Miercoles el 30 de May

Today when we got home from school lunch was all ready and we were expecting guests.  Malena's ex husband Jose Manuel came to lunch and the Canadian lady Jean who rents her beach house.  It seems weird that her ex husband would come to dinner but they're still very good friends.  They actually still go on vacation together every year as a family.  He does not look Mexican at all.  Actually I didn't think he was when he first walked in.

We ate Pescado a la veracruzana which is fish from Vera Cruz, Mexico.  It was delicious!! It wasn't fishy at all.

Then we ha this really good dessert from Spain.  It was the consistency of pudding but it tasted like creme brulee or sweetened condensed milk.  But the fancy toppings just made it a masterpiece! Also the agua de sandilla (watermelon juice) was so so good!

After a little rest we all met up to go to a movie.  One cool thing is that movies come out internationally a week or so before they come out in the US.  So tonight we saw Spiderman.  I'm not a huge fan of super hero movies but I figured I'd go for the experience.  It was fun! It was in English with Spanish subtitles. What I like about that is that I can look down at the Spanish translation to see how they say certain words.

On our way there is started raining like crazy!  It was like there was going to be a hurricane.  I guess they people here are just use to rain like that because nobody even seemed to notice.

Martes el 29 de Abril

Today was our first day of school at La Universidad Modelo.

 I wanted to take a first day of school picture but this is the best we could do unfortunately. Malena dropped us off at school today so that we wouldn't be late on our first day.  But the others came on a bus with their host moms.  We're so lucky that Malena is so good to us.  But starting tomorrow we'll take the bus to school so that she doesn't have to wake up so early.  Our first class is at 7!!!!  I don't know how I did it this morning! I guess it helps that it's not freezing cold outside when we get up.

The school is absolutely beautiful.  It's an all white building surrounded my palm trees and hibiscus plants.  There aren't many students there.  Just about 20-40 in each program.  But we for sure stick out.  First of all, we're American. Second, we're all taller than everyone else at the school. Third, we are wearing shorts and bright colored shirts.  Everyone here wears jeans and I just don't understand it! How do they do it!?!? I'm melting in my shorts and they have long, heavy pants on.

Anyways, my classes will be interesting.  Today they were a little boring.  My first class is a Mayan and Yucatan culture class; it is taught by Professor Ruben Reyes.  He's blind.  He's very smart. And he's also a poet which you can tell when he speaks.  He says things in a very round about way.  But I'm sure that I'm going to learn a lot from him.

My second class is  Mayan and Yucatan literature class.  The teacher is Virginia Carrillo Rodriguez.  It will be awesome to take these 2 classes at the same time and see how they go together.

After school we came home and had lunch.  We ate Puchero. I was SO good.  So we had a bowl and we put shredded chicken, steamed vegetables, lime, raddish and cilantro and then topped it off with chicken broth with spearmint leaves in it.  It was surprisingly good! 

After lunch, it's time for a siesta but Rachel and I weren't too tired.  So we got in the pool for a little while then headed over to City Center-the outdoor mall just around the corner from our house.  It was super hot so of course we had to get a dipped cone!

That evening we went with Malena to the hospital in Mérida.  Actually, it was a recovery facility right next to the hospital.  She goes every Tuesday night to help make dinner.  This is a place where patients and their families can stay for free while they are undergoing and treatments or recovering from surgery.  The only thing that they have to do is volunteer to wash their dishes and then wash their own sheets.  It's very pretty place.  The people were SO nice! While Malena and the other volunteers made dinner we sat down and talked with the patients and their families.  I felt like a missionary again.  One great thing that I learned is that people live to talk about their families.  So I asked a few ladies and then I couldn't get them to stop talking! It was awesome!! One lady was Mayan and she taught us a few words: Bo'hanal means Let's eat, Ha means water, ek means star.  That's all I can remember!

As we were talking and enjoying our time together Malena came out and out and was like "can't you guys sing or something!?" So then they made us sing song after song after song.  They were all hymns is English but they loved it. People were recording us! At one point I looked up from the words on my phone and there was about 3 times more people that had come out of their rooms than were there when we started.  People were saying that we gave them goosebumps!  It's pretty amazing that the spirit can testify of truth even when people don't understand the actual words. After every song they would ask me what that song was about so I pretty much taught a gospel principle after every hymn.  It was awesome!  We told Malena that we want to go with her every week and next time we'll bring a Spanish hymn book so that they'll understand.

oh ya, I can't forget about dinner!!  We had empanadas for dinner! They were so good.  Samira made them.  And it was so nice outside that we ate out on the patio.  Needless to say, we are very much enjoying our "study" abroad!!

Lunes el 28 de Abril de 2014

Today was supposed to be our first day of school but it's the first day back from spring break and a student from the school passed away in an accident so the cancelled school to hold a memorial service.

