Things are Picking Up!

Minus a huge shock from PSU financial aid, things are starting to look a lot better here (not that they were ever bad, they are just better now).

Today was my first class that actually happened. I was way too excited. It is just my spanish class through my study abroad program, but it is with the teacher that I had in my orientation course who I love. And there is only one other person in the class, so I am going to be speaking lots and lots of grammatically correct spanish.

Class gets out at 9 in the morning when it is still pretty cool outside, so I went for a nice jog today. There is a park nearby my house with a track-like path in decent condition, and I have tons of time, so I was there for a little over an hour jogging and walking. It was amazing, I needed to jog out some agression. My plan is to go after each spanish class (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) and probably Sunday too. We shall see how closely I stick to this plan. I can{t use being too busy as an excuse anymore, so hopefully that works out.

I think one of the hardest things so far about being here has been adjusting to the food my family eats. Not that it is bad, it is really yummy most of the time, but it is just different than what I am used to. Quesadillas for breakfast, a really heavy and generally greasy lunch, and donuts or something really sugary for dinner. Lots of soda too, which I just can not drink anymore. Even though I have my pig out moments, in general I ate pretty healthily in Portland, so it has been a little difficult adjusting. Going to sleep after eating massive amounts of sugar is not so fun.

First week of class...fail.

So this week I was supposed to have my first two classes at the University, History of Spanish on Tuesday and Contemporary Latin American Literature on Wednesday.

The University has different campuses in the city, and so far we have only been using the one right downtown. My direct enrollment classes are at a different campus though, and I have to take a bus to get there. I had only been there once before, and we all took the bus together. Tuesday I left my house and went to walk to my bus stop for the first time by myself. It is really close to my house, but I could not find it anywhere. At all. So I finally just took a taxi to campus (taxis are really really cheap here), and got there just in time for class. Except I couldn´t find my classroom. Anywhere.

There is no map of the building, and the numbering doesn´t make sense. Each classroom has a letter (L for literature, H for history, P for philosophy) and a number, but they are in no order at all. I walked around the campus for a good 20 minutes trying to find my classroom. I asked around and no one knew . Finally a friend who is also taking that class came and found me. Turns out the classroom is kind of hidden behind another room that had its lights off and the door closed. Cool.

I get to class only to be told by the professor that since I hadn´t taken a few other classes I couldn´t be in that class. All of that work to get to class for nothing. SO FRUSTRATING.

Wednesday was only a little bit better. I found my bus stop. It was super crowded so I had to stand, which is terrifying because they drive ridiculously fast up a terrifying windy hill. I got to campus and found my classroom but no one was there. I sat around for awhile. Someone else in the class was sitting there for a few minutes then left, only to come back and tell me that there was a notice somewhere (still not really sure where) that class had been cancelled that day. Cool.

So that has been my week. No classes. I changed my schedule around so I am taking a Cinema class instead of History of Spanish, but now my schedule is so open. I have class from 8-11 Monday, 9-10 Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 9-11 and 4-6:30 Wednesday. I have no idea what I am going to do with all of my time. Especially from today until Monday...

Massive Update, sorry

I have been terrible about keeping this blog updated. Massive update. Here goes.

Our trip to Mexico City last weekend was absolutely amazing. It is about a five hour drive from here, which wasn’t too bad at all. We checked into the hostel we stayed at, which was right next to the main Cathedral, and left for our tour. The first day we had a terrible guide who walked faster than anyone I have met in my life and didn’t tell us anything about any of the cool places we saw. The only reason I know the names of where we went is because of the printed out itinerary we had. The first day we saw a ton of places right downtown that I can’t remember right now. It was pretty chilly and we were all tired, so we went back to the hostel early. That night I went with some of my fellow study abroad-ers and our horrible guide to see a lucha libre, which was SWEET. I don’t even know how to describe it.

The next day we went to La Plaza de Tres Culturas, the Basilica de Guadalupe, and Teotihuacan. The pyramids were by far my favorite part of the entire trip to Mexico City. The entire day it was raining Portland style, but that almost made the pyramids even better. The stairs leading up are ridiculously steep and my legs were sore for a few days after, but the view from the top is well worth the climb. The museum was closed though, which was really disappointing because I really wanted to see it. I will just have to go back someday.

