The first week...

We made it to Mexico City! This city is HUGE, the biggest one I've ever seen, and also the most colorful! We had to lie to the customs people in the airport... each of us had a story we had to tell. My rehearsed line was, "Puede darme ciento y viente dias porque voy a viajar con mi amiga por todo mexico." (Can you give me 120 days, because i'm going to travel with my friend through mexico." we could NOT say that we were students, as they would only give us 90 days! It was VERY nerve-wracking to us, as the first spanish we had to speak in Mexico was a lie! As each of us made it through, there were rounds of high-fives and pats on the back. We took a couple taxis from the hotel... people here drive like CRAZY! There is room on every street for 2 lanes, but there aren't any lines on the road, so people drive wherever they want, and they have GREAT reflexes... and they use their horns MUCH MORE than we do in the United States. We stayed in the Hotel Canada (haha) right near the Zocalo (the center of the city).

We visited many tourist destinations, the first of which was el museo de antropologia (the museum of anthropology). It had tons of amazing stuff in it from the Aztecs and Mayans and other Mexican civlizations. We also went to El templo mayor, which was the biggest temple of Tenochitlan, the capitol of the Aztec world. It's located right near the center of Mexico City, because when the Spaniards overtook Tenochitlan, they built their city right on top of it.
Our next destination was Teotuihacan, which is the remains of a huge city built in the times of the Mayans. There are two pyramids there, as well as the ruins of palaces and places where the nobles lived. WE WALKED SOOOO MUCH, one of the guys in our group counted 227 stairs on the pyramid of the sun... HOLY CRAP.

Several of us bought tickets to see a ballet foklorico that was being performed at the museum for 400 pesos (about 32 dollars). It was totally worth it!! The dancing was AMAZING and I took a some really great videos of it. The did dances from around Mexico and from different time periods, they were great!!

We walked around Mexico City a ton... people there love to STARE. We were standing in the metro station at one point and the entire station had turned to stare at us... it's really unsettling, and I still can't seem to get used to it. We get at least 5 cat calls a day, and also several "que hermosas" (how beautiful), etc. ALSO another very interesting cultural difference is that every available place to sit is usually taken by a couple, and half the time that couple is making out. ALL OVER THE PLACE here, people are kissing like they'll never see each other again, and then just continue walking down the street! I even saw an older couple making out, it's just so different than in the United States, where PDA is not appropriate, except in little things like holding hands. Mexico City is super overwhelming, and the pollution was really starting to get to my lungs. I really liked learning all this really interesting stuff and seeing everything, but I was so ready to leave. I really hate being a tourist.

We arrived in Puebla today, which is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! At least around the Zocalo it is. The buildings are all brightly colored and colonial... our hotel is amazing. We have a small balcony that looks out onto a street, where we can hear people playing music... I feel like we're in Europe somewhere rather than Mexico.

On the bus rides we've taken, I've seen la pobreza (the poverty) of mexico. Its crazy. So many of the people here live in shack villages surrounding the city... I've heard about poverty before but I've never ever seen it like this. It makes me so thankful that I live in the United States and am able to go back to my home.

As for the language part of the trip, I've been trying it out with people here, but usually in our group we speak english, as our professor isn't really enforcing it yet. I have made more than several mistakes talking with people, and when I don't understand what they're saying, I prefer to nod my head and smile and make what is hopefully a neutral sound so that they don't think I'm stupid. I did have a rather long conversation with one guy the other day, in which I was going to buy a necklace... the longer I talked with him, the lower the price went! ;)

I'm so excited to be out of Mexico City and on to something new, and closer to having a routine and home to go back to. I think we're all tired of living out of our suitcases, though this hotel is much much nicer than the one we stayed in in Mexico City. I really want to get to LIVING in the culture, rather than walking around in a group of white people looking like complete tourists. I think that the things that we're seeing are really interesting, and necessary for the historical value they have, but having a host mom and dad and living in a home is really going to be a wonderful experience.