Day 91, Week 13

Yesterday was a fun day for mom and I! We woke up kinda early and started out our adventurous day. We took a bus to a little terminal where we bought tickets to go to Tequila! We then took a second class bus for about an hour to the little town of Tequila where, as you can guess, tequila is made. We got off the bus and I had no idea what we were supposed to do but I just wanted to find a factory where we could get a tour. It was really different just being with my mom who doesn't speak Spanish because I knew I had to do all the talking and figuring stuff out. We took a short ride in a taxi to the center of the town where the driver told us in his crazy fast Spanish that we could find someone to give us a tour. We encountered a very busy plaza where there were "ranchers" on dancing horses accompanied by a live mariachi band! I believe it was part of the celebration of the Revolution Day (the Mexican Revolution started on November 20, 1910 so they were celebrating the bicentennial). They were really cool so we had to stop and watch for a little while.

Then we continued down a random road with a bunch of shops and at the end we found the Jose Cuervo tequila factory! We found the ticket stand for the tours and bought our tickets for the tour, but we had two hours to wait for the English version so we walked around the big building that had a souvenir shop, restaurant, and lots of things to look at. We sat down and had some great guacamole and margaritas! They were delicious. :) We did a lot of people watching there too, of course-haha. We looked around the gift shop too but lots of the things for sale were pretty expensive. When it was our turn, we went and sat down in the little theater area where the tours began. We got a tour of the factory where all the Jose Cuervo tequila is made in the state of Jalisco. There are five states total in Mexico that produce tequila though. It was really interesting and had some weird odors in the factory. We got to taste some tequila that was 120 proof (55% alcohol) and I thought we were drinking straight rubbing alcohol it burned so badly! There were other opportunities to taste other stages of tequila but I passed. :) I'm not a very big fan of the flavor. After the tour, we walked the 4 or 5 blocks back to the bus station and waited for our bus. The bus ride back was very tiring but I didn't get the chance to sleep because I had a young guy that was very interested in me and decided to keep staring at me-haha. It was pretty funny because we were both on the same bus for about and hour and a half and when we got back to the terminal, we all took the same city bus to get back to our house. I couldn't handle it, it was so funny!

We got back to our houses and hung out for a while and I did some homework while mom was chattin' on the computer to her honey. :P We figured out our plans for the evening and we all got ready. We decided to make a surprise stop at David's restaurant for dinner so mom, Allison, and I took a taxi there and Jenny and Tara met us there. It was so delicious and mom really liked it too. :) David was really surprised as well! After dinner, we all squeezed into a taxi and went to the main avenue for the night life called Chapultepec. We came across a live band in the street that was playing salsa music so we stopped and listened for a while. We kept walking to try to find a salsa bar, but came across a market with some jewelry and tother things instead. :) So of course we had to stop at look! We spent about an hour there and by the time we were done, we didn't know where to go next and some of the bars were already closing and we were getting tired. I was already sick of walking around and so was mom so we just decided to grab a taxi home and call it a night. It was semi-unsuccessful, but that's ok! :) It was a fun day overall.

-Whitney
*14*

Day 90, Week 13

Friday, November 19

Yesterday was a really fun day! I went to the gym in the morning and then to class. I had to take my midterm exam in my movie class which wasn't that bad and then I had to give a presentation in my conversation class. I chose to talk about the music of Mexico and played some songs from the different groups of music. I left my second class early so I could leave for the airport to go get my mommy. I was so excited to get to see her! It took about 40 minutes to get there in the taxi because the traffic was pretty bad. I got to the airport with some time to wait and when I finally got to see her come through the doors I ran up and gave her a big hug. :) We grabbed a taxi and headed back to our house. It was really funny to notice my mom's first impressions of Guadalajara. She especially caught on to the crazy drivers here! When we got to my house, she met my host-mom and I had to be the translator. :) I showed her around the house and then we went out for lunch. After lunch, I brought her over to the house that she is staying at and she met her host-mom too and once again I was her translator (I'll be doing that all week-hehe). I went back over to my house to get ready for the night and then we met back up later. Her, Allison, and I took a bus to a little bar/restaurant that is close to Jenny and Tara's house for some micheladas. David and Mi Die met up with us there and we all had a good time there for a little while. When we were finished, we went to Casa Bariachi which is a big bar/restaurant that plays lives mariachi music. Our other friend Diego met us there too. They all got in a dance contest up on stage before the mariachis came on too, it was pretty hilarious. It was a great night and I'm really glad my mom got to meet my guy friends that I hang out with all the time. :)

