first week back

This week at times flew, and at others seemed to drag. Monday it was really hard to get up for school, but I did it. I had my Culture classes partial. Tuesday went quick and I found out I did better than average on all my partials from before break. Wednesday was another quick day; we got a Thermo project which will be interesting. Thursday went slow, but I made it through. Friday rolled around and it flew by. I had Thermo then my Culture class. In the Culture class we were supposed to watch a 30 minute video then talk about it. The teacher left to grade some papers and we were to get him after the movie. Instead we watched YouTube videos. Which was much more fun. For the afternoon I went to HEB because we are having an ant problem, and the Terro website said they had the traps. They didn’t. Otherwise the store was pretty cool. Just like Soriana they have people in every aisle to help you out, and give free samples. That night I stayed in a watched TV.

Saturday was a fun day. I went with friends to a different mall called San Augustine. It was a nice mall, not as nice as Valle Oriente, but much bigger and more stores. It had a weird shape, kind of like a figure 6, but it didn’t connect where it should. It had four stories; the middle two were solid stores. The top and bottom had stores interchanged with parking. Then there were two movie theaters, two food courts and a bingo hall/sports book. There were also two pet shops. One was mostly fish but they had mice, rabbits, hamsters, two schnauzers, and a huge Persian cat. They also sold coral and star fish. The other pet shop was much cooler. It had a chimp you could take pictures with or an albino python. There I saw a family with a little girl speaking English which was surprising. I was going to ask where they were from, but they left before I could. This pet store was much bigger it had tons of fish, parrots, budgies, canaries, cockatiels, snakes, scorpions, lizards, crocodiles, spiders, ducks, chicks, bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, chinchillas, hedgehogs, a cat, and tons of puppies. I was surprised when I saw that the long haired Chihuahuas and Pomeranians cost $10000 pesos; whereas the short haired Chihuahuas and the rest of the breeds (husky, dachshund, boxer, golden retreater, and cocker spaniel) cost $3000 - $4500. This pet store had an area called “The Farm were you could pay $20 pesos to play with the animals. Oh and I can’t forget about the Bush Baby for sale. It was such a crazy thing to see for sale. I saw one of the workers take it out and heard it scream. I thought it was a parrot, but soon found out it wasn’t. After this we went to the movie theater and saw Jumper. Which had great effects, but little plot. We then got a cab back, and I swear the driver had tourettes. We only heard him cuss and he honked and/or flipped off drivers who cut him off. It was interesting. I got home and ate dinner. During dinner I found the fourth season of lost on TV here which excited me even though I have seen all of season 4 to date. Oh well, it is always good to re-watch. Then it was off to a birthday party for the night. What a busy day. Today I plan to go downtown and we are probably going to the planetarium. It should be fun. Until next time…

Easter

First off sorry it took so long for the pictures, but they are now up. Now on to my Easter. I woke up to a rainy day, kind of a bummer. I ate breakfast and asked my host parents about church, and what their plans were. They said no one really goes to church or does anything here for Easter Sunday. So my roommates and I just hung out, then when we went to the grocery store, I decided I need to buy all the staples of Easter. I decided they were: ham, hard boiled eggs, Jell-O, and candy (chocolate, jellybeans, and marshmallows.) I had ham for lunch at the store and then bought all but the eggs since we had some at home. I got home a boiled some eggs, and set up my own little Easter feast. I cracked the eggs and all had double yolks, which I then found out all the eggs our host mom bought have double yolks. Weird huh? I decided to take a picture of the feast.



The jellybeans turned out to be kind of weird and not the best. Which I knew before time, but I forgot to have my parents bring me some to Cancun. The chocolate coins were delicious and the marshmallows and Jell-o were normal except for the pink marshmallows. It was a good Easter, but didn't really seem like Easter.

Today was very boring I had a partial, which I for some reason through was Wednesday. Oh well it wasn't too hard. Now I am relaxing and having to watch another grey day pass.

