Hmmm...what have I been up to the last few days? On Saturday, my study abroad group took an excursion to the town of Tequila. I bet you can't guess what it's famous for! We took a tour of the José Cuervo factory and of course got samples of the different varieties of tequilas. We also stopped by the agave fields (the plant that tequila is made from) and got to see how it is harvested. They let us taste a piece of it raw, but it really didn't have any flavor. If anyone knows what jicama tastes like, it was kind of like that, only drier.

Later that night, I went out with a group of people to a restaurant/bar where they were showing a big "fútbol" game. When it was over, a Mariachi band came out and played some upbeat music. There was no dancing though, so we moved to some club that was playing American hip hop music. It cost about $7 for girls to get in and around $10 for guys. It's like that everywhere here, where the guys pay more. I like it, but of course the guys don't think it's fair.

I met a nice guy at the club and he actually called me the next day and we went out and saw a movie (no, it wasn't a date; my roommate came with us!). We saw "La Isla", er..."The Island" which was in English with Spanish subtitles. That was good because of course I could understand everything, but it also helped my Spanish. The guy, Jeremy, is actually Brasilian, but he grew up in Costa Rica and is now going to medical school here. So he is fluent in Spanish, Portuegese, and English. A very interesting guy indeed.

I went to church with my mamá on Sunday. It's nice because mass doesn't start until 12:30, so I get to sleep in pretty late. She goes to a pretty modern church; it's arranged in a semi-circle, not one of those long, narrow ones that you usually think of, and it was very bright inside. We sang some songs and listened to some scripture and the priest talked for about 10 minutes. Then they took communion. Ime doesn't go every week so I think I'll try to go whenever she does.

Yesterday it was raining (well, more like a downpour, including thunder and lightning) so I decided to take a walk. I ended up going to Wal-Mart. Oh yes, there are Wal-Marts here; they are taking over the world! I had to "check" my umbrella at the door and I was very confused about what they were saying to me. Then I went to a grocery store because Ime wanted me to get some juice that was on sale. We drink a lot of juice at home and all different kinds, too. Among them are mango juice, peach juice, and apple nectar (very different than regular apple juice!). I also picked up this fantastic apple-flavored soda and I think it is my new favorite drink. Yum!

Whenever we American-looking girls walk outside, men honk and say things like "how beautiful" and "hey, chicas." It's kind of flattering I guess, but annoying at the same time. Even the taxis and bus drivers do it, which seems pretty unprofessional to me. We were warned that since this is a "machista" society, it's perfectly normal and they will never follow us or try to touch us.

It's also an adventure when we walk because the drivers here are CRAZY!!! There are sidewalks on all the streets, but that's because we would get run over if we walked on the streets. There's a lot of honking, especially if a car stops or is going too slow. If that happens, they all just go around it and cut other cars off in the process. Stop signs are optional; usually they don't even yield. Cars definitely have the right-of-way in all cases. When we want to cross the street, we have to look in all directions and wait until there are no cars coming. It's even dangerous at red lights, because not all of them stop and there are still some turning right and not yielding. Most of the locals don't cross at the corner because it would take too long to wait for all the cars to stop. They just run across the middle whenever there is a chance. I've started to do this too, but it still feels like they're going to run over my heels if I'm not quick enough.

If you have any questions for me, or something you want me to talk about, please leave a comment--I'd love to answer your questions!

We began classes on Tuesday and I got placed in level 5/6 (out of 10), which is good because it will transfer well. So far it’s been pretty easy and boring. We’re going over stuff I already learned, but I guess it’s good review. I’m taking two classes, and each only has 10-12 students, so I feel comfortable speaking up in them. There are mostly Americans here at the language school, but there are also Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Canadian students in my classes, and some of them don't even know English!

We haven’t really gone out much since we’ve been here. My roommate and I have preferred to stay at home and read or watch some Mexican soap opera. We’ve also been feeling kind of sick lately. (It’s that Montezuma’s revenge we were warned about!) Our host mother did throw us a welcoming party. One of the other housemates who has been here awhile invited a bunch of people, so I actually got to practice my Spanish with them. It did get easier after a couple drinks!

I’ve been taking a siesta every day since I’ve been here, sometimes unintentionally. I get home from school and have lunch, and then I’m just so tired. Maybe it’s because of the heat (we have to close all the windows when it rains), maybe it’s because I have to get up early for my 8am class, or maybe it’s the elevation. It’s a normal Mexican thing, though. My host mom takes a nap every day too. The only time it was a bad thing was yesterday when we were supposed to have a city tour downtown. Molly and I both fell asleep and woke up too late to go.

I joined a “conversation club” where we get together with native speakers and spend half the time speaking in English and half in Spanish. The Spanish speakers are at about the same level that I am so it’s not too intimidating. And they are all older than we are. My partner was Enrique, a 45-year-old technician with two kids. I’m going again tonight.

