weekend fun

So the disco on the boat was a LOT of fun, mostly because i love being on the water and more than that, i love storms and there was one off in the distance but we could watch the lightening and so i got two great things and some fun music all in one night, what a deal! =) we didn't get home til really late but i didn't have anything to do the next day so it was good. i went over to some friends' house with one of the girls from the states. we got there and the guys (there were 3 of them) of course said they were starving...so i offered to fix dinner. i know, it was a bit scary cause everything was different but...i was successful! i fixed the simplest thing i could think of...poppyseed chicken, be proud mom! everyone said it was good. then we played Rockband all night which was hilarious and dominos for a bit.
Sunday I went to church and it was great to see everyone again. There are a lot of outgoing people there and it is fun. Sunday afternoon I just lazed around mostly and talked with my host family a lot which was fun. natalia, the 3 year old, is really hilarious. she likes princesses and dresses up like them a lot. every time i see here she asks me ¿eres Megan? (are you Megan?)and i mean EVERY time which is cute.
Today we of course went to school and have homework =( boo. but only 2 weeks left so i guess i can take it.

just another day

Well, so I haven't posted this week because nothing all that exciting or newsworthy has happened. I had class, had 2 tests yesterday that I think went pretty well. Monday night I went to eat sushi with the AIMers and Alinne, and that was, of course, very yummy! Wednesday night I went and watched a movie with them, and I went early to get Ben and Jerry's ice cream which is like manna from heaven, if you've ever had it you know what i mean =) and i saw some people from school there bowling and so i sat and chatted with them for a while, but then i was late for the movie so i had to go see a different one but that was ok, cause i didn't really want to go see hulk, but i watched M. Night Shymalan's The Happening and i enjoyed it a lot! I like all of his movies really. Last night was a lot of fun cause I went to small group at ben's and then we went to a house where a lot of people from the church were celebrating a little girl's birthday but also just getting together to talk and there were some people from tennessee there who were really nice and so we had a great time. my shoe broke but a very nice man managed to fix it for me enough so that i could get home. Today we didn't have school cause everyone else went to Puebla early this morning. i didn't feel like being part of a massive tour group anymore so i didn't go and neither did another 2 girls, Katey and Amber and we decided to go to the water park that is pretty close to here. it said it was open from 9am to 6pm so we thought we'd just go in and spend a few hours.. well...like everything here, its not exactly like that. the complex was open for that long but the slides and wave pool and the real attractions were only open for like an hour at a time! i know...but we enjoyed what we could and had a few turns down the slides which was a lot of fun. sometimes you just need to be a kid again, you know?! Actually, there are a few people who have birthdays on or right around mine on the 5th and i think we are going to go to a better water park that day to celebrate.
tonight we are going to a disco that is on a boat...yea, be jealous =) should be fun, if we can find it, but we have some mexican friends that are taking us. And tomorrow...who knows? some other adventure no doubt =)

d.f. y teotihuacan

So the weekend was fun! We left Cuerna early and got to the Zòcalo in Mexico city at about 10 or 1030. Funny thing, everyone in Mexico just calls mexico city 'Mexico' so if you are going to Mex City, you just say you are going to mexico...or if you lived there, same thing. even the road signs just say 'mexico' kinda funny no? you'd think that they would get confused but nope. So anyway, we got to the zocalo, which is the main plaza in every town, and mexico city's is really big. It was pretty cool to see the site of so many protests and the HUGE mexican flag flying above it. We split up into 3 groups and our group had a most excellent guide, Carlos. He wore a bandana half the time and was really informative and fun. He was with us the whole weekend. We saw the Diego Rivera murals in the national palace and took a short tour of it. It was really nice to have a guide for the murals because they have a lot of meaning put into a small place. I'm really starting to appreciate his work.
Then we went to an archaological site really near the palace and its kinda weird to see these ruins right in the middle of the city. The whole city is built on top of them though, and on top of a lake so its sinking as well...BUT that helps sometimes because they also are on top of a fault but the water absorbs a lot of the small quakes that they have so...yea, who knew?
We then had time to peruse the cathedral and have lunch. Me and Tayna, Katey and Amber got away from the rest of the group a bit to minimize the confusion and just not have to deal with so many people trying to eat and found a really nice little cantina. It had the old oval booths and looked a bit like an old bar in chicago or an irish pub. The lady there made us some good rice and pork and we were satisfied.
There were some people dressed up in indigenous clothing doing a big demonstration right in one of the streets leading up to the zocalo. It was amazing but blocked traffic so our bus was late but we got on and went to our hotel in the zona rosa. At 4 we went to the anthropological museum...which is incredible! it is huge, for one thing...we only saw like 3 rooms of it and we were there for 3 hours. I would love to go back someday and really peruse the whole thing. 90% of the artifacts in there are real and ALL of them are from mexico. Truly a rich place. Saturday night we ordered pizza and that was yummy.
Sunday we went to Teotihuacan. I really can't tell you how amazing the place is. The pyramids are just rock but you can feel that they were extremely important places for the people that lived there. I can just imagine what it would have felt like to discover something like that. We climbed both of them, and took pictures which will be put on facebook, no worries. =) The craziest thing about the pyramids is how much I felt like I was back in Angor Wat, in Cambodia. The steps are just as steep and the feel of the place is the same...just the importance and heaviness and ingeniousness of the design and construction. Who says we are the culmination of civilization? not i.
We had a really funny experience when we went to eat. our guide told us there were about 20 restaurants where we were going and we could choose. what he didn't tell us was that they were numbered...and that's all there were. There were people out with signs of their number restaurant trying to get us to eat there...it was surreal, none of them had names, just numbers. us girls ate in number 3 and our food was actually very delicious.
We then got on the bus and came home, altogether a great weekend. Today we had class and i played ball with the guys...come to think of it i don't think i've written about that. Sergio, Hernando, Hymei, and Joachim are guys that play basketball every day at Tec. I started playing with them and we have had fun. Tonight i'm going to eat sushi with the AIM guys and Ailinne and her friend. Yum!

