Today we went back to Tlaquepaque briefly before continuing on to a city called Leon which is famous for its leather and shoes. We spent most of the day shoe shopping there and then we got in the car and drove to Guanajuato.
How I pictured spending Halloween night:
Maybe resting in our hotel room in Guanajuato, or going out to buy some candy since we didn't bring costumes to go trick-or-treating. Maybe having a nice dinner, exploring the city, or some other activity that was at least a little entertaining.
How I most definitely did not picture spending Halloween night:
Spending a grand total of about an hour outside the house that we were supposed to be renting, with all of our luggage, waiting for the owner to come back from where ever she had gone so that we could get in. But of course, that's what happened. By the time someone finally came out of the house so that we could get in, I was so tired and cold that I didn't even mind too much that I could feel the wooden slats of the bed-frame right through the mattress. I fell straight to sleep.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, October 30th
Today we went to Tlaquepaque which is a large outdoor market with a lot of little stands. We spent most of the day there shopping, I think the parents enjoyed it, but I know none of the kids did. After that we went to an amusement park to make the trip a little more enjoyable for Nate and Abby. I wasn't feeling well so I just sat on a bench and read for an hour, though I did go on a few rides near the end. When the park closed at 6:00 we went to get dinner and then went to bed.
Friday, October 29th
Today was half day at school and the Halloween parade. I went as Hermione, and I think the costume was pretty good considering I made most of it myself! 
I think by far the funniest costume was one boy in my class who dressed up as Snow White with a short, bright pink wig! As soon as I got home at 1:00 and changed, we all got in the car for the long drive to Guadalajara. We arrived at the hotel around 5:00, I wasn't feeling good so I stayed in the room and tried to sleep while everyone else went out for dinner. They came back around 7:00 with some food for me too. We all went to bed soon after.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Saturday, September 11th
We went to Desierto de Los Leones again today, we ended up getting a little more excitement then we had planned, and not in a good way.
We were going with about 11 other families, most of which we didn't know. We arrived at the meeting place at about 12:00. I found Miah's mom and asked her where Miah was, she said that she had taken a walk into the forest. So I walked straight down into the forest to go look for her, I gave up that idea pretty quickly since the forest was huge. I decided to keep going anyway and explore. Ethan, Tomas and Miah's little brother Noah followed me into the woods, Ethan and Tomas didn't follow for long because they thought that they had seen a spider and went back. Noah kept going with me. We walked for a while, climbing through the underbrush and crossing back and forth across the river that we were following quite a few times. Probably about 30 minutes later we decided to head back because the parents might worry about us, we turned around and headed back the way we had come. We happened across a path and followed it for a while. Then I realized that we were on the wrong side of the river and we wouldn't know when to leave the river and go up through the woods. So we worked our way down off of the path and after a lot of hard work, we found a place where we could cross. We started heading up the hill because we had come down to find the river. We went that way for a LONG time and the brush was just getting thicker, that was when we realized that we were completely lost. We tried to keep going, I knew for a fact that we had to go up, but it never occurred to me that we might be on the wrong bank. XP As we climbed I heard Noah start to sniffle, and before long he was sobbing and panicking. That boy has a wild imagination. "What if they leave without us? What if we die of hunger? What if a bear comes and eats us?" That's all I heard between sobs as he followed me. I asked him if he really thought his parents would leave without him and then told him that it takes weeks to die of starvation and there weren't any bears in these woods. He continued panicking. At this point I started worrying too, we had been gone for a long time and I was sure that the parents had noticed by then, but it was a big forest. Then Noah started yelling for help without listening to see if they called back. He started up a stream of, "MOM! HELP ME! I'M LOST IN THE WOODS! FOLLOW THE RIVER AND THEN GO UP!" and he repeated this every few steps. I had to tell him to be quiet so that we could listen for them calling back. I was terrified and Noah's panicking wasn't helping, I also started to get very upset, but I didn't panic. After a while I heard a faint voice coming from down and to the left, aka, the opposite direction that we were going. By now, Noah didn't trust me and I had to convince him to follow me in going the opposite direction that we had been going, even though he could hear the voice too. "What if it's not them?" "Well we know that it's a person, a person will most likely have a cellphone." "Do you know how to ask that in Spanish?" "Yes." "How will they know where to find us?" This went on and on as we slowly worked our way towards the voice. When we finally got close enough to hear them clearly, I could see that it was my dad and Mr. Marcus. We made our way towards each other and then they lead us back, we meet up with Noah's dad and my mom on the way. I broke down when my dad reached us. I had been trying to hold it in, but I couldn't anymore. We had been gone for a good 2 hours if not 2 1/2. When we got back to everyone else, I washed my filthy hands and many scratches, had some water, ate a bit, and just rested for a while. While we had been in the woods, I wasn't hungry, thirsty, cold, or tired, just scared. When we got back, I suddenly realized that I was all four! I took a break for a while and calmed down while Miah told me what had been going on at her end.
