Regeton is loud

This weekend was a lot of fun, on Saturday we all went downtown again but this time we split up into smaller groups. I bought a wooden necklace at the market with a tree carved into it. There are people that are always in the same exact spot every day doing things for money. This one blind man plays his trumpet in front of the cathedral, another man dresses indigenously and is a one-man-band type deal, another man has a monkey stuffed animal sitting on top of a hand crank music player saying "uno peso! uno peso!", another man painted silver standing like a statue, but on Saturday I saw a new man. He was dressed in a tuxedo, had angel wings, white gloves, his face painted white and a black zoro mask. He would stand like a statue then when people walked by he moved like a robot (G, an "egit" lol) and then dance. I saw him do the moonwalk then bounce around like he was a marienette. It was pretty funny. The weather here is so perfect. It's always sunny and about 70. On Saturday night, Chris, Josh, Erin and I went to Cholula to meet up with Megan and her boyfriend at this club called the Ming. It was asian-themed and huge. We all felt really underdressed, even though in the states we would fit in fine at a club. We really liked it but no one was dancing, they were all just standing around talking to their friends, so we went down the street to a techno club (finally!) and met up with some guys from the dorm. It was so sick, there was a light show, two huge projectors playing the videos, then a coulple of songs were accompanied with live performances, choreographed dances and such.

Yesterday some of us went to the mall to find new clothes to go out in, but that mall is crazy expensive, so I just went downtown to the markets with Darío. I bought a plant, a horn necklace with elephants engraved in it, and a $2 dress. Later we had family dinner in my room and just laughed for a long time. Sean was on my computer and when I opened it the next time, my desktop was a picture of him making a rediculous face and a double chin. haha, and today, we tried to take pictures on the porch with the volcano behind us, and he was just climbing all over everything. Everyone here is so friendly, and hilarious. A few minutes ago Chepe and Ramón were acting crazy at dinner and joking around. Today Kayla and I met another American, while sitting in the sun on campus doing homework. I had my first quiz today, and my first test is Wednesday! Jeannae and I were talking about studying abroad and how there actually is the part about studying in there...but it's really been fine, Kayla is a really good student, so we usually end up doing our homework together since we have all of the same classes except for one. I feel like I am learning a lot of Spanish, because today when I went to write my paper, it just flowed out rather than having to struggle with every word. And yesterday Darío was helping me by just pointing at things and saying the names of them. It's hard to get people to speak to us in Spanish because everyone speaks such good English, they just assume it's easier (and it is, but sometimes we just have to force it). We're still trying to figure out the Veracruz trip this weekend, we're just trying to find somewhere to stay that's affordable, we think we found a good bungalow, but we just have to make sure it's a legit website. Sometimes I forget I'm in Mexico, it's like I don't even remember living before here, like I was born here or something, or it's still a dream and I'm about to wake up. I don't know how to explain it, it's weird, but I like it!

I never know what the title of these things should be.

Yesterday Kayla, Erin and I went downtown and walked around. We got there earlier than everyone else while they were in class to try and take better pictures, because all the pictures any of us have taken do not do this city justice. We went into a dulceria (candy store) and bought amazing Mexican candy. Then we stumbled upon the museum of where the Mexican revolution started. Our tour guide spoke as much english as we do spanish and so we taught each other words. It was the home of Aquiles Serdan where he was shot, and where the first shot of the revolution was fired. It still had the original floors, and pipes (that still worked). All the flags were embroidered with gold thread, they still the the original window panels with the bullet holes in them. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I wish I could have because the house itself was amazing, let alone the huge piece of history that took place there. We went into a few of the most elaborate cathedrals. I will put up some pictures on here one day. I just haven't quite figured out photo bucket yet (and it's really slow). Then we walked around some more and happened to see everyone eating, so we met up with them and went to the Amparo Museum, the musem of Anthropology. It was the museum that my mesoamerican prehistory professor was always talking about. It was huge and had artifacts from all over Mexico and from all of the civilizations. It was so great to finally see the things we spent all last semester learning about, in person.