Cancun

Well first off sorry I didn’t get around to blogging in Cancun, it just got so busy and fun. Well first things first, Friday night all of my friends had already left for break so instead of sitting around doing nothing I went to a movie. I went and saw Horton y el Mundo de los Quién (Horton Hears a Who) which was great. It was dubbed, but being a kid’s movie wasn’t hard to follow, I was just mad I wouldn’t be able to hear Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. Also before going I figured I would be the only one in the 10:00 showing of the movie, but no there were at least 15 kids under 10 there and 20 more people. Then it was time for bed. I set my alarm for 7 so I could get ready and would be able to leave at 8:30 since the internet told me my flight was now at 11. I woke up at 6 and couldn’t sleep; I got in the cab at 8:40 and headed to the airport. It took 40 minutes to get there and another 40 to get checked in. I then found out the flight was still at 11:30 so I had an hour and a half to sit. Also a weird thing was they put a plastic one way locking tie on every zipper of my bag. I got on the plane and made friends with the girl next to me. She goes to my school and is from Cancun. The flight was going good, we got a full meal, and it was open bar. We then were told it was time to land. We started descending and before long could see the water. We then started landing, but I swore we were at the Cozumel Airport. I clearly remembered it from last year’s trip there. In my head I thought crap I got on the wrong plane, but no this girl next to me is going to Cancun too. I asked her and she said she had no idea where we were, but it wasn’t Cancun. After sitting on the runway 15 minutes they told us that Cancun’s Airport was way too busy, and we were low on gas so we made a pit stop to get gas and once we get the all clear to land there we would take off and land. After hanging out for an hour and a half, we headed for Cancun. When we landed it was 3:30 which I told my parents I would meet them in the lobby between 1:30 and 2, so I figured they would be worried. I got to the hotel at 4 checked in, went to the room and then found my parents at the pool. It was really good to see them.

The beginning of the week was fun, getting to catch up with everyone, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and getting lots of sun. It was also abnormally windy. I slept on the patio as normal, but my sheets kept blowing off. Monday night Adam had a party in the room till 2:30 and I couldn’t sleep so I walked around for 2 hours. I even explored the third section of the Moon Palace, the Gran Moon. Tuesday we my parents and I explored it during the day then went to the strip to see the newly renovated hotels. The beach was not as wide as it used to be and with the recent wind was pretty battered. Beach Palace though is by far the best of the three new ones with a pool on the 14th story. On top of the hotel we saw a rainbow, it kept moving toward us and finally it rained on us for 5 minutes then the cloud and rainbow moved on. It was really cool. Wednesday we were going to Scuba Dive, but the waves were too high and the water to churned up. Bummer, but I got to spend more time with the whole group. That day we sat by a man wearing a white thong swimsuit, it was a little scary. That night we checked out the Casino, my mom and I lost, but a friend won $45. Thursday it was off to Isla Mujeres, where there is a great new Palace, we also got to explore downtown a bit. I was planning on seeing friends from Tec, but it didn’t work out. That night we ate at the Caribbean restaurant in the new phase. Friday my mom and I got our manicures and pedicures and we spent the day at the pool, we moved seats after a girl next to us puked in the pool. Then we went to the golf course and got a guy to drive us around. We saw 5 alligators and a troop of about 50 Kotamundi, there were big older ones and little baby ones. That was on top of the dear, birds and Nutria we saw. Too bad I forgot to bring my camera. Today was the end of a great vacation. I was super glad to see my family and friends from home and now can’t wait until May. The flight home was perfect and I guess all is well that ends well.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and I will keep you all updated. A little more than Seven and a half weeks until I come home. Between then and now I have a weekend waterfall trip planned, a tentative trip to Mexico City (not alone of course and we are being VERY safe planning it), a safari park trip, another round of partials, two days off, and 5 final exams. I have a feeling May will creep up on me. Stay tuned for pictures. Until next time…

dog days of march?

So many crazy things happened today that I decided I had to blog one last time before leaving for Cancun. Thursday my first class was canceled. I then went and talked to the lawyers, too bad all but one of them were already on vacation. I had to yell at the one person and it should be taken care of soon. I also had two partials which I think I did pretty well on. Then it met a friend for a late lunch to talk about planning a trip in mid-April. After eating, catching up, and a little planning I headed home. While working on homework the power went out. Our host dad told me they were fixing our neighborhood’s transformer and that was the warning. Here they don’t tell you when the power will be out they just give you two warnings. First they guy the power for 15 seconds then 2 minutes later they cut it for 30 seconds and a minute later the power is gone till who knows when. The power came back and then 4 hours later during dinner another warning cut came; this meant I had to eat by candlelight. It was pretty funny, and then I played with my host dad and his 20 month old grandson. I then went to bed but left all my windows open to let the cool night air in. I was woken up at 4 am by someone calling my name and shaking my foot. I looked and one of my roommates got locked out and was on the roof next door asking if I would let him in. It was kind of creepy and I still am not sure if it was a dream or not, since my two roommates left for the airport at 6.

