Death by bus ride

This post has been sitting in my edit box for a week now. It's behind the times. So I sped through it. check my facebook for pictures if you want. --

I think I've re-edited this new post, like, five times now because I just haven't been able to finish it. Now, here we are back at home getting ready to take off for our next adventure tonight. I haven't blogged near as much as I wanted to. For that, I apologize. But, we had an amazing time in Mexico and hope to return some time in the future.
I've been thinking about this topic since our first day of school and simply haven't had time to write get it down. So here it is:

The Queretaro bus system is much different than our own back home. In Eugene the bus system is owned by the county - Lane Transit District. Buses are clean and big, accommodating all who want to ride. In Querétaro, there are four or five different bus companies who are all competing for business.
I'll start by saying, the roads there are already terrifying. Our first experience was in a taxi, swerving in and out of traffic, honking to let other drivers know we were there. I figured that that was just how taxi drivers drive. We've all seen the tv shows portraying the madness of of the taxi business. Then we rode with our host mom. Lanes and stop signs are more for the sake of image there. Drivers simply slow down at stop signs to make sure no one else is coming. We'll often see cars straddling the lanes while driving. Many will just stop in the road and hang out for a while or make a right turn from three lanes over.
Imagine this kind of traffic in a bus. They aren't all that careful, either. Since they've got competition, they need to make sure they get to the bus stop first. So the buses are all passing each other in whatever opening they can find in traffic. If there isn't an opening, they will make one. They cut pretty close to each other, too. At one point our mirror slid along the side of another bus as we were trying to squeeze by. Sometimes riding the bus feels as though we're in a racing game. The purpose is to go as fast as possible to be in first place, but then at the same time we have to stop where people are waving us down. So we're slowing down, speeding up, swerving to the left, swerving to the right, slamming on the breaks, and so on. At one point we went to pass another bus and our driver just slammed the gas. As we passed the first bus at full speed I noted the drivers making some sort of signal at each other. Our driver smiled because we won the race.
Grabbing a bus is interesting. I'm pretty sure the buses don't have any sort of time schedule. They simply have their route that they're supposed to follow. So we just knew that one would come eventually, if we stood in a certain area. There weren't real bus stops, except for little stations here and there, so we would just stand on a corner where other people stood, watch for our number, and wave it down. Sometimes it will stop, sometimes it won't.
Since they are different companies, the pricing is sometimes iffy as well. Since we were students, we should recieve a student discount with our ID cards. A half price discount. There were many bus drivers who simply wouldn't have it. We never took the S bus because the driver actually accused us of having fake cards. Normally, though, as long as we took the bus to and from school, we would get the discount.
end.

A list of shorts

So I am over my illness and have a few minutes to post something new! Here's my list of shorts. These are all short statements that don't really need a full blog or anything.

This is one of the many plazas here. The shoeshine stands are
all lined up and usually seem pretty active. Also, the cleaning
ladies all have what look like handmade brooms with sticks
tied to the bottom of a pole.

>There are people dressed in orange pushing carts around town cleaning up the ground. They seem to be primarily older ladies.

>There are a ton of shoeshine stands. All lined up.

>Comida (lunch) is the biggest meal of the day. It's a lot of food. We always eat with our señora at three. We normally aren't given any food between breakfast and comida. In fact, Paty got mad at me one day because I ate too close to comida time and so I wasn't hungry.

>We've learned that we must always request our check from our server. They won't bring it unless we do. We did a lot of waiting around before we realized this custom.

This was in Mexico City but
we see the same thing here
in Querétaro.

>There are cops everywhere and they always seem ready for a riot. Also, they've always got the light on. I wonder how people know when they're being pulled over.

>There are clowns in the plazas! I guess that's probably a big city thing. I mean, we wouldn't see that in Eugene.

>Our family members have never heard of A Christmas Carol. I don't know if that's a Mexico thing or just our family. But it was surprising.