Then we went to the Zocalo to rest and this guy came up to us and wanted to practice his english so he started talking to us. It was so funny because he asked us what kind of music we listened to because he had the lyrics of "what if god was one of us" and was trying to learn them. Then the guys behind us started talking to us, and the one had perfect english because he used to live in LA. So we asked him where to find the best mole poblano, and different spanish terms we weren't quite sure about. Everyone here is so friendly and helpful and eager to talk to you to try to practice their english, which is great because then we get to practice our spanish.

We went to this restaruant that had the biggest quesadillas ever for 15 pesos (about $1). I haven't had any food here that I haven't liked. Potato tacos, juego de horchata, salsa, everything. And nothing is anything like the "Mexican" food in the states (suprising, huh?) The tortillas are thick, handmade, the salsa is sweet and spicy, everything is so full of flavor. I can't even begin to describe it. And the best part is it's so cheap! With a group of about 8 or 10 the bill is hardly ever more than 200 pesos (about $14). Yesterday I had falafel, haha. Oh and burritos are an american thing, just a little fact. They don't exist here. There are a lot of stereotypes that Americans have about Mexico and Mexicans that are completely absurd.

Last night we went out to Cholula again, and pretty much had a repeat of last weekend, but Cedric wasn't there this time. On Thursday night, Ignacio (the director of our program) attemped to have a pizza party. He tried. It was pretty much an elementary school PE teacher making us play games that none of us even remembered existed. Like jump rope, bulding a tower our of straws, etc. The man was nice, but we were all starving by that point and didn't eat dinner until about 8:30. C'est la vie.

I haven't been updating as much as usual, because the past few days have just been school and homework. It seems that whenever I try to write about the day, I can never remember the important things to say. It doesn't really matter what we did, it's how we felt about it, or how different everything is and why. It's so hard to describe things. Everyone just needs to come here and experience it for themselves.

Explanation

Maybe I came off as a little harsh in my previous post about the noise and school and the girls in the dorm. My disclaimer: it's only a few (maybe 4 or 5) girls, specifically on this floor. Every single other person that I've met has been really nice. And respectful.
We're going to a museum tomorrow, hiking a volcano on Saturday, and Veracruz next weekend!

19 de Enero

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Did you have a nice day off?

Today went by really fast. I added Spanish Conversation to my schedule so I have it Monday and Wednesday from 11:40-12:40. After class, we ate, studied inside a little bit, but the girls are so loud, so we went outside to campus and sat on the lawn in front of the library. the weather was so nice today, it was probably in the 70s. Later a couple of us went to the store to buy food for family dinner. On our way back from the store we left our mark in Puebla by sticking our feet in wet cement. We made chili and guacamole and used the kitchen downstairs because it's actually quiet, and clean. Kayla and I are going to break the TV tomorrow, like turn down the volume and take the up button off. While we were washing dishes tonight we heard them talk about us saying something about "I don't think they can understand us". It's not a cultural difference, it's a class difference. It's like "my sweet 16" on MTV. Ask and they shall receive. The girl downstairs was really nice though so we ended up eating our chili with her and watching Friends. Then we went back upstairs to loud music, screaming girls, and video games on volume 80.

Sean got the sickness today. I haven't heard from him, but he went to the hospital to get antibiotics. Kayla doesn't feel very well right now, so we'll see. We're all just anticipating our turn so we can hurry up and get it over with.

The kids here dress up for class, and so when the Americans walk in in our t-shirts, jeans and tennis shoes, we kind of get stared at, as if we don't enough already. This weekend we are planning to hike the volcano. Other than that, not too much new information on this end. Inauguration tomorrow! It seems like everyone here will be watching it right along with you.

Day 6/7...is that all???

