I am very sorry, I have been a horrible updater for the past three months, but soon I will not have to update any more. On Sunday we reached our 100th day in Mexico and we felt amazing! We realized that we have accomplished more than we could ever have thought before we came. We have successfully lived with families and communicated solely in Spanish with our families. And I would say that is quite an accomplishment. One of the frustrating things has been not being able to fully express myself, but still I have been able to hold conversations about religion, the government, machismo, homosexuality and much more in Spanish, and I never thought I would be able to do that 4 months ago.
We have also written pages and pages in Spanish, read more poems than I ever thought possible, interpreted the messages of the poem, endured a class at 7:00am and maybe understood half of it ( and that is a success if you were to sit in on this class!) No one has come close to failing anything, although we were not sure for a while there.
We have traveled on our own through Mexico, first to Celestun without our professor and this past weekend to la playa del carmen. We have conquered the bus system, and I have successfully managed not to get sick on the bus. We have gotten lost in the city and found our way back. We have lived with little brothers and sisters for 4 months which has seemed almost impossible at times, but come to realize that we do love them, maybe not the annoying habits or they days when they tell us they hate us and then continue to scream while we do our homework, but the smiles, hugs and joys over come those days.
We have had soo many good experiences and it is good to look back on them, because sometimes I lose sight of all of that when i get papers and exams piled upon me in the last 10 days of my life in Mexico. But what my Mexican mom told me today overcame all of the stress.
Last night we had a party at my house for my little sisters birthday and it was a lot of fun. There was a pinata and dancing (yes I danced in front of my whole family) My aunt, cousin and I put on a show to a little kids song and I made a complete fool of myself. I talked with my aunts, uncles and cousins and had a great time. And today my mom said.. Jill visto como todos te quieren? Which means, did you see how everyone loves you? And that made me think, wow, I have come to Mexico and have found a family. They are not my biological family and I do not think I could live here the rest of my life, but I know if I ever came back to Mexico I would have somewhere to stay and a family to have fun with.
I know this has been a sappy post, but sometimes ya just gotta bear with me! I am incredibly ready to come back to the United States but am trying to enjoy my time left here as much as possible. It might be hard with how much homework i have to do the next week, but in a week from now I will be a Senior in College..oh boy. I still miss everyone and for sure have my days when I want to give up and just come home, but I know God has placed this opportunity into my life for a reason, and I am going take every chance I have left to live my life in Mexico as b est as possible, and right now, that means starting my homework!
Love and miss you all, but I shall see you in 10 days!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sudzal
This past Friday-Saturday we were given the opportunity to visit a pueblo. A pueblo can be just about anything from what i have heard, but it is a small town in Mexico to generalize it. Chelsey, Sarah and I traveled to the small town of Sudzal. We traveled with a seminarista (seminarian) and stayed with a family, just to see what life is like in a different part of Mexico. Generally pueblos are poorer than cities and it was very interesting to see life there.
The family we stayed with had a huge house, but with little furniture. We slept in our hammocks in one huge room that only had a bed in it, but it fit our hammocks quite nicely. The family owned a Panaderia, and we woke up really early Saturday Morning to see how the pan was made. It was very interesting because everything was made by hand. Now we have eaten our fair share of pan dulce but have never seen how it is made, and the way they make so many different varieties with such subtle differences is amazing. The oven they had was a huge oven made from one big stone. The dad told us that it was not made of cement because cement cannot handle the heat, so it was made out of pure stone. Kind of like the ruins we have seen. It was really interesting.
Also in Sudzal we hung out with some of the Youth. There was not much to do there becuase it is really small so we played a lot of basketball and on the playground. It was interesting to talk with the youth because life is different there. There is only one high school and not many opportunities to go to College, only those who have a bit more money can go to college. I cannot imagine how life would be if I could not go to college!
The one other thing that was very interesting to me was that the dad of the family we stayed with worked for the wrangler company. One of the companies who has moved their factories to Mexico for cheap labor. He told us the owner only spoke in English and they had to have translators to communicate with him. He was also very aware of why the company had moved to mexico, because of the cheap labor, he told us straight up it was for the cheap hand. But it was also work he needed, so it is a very strange situation. I do not know anything more about it, but after meeting someone who worked in one of the factories, the issue is all the more real.
That is all I got for now, only four weeks till I return to the United States, and it is hard to believe how fast the time has flown ( although sometimes it feels like it is moving very slowly!) But we are taking advantage of every opportunity left to us!
The family we stayed with had a huge house, but with little furniture. We slept in our hammocks in one huge room that only had a bed in it, but it fit our hammocks quite nicely. The family owned a Panaderia, and we woke up really early Saturday Morning to see how the pan was made. It was very interesting because everything was made by hand. Now we have eaten our fair share of pan dulce but have never seen how it is made, and the way they make so many different varieties with such subtle differences is amazing. The oven they had was a huge oven made from one big stone. The dad told us that it was not made of cement because cement cannot handle the heat, so it was made out of pure stone. Kind of like the ruins we have seen. It was really interesting.
Also in Sudzal we hung out with some of the Youth. There was not much to do there becuase it is really small so we played a lot of basketball and on the playground. It was interesting to talk with the youth because life is different there. There is only one high school and not many opportunities to go to College, only those who have a bit more money can go to college. I cannot imagine how life would be if I could not go to college!
The one other thing that was very interesting to me was that the dad of the family we stayed with worked for the wrangler company. One of the companies who has moved their factories to Mexico for cheap labor. He told us the owner only spoke in English and they had to have translators to communicate with him. He was also very aware of why the company had moved to mexico, because of the cheap labor, he told us straight up it was for the cheap hand. But it was also work he needed, so it is a very strange situation. I do not know anything more about it, but after meeting someone who worked in one of the factories, the issue is all the more real.
That is all I got for now, only four weeks till I return to the United States, and it is hard to believe how fast the time has flown ( although sometimes it feels like it is moving very slowly!) But we are taking advantage of every opportunity left to us!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
5 Weeks Left
So here we are, still in Mexico. It is hard to believe that we have just finished 11 weeks of studying in Mexico and living in Spanish, and let me tell you it has not been easy. I would like to say that I have loved Mexico with all that I am and never missed home, but alas, it has not been so. I had a hard week these past 2 weeks dealing with homesickness and who knows why. Probably because we had just gotten back from vacation and had to jump right back into classes. But to overcome this homesickness I decided to write down something good that I discovered about Mexico for every day. I started off with making a list of everything good I could think of Mexico, and I do not have the list with me, but I am going to try to say a few.
1. Panaderias- bakeries with very cheap pan dulce ( muffins, donuts, and all other sorts of treats)
2. School House- the school I am helping out at every Tuesday and Thursday, I have gotten to know some of the students and its lots of fun
3. My family- I get along with them so well, and although they are not my mom and dad, I know have parents in 2 countries
4. Panuchos- a yucatan delicacy!
5. Mercados- markets where I have spent tooo much money
6. Music- humorous to say the least at times
7. Telenovelas- my current favorite is Tengo todo excepto a ti ( I have everything except you!) Oh my goodness everything is about to blow up, affairs are being found out, illegitimate children, oye!
