Cuernavaca, Mexico

Spring Break

We went to a place called Las Estacas that is really beautiful. There is a river and places where you can swing from a rope into the water.

We took our spring break two weeks ago. Autumn and I went to Guadalajara, Jalisco which is a 9 hour drive from Cuernavaca. We took the bus overnight and stayed in Guadalajara for three days. While we were there we saw a lot of beautiful churches, did some cartwheels in front of a museum, jumped off of fountains, went to the zoo, fed the monkeys!!!, and went on a tequila tour. We returned to Cuernavaca and left the same day to Acapulco with our roomates and another friend. We enjoyed the beach, the night life, and were constantly insulted when people spoke to us in engligh:) Since we have returned back to school we have both moved up a level in our classes. We only have 4 weeks left so we are trying to get everything in while we are here. We miss all of you guys and will see you soon!!!

Here are the links to our photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078745&l=7053d&id=27702000

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2079078&l=10654&id=27702000

2 comments March 18, 2008

Weekend Fun

This last weekend we went to a waterpark called El Rollo. It was really huge and amazing! They had their version of a ’lazy river’ which was really fun but kind of dangerous. The water current was pretty strong. On Sunday we visited Hacienda Vista Hermosa which was founded in 1529 by Hernán Cortes. Since 1947 it has been a hotel and restaurant. We ate breakfast and walked around the place. They had a lot of peacocks that were showing off their feathers. The really tall building is what they used to make sugar cane.

Add a comment February 27, 2008

Spanish Spanish Spanish!!!!

We are going on our 5th week here in Cuernavaca. We can’t believe it has already been one month! We now live in the same house. The family is SO nice! They are so hospitable and do everything they can to make us feel at home.

We’ve been getting involved in more activities at school. We reallyl like going to our salsa dance class -of course:) We went to Acapulco and enjoyed the beach. They had a ”mall of no price tags”. Seriously almost every store we went into, the salesperson just made up a price for the items. Even the ice cream shop didn’t have prices.

This is one of the cop cars they have here

This is the cathedral in downtown

It is really common to put sharp glass on top of your wall to keep away intruders

The Zocalo is the downtown area. They always have something to watch. There are a lot of shops set up where you can buy jewelry, art, ceramics, and food.

We went to Tepotzlan which is about a half hour from Cuernavaca. Each year they have a carnaval that lasts for 4 days. There are people who dress up and dance, and lots of food, clothes, jewelry etc.

Last weekend we visited Teotihuacan in Mexico City. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and learned about the history of the place. The city was built around 200 B.C., so it was neat to be in place where people lived over 2,000 years ago. The second picture here illustrates how the aztecs used insects eggs to make ink. The ink is purple, but if you mix it with saliva, it turns yellow.

Taking the bus here has been quite an experience. Last weekend we took the bus to El Centro (downtown), and people got on trying to sell us cd’s and valentine’s day cards. Then a guy got on with his guitar and started singing for tips. We’ve taken the wrong bus a couple of times and ended up far from town and had to take a taxi home.

4 comments February 12, 2008

In Mexico!

The first week of classes has been pretty tough for us. Learning a new language is difficult but what rewards would we get if it was easy? We have had a lot of interesting experiences since we´ve been here. They do things a little different around here:) The bus only costs 45 cents per person and taxis are about 3 dollars for a group of people. Pretty cheap! Being in the passenger seat is a little scary at times. The rule is that cars are bigger so they have the right away and the sign says ¨car crossing¨ not ¨pedestrian crossing¨. There aren´t really any lines marked on the street, people just drive however they want. We went to a club last weekend, and instead of waiting in a line, we waited for the bouncer to ¨choose¨ who he wanted to come in. But how weird that it isn´t first come first serve, it is whoever looks like they have the most money. During the day, you´ll see people juggling with coke bottles, oranges, even fire or doing cartwheels in between cars in the street for money.

In our neighborhood, all of the houses have tall gates and walls about 10-15 ft. high. On top of the walls there is either barbed wire or broken glass so that no one can break in. Across the street is a salon and pharmacy and right next to Amber´s house is a store with snacks.

Everyone here has been really nice so far. We´re looking forward to how much we are going to learn.

Here are some pictures of our first couple weeks here.

Me and Autumn waiting in the Houston Airport.