-Whitney
*15*

Day 89, Week 13

I had a fun day today! I went to the gym before class and in my movie class I watched and independent Mexican movie that was really weird. Our teacher always makes us watch really weird movies that have really controversial topics in them, it's weird. In my second class we played a little game with new words and then talked about natural medicines and things like that. It was an ok class but my teacher's voice is so soft it puts me to sleep which is really bad since there's only 2 or 3 of us in the class! After school I came home and had lunch. Allison, Jenny, Tara, and I went with David to his college this afternoon to be a part of his presentation on the US. His group talked about cultural standards, etiquette, etc. so us girls were like a panel for his classmates to ask us any questions, but they were mostly about our experience with Mexico thus far. It was really fun and I'm glad we got the opportunity to see his campus and be a part of his presentation too. :) We were there for a couple hours and then he brought us home. Dinner was ready when I got home and for dessert we got cooked butternut squash with a brown sugar sauce on it. It was really good but so sweet that I couldn't finish all that my host-mom gave me. Tonight I worked on my presentation that I have to give for my conversation class tomorrow and then on my research paper for my movie class. I'm so excited because my mom is coming tomorrow! I'm leaving my conversation class early to catch a taxi to the airport to meet her. :) She's getting in at 3 and I can't wait! We're going to have such a fun time together down here!

-Whitney
*16*

Day 88, Week 13

Today was a good day. I made it to the gym early and came home to get ready for school. I finished watching a movie in my cinema class, but it was a really weird movie and I didn't like it very much. It was really corrupted and violent! Tomorrow we are going to watch another weird movie I guess so that'll be interesting. In my conversation class, we started our class in the sun and then the other conversation class invited us to join them at the cafe we went to last week, so we did. It was really fun to join classes because we only have 5 people total and the two teachers. Having class outside of the classroom setting goes back so much quicker too! After class, Michelle and I walked home and I had lunch shortly after. We had ceviche which was really good AND it was Mexican food, so even better! I hung out for a while after lunch and then I took the bus over to Jenny's house with my laundry and we went and did our laundry together. I've been using a laundry man that our host-mom knows that comes to pick up our clothes and then drops them back off, but it is far more expensive that what it needs to be, so I opted for the self-service option. 36 pesos compared to up to 120 pesos? I think yes! :) When I finished I took the bus back home and we had dinner a little bit later. I just hung out and finished some homework and talked online. I got to skype with MJ, Lauren, and Dennis for a little while and Brian too. :) I'm getting super excited for my mom to get here on Friday afternoon!

-Whitney
*17*

Day 87, Week 13

Oh Tuesday! I made it to the gym this morning with some small worries that I wasn't going to be able to breath on the elliptical from this wonderful cold or I'd be needing to blow my nose every 5 minutes. It was actually one of my best workouts despite everything! :) Cinema class was boring at first but then we started a movie with about 10 minutes left so we can finish it tomorrow and watch another on Thursday. Apparently we need to get in 2 movies before our midterms on Friday, so I won't complain. Let's just hope I will stay awake for them both. :) I've been telling my house mate that I think I have an small case of undiagnosed narcolepsy because I can hardly ever stay awake for a movie. In my second class, we got to sit outside in the sun today because it was too chilly in the room. It sure does heat up in the sun under a big umbrella though! We talked a lot about how we express our emotions and the gestures that we do in comparison to those that are used in Mexico and we also discussed some ways to give advice in different situations. It was a pretty good class I suppose. :) We have to prepare some presentations for Friday as our midterm, so she will be giving us a guide on how to do it tomorrow. I believe I will discuss the different kinds of music in Mexico. :) Sounds good to me! After class I came home for lunch and didn't do a whole lot until I decided to take a nap and rest my coughing lungs. That didn't work because I was unconsciously coughing the entire time. :( I really hope I get better soon! After I woke up I talked to my mom and some other friends for a while until dinner. We had some good ol' chicken nuggets and homemade potato chips! haha Allison and I walked to the pharmacy after dinner to get some things. I definitely needed some medicine for my cough and so I bought some! We walked back and I talked to Brian for a while before heading to bed. :)