So pretty much right after I last posted Fionna went to the hospital, but Erica went with her to translate. She was okay after she got some medicine and apparently she was out and about today, so it’s just a really bad, but really quick sickness. Last night a bunch of us went to eat at this really nice restaurant at the mall. It was by far the most expensive place we’ve been to yet but I think I spent about 100 pesos, which is only about $7.50. Stephanie and I weren’t feeling too hot, but after eating a good meal and a good night sleep we woke up fine. I was a little worried it was my time for the sickness. But we pulled through.
Today Kayla and I woke up around 9, went to wake up Chris and Sean, and gathered Josh so we could go to the mall. The mall is really close to us and is by far the nicest mall I’ve ever been to. It’s all marble floors and walls, two stories, but soooo expensive. It’s got stores like Prada, Lacoste, Louie Vuitton, etc. Needless to say we didn’t stay long, but we found out that they do have an arcade there, which we were pretty excited about. Then we caught a bus from the mall to downtown and walked around this really neat outside market with people selling everything: bags, paintings, jewelry, pottery, food, belts, anything and everything. Then we continued the search for shoes to fit Chris’s size 13 foot (which most likely doesn’t exist here). After that, we went to this mom and pop place to eat which was really good, I had rice and fried plantains. They had really good guacamole too. It reminded me of a 50s diner because they had all their drinks set out on the counter and old school milkshake machines. Then we went to another market but this one was indoors, and a lot different that the other. There was this huge building packed with vendors selling meat (which I’m pretty sure was in really unsanitary conditions), fruit and vegetables. The craziest thing I saw was goat heads. Across the street was the fish market which we all had to get away from, laughing because of the smell. That section of town was a lot different that near the Zocalo. The class difference here is so vast. The wealthy are filthy rich, like don’t know what to do with their money, rich. And everyone else is less materialistic, looks for deals on things, just lives day-to-day. Kayla and I came back and did some laundry but neither of the dryers are working, but there are three clothes lines in there. Oh yeah, and most of the girls here don't do their own laundry, they pay the maids to do it, which brings me to the only downfall I've come across so far...
The only complaint I can possible conjure up here, is definitely the girls in the dorm. They are so loud, and these walls are so thin. They turn the TV up so loud that I’m pretty sure you can hear it outside, they scream when they talk to each other, all talk at the same time and do NOT know how to clean up for themselves. The kitchen and common room are a mess, there’s food wrappers on the couches, dirty dishes covering the entire counter, food left out, food on the floor, and trash everywhere. Everyone that can afford to go to this school has been raised with maids and cooks and nannies and butlers and whatever else you can possible think of. So they just wait for the maids to come and clean all the dishes (which they do on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and yes, we have maids). So tonight when the 5 USAC girls that live on this floor went to make dinner, we moved everything into the corner, Lysol-ed the tables, and washed our own dishes. It’s not hard. Really.
In other news, everyone here has very distinct personalities, but we all get along really well. The other night we just sat and listened to Liz tell stories for an hour until our stomachs and cheeks were so sore from laughing we had to do something else. She’s the funniest person I’ve ever met, hands down. Sean is hilarious too, but it’s a different kind of funny it’s a lot more sarcastic. My roommate is really awesome too, and I get an opportunity to make fun of Chris’s Wisconsin accent. The best part is we are already planning a trip to Veracruz in two weeks because we have a three day weekend (four for me). Exciting stuff! How is the US?.....................