>There are more fans of fútbol americano than previously expected. Even our señora likes it more than soccer. But most people are fans of southern teams like Dallas, San Francisco, and Oakland, which makes sense.

>Most bathrooms cost money to get in (like 4 pesos) and they hand out toilet paper at the door. Also, we don't flush our tp here. There's always a little trash bin next to the toilet. This can often lead to bathrooms smelling less than pleasant.

This couple was actually taking a picture of themselves
making out. Ahhh youth.

>Young couples make out everywhere. Mostly they park themselves in the plazas where there are benches and pretty fountains. But really... they don't care who's around.

>When it rains here it freakin' pours. Like, for serious.

>Our señora says not to give money to beggars because they are immigrants from South America going through Mexico to the States. She says that they aren't wanted here and if they don't get any money then they would be forced to go to the church for help. The church will feed them and clothe them but also will send them back home. I suppose we all have our own immigration issues.

>Speaking of which, I talked to my new Mexican friend about how we have a lot of immigrants back home who refuse to learn or speak English. She was flabbergasted and talked about how incredibly important it is to learn the language of the place you're living. That made me feel good.

>There's a really weird Nazi presence here. I don't quite understand it yet, but I see paraphernalia everywhere.

>Busses are terrifying. I'm going to write a separate blog on that.

Side note - I had some sort of infection. The doctor wasn't specific about it. It could have been a sinus infection. Anyway, I was pretty darned sick. Had a high fever, sore throat, and just felt all around gross. I had to take an exam at the hight of my illness. Surprisingly, I got a B on it! So anyway, I went to the médico. Most of the pharmacies here have a little doctor's office on the side or in the back. The one I went to was just a little room on the side of the building. It's pretty weird, but it got the job done. The doc simply took my name, age, temp, asked if I had any allergies or chronic diseases, and then prescribed me 4 different medications, one of them being a shot that I had to have in mis pompis two days in a row. I'm over it. I just have some congestion and an ugly cough left over (very common for me considering my asthma). The worst part, I think, was being so sick during our trip to Mexico City. Hopefully I'm done for the rest of the summer!

So there's all that. Keep track of our Twitter accounts for periodic updates or pictures. Brandon's is @the_ferg_says and mine is @JessicaPestika. A new update will be coming as soon as we have time. So until then, my friends!

De Efe

Hey! It's a special guest episode of the Ferguson blog, written by that other guy! Jessica has a ton of homework and I have been blessed with a slightly lighter workload. I always give Jess a hard time for writing such long blogs, but I am finding out first hand how difficult it is to summarize these kinds of experiences.

This was our view of
Mexico City from the plane 

Bueno, this weekend we went to Mexico DF, which is around a 3 hour drive to the city, then another 3 hours to the other side. It's the world's second most populated city next to Tokyo, but the world's most dense city. Jess and I got a pretty good glimpse of the immensity of the city when we flew in a few weeks ago; buildings as far as the eye could see, including two separate strips of skyscrapers.

There's a lot to see and do in DF, as it's basically Mexico's Washington DC and New York all in one, only with more history and people. The city was built over the top of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecan capital from the 14th century until the Spanish conquered it in the 16th century. Tenochtitlan was built on an island in a lake. As it's population increased the Aztecs built little floating islands, primarily intended for gardens and small houses. The Spanish went ahead and built the whole city (skyscrapers, castles, and all) over the entire lake, and it sinks about three inches every year.