8. Wireless in Burger King- we don't go to coffee shops for the internet, we go to Burger King
9. Plazas- every city has its own plaza and there are always people there, or something going on
10. Universal and Axn- my two favorite television channels so I can watch lost and CSI
11. Drake and Josh- a show on Nick that my brothers love ( i have never seen it in English, but its great in Spanish)
12. Ricardo Dogre- a student at schoolhouse, who makes me laugh every time I see him.
13. Carito- my cousin who I am getting know
14. Swimming with Sea Turtles- seriously where else are you going to do that in the middle of the ocean?
15. Hammocks- I finally figured out how to successfully sleep in a hammock, because it was too hot to sleep in my bed!
16. La Hoya- a great little cafe with waffles covered in Nutella! (only 3 dollars!)
17. Our group in Mexico-we have all gotten along great without many problems!
Well I know there was a lot more to that list, I think I made it to over 50 things but my mind is drawing a blank right now! Things continue to go well here in Mexico. I am very very very sick of classes and homework, but I think i would be the same way in the United States! Something exciting that just happened, well actually it happened today, My family opened a restaurant in our house. Well it is actually outside the house but it's called Benji's Burgers, We will see how it goes. Its a very small restaurant, but I think I will be eating Burgers for the next five weeks!
Although I am still homesick, I think i have put things back into perspective. I still have my bad days, but in reality I think I can survive five more weeks. Our weekends are full till we come home. I just have to keep homework in perspective and not get too stressed out, for that is when I tend to get very homesick!
I continue to thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
1. Panaderias- bakeries with very cheap pan dulce ( muffins, donuts, and all other sorts of treats)
2. School House- the school I am helping out at every Tuesday and Thursday, I have gotten to know some of the students and its lots of fun
3. My family- I get along with them so well, and although they are not my mom and dad, I know have parents in 2 countries
4. Panuchos- a yucatan delicacy!
5. Mercados- markets where I have spent tooo much money
6. Music- humorous to say the least at times
7. Telenovelas- my current favorite is Tengo todo excepto a ti ( I have everything except you!) Oh my goodness everything is about to blow up, affairs are being found out, illegitimate children, oye!
8. Wireless in Burger King- we don't go to coffee shops for the internet, we go to Burger King
9. Plazas- every city has its own plaza and there are always people there, or something going on
10. Universal and Axn- my two favorite television channels so I can watch lost and CSI
11. Drake and Josh- a show on Nick that my brothers love ( i have never seen it in English, but its great in Spanish)
12. Ricardo Dogre- a student at schoolhouse, who makes me laugh every time I see him.
13. Carito- my cousin who I am getting know
14. Swimming with Sea Turtles- seriously where else are you going to do that in the middle of the ocean?
15. Hammocks- I finally figured out how to successfully sleep in a hammock, because it was too hot to sleep in my bed!
16. La Hoya- a great little cafe with waffles covered in Nutella! (only 3 dollars!)
17. Our group in Mexico-we have all gotten along great without many problems!
Well I know there was a lot more to that list, I think I made it to over 50 things but my mind is drawing a blank right now! Things continue to go well here in Mexico. I am very very very sick of classes and homework, but I think i would be the same way in the United States! Something exciting that just happened, well actually it happened today, My family opened a restaurant in our house. Well it is actually outside the house but it's called Benji's Burgers, We will see how it goes. Its a very small restaurant, but I think I will be eating Burgers for the next five weeks!
Although I am still homesick, I think i have put things back into perspective. I still have my bad days, but in reality I think I can survive five more weeks. Our weekends are full till we come home. I just have to keep homework in perspective and not get too stressed out, for that is when I tend to get very homesick!
I continue to thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Two Weeks in a little bus
Well when I left off I believe we were in Oaxaca. In Oaxaca we once again visited more ruins and a market which was near the ruins. You would not believe how many markets there are in Mexico and how tempting all of them are! We also saw a weaving demonstration. It was pretty interesting, everything they used was natural and without electricity. It started from straight wool and ended up in a beautiful rug. Sometimes its hard for me to believe that things are still made this way, with all the technology in the world, but I would say they are more beautiful when made by hand.
As we left Oaxaca we stopped at a famous place where vases, sculptures, and many more things are made from clay. Once again this is done without electricity and by hand, and everything was done without paint, which is amazing because it is a brilliant black in many of the works and it is hard to believe there was no paint involved. I'll show what I mean when I get back. Then we moved onto Puerto Angel which was our one day at the beach. This was wonderful, we took a little boat out into the ocean, saw dolphins, swam with a sea turtle, jumped off a big rock into the ocean and snorkled. It was a nice rest from educational things!
THere is so much more to tell, we saw a lot more ruins, took a boat through a beautiful canyon, stopped at more markets, rode horses twice, swam in a pool, got sunburned, ate good dinners, observed what life is like at a mission, saw very strange mixtures of religions and more. All in all it was a good trip!
Now we are back to classes and counting down the days until we get back to the United States, as of today it is 44. I probably shouldn't be counting, but I miss home a lot right now!
Love and miss you all
As we left Oaxaca we stopped at a famous place where vases, sculptures, and many more things are made from clay. Once again this is done without electricity and by hand, and everything was done without paint, which is amazing because it is a brilliant black in many of the works and it is hard to believe there was no paint involved. I'll show what I mean when I get back. Then we moved onto Puerto Angel which was our one day at the beach. This was wonderful, we took a little boat out into the ocean, saw dolphins, swam with a sea turtle, jumped off a big rock into the ocean and snorkled. It was a nice rest from educational things!
THere is so much more to tell, we saw a lot more ruins, took a boat through a beautiful canyon, stopped at more markets, rode horses twice, swam in a pool, got sunburned, ate good dinners, observed what life is like at a mission, saw very strange mixtures of religions and more. All in all it was a good trip!
Now we are back to classes and counting down the days until we get back to the United States, as of today it is 44. I probably shouldn't be counting, but I miss home a lot right now!
Love and miss you all
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Semana Santa thus far
Hello everyone
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing so far on our vacation. I feel like the majority of it has been spent in a little bus with everyone in our group sleeping, reading, getting carsick and watching movies. OK the carsickness has not really affected me, but others have been a bit sick.
Anyways we set off the first day at 6am from Merida and arrived in Villa Hermosa a mere seven hours later. We spent some time in a park and zoo and then went back to the seminary in which we were staying for dinner and relaxation, we just spent the night talking and laughing which was a nice break.
The next day we had a small worship service at the Seminary and set out for Vera Cruz, more time spent in the bus, but all was well. We arrived in Vera Cruz and proceeded to ride the TuriBus, which was interesting, a little frustrating because we could not hear any of the information and we were all extremely tired, however, it was fun to see Vera Cruz at night. There was a show going on in one of the plazas so we watched some dancing for a while, one of the dances consisted of girls dancing with firesticks, a bit scary!
