To begin, Mexico City. My first night I was lucky enough to run into two other Oregon students that were staying at my hostel. We made plans to meet up the next morning and begin our whirlwind tour of D.F. Our hostel was in a prime location next to one of the main plazas. We were a short walk from the Palacio Nacional and the Diego Rivera murals, as well as the city's main Catedral which was built in the 1500s. We also visited the Anthropology Museum which was really interesting and included a lot of the early history of Mexico.
After the two guys headed to the airport to pick up some of the other students I hopped on a bus tour that took two hours, I saw a lot of Mexico City but I didn't expect to take so much time getting back to my hostel. By the time I got back, there were several new faces in our group. We went to bed early since we were planning to get up and go see the Basilica de Guadalupe. The metro system in D.F. is unbelievable. It can get so crowded at times your simply along for the ride and there are so many different lines since the city itself is so vast I had to transfer so many times. All for only 2 pesos per ride!
After visiting the Basilica which was unfortunately under renovation and sported some impressive scaffolding, myself, Markus, David, and Dana took a "tour" of sorts from the hospital to a futbol game! The match was between Cruz Azul and Chivas. Dana and I decided to support Chivas because they sold flattering women's jerseys, haha. The game itself was really fun and the second half kept things interesting. In the very last minutes Cruz Azul scored to tie the game 2-2 the fans went crazy and we got showered in beer.
Following the game we grabbed our bags from the hostel and caught a taxi to the bus station to catch a bus to Querétaro. Barely a block from our hostel a little green slug bug cab came hurling towards us and crashed into the back of our cab! No one was hurt and the damage to our taxi was minimal. The other cab though, had its front smashed in. Needless to say we were all pretty shaken and when our replacement cab arrived we quickly put on seatbelts and begged him to drive slow, which of course this being Mexico City, he didn't.
We caught a 9:00 luxury bus to Querétaro which was the most comfortable 3 hour trip i've ever taken. Arriving in Querétaro around midnight we checked into our hotel and immediately went to sleep.
Sunday was my first day and after a quick tour of the downtown along with a call to my host family I headed to their house at about 2:00 in time for the main meal of the day, La Comida. My señora and señor are a very sweet older couple who have been hosting students for more than 20 years! My señora Irma is a crafts teacher and the house is filled with her creations, mostly dolls (they aren't too creepy though). Their children and grandchildren came over for comida making a grand total of 10 around the table. It was my first attempt conversing for a significant period of time and by the end of the meal I was exhausted.
Classes began at 9:00 Monday. I have 3 hours of class a day, five days a week. One class is composition with Lulu (best professor ever) and the second class is oral skills and vocabulary with Betty. There are 9 of us studying 200 level Spanish and its been a really fun group. We finish class at 2:00 and head home for comida and a siesta, my favorite part being the siesta.
The city of Querétaro itself is far bigger than I had imagined but it's really easy to get around between walking and taking the buses(which make me fear another car accident). El centro is full of great places to eat, drink, and hangout. So far the weather has been pretty warm and sunny interrupted but only the occasional thunderstorm.
Well, my second class is beginning soon and tomorrow we have our first prueba or quiz so today i'll be studying instead of siesta-ing!
Besos,
Cara
1 comment:
Thanks for the update...sounds like all is going well. It's super that there are only 9 in your class. We expect lots of pics when you get home!! M&D
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