Take Two

Well hello everyone! It has been a windy last couple of days in Guanajuato. Today I could swear that the University was floating in a cloud, the mist was showering down whenever I walked outside in between classes. Okay so I had a request to expand a little bit more on my daily schedule, so now I will enlighten you all about a day in the life of a student in Gto.
First of all, I live in a room with one other girl, Trisha. Our house is sort of a compound. There is a two person room up at the top with its own door and own bathroom where a student from Japan named You lives. Boy does that get confusing if we're speaking in English. :) Then down some stairs, a little walkway leads to me and Trish's room. It is the same setup as the one upstairs, there is a large room with two twin beds and a closet and a desk and there is also a bathroom. The kitchen, living room, and three other bedrooms where our host family and two other students live consists of the other portion of the house. Everyday on the way to school we walk down 96 stairs, oh yes, I counted. But what is even worse is the 96 up, on the way back from school or anywhere for that matter.
Okay, my daily schedule: Everyday I wake up around 6:45 or 7 am, depending on how many times I push the snooze button. I get ready and go to breakfast, which usually consists of eggs and toast or pancakes or cereal and coffee. Then I go to school! I attend class from 8 to 12 everyday (each class is an hour). My first class of the day is Literature, which I am proud to say that I just finished my first Spanish novel! I read "Como Agua Para Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel, it was fantastic. My second class is History, where we are currently learning abut the reign of Porfirio Diaz. My third class is Conversation with a crazy teacher named Martino. Then, my fourth class is Grammar, the nitty gritty of the Spanish language. That's my school day! After school, I usually go home to eat a snack and begin my homework. At 2pm we have "la comida" or lunch. For lunch we usually have beans and rice and some sort of meat. Then after lunch, I usually do some more homework or go online. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30, two of the other girls from CLU and I go to a convent down the street to help the girls at the home there with their homework.The girls living there are usually from problematic families. But their families go to counseling during the week when the girls stay at the convent, and on the weekends the girls get to go home to spend time with their families. Thus far it has been quite a rewarding experience. And the girls are simply fascinated with my long blond hair. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays we have salsa dancing at the school from 6-7pm at the University. It has been fun so far, but a little bit repetitive. I mean, with my Do Re Mi training, I'm used to a pretty fast pace ;) I eat "la cena" or dinner at 8pm every night which usually consists of something smaller than lunch, like quesadillas or tortas (my new favorite!) And that is my day...on the weekends I usually sleep in a little, do some homework and wonder around town. My favorite place to go is either the Mercado Hidalgo for a frozen banana dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts, or Cafe Conquistador for a cup of chai. Nightlife here in Gto does not usually start until medianoche, yes that would be midnight. But the best night to go out is Thursdays, don't worry I still get up for class on Fridays. Well that is my schedule, I'll post again soon with more study abroad stories!

Picture Time!

The Aztec pyramids in Teotihuacan (el templo del sol)

The original tilma of Juan Diego on which the Virgin Mary appeared.

A cute sleepy dog :)

Nieve (ice cream) in Dolores, on our route of independence trip.

The University of Guanajuato

A statue of the Virgin in a garden in Valenciana.

For all of my pictures check out these links to my Facebook photo albums:

• http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54124&l=18cbe&id=680446718
• http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55894&l=34827&id=680446718
• http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55965&l=4e2c2&id=680446718
• http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58582&l=c0888&id=680446718
• http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58587&l=0f308&id=680446718

Numero Uno

Hello all! Sorry it has taken me so long to get on my horse about starting this blog....anyways, here it goes. It has been a quick month and a half since I arrived in Guanaujato on August 7th. I live with a host family here in Guanajuato,with my "mom"-Hortensia, "dad"-Fransisco, and firefighter brother- "Fransisco Jr" or "Panchito". My house is only about 5 minutes walking distance from the Escuela de Idiomas, the section of the Universidad de Guanajuato where I attend my classes, and 10 minutes from the center of town. I am currently enrolled in Literature, History, Conversation, Grammar, Seminar:Relationship between Mexcio and the US, and Salsa Dancing. The city is absolutely gorgeous, they call it a "hammock" because the city is situated in a valley and the houses are covering the valley, stretching from side to side like a hammock. From the statue of Pipila, one of the heroes of Guanajauto, the view of the city is spectacular.

So far our CLU group has been on two different weekend trips, one on the route of Independence and one to Mexico city. On the route of Independence we visited the house of Hidalgo in Dolores, the Atotonilco where we saw one of the meccas of Mexico, and San Miguel de Allende. The trip was a quick one day turn around but the history was ten fold. The second trip to Mexico was Encore tour status. We left at 1 am on Saturday morning and we arrived in the city at 6am, for a two hour nap in the hotel then off to the palace of Maximilian, and the Castillo de Chapultepec, and a million other tourist-y things. The city was insane, definitely the New York City of Mexico. The second day of our trip we went to the pyramids at Teotihuacan. They were AMAZING! I got to climb to the top of one of the worlds tallest pyramids, El templo del sol! It was a drizzly day, but the clouds sitting on the mountains in the background of all of my pictures looks postcard worthy.

Yesterday I went on my own trip back to San Miguel to spend the night and see the city a little bit better. It was yet again, another breathtaking city in Mexico. The ambiance there was incredible, seeing that it is Independence Day. The crowds were numerous, the music was loud, and the "Mexican spirit" was inevitable with fireworks cracking all day long. I honestly cannot believe that I have been here for a month and a half. Time has been flying by, and as my Mother can vouch, its easy to forget to call home because there is always so much going on here. I am alive and more than well here in GTO!