I’m also taking a contemporary latin dance workshop. Yesterday we learned the basic steps for salsa. It’s pretty fun and so much better than dancing in the United States! As our instructor said, latin dancing is more sensual than sexual. I can’t wait to go out to the “discos” to practice!

I need to stop typing because this keyboard is driving me crazy. The letters are in the same places but the punctuation and symbols are different. Plus, the one I’m using is super sticky so I have to take my time to push each letter.

¡Hola a todos de México! I made it here to Guadalajara on Saturday. Unfortunately, my suitcase was not as lucky. It got left in Las Vegas, but they did deliver it to my house yesterday. I'm living with a Mexican host mother and I have a roommate, Molly, who is from San Francisco and is in the same program as I am. Then there are three Germans, two guys and a girl, and an Italian guy who all go to a different language school. Apparently my host mom, Imelda, houses students all the time in order to earn her living (she is divorced), so right now it's a full house. It was very surprising when I first met her--she spoke (nearly) perfect English! Also, I was astonished at her house. It seems really nice, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It's not a very big place, but everything in it is really nice. She has a fully stocked wet bar and she told us that she would be giving us a party Tuesday night to welcome us and also to say goodbye to the Italian guy who is leaving later this week. Imelda seems really fun and she really wants us to feel comfortable while we are here. She is always offering us food and drinks ("Are you sure you don't need a beer before bed?") and has been speaking only English with us. She said it is so that we can get used to her and get comfortable; in a few days she will start speaking only Spanish. I can't wait--that's why I came here!

The weather has been really nice since I've been here--warm and humid during the day and cooling off just a bit at night. Of course there is no air conditioning, so it's a bit too hot at night. There's also no wind, so even if we open the window, it won't help much. It hasn't rained at all here, which is surprising because I was told it rains every afternoon during the rainy season (June through October). Molly arrived here a week ago and she said it rained almost every day last week. I guess it's something to look forward to!

The food here has been so good! I thought it would be so greasy and boring, like beans and rice every day or something, but Imelda cooks with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Her neighbor has an avacado tree, so we get those for free. I went to the market yesterday and got a mango. It was so fresh and juicy and so much cheaper than in the US! Actually pretty much everything is cheaper to buy here, which is nice, but a big temptation as well. We saw Diesel jeans yesterday for only 300 pesos ($30USD). I hope I don't come home with too much cheap stuff purchased here! Anyway, I'm still getting used to the way they eat here. We have a small breakfast, then we have to wait until 2 or 3 to have lunch, which is a HUGE meal. Today we had Mexican rice, bread (soooo good!), small tacos, and salad with tomatoes and avacados. Dinner is a smaller meal eaten around 8 or 9 (simple quesadillas yesterday). And there are no snacks! If we want them, we have to buy them ourselves.

We had our program orientation and placement test today. I think I did pretty well on the written, but the oral part killed me. We just had to have a conversation with one of the teachers, and I was so nervous! That's one thing I hope to improve while here--having the confidence to speak up in Spanish. We have to go in to the school at 8 am tomorrow to find out the results of our tests and see when our classes will be. Most of them start at 8:00, which won't be too fun, especially if we go out at night. We haven't yet, but I'm sure we'll be making our way to the bars and "discotecas" soon. I really want to salsa dance.

Right now I'm at the Plaza del Sol, which is an open shopping mall about 10 minutes walking from my home. We stepped into this copier/mailing place that said they had internet. We asked if we had to pay and they said no, so it seems kind of too good to be true. There is also free internet at the school, so I'll probably be there a lot.

Well, I've written a lot, but a lot has happened in the last couple days, and I haven't even written about all of it! I'll save some for another day!

Holy cow! I can't believe that in less than a week I will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, home of Mariachi bands, tequila, and the Mexican hat dance. By this time next Saturday I will have met my host mother and probably my roommate. I will have started my nearly four-month stint speaking exclusively in Spanish. And I will probably be exhausted since my plane leaves Seattle at 8:15 am.

I've been spending these last few weeks learning about my new city (did you know that Guadalajara is almost a mile above sea level?) and trying to brush up on my Spanish skills. The day after I arrive I will have to take a placement test and I'm kinda worried about that. That will determine what classes I can take, which will essentially determine if I will be able to graduate at the end of this year as planned.

I'm going to be working a lot this week, but when I'm not, I'll be trying to pack up my life into one large suitcase and shove the rest into boxes for my parents to take home and store. I'll also be running around trying to get my financial aid, bank stuff, housing arrangements, and final study abroad paperwork settled. And of course I'll make time to hang out with my friends a little bit more before I take off.

I'll try to keep this thing updated but I have no idea how often I'll get to use a computer. And I might have trouble typing since the keyboards down there are a bit different. I guess we'll have to wait and see!