Puebla and Guanajuato

Two weekends ago I went to Puebla with four friends, Lindsay, Marian, Mandy, and Amanda. We left Friday afternoon and stayed in a Holiday Inn. It was a business hotel so it was very nice, but we got a good deal online. Our room was huge. It had a mini fridge, a huge shower, big TV, and a big desk. That night we just stayed in and swam in the pool and hot tub. We got into the pool and it was really warm and we were all excited. Then we went into the hot tub and realized the pool water and the hot tub water were the same. The next morning we woke up and headed to downtown Puebla. We explored some on our own and then found a place to have lunch. We has seafood and I ate shrimp with rice and my friends shared octopus that still had the tentacles on it and raw fish called saviche. (Not sure if I spelled that right). They let me try and I loved the raw fish, and the octopus would have been good if it did not have the tentacles. I just could not get over that part. Then we got onto a double-decker bus for a tour of the city. We all sat on the top and got to see all of Puebla which as nice because there was no way we could walk and see everything. We also got to see cool things we wouldn’t have known to go see. We say a fort from when the Mexicans drove out the French on Cinco de Mayo. We saw beautiful churches, fountains, statues, and markets. Once we were done with our tour we went to some of the markets we saw. I bought some gifts for people and a scarf and a painting for myself. We then had dinner and headed back to the hotel to relax for the next day.
We went to a neighbor city on Sunday called Cholula. In Cholula there are 7 pyramids built on top of each other. When the Mexican tribes would conquer one another they would build a pyramid on top of the existing pyramid. We climbed the pyramids and there is a church at the top. It was really amazing and the church was beautifully decorated. After we climbed the pyramids we went to my friend’s sister’s husband’s family’s house. They picked us up at the pyramids and we took a taxi back to their house. When they came to pick us up they all were dressed up and had their nice clothes on. They would not allow us to pay for the taxi, which we fit 9 people in! Lindsay had told us they were poor but I was not prepared for it. When we got to their house it was very small and they had a small farm outside. There were 2 pigs, 2 goats, turkeys, chickens, and dogs. When had to wash our hands outside because they did not have running water. On the inside there was only one room so there were the 2 beds and the kitchen table and 2 couches. The family was the mom her 3 daughters and the one daughter’s son. We all sat at the table and ate lunch. We had a spaghetti with cream, chicken, nopales (which is cactus), and fresh fruit. Later we walked into town to have ice cream and they would not let us pay again. It was probably one of the best experiences I have had yet in Mexico. It was an eye opener to see how people really do live in Mexico and how love is all that really matters in a home. They were all so kind and so happy to have us in their home. My friends and want to send them things but Lindsay is going to talk to her brother in law and see what would be appropriate because we do not want to offend them and we need their address.
The next day we went back to Puebla for the day and explore the city some more. We ate some traditional food from Puebla. I had enchiladas with the mole sauce which is famous in Puebla. It was so good. We then went home. We left Puebla around 7 so my friends and I mostly slept on the bus. It was only a 4 hour bus ride.
Later that week, on St. Patrick’s Day my friends and I went to the Irish Bar to celebrate. It was fun because of the people we went with but the servers and owners were very rude and unwelcoming. That will be the last time we go there. But it was fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day since it is not big here in Mexico. No one really wore green at school and I had to explain to my host mom what it was all about.
The next day my Lindsay’s mom flew in so we all took her to the salsa bar. That is the place to take parents when they come. It is a fun way to take them out in a traditional way. So guess where I am going to take my mom and brother =) She had a great time and it was nice meeting and spending time with her mom. The next day we took her to a movie. We saw Shutter Island and it was a great movie. I don’t usually like seeing scary movies in theatres but I made it through. Lindsay had to hold my hand a few times. Later we had appetizers at Chili’s.
Saturday morning my friends Tish, Heather, Gaby, Jasper, Kayla, Liz, Myra and I went to Guanajuato. My friend Gaby is a communications major and they were taking a trip but needed more people to go so we came along with them. When we go there we did a lot of exploring of the city. It is a tourist town and it had a lot of history. We went to a famous place where a rich girl and poor boy fell in love back in the day and they would kiss each other from their balconies. The girl’s dad ended up finding out and killing her but it is a famous story and place to visit. We had a tour guide who was 8 years old named Fernando. He stuck around us all day and was so sweet. We had so much fun with him. We spoiled him and bough him cake and candy and pop. I am sure his parents were happy when they found out. But we also went to the legends museum which explained all the stories of the town. We went to Diego Rivera’s house which was my favorite. It was the house he lived in until he was 6. The first floor was a museum of his house and the top 2 floors were his paintings. He is one of the most famous painters in Mexico so I really enjoyed that. We did some more walking around and then had dinner and headed in for the night.
Sunday we went to the mummy museum which was so cool. They found all kinds of mummies in Mexico, but it is unlike in Egypt where they prepare the bodies and try to mummify them. These mummies mummified on their own. I got to see the smallest mummy in the world which was cool. Some of the mummies had stories about their lives and who they were. It was really interesting but spooky at the same time. There were about 7 rooms full of mummies.
We headed home and now I have this week and then I will be at the beach. I want this week to go by quickly so I can relax in Puerto Vallarta. It is going to be so much fun. My friends and I are going to the store on Friday to buy some food so we can cook some of our lunches and dinners in the hostel. I am hoping to buy some mac’n’cheese and bread for grilled cheese! Yummy! Then Evan and my mom come in less than 2 weeks! I am planning things out now for us to do. I cannot wait!

