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!

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!