We got up much earlier this morning since we were going to be meeting our group downtown at 10:30.  We showered and got ready and went downstairs. To our surprise, breakfast was ready and waiting for us on the table.  Juevos Mexicanos.  They call them that because it has all of the colors of the Mexican flag: tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.  I should be taking pictures of everything I eat; I'll do that from now on.  As we were eating, Malena introduced us to Samira, her muchacha.  That's a nice word for maid or cook.

It's interesting how it works with the muchachas.  Samira's grandma

was the maid in Malena's house when she was growing up and now she is taking care of her daughter Samira.  It sounds weird but really they're giving jobs to families who otherwise wouldn't have one.  Samira's mom also comes once a week to make lunch for us, just to give her something to do and a little extra money.

After breakfast Malena drove us downtown and dropped us off at La Casa de Monejo.  It's a museum now but it was the original house of the Montejo family that came to Mexico from Spain to conquer the Yucatan Peninsula.

I felt like we walked and walked all day long.  It’s so dang hot downtown! I was for sure sweating through my shirt; but I guess there’s no avoiding that.  As we walked we stopped by a few shops to see what they were selling.  There’s a Little bit of everything here; anything that you would find at Olvera Street, your go-to Mexican bags and blankets and belts, gorgeous dresses and blouses, and also living Jeweled Maquesh Wood beetles with a chain so that you can wear them like jelwelry.

We went to the main catedral where we learned a Little about the Virgin of Guadalupe.  I didn’t know why there were so many names of different virgins if there is only one who gave birth to Jesus Christ.  But it turns out there really is only one.  But each time that she appears to different places of the earth, they give her a new name to differentiate that visión from the others. 

On every other block there is a park or a plaza where you can sit and relax and on SUnday you can listen to music and watch people dance.  I’m excited to see that this Sunday!

When we had had enough of the sun and the heat and the sweat, we hopped on a bus (which costs 7 pesos which is equivelant to about 53¢) and headed home.  Man...I thought it was hot when we were out walking around! In the bus it's 10 times hotter and there's no breeze to cool you off. Also there were no open seats.  It was quite the experience! The interesting thing about this adventure is that we had NO idea where we were going so we all just followed our Professor to his house and our hosts picked us up from there.

But Malena had to work so we went back to Pilar’s house with Melanie and Nannette.  Pilar had made us all lunch-abondigas.  That means meatballs.  They were surprisingly delicious.  The were made out of ground chicken which I didn’t even know was posible and then they were in a chicken noodle soup.  Even though it’s so hot outside, I like eating soup because it’s not too heavy.

After eating our abondigas, we swam, took a nap, and then it was time to head home to have FHE.  Our whole group came to our house for FHE.  We didn’t do much.  I gave the spiritual thought and our profesor spoke a Little and then we played a game and hung out and talked.  I really like our group, so far we all get along really well!

El Domingo 27 de Abril 2014

We just jumped right in today! Quite literally actually!

Since we got home so late and went to bed so late, we didn't make it to 9:00 church...oops!  We woke got up around 10:30 and got showered and ready to go for the day.  When we went downstairs Malena was watching the canonization of John XXIII and Paul II on TV. The whole process was really very interesting.  We watched it as she heated up a few pre-made waffles for us.  She says she wants to feed us food that we're use to at first and slowly ease us into the traditional food of Yucatan.  So we ate our and she told us about her family and herself and her day to day things. 

When we finished eating she asked us "ok, what do you want to do now?"  I didn't know, I don't even know what there is to do here! We ended up going on a drive so we could see the city a little.  First, she showed us where the bus stop is.  Except it's not actually a bus stop.  The bus happens to turn at that corner and we stand there and wave until the bus driver stops--I've learned that they don't always stop.

She took us by our school, which is beautiful, and then we headed to the beach.

  

Progreso is the beach of choice around here. It's white sand and clear water.  Most high-middle class residents of Mérida have a house or condo in Progreso.  We stopped quickly just to put our toes in the sand and in the warm water.

Malena has a condo at the beach that she rents out every once in awhile.  Right now Jean is staying there.  Jean is a super cute little leathery grandma from Toronto.  She comes every year for 3 months to escape the Canadian winter...I would too.  We talked awhile with her until Malena got a phone call from her sister in law inviting us to lunch. 

We drove about 10 minutes to a little beach town called Chicxulub. The picture the the right is the driveway up to their beach house.  We were practically in the middle of the jungle.

Right when we got there everyone greeted us like we were already part of their family.  It was so nice to feel so welcomed by them.  Each of them gave us a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Malena's sister-in-law, her niece and her children, and the mother of the sister-in-law were all there.  Even the 12 year old boy gave us a hug and a kiss on the cheek-without even being told by his mother; I was so impressed.  We didn't even get to sit down before they asked us if we had brought our swim suits.  Why would we have brought our swimsuits? We didn't even know where we were going when we left the house, let alone that we would be going on a parade of all of the family's beach houses.  The sister-in-law offered hers to Rachel and she offered me the bathing suit of her mom--yes the great-grandma's bathing suit-and yes-it fit me perfect...real cool...I have the body of a great grandma!

