Speak Spanish SLOWWWLLLLYYYY

Okay, so I'm way overdue for a post. AKA-This is going to take a while...
The week was a pretty normal school week. On Thursday, we went to the bus station to buy our tickets for Veracruz, which was much easier than I had expected it to be. It was 234 pesos, which is about $17. Next to the bus station is another huge market full of any kind of shoe you can think of, bags, jewelry, movies, everything, so I am definitely going to have to get some more shoes sometime while I'm here. On Thursday night, the International club on campus was hosting a bbq at some students from Spain's house. Regina (from Guatemala) told us about it so we went with her and got to meet a bunch of people from all over. You could totally tell the house was owned by college boys, but we mostly hung out outside by the bbq pit. The homeowners were all wearing either wigs or crazy hats, and the "chef" was wearing an indian headdress. I met some people from France, Spain, Mexico, Holland, and Germany, and ended up talking with a guy from Holland in Spanish for quite a while which was good, because it was the longest Spanish conversation I've had since I've been here. We talked about pretty classy things too, not gonna lie. Like differences between indigenous and non-indigenous Mexicans, the class differences and such, American politics, then what Holland is like. We talked to the kids from St. Louis and Seattle too. Then we stayed pretty much up until Chris dropped a glass and broke it. lol. Then Chris, Josh, Mariah and I went to the Ibero party at a club in Cholula, open to all students of Ibero. It was a really pretty club, but also really expensive. We met up with some of the Mexican students from the dorms there.

Friday, we got packed and ready to head out to Veracruz. The bus left at 3 and on the cab ride there, I was afraid we wouldn't make it. It was already 2:40 and we were still in traffic, but we made it with plenty of time to spare. The bus was a really nice charter bus, and they played Pirates of the Carribbean 3 to keep up entertained. The ride was really great because the land between here and Veracruz is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It changes so fast, one minute it was just brownish grass and shrubbery hillside, the next it was like a jungle. We got to the bus station a little before 7 I guess and took a taxi to our hotel. The hotel was in the perfect location and we had plenty of room for the 11 people that went. Each room had three double beds. We dropped off our bags and walked toward the Zocalo which was so pretty at night. There was live music and people everywhere and all the buildings were lit up. We ate at an outside restaruant with marimbas and mariachi music and tons of people coming up to us and trying to sell us random things. I had a real live Coke, not the Mexican version, a real one. It was great. After dinner we were all pretty tired, but didn't want to waste the night, so we just found a small kareoke bar to sit down and relax at. Almost everyone sang a song, and all were pretty terrible, except the boy's rendition of Bohemian Raphsody.

Saturday, we ate breakfast at the first Mexican restaurant where I didn't enjoy the food. Then we split up and some went to the Aquarium and to the beach, and my group went to the ruins at Zempoala. It was about an hour away, but it was so short, and the ticket was only 27 pesos which is about $2. On the bus to Cardel, we met this woman and started talking to her and told her we were going to the ruins, so when we got off the bus, she walked us to where the other bus picked us up at, and told us what restaurant to go to and what food to order there. She was so helpful, because i'm not sure we would have found the bus ourselves and it just so happens that it was about to leave when we got to it. Everything went so unbelievably smooth. The town of Zempoala was so calm and peaceful. It was tiny from what we could see with one street to the ruins and no cars, just a man or two on a bike and at one point, on horse. We ate at the restaurant she recommended, which was probably their house, (which is common in Mexico-the restaurant is downstairs, they live upstairs and when it's closed at night, they park their car in the restaurant). The owner had the cutest little grandson ever, and he was in a baby seat with wheels (what do you call those?) and slid out of the kitchen really fast. I couldn't stop laughing but I missed at taking the picture of it. He kept smiling and waving at us. The ruins were about 1 min. down the road max, and free to get in. We were basically the only people there, maybe one other couple. It was amazing to be there, in a place where people lived over a thousand years ago. We were walking where they did, touching and climbing what they touched and climbed. Sean and Fionna had a battle in this huge circle of stones, then later we "sacrificed" Josh. We climbed a huge branchy tree behind one of the pyramids. Later that night, we went out dancing. The first club was really crowded and really lame, so we left and went to another one that was pretty much the complete opposite, we were pretty much the only ones there, but we made friends with one of the waiters, Ricardo.

Sunday, we woke up and went to the family restaurant across the street. The owners were so nice and made my favorite thing about Mexico even better- fresh squeezed juice wherever you go. We went to the beach, which was pretty crazy because we ran into the St. Louis kids there, they were staying at the hotel across the street. The weather was perfect, but the water was cold. We layed out for a little while, then Chris and I went to ride some water slides at the water park that was right behind us. That was the most fun I had the entire trip and that water was nice and warm, and not salty. The water slides reminded me of the slides you have to race down in Mario 64, if you know what I'm talking about at all. Half of the group went home Sunday night, but Erin, Rachael, Chris, Josh, Celia and I stayed. We met back up with Ricardo and he took us to a really nice coffee shop that he used to work at. We watched the end of the superbowl there (we started watching it in the hotel room). Erin and I walked on the beach then took a cab back to the hotel because we were exhausted, but the rest of the group met up with the St. Louis kids and went out.

Monday, we went back the the family restaurant and we took a picture with them because they were so good to us that weekend, we wanted to remember them. We walked around the port, on the malecon and got ice cream. We went back to the beach, but the weather was a little windy, so playing cards was a little difficult. We sat at a table under an umbrella and Celia and I shared a pina colada. It was a really relaxing day. We had to catch our bus at 5:30, but when we got our food it was already 5:15, so we just ate really fast. The ride home was nice too, because we sat in the very front.

Veracruz is really pretty and interesting, but I just felt like I had to watch more carefully in front and behind us, there wasn't any reason to really feel that way, I guess it was just an instinct or a gut feeling, but I guess it was just weird because there was hardly anyone walking around on the streets, or even really driving, it was kind of eerie. There are a lot of details that I had to leave out for time's sake, and now Dario Kayla and I are trying to speak in Spanish to it's hard to jump back and forth!