not quite the end

Hey everyone. So before I close down this blog I want to go back and write down some memories that I haven't gotten around to writing about yet, many of them funny stories that I've thought of since returning.

But I wanted to say now thanks for all of you have read my blog while Ive been away, it really means a lot to me to know I have friends and family who care and are interested in what i'm doing! Seriously, it made me happy every time I found out that one of you had read my blog during the semester. So thanks! Love you all!

love, lex

quin bomb bomb bomba

I can't describe in words the joy I feel every time I hear word from my friends and family in Mérida. I also can't describe to joy I feel every time Oliver, my mom's new dog steals my dirty underwear and brings them to Brian, my mom's new husband. Welcome home Lex!

But since I already started a BOMBA!! theme, I want to share some bombas i've received on facebook from friends and family :)

para ti by : jaret
hermosa flor de `pitaya

blanca flor de zaramuyo

en cualquier parte que vallas

mi corazon es tuyo
BOMBA !!!!

Translation (won't be very good I'm going to do this super fast as I'm leaving in two minutes)

for you by Jaret (my cousin in Mérida)

handsome (beautiful) flower of pitaya

white flower of zaramuyo

wherever you go

my heart is yours

BOMBA!!

Yes...this is much prettier in Spanish. It just doesn't translate well. Well, and I'm not giving it any poetic love.

And this one is from mi querida amiga Nora:

BOMBA

del cielo callo un pañuelo bañado de mil coleres y en todos ellos veia a mi mesticita de mis amores... BOMBA

Life back in michigan

I talked to my family back in Mérida on the phone again today. They asked me what they should buy me for lunch tomorrow and it was precious and also made me want to cry. I told them puerco con frijol, which of course I still say wrong, it's frijol con puerco, or beans and pork. It's a traditional "tuesday" dish. I think Tuesday. Also, my papá told me they found this blog of mine (HI PAPÁ!!) and were putting some entries into free translation. They translated the entry about the rat. I wonder how that ended up in Spanish. Actually, I might just go try it myself. But in the mean time, here is a bomba!!! - a very Yucatecan form of poetry. I love bombas. They often have dirty / adult humor in them, but this one is innocently funny. So here is my shout out to my family and the Yucatan in which they live!

Me gusta el pan de progreso... 

jaja caiste?

de verdad:

Bomba!!

ayer al salir de misa

te vi muy sonriente

pero entre tu sonrisa

había un frijol en tu diente

(yesterday leaving from mass i saw you very smiley but in between your smile there was a bean in your tooth)

Love. Amor.

Hugs and Kisses. Abrazos, Besos, Loch.

Alexa

my birthday in november..same day as brittanys

This is the cutest and saddest birthday cake I’ve ever eaten.  It’s a cheesecake with strawberries and whipped cream. It’s from my family here in Mérida because they’re not going to be with me on my real birthday. They told me to eat a lot so that I could keep the flavor with me until April. I’m really glad my papá shoved my face in the cake because it prevented any tears from leaving my eyes. I cannot believe I’m really about to leave this place forever. Well, sure I can come back to Mérida. But the experience of really being a daughter and part of this family…that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to revisit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanksgiving in mexico

Here is my most recent funny story.

( I haven’t written for some time,  but when I found out that Grandma Marlene checks my blog daily / really often, I decided to write another post!)

Last night in honor of el día de acción de gracias or thanksgiving , some of us students from calvin got together and cooked an entire thanksgiving meal for 24 people.

One of the things we cooked was stuffing, relleno. It was really tasty the night of the dinner, but over time for some reason, it started to get really soggy. Well I brought some home with me excited to have my family here try some “Traditional American Food”. Since everyone was sleeping, I put it in the back of the refridgerator, showered in icy cold water (which im finally getting the hang of), and went to bed.

Today, after a nice little nap in my hammock, my family woke me up to eat.

“Oh, I have some food for you guys to try!” I tell them.

“Oh... the vomit? Your mamá asked me earlier if maybe you came home last night and got sick in a bag and decided to put in the refridgerator” my papa tells me.

 

So of course my papá was kidding, but it really did look like vomit today! My family plopped it out on a plate and took the smallest bites I’ve ever seen them take of any food. “oh, yeah it’s pretty good.”

