Dia de los Flores, Random Updates

Hey everyone.

April 15th was an awesome holiday, Dia de los Flores. As far as I could tell, it is a celebration of the Virgen de Dolores. All over town, people set up altars for her and left offerings, mostly fruit and ice cream. The entire city stays up all night eating, drinking, and partying. Plaza de la Paz is completely converted into a giant tent full of food and flower vendors.

I started off the evening with three fellow study abroaders that I hadn't hung out with much previously. We started really early so the streets weren't to crowded. First we got some food at the giant food tent, got some drinks at Zilch, then headed to a party a friend had invited us to. We continued the festivities there for a few hours, and a learned a few drinking games. (New favorite: Pendejo. A lot like Spoons but more intense, involving tequila and markers.)

From the party the rest of my study abroad friends went to go salsa dancing and I met up with Alexander. We ended up just wandering around for most of the night, with a quick stop at some cantina-like bar where he tried to teach me how to dance (fail). I ended up getting home around 4 in the morning (which is early for Dia de los Flores!)

Since that day I have been nursing a pretty nasty cold, so nothing much to write about April.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Puerto Vallarta until Friday. I'm going by myself, which I'm not going to lie, I am a little nervous about. Not so much about safety issues, just about logistics. The last trip I went on, I was with Lisa, who is the ultimate trip planner. I definitely channeled my inner Lisa when I was planning this, so hopefully everything goes smoothly. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Now some pics from Dia de los Flores:

Most of the group from the party

Giant food stand!

Example of one of the hundreds of altars set up around town

Random Thoughts

I've been meaning to post for the past few weeks to let everyone know what I have been up to...I keep having random thoughts pop up that I want to share with everyone but they were never quite enough to justify a post. But it is a hot Friday afternoon and I have nothing to do until later, so here are just a few of those thoughts.

1) Studying abroad can be such an emotional roller coaster, it is exhausting. Some days, this is my favorite place in the world. Spanish rolls of my tongue and I'm never going to leave Mexico. Then the next day, I can have a completely different attitude. I'm so homesick that it physically hurts. I can't focus on what people are saying to me at all. The past few weeks have been mainly low (personal drama, family emergencies, missing birthdays back in Oregon, the cold that WON'T go away)...but I'm starting to get myself out of that rut.

2) I just read an article about how students who have studied abroad tend to do better in school after their experience than before, which was really interesting. First of all, when you go to school in a foreign country, the systems they have in place are completely different. You're going in blind, and have to figure everything out (in your second language...). By the time you get back home, you're so used to having to work five times as hard for something that the familiar is a piece of cake. If you can figure out the way they organize their books at the library in Valenciana (something that still alludes me...), you can pretty much handle anything the university system back home can possibly throw at you.

3) My tastes in food have changed so drastically since I have gotten here. Now I gobble up my papaya with my breakfast in the morning. I looooove micheladas (beer mixed with tomato juice, chile, lime, and some other stuff...also the variations with juice are yummy), salsa verde (the spicier the better), light dinners (washed down with a glass of milk, which I couldn't even drink when I first got here). Just a few examples.

4) Semana Santa. Our spring break is in April (Easter week and the week before). 2 weeks! I am going to the beach. Not sure which one, or with who, but it will happen. My host mom says I should go to Ixtapa. My friends want to take me to Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco. I want to go back to Chiapas and check out Boca del Cielo. Also I have an offer for Puerto Escondido. We shall see what happens. All I need is some quality beach time and I'm good.