Mexico Dia Tres
Aye, the first day of classes. I woke up at 8:00 am had some cereal and fresh squeezed papaya juice (mi padre lo toma todos los dias). After breakfast mi madre (mum) drove me to school, following the combi i would have to take after the frist day. The combi´s are old volkswagon vans that have been gutted and had seats put in the back. The door is rigged to open when the combi stops and close when it starts. There are different colored combi´s for wherever you are going. To catch one you have to wave it down like a taxi. It costs 40 pesos (forty cents) per trip. The combi`s often fill up quickly and people kneel in the van or sometimes hang out the sides. There are also a few larger, but still small, buses that are similar but don´t come as often. We arrived at the school and i headed to class. The university campus is muy bonita and the buildings are fairly new. My first class was historia and the teacher talked muy rapido en espanol. I guess they are trained to use allot of cognates so i could understand the general idea of things. My second class was literatura and again the teacher spoke rapidly in spanish. My third class was society and culture and the teacher talked way too fast. I could barely catch what he was saying. Finally, I had spanish grammer and the teacher again talked fast but was understandable. After four hours of only spanish my head hurt a little so I went with some friends to get some coffee. Then it was time for me to catch a van and combi to get home. Then, i was under the impression that the vans/combis stopped at certain spots along the street. So i waited at a spot where i had seen some other people catch the ere uno (R1) van. I let two vans go by before i realized that you had to wave them down. I finally successfully (is it double s or double c or double l, i don´t know) flagged one down and took a seat. After a few blocks and old mexican man/cowboy, fully adorned in spiked boots, a cowboy hat and an old guitar, got on the bus. He started playing the guitar and singing. Riding in the old beat up van with the cowboy playing the guitar, i felt like i was in a movie. After a few more blocks he requested tips and got off the bus. I made it home fairly quickly.
Lunch is set at 3pm each day. Today we had spaghetti, which wasn´t all that exciting but it was good. In addition, there where crackers with an amazing tasting cheese/chili spread. There was fresh squeezed lemon juice to drink.
At four I departed to go to the central catedral in Morelia. One of the professors at the university had organized students studying english at the university to guide us around el centro (downtown morelia). I had a friendly girl named Adriana. She is studying biology in the university. She has lived in morelia all her life and lives in the southern part of the city. We walked around town and saw the many historical sights (the catedral, the theatre, the aquaducts..etc). After the tour I went with all the students and their guides to a bar. We got platters of chips, which were served with serveral different types of salsa, cheese, and guacamole dips. The Morelian´s ordered a local drink and offered some to all of us. It was some kind of blend of beer, chilli, and fruit. It was disgusting, but we didn´t want to offend them so we said, "Si, es bueno." The music in the bar was mostly american, except for Shakira and some other songs. We talked for a few hours, swapped numbers, and then one of the guides with a car was kind enough dropped me at home. I brushed my teeth and went to sleep.
I am supprised at how modern morelia is. I live in the colonia de americas, which has a sears and two malls around it. My house is probalby more modern than my house in America. It is of old spanish arcitecture and has massive wooden doors, wooden floors, and is quite spacious. Mi familia has two cars (a new honda and a new toyota). They have an old computer, but it has broadband internet and works well. It all depends on what part of the city you go to. The colonias in which the unviersity has put the students are all very nice, while there are many areas away from central morelia that are more run down. They are the areas i pictured when first coming to morelia. Rundown houses, trash in the streets, street vendors, marketplaces, stray docts, etc.
Oh and sorry, i know i need to use more paragraph breaks. I have taken some photos and might put some up soon.
Lunch is set at 3pm each day. Today we had spaghetti, which wasn´t all that exciting but it was good. In addition, there where crackers with an amazing tasting cheese/chili spread. There was fresh squeezed lemon juice to drink.
At four I departed to go to the central catedral in Morelia. One of the professors at the university had organized students studying english at the university to guide us around el centro (downtown morelia). I had a friendly girl named Adriana. She is studying biology in the university. She has lived in morelia all her life and lives in the southern part of the city. We walked around town and saw the many historical sights (the catedral, the theatre, the aquaducts..etc). After the tour I went with all the students and their guides to a bar. We got platters of chips, which were served with serveral different types of salsa, cheese, and guacamole dips. The Morelian´s ordered a local drink and offered some to all of us. It was some kind of blend of beer, chilli, and fruit. It was disgusting, but we didn´t want to offend them so we said, "Si, es bueno." The music in the bar was mostly american, except for Shakira and some other songs. We talked for a few hours, swapped numbers, and then one of the guides with a car was kind enough dropped me at home. I brushed my teeth and went to sleep.
I am supprised at how modern morelia is. I live in the colonia de americas, which has a sears and two malls around it. My house is probalby more modern than my house in America. It is of old spanish arcitecture and has massive wooden doors, wooden floors, and is quite spacious. Mi familia has two cars (a new honda and a new toyota). They have an old computer, but it has broadband internet and works well. It all depends on what part of the city you go to. The colonias in which the unviersity has put the students are all very nice, while there are many areas away from central morelia that are more run down. They are the areas i pictured when first coming to morelia. Rundown houses, trash in the streets, street vendors, marketplaces, stray docts, etc.
Oh and sorry, i know i need to use more paragraph breaks. I have taken some photos and might put some up soon.
Awww..I remember those school vans. They were awesome, that's how I met most of my middle school friends, but then again, my 6th grade class was only 20 students big. I'm glad your having a good time. Cheers. Carlos
Posted by Carlos | 3:49 PM
sounds pretty cool so far. get those pictures uploaded when you can. that'll be mighty.
Posted by Liam | 11:31 PM