Acapulco and More

Acapulco was a lot of fun. We left on Friday night around midnight and had a 9 hour bus ride. Before the bus ride we all ate tortas. They are a heated up sandwich but they are so good!! I might go to the bus station just to get another one! The bus ride was fine; I slept most of the way if that surprises anyone. When I woke up before we stopped I thought I was in the jungle. There were mountains everywhere. It kind of looked like North Carolina because all the mountains were covered in green plants, except it was more exotic because there were palm trees mixed in. I kept telling my friend to look out for wild animal, but all we saw were cows!
When we arrived and stepped off the bus it was so humid. It was not sunny but very warm. We all (22 of us) took taxis to our hotel and got into our rooms right away. I roomed with 2 girls from CMU, Amanda and Kayla, and Tish who is from North Carolina. We were on the 21st floor so we had an amazing view! (Our hotel at 22 floors so we were almost at the top)There was an amazing pool and a restaurant which I never got to eat at. Then all then went to the beach for the day, and there was a restaurant on the beach that some people bought food from. The owners were very nice and let us use the tables and chairs all day and then for the rest of the weekend. There are many people who walk up and down the beach and try to sell you things. They kept coming up to our tables and chairs wanting us to buy things. They had everything you could ever imagine. I had people who wanted to braid my hair, sell me a bracelet with my name on it, a little girl who sang la cuchracha, tacos, ice cream, beach cover-ups, you name they had it. The worst was an old man had massage oil and would give massages. They are all very pushy and get right up in your face and this old creepy man started rubbing my back and saying “massage, massage.” I ripped his hand off and told him no. I did end up buying some tacos from a vendor (4 tacos for 20 pesos, that is less than 50 cents a taco. They sure beat taco bell!) Then I bought some stuff that was like lemon ice but it was fresher and it was mango. It was delicious! Later that night my friends and I were craving American food so we went to Pizza Hut. It was so good. It definitely hit the spot. I had stuff crust cheese pizza and bread sticks. After dinner we went out dancing for the rest of the night which was a lot of fun. We got to dance a lot of salsa so I got some practice in. After we went out for tacos at a small restaurant by our hotel, again they were so good. (30 pesos for 5 tacos, which again is about 50 cents per taco!)
The next day we slept in and then went to the beach again for the day. Some people went jet skiing and parasailing. I just jumped off of the rocks and swam. We then ate McDonalds for dinner (yum!) and went to the restaurant/bar we went to during the day. They had a campfire for us and music. It was fun except there was a chicken that kept pooping on people. The owners told us not to worry because they were just going to kill it tomorrow. We were all freaked out!
The next day we had to check out so a few friends and I decided to check out the town instead of getting all sandy and not being able to shower before the bus. We went shopping and bought things at the local shops. They were just like the people on the beach. They were all very pushy wanting you to buy things and wanting to spend your money. They would try to charge you outrageous prices for everything too. You had to barter with them which was fun but did not always work. I only bought a bracelet from a store without a pushy salesman. We then had lunch at Subway and for dinner we had tacos again from the same restaurant. They were so delicious. I am craving them again!
When we were shopping we stopped at the mail to cool off and walk around in air conditioning. My friend Tish sat in a massage chair and we decided to leave and get dinner. We were about to exit the mall when she realized she did not have her wallet. She went back to check for it and could not find it. We talked to the security guards and thank goodness one found it. She had left it in the chair and luckily enough it was found by a security guard. So that was a relief.
We sadly left Acapulco at 9pm and did not arrive back home until 6:30am. I was so tired on Tuesday but it was so worth it. I just wish I was back there because all it has done this week is rain. Its only in the 50s and it won’t stop raining. Since it does not rain a lot here there is not a good draining system so a lot of the streets are flooded. My host mom has driven me to school the past 2 days because it has been raining so hard and the water is so deep in places. I took the bus home and I have to walk a little after to get home. On Wednesday I came home soaking wet because the cars would speed through puddles and splash me. I felt like I was in a movie. It was pretty funny though. Luckily that did not happen today though!
I have found out this week why I am horrible at salsa. I do not like not being in control or no knowing what is coming next. Since the guy leads I am always tense and I think too much. My partner always tells me to relax my arms. He laughs at me a lot and I am pretty sure he knows no English. I felt bad because last class I think I stepped on his feet 100 times and elbowed him once. Yes, I am not graceful either. I now understand why my parents never put me in dance. Thank you for saving me the embarrassment and keeping me in soccer.
My host mom now calls me here Hija. That means daughter in Spanish. She had her grandson Marco over again today. He is sick so he stayed home from school. He is a lot of fun and helps me a lot with my Spanish! Although he did throw up in the living room today and I almost did too. I felt so bad because he was sick but felt bad because my host mom would not let me help her clean up.
I went to the movies last night. I saw Avatar in 3D with some friends. It is a great movie and if you have not seen it yet you need to go! NOW! But the movies here are really cheap. I went at 9:30 and it was less than 7 dollars!!
I might be going to a bull fight this weekend and watching the super bowl with some friends. A hopefully relaxing weekend!