Recap

I feel like there is so much to catch up on, but we’ll just recap briefly(ish).
Friday: Woke up around 8 and did homework until 1, went to eat lunch with Kayla at the cafeteria, then we got Mariah and just walked around the neighborhoods around campus and went to Home Depot to get a new shower head b/c ours is corroded and rusty. A little while later pretty much all the USAC students met in Alyssa’s huuge loft room and hung out for a little while we decided what we were going to do. Our original plan was to go to Cholula to a techno club, but Alyssa said since it’s a huge college town and school hasn’t started yet it would probably be dead. But we ended up going anyway to this really awesome bar/club called Bar Fly, but the l and the y weren’t lit up so it just looked like “barf”. Hehe. They were playing really good music, and the clientele were dressed really modern/the kids in the US that attempt to reject popular society by means of old tight sweaters and keds or something. Whatever it is that they wear. We met another American there, Cedric. He’s a football coach at one of the universities in Cholula, and probably the only black person in Mexico. We went with him across the street to this dance club, Ultra (I think was the name). There was a huge line to get in but he said that’s his spot and goes there all the time so he knows everyone that works there so we cut the line and got right in. It was so crowded, we had to squeeze our way to the dance floor. It was two levels and they played all kinds of music. We heard popular Mexican songs, Shania Twain, Spice Girls, techno, Soulja Boy, along with other random songs that we haven’t heard for years. We left around 3 and it was still as crowded as when we got there. There was no sign of stopping. It was definitely the best club I’ve been to yet. Then we took a taxi back to the dorms.
Saturday: This morning I wake up to Chris yelling “Morgan! Morgan!” trying to find what room we’re in to wake us up to go shopping for shoes/clothes to wear out b/c last night we all felt so underdressed. So Kayla opens the door and the three USAC guys walk in (it’s like 11:30am). “Why are you awake???? It’s still the AM!” Anyway, so we got ready and went to the Zocalo to go shopping. We ate at this really good restaurant, and had the biggest glass of fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever seen. then walked around. Afterwards we sat on the wall of the Zocalo and watched a clown perform. Chris and I started talking to this guy Phillip, who spoke as much English as we do Spanish, so it was perfect.
The other students are starting to come back; there are two girls in the common room playing video games. There’s no insulation in the wall here so you can hear every single thing anyone does. Which is fine, because when it starts getting really hot, no insulation will be realllllly nice.
The other night Josh went to the hospital b/c he “got it”. Then last night Fionna went home early because she “got it”. We all know it’s coming, we just don’t know who’s next…It’s pretty much inevitable to get sick.
Tonight we’re going back to Cholula to wear our new dancing shoes. But for now, I think I’ll take a nap. Pictures are coming as soon as I can get a good mix of campus, downtown, and people.

Pesossss

Today was a lot of fun, like always. I went to my one and only class this morning, then ate at the cafeteria (awesome chilaquiles) and walked around campus and took pictures. Then Kayla, Josh and I ventured to the wal-mart across the street (I know I know, so American of me, but hey, it’s our first week and we don’t know where the good places are to shop yet) , but we took the long way…without knowing it. But it was the nicest wal-mart I’ve ever been in in my entire life. Then we took a cab back to the dorms, unpacked and I went downtown with a couple other people. There were six of us and we just walked around looking for a place to eat that looked good, and not too expensive. We made a really good choice (I don’t think there are any bad choices here). Then we walked around looking for something to do and found a pool hall and played pool for an hour or so (with Chris who is exceptionally good at it and made the rest of us look like we’ve never seen a pool table in our lives), then caught the bus right outside back to the gate of the dorm.
Everyone here is so nice and smells good. Most people seem to have a lot of money though…and the students apparently start arriving tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes, I heard that here, it’s like in elementary school where if you don’t have name brand clothes you’re talked down to and considered a “loser”, and here, if you don’t dress up for class it’s kind of the same attitude. There is definitely a huge class separation here. The uber-rich, and the lower middle class/lower class. And all of the really rich kids attend Ibero. I still can’t believe how different everything is and how much better everything is here than in the states. I am really dreading going back, without good public transportation, without being able to walk anywhere, without a huge city that feels smaller than it really is, without a small campus that is completely efficient and open and “Alice-in-Wonderland-at-the-queen’s-castle” feel, and super helpful set of faculty, random strangers smiling and saying “hola” as you walk by, being able to just hop into any restaurant and know you’ll be able to make like a bandit, the casual attitude of everyone, being able to actually enjoy a beer with dinner without feeling like you’re committing the biggest crime in the world, knowing you can ask anyone for help and they will help you no questions asked, I pretty much am getting extremely spoiled…and loving it! Okay well, like always I think I’ve walked to the moon and back already today, so again I’m really tired! But the good news is, I can sleep in as long as I want tomorrow, because I DON’T HAVE ANY CLASSES!!
Buenas noches!