That night I went out with two other girls to get food at a restaurant around the corner, which was fun. I ordered something from a picture off the menu because it looked good, and it was basically just a pot of melted cheese with chorizo mixed in and tortillas on the side. So yummy, but so greasy. The restaurant was a bakery too, so we went nuts and tried a little bit of everything. Unhealthiest meal of my life.

Sunday we went to some other place and Xochimilco. Two words: mariachi dance party. Then a long drive home, and an exhausting week. It was the last week of our Spanish and Orientation class, so there was a ton of homework. I did a ten minute presentation in my Spanish class, wrote a paper on the subjunctive for Orientation, and had tons of little essays, plus my final exam. On top of all of that, I was being a social person. Monday and Tuesday I was at Starbucks using their Internet with a friend (I also made a new friend there. Yay!). Wednesday was salsa lesson #2, and afterwards we hung out at the salsa bar and danced. Salsa is very difficult. Thursday night I went out again to an AWESOME bar that reminds me a lot of Portland. New favorite place in town.

Friday we all had to go to San Miguel to do visa paperwork. Really boring. Afterwards we went to nearby hot springs and swam and had lunch. Can I just make it clear how much I love being able to have a beer with my lunch? I was the most exhausted I have ever been when I got home and passed out until 9. Then I went to the International Film Fest. It was so cool. They set up a movie screen outside in front of the university stairs and played a ton of short films, all of which I loved.

Sunday I went hiking with a friend, which was really cool. We hiked La Bufa, right outside of town. At the top is a shrine to San Ignacio, and Sunday was his day, so there were hundreds of people hiking. Before the climb got too steep, there were tons of booths selling food and souvenirs, and even rides. After about 2o minutes, it becomes almost a vertical climb, so it was just us and the hundreds of people going to the top. It took almost 2 hours, but the view was well worth it. Going down was really difficult, I definitely fell a few times.

All of the summer people are gone now, so it is just the seven of us staying for the semester/year. Really small group.

Monday I went to the mummy museum with another student. THEY ARE SO COOL! There are a ton of naturally mummified bodies. Some of them still have hair or clothes, it is crazy. All of their mouths hang open, which is apparently part of the decomposition process, so it looks like they are smiling or screaming. There are little babies and toddlers, which was sad but even more interesting. I want to go back!

Haven’t been up to that much else. I am taking 2 classes with CIEE (Mexican History and Advanced Spanish) and 2 at the University (Contemporary Latin American Literature and something yet to be determined…probably a cinema course.) CIEE classes don’t start until next week so I have nothing to do this week.

Ok, that is all. PICTURES!

Another Quick Update

Just another quick update.

We went on a tour of the city on Saturday and saw some really amazing places. My favorite was Pipila, a giant statue above the city. It has an amazing view of Guanajuato.

Sunday my parents took me to the mall and then to the market, which was fun. Then my mom made cheeseburgers for lunch. I was very happy.

This week is going by really fast, and homework is piling up. The Spanish class and orientation session only have one week left, and I have a final essay for each. I also have two more mini essays and a presentation. I will be in Mexico City this weekend, and things start being due on Tuesday. Stressful! But everything is very interesting, and things that I actually want to be writing about. Hopefully that will make it go by faster.

I met my host brother! He lives in Mexico City, but I think he may have moved back into our house. I am not quite sure. He is really nice and funny, and even though my spoken spanish is horrific he still compliments it all of the time, which is very nice of him. I am excited to get to know him and my sister better.

Today my family had a ton of relatives over and we watched Sherlock Holmes. Afterwards, I went to a salsa lesson with fellow study abroaders, which was really fun. I think I am going to go again next week.

I am a little surprised by how homesick I am. I had a really bad day a few days ago where I was terribly homesick the entire day. Luckily it is not that bad anymore, but I definitely have my moments. And they come at the strangest times. Last night I was talking about the kids at Buckman with a fellow future teacher, and a huge wave of homesickness came over me. Today during salsa, I was remembering going out dancing with Faire, and homesickness again. But these waves are becoming further apart and less intense, so I hope as time passes they will just go away :) Because I am having an absolutely amazing time, and I can not even believe how lucky I am to be here.