When Ethan and Tomas came back without us, they had told everyone that Noah and I were waiting a little ways down the river. But when we didn't come back after a while, the kids started worrying. They all went and told the parents that they didn't know where we were and made them come down. Then the parents got worried. They split up to look in different directions, calling for us the whole time. It took them a long time to get close enough to where we could hear them! Miah said that a lot of the kids were panicking just like Noah and the adults started getting really worried before they found us. After we got back, everyone calmed down and we had lunch.
A while after, almost everyone went to tour an old monastery, I was still not feeling my best but I was better, so I went too. Miah and I had fun joking about the monastery being "fascinating" and my "excellent" sense of directions. When we finished with the monastery, Miah and I went up the street to look at some little stands that were selling hats and we each got one. My family left right afterwards and we headed home.
We were going with about 11 other families, most of which we didn't know. We arrived at the meeting place at about 12:00. I found Miah's mom and asked her where Miah was, she said that she had taken a walk into the forest. So I walked straight down into the forest to go look for her, I gave up that idea pretty quickly since the forest was huge. I decided to keep going anyway and explore. Ethan, Tomas and Miah's little brother Noah followed me into the woods, Ethan and Tomas didn't follow for long because they thought that they had seen a spider and went back. Noah kept going with me. We walked for a while, climbing through the underbrush and crossing back and forth across the river that we were following quite a few times. Probably about 30 minutes later we decided to head back because the parents might worry about us, we turned around and headed back the way we had come. We happened across a path and followed it for a while. Then I realized that we were on the wrong side of the river and we wouldn't know when to leave the river and go up through the woods. So we worked our way down off of the path and after a lot of hard work, we found a place where we could cross. We started heading up the hill because we had come down to find the river. We went that way for a LONG time and the brush was just getting thicker, that was when we realized that we were completely lost. We tried to keep going, I knew for a fact that we had to go up, but it never occurred to me that we might be on the wrong bank. XP As we climbed I heard Noah start to sniffle, and before long he was sobbing and panicking. That boy has a wild imagination. "What if they leave without us? What if we die of hunger? What if a bear comes and eats us?" That's all I heard between sobs as he followed me. I asked him if he really thought his parents would leave without him and then told him that it takes weeks to die of starvation and there weren't any bears in these woods. He continued panicking. At this point I started worrying too, we had been gone for a long time and I was sure that the parents had noticed by then, but it was a big forest. Then Noah started yelling for help without listening to see if they called back. He started up a stream of, "MOM! HELP ME! I'M LOST IN THE WOODS! FOLLOW THE RIVER AND THEN GO UP!" and he repeated this every few steps. I had to tell him to be quiet so that we could listen for them calling back. I was terrified and Noah's panicking wasn't helping, I also started to get very upset, but I didn't panic. After a while I heard a faint voice coming from down and to the left, aka, the opposite direction that we were going. By now, Noah didn't trust me and I had to convince him to follow me in going the opposite direction that we had been going, even though he could hear the voice too. "What if it's not them?" "Well we know that it's a person, a person will most likely have a cellphone." "Do you know how to ask that in Spanish?" "Yes." "How will they know where to find us?" This went on and on as we slowly worked our way towards the voice. When we finally got close enough to hear them clearly, I could see that it was my dad and Mr. Marcus. We made our way towards each other and then they lead us back, we meet up with Noah's dad and my mom on the way. I broke down when my dad reached us. I had been trying to hold it in, but I couldn't anymore. We had been gone for a good 2 hours if not 2 1/2. When we got back to everyone else, I washed my filthy hands and many scratches, had some water, ate a bit, and just rested for a while. While we had been in the woods, I wasn't hungry, thirsty, cold, or tired, just scared. When we got back, I suddenly realized that I was all four! I took a break for a while and calmed down while Miah told me what had been going on at her end.
When Ethan and Tomas came back without us, they had told everyone that Noah and I were waiting a little ways down the river. But when we didn't come back after a while, the kids started worrying. They all went and told the parents that they didn't know where we were and made them come down. Then the parents got worried. They split up to look in different directions, calling for us the whole time. It took them a long time to get close enough to where we could hear them! Miah said that a lot of the kids were panicking just like Noah and the adults started getting really worried before they found us. After we got back, everyone calmed down and we had lunch.
A while after, almost everyone went to tour an old monastery, I was still not feeling my best but I was better, so I went too. Miah and I had fun joking about the monastery being "fascinating" and my "excellent" sense of directions. When we finished with the monastery, Miah and I went up the street to look at some little stands that were selling hats and we each got one. My family left right afterwards and we headed home.
Monday, August 23rd
Sorry that I didn't post for so long, school has been keeping me busy then the Internet quit and then I kinda got traumatized XP (see Saturday's post).
School started on August 23rd, a lot earlier than most schools in the U.S. My school is called Eton, it's pretty far away from my house and I have a long bus ride, but I get home in the afternoon at a decent hour. The school put me in 2nd grade....just kidding XD. It's called 2nd de secundaria (2nd of secondary) in Mexico the grades go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, etc.... So I'm really in 8th, they just call it second!