rainy season

Ok, just a quick post to tell everyone that yes, i may be in mexico and it can be hot and sunny, but this morning there were torrential rains and floods! It was crazy...some of the professors and students couldn't get to class and it rained and rained...however, kind of like in arkansas sometimes, it is now nice and sunny and beautiful...gotta love it!
I went to small group study last night at Ben and Karen's house. It is good to spend time with carefree, simple christian people. we had a good time talking about the end of 1 John and arguing about spanish words and stuff =) We made plans to go eat sushi on Monday and then watch Shrek in spanish...can't wait!
Other than that, it is friday the 13 and classes are going well on the whole...i checked out my first book from the library today...surprise surprise i know. so, yea that's about it...we are going to Mexico city tomorrow and sunday teotihuacan, the pyramids. I don't especially enjoy being herded around like cattle but i guess it will be good to see that stuff and have my scholarship pay for it.
Ok, done for now, have a great weekend!

examenes

Well, today I had both of my first exams in my classes...and I am happy to say they were easy. Our classes here transfer back as pass/fail so i don't really have to worry about my grades but as many of you know, i kind of can't help it. I truly feel bad when i don't do my best on homework and stuff...i don't know what it is, but sometimes i wish i could just not care and just not do it or do it badly...ah well, i better quit talking about it or some of you who read this are just going to stop =)
I don't really have a whole lot to post tonight because it has just been school and hanging out here at home for the most part. I like talking to my host parents. They are really cool people--Javier who I think i already said is from Spain, was watching the football (soccer) game between spain and russia the other day--he was SO happy spain won! And Elda is always right here when we need something, there's never any awkwardness like there can be sometimes when you are in someone else's house and don't always understand everything they say. Though...i have to say I am proud of myself for holding conversations with them most every night. I feel like I can actually communicate, if not all that fluently or correctly sometimes =)
Ok, last thing that is kinda funny...so tonight me and 2 other girls wanted to go get sushi cause we heard there was a good place in the mall. So we went and we saw on the menu that mon, tues and wed nights there is a 2 for 1 special on certain sushi. so we thought why not? we should all get two and then eat a lot of sushi it'll be great right? so we each ordered 2 and the waiter told us that we were only paying for 3 and then he added that we can't take any of it to go...which should have tipped us off, but processing things in spanish still takes time. So whatever...it came and there was more sushi on our table than i have seen on one table in my life...seriously, it was a lot. haha...it makes me laugh just thinking about it! so...we made a valiant effort to eat it all, didn't quite, but it was delicious, and only $12 each for sushi, miso soup and bottled water...yum! So, this weekend we are going to Mexico City and Teotihuacan and i just can't wait to be herded around like a bunch of cows...such fun! ;) goodnight!