This morning was uneventful only one class and only 10 of us were there. Then my break started. I planned to get my hair cut, tan, and do last minute shopping. In the morning Miss Doubtfire was on so I put of the errands to the afternoon and watched it. This afternoon the temperature made it past 100, 102 to be exact. With little humidity and not a cloud to be had it feels like 110. This insanely hot weather was made even more exciting when the city started getting hit with rolling blackouts. When they first started I thought they were still fixing the transformer. The houses power went out and I sat in my room waiting for it to be 3 when the salon opened back up. On the way there I stopped at the convenience store for a drink. They didn’t have power and had to check me out with a notepad. I got to the salon at 3 and found out it didn’t open until 3:30. I thought, “Hey, I can tan,” but the power was out there two. I went across the street to get a few things at the store, but it was without power. The entire street for 4 miles was without power. I went back to the Salon at 3:30 and the power was still not on. I figured I wouldn’t need it. They said I would have to wait till the lights came back on since they would need to use the electric sheers. I sat there for an hour reading magazines about Mexican stars. It was better than sitting at home. I got my hair cut, tanned, and ran my errands and am now ready to leave. My flight leaves at 11, and my cab gets here at 9! I am so excited!

what a week, what a week

Here is my midweek update. After my last post I went took a pretty long nap. That night I didn’t do much. Sunday I woke up and was feeling a little sore from the climb, but went to the mall across the way for lunch, more break shopping, and to see 10,000 BC. It was a pretty good movie; I then bought a swim suit, and sunglasses. I then headed over to the department store. There I saw some cool looking shirts and they were cheap too. In the first design all I found were mediums and smalls, the same with the next few shirts. In the States I wear large, but mediums will fit. I decided I might as well try, so I grabbed a few and went to try them on. The first one I after getting it somewhat on I couldn’t move my shoulders. The second one made it all the way on, but didn’t cover my bellybutton, and it was hard to move my arms. The last one went to my waist, but again was really tight. I then decided to just look for a large shirt. They didn’t have any at all; what a shame. Sunday ended with eating out with the roommates.

Monday started the school week. I had a partial and was really afraid I got a 30 on it. He picked an insanely hard question. This bummed me out and I then went to my Culture class. In there our teacher told us the test was postponed till after break. That is good now I have more time to write up the second month’s worth of activities. On the topic of my Culture class, for last month I got a 95! I was so excited; I only got marked down for not finishing the test. Tuesday was pretty boring just went to my classes and reviewed for my two partials tomorrow. In my History class, the teacher finished the topic early, so he started on tomorrow’s topic. We now don’t have class tomorrow! Today was a little more eventful. I found out I got a 70 on my partial, and the average was below a 40, he wouldn’t say how far below. That was good news that for me. I then had to print a few things off in the computer lab and then went to go talk to the Visa lawyers. I needed to ask if I was ready to get fingerprinted. I went and found out I was denied my Visa because my bank statement said I didn’t have sufficient funds. The lawyer and I were very confused since my account said I have $5000. I now have to print another statement and go in person with the lawyers tomorrow, kind of stressful. It was then off to my Culture class, where we listened to music, watched music videos, and talked about them. He then said he had to go to Guadalajara for a meeting on Friday and we could either vote to have a sub or cancel class. You can guess what we voted, so another class canceled. Now my break starts 2 hours earlier. I am now studying for my partials tomorrow and thinking I need to pack for Cancun. I will probably pack tomorrow night, since I will be free from studying. Hope everyone is having a great week and has a great Holy Week. I will post once or twice in Cancun, and look for pictures from there.

the climb

Another week flies by. Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful, Tuesday I laid out in the sun on my raft. Wednesday followed suit, but in my Culture class we were talking about Refranos, a specialized proverb here, and we were supposed to write some down. I wrote a few and the teacher was going around all the Mexicans to give examples. My partner then decided to tell him I had a few, I read one and he responded, “Um not exactly, close let me explain it more,” except of course it was in Spanish. That night I waited for and edited my group members’ parts to the History paper due the next day before our partial. One girl still hadn’t sent it by the time I went to bed; I figured oh well I will get it tomorrow. The next day I got it at 8:27 when class started at 8:30. Too bad I had already printed it and took her name off the title page. The test went good, just test are always a drag. Then in my class with the crabby, rude and mean teacher, who has severely improved his mood, asked if we wanted the class before or after Spring Break. I was arguing for before, but we will see since the decided this afternoon at a study session. That afternoon I went to the mall again to look for Spring Break clothes and some other things. I also went to Costco; I decided to stop there first to avoid having to leave my bags at the front. This intern had me carrying a pack of 4 1L Gatorades around the mall, without a bag. Friday was LONG, after two nights of little sleep I needed a nap, but it never materialized. This was also the day one of my roommates moved out. The Australian roommate, after much complaining to me and totally ditching us for a little over a week decided to move out. He didn’t listen to me, after I first found out he wanted to move out, and talk to the school. This resulted in a having to pay for 7 days of the month, which is lucky considering the contract says payment is due the first in full and no refunds. He still might have to pay the whole month and maybe will return. Unfortunately this would suck, since he already burnt the bridges with the other two roommates. After all of this we learned that our host family is Tec’s favorite and he is the first of 10 years of 6 kids a semester to move out. They also said normally a friend of one of their kids moves here after not getting along with their host family. Tec even paid them to add an extra room to the house. Now it is just the three of us Americans here. That was my school week.