The next day we once again set off for Mexico City, on our way we stopped at a beautiful little place int he mountains to take pictures and also had a great time watching Dirty Dancing, poor grant is getting stuck with all of our girly movies! We arrived in Mexico city, but we stayed ina church in Coyocan, an amazing little part of Mexico city taht reminds me a ton of east town, it is really calm with lots of book stores, a mercado, coffee shops, really good ice cream and much more. It was amazing, I probably could stay there a week and just relax. Anyways, in Mexico city we first went to the Basilica, which is pretty much the center of Catholism in Latin America, it was beautiful and very ornate, tehre were tons of people there because it is Semana Santa (Holy week). We then headed to some Aztec ruins and climbed a ginormous pyramid! I thought i was going to die once I reached the top! But it was awesome. The next day we headed to center of Mexico City, and saw the Cathedral, which is the second largest Cathedral in all of Latin America, we also climbed up into the bell towers, first time I have ever been on the top of a Cathedral before! (we also have some great pictures of grant as Quasi Modo). We also saw ruins of Tenochtilan and went to a Mexican Ballet, the ballet was amazing! Much mroe happened in Mexico city, we made some friends at the church who were our guides for the three days there, Mauricio and Uri!
Now we have just arrived in Ouaxaco (wa-ha-ka) and are getting settled into our hostel, my first experience in a hostel, we are going to eat soon and have the night to relax. Tomorrow we are off to ride horses and who knows what else. So far teh trip has been wonderful and relaxing, and we are not even half way through!
However we have reached teh halfway point of the semester this week, well it is on friday, and we are pretty excited we have survived so far! ONce again thanks for all the prayers and since I won´t be able to update till after easter
He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed
Happy Easter!
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing so far on our vacation. I feel like the majority of it has been spent in a little bus with everyone in our group sleeping, reading, getting carsick and watching movies. OK the carsickness has not really affected me, but others have been a bit sick.
Anyways we set off the first day at 6am from Merida and arrived in Villa Hermosa a mere seven hours later. We spent some time in a park and zoo and then went back to the seminary in which we were staying for dinner and relaxation, we just spent the night talking and laughing which was a nice break.
The next day we had a small worship service at the Seminary and set out for Vera Cruz, more time spent in the bus, but all was well. We arrived in Vera Cruz and proceeded to ride the TuriBus, which was interesting, a little frustrating because we could not hear any of the information and we were all extremely tired, however, it was fun to see Vera Cruz at night. There was a show going on in one of the plazas so we watched some dancing for a while, one of the dances consisted of girls dancing with firesticks, a bit scary!
The next day we once again set off for Mexico City, on our way we stopped at a beautiful little place int he mountains to take pictures and also had a great time watching Dirty Dancing, poor grant is getting stuck with all of our girly movies! We arrived in Mexico city, but we stayed ina church in Coyocan, an amazing little part of Mexico city taht reminds me a ton of east town, it is really calm with lots of book stores, a mercado, coffee shops, really good ice cream and much more. It was amazing, I probably could stay there a week and just relax. Anyways, in Mexico city we first went to the Basilica, which is pretty much the center of Catholism in Latin America, it was beautiful and very ornate, tehre were tons of people there because it is Semana Santa (Holy week). We then headed to some Aztec ruins and climbed a ginormous pyramid! I thought i was going to die once I reached the top! But it was awesome. The next day we headed to center of Mexico City, and saw the Cathedral, which is the second largest Cathedral in all of Latin America, we also climbed up into the bell towers, first time I have ever been on the top of a Cathedral before! (we also have some great pictures of grant as Quasi Modo). We also saw ruins of Tenochtilan and went to a Mexican Ballet, the ballet was amazing! Much mroe happened in Mexico city, we made some friends at the church who were our guides for the three days there, Mauricio and Uri!
Now we have just arrived in Ouaxaco (wa-ha-ka) and are getting settled into our hostel, my first experience in a hostel, we are going to eat soon and have the night to relax. Tomorrow we are off to ride horses and who knows what else. So far teh trip has been wonderful and relaxing, and we are not even half way through!
However we have reached teh halfway point of the semester this week, well it is on friday, and we are pretty excited we have survived so far! ONce again thanks for all the prayers and since I won´t be able to update till after easter
He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed
Happy Easter!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Spring Break 08, finally!
Well Saturday morning, nice and early we are off to travel around the lovely country of Mexico. I personally am very thankful for this break as this week was rather frustrating for me with the amount of homework, my capacity to do it, but I made it through and now we have a full 2 weeks to relax. Here is a list of the places we are going, now I am not completely sure where all of these places are, but it should be fantastic. We are going to be seeing everything from the Mountains to the beach, so our suitcases are going to have a strange mix of clothing in them!
So here is the plan for vacation.
Villa Hermosa
VeraCruz
Mexico DF (Mexico City)-3 days
Oaxaca- 2 days--including riding horses in the mountains!
Puerto Angel- the beach!
Tehuantepec- apparently there is a cool mercado here!
San Cristobal-- we are going to take a boat through a very beautiful canyon--2 days in San Cristobal
Ocosingo
Palenque-2 days
Merida
We are going to be doing a variety of things, taking tour busses, seeing more ruins, cathedrals, snorkling, riding horses, see traditional folk dance, hopefully a lot of sleeping, mercados, boat rides, did I mention sleeping?
We have successfully made it half way through classes and almost halfway through the whole semester, with many challenges, frustrations, joys and successes, but we have survived and we will continue to survive and thank God for his guidance, protection and blessings that have followed us throughout our whole trip so far, and will not end!
I would like to say, thank you all for your prayers and encouragement, it really helps having that in a semester away from friends and families in a different country. I hope everything is going well in the United States, but am really enjoying myself here, especially the warmth!
So here is the plan for vacation.
Villa Hermosa
VeraCruz
Mexico DF (Mexico City)-3 days
Oaxaca- 2 days--including riding horses in the mountains!
Puerto Angel- the beach!
Tehuantepec- apparently there is a cool mercado here!
San Cristobal-- we are going to take a boat through a very beautiful canyon--2 days in San Cristobal
Ocosingo
Palenque-2 days
Merida
We are going to be doing a variety of things, taking tour busses, seeing more ruins, cathedrals, snorkling, riding horses, see traditional folk dance, hopefully a lot of sleeping, mercados, boat rides, did I mention sleeping?
We have successfully made it half way through classes and almost halfway through the whole semester, with many challenges, frustrations, joys and successes, but we have survived and we will continue to survive and thank God for his guidance, protection and blessings that have followed us throughout our whole trip so far, and will not end!
I would like to say, thank you all for your prayers and encouragement, it really helps having that in a semester away from friends and families in a different country. I hope everything is going well in the United States, but am really enjoying myself here, especially the warmth!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Lets Try Again, some photos
This was the view at night from our hotel in Celestun, when we took a weekend at the beach. Incredibly beautiful!