-Whitney
*18*

Day 86, Week 13

This morning we woke up early and got our things packed together and helped clean up the house a little for Marco. :) He drove us back to the bus terminal and told us we're always welcome. It's weird to think that I may never see him again! We said our goodbyes and I waited in the waiting area while the girls went to go get coffee. We boarded our bus and started back on our 3 hour ride to Guadalajara. I ended up sleeping most of the way and NOT getting sick that time. :) When we got to the bus terminal in Tlaquepaque we walked a couple blocks to get a bus, but we sat there and waited for ever to get the right one. I think any of the 20 that passed us would've taken us to the center of GDL, but at last we made it. When we got to the center we had to walk a couple more blocks to get a bus that brought us closer to our houses at Centro Magno, the mall. That is another 9 blocks to our house and it seemed like it took a long time with all our bags! Eugenia made us some fajitas when we got home and then I just hung out in my room uploading pictures, talking to people, and finished some homework. Overall it was a wonderful trip and my second favorite after Cancun/Pto Morelos. :)

MJ sent me some pictures of Greta in her bed reading to Katy and then another one of them both sound asleep! It was so cute and can't wait to see my girls! :)

Mom comes in 4 days and I can't hardly wait! I've got our 6 days together packed full with plans!

-Whitney
*19*

Day 85, Week 13

Sunday, November 14

On Sunday we tried to wake up early so that we could go to Guanajuato for the Bicentennial Exposition. It was a a bunch of buildings that were dedicated to showing different aspects of the history and culture of Mexico. There was live music playing all the time and lots of food vendors too. We stood in line for an hour and a half to get into the first building which had pictures of the art all through the history of Mexico and some other portrayals of what the English people thought of the Americans. It was really different and I didn't get that into it until we went to the lower level and they had the different types of clothes and things of several of the indigenous tribes of Mexico. That's what I really liked! There were so many beautiful, colorful dresses and the types of baskets, weapons, and masks too.

After that building, we didn't really want to wait in many other lines, so we just walked around for a little while listening to the music and having some snacks. We were trying to find a vendor that sold ice cream inside the shell of its corresponding fruit. We had seen other people walking around with them so I was destined to find it. I finally did and bought a coconut one that was delicious! I kept the shell and I am planning to do some kind of craft with it [do I sound like Greta? :P]. We went into other buildings that were for food; typical family styles, cultural events, and foods of all the Latin American countries. There were dancing fountains in the middle of the whole expo that played every couple hours too. We got a chance to dress up like people from the revolution era and take old time pictures in front of a train. It was so funny and a good time too!

We stayed at the expo for most of the day until it got dark and then we drove back to Leon. Marco told us about these Triple Cheese Pesto Pizzas that he makes and he really likes to cook so we told him we wanted them for dinner! We went back to the house to see what we needed and then went to a grocery store. Of course, we spent about a half hour in the grocery store getting everything we needed and them some! We got ingredients to make micheladas too which is made of beer, lime juice, maggy sauce which is like worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, chili salsa, powdered chili salsa, and salt. I like to call them the bloody mary of Mexico. We finally got everything and went back to the house to make it all. We each helped make some part of the pizzas and got to top our own. We had a wonderful dinner and Marco's roommate Danny also joined us. It was a good time and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to stay with him! We were going to watch a movie, but after an hour of trying to decide which movie to watch and that failing, we just ended up going to bed.