 

After eating lunch my dad took out some postre, dessert, from the fridge and my hermano who hadn’t touched his food wanted some. “No” my mom said “you didn’t eat your lunch, you didn’t try alexa’s vomit, you cannot have dessert”.

 

It has become the joke of the day.

 

And yes, vomit is now the mental image of American Thanksgiving for my family.

 

Haha, not really. But it made me laugh pretty hard, all of this.

 

Love you all!!

 

Alexa

Vamos a ver chac

Hey all, life is real crazy here, I'm doing my best to trust in God and not let my stress control me, and I love Merida. That about sums up my last week and what's to come. Also lots of headaches, but i think i fixed them with some water.

In other news, our maestra here told us not just once, but twice to copy and paste info from the internet in homework. That's never happened to me in my 16 years or so of education. It's pretty funny. But we still have a TON of work to do. 

Also, here is my blog post for the calvin blog. Really you should check it out, it's fun to read what other students have to say. And there are some good pics. Theres a link on the left of this blog:

Hey all!

This morning I woke up shivering in my hammock and actually had to put on a sweater to eat my breakfast of hotdogs, mayonnaise, and coffee. Some later investigation revealed that it was actually about 70 degrees F this morning…Michigan’s sure going to be quite the weather shock for us when we return!

I know I’m repeating some of what others have already said, but as we are approaching the end of our time here, I really want to share a bit about what a blessing our families here in Mérida have been. This story is a bit outdated, but it still remains one of my best memories of my time here. In October there was a 50^th anniversary party for some of our abuelitos (grandparents) here in Mérida, who also happen to be parents of Maria. Well, to our surprise, a few of us Calvin girls were invited to sing a song dedicated to our grandparent (parents) during the anniversary! How fantastic.(Also fantastic is what was written in the bulletin for the ceremony: "The participation of the American Ladies" :] ) We also got to walk down the aisle with our families to begin and conclude the ceremony.I truly felt like I was a genuine part of my family that night. I can’t put into words how incredible it feels to be invited to be a part of something so special. The love that we receive from our host families here is truly extraordinary. We are really going to miss them!

Please keep us in your prayers as we're all trying to balance spending time with our family and friends here in Mexico while working on the many projects, essays, and exams that we have to complete before the end of the semester (which for us is December 2 - and then we head off onto our two week long viaje (trip) around Mexico!). Gracias :)

Alexa Hook

piedras

So I must share with you what happened a few nights ago in my house here in Merida.

My papa was really excited to show me something. This something was tucked away in the ear of an elephant figurine.

But he dropped it on the floor before I got to see it. So for 15 minutes my family was on the floor searching for the KIDNEY STONE of my papa!!

(We think it shattered.)

A Surprise Visitor

Just thought I´d quick let everyone know what happened tonight as I was sitting with my family enjoying pan y coca (bread and coca cola). We were chatting about various things, my mountain of homework, when out of the corner of my eye what did I see? A rat running accross the floor, coming from the direction of my room, and towards us in the kitchen.

I didn´t have time to think or restrict my reactions, so I let out a true Alexa scream for about 3.5 seconds (frozen in fear) before I literally jumped in the air and onto my chair. I am beyond happy that I did not break the chair. But my mama and papa just stared at me in complete awe and terror before I managed to yell RATON! RATON! Then, finally, they knew why I was doing what I was doing. My papa stalled a moment then got up to chase it into the kitchen where we think it is hiding underneathe the stove. It wouldn´t come out. It won´t come out until we´re all sleeping I was reassured. Great...

Haha but we also had a really big laugh together. My mama told me that she thought I had cut off a finger or toe or something really horrible had happened. I scared her and my papa. My papa told me it was probably the first time in his life that he didnt know what to do about a raton because he was so shocked by my reaction. I seriously and truly scared both my parents!

Haha so all in all this is really funny, EXCEPT the fact that there is now a rat somewhere IN the house. I am going to remove EVERY crumb of food from my room before sleeping tonight. And I think I may even raise my hammock!

Buenas noches a todos!