The girls in my grade are pretty easy to categorize. There's the huge group of about 20 Mexicans, the two Koreans, and me. I have become good friends with the Koreans, Jany (pronounced Hani) and Lora. They are like me, actually trying to learn in school instead of texting each other from under the desk like a lot of the popular Mexicans. Jany and Lora are Koreans by birth, but Mexicans by culture. The have both lived in Mexico for most of their lives and speak Spanish fluently.
I only have 3 English classes and there aren't any native English-speakers in my grade, so I pretty much speak Spanish all day. I'm not sure that there are any other Americans in the school. My classes in English are Social Studies, Literature, and Composition. My Spanish ones are: Math, Fisics, Civics, Spanish, History, Tutor, Computers, and PE. But not all in one day, obviously, they're spread throughout the week. Mexican middle school isn't like in the States, we only change classes twice, for English and Spanish classes. Instead of us changing classes, the teachers do!
I really like Eton and I'm glad that I chose to come here. I feel like I'm learning a ton of Spanish, but it's not really boring or hard! In other words, life is good right now! :)
School started on August 23rd, a lot earlier than most schools in the U.S. My school is called Eton, it's pretty far away from my house and I have a long bus ride, but I get home in the afternoon at a decent hour. The school put me in 2nd grade....just kidding XD. It's called 2nd de secundaria (2nd of secondary) in Mexico the grades go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, etc.... So I'm really in 8th, they just call it second!
The girls in my grade are pretty easy to categorize. There's the huge group of about 20 Mexicans, the two Koreans, and me. I have become good friends with the Koreans, Jany (pronounced Hani) and Lora. They are like me, actually trying to learn in school instead of texting each other from under the desk like a lot of the popular Mexicans. Jany and Lora are Koreans by birth, but Mexicans by culture. The have both lived in Mexico for most of their lives and speak Spanish fluently.
I only have 3 English classes and there aren't any native English-speakers in my grade, so I pretty much speak Spanish all day. I'm not sure that there are any other Americans in the school. My classes in English are Social Studies, Literature, and Composition. My Spanish ones are: Math, Fisics, Civics, Spanish, History, Tutor, Computers, and PE. But not all in one day, obviously, they're spread throughout the week. Mexican middle school isn't like in the States, we only change classes twice, for English and Spanish classes. Instead of us changing classes, the teachers do!
I really like Eton and I'm glad that I chose to come here. I feel like I'm learning a ton of Spanish, but it's not really boring or hard! In other words, life is good right now! :)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25th
Today we got pulled over for the first time since being back in Mexico. My mom, dad and I were on our way back from the theater (where we had seen Shrek 3) and my dad made an "illegal" U-turn. There was no sign saying that you couldn't U-turn, but there was no sign saying that you could. There was another place to U-turn up ahead and that was where you were supposed to turn. I'm going to explain something before going any farther. The police in Mexico City don't get paid very much, so when they pull people over they ask for a "mordita", in other words, a bribe. They give you two choices, you pay them now and go on your way, or they keep your driver's license, give you a ticket, and you have to come back the next day to fill out paperwork and then pay. As my dad said, you either pay in money, or you pay in time and money. With either option you can be sure that the money you pay isn't going to go to the government, the officers will split it up between them and keep it. So when the police pulled us over, my dad played new-to-Mexico gringo, he pretended to only know a little Spanish. While the police were trying to explain something that we understood perfectly (but pretended not to), I was sitting in the back trying as hard as I could not to burst out laughing! It was very funny watching my dad work to get the perfect balence, knowing enough so that eventually they would make themselves understood, but little enough so that they had to work pretty hard and repeat themselves a lot. My dad was aiming to make them frustrated so that they would let him off easy, it didn't really work. So after quite a while of listening to the officers try to explain, we paid them and they let us leave.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 18th
We went to the zoo today with the Michaels! It was really fun and we took lots of funny pictures (you can see them on Picasa!). We took the public bus to get there, my family rode it by ourselves because we were going to meet the Michaels there. My mom was a bit nervous because it was only our second time and she was doing it herself, but thankfully we got there okay. We had a great time and we only lost Nate once! When we were done with the animals we had to walk down a long street to leave the zoo, and there were stands selling things down both sides of it. It took us a while to leave, we bought a few things on the way out. When we left that street we headed toward the bus stop, but on the way we stopped to take some pictures of a few statues....
Do these look familiar to anyone? If they do it's because they're in our house! The bull is in the yard and the mermaid (yes that's what it is) is in the entrance! The guy who made them is very well known and some of his work is in famous museums. We have famous artwork in our house! :)
Do these look familiar to anyone? If they do it's because they're in our house! The bull is in the yard and the mermaid (yes that's what it is) is in the entrance! The guy who made them is very well known and some of his work is in famous museums. We have famous artwork in our house! :)
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