliding, we took a break to eat some lunch and then went biking on some trails in the park and headed back to the bike shop to return our bikes. The ride back was way easier and it was fun to cruise down the mountain with cars speeding by...Defiantly an adrenaline rush. We returned our bike and returned to the hotel and then went exploring in the market and the city. It was really sweet and it was fun shopping in the market.
That night, we went out dancing with some other students we had met who were in San Cristobal with their university form Tabasco. They were all super nice and we had fun dancing the night away with them and didn't get back to the hotel till 3:30 in the morning!
After sleeping in the next day, we ate breakfast and then went to a little Pueblo close to San Cristobal to see what life there is like. We got a tour of the church and went to visit the house of a lady who sells beautiful textiles. She invited us back to the little shack that is her kitchen and taught us how to make tortillas...they were delicious! Afterwards we were invited to a ceremony at another house. It was pretty neat that we were invited as foreigners usually aren't invited to stuff like that.
The ceremony was pretty long and we all didn't really know what was going on but it was interesting to see. The part that broke my heart was the fact that their religion is a mix of Catholicism and ancient traditions and involves a lot of idol worship. Many of the people believe that if they don't complete these ceremonies, bad things will happen and it made me sad to think that they are praying to empty things that have no power.
Afterwards, we returned to San Cristobal and I did some more shopping in the market and walked around and took pictures. I then went back to the hotel where I worked on some homework and had a quiet time.
That night, we just hung around the hotel and talked to our new friends and then went to bed.
The next day we got up and all ate breakfast and then we went to another pueblo to see Day of the Dead celebrations. People there were decorating the graves of loved ones with flowers and leaves and it was really pretty. We also visited the church there and then returned to Merida.
That afternoon, one of my friends here wanted to get a tattoo. Never having seen one done in real life, I decided to tag along and see what it was like. The place was pretty sweet and they did piercings as well. We decided to ask them how much it would cost for a nose piercing and they told us $15. I've been wanting to get my nose pierced for awhile but I didn't want to do it right away so I watched my friend get her tattoo and then we went out to eat tacos al pastor. By that time, I decided that yeah I really wanted to get my nose pierced and it wasn't going to get any cheaper so we went back. Another friend decided to get her ears pierced. The entire process was crazy! First, I had to pick out the stud I wanted and then I sat down in a chair and the man showed me the packaged needle he was going to use to pierce my nose so that I could see that everything was super clean and not opened. First, he put the needle through my nose and then he left it there while he turned around and grabbed the stud so for about 10 seconds I had a huge needle sticking though my nose..i felt pretty hard core. He then inserted the stud as he pulled the needle out and that was that. It barely even hurt!
After Sarah pierced her ears, we all walked back to the hotel and spent some time doing homework and I had a quiet time and then we went out for dinner at a really cool restaurant and came back to the hotel to go to bed.
The next morning, we woke up, packed up and headed back to Merida. It was another long 12 hour bus ride but it was defiantly more bearable than the trip there as I was feeling a lot better!
Today was back to school which felt weird after not going for about 10 days. The trip was amazing though and I would love to go back someday!
Hope you all are having a great week!
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