That is it for now I think. Tomorrow I will be picking classes (I think I will be taking Migration & Contemporary Social Issues of Mexico, History of Mexico, Contemporary Mexican Literature, and either Latin American Cinema or Phonetics of Spanish). This weekend is Mexico City. Then it is the last week of Orientation. Then I start my real University classes. Crazy!

Getting used to it

Entrance to my room from the garden!

haven’t even been here a week, and I already started to feel like I was stuck in a rut. Things with my family felt a little awkward, I hadn’t quite clicked with the other students, and I was feeling a little under the weather. Yesterday I basically slept all day, ate dinner, then went back to sleep. This morning I woke up feeling pretty uneasy.

But today ended up being a very good day. Yesterday, our homework was to go to the market. We had to find a fruit that we had never seen before, ask about it, and bring it to class today. I bought a tuna, which I think we just call a prickly pear (that is what my dictionary tells me). My host dad told me all about it. It grows on a nopal, which is a type of cactus. Everyone brought their fruit to class, and we had to talk about it and then eat it. The tuna fruit is really sweet, with lots of seeds. I also ate a mamey, which I didn’t like at all. The fruit is the color of pumpkin and it has a really strange texture. Mangoes here are way sweeter and more delicious than back in the states, and also way cheaper. Right now I can go buy a mango for 1 peso, which is about 12 US cents. And they are soooo good.

After class I finally found a store that sells bars of soap and shampoo. I live right in the downtown area, so there are no supermarkets or anything like that. I finally asked my mom and she told me where to go. I followed her directions and found the store on my first try (which is AMAZING- have you Google mapped my city yet? It is unmappable and impossible to get directions that make sense.) I also found my way downtown from there, so I’m getting the hang of this. I think.

Then I went out with some of the other students, which was fun. We watched a creepy clown who liked to chase people down and kiss them, then went to a restaurant. Yay for being able to drink a beer with my food!

The best part of my day was after dinner, when I came home and had my first real conversation with my parents. So far I have been really shy about my Spanish, and our conversations have been really limited. Tonight we talked about learning new languages and about how Spanish is viewed in back in the States. It was the first time that I really felt at home here, and I feel a lot more relaxed.

Random side note- Today my mom made me hot dogs with avocado and mustard for breakfast. Interesting.

Quick Update

Just a quick update.

Moved in with my host family. My mom, Berta, is the sweetest little lady, and my dad, Jesus, is so adorable. I am excited to live with them. My sister is out of town and I don´t get to meet her until later.

The next three weeks are pretty low key. I have Spanish class from 9 to 12 and then our Orientation type class from 12 to 1. Then I go home for lunch and basically have nothing to do all day except homework. My house doesn´t have internet, which is really nice when I need to get stuff done. I end up watching a lot of Law and Order with my mom. Just like back in the States.

I live about 5 minutes from the university but I still get lost everytime I leave the house. I am getting the hang of it though. Today I walked home from class without getting lost. Hopefully tomorrow I can get there without getting lost. I live RIGHT next to one of the biggest tourist attractions in town, and just around the corner from the main plaza, so if I get super lost I just ask how to get to either of those. But getting lost is fun. There is a lot to see here.

For some reason we aren´t going on a tour of the city until the 17th, so I haven´t seen most of the landmarks of the city. That should be interesting.

That is all for now. Pictures when I find somewhere that I can get wireless!

Arrived Safely

Just thought I would write a super quick entry to let everyone know that I have arrived safely in the city. I got into town last night around 7, and our group had a big dinner at the hotel.

Today we all loaded onto a bus and went to a natural park on the outskirts of the city for orientation. We were there all day, and we ate lots of yummy food and drank a special type of coffee that I am in love with. The picture is a view of the city from the road we drove to the park.

It is only about 4 and I'm exhausted. Right now is free time. Lots of people are out exploring, but I don't want to get sick and lose my voice, which happens a lot when I travel. So here I am in the hotel room, on Facebook. We have a Spanish test at 6 and at 7:30 I get to meet my family. They wrote me a quick letter that I got earlier today. It says (roughly):

Hello Kelsey, and welcome to Mexico! I'm sure that you will like it here very much, especially Guanajuato. We have lots of fine things here! You're going to have a really good time. We are happily waiting for you to come join us in your house.