Veracruz
This weekend was fantastic. Late Thursday night, a friend offered to take a group of us to Veracruz for the weekend. We had been planning to go in the next few weeks anyway, so we decided to be spontaneous and go. Three people rode in our friend, Lut's, pickup trick, and four of us took the four-hour bus ride to Veracruz on Friday evening. We arrived late Friday night, and we were immediately stunned by the humidity. I haven't mentioned this before, but Cholula has BEAUTIFUL weather - relatively low humidity, and highs in the mid-70s. Vera Cruz is much hotter and the humidity is constantly between 90 and 100%. Lut took us to a restaurant called Dawson's Bar and Rock House. The food was okay, and there were a couple of mediocre Mexican cover bands playing, but we were mostly just miserable with the heat and humidity. We ate and got out as soon as possible, and then we headed down to the beach. We all walked for a while and just hung out.
We stayed in a BEAUTIFUL hotel, right on the city square (the zocalo) of Veracruz. It was very old - built in the early 1800s, I think - but nice. Three people slept in beds, and the other four of us crashed on sleeping bags throughout the suite. We were all tired, but we ended up staying up, laughing, and talking for another 45 minutes or an hour, even after the lights were off.
Saturday was AMAZING. We woke up around 10, ate at a traditional restaurant in front of the hotel, and piled in Lut's pickup to go to the beach. The heat was horrible again, but we eventually made it to the beach. Lut is a fantastic kitesurfer, so he knows the beaches in Veracruz really well - we didn't go to a typical tourist beach, we ended up on a much quieter local beach. Lut found a fisherman to take us out to an island about 15 minutes (by boat) offshore. Four men took us out to the small island, and we swam, explored, and relaxed. While we swam, the fishermen went out in their boat, caught several fish, and prepared fresh fish tacos for us. They were VERY spicy, but fantastic. We had hired the fisherman for three hours; four hours had passed before we knew it. We eventually went back to the mainland, paid him for his time, and thanked him again. We paid him for the extra time, and he argued that it wasn't fair - we were giving him more than the agreed upon amount. What an example of Mexican hospitality!
We went back to the hotel and showered. A few of us explored an open-air market set up in the zocalo, and then we all went out for a late dinner. After that, we were all exhausted. We hung out in the hotel for a while, and then we all slept (VERY soundly). Today, some people went back to the beach, while three of us stayed and explored Veracruz. The same three of us then caught a mid-afternoon bus back to Puebla, and we were back to campus before dark.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend:
This is (most of) the group on the beach of "our" island.
This is the view from the island, looking back towards Vera Cruz. The man in the picture is the fisherman we hired to take us out to the island.
Our hotel looked out directly on the zocalo; this church was directly across the square from us.
pinkeye and pyramids
It seems impossible that I have been here for more than two weeks. In some ways, I feel like I’m just starting to adapt to life in another country. At the same time, though, I feel like I can hardly remember NOT being here. So much has happened in two weeks, and there is still so much ahead of us.
We have had three activities at El Pozo so far: a “welcome back” barbeque, our first Café Ingles, and a bowling trip. All three were really fun, but we’re hoping that it’s just the beginning. A ton of people came out for the barbeque, and we ate AMAZING tacos prepared by Matt and Betty (one of the full-time staff members and our Mexican intern). It started raining and, eventually, hailing halfway through the event, but it didn’t stop the fun. We all ran to a tent behind the house and continued playing games, talking, and getting to know each other. Café Ingles is a weekly event to help the Mexican students practice their English. As is the case for all great college events, it includes free food, ping pong, and washers. We only had about 5-10 Mexican students come out for that, and we were a little disappointed. Bowling on Friday was even more gringo biased, but we had fun. We’re trying to remember that this is just the first week. Tuesday night is our first En Vivo (Bible study), and we’re hoping that will really get things going for the year.
Spanish continues to be a challenge for the team as a whole. Megan, one of the four who was added to the team late, is conversational. The rest of us… well, we have some catching up to do. Classes seem to help a lot, and I really think we’re picking it up. I can follow most conversations, and I’m starting to be able to talk back. It’s still frustrating for us, but most people are pretty patient. I can’t wait to be able to communicate better with my roommates and the students at El Pozo, and I have to remind myself that I am learning, even on the days when it feels hopeless.