Atop the Pirámide del Sol
looking towards the Pirámide 

de la Luna 

View of the Pirámide del Sol and
the center of the city

First, we went just north of the city to Teotihuacan, the religious and cultural capital of the parent culture of the Aztecs and Mayans. The city's peak era corresponds with that of Rome's, and it was one of the biggest cities on Earth at the time. It was one of the only major sites of antiquity not destroyed by the Spanish when they arrived because it had already been deserted and was covered by dirt, so much that until 100 years ago people thought the massive pyramids there were just hills. There are several different kinds of temples and buildings: one temple to Quetzalcoatl adorned with amazing sculptures, and two pyramids that are much older; el Pirámide de la Luna (moon) y el Pirámide del Sol (sun). I climbed them both, but Jess was dealing with a sickness that messed up her ability to breathe (Mexico city is much higher in altitude than Querétaro, which in turn is much higher than Eugene). It was a neat experience that I'm glad I took part in, but the multitudes of tourists and people trying to (successfully) sell me trinkets stole a little of the ambiance. The vendors had some pretty humorous tricks to catch the gringo's attention. They would shout “One dollar!” or “Great prices! Almost free!” switching between English and Spanish as they liked.


There were multiple museums throughout the trip, and I don't think I could successfully differentiate between them well enough to be worth the effort. There is one at Teotihuacan that is stuffed full of artifacts found there on site (check out our pictures for more details). The next spot is out of chronological order, but it fits well here. Just about 3-4 blocks away from where we were staying, around the corner from the city's main square and gigantic church, is el Templo Mayor. In fact, the church was partially built using stones from the temple. This was the most holy site in all of Tenochtitlan before the Spanish arrived. There was an enormous two-pronged temple there in honor of two different gods. Here, we saw many of the same things we saw at Teotihuacan, but because this site was still in use when the Spanish arrived and was purposefully covered up, there are parts that were more preserved than the dust-covered Teotihuacan. There is a pretty great museum there as well.

We also went to the Castillo which sits on a hill overlooking a beautiful park that leads the eyes further to the city's skyline. When the French emperor Maximiliano was living there in the 1860s the skyline would have been dominated by towering churches. Today it's dominated by skyscrapers, but I suspect it's equally as beautiful. The Castillo is surrounded by castle walls that were built into the hill and covered by trees. Other than those walls it is far more like a mansion than a castle. Most of the main halls and staircases are covered but also open to the outside, it was hard to differentiate when we were inside or out. There are ridiculously magnificent gardens out front and one on the roof near the emperor's habitación. The halls and great rooms have been converted into museums dedicated to Mexico's immense and complex history of colonization, independence, and revolution.

One of Diego Rivera's Murals in the Palacio. They are so 
left-leaning that the conservative politicians of the current 
party have to walk by with their heads turned the other 
direction.

One of the most famous muralists of all time, Diego Rivera, lived and painted in Mexico DF. He was married to the artist Frida Kahlo, whose famous blue house we were able to tour as well. Rivera's murals are in some of the most important places in the whole city, including the Presidential Palace where he painted murals depicting the history of Mexico and the direction he wanted it to take in the future. Frida and Diego founded the Mexican Socialist Party so there are a lot of anti-capitalist, pro-proletariate themes with appearances by Lenin and Marx throughout. His murals are also a permanent fixture in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, an amazing building built in the 20s that screams of the prosperity the nation saw at the time.

The trip overall was great, but there were times we were on the bus for hours just driving through the city. It's huge and apparently doesn't have sufficient freeways. At one point the bus got stuck taking a corner too tight and we had to ask someone to move his parked truck. We blocked traffic at that intersection for a solid 5 minutes at least. On the way home we hit a big traffic cone and had to pull over to get it out from under the bus. I could go on and on about the frustrating parts of the trip, but I'd rather not because overall it was amazing.

One of the infinite moments
we spent on the bus

Catedral de México DF

Part of the ruins of the Templo Mayor

PS: We're halfway done. 3 weeks until we come back then another day until we leave for Europe.

Oh also, there was an indigenous lady selling guajalotes in the major plaza of the city. We wanted to take her picture but she wouldn't let us.

Keep track of our Twitter accounts for periodic updates or pictures. Mine is @the_ferg_says and Jessica's is @JessicaPestika. A new update will be coming as soon as we have time. So until then, my friends!

