Hola from Mexico

Hey there!
Another Sunday afternoon has rolled around and I realized it was time to update my blog!
Tuesday, we didn't have school, so several of us went to Progresso to enjoy the beach. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to have a break from the normal routine of school and classes!
Wednesday, I woke up and headed out for a run. It was already pretty warm as the sun had been out for a few hours and I was drenched in sweat by the time I came back..Thank God for cold showers! Wednesday is my long day of classes and my day goes from 12-9. International Relations went well and then we had a break to eat lunch and then headed to our underwater archeology class. I enjoy learning about ancient Mayan culture and how to identify important objects and themes from different time periods. It’s especially neat when our professor shows us pictures or videos of his own dives and the things he has found! After class, we headed to our weekly meeting that we have with our program director. When I walked into the room, I saw a package sitting there and realized it was for me...I was super excited to discover that it was from my family and was full of all sorts of goodies including almond m&ms and homemade granola!! At the meeting, we talked about our upcoming trip to a pueblo about 2 hours from here and Chiapas. We will be in Chiapas over Dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead) and so part of our meeting was spent talking about that and the ways that people here celebrate.
For those of you who don't know what Day of the Dead is, it's a celebration here in Mexico of family members and loved ones who have passed away. People make alters in honor of the deceased people and spend the night with family remembering the times they had with those who have passed away. While ever alter has some basic elements (water, photos, candles, etc) each is a little different and includes things that the person who passed away enjoyed-food, games, drinks, etc). It was really interesting learning how celebrating in the Yucatan is different than from that in the North. While I was in Cuernavaca, I saw how Day of the Dead was celebrated and it will be interesting to see how it compares with celebrations here.
Thursday, I dropped off my laundry at the lavandaria (the lady there now knows me by my name and is always excited to see me...I’m not really quite sure why but it’s cute) and then headed to class. Classes went well. After Spanish class that afternoon, I had my tutoring session with my tutor. We just worked on a paper I have to write for one of my classes summarizing a book called McMafia. Afterwards, I headed home and went for a run, ate supper, worked on some homework and went to bed.
Friday, we had US-Mexico relations class and then Andrea, Pearl and I went to cafe la Habana to work on a project we have for that class. We have to update a bunch of information about NAFTA and present it to the class. It’s a lot of looking up statistics and reading economic analysis reports which takes a bit of work and in my opinion, isn't that much fun. It was nice to all be able to work together though, and we spent almost the entire afternoon working on the project. We got a pretty big chunk done which was great. Then, Sarah, Des and Di showed up and we all studied for a test we have on Monday in International Relations. It was nice to be able to review with other people from class and make sure I'm understanding everything. By the time we called it a day, I had been doing homework for a straight 6 hours and was exhausted! I came home, went for a run, worked on a little more reading, and went to bed.
Saturday, I was able to sleep in which was so nice! I then went for a run and worked on homework until lunch time. For lunch we ate Arab food which is my favorite thing my family has made so far. It was sooo good! After lunch, Sarah and I went shopping in El Centro and then I came home, worked on more homework and went to bed.
This morning, I was able to sleep in again. I then got up, ate breakfast and worked on homework. Around 11:30, I headed to Plaza Fiestas to meet up with Sarah, Di, and Des to finish studying for our test. When we were done studying, I came home and we ate leftovers from yesterday for lunch which was just as delicious as yesterday. I then worked on some more readings and cleaned up my room. I don't really have too many plans for the rest of the night: I'm planning on watching a sermon online and having my own church service, making sure I have everything done before tomorrow and heading to bed. Hope you all have had a great week!