Celestun also gave us the opportunity to see flamingos! Apparently the place is known for flamingos we could not miss out on seeing them! So we paid for a boat ride to see them. There were literally hundreds of them. If we got too close they would fly away, but these flamingos are very calm. The first time I have seen flamingos in the wild!
Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world. This was their main temple. We wanted to climb it but it is not allowed anymore because apparently it is rather dangerous!
The cenote we swam in after Chichen Itza, we felt like we were in a movie of some sort it was so beautiful!
One more sunset picture, Sara and I in Celestun at night.Things continue to go well here in Mexico, one more week of class and we are off to travel around Mexico for Spring Break!
Monday, March 3, 2008
A few happenings
Not too much has been happening here in Mexico. I survived my first round of tests last week. I had one test and a five page essay taking the place of a test. I was completely stressed out over this because our professor gave us the assignment 2 days before it was due, one class period before it was due and it was more or less and research paper, not a problem for me in English, but it took a lot of my time in Spanish, However it is done and over with and hopefully is ok. My mom and professor leder helped me with it, since my writing in Spanish is not always up to par. It was a difficult week of homework, but it led into a wonderful weekend.
First, Friday night we went dancing for the first time. One of our "teachers" came with us. She is actually our teacher, but is only 26 and teaches our class which is outside of the university. Anyways we went to Mambo Cafe for some salsa, kind of humorous since I for one have no idea how to dance! There was a live band it was incredibly fun! The thing about the clubs here in Merida is that none of them open until 11, so we were out quite late! Thank goodness for the weekend! So we danced the night away until 3:00 am and had a great time, not caring what we looked like at all!
Sunday, we made our way to Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world. It is an old mayan civilization with many old structures and a cenote. This cenote you cannot swim in because it is rather gross and it is believed that this cenote was where the mayans sacrificed the young virgens. So i am not sure who would want to swim in this cenote. After Chichen we went to Ik Kil, which is a gorgeous cenote, almost out of a movie and swam for a while. All in all a good weekend, where i got little to nothing done for homework and it was fantastic!
This week is again full of homework, i have another paper due and a test next week in one of the hardest classes we have, but next week friday begins our two weeks of spring break, we can barely handle our excitement!
Sorry, the photos are not working again, how annoying!
First, Friday night we went dancing for the first time. One of our "teachers" came with us. She is actually our teacher, but is only 26 and teaches our class which is outside of the university. Anyways we went to Mambo Cafe for some salsa, kind of humorous since I for one have no idea how to dance! There was a live band it was incredibly fun! The thing about the clubs here in Merida is that none of them open until 11, so we were out quite late! Thank goodness for the weekend! So we danced the night away until 3:00 am and had a great time, not caring what we looked like at all!
Sunday, we made our way to Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world. It is an old mayan civilization with many old structures and a cenote. This cenote you cannot swim in because it is rather gross and it is believed that this cenote was where the mayans sacrificed the young virgens. So i am not sure who would want to swim in this cenote. After Chichen we went to Ik Kil, which is a gorgeous cenote, almost out of a movie and swam for a while. All in all a good weekend, where i got little to nothing done for homework and it was fantastic!
This week is again full of homework, i have another paper due and a test next week in one of the hardest classes we have, but next week friday begins our two weeks of spring break, we can barely handle our excitement!
Sorry, the photos are not working again, how annoying!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Solamente en Mexico...
As we were sitting eating a lovely dinner in Chiles today (same as the United States, glorious), we were discussing things that when they happen or when we see them, we just say, only in mexico, solamente in mexico. We decided to make a list of these things which will probably grow throughout the semester, but here is some of what we have so far. These things are rather hilarious to us, and you might not understand all of them, but just a taste of the differences between Mexico and the US.
-rocks in soup- this is the truth, allison ate soup with rocks in, you aren't supposed to eat the rocks, but we do not know what they are for!
-Clowns in the street- as we were waiting for the bus today a clown sang to us, painted face and all, weird
-Celine Dion- ok she was not here, but there is music constantly playing here, and we have heard celine dion many times, not quite sure why
-La Vaca-vaca=cow, and there is a man who rides a bicycle or motorcycle who sells milk and has a loudspeaker on his mode of transportation with the sound of a cow that sounds all day long...mooooo
-Remolacha- allison's first day in mexico her family gave her something to drink that looked the grape juice, much to her suprise it was horrible, so she asked what is was, remolacha, which is beet juice... disgusting!
-combi- the name of my bus, the little van that i can't stand!
- Super San Fran Assis- only in Mexico would you have a grocery store named after Saint Francis of Assisi, now I don't know much about him, but I am not sure if he would love super savings or not!
-Yill- this is more or less my name is in Spanish..pronounced yeel...oye, i do not like this!
-Helado de Eloite- corn ice-cream, i have never tried it, and dont plan on it!
- Mi Muneca esta llorando
- Larry and Paco- Paco was our friendly lizard who lived in our bathroom last week in Celestun, and Larry is the iguana Sara sees every week before class at the univesity, lizards everywhere!
-Hamburgers with Ham and Pineapple- gross
- White Trees- we do not know why they are painted white, but all trees are painted white at the bottom, we think its to keep the bugs away or something
-Gato Feo- ugly cat, there is a huge, hideous cat outside of my bedroom at night that is horrible, i wake up in the middle of the night and swear it is fighting with something, because of the sounds it makes. I looked at it once and it looks like half cat and half dog.. hideous!
-Accordians- only in Mexico, street performers who play the accordian
-Recorders- once again, who plays the recorder in church? Mexicans.
Well there you have it, oh Mexico, if anything strange happens, our excuse, we're in mexico, who knows!
-rocks in soup- this is the truth, allison ate soup with rocks in, you aren't supposed to eat the rocks, but we do not know what they are for!
-Clowns in the street- as we were waiting for the bus today a clown sang to us, painted face and all, weird
-Celine Dion- ok she was not here, but there is music constantly playing here, and we have heard celine dion many times, not quite sure why
-La Vaca-vaca=cow, and there is a man who rides a bicycle or motorcycle who sells milk and has a loudspeaker on his mode of transportation with the sound of a cow that sounds all day long...mooooo
-Remolacha- allison's first day in mexico her family gave her something to drink that looked the grape juice, much to her suprise it was horrible, so she asked what is was, remolacha, which is beet juice... disgusting!
-combi- the name of my bus, the little van that i can't stand!
- Super San Fran Assis- only in Mexico would you have a grocery store named after Saint Francis of Assisi, now I don't know much about him, but I am not sure if he would love super savings or not!
-Yill- this is more or less my name is in Spanish..pronounced yeel...oye, i do not like this!
-Helado de Eloite- corn ice-cream, i have never tried it, and dont plan on it!
- Mi Muneca esta llorando
- Larry and Paco- Paco was our friendly lizard who lived in our bathroom last week in Celestun, and Larry is the iguana Sara sees every week before class at the univesity, lizards everywhere!