On a party boat in the river with beer and mariachis

Ciudad de Comida

We were so inconspicuous with our bags and intese whiteness...
Also, I got eaten by fire ants after taking this picture.

Last Sunday afternoon Brandon and I, along with several other group members who we were just getting to know, made the short trek to one of the many plazas downtown to meet up with everyone else. It was a day of great excitement. We were finally going to meet our Mexico families and find out where we were going to be living for the next six to twelve weeks (six for Brandon and me).

After gathering ourselves and figuring out where we were supposed to be going, Brandon and I split off from the group, grabbed a taxi, and head for our casa en México. The cab driver was so much nicer than the last one we had. Except.... When we got here, our host mom wasn't home and we were given the wrong house number. Luckily, it is in a gated community and the guards knew who we were looking for and allowed us to wait in the clubhouse.

This is our awesomely amazing home

When Paty, our mamá de México, got home, we went in, put away all of our stuff, and had a big lunch (which is what she was out getting). Everyone in our group seemed to have something different for lunch (comida). Some had a whole spread of truly Mexican cuisine while one of our group members reported having Chinese food. I heard from someone else that the señoras were told to feed us bland food at first to help ease our stomachs in to the Mexican flavors. We had baked chicken, soup, salad, and delicious guacamole.

Paty is super cool. She cracks jokes all the time. I don't get them, mostly. She and Brandon will often start laughing at something and I will sit there wondering if it is at my expense. I'm learning more and more, but I'm still in the dark on a lot of things.

Paty lives on her own. She has a couple of kids, but they're both grown up and moved out. Her niece, Erica, moved in shortly after we did. She's our age and is in town for her work in civil engineering.

Our daily routine is pretty much as follows:
6:15 - Get up. My alarm says, "¡¡LEVANTATE!!"

This is our homework room.

7:15 - Breakfast. Paty always has it set out for us when we get downstairs. Eggs, toast, fruit, cereal, ham and cheese sandwich, you know.. the norm.
7:55 - Leave for the bus. (more to come on that adventure)
8:30-12:30 - classes.
Go home and get in as much homework as possible before...
3:00 - Comida. Patty served me two hamburgers today. Along with soup and dessert. Just an example of how much food we have for comida. I didn't finish the second one. Brandon did. Thank you, darling!
4:00-the rest of the day - Homework and then anything extra if we have time.

Note the lack of time for dinner. That's right. Dinner is more of a snack sort of thing. Our first "dinner" with Paty was cookies, peanut butter, pear, and milk. It was pretty cool. Twice now, though, we've gone out for dinner at around 9:30 to a place down the street. They have really really good food. You order on sheets of paper like at a sushi bar. Except it's tacos, tostadas, flautas, and so on and they line up five or six different salsas on the table every time you go in.

We - or I - have been very careful about food. I've spent most of my first week here sick. Revenge hurts, my friends. Try to avoid it at all costs. I've been taking my antibiotics that I got before we left and since I've started all has been better. Brandon will eat whatever looks tasty. Or smells tasty. Or says "al pastor" on it. We have to be very careful about food on the streets and where water is coming from so as to avoid bacteria as much as possible. I am no longer going to touch street food unless it looks super legit. I'm done with sickness. It's hard because there is someone selling food literally (and I mean "literally" in the correct form. Not the exaggerated form kids use today) every block. To be more exact, there is someone selling food every few feet. Honestly. If there isn't someone making tacos, there's someone sitting at a tiny table with candy, cigarettes, gum, whatever.

Interesting happening: The other night I was asking if I could just have tortilla chips to dip in the salsa at a restaurant. Paty and Erica had no idea what I was talking about. I ended up getting tostadas and breaking them up, which worked perfectly, actually. But still, are nachos only an American thing?

Un Churro stuffed with Nutella. Best
idea ever.

