Fun before classes

My first weekend in Mexico has been great, and has greatly exceeded my expectations. Yesterday, I had orientation at the uni. I registered for my classes, one is an advanced grammar class and the other is a class on Mexican culture. I’m excited to start the culture class, not so much the grammar. I also signed up for a workshop; I will be doing some type of community service once a week on Wednesdays. This will be a great opportunity to meet the people in this community and to help them with whatever it is they need. I toured the campus which is gorgeous. The majority of the grounds are dedicated to gardens. There are a ton of gorgeous flowers, trees, and fountains. There are a lot of birds because of these gardens so you always hear them singing. They also have something that I’m sure you would never encounter at an American university – peacocks! A Mexican student told me that about 2 years ago there were 2 peacocks. Now there are about 20. They just walk around campus, hoping for a dropped taco or quesadilla, haha just kidding. So after the orientation, our host families were supposed to pick us up from campus, but my family had a wedding to go to so I told them I could catch the bus or walk. I decided to walk for some exercise and what was supposed to be a 20 minute walk turned into an hour walk. Needless to say I got quite a nice sunburn on my arms. Today Alfredo and Gabby showed me the ‘shortcut’ so I will no longer be taking hour long walks home! Regardless of the stereotypes of Mexico, I feel completely safe in this town. The people are nice and helpful; the only annoying thing is the stares at my very white skin. Hopefully my sunburn will turn into a nice tan and I won’t get as many stares.
Today I spent the whole day with Gabby and Alfredo. We slept in, ate some coffee and toast, then left for a town close by called Tonantzintla. Here there is an amazing church called, La iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla, that represents the union between the indigenous peoples of Mexico and the Europeans (Spaniards) that came to convert the indigenous peoples. The inside of the church is amazing and has more detail than any church I saw in Europe. I will try to post pictures soon. Next, we went to another beautiful church, La iglesia de San Francisco Actapec, but not as impressive as Tonantzintla. We spent the rest of the afternoon in a town called Atlixoc. Atlixoc is famous for their market. Here you can buy many different types of flowers, trees, and ever herbs like cilantro and mint. After walking around the market we had lunch at a restaurant. Alfredo ordered for us and we shared everything. We had some delicious food there along with a pitcher oh Horchata. Horchata is a juice made from rice that is quite tasty. Some Mexican restaurants in the states serve horchata, and I recommend trying it. After lunch we enjoyed a cup of STRONG coffee on a roof top terrace where we lingered just watching the people in the market. On our way home, we stopped at Gabby’s parents house. They are hosting a girl from the University of Kansas so it was fun to chat with here in Spanish and also with Gabby’s family. Her dad and I went outside where they have a lime tree – he was plucking the limes off with this long stick and I was running around under the tree trying to catch them. It was good fun and entertainment for everyone else. watching. For all my hard work Gabby’s dad insisted that I have a glass, not a shot, of tequila so I obliged; Viva la Mexico! After visiting for a while Alfredo, Gabby and I returned home. I was finally able to purchase a phone card today so I enjoyed an hour on the phone with Tyler. J I spent the rest of the night watching tv with Gabby and chit chatting. Tomorrow I will start my classes, so I will close for now and get some rest. Hasta luegito!