I never remember to write in this...

The past few weeks have been pretty good. Time is flying, I can’t believe that I have almost been here for two months. Before I know it, it is going to be June, and I will be heading back to Portland.

I’m finally starting to settle into a routine, which is nice. I like having a routine. Mondays I have class in the morning, then I spend the afternoon doing homework. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I am done with class by 9 am. I go running afterwards, shower, find somewhere to use the internet, eat lunch, then do more homework. Wednesdays I am basically in class all day.

I still haven’t quite found that routine for my weekends. Generally I don’t have any homework to do, since I spend so much time on it during the week. I try not to use the Internet too much. I feel like most weekends I just hang out at home and watch television/movies, which can be nice but sometimes it is mind numbingly boring. Especially because the same movies repeat during the weekend, and my family likes to watch them over and over again. I have seen Spanglish three times this week, and Amelie four times in the past two or three weeks.

My birthday weekend was really fun. Thursday night two of my friends took me out drinking. We went to a ton of different places, but finally ended up at the Grill. It was the most ridiculous night of my life, by far. I didn’t get home until 6 AM, so I slept almost all of Friday. At lunch my uncle made me take a shot of tequila with him, while he showed me lots of different Mexican musicians and talked about where I should travel to when I get the chance. That was fun. Friday night everyone wanted to celebrate again, but I needed a nice and calm night after Thursday. We ended up going out to this really cute little coffee shop and hanging out for a bit. They have the most amazing chocolate drink I have ever had in my life, it is my new addiction. I’m sure everyone has already heard me rave about it though, so I won’t spend any more time on that. Saturday and Sunday were really low key, I don’t even remember what I did. Probably just slept, I had a sore throat most of the rest of that weekend.

The next week went by really fast. Homework load was really light and I didn't have my literature class. That is all.

This weekend was good. I finally made it up to this nature reserve with a friend to go hiking. It sort of sucked though, there is a neighborhood with the same name wayyyyy on the outskirts of town, and the taxi driver took us there first. Then to the right place, which took him forever to find, and then he charged us for the entire ride. That was no fun. We made plans for him to come back and pick us up in two hours, then set of on the hike. The area is really pretty, but there isn't really a path or anything. It is sort of just a ton of sections of trail that randomly meet up. You end up going in circles, but it was still really fun. People go camping up there, that would be fun to do sometime. At three we went to go meet our taxi driver for a ride back into town, except for he wasn't there. An hour later, he still hadn't shown up. And we were sort of in the middle of nowhere. With no cell service. Luckily there was a road that led to one of the college campuses, and we were able to flag down a bus and get a ride there. It was an adventure.

Today I have a massive amount of reading to do for my literature class, but that is all. My family is making hamburgers for lunch, and my host brother is making sure that they will have bacon because I told him that was my favorite food. I am very excited!

Food

I never have any idea what is going on with my family. It can be a little confusing. Right now it looks like they are moving all of the living room furniture into the bottom floor, which makes no sense. I didn't know for like a month if my brother even lived at home or in D.F. Our grandma just randomly appears on our couch, but I'm pretty sure she is moved out for good now. I have no idea where my sister's bedroom is or how she gets in and out, because she never uses the front door. I feel like I am just constantly confused...especially when it comes to food. Half the time I have no idea what I am eating.

Thursday I randomly ran into my brother (turns out he is living at home and is taking classes at the university. At the same time as me.) and he walked with me for a bit. We were talking and he randomly decided to go buy me some juice. We end up at this super sketch looking juice stand, and I had the feeling that I was going to get ridiculously sick from whatever he got me. I told him to just get whatever was the best, so he got me the green juice. I have no idea what it was still, but it was very green. It was a lot like Naked or Odwalla, but mixed with grapefruit juice. And it was AMAZING. AND I didn't get sick. I need to find this place and try the other types.

On Sundays my family goes and buys mystery meat that comes in a plastic bag. It is really tender and juicy and has various organs floating around in it. I'm afraid to ask what it is because it doesn't taste horrible, but I can't eat lots of it because it just looks so nasty. Something vaguely resembling a tongue appeared on my plate, so far that has been the second thing my family served me that I couldn't even touch.

Usually dinner is some sort of bread or donuts with milk. I really don't like drinking milk, but I have been. Finally the other day I told my mom I would rather just drink water, which was really funny. She was very confused. She kept saying "Water? Really? What are you going to do with water?" Then she made me tea instead, which was yummy. But really, I like water.

For the most part, all of my food is really yummy. I love the quesadillas they make for breakfast, with the super spicy green salsa. Mangoes here are twenty million times better, they are a lot sweeter. So yummy. And I'm getting hungry thinking about them, so I am going to stop writing now.

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.