My favorite meal so far has been tostadas with beans, some awesome ground beef mixture that seemed almost like shepherds pie sans bread that Paty made, avocado, and rice. Brandon loves street tacos and anything al pastor, as noted above. We're still experiencing new foods as time goes on. The other night we had churros stuffed with Nutella, which were absolutely wonderful.

When I started my antibiotics, at the height of my sickness, Paty gave me a big glass of Coke with lime sorbet in it and told me to chug it; that it would help my tummy. That was an interesting idea that I've never thought of before. It tasted nummy, so whatever works! Paty attributes my health to the Coke float and possibly a little to the medicine.

On Saturday we went to Bernal, the third biggest rock in the world. We hiked all the way up. That place is pretty awesome. I was told that the hike is similar to the hike up Spencer's Butte. I can take that. Except that it's like that last part of Spencer's Butte when it's only rocks - the whole way up. And I did it while sick. I think my body may have set aside my illness so it could focus on breathing during the hike because once we got back down I was pretty much out.

 

There were a couple of shrines up top.

Bernal - The giant rock!

This dude followed us all the way up!

The whole town is a tourist town, of course. There are stores all up and down the streets selling a whole bunch of everything. I noticed a lot of lacework as well as small rocks and rock art taken from the giant rock. I wanted to look around and pick something out, but I was just too out of it for any such activities. Interestingly, though, there are also little stands with people selling things as you go up the road to the trailhead. It's a pretty steep road. All of the tables have quite the slant. And then up the trail there are two stops where you can buy drinks, including beer. I wonder how hard it is to carry all those drinks up there and if it's really worth it. There were a lot of people climbing, so I guess so.


This weekend we are going to go see a Lucha Libre show! I'll be sure to take pictures and share them as soon as possible, so keep an eye out.

Keep track of our Twitter accounts for periodic updates or pictures. Brandon's is @the_ferg_says and mine is @JessicaPestika. I've also posted a full week's public album on Facebook. Click here to see it. A new update will be coming in just a couple days. Maybe even tomorrow. There's just so much stuff happening! So until then, my friends!

¿Estámos en Querétaro, si?

The view of Mexico City from our plane. It was immense. One of the
biggest cities in the world.

We made it! Today is our last day at the amazingly awesome Casa San Gallito in Querétaro, México. I sit here at the dining room table listening to the sounds of church bells and music, birds, and the surprisingly loud ticking of the clock and enjoying the lovely morning breeze. Brandon is still sleeping. I wanted to get up early and get this done before we go meet our señora.

Getting here was most certainly worthy of a story. None of our other group members seem to have had the trouble that we did, but I suppose we should appreciate the adventure to tell!

Randy and Cindy were so excited
to be dropping us off at the hotel.
Thanks guys!!

Our trip started with Brandon's dad, Randy, and step-mom, Cindy, picking us up around six. When we put our stuff in the trunk, I neglected to remove my water bottle from the side pocket of my backpack. Upon arrival at the hotel we discovered my mistake, the evidence being that Brandon's entire bag was wet. He was a little upset about that one. It's still a little damp, but once we get to our final destination, he can pull everything out and let it air.

Waiting for security to open in PDX

We spent a very short night at a Shilo Inn hotel (five hours, in fact) and got up at two in the morning to get to the airport at three. Our flight was at six, but the ticket told us to get there three hours early. When we went to check out, the front desk lady nicely informed us that the airport doesn't actually open until four. Cool. We were already up, so we took off anyway. Since the airport wasn't open yet we had to hang around for a while until we could finally get through security, get some breakfast, and then board our flight.

Our lovely seating
arrangement on the way
to Mexico City

We flew from Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco, California, to Mexico City, Mexico. The flight to San Francisco wasn't anything interesting. But on our flight to Mexico City, Brandon and I didn't get seats together. We were on either end of the rows with me one row ahead of him. As the plane boarded we waited for our neighbors to see if we could trade. It turned out a couple of ladies with three small children were taking up the whole row next to Brandon. They didn't want to do any trading because they needed to stay within sight of the kids. And the people next to me were together as well. It took a little bit of discussion, but, in the end, it was agreed that Brandon could switch places with the kid sitting behind me, so we were at least within talking and snack sharing range. This actually turned out for the better because we both had a kid sitting behind us kicking our seats.

