Progreso

This past Saturday and Sunday (29 and 30), I went to Progreso with my amiga Eli, whose homestay family has a beach house basically right next to la playa!! We went swimming in the gulf right before the sun set, which was a sight to see! Super pretty...and the water was really warm. something that i am not used to...with being from MA and swimming in the freezing atlantic ocean, with water that reaches 70° is considered too hot! hahhaaaa





Last night was my first night sleeping in a hamaca aka hammock...and people who know me know that hammocks and i do not get along. but, after almost 4 hours of trying to fall asleep, swinging in the hamaca, i was able to pass out for a solid 3 hrs! Yeah! new personal best time for sleeping!! hahahaaa,,,lets just say i woke up in a position that i have no clue in how i got there....

During the day, I took multiple naps in la hamaca and was able to swim in the gulf again,,,with a beach made up of crushed seashells and the softest sand ever! after the days end, I went back to the beach and took pictures of the sunset...and realized that i have one of the most awkwardest sunburns ever! HAhahahaha

I also found a tree that has green brains! So cool! I call it the Zombie Tree!

First Exams!

So, this past week I had my first exam in my Historia Cultural del Área Maya class....I was super nervous. It was my first test on materials in a foreign language that I still don't know half as much as I should...but oh well. I studied and hoped for the best. When it came down to test day, I was still nervous, but did the best I could with what I could remember from the material. This week, I got my test back, and let's just say, I got  a grade higher than my goal (which was a 50...hey I was super nervous, don't blame me). So in the end, I got a 28/40..not the best but not the worst..it equaled out to a 70% which I was fine with. Some of my other classmates, who are from the Yucatan, said that I did better than them, so that was a huge relief! -sigh- breath of fresh air!

And this past friday, I had my 2nd exam in my Orígenes de Civilización class...this one I was super freaked out about. For one, I don't understand everything that goes on in class because it is mostly discussion, but I was able to read all of the lectures and took some notes...all in all, i think i did ok on the exam...this week we shall see! FINGERS CROSSED FOR A 20/20 hahahaaa

Día de Independencia

September 15 and 16 are the two days in which Mexican Independence is celebrated. The night of the 15, i went to el centro, or gran plaza, with my friends madai, ana laura, and julio where we saw el grito (the shout, VIVA), fuegos artificiales, live music, and had dinner at the Bierhaus since all of the other mexican pubs were packed...it was a great night. didnt go to bed until almost 6 in the morning.

On sunday, 16, the real independence day, i went with my friend ana laura to her families vacation house for a fiesta! i got to try some awesomely spicy food, beer, and desserts which were super yummy! oh, and i was the only gringo there, but there was a little niña with eyes bluer than mine! so precious!

Los Trompos and the weekend

My first outing with my friends from Mérida was to a restaurant called Los Trompos (sept 7). It was a great night, left my house at 630 and didn't get back for almost 7 hours....
At the restaurant, I had a michelada con mango, which is a beer cocktail that is usually bubbly with beer and spicy, but mine was sweet from the mango. I also tried tacos al pastor, where the meat is very similar to the gyro, but its different. the smell is amazing, and was a really good snack!

After a lot of talking, paper ball throwing down my friends shirt, and copious amounts of ridiculous pictures, i made my way home. great friday to spend with friends!

On saturday, one of the girls from our group, Megan, had a Cumpleaños!! aka bday, equipped with a swimming pool, Mediterranean food, and a piñata at our Resident Directors house....oh, and did i mention massages and facials! yes thats right, our RD hired a person to give back massages ahhhh, heaven!

After festivities and cake...lots of yummy chocolate cake, some of us went to Mayan Pub for drinks....

Pictures above are a mezcla drink...which may contain a worm..as seen(but i didnt get the one with the worm, sad face)
and the other drink i had was called Sacrificio Maya...which was lit on fire! yeahhh

Chichén Itzá and Uxmal

September 2

On sunday 2nd, the group went to see Uxmal and Chichén Itzá, two very important sites in the Yucatán, and two places I only dreamed about going to! well, my dream was made! Being able to climb ancient ruins is an awesome experience! 'cause who knows, maybe tomorrow or this year, they will officially be off limits. Out of the two, Uxmal was perhaps my favorite. why? because Chichén was way too touristy, which was really heartbreaking for me. Uxmal was extremely peaceful, with very few tourists, or vendors selling souvenirs saying "It's almost free"....how that works, I still don't know....but anyways, I harassed iguanas, tool a photo with the culebra, and saw one of the coolest things ever, the Observitorio at Chichén.

More to come!

Sorry I haven't been updating!! D= 

I've been pretty busy with classwork and what not

soon to come:

• Uxmal
• Chichen Itza
• Día de Independencia
• Otras Adventuras

For now, Enjoy the pics!

CUCARACHA UPDATE: 15...I REPEAT 15 HAVE BEEN KILLED!!!