Another AMAZING day here in Puebla! There is really so much to talk about and to explain I feel like if I don't post every day I'll miss out on recording everything that's happened.
We all met outside the USAC office to meet our Spanish professors and then we divided up to our seperate levels and followed them to our classroom. The classrooms are pretty small but there are only 6 people in my class so it's just fine. The professor is really really nice and willing to help in any way. His name is Noé Blancas Blancas. Then I had a break so Liz and I went to the cafeteria to eat lunch where some girls that are here for the year met up with us and after about two hours we had a group of about 10 USAC students. After that, I had my Multicultural Lives class with the American professor from Idaho. (about 10-12 students). After that we were all hungry so we went back to the dorm to drop off our bags and finally got our keys. From there we hopped on the bus that picked us up right in front of the gate to the dorms and went downtown to the Zocalo. We basically just stopped at the first restaurant we saw which was a really good choice! I had chalupas which were amaaazing. We walked around downtown for quite a while with two of the girls that were here last semester so they knew where they were going and what they were doing. We went through this huge plaza filled with tons of shoe stores, wedding dresses, clothes, food, candy, anything you can possibly imagine, but it was where all the rich people shopped you could tell by the clothes they were wearing and how nice the stores and streets were. Then we went inside another huge plaza of stores which, I can't even describe. Marble everywhere, a glass-ish(?) ceiling about three stories tall, really nice, clean, fancy things. After parousing cell phone stores we headed back to the Zocalo and caught a taxi back to the dorm. There were ten of us in two taxis one with 4 and the other with 6. It was really funny to see them pour out of the taxi.

So far, the most different thing about living in Mexico is you can’t flush the toilet paper, which isn’t really a problem because they change the trash every day. So if that’s the worst thing…I think I can handle this. The internet is spotty, so skyping might be kind of difficult. I’m not sure I haven’t tried it yet but Kayla was on it last night and it was breaking up and whatnot. We’ll see. Everyone here is so nice, I haven’t been harassed for money or whistled at or any of the other stereotypes Americans have/worry about. There are water coolers everywhere on campus, including in the common room with purified water. Oh, and there is free laundry upstairs.

My class schedule is:
Monday: Spanish 9:00-11:15
Tuesday:Spanish 9:00-11:15, Sociology, gender and Indigenous Belief in Mexican Cultures 2:00-5:00
Wednesday: Spanish 9:00-11:15, Multicultural Lives in Contemporary Mexican Society 2:30-5:15, Dances of Latin America 6:00-8:00
Thursday: Spanish 9:00-11:15
Friday: NO FRIDAY CLASSES!!!!!!!
Which means plenty of time to travel!

This Friday we’re going to a techno club in Cholula which is the next town over and as close as downtown is (about 20-30 min.) so I’m pretty stoaked about that. And next Thursday we’re going Salsa dancing with Kelly who is apparently an amazing salsa dancer and actually knows what she’s doing unlike the rest of us!

As always, I’m exhausted! But it’s the good kind, like when you’ve been at Disney World all day kind of exhausted. The other students come Sunday and start their classes Monday so things should not be as quiet as they are now (you could probably hear a pin drop down the hallway even with the door closed). But I’m going to bed now on my rock hard bed. We’re going to the store tomorrow to buy mattress pads and about a million other things that we need. (Like food! And soap! And toilet paper!)
Buenaaaaasssss

p.s.-I'll put pictures up here as soon as I get some with actual people in them, and of my dorm and campus and around town and whatnot!

My First Day in Puebla!