-Hamburgers with Ham and Pineapple- gross
- White Trees- we do not know why they are painted white, but all trees are painted white at the bottom, we think its to keep the bugs away or something
-Gato Feo- ugly cat, there is a huge, hideous cat outside of my bedroom at night that is horrible, i wake up in the middle of the night and swear it is fighting with something, because of the sounds it makes. I looked at it once and it looks like half cat and half dog.. hideous!
-Accordians- only in Mexico, street performers who play the accordian
-Recorders- once again, who plays the recorder in church? Mexicans.
Well there you have it, oh Mexico, if anything strange happens, our excuse, we're in mexico, who knows!
Monday, February 18, 2008
SchoolHouse and CT Duca
A few new things have happened here in good old Mexico.
First: SchoolHouse
Schoolhouse is a school run by my "aunt" that teaches English. It is somewhat similar to joy's school where the teachers all speak in English so the kids can learn. It is somewhat different in that the students may still speak spanish, however, they must try as much as they can to speak in English. Anyways, what is going on with this, is I am going ot be helping out there every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and I will be getting paid for it as well! I am happing with the preschool/kindergarten class. I went once last week and it was very fun, the kids are adorable, crazy but adorable, and my "cousin" is in the class. It will be a bit of an "english break" for me, but I will still be learning Spanish as many of the kids in my class cannot speak well in English yet, so they answer questions in Spanish and we have to help them out. Anyways, I am pretty excited for this because I love hanging out with kids and I will be earning a bit of spending money!
Second: CT DUCA
CT DUCA is a school for students with Downss Syndrome where I am doing my ethnographic study. This was not exactly what I had in mind, but is turning out to be interesting. I have only gone one time and sat in on the "middle ages" This consisted of a small class of 6 kids ages ranging from 6-8. Most of these students do not know how to speak quite yet so that is a main goal, to get them to talk and have them learn simple things like birds and numbers. What was most interesting to me from that one day, was not the manner of teaching, but the manner of punishment. It was perfectly fine to use physical punishment. I do not know what the other classes did for punishment, but my teacher consistently pulled a child by the ear back to their seat, or when one of the students hit another, she told them to hit back, and harder. This is something that I cannot comprehend, what are we teaching when we just tell people to hit back, certaintly not that hitting is not acceptable! I am excited to see how the other classes go!
This weekend was wonderful to say the least. More to come on that later including photos. But we went to the beach, stayed in a cute little hotel and simply relaxed and got away from the crowded city of Merida, just what we needed!
te quiero
First: SchoolHouse
Schoolhouse is a school run by my "aunt" that teaches English. It is somewhat similar to joy's school where the teachers all speak in English so the kids can learn. It is somewhat different in that the students may still speak spanish, however, they must try as much as they can to speak in English. Anyways, what is going on with this, is I am going ot be helping out there every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and I will be getting paid for it as well! I am happing with the preschool/kindergarten class. I went once last week and it was very fun, the kids are adorable, crazy but adorable, and my "cousin" is in the class. It will be a bit of an "english break" for me, but I will still be learning Spanish as many of the kids in my class cannot speak well in English yet, so they answer questions in Spanish and we have to help them out. Anyways, I am pretty excited for this because I love hanging out with kids and I will be earning a bit of spending money!
Second: CT DUCA
CT DUCA is a school for students with Downss Syndrome where I am doing my ethnographic study. This was not exactly what I had in mind, but is turning out to be interesting. I have only gone one time and sat in on the "middle ages" This consisted of a small class of 6 kids ages ranging from 6-8. Most of these students do not know how to speak quite yet so that is a main goal, to get them to talk and have them learn simple things like birds and numbers. What was most interesting to me from that one day, was not the manner of teaching, but the manner of punishment. It was perfectly fine to use physical punishment. I do not know what the other classes did for punishment, but my teacher consistently pulled a child by the ear back to their seat, or when one of the students hit another, she told them to hit back, and harder. This is something that I cannot comprehend, what are we teaching when we just tell people to hit back, certaintly not that hitting is not acceptable! I am excited to see how the other classes go!
This weekend was wonderful to say the least. More to come on that later including photos. But we went to the beach, stayed in a cute little hotel and simply relaxed and got away from the crowded city of Merida, just what we needed!
te quiero
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A Glance of Life In Mexico,
Yeah the pictures finally worked! Sorry for those of you who have seen these in facebook!Waiting for the parade to start! Heather, myself, Chelsey and Sarah
A sign about Carnaval, sponsored by Sol, apparently the beer of the yucatan
Our first trip to the beach, Progresso is very close about a half hour away, not too impressive and with lots of wind, but hey it is the beach and it is warm!
My first sunday here, my family took me to the centro for Domingos en Merida (Sundays in Merida) It is kind of like our festival but it happens every sunday with lots of food, a little market type thing in the plaza and music, such as this mariachi band!
This is the cathedral in el centro (el centro is just the middle of the city). Chelsey and I walked through the cathedral the other day and it is very beautiful and ornate
This is our school that we attend monday through thursday. When we first saw it we thought it looked somewhat like a hotel!
This is my bedroom, yes I have two beds and a hammock! I generally sleep in the beds because i have found it difficult to sleep in a hammock, but to do homework or take naps, the hammock is glorious!
One of the performers at Carnaval! He was on stilts and started out the parade, he really like to pose for us!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Food and Music...oye
One thing I have found interesting so far in Mexico is the food patterns. It is incredibly different than the United States. Granted we still eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, however what we eat and when we eat it is very different than at home.
The first two weeks were pretty normal with this, fruit for breakfast, a larger lunch, and small dinner. However, things started to become a little crazy this past week. First, when you cook something here you make sure you make enough to last about 3 days for multiple meals. For instance, last week my mama made chicken noodle soup (delicious!) and we ate it for a meal or two and I thought ya (oh in spanish, or at least here in the Yucatan, ya, means done). Oh boy was I wrong. I woke up Saturday morning, got out of bed and went into the living room/dining room to eat with my family and my mom tells me we are eating the soup for breakfast. Yes, soup and sandwiches for breakfast. I said, ok, fine, it was a little wierd for me I felt like I was eating lunch, but it was only 10 in the morning. Friday, my mama goes to the market to buy a couple of things and she told me she was coming back with breakfast as well, breakfast of cochinito. Now I had no idea what this meant, and to my surprise, it was a pork sandwich, for breakfast, apparently quite common to eat sandwiches for breakfast. Sunday once again, we had tomales and soup for breakfast. This is just something I have trouble getting accostumed to, especially when I barely eat breakfast in the United States!
We will see what this week has in store!
One other comical thing that happened, or at least that I thought was comical happened on the bus ride home on saturday. I do not generally understand the words of the music here because it is incredibly fast, however, on this bus ride i understand very clearly. Here are the lyrics of almost the whole song
Tengo, Tengo, un novio
metro metro metro sexual.
I think you can get what that means but if you cannot I have a metro sexual boyfriend were the lyrics..oye
Literally... it said that over and over and over again, metro metro metro sexual. I was cracking up on the bus, I just could not help it. Everyone else probably thought I was just a crazy American, but it was just too funny to not laugh at. The other song we have understood and love to sing because it is always in our heads is
Mi Muneca esta llorando ( my doll is crying)
I have no idea why the doll is crying, but it must be crying hard because the singer repeats that line like it is nobody's business.