Our team has taken a beating in the last couple of weeks. Between the 10 of us, we have had two sinus infections, two colds, a case of pinkeye, a rolled ankle, a death of a grandparent, and a mother who found out she has cancer. All of this within two weeks has taken a physical and emotional toll on all of us. I, unfortunately, have to own up to two of those: the pinkeye and the rolled ankle. I’m taking medicine for my eyes, and I think the sore, swollen ankle will be nothing more than a bad memory in a couple of days. It’s just frustrating for all of us, but we’re doing our best to just trust that we are here for a specific purpose and not let anything stand in the way of that purpose.
Four of us went on a trip to some pyramids yesterday. Although this was the site of the ankle injury, it was still a great experience. The pyramids were built between 300 and 600 AD, and they were pretty awesome to see. A free trip was too good to pass up, and we had a blast. I put a few of my favorite pictures below, along with explanations.
I hope everyone is doing well. I’d love to hear what you’re up to. Although I am loving my time here, I miss all of the familiar faces and voices in the States.
This is the view on top of one pyramid, looking at another, smaller pyramid. The cross, obviously, was added after the original construction.
Two of my teammates, JT and Kassie, on top of a pyramid.
This is one section of mural in the biggest pyramid, called Cacaxtla. There are still several section of mural visible throughout the pyramid, even though the structure is about 1400 years old.
I have been in Mexico for a full week now, so I figure it's time for another update. For those who have facebook, I'll eventually have all of my pictures up on there. For now, though, there are a few at the bottom of this entry.
This week has been orientation for the international students. We have paid fees, gotten paperwork for our student visas, enrolled in classes, and wandered all over Cholula. The last six of us were finally able to move into our dorms on Tuesday night, so we're all doing our best to get comfortable. Five of us have to go BACK to registration tomorrow morning, and hopefully we'll be able to get into all the classes that we need. I hope to take three Spanish classes: oral communication, writing, and grammar. The classes are "II-A," which is supposed to be intermediate. I think classes will be challenging, but I also think that's the best way for me to learn Spanish quickly and well. So...we'll see how that works out.
Things at El Pozo are going well. A group of students from Savannah, GA were in town for a few days as part of a short-term mission project, and we hung out with them last night. It was really great, just to see how a community can look inside of La Casa Verde. We ate some AMAZING tacos, talked, worshipped, and played a round of "Big Booty." (For those who don't know, it's a game involving rhythm/numbers, and it gets very loud and very funny.) I'm excited about the El Pozo open house on Tuesday, as well as the rest of the semester.
I'm still adjusting to being here, but I really like it. I think I'll feel much better once class and El Pozo activities really get going, and I can find a routine.
Here are some pictures (and explanations):
There's a family of peacocks living on UDLA's campus. Here are the mother and babies. The father was nearby - we think he was mad that we were so close to his family.
This is a view of the widest pyramid ever built, standing in the middle of Cholula. It is now overgrown, and a church was built on top of the pyramid when the area was colonized by Spaniards. The hike up isn't very long, but it's very steep. It's also hard to catch your breath because of the high elevation in Puebla.
This is the fountain in one of the "zocalos" (city squares) in Cholula. There are three; each is home to a major church in the city. This is San Pedro Cholula's zocalo. It is also home to a great playground, a shoeshiner named Alfredo, and one of many open-air markets.
welcome to mexico
I'm currently sitting in the big room of La Casa Verde in Cholula, Mexico. I left the country 36 hours ago, but it feels like it has been several days. We started for the airport at 4:15 Eastern time in the morning on Friday morning, and we didn't get to the house until 5 pm, Central time. We rode on two planes, wandered through a massive airport in Mexico City, rode a bus for two hours, and rode another for 30 minutes before finally arriving at the campus house.
We ate a fantastic Mexican dinner last night, including a drink called "Agua de Jamaica," which looked like cherry kool-aid but actually was supposed to taste like a flower (called the Jamaica in Mexico, I'm not sure what it's called in the States). For dinner, I had a "Gringa" - two flour tortillas, with this meat called pastor meat and pineapple.
Today, our whole group of 10 people did a scavenger hunt all over Cholula. We first ended up at the highest church in Cholula, which is built on top of old Aztec pyramid ruins. The pyramid was destroyed by Europeans so they could build the church and "Catholicize" the country. We wandered all over the city square and went to the mall to finish our scavenger hunt.
After the hunt, we came back to the house, talked about rules and expectations for exchange students, and hung out. The guys played "washers," a game originating in rural Georgia that has become quite popular in Cholula thanks to El Pozo. The girls rode the bus back towards the pyramid and hung out in a big open-air market area.
Hopefully, we're moving into our dorms tomorrow. I think it will be nice to get settled.