Alexa

The perfect evening

I am really blown away at the love we are being shown here, and how accepted we've become into our families.

Last night, I was absolutely shocked at how much a part of the anniversary ceremony I was asked to participate in. I walked down the aisle two times last night as a part of my Santos Chi family.!Last night I truly felt like Alexa Santos Chi!

Papá, Rigo (13), Manuel Aaron (11), Mamá, Mi, Areli (9)

We walked into the ceremony as a family, and left walking to wedding music!

And the singing went alright! Although I didn't fool my mama here, she told me as soon as i sat down that she could tell I wasn't actually singing the whole time. True, but it was because of nerves. I actually couldn't remember the words at first!

In the itinerary, our singing was written "participation of the american ladies" (participacion de las senoritas americanas).

And there is so much more I'd like to write about last night, but I have to run to church right now. I'm also going to try and upload a few pictures from last night. Also, I got to have my hair done at a salon as a gift from a family friend!! :)

walking in. there were MANY more people

standing outside because there wasn't enough room inside.

singing :) there are videos too, i will post one when i can get ahold of it :)

abuelo y abuela. abuela es muy bonita, verdad?

hermanas. matching shawls.

black and white.

three granddaughters and daughter.

kristen and mandy!

Anyone who knows me will find this following story either hilarious, really ironic, horribly tragic, or all of the above.

Next weekend I am going to be part of the 45th (50th?) anniversary de mis abuelitos here in Merida. This event is very special, there will be about 200 people attending. The ceremony is in the format of a wedding.

Since I am a granddaughter, I have the priveledge, along with three other americana granddaughters and one americana daughter…to…are you ready for this?
...the priveledge to sing for mis abuelos in front of about 200 hundred people.
Really?
Me, Alexa. Singing. Period.
(If you dont know, I come from a family that lacks musical talent and I cannot sing. You should hear us when we sing happy birthday!)

What´s more, I didn’t bring a formal dress to Mexico, so I went out Shopping last weekend with my mama and hermana to pick one out. It cost less than 20 dollars US, but… upon looking at it a bit closer, it very much resembles the type of dresses I wore for ice skating recitles… in middle school. It’s really tight in the waist with a frilly bottom, and there are Diamond studs around the waist, and around the neckline. The thing is, there were no dressing rooms in the store where I bought it. I could only put the dresses on over my clothes. Also, there were no mirrors…so I thought from the Picture we took on a small cell phone that this dress was okay. Now…well…I’ll be singing in an ice show costume in front of hundreds of people.

I am debating whether or not I’m gonna muster up the courage and sing with these girls, or if I should just learn the words and lip sync. I would rather sing. I’m not one to really shy away from challenges. So perhaps I’ll just be taking extra long showers for the next week so that I can practice (that’s really the only time I ever have privacy – when I’m in the bathroom with the door locked). I hope you’re Laughing with me, because personally I find this to be really really humerous.

Oh and to add to the story, my papa here had joked with me about having to sing in front of the church or at the anniversary before this occurred. Even my family in Merida knows that I’m not too fond of / can’t sing!!

Thanks for readin’!!

Love

Alexa

PS I think the song we´ll be singing is Desde Mi Interior by Hillsong -¨¨ From the inside out.¨¨ Awesome!

BASQUETball!

Here's a post from the end of last week!

Oct 1

I am sitting in my hamaca (hammock) right now and it’s nearly midnight. My family is asleep, except for my papa who is still at Dominos working. I am leaving tomorrow for Playa del Carmen with 15 other Calvin students, and it’s a much needed excursion for me. I absolutely love my family here but I am looking forward to having a weekend where I can just BE – a tourist, loud, American. Or maybe this is a bad idea, to think that because I’m visiting a tourist area that I can let down my guard a little bit. We’ll see.

I have so much I could update you all on, but for now, I’ll tell you about the basketball team I joined at my University!

I was thinking about how I could include exersise into my lifestlye and schedule here in Mexico, when one of my friends from the Universtiy, Nora, asked me if I wanted to play basketball for the Communications team.

It’s basically like intermurals, except each carrera – or major - in the University has their own team. So for example, my team, Communications, might have a game against Political Science, or Nursing students.