Oh the wierd things that happen in Mexico, yesterday my brother was singing I believe I can fly at the top of this lungs and I could not stop laughing then either.12 year old Turi, singing, in English, I BELIEVE I CAN FLY,I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE SKY! oye, so funny, I wish you could have heard it!
te quiero
The first two weeks were pretty normal with this, fruit for breakfast, a larger lunch, and small dinner. However, things started to become a little crazy this past week. First, when you cook something here you make sure you make enough to last about 3 days for multiple meals. For instance, last week my mama made chicken noodle soup (delicious!) and we ate it for a meal or two and I thought ya (oh in spanish, or at least here in the Yucatan, ya, means done). Oh boy was I wrong. I woke up Saturday morning, got out of bed and went into the living room/dining room to eat with my family and my mom tells me we are eating the soup for breakfast. Yes, soup and sandwiches for breakfast. I said, ok, fine, it was a little wierd for me I felt like I was eating lunch, but it was only 10 in the morning. Friday, my mama goes to the market to buy a couple of things and she told me she was coming back with breakfast as well, breakfast of cochinito. Now I had no idea what this meant, and to my surprise, it was a pork sandwich, for breakfast, apparently quite common to eat sandwiches for breakfast. Sunday once again, we had tomales and soup for breakfast. This is just something I have trouble getting accostumed to, especially when I barely eat breakfast in the United States!
We will see what this week has in store!
One other comical thing that happened, or at least that I thought was comical happened on the bus ride home on saturday. I do not generally understand the words of the music here because it is incredibly fast, however, on this bus ride i understand very clearly. Here are the lyrics of almost the whole song
Tengo, Tengo, un novio
metro metro metro sexual.
I think you can get what that means but if you cannot I have a metro sexual boyfriend were the lyrics..oye
Literally... it said that over and over and over again, metro metro metro sexual. I was cracking up on the bus, I just could not help it. Everyone else probably thought I was just a crazy American, but it was just too funny to not laugh at. The other song we have understood and love to sing because it is always in our heads is
Mi Muneca esta llorando ( my doll is crying)
I have no idea why the doll is crying, but it must be crying hard because the singer repeats that line like it is nobody's business.
Oh the wierd things that happen in Mexico, yesterday my brother was singing I believe I can fly at the top of this lungs and I could not stop laughing then either.12 year old Turi, singing, in English, I BELIEVE I CAN FLY,I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE SKY! oye, so funny, I wish you could have heard it!
te quiero
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Long Week
This week was much better than the first week. It is hard to believe that I have only been here in Mexico for 2 week when it feels like 3 months, and there are three more months to go!
This week was interesting, we had two days off of class which were wonderful, I already told you all about Carnaval and it was a great experience and there is not much more to report here. Classes are going a bit better, I successfully took some notes while listening at the same time, a big accomplishment for me!
This weekend was uneventful. A friend and I successfully found a mall with starbucks and a movie theatre. We saw Across the Universe, for a bit of an English break and it was wonderful! On Saturday we went to the centro just to do something, we ate fajitas (steak fajitas (something that is not chicken!) And ice cream which was very similar to water ice in philly, ya'll need to try it sometime!
Chelsey and I then walked around the centro, and just talked and bought some postcards. It is pretty uneventful here, I will let you know when anything else happens!
Les quiero and les extrano!
This week was interesting, we had two days off of class which were wonderful, I already told you all about Carnaval and it was a great experience and there is not much more to report here. Classes are going a bit better, I successfully took some notes while listening at the same time, a big accomplishment for me!
This weekend was uneventful. A friend and I successfully found a mall with starbucks and a movie theatre. We saw Across the Universe, for a bit of an English break and it was wonderful! On Saturday we went to the centro just to do something, we ate fajitas (steak fajitas (something that is not chicken!) And ice cream which was very similar to water ice in philly, ya'll need to try it sometime!
Chelsey and I then walked around the centro, and just talked and bought some postcards. It is pretty uneventful here, I will let you know when anything else happens!
Les quiero and les extrano!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Carnaval
There are some lovely things that occur in Merida, one being Carnaval which is similar to Mardi Gras. Carnaval is extra lovely because all of the schools close when Carnaval occurs! So we do not have class today or tomorrow!
Everyday of Carnaval there are parades (desfiles), so we decided to go one on Monday which included traditional clothes of the Yucatan. Our group met at the parada (bus stop) at four and the parade supposedly started at 7. We went to find seats and then eat a wonderful dinner of pizza. In Merida parades are not free to watch, we had to pay 26 pesos for one seat at the parade, which translates into around 2 dollars. So we bought our tickets, thus securing our seats and went to find the pizzeria that was recommended to us. We were very excited about pizza because it was something familiar and we had control over it! Needless to say the Pizza was wonderful, a bit different as sausage actually means hot dog in Spanish, but it was still delicious!
After pizza we went to our seats because we thought the parade began at 7. Here is the thing about Mexico, nothing is on time! For instance, sunday I went to church. Church technically began at 10, however we did not leave the house until 10:10. So the parade began at "7" which may have been true but it probably began late and because we were in the middle of the parade route it actually began at 8, so we sat waiting for the parade for about and hour and a half! And finally it began!
The parade itself was wonderful, there was so much traditional clothing that it got old after a while, however mixed in the the clothing were floats depicting the Seven Wonders of the World which is the theme for Carnaval this year. On these floats were various dancers and performers. It was quite extravagant. In the United States you think you will get candy thrown at you during a parade and this is also true in Mexico, but what else do they throw? Oh none other than cups and cell phone cases, in all seriousness I got a cup and a cell phone case! Also because we are all girls in our group and we look a bit different than Mexicans, hard to believe I know, all we had to do was scream and look at a male on the floats and we automatically got things thrown at us, oh the joys of being blonde. Anyways Carnaval was wonderful!
One small mishap happened after Carnaval for me, because it is so huge and covers much of the city, it just happens that the bus stops all change and I have no idea where my bus is! Thankfully there are other people also looking for my bus and a man offers to help me. Now this makes me a bit nervous because i do not know him and I do not speak the best Spanish. However I made sure i asked the questions to others asking where the bus was so he was not in charge and there were other people looking for the same bus as well, so it was alright, kind of nerve wracking, but finally I made it to the bus stop after wandering around Merida for around an half hour not knowing where the heck I was! And the nice man who helped direct me to the correct stop also paid for my fare! Kind of creepy, but ultimately nice.
I tried to put pictures on the post, but is not working, sorry, I shall try again later or send out an album!