acapulco cada uno

So this weekend was fun, but also not fun in a lot of ways for people around me. I think if we took an inventory of losses of property in the group for the weekend we could probably send a kid to college...phones, cameras, Tayna, my roommate, got her whole purse stolen, while we were sitting right there at dinner! It was the first night we were there, bad deal. She now has an even greater aversion to most mexicans, which is sad, but i can't say that i blame her too much.
It is interesting, because we talk about stereotypes all the time and how we shouldn't pay attention to them....but we do, and a lot of times have to to be able to function. The problem arises when you let stereotypes affect your attitude as a whole. To be cautious is one thing, to be close-minded is another. The problem is that stereotypes come from somewhere. Why do people have the stereotype that people from arkansas are uneducated? because years ago, they were often the poorest people, and uneducated, and some still are, but they also might have been mistaken for that when they were really very intelligent, just about different things...who needs to know Plato when you can run a prosperous farm? Why do we think that people from up north are stuck up? because some are...but maybe too they just don't have that compulsion to form relationships with people like most people from the south, they'd be friendly if introduced properly perhaps. *sigh*
Anyway, we had a great time on the beach, though the ocean water was kinda nasty where we were. Our hotel was pretty plush, and i enjoyed the 4 pillows and one bed i had all to myself because i only have one pillow here, though it is a good one =)
I wish that people could figure out that they don't have to go out every night to have a good time, that sometimes the best times are had sitting around and chatting, relaxing, and getting to know each other. Anyway, they will learn.
On the way back yesterday it rained a LOT on us, the tvs were playing a movie on the bus and water started leaking in on the tv and it shorted out and caught on fire....yea, and i was sitting right under it. no worries, it was a small fire, the bus driver pulled over after repeated mass shouting of his passengers and turned them off and told us not to worry....it probably happens all the time. i had to change seats though, not because of that but because it then started to rain on me from somewhere in the roof.
To top it off, we saw 3 cars wrecked, don't know how, but it was single cars every time so it wasn't like a run-in, more of a lost control....3, in 4 hrs. yea.
So, that was the weekend, hopefully the week will be just as eventful =)

from nothing to everything

Do you know how much I love thunderstorms? A LOT!!! And we have had storms here the past two nights! Don't worry mom, I don't think they have tornadoes. but the thunder was really, really loud...and the girl that lives in the house next to us told me today that apparently we have the city's lightening rod just not too far away =) no wonder it was so bright! So I am really glad to have my thesis proposal done because for the past two days that has been my focus, but it has been really hard to pull it all together (and it is due today) but I finally got it done last night! Today is also Natalia's birthday--she is the granddaughter of mi mama mexicana. So besides school, on Wednesday it was Jennie's birthday, one of the AIM girls. They were having a party for her at Paul and Sharita's, two of the missionaries. So after I got out of class I went home, did some homework and headed over there. They had told me that the 6 goes there. What I didn't know was that there are two #6 buses...yea...I definitely took the wrong one and ended up way the heck out where I wasn't supposed to be. Good thing I speak spanish to ask what i was supposed to do cause i could have been lost forever =) No, but I found it and though I was late for dinner, Sharita is an amazing person and kept some for me....and it was good! then we had cake, and then they all hit at the piñata, then we had candy. Fun times, for sure. Then we went back to the girls house and watched Matchstick Men. Yesterday I went to the small group that the youth have at Ben and Karen's (two other missionaries here) Their daughter, Marai (pronounced like mara-ee) is so precious, 8 months old today.
So, we are leaving for Acapulco today and last night Elda told me that I shouldn't swim in the ocean water because it is polluted. great. i am going to need to go to a real beach here at some point cause i want to swim in the ocean! but whatever, it will still be fun to sit on the beach and wade, maybe play some beach volleyball.
I really like my professors and the classes so far. The homework hasn't been too demanding and we will see about the tests. =)

school...does it ever change?

Alright, so mexico is mexico and therefore our school is crazily unorganized...we all had new schedules this morning and i've fixed it now but i have to catch the bus to school at 6:20....and yes, that is a.m. So...looks like Megan will be used to getting up early every morning after going to bed late. sounds fun =)
So Friday and Saturday were basically all occupied by sitting by the pool and swimming in it and generally hanging out. We all went out both nights and had a good time and got to know each other well. Sunday I went to church and it was good to be around all of them again! We all went to eat lunch at a hamburger place and it is funny but i like the ketchup here better than in the states!! They were good hamburgers too. Then i went and hung out with the girls for a bit...we watched an episode of 'buffy the vampire slayer' and i have to say that i probably won't ever watch any other episodes but it was entertaining.
Sunday night we stayed out very late...places here don't close til way in the morning and it isn't uncommon to still be at a place at 330 or 4am. so monday we slept in and then i went and got a present for Jennie, one of the AIM girls cause its her birthday tomorrow.
House comes on every day here!!! House is this television show that i love and it comes on every night at 8, so KT, i hope you are reading this!
So we started classes today and like i said, it was hectic but i think i will enjoy it for the most part. there is something about taking classes in another language...it of course makes it harder, but i pay attention more too i think. i dunno. my first class will be fun cause the professor is a young guy that enjoys it and makes it fun....the other one i dunno, we'll see.
other than that, we are going to acapulco this weekend!
i know that there's more i want to write but i just can't think of it now...more about my family and natalia, the 3 year old who came down the stairs in a superman costume today, and her cousins carlos ariel and iliana who are staying with us right now while their mom is in aruba...but i just don't know how to write that on here anymore. i'm becoming a very boring blogger cause all i do is relate events, and not a whole lot of those =)
i'll try to get better! but for now if you want to know specifics, email me i guess...:P