Disclaimer!: There are a lot of descriptions/details but it should die down with time

I know I've only been here for 24 hours, but I'm pretty sure I want to live here forever. I don't even want to think about the U.S. Yesterday was full of ups and downs, literally. Flying into Mexico City was absolutely amazing, every way I looked all I could see was city city city city houses buildings more buildings city. Coming into immigration/customs was a little iffy and I wasn't sure if I was sopposed to pick up my luggage or not so I asked someone (in Spanish) and they said to wait for it, so I did, but it wasn't there. So I just figured they'd get it to me anyway but right now I really need to make the next plane on time. I went through the doors and a crowd of people were standing there, some with signs, flowers, etc. This man with an airport ID came up to me and was like, "connecting flight?" So I said yes, and I followed him up to where the entrance to the gates was and he said "tip?". I thought to myself Ughhh...I'm not even there and I'm already being harassed for money? But I just politely said "no, I'm sorry" and kept walking. Next stop was Monterrey, which was completely different than what I expected. Granted I only saw it from 20,000 feet or so, but it was a lot more barren than I thought. When I got to Puebla, getting off the plane and walking outside through the tunnel-ish thing, there were piñatas hanging and signs that said "Bienvenidos! Welcome!". I waited near the baggage claim for just a few minutes for my luggage and thankfully it was there. I wasn’t sure where the group flight was coming in so I went to ask someone at the information desk and apparently my Spanish was so bad she just said (in English) “what are you asking?”. So I just waited for them, and this man asked if I needed a ride to the University and I said “I don’t know, are you Ignacio?”. It wasn’t him, but he was very nice and we talked for a few minutes. Finally, Ignacio came in and saw me and we introduced ourselves, I met his assistant Leti and we just spoke in English (thankfully) for a while until Liz and Stephanie came off the plane, then we waited on the others to get there, we put our luggage in the school’s van and got in another one. I was super excited to meet everyone and everyone was so nice and after a while, we all got a lot more comfortable because we were all in the same boat. We were all a little nervous, worried we didn’t know enough Spanish, curious if Puebla was going to be okay or not, if the program was going to be anything like we expected. We soon realized we all knew about the same thing: same insecurities, same levels of Spanish, etc. etc. So the whole way to the school (about 30 min) Ignacio explained every possible thing that we had doubts about and if we had any questions. After all the questions were answered I asked him what his favorite color was (it was blue) and then we started talking about soccer.
When we got further into town it was so exciting, there were street vendors selling food, lights, buildings connected and colorful. I was going on pure adrenaline by then, and when we arrived at the dorms we went through a gate, and up to our rooms. My roommate was already in the room. Her name is Kayla, and she’s an American from Idaho. The room is just like any other dorm in the world. Two beds, two desks, two closets, one window, but the nice thing here is we have our own bathroom, medicine cabinet and everything. And the linens were a lot better than I was thinking. Everything is white and either tile or plastic (even the walls) inside and out. There are doors that lock to every floor, a huge kitchen/living room when you first walk in with everything you need. Our view isn’t the best in town, but it’s not important, I won’t be in it very much this semester, I can feel it. The dorms are surrounded by a high voltage fence, and 24 hour security guards (who now know us all by face, name and room number). I was so excited to talk to everyone and there are 6 other American girls in the dorm, 4 on my floor, and 2 below.
It feels like I’ve been here so much longer than I really have, I almost said “in the morning”, rather than “this morning”. THIS morning we met in the common room to go to breakfast at the cafeteria a cars length away from the dorm, but they were closed, so we went across the street to campus. We found an ATM and for the first time I felt rich. Taking out 1,000 sure feels better than 100. Then we had orientation and we told Ignacio we were hungry so he had people bring us breakfast and COFFEE! (Proving how nice he is). We had to take a placement test to make sure we signed up for the right level of Spanish and at first I felt pretty good about it, but as I was approaching the third page, that feeling went away. Then there was an oral portion which I failed miserably. Whatever. It turns out that everyone wants to go to the same places I do (Veracruz, Acapulco, Palenque, etc.) and we have two three-day weekends, one five-day weekend, and spring break, so hopefully we’ll make it everywhere! The buses are really cheap too, so that’ll help.