Te quiero
Everyday of Carnaval there are parades (desfiles), so we decided to go one on Monday which included traditional clothes of the Yucatan. Our group met at the parada (bus stop) at four and the parade supposedly started at 7. We went to find seats and then eat a wonderful dinner of pizza. In Merida parades are not free to watch, we had to pay 26 pesos for one seat at the parade, which translates into around 2 dollars. So we bought our tickets, thus securing our seats and went to find the pizzeria that was recommended to us. We were very excited about pizza because it was something familiar and we had control over it! Needless to say the Pizza was wonderful, a bit different as sausage actually means hot dog in Spanish, but it was still delicious!
After pizza we went to our seats because we thought the parade began at 7. Here is the thing about Mexico, nothing is on time! For instance, sunday I went to church. Church technically began at 10, however we did not leave the house until 10:10. So the parade began at "7" which may have been true but it probably began late and because we were in the middle of the parade route it actually began at 8, so we sat waiting for the parade for about and hour and a half! And finally it began!
The parade itself was wonderful, there was so much traditional clothing that it got old after a while, however mixed in the the clothing were floats depicting the Seven Wonders of the World which is the theme for Carnaval this year. On these floats were various dancers and performers. It was quite extravagant. In the United States you think you will get candy thrown at you during a parade and this is also true in Mexico, but what else do they throw? Oh none other than cups and cell phone cases, in all seriousness I got a cup and a cell phone case! Also because we are all girls in our group and we look a bit different than Mexicans, hard to believe I know, all we had to do was scream and look at a male on the floats and we automatically got things thrown at us, oh the joys of being blonde. Anyways Carnaval was wonderful!
One small mishap happened after Carnaval for me, because it is so huge and covers much of the city, it just happens that the bus stops all change and I have no idea where my bus is! Thankfully there are other people also looking for my bus and a man offers to help me. Now this makes me a bit nervous because i do not know him and I do not speak the best Spanish. However I made sure i asked the questions to others asking where the bus was so he was not in charge and there were other people looking for the same bus as well, so it was alright, kind of nerve wracking, but finally I made it to the bus stop after wandering around Merida for around an half hour not knowing where the heck I was! And the nice man who helped direct me to the correct stop also paid for my fare! Kind of creepy, but ultimately nice.
I tried to put pictures on the post, but is not working, sorry, I shall try again later or send out an album!
Te quiero
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A moment for buses
Let`s talk about buses for a moment. I have recently said that I could be content being a bus driver and just talking to people and having a good time. This would not be true in Merida!
I take the bus four times a day here in Merida, once in the morning to get to the centro, then from the centro to la universidad modelo. then after class back to the centro and to my house. So four buses costing 20 pesos total. This would be fine if the buses were like the rapid. However my bus is a van, its like a gutted out conversion van with seats stuck around the edges. Once again, not a big deal until you see how many people can fit in this van! (part of the stereotype seems to be true in my bus...). If i can barely be a passenger here, i woudl never be a driver. The traffic is loca! I think we almost get in 5 accidents every time i ride the bus, not much different than the DR i hear. However, whenever I ride the bus i feel like my father. I want to shut my eyes so I will not lose all my cookies all over the bus! However i cannot shut my eyes or I will totally get lost! I wish that you all could experience the buses here becuase they are totally crazy and a bit scary!
Anyways, things are going well here. It is very overwhelming at times when I do not understand my professors, or my mama or brothers! But i get through it. I have my own room in my house where I have hammock to sleep in as well as a bed! For the past 3 nights i have started in the hammock and ended up in the bed. It is hard to get used to hammock sleeping but hammocks are much more comfortable than i could have ever imagined!
Carnaval is this weekend in Merida and it is like Mardi Gras! I am not sure if we are going or not as it is tan peligroso ( a bit dangerous). Today we were talking a student in the University, Jamie and he told us, that on monday, they throw eggs at houses! However, tonight, I went to the birthday party of my cousin who is turning 13 and met another cousin who is 22 and she told me it was all a lie! Intersante. I believe that my friend Chelsey and I will go for a little while just to see what it is like. We are not allowed to bring purses or wear jewelry, just to be safe, everything needs to be under the clothes! One wonderful thing about Carnaval is the whole city shuts down for 4 days, so I do not have class on monday or tuesday! We also nover have class on fridays so this weekend I have a five day weekend!
Tomorrow we are going to a mayan ruin, to swim in en cenote (sink hole, that isn`t sinking, but filled with water!) and then to the beach! I am very excited for the beach as I hear there is tons of snow in Michigan right now!
So things are good here, it is very overwhelming, but I am starting to speak more and understand more! my family has internet in the house and it is wonderful for communication, so keep those e-mails coming!
Te quiero
I take the bus four times a day here in Merida, once in the morning to get to the centro, then from the centro to la universidad modelo. then after class back to the centro and to my house. So four buses costing 20 pesos total. This would be fine if the buses were like the rapid. However my bus is a van, its like a gutted out conversion van with seats stuck around the edges. Once again, not a big deal until you see how many people can fit in this van! (part of the stereotype seems to be true in my bus...). If i can barely be a passenger here, i woudl never be a driver. The traffic is loca! I think we almost get in 5 accidents every time i ride the bus, not much different than the DR i hear. However, whenever I ride the bus i feel like my father. I want to shut my eyes so I will not lose all my cookies all over the bus! However i cannot shut my eyes or I will totally get lost! I wish that you all could experience the buses here becuase they are totally crazy and a bit scary!
Anyways, things are going well here. It is very overwhelming at times when I do not understand my professors, or my mama or brothers! But i get through it. I have my own room in my house where I have hammock to sleep in as well as a bed! For the past 3 nights i have started in the hammock and ended up in the bed. It is hard to get used to hammock sleeping but hammocks are much more comfortable than i could have ever imagined!
Carnaval is this weekend in Merida and it is like Mardi Gras! I am not sure if we are going or not as it is tan peligroso ( a bit dangerous). Today we were talking a student in the University, Jamie and he told us, that on monday, they throw eggs at houses! However, tonight, I went to the birthday party of my cousin who is turning 13 and met another cousin who is 22 and she told me it was all a lie! Intersante. I believe that my friend Chelsey and I will go for a little while just to see what it is like. We are not allowed to bring purses or wear jewelry, just to be safe, everything needs to be under the clothes! One wonderful thing about Carnaval is the whole city shuts down for 4 days, so I do not have class on monday or tuesday! We also nover have class on fridays so this weekend I have a five day weekend!
Tomorrow we are going to a mayan ruin, to swim in en cenote (sink hole, that isn`t sinking, but filled with water!) and then to the beach! I am very excited for the beach as I hear there is tons of snow in Michigan right now!
So things are good here, it is very overwhelming, but I am starting to speak more and understand more! my family has internet in the house and it is wonderful for communication, so keep those e-mails coming!
Te quiero
Monday, January 28, 2008
Address and Buses
Lo siento, I put two addresses on the blog and I am very certain that the first address is the one to send mail to if you so desire! Here it is again!
Jill Gort
C/O Jan Van Ee
Calle 14 #176 14 X 23
Frac. Jardines de Miraflores
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Mail usually takes 4-6 weeks to arrive but it is much appreciated!
I am currently at the University using their computers which are available to all students. I will be able to communicate but we are encouraged not to do too much, so we shall see how often!(I will do as much as I can).