As for today I signed up to climb “El Cerro de la Silla” (Saddle Mountain), the icon of Monterrey. I thought it would be a nice 2 hour hike to the antenna part of the hill, which looks like the shortest peak from our house. It in fact is the tallest. We met at school and they had us sign waivers relieving them of responsibility for injury. I should have taken that as a hint. The bus dropped us off at 8 at the bottom of a hill before the path too, just more work. We got to the base and started climbing. It started out good like all climbs, but slowly got harder as I got tiered. The path would go from dust, to jagged rocks, to cement, to slick/smooth rocks. We got the platform at the half way laterally point. It was originally going to be a view point and restaurant with an aerial tramway from the ground. On the inauguration run, it collapsed and killed all five in it. Over the past 30 years they still have yet to rebuild it. After a 20 minute break and talk about all this we had the choice of continue up the steeper half. Most of us went for it. This half of the trek got pretty steep and was riddled with switch backs. My group kept stopping to catch our breath; we ended up meeting some Mexicans from Tec on the trip that joined our group. The schools representative kept telling us we needed to hurry and catch up, being the last group, or we wouldn’t be able to go all the way. We kept arguing with him saying the plan was to get there at 12:30 and we were ahead of schedule. We finally made it to the radio tower, it was 11:45 45 minutes ahead of schedule, at the top and looked around from there. The whole trail to the top was 5.6 km (3.48 miles) long with a 1.28 km (4230 ft) rise in elevation. I felt like I was going to die, but made it all the way and was so proud. It felt as if my heart stopped, because I went from feeling it a like 200 bpm, and then all of a sudden I couldn’t feel it beating, and couldn’t find my pulse. The funny thing though is the best view wasn’t from the top, but a little bit lower. The climb down took little energy good thing since most of us only brought a litter of water, not quite enough. The only problem was everyone’s legs, knees, and backs were shot and freaking out. Whenever I stopped my legs would start shaking, at least I wasn’t alone with this happening. We made it bad to the platform and took a 40 minute break. Then it was to the bottom. Almost at the end a man was selling water for 10 pesos, I gladly would have paid 30. I chugged all 500 ml. I then got to the base at 2, and greeted by clapping a great treat. We waited for the last of the group during which I ate and orange like a little kid just sucking out all the juice and throwing out the pulp. At 2:30 all were down head for the bus, which we had to send for early so it took a little while to get. I bought a 500 ml bottle of Gatorade and chugged it too. I got home drank 2 more litters of water and Gatorade, had lunch, took a shower, and a 3 hour nap. Now I feel better, but have a feeling tomorrow my muscles won’t be as forgiving. A great experience, but one you only ever do once. Pictures will be up soon. Here are my two favorite though; click on one to make it bigger.

The View from the Platform:


The View from the Top:


Sorry for the super long description of today. I also decided I need to write more often to cut down on the length of each posts. Cancun is one week away and I am extremely excited. I just have to make it through the 2-4 tests next week. Talk to all of you soon and have a great week.

keeping busy

This week started off pretty normal, Monday was here and gone. Tuesday was the same story, but that evening I went with a friend to the Botero Abu Ghraib art exhibit in the main park here. It has 90 works all about torture. It was insightful, but I wouldn’t want to go back. I got one picture of the entrance, and then was yelled at by security. I did take pictures of the park though. It used to be a steal foundry, until an accident bankrupt them and the city turn it into a park. There are still a fair amount of pieces left from the foundry so it is pretty cool. Wednesday and Thursday were here and gone. Friday school flew by then I relaxed in the sun on my mattress. That night I went with two friends to a interpretive dance and pantomime show. It was very interesting and entertaining. The weekend came and Saturday was the second museum trip for my culture class. This museum is at the former Bishopric Palace of Monterrey. It is on a huge hill in the middle of the city with a giant flag at the top. Saturday morning it was sprinkling and when we got there it was cloudy and the flag was down. The museum was short, but very informative about Monterrey and its part in building Mexico today. When we left the clouds had risen, but still no flag. We walked to the top of the hill to enjoy the view, which was dampened by the clouds. We finally got to find out how big the flag was though. It is 50m x 30m (165ft x 98ft) and weighs 250kg (550lbs) no wonder you can see it pretty much everywhere in the city. It is also the largest Mexican Flag. I will try to go back to the hill on a nice day. After that it was off to lunch at a great restaurant, where I got ½ kg of steak fajitas, a liter of bean soup, two grilled sausages, and a drink for 135 pesos. Today the plan is to go to the mall across the road and check it out. I am also quite jealous of you guys, because according to my computer it is a couple degrees warmer then here in KC and sunny, unlike here today. Next week is the second round of partial exams; I have one on Thursday, and 3 or 4 next week. Everyone have a good week and hope you enjoy the pictures that will be up by this evening.