My first practice was last night, and I was a bit nervous for two big reasons. 1 – I’m still sick (since last Friday) and didn’t know if I’d have enough energy and 2- I’ve had really bad luck and experiences with Bball teams because I’m not the most skilled player :P

Well, practice was fantastic! I’m pretty sure the coach thought Bri (another Americana on the team) and I were incapable of understanding the game because of the initial language barrier. He asked us if we’d ever played before. Then again, when he told me I was a post, I heard “eres la postre” which means “you’re the dessert”, so I guess he had good reasons to doubt.

But, for the first time in my life I felt like I was a valuable part of the team! I actually caught plenty of rebounds, made baskets, and was part of the plays.  (I AM one of the tallest on the team here!)

Things that made me laugh / smile:

5.  Some of the girls frolic when they run

4. A few girls wore ribbons in their hair for practice

3. Another girl wore yoga pants

2.      2. At one point we had all the girls lined up shooting baskets from the same point for about five minutes. I believe about one out of every twenty shots made it in the basket.

1.     1. The coach, after playing basketball pretty strenuously for about thirty minutes, disappeared momentarily, and returned smoking a cigarette!

That’s basketball. Our first game I believe is next week. I’m really excited. AND I think that all the endorphins from playing / excersising improved my Spanish momentarily. Seriously, it was just flowing in my mind on my bus ride home.

Also, here is a photo of my schedule here so you can see what I’m up to! I tried to include my bus time just to show how much of my day is spent travelling!

You can click on the photos to make them big enough to read, or here is a little guide:

Camión/ Bus    PEPS- Problemas economicas, politicas y sociales de México (economic, political, social problems of mexico, in the mornings) AND Baloncesto (in the evenings) - [Universidad Modelo]  Spanish 315/ 342 with other Calvin students  [El Divino Salvador, a church] Lingüísticas / Linguistics ( Monday and Friday) [Universidad Modelo] AND Evangelismo / Evangelism and Capilla / Chapel (Thursday)  [Seminario San Pablo]  Ethnographic study [Universidad Modelo and Sol y Luna]  Almuerzo / Lunch with my family! [mi casa!]

Love

Alexa

moto moto moto

I have a little bit of time in between my exam and our next excursion, so in true Alexa form, Ill spend part of it updating my blog instead of studying!

Ive been meaning to write about this but havent had time.

Less than a week ago I was riding on a moto with my padre to a church, el divino salvador, to study. I called Kristen while on the moto to ask her to come out and see me! As soon as we parked, I hopped off the moto in excitement to say hi.

I hadnt learned yet that you always get off the moto on the left side, not the right. Because of this, my leg briefly touched the muffler or exhaust pipe of the muffler which literally burnt/ melted almost every layer of my skin off! As of now the wound is healing, but looks aboslutely disgusting. Like, I could invent a diet based on looking at the wound on my leg!

A funny part of this burn, is that when i returned home that evening, every member of my family showed me the scars they have on their legs from the exact same muffler! Now, it´s ´ ´mi marca de la familia´.

My mark of the family, now I truly belong :P

LOVE, Alexa

en serio?

My day tomorrow 

(parte del semana de infierno :P) :

 

2:45AM – wake up

3:15AM -  pick up Jenna

4:00AM-   meet at Carl’s Junior to wait for the bus

4:10AM-  study in the bus for examen de lingüísticas

5:00AM-  arrive at Dbztaldune (sp?), and I’m still not sure what we’re doing there

7:00AM??- drive to La Modelo and study a little bit more until

9:00AM- EXAMEN DE LINGÜÍSTICAS

11:00AM- Exam finished, get in another bus and head for Chichen Itzi (sp?).

11:10AM- Study on bus for my exam de Problemas Economicos, Politicos, y Sociales de México

2:00PM- arrive at Chichen Itzi, walk around, watch the  shadow of a snake climb down the stairs (only happens twice a year on the equinox, it’s an ancient mayan site that was created to perform this spectacle with the sun’s shadow, still is unkown how it was constructed!! )

ETC

9 or 10:00PM- arrive back at home where I will study possibly all night and finish an essay (on a 350 pg libro about sucesion presidencial - presidential succession!) 

