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!