I love Mexico

The past few weekends I have stayed in Queretaro and relaxed. I have done some shopping and going out. I went to the mall for the first time 2 weekends ago. It was nice but I prefer shopping in El Centro. The mall was very expensive and there were not a lot of deals, and I am just like my mom, a bargain shopper. So I ended up not buying anything but it was fun to look around. We ended up eating dinner in the food court. My friends and I wanted to eat Dominos Pizza but our Mexican friend told us we could just get pizza in the food court. So he ordered our pizza and we thought nothing of it. He comes back with a pizza with pepperoni and hotdogs on one side and banana and ham on the other. I was brave and tried it but it was the nastiest pizza I have ever had. The sauce was not marinara it was spicy kind of like salsa. I then just got BK instead. After that we went bowling, but I did not have socks so I could not play. It was fun to watch though; it was my friends first time ever bowling. I laughed the whole time. Later we went to a bar/restaurant and that is where I am going to go for my birthday! There was a live band and it was decorated with bright colors and monkeys. Definitely my kind of place!
The next week I was sick so I went to the doctor. I had a throat infection and took some medicine. The medicine helped but it made me really spacey. I forgot all my things in my locker one day at school. So once I was home I had to go all the way back to pick my things up. It also made me really tired so I slept almost every day after my lunch. That week we went to a restaurant and it is now one of my favorites. The owner’s 13 year old son works there and he is hilarious. His name is Valentino and he calls my friend Tish ‘Cheese’ because she always orders a quesadilla with just cheese. He gets so excited when we come in to visit him. We went again yesterday but he was at the movies with his friends.
Last weekend on Saturday AMI had a sports day for us. We went at 10am and broke into teams for the day. We played soccer, basketball, and volleyball. It was great; I wish we could do it every weekend. I don’t think people were expecting me to be so aggressive so that was funny. My team did not win, but we were pretty good and we had a great time together. After sports day me and 7 of my friends went to my friend from my internship’s house for a dinner party. He invited me over and told me to bring as many friends as I like, he told me to bring 20 but I thought 7 was good. His house was so adorable. His living room was decorated in red and he has beautiful artwork for his walls. I ask if I could move in with him because I loved it. We all ended up having a great time. He made us traditional Mexican food. It was delicious. After we ate we all talked and danced. He has 3 dogs, a mini poodle, a Chihuahua, and a beagle. The beagle just had puppies so I got to hold an 11 day old beagle puppy. It was so cute I wanted to take it home with me. (I told my host mom about them and she asked if they were for sale. She is always talking about buying a dog. I really hope she does! We have a cat already but I would love to have a puppy!) So I now understand why my mom and her work friends hang out even though they are all different ages. My friend Oscar is 37 and he and I get along great. I love going to my internship now because we all get along so well. I got to hear all the office gossip and I feel a part of the business now. We are planning on having another dinner party soon!
This week was an exam week. I hope I did well on my tests. I studied more this time but I am not feeling too confident about either of them. I also had a meeting with my advisor about my internship. I love meeting with her. We talk about my whole experience not just my internship. She is interested in how I am doing and how my study abroad experience is. It is nice having her to talk to and having that support.
This next month is going to fly by. I have a lot of plans to travel with friends. This weekend is a long weekend so 4 friends and I are going to Puebla. My friend’s sister’s husband has family there that we are going to visit and sightsee as well. It is supposed to be beautiful there so I will be sure to take a lot of pictures. The following weekend some friends and I are going to Guanajuato. It is a city close to me and it is supposed to beautiful as well. My host mom keeps asking when I am going to go. She said it is a place I need to see. Then after that is my Spring Break. I am going to Puerto Vallarta with some friends. I am ready for a relaxing week on the beach! Then at the end of that week Mom and Evan are going to be here!!! I am so excited to share my experience with them I cannot wait! I already have a lot of fun things planned. Every time I talk to Evan about it he asks me if we are going to do anything besides eat!