Camiones y hamacas

Hello Faithful Blog Followers!
I had some extra time this evening and thought I would sit down and write about 2 interesting experiences I had in the past few days-and by interesting experiences I mean adventures..well sort of (you'll see).
Monday morning I woke up and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus as I normally do.
 It was a beautiful morning as usual-the sun was shining, birds were singing, iguanas were running across the road, you get the picture. I saw the normal people I usually see on the way to school: The neighbor who is always walking her dog, kids waiting outside the Facultad for the bus, and the body guards. I don't remember if I mentioned this in another post or not but the presidente municipal (kind of like a mayor) lives really close to my house so her body guards are always outside guarding the house. While I don't know them on a first name basis, I like to think that we're friends ( we exchange the customary "buenos dias", "buenos tardes", or "buenas noches" depending on the time of the day) as I pass them at least 4 times a day..usually more. It always makes me feel a little safer knowing that they are around. Anyway, sorry for the tangent.
I arrived at the bus stop as normal and waited for the bus. Some other students from the ISFA-Butler program arrived to wait as well and we waited..and waited...and waited. The buses here (or camiones) are usually pretty regular and we were starting to get worried that one might not come and we would miss our class that morning.
Finally, one came chugging down the road (I should probably mention here that buses in Mexico are about a 100 years old and are all falling apart..you never are quite sure if you are going to make it to the place you are trying to go or not) and we flagged it down and got ready to get on. Only problem was, this bus was packed and by packed I mean that I literally was hanging out the door when the bus took off...Talk about a morning wake-up call! Eventually people squished together and I was able to step inside. At the next stop, I thought we would just keep going and not stop to pick up passengers but nope we somehow squished together even more and fit more people on. I have been on quite a few "crowded" buses in my life but nothing compared to this!
The part that almost made me laugh out loud was that even with people spilling out practically every corner of the bus, the bus driver still drove as crazy as ever. For anyone who has ever been to Mexico, you know that there are basically no rules when it comes to driving and everyone pretty much just does what he or she thinks. So there we are cruising down the highway on our way to class on a bus that is crowded with people hoping that we make it to school in one piece. It was quite the adventure and defiantly a new way to start the morning!
The other thing that happened to me this week wasn't quite as exciting but it's still pretty sweet. My host parents gave me my own hammock (hamaca) to sleep in! Here in Merida because it is so hot, people usually prefer to sleep (or at least take their siestas) in hammocks. I was pretty excited to get my own so I can try it out! My host mom showed me how to set it up and the most comfortable way to sleep in it. I have to admit it it's pretty comfy and a lot cooler than my bed but I think it's going to take some getting used to before I can spend the entire night in my hammock. I'm trying to get used to it though because in a few weeks we are going to visit a remote village where we will have to sleep in hammocks and I want to be an expert by then! :) Most people use hammocks here like we use sleeping bags in the US and just set them up pretty much wherever when they need a place to sleep.
Well, that's about it for my adventures here this week. I'll write more in a few days and let you know about the rest of the week. Hope you all have a great day!