There is so much desert between
the USA and Mexico. Amazing.

When we landed in Mexico City we had several steps to follow before arrival at our hostel here in Querétaro. First, we had to make it through immigration. After carefully filling out our forms, hoping we didn't make any mistakes, we stood in line. For an hour and a half. It was warm, humid, and crowded. There were two line sections; one for Mexicans, one for non-Mexicans. While we stood in line an immigration officer came through and collected people with small children so they could go through faster. I thought that was awesome. When we got close to the front, the same guy came and opened up the line behind us to go on the other side because it was empty. We didn't realize what was happening until we noticed a flood of people rushing in the opposite direction. By that time it was too late. Then a group of Arabs tried cutting in front of us. Brandon said, "Hey, uh... Is there a reason you're moving ahead of everyone?" "I don't understand," said one of the dudes. "Well," said Brandon, "this is a line.... and we're supposed to be going..in line." The guys all sort of mumbled at each other and backed off. Nice try, my friends.

Sopa Azteca at the airport. I ate the
avocados off the top already.  

Immigration and customs worked out just fine. All of my fears of being imprisoned in a foreign country for some unknown reason were vanquished. We traversed the airport via signs and asking directions and found an ATM for some money, a place to buy our bus tickets to Querétaro, and some delicious tortilla soup. The bus was "super posh," using Brandon's words. We got free snacks to take with us, watched Across the Universe, and the seats were muy comfortable. The security to get on the bus was incredible. Almost as much as, if not more than, getting on the plane. The ride itself was 3 hours. Then came the time to grab a taxi and get to the hostel. By this point it was around one or two in the morning and we were so so so tired.

Then we have our taxi driver. Again, none of the other group members had these issues. They all describe their trips as uneventful or easy. We were told that when we got to our taxi, all we had to do was tell him the address and the name of the hostel and he would know where to go. So that's what we did. However, the guy kept on asking us questions like he didn't know where to go. He already started driving and was heading in some sort of direction. He kept on asking us something but we couldn't recognize what he was saying. At one point Brandon asked, "¿Estámos en Querétaro, si?" ("We are in Querétaro, yes?") Because the driver's behavior indicated the possibility of not even being in the right place. Eventually, Brandon sacrificed airplane mode on his phone to call the hostel to ask for directions. Once he started asking, the driver told us we were already on the street and we pulled up right next to the hostel. We think that maybe he was asking us for a cross street. However, I'm pretty sure it was obvious that we're not from around here, so I don't know why the heck we would know any cross streets. The whole thing was illogical.

BUT, we finally got our room, which is so cute in a Mamma Mia! sort of style, found our bed and were able to go to sleep.

Our lovely room at Casa San Gallito

The entrance to our room.

A band playing in the common area

Tortilla with beans, chili
 sauce, and cheese

Here we are! We spent all yesterday exploring the area and waiting for more of our group to arrive. We've eaten so much delicious food and have yet to become ill. We're making sure to keep our water bottles full of good, clean water, and we're using that water for brushing our teeth. There seems to be an amazingly beautiful church on every corner here. Yesterday was confirmation day at one of them. We walked by and saw little girls in bridal-like gowns all over the place, having their pictures taken with family or on the fountains. We saw a monk. He was all dressed in the brown robes and everything.