As soon as we had changed into our suits they sent us off to the beach to find the kids.

It was like they were sending us off into someone's dream

We found the kids (Fernando-12, Mauricio-12, Sofia-9)and jumped right in the ocean.  The water is a little merky right now because of the wind and rain that they've been having (they say that it's chocolatosa).  So you can't see the bottom but I didn't even care because it's so warm.  It's nothing like the ocean water in California.  We introduced ourselves to the kids and asked them about school, and where they live, then they really opened up and just wouldn't stop talking...it was cute!  I was talking to Sofia and all of the sudden a Wave runner comes out of nowhere and sprays me with water.  I thought somebody poured a whole thing of salt straight in my mouth. The water here is SUPER salty.  I'm pretty sure it's 1 part water and 2 parts salt. OK maybe not quite that bad, but it's pretty bad.  The kid on the wave runner was their neighbor Mauricio.  Rachel and I took turns getting on while this little 12 year old drove us around as fast as he could, trying to throw us off.  Needless to say, it was pretty fun playing with the kids at the beach.

After about 2 hours of swimming, wave running, and searching the beach for shells, we were all out of energy and headed back to the house.  They had made pork tacos and tacos de crema y rajas.  They were both SO delicious. The second one was green peppers, and corn in a creamy sauce wrapped un in a mini corn tortilla...mmm it makes my mouth water just thinking about them.

We sat and talked and ate some flan and then we headed back home.

As soon as we got home we took a shower because we were super sticky from the salt water and the humidity and the sweat all mixing together. So we showered and laid down for awhile.

One interesting thing about México is that they eat a big lunch and then they have a small dinner between 8 and 10pm.  So tonight we had potato salad and ate it with crackers.  But this wasn't your average potato salad.  It had chopped potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peas, and chives.  It was delicious and it was so refreshing to eat something cold since it's constantly blazing hot!

Before we went to sleep Rachel asked if we could pray together each night.  I loved that she even though of it-it made me feel like a missionary again!

¡Bienvenida a México!

I can't believe it! I really can't believe it!!  I'M IN MÉXICO!!! FINALLY!!! It was quite the adventurous flight--actually flightS.  4 of them to be exact!

Salt Lake to Pheonix was uneventful

Pheonix to Hermosillo, México was a very quick flight just barely over an hour.  We were in an itty bitty plane.  One side had only one seat in each row and the other had only 2.  I was lucky enough to get a seat that was both a window and an aisle seat.

Our tiny AeroMexico plane

MyWindow and aisle seat

Hermosillo from the plane.  The houses are SO close together and all look just the same

From Hermosillo to Mexico City was a quick trip as well but obviously not very exciting since I didn't take any pictures.  We went through customs and got a stamp in out passports--that was exciting! We then picked up our baggage and rechecked it, went through security again, and then only had to wait a few minutes for our next flight.

In Mexico City our flight was delayed about an hour and a half so we had a long time to wait.  We adventured around the airport a little and came to realize that Krispy Kreme donuts are quite popular.  Apparently the only one in all of Mexico is in the Mexico City airport so almost everyone had a bag which contained a few boxes.

Then we were off to our final destination.  And after 14 hours of traveling it felt so good to be in Mérida.  The humidity is unreal-my hair instantly became 10 times curlier-it was quite a sight. We got off the plane and got our bags and then met up with our host families.  They were anxiously awaiting us with signs and all!!  I wish I would have taken a picture of them..It was SO cute!  Malena (mine and Rachel's host) jumped and gave me a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Right away she started calling me "hija" and "mi vida".  She's so sweet!  They quickly got us into the respective cars and we started our adventure in Mérida.  

Speaking of adventure, it's just that to drive here.  People are crazy.  They swerve in and out of lanes as they please, they don't stop at stop signs, they go as fast as they can and then slam on their brakes, and to top it all off people cross the street whenever they want..it's a miracle that they haven't hit all the pedestrians by now.

Rachel had arrived earlier in the evening and was waiting at another host home while Malena picked me up.  So we went to get her (poor girl was asleep since it was 1am) and we headed home.

MALENA'S HOME IS BEAUTIFUL!!

This is our room-I sleep on the big bed and Rachel sleeps on the tiny one in the corner.  We were going to switch off but she decided that the air conditioner is too close to her when she sleeps in the big bed so I gladly obliged!  The brown door against the far wall leads to our bathroom and walk-in closet...no  big deal! We're so lucky

(Good thing I have an iphone so I can take cool panoramic pictures!)

Rachel put our suitcases in each corner, took a quick cool shower and attempted to go to sleep but we just couldn't.  I felt like I knew that I would be going to Disneyland the next day or like it was Christmas Eve.  We couldn't contain our excitement!  We talked and talked and then we talked some more.  We should have been counting how many times we said the phrase, "I can't believe we're actually here!"  We ended up finally falling asleep a little after 4am...oops!

I'm so excited to see what this adventure will bring me.  I am so so grateful for this opportunity to grow and learn and get to know the culture and the people here.