The best part about all of this, I’ve just about quit stressing out because this Schedule is so rediculous that there is no point in stressing. What happens happens, what I can finish I can finish.

 

PAZ AFUERA

 Alexa

estresados

I wrote this a few days ago but I'm still going to post it.

If you think of it, I’m pretty sure that the Calvin students here in Mexico would really appreciate your prayers. A lot of us are feeling very overwhelmed right now with the workload we’ve been given from our classes.
When I thought of Mexico and the adjustments I’d have trouble making, having a butt load of homework was the last thing on my mind. So I guess it’s a bit of a shock to find that I am sitting here stressed not over culture shock, but over exams and papers!
Well I suppose there is a bit of culture shock involved. For example, the professors here don't give out syllabi (typically), instead two two four days before an exam or a paper is due, they tell you in class. This can be quite nerve wracking for those of us used to knowing about the huge projects we have far in advance.
Also I’m finding it a lot harder to study here in Mexico. Some reasons why: It’s only the third week of having classes and the third week of living in a new country, I want to spend enough time with my family, I’m in Mexico and really want to experience the culture not spend all my time in front of a computer screen, the heat makes me constantly sleepy and unmotivated to study, and I have no personal or quiet space in my house to relax or study.
I’m really trying to remember that God is a lot bigger than my worries and to practice trusting Him with my anxieties. I think it's time I learn to get through the stressful times in life without so much panicking.
So yeah, here’s a little look at the other side of Mexico for me. Until now I’ve been for the most part really pumped about life and absolutely loving Mexico. Right now I’m feeling really heavy with stress and frustration because I feel like schoolwork is taking over my Mexico experience.
Yet despite all of this, I am still able to laugh to the point of tears (twice tonight) when I am with other Calvin students. The group I'm here with is truly wonderful and a blessing!
Paz y amor,
Alexa

Cerveza, hija!?!

I have a new favorite word here in Mérida, not because of the word itself, but because the idea behind it is fantastic.

 Botana.

Translated: Snack.

 But not quite the snacks you’d expect in the United States.

 I’ll describe what botanas are by telling you how I found out them and then what my family here in Mexico thought when I told them about my experience!

 To start, yesterday I had a wonderful time travelling yet again to the beach in Progreso with 6 or 7 compañeros from Modelo, and 4 other chicas from Calvin. We found plenty things to talk about the entire time despite our language barriers, and my abs hurt by the end of the day from laughing so hard at various things. One of the funniest things to me was hearing the Mexican student’s impressions of how we ‘gringos’ from Calvin speak! I will hopefully post videos of this later!

 So we started out by going to a restaurant for refrescas (beverages). I was hungry, so I was disappointed when I found out there was no food being served because it was about 12:30 in the afternoon. I was assured though, that if I ordered a beer, I would get some free snacks. Well, I didn’t want a beer, so I asked the waiter if the free snacks came with a coca cola light. He said yes, they would. And thus, I had my first encounter with botanas!

 The waiter brought out plate after plate after plate of appetizers for about an hour and a half or two hours, when we told him we had to leave. Apparently, there would have been even MORE dishes served if we hadn’t of been in a hurry.

 By ordering at least one drink a piece, we received about 20-30 free plates of food (to share between 10 of us). The plates were small, but tasty and filling.

 First we received tortilla chips and a bunch of different dips. There were refried beans, a dish made of potatos and carrots that was real spicy, then there were the sea food dips with squid and octopus.

 I thought that was all the botanas consisted of.

But oh, no. That was only the beginning.

 Then there were tomales, and different kinds of tomales (sort of) and other…stuff…that I had never tried before. I don’t have the names with me, but I’ll write about them later.

 It was fantastic. I fell in love with botanas yesterday. Tasty, and a great way to socialize for a long time rather than rushing through a meal. And the best part, it only cost me 40 pesos with the tip – which is less than FOUR US DOLLARS!!!

 Well, then I came back home to my house (where I’m writing this and will post it to the web later), and told my parents about the amazing deal I had discovered.