There is a fountain series of geocaches
that we have been finding. It's great to be
able to log our visit in such a way.
We've already found two. Here is our first

We made a short visit to a pharmacy to track down some cough medicine for Brandon and a razor for me (I forgot mine). That was certainly interesting. There was an old man pharmacist standing on our side of the counter and then a couple ladies on the inside. We tried telling them that all Brandon has is a cough. He's not actually sick, he just needs something the calm his cough. After a bit of back and forth, they finally gave him some sort of syrup. The old man kept joking around about it, saying it wasn't going to kill him or anything and actually opened up the bottle and gave him some right then and there. That was a little scary since we didn't know exactly what it was. When we got back to our hostel we looked up the name of the medication and shot an email to Amber (my little sister's mom who is a pharmacist) asking what it was. It's all good, though. It just cuts through mucus. Brandon seems to be doing well, but it hasn't helped his cough.

A lovely church. One of many

So today our group is mostly here and we're going to head out to find our señoras (the ladies who will be our mothers for the duration of our stay) around noon or one. We start school tomorrow. I have to say, I'm a bit nervous. But our Spanish seems to be picking up and the people we've met so far have been really nice.

Keep track of our Twitter accounts for periodic updates or pictures. Brandon's is @the_ferg_says and mine is @JessicaPestika. A new update will be coming next week. So until then, my friends!

ThirteenDaysHolyCrap!!!!

My super stud-ular sunglasses. Oh Yeah!

13 days 'till what, you ask? Well, haven't you even been paying attention? We're leaving! Mexico awaits! Our flight takes off at 6 a.m. on the 15th of this month and the summer of all summers will have begun. I've got my passport, all of my shots (ouch. Still feels like I got punched in the arm), medications, good walking shoes, and a rockin' backpack. I just got my sunglasses yesterday and they are super stud-ular (yes, I made that word up). I got myself some fancy prescription ones so I can actually see things. The cats and the fish are all set for the entire summer (thank you, Ashlei and Cori), and we have a ride to Portland to catch our flight (thank you, Ferguson in-laws)!

I have to say, I'm getting a little nervous, but so excited at the same time. My acceptance letter for the Mexico program says that I'm accepted, **contingent on my grade point average in my Spanish courses. I have to have a B average or higher. I don't know if I'm going to be able to manage it. I'm working my tail off, but I still seem to be sitting at a C. I even got myself a tutor. How is it working out that way? I don't get it. However, I'm going to Mexico whether they kick me out of the program or not. The tickets are bought. There's no going back.

We found out about living arrangements last Wednesday. That was exciting. Our señora is Paty and she's an older woman who lives by herself. She has a daughter who is our age, but she's living in France right now. Don't know why. We'll ask. She also has a son who is, like, in his 40s I think. I don't know anything about him. I think she said something about having grandchildren. Paty is a beautician. She says she works a lot but she'll have time to spend with us when we get there and that it's going to be fun! I have to say, I was kind of looking forward to the big family experience. But that's ok. I think it'll be more relaxing with just the mom.

Most of our class will be heading down on Saturday or Sunday. Brandon and I decided to go on Friday so that we can catch our bearings, learn the city, and have some time to relax. The school term starts that Monday. Not much of a rest time, right?

A couple weeks ago we had an orientation and some students who just completed the program came and talked to us about what to expect. It's made me a little bit more nervous but then at the same time made me feel a little better. It's a strange mix of emotions. A couple of new concerns this meeting has brought up for me:

• I guess there are random downpours. It's made me rethink what shoes to bring. But then, how will any of my shoes act in downpours? What do they do to protect their shoes? We were told that none of them wore rain boots. And why would they if there are only short downpours and then it goes back to being a nice day? And I still need to go out and find a nice rain coat.

• They talked a lot about getting sick. One of the girls is a foodie like me. She said, you're going to get sick anyway, so just enjoy your experience and eat whatever you want. Another girl stressed to be really careful, though. We have to always ask about the water we're given. And the ice. Don't forget the ice. We were given medications by the health center at school for when we do get sick. I don't like getting sick, my friends. I think I'm more scared of that than anything. I want to try all of the food! But I don't want to be sick. Ahhh the dilemas of travel.