Campus doesn’t even feel like a school. It feels like a resort. Or like in the movies when they show a California high school and the locker are all outside. We kept the door open during orientation because the weather was like a warm spring day. There are cylinder-shaped trees, flowers, swans swimming in the lake (which has a small island and a few bridges), peacocks that walk right in front of you like they’re just another person or something, everything is built to be open, bright, and breezy. We had a tour of the library (very nice, and very modern), and campus. Then we had lunch, which Ignacio “cooked” (aka-got from Costco). Which reminds me, there is a huge shopping complex behind the school equipped with Wal-Mart, Costco, Sears, and a ton of other stores. Next, we hopped on the bus to go downtown. It’s nice because the school has its own bus system that picks you up and drops you off at the main gate basically every hour on the hour M-F and a taxi service that picks you up at either the dorms or the main gate to the school.
Leti took us from where the bus dropped us off and walked with us to the Zocalo (main square) of Puebla. I was skipping and whistling in my head because every single thing I looked at was way cooler than anything else I’ve seen. The signs, the buildings, the houses/apartments, the streets, the colors, everything. There was so much going on! When we got to the Zocalo I thought my heart was going to explode. Some of my favorite types of trees filled this huge square right next to a huge 16th century cathedral with fountains everywhere, people selling the most balloons I’ve ever seen one person carry in my life, everyone seemed to be either holding hands, kissing, or linking arms with their friends. School must have just gotten out because a lot of kids were in uniforms, but like the cute Japanese kind, not the American kind. We took a double-decker bus tour of the city where I took a ton a pictures.
8 of us decided to stay downtown instead of heading back to campus, so we went to this little restaurant while a man sang un cancion to us/me. He asked my name then incorporated it into the song. Erica is fluent in Spanish which was sooooo helpful because otherwise, we would have been screwed. Then we went on a hunt for sheets, because a few people didn’t have anything to sleep on last night (which would have been me). We were all just hoping around the city as it began to get dark and all the lights came on. There are definitely not as many people walking around and in stores etc. as I thought there would be. We went to a drug store to buy food for tomorrow morning. We finally found sheets which was interesting because Josh doesn’t speak any Spanish whatsoever so Erica was translating everything and he didn’t have enough so Sean chipped in to cover the rest. The stores here don’t really have doors, I mean they do, but not like in America. Everything is open and some kind of remind me of a storage shed or a garage. Then we gathered up money for the bus to go back to school, and Erica paid my fare because I didn’t have change (it was only 5 pesos which isn’t even 50 cents). We were heading to the bus station and saw bus #29, the one we needed speeding past us and stopping at a bus stop far ahead of us, so we all started running trying to catch up with it, but it was a lost cause. Then we saw another bus #29 and walked right onto it without even waiting a full minute. The bus ride back was entertaining and we made it back to campus pretty much by luck.
When we were walking through the parking lot I said “I would call today a success”. I mean, we got to eat breakfast for free, it wasn’t boring for even a minute, none of us got sick from the restaurant, Ana got into the right cab safely, we got off on the right bus stop, we didn’t miss the bus, we didn’t get lost or mugged, everyone was so patient and helpful we had Erica to translate when needed (which was most of the time), and nothing could have turned out any better.
I’m in an exciting, culturally and historically rich city, a new country, surrounded by a new language but at the same time everyone in this program speaks English. We all get along really really well and we were planning on all hanging out together tonight after we unpacked but the boy’s dorm is locked and we have no way of contacting them. It doesn’t really matter because I’m exhausted and could have/should have gone to sleep two hours ago, but I don’t want to forget a single thing that has happened so far so I had to write a much as I could tonight! Well, I have class at 9 tomorrow morning so BUENAS NOCHES! Hasta pronto.

I'M HERE! I MADE IT!!!

Today was not as bad as I thought it would be. Everything turned out just fine, and everyone seems really awesome. I promise I'll catch you up on EVERYTHING tomorrow, but I'm so tired I can't think right now. I've been awake for 21 hours...

Pre-Departure

I leave for Puebla Mexico on January 12 (6 days! :/ ). I'll take a plane from Nashville to Memphis, to Huston, to Mexico City, to Monterrey, to Puebla. That's the only part I'm a little worried about, I hope my luggage makes it!