Today was my first encounter with the buses alone! There are many buses that run down my street and most of them are full when I stick my hand out to show I need one seat! However all of the buses run to el centro so I finally found a larger bus with lots of seats! I met my professor and compañeros in front of the cathedral and we made it to the university with no problems! The buses were one of my biggest fears, especially since a great friend of mine told me stories of how she got lost on the buses!
That is all for now, it is very difficult for me to write in English,crazy as that many seem, but I start to revert to spanish and then have to start all over again!
Les quiero y Les extraño mucho!
Jill
Jill Gort
C/O Jan Van Ee
Calle 14 #176 14 X 23
Frac. Jardines de Miraflores
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Mail usually takes 4-6 weeks to arrive but it is much appreciated!
I am currently at the University using their computers which are available to all students. I will be able to communicate but we are encouraged not to do too much, so we shall see how often!(I will do as much as I can).
Today was my first encounter with the buses alone! There are many buses that run down my street and most of them are full when I stick my hand out to show I need one seat! However all of the buses run to el centro so I finally found a larger bus with lots of seats! I met my professor and compañeros in front of the cathedral and we made it to the university with no problems! The buses were one of my biggest fears, especially since a great friend of mine told me stories of how she got lost on the buses!
That is all for now, it is very difficult for me to write in English,crazy as that many seem, but I start to revert to spanish and then have to start all over again!
Les quiero y Les extraño mucho!
Jill
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Finally Arrived
Hola de Mexico,
I would write all in Spanish but I only know a few people who would appreciate that!
I am happy to report that we did not have 62 hours of travel. We had a couple of delays to de ice the plane and also in Cancun we had to wait for our gate! So we arrived one or two hours late. Then we went straight to a four hour bus trip to Merida. Our first meal in Mexico was at Burger King, a great Mexican meal!
After the four hour bus trip I met my family. My mama is very helpful! She helped heat the water for the shower and showed me how to use the buses and is very helpful with my spanish which is grammatically horrible! I am very thankful for her! I have three siblings here. Benji is 15 but is turning 16 next week. Arturo is 12, (sorry I completely lied in an email and earlier in this blog! And Valeria is 4. This is a new experience for me having younger siblings especially brothers! They are very nice and kind of shy, but as am I at this point in time. I listen much more than I speak, but it is amazing how quickly the spanish comes back.
It will probably take a long time for me to become completely comfortable speaking spanish. I say a lot of Si and No and no entiendo! But i have had some good conversations with my Mama and am currently talking with valeria. She is doing the hiding trick where I have to go sit on her in order to find her. It is very similar to what I do with Sam!
The food here so far has been wonderful I would not recommend it to picky eaters (Dave)!
That is all for now!
Te quiero
I would write all in Spanish but I only know a few people who would appreciate that!
I am happy to report that we did not have 62 hours of travel. We had a couple of delays to de ice the plane and also in Cancun we had to wait for our gate! So we arrived one or two hours late. Then we went straight to a four hour bus trip to Merida. Our first meal in Mexico was at Burger King, a great Mexican meal!
After the four hour bus trip I met my family. My mama is very helpful! She helped heat the water for the shower and showed me how to use the buses and is very helpful with my spanish which is grammatically horrible! I am very thankful for her! I have three siblings here. Benji is 15 but is turning 16 next week. Arturo is 12, (sorry I completely lied in an email and earlier in this blog! And Valeria is 4. This is a new experience for me having younger siblings especially brothers! They are very nice and kind of shy, but as am I at this point in time. I listen much more than I speak, but it is amazing how quickly the spanish comes back.
It will probably take a long time for me to become completely comfortable speaking spanish. I say a lot of Si and No and no entiendo! But i have had some good conversations with my Mama and am currently talking with valeria. She is doing the hiding trick where I have to go sit on her in order to find her. It is very similar to what I do with Sam!
The food here so far has been wonderful I would not recommend it to picky eaters (Dave)!
That is all for now!
Te quiero
Friday, January 25, 2008
If you want to send mail
My professor finally e-mailed us the information about our family and I am very excited to meet them! I have a mom and three siblings! It will be a different experience for me being the oldest in a family and having a brother, after all I am used to is being the youngest sister. My brother is 15 years old, and my two sisters are age 9 and 3. I cannot wait to meet them, this has been a great anxiety of mine not knowing who I will be living with, but it sounds like they are a wonderful and helpful family! So here is address where I will actually be living!
Jill Gort
Calle 35
No. 275 x 28 y 34
Jardines de Pensiones
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
4 Days
Just a quick update, I am leaving this Saturday at 8:30 in the morning and should arrive in Mexico at 1:00ish Mexico Time, I have no idea what time that is here, some confusion on the time difference, so you all can figure it out yourselves! But here is a mailing address if anyone gets in the letter mood! it is not my actual house number, but that is what I was told to give out!
Jill Gort
C/O Jan Van Ee
Calle 14 #176 14 X 23
Frac. Jardines de Miraflores
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
So, I am off to the land of the Spanish Speaking and will let you know soon if anything exciting happens!
Jill Gort
C/O Jan Van Ee
Calle 14 #176 14 X 23
Frac. Jardines de Miraflores
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
So, I am off to the land of the Spanish Speaking and will let you know soon if anything exciting happens!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Soon To Be Leaving
Although the title of the blog is Life in Mexico I have yet to leave. I decided to set this up so everyone can see instead of sending out e-mail updates. I will be able to post photos and let you know what is going on well I am living in Mexico for a semester. I do not know how often I will be able to post but from what I understand there are cyber cafes all over the place that you can get the internet at for pretty cheap.
So on January 26 I am leaving for a new experience away living in Mexico. The only details I know right now is the date I am leaving and that we are studying at the Universidad Modelo. I will be taking classes in Spanish mainly with the Calvin professor that is traveling with us, but also one class with Mexican students at the University. I will also be living with a host family, although I have no idea who they are yet!
One thing I am very excited for is the ethnographic study that I have signed up for. It an observation in the field of study of my choice. I do not really know what this is going to entail quite yet, but I will be able to see the field of social work in a different culture than my own and hopefully better learn how to assist people of different cultures when I in turn become a social worker.
Well, until I arrive in Mexico and become acclamated, this is it for now. I will keep you posted on life in Mexico!
So on January 26 I am leaving for a new experience away living in Mexico. The only details I know right now is the date I am leaving and that we are studying at the Universidad Modelo. I will be taking classes in Spanish mainly with the Calvin professor that is traveling with us, but also one class with Mexican students at the University. I will also be living with a host family, although I have no idea who they are yet!
One thing I am very excited for is the ethnographic study that I have signed up for. It an observation in the field of study of my choice. I do not really know what this is going to entail quite yet, but I will be able to see the field of social work in a different culture than my own and hopefully better learn how to assist people of different cultures when I in turn become a social worker.
Well, until I arrive in Mexico and become acclamated, this is it for now. I will keep you posted on life in Mexico!
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