Uxmal (1/21/2012)

Lábna (1/21/2012)

Loltún (1/21/2012)

The First Weekend: Progreso Beach

This is Progreso Beach! Everyday that I haven't had school (Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday), this is where I've gone. It is only 20-25 minutes by bus and costs 16 pesos (around $1.20), so cheap! The town itself isn't as nice as Mérida, but it has it's own feel that I really like, very relaxing. The only thing that I don't like is the fact that every 5 minutes Mexicans come up to you and try to sell you worthless souvenirs, gets a little annoying after a while. Most of the group went on Saturday and we all stayed from 12-6 but the weather was kind of cloudy. The best day was Sunday when I went with my buddy Denny, the weather was perfect. Not many people from the group went so we got the chance to meet some locals. Made friends with one that showed us the boardwalