So here is what has been going on since my last entry; Thursday night was the first night that I “went out” with my amigos since being here. I finally felt healthy enough to be out late. I met up with a group of friends from all over (Michigan, Kansas, even SC), we all had dinner together and watched a Mexican fútbol (soccer) game. They are in the middle of their championship right now. We went to a couple different little bars, all of which were playing awesome music to dance to, even though I can’t dance. Mexicans definitely know the meaning of a fiesta and you are in for a good time no matter where you go.
Friday, I went to school with Gaby again. I spent the first half of the day in a 1st grade classroom. If you look at my pics you can see the kids celebrating one of the boy’s birthdays with a piñata. The second half of the day I was in a 2nd grade class. It was fun getting to interact with the kids and see how different teachers run their classrooms.
Friday was also Gaby’s Saint’s Day, so we went to her parents’ house to celebrate with her dad. They are also hosting a girl named Lynn who is from Kansas. We get along great so it was fun to have someone my age there to hang out with. We ate dinner there and just sat around sipping wine and chatting. I love how relaxed the atmosphere and the people are here. We as Americans could definitely learn a lot from the Hispanic cultures.
Saturday I slept really late. When I got up we had breakfast I went to buy a cell phone. It was very cheap and will be great to have to get in touch with my host family if my plans change and to make plans with my friends here. Later on, Gaby, Alfredo and I went to the market in downtown Cholula. We visited one of the ex-convents and then went into the market to buy produce, delicious cheese that is from Oaxaca, and even more delicious cream. We also ate in the market – delicious quesadillas that consisted of blue corn tortillas made from hand, pumpkin flour, mushrooms, some grass looking thing, and the cheese from Oaxaca (look at the pic of the “restaurant”. When we finished up at the market we went to have some coffee in the ‘Zocalo’ which is the main plaza. They were having a concert there so we enjoyed our coffee and the music. Again, the pace was very relaxed and enjoyable…no one here is ever in a hurry to do anything.
Today, the three of us went to a place called Africam Safari in Puebla. It is like a zoo but the animals are not in cages, they are free to roam about and you just ride through on a dirt path looking at the animals. They would often come right up to your car; many of my pictures are the actual distance that the animals were from the car (no zoom). There are also a couple of areas where you park and can get out to walk around. It was really cool to see these animals in a natural environment rather in cages. When we finished our safari we were really hungry so we drove to a town called Tecali, that is close by, to eat. We had a very good meal of a vegetable soup, spaghetti, and chicken in a green mole sauce. We also drank a pitcher of cantaloupe juice, and a pitcher of lime juice. They were ohhh so good and refreshing. After lunch we went to another ex-convent (see pics) and to an onyx store. Tecali is famous for their onyx, and it is very cheap.
Later on, we went to Alfredo’s frinds house for dinner. He is from Belgium and just married a Mexican girl 2 weeks ago. We looked at the pictures from the wedding and enjoyed a nice dinner of salmon and rice. Hopefully this fish will settle better with me. That’s all I have to report right now. Hope you all are well, Peace.