 They began to laugh really hard and talk real fast with each other, and the only word I kept hearing was Botana. Then they asked me – so you were drinking cerveza? Were you drinking beers? And I responded quickly “oh! No, no, only two of the guys with us were”. And they laughed some more and explained that typically botanas are only for people who order alcohol, and that the connotation with saying “I went to a place that served botanas”, is like saying “ I went out and drank beer with my friends”. And here, my parents told me, many of the families we know (and live with ) are conservative and Christian, so this would be a big mistake. My family is also Christian, but they understood the context so it was funny to them, not shocking or offensive. Someone who did not understand the context would assume I had gone out drinking, which is a big NO in this community (which, interestingly, is because it is such a big YES for some people, and there are lots of problems with alcoholism, so the Christian’s here take a big stand against drunkenness and drinking).  

 So now I know, it’s okay to say “I ate some botanas” because literally it means “I had some snacks”. But to say I went out to restaurant where there were botanas isn’t quite the same.

 In fact, I was told not to discuss this in church on Sunday when I see my friends who I went out for botanas with.

 I’m so blessed that my family here has a great sense of humor. They are always laughing and making jokes, and for that I am grateful. It makes me feel a bit more lively as I struggle with having any personality at all in another language, because I love to laugh and make others laugh.

 

All that wrapped up in one word for me,

Botana.

 

Paz y Amor,

Alexa

 

 

 

 

MLIA

The other day both my papá and hermano asked me if a mosquito bit my face or if maybe I had run into the wall and hit my forehead. When I said no, my brother took the initiative to act out what he meant by running his own head into the wall. In reality, I just happen to be breaking out pretty bad here in Mérida. MLIA - my life is average.

skype

I was on skype just now with Brittany, my dad, my stepmom.

I mentioned my sister's boyfriend.

Little did I know, she had been keeping it a secret from them.

I 'sniped' these photos to capture the moment.

Habaneros

This post is for everyone to read, but is a shout out to the Taube side of my fam. 

Habanero peppers are pretty common in my household here in Mexico. 

(This picture has nothing to do with habanero peppers, blog posts are just more fun with pictures.)

Last Thursday evening during dinner with the Calvin group, something reminded me of Habanero peppers, which reminded me of the time that we had the "Habanero Wars" - when I put the entire contents of a Habanero pepper in Aunt Kellie's coffee, and then Aunt Kellie and I (I think it was us) put Habanero seeds and juice inside Uncle Tim's cigar. Well I happen to think this was a pretty funny prank war so I started telling this story. I stopped when I received only blank stares and a general consensus that i could have KILLED my uncle Tim! They really thought it was a horrible and dangerous idea. Hah all this to say, I really appreciate you Taube's and your sense of humor. And I'll miss you while I'm here, but I'll be back before ya know it! 

 (And I never got to share the part where I was paid back with habaneros in my sandwich. And the jar of habaneros that were mailed to me over Christmas...which I honestly think might still be underneath my bed.)

hamacas

Everytime I´m in or near the plaza, I get asked at least 3 times if I want to by a hammock. `Hamacas! hamacas? hamacas!` The more it happens, the funnier it´s becoming. I think I should be annoyed, but instead I think it´s really comical. Yes, I´m a gringa, and no I don´t need a hamoca, thanks!

a la ciber

1. I got three more kisses on the cheek today from guys and girls in my class. It´s gonna take a while to get used to this.

2. When I think about what hugging must seem like to people used to giving kisses on the cheek, i think hugging would be harder to get used to. Your whole body is basically shmooshed up against someone you may or may not know that well.

3. I completely BIT IT today. My foot got stuck in a hole in the sidewalk and I fell pretty hard. Like,I was whipped onto the ground and my grande gringa backpack pounded me down even more. I was with Mandy and Chris and they didn´t know if it was okay to laugh at first and you know its bad when your friends dont even laugh at you :) EVERYONE looked at me. Then I went to walk into the street and almost got hit by a bus. For real. But the bus part is quite a normal occurance for me here in Mérida.

Adios.

¿Qué hora es?

