Last week my study abroad group went on our first of two weekend excursions. We went to the town of Zacatecas (isn’t that fun to say? It’s almost as fun as Popocateptl. Go on and try it. Say it outloud.). We visited a mine (I bought some cheap silver), we rode a cable car above the city, and we went to an archaeological site that was really cool and reminded me of the ruins of Masada in Israel.

Day of the Dead is next week and people here go all out to celebrate it. Halloween isn’t really celebrated much, but Mexicans love to honor the dead. They buy candles, skulls made out of sugar, and skeleton dolls and make altars dedicated to their loved ones. On Nov. 1 many people go to the graveyards and have a big all-night party.

We have a school holiday on Monday and then Wednesday is a national holiday, so I’m planning on making this a 5-day weekend and going to Mexico City. We’ll see how that goes.

This whole month there is a festival going on in Guadalajara called Festival de Octubre. It’s pretty much the equivalent of a county fair, minus the animals. There were rides and fatty food and great people watching. And it only costs $1.50 to get in!

Sorry this post was so boring; hopefully I’ll do some really cool things in Mexico City that I can write about.