Luckily those are the only things I'm really worried about. I feel like I can handle anything else that comes my way. So that's where things stand, my friends! Couple weeks to go and we'll have 6 weeks in Mexico! Make sure to tune in because this is going to be the most rockin' travel blog ever.

Until next time!
¡Hasta la próxima!

The Summer of All Summers - The Process

This summer will be the most epic, most amazing, most exciting summer ever to be had.  Brandon and I have been married for almost seven years now and ever since the beginning he's been saying he wanted to travel Europe.  We've been saying over and over again, "Next year will be the year.  We'll have enough money by then."  (Ever seen Up?) Well, honestly, we're never going to have enough money.  That's how it is for big life decisions.  Unless you somehow run into a million dollars, or you live in a box for fifteen years while saving whatever you make, you're just not going to have enough.  You're never stable enough for children.  You're never wealthy enough for a new house.  And you won't have enough for a European tour.  I know, I'm speaking in absolutes right now.  It's not always that way.  But it's often enough.  This year we've decided (or, he decided and I agreed) that we're going where we want to go - no matter what.

For the last few years we've been building up a vacation fund and we've finally both committed to contributing to it.  We're now adding in leftover student loans, tax refunds, and gifts.  I think we're at a few thousand dollars now.  Pretty good, right?  Well, the plan we have right now is going to cost quite a bit more.  Now, I know the immediate reaction to this: "Holy frick; what are you doing?!" That quote is not only for the travel, but any extra expenses.  We'll have bills here at home while we're gone, along with the supplies we need to get, flights, travel between countries, food, housing, phones, etc.  So all that to say this: We're going into debt for this trip.  It's been decided.  So there.


The original plan was just to go to Europe and to see as many sights as possible in the span of one month.  We figure we would use this time we have when we're young, have jobs we can leave behind, and have no kids, to see the big stuff.  Then, when our kids are grown and moved out we can go back and see the smaller things we missed.  While we were moving forward with that plan, a woman came into my Spanish class to tell us about a study abroad program in Mexico.  This is a six week program and it would cover my entire second year of Spanish.  Again - I would not have to take Spanish at all next year or ever again!  We'll take it!  The program supports families, so Brandon can come along and it would be part vacation part accomplishing things!  So now our Europe trip has turned into a Mexico and Europe summer vacation.


Brandon has been able to do a lot of research in regards to where to go, how to get there, and how much everything will cost.  I think we've got a pretty legit plan going on.  It isn't set in stone or anything.  Right now we're discussing switching Mexico and Europe.  If we do the last session of Mexico, then we could have an extra week in Europe.  The only downside with that plan is that I would be spending ten days there by myself and would have to fly home alone.  Brandon's master's program starts at the end of August and he needs to be back home in time.  I think this is the direction we're going to end up taking anyway.


So, this is going to be part travel blog.  As we make progress in planning our trip of a lifetime I will make updates on what is going on.  Just yesterday I ordered my passport.  When that arrives I have an update in mind, so keep an eye out for it.  I should be getting it in four to six weeks.  Tomorrow, I should be getting my backpack and walking shoes so I can break them in in time.
So there it is, my friends. Until next week!


Europe
Amsterdam (1 night)

The map my amazing husband created

• Tour with Marc and Rimalda

Prague (2 nights)

• Traditional pub?
• Bunkr Parukarka (night club)

Munich (2 nights)

• Memmingen (1.5 hour bus ride away)

Venice (2 nights)

• Gondolae

Rome (4 nights)

• Colosseum
• Vatican
• St. Peter’s

Barcelona (2 nights)

Paris (4 nights)

• Lourve
• Eiffel tower,
• Arc de triomphe
• Beaches of Normandy?

London (3 nights)

• Palace
• Bath, stonehenge day trip

Dublin (2 nights)

• Ancient tombs and junk
• Pubs

Fly back to Amsterdam and then to home!