Hey all, I'm currently sitting in the library of the University. I think I'll be spending a lot of time here to do homework since it's usually somewhat quiet, and even better, air conditioned. There is not a moment of silence at my house with three little siblings. Even when I attempt to read or do homework in my room, all three of them crowd on the floor around my hammock to talk. The other night, I went to bed a bit on the earlier side (10:00pm!!), and every time I was just on the fringe of being in a deep sleep, they came in to beg me to stay awake and play games with them.  

I thought Mexico would be a big change from last year as far as relaxing and having 'me-time' went, and maybe it's just a challenge to find ways to make 'me-time' when life seems to always be busy. I'm curious and a bit nervous and very excited to see what God's plans are for me this semester. 

I rode again in the back of a pick up truck with my family to a Cenote this weekend. I'm starting to notice more and more that it seems like everyone stares at me when I'm with my family in public. I guess I do stand out just a little. 

I was (all of us were) invited to go to a classmate's house on the beach this Friday after classes. I wanted to jokingly say something like "oh, and by then our Spanish should be much better!" and ... well I can't really explain it in English, but basically we ended up laughing at the fact that of all sentences, I couldn't manage to get that one out. One of the girls in my classes today gave me a kiss on the cheek when she saw me this morning, which is a way of greeting friends here, and I thought it was really sweet of her! But seriously, I want to improve my Spanish so I can actually have convos with our friends at the University. It's really hitting me how difficult it is to not be able to communicate what you're thinking. One or two weeks is okay, but now I just want to be able to have REAL conversations with my friends, and my family. I thought of all people I'd be the one to stick strictly to Spanish and not let any English slip into my vocabulary, but it's not always the case. Sometimes slipping in a few English words or sentences makes me feel a little more like ME. 

Also, I wore jeans today for the first time in the 95 degree humidity and heat. Now I just need to get rid of my bulging backpack that immediately makes me stand out as a tourist and replace it with a messenger bag or purse.  Then, I might just appear a bit less like a foreigner!

Paz Afuera!! 

Alexa

mas fotos!

I found my USB cord. Awww sí! 

So here are some pics:

One of the Three Cenotes!
In a cave thing in the cenote. Not sure why I uploaded this one really. 
Another cenote!
The trici-taxis we took to get to the first cenote. Then we rode in Trucks (trooooks!) to get to the others - sort of like a horse and buggy on a train track.
trici taxi con angela

mi familia here! papa, mama, rigo, areli, manuel

A cenote i visited with my family the day before the Three Cenotes.

How we got to that cenote. An hour and a half drive, I believe!

Manuel, Rigo.

In front of El Divino Salvador, where we have some classes, and where we study.

La Plaza, en el corazon de Mérida. 
My room and hammock :)

Las primeras fotos

 

Here are two pictures from my photobooth! One is with my hermanito, Manuel, y la otra is here at Claps, a restaurant in the center of merida, with some amigas and a really friendly waiter who said he learned to speak french in one month in quebec, canada!! Hay esperanza (there is hope!) for me!  

Paz Afuera

Day 1 of classes, almost done!

I had a linguistics and photography class at the Modelo today.

Also, here is a link with some photos from a trip our class took to the Cenotes!! It´s also the Calvin Blog, so there will be updates from our class there as well.

http://www.calvin.edu/go/mexico

It´s really hard to make sentences in English right now.

In our linguistics class, there were a lot of students from calvin and from the Modelo - about half and half. We got paired into groups mixed of students from calvin and the modelo. While we were discussing linguistics and other very interesting topics :p, a modelo student told us that one of the hombres from Calvin was muy guapo -handsome- to the mujeres here. Then while the maestra was talking, the same girl proceeded to take out a camera from her purse and take a picture of him, and he didn´t notice. Bri and I couldn´t stop laughing. We hope we can be friends with this chica.

Photography was really hard, the professor talked really fast and ´blurry´. I am the only student from Calvin in it. I was lucky to sit by a girl who let me look at her notes every five minutes to literally fill in the blanks that I drew in with lines on my paper! I missed every ten words or so! Hopefully this will get better...

Tell me how you are doing (comment or email me or something). It´s starting to hit me that I´m very much in Mexico...and it´s very much going to be this way for quite some time. In other words, I miss you all back home already!! :)

Paz Afuera (our gringo translation of peace out),

Alexa

vaca santa

buenos dias!!

my first blog éntry´in merida.

and i don´t have much time.

i like lists, so i´m going to list some of the things i think are most important or interesting about the past few days!
-first of all it feels like a dream that i´m here. i dont think its clikced yet that im going to be living here for four months. i really love it here so far

-i already know how to use the bus system!! well to get to and from mi casa, at least. the first day our parents took us to el divino salvador, the church where we meet and study and have one class, and then to0k us home. then the next day we had to do it ourselves. great idea, although scary, because now im comfortable with the route. the bus system is different here though! there arent stops, well there are a few designated ones, but instead when you want to stop you just say ´baja´, or stop! so you have to look out for where youre going. the first time i passed my calle -street- by a bit. i like the combis better than camiones. combis are really small buses like minivans that hold 15 ppl max i would guess. the camiones hold many people and stop more. they cost the same, six pesos. or 50 cents.

- coffee is ten pesos at OXXO -a tienda like 7 eleven in the us. thats less than a dollar!!

-mi familia is great. i have a papa, mama, y three hermanitos . rigo is 13, manuel is 11, arely is 9. arely talks and talks and never stops. i love it. but cant understand much. but mis hermanitos help me so much. they talk slow and repeat things ten times if i need it. i feel bad and hope ill understand them more soon. mi papa has the hardest time understanding me. but he always exlaims MI HIJA! HIJA! when he sees me.

- im learning some mayan phrases here too! wixim or wikim means i´m very hungry.
i
- the first night my mama thought i was very hungry but i really wasnt so she made me TWO sandwiches with ham avacado cheese tamato and peppers!! i ate them and was very full.

- the other night my papa came home from work , he works at dominos, and gave me an apple on a stick with what looked like red sugar or candy. i tried it and it was CHile! picante. my family laughed at the face i made. it was pretty funny. and its very common here im learning, to eat fruit with chile.

- i sleep in a hammock and im learning to like it. it was rough the first night.



- im always SWEATY. like, there is almost no point in puttin gon makeup in merida because you sweat it all off. its very hot here and humid. like the heat in michigan but hotter and the same humidity. or more near the ocean. but i think ill get used to it more as time goes on.

- yesterday i vistited a cenote!! which means sinkhole ithink. its likea cave with really fresh cold water inside because thelimestone filters it. it was beautifulinside! i went with mi familia. we had so much fun. it was about an hour or mor drive and i got to ride in the back of a truck. there were five of us and when it would rain we just had to duck. it was really fun.

- i really have trouble spe1aking and understanding my family, thats probably the most difficult thing so far. i want to understand more!


- today im going to three more cenotes with my class and then to a fiesta at my templo or church- thats called alfa omega -with my family!

- also, im learning how to play xsbox games. if youre reading this joey, be proud, i will soon be a halo expert!! sthaha. and im learning in SPANIS. its quite stressful having your two youngert brothers shouting at you in spanish phrases you dont really understand because you know its rally important to them that you fight and kill all the bad guys! :)

- ok my half hour is almost up so i need to check my email. i love you all and miss you and hope youre doing well

pictures to come. somehow. later.

i love you all mucho y mucho.
1
(jenn i think about you lots. tell me how goes the duplex and OL training.

christian sorry i never got to call you! i love you.

britt and mom and dad and bobbie and brian' - love you tons and will let you know when a good time to visit is as soonas i can.)

ADIOS.

Mexico

Hey everyone. I'll keep this blog updated the best I can while I'm in Mexico! 

The semester in Honduras has been changed to Mexico!   In a few days I'll be on a plane headed to Mérida in the Yucatan Peninsula (Honduras was determined to be unsafe for political reasons). The city has a population of about a million, and is a few hours by bus from Cancún. Here is a map:  

(From Lonely Planet)

I'll be living  with a family in the city, attending classes full-time at a University, traveling around Mexico and hopefully nearby countries, and taking in the culture of Mérida!!

 Mérida here we come! 

Until then, Alexa.

Honduras

Test. 

This is my new blog.

I will use it when I travel to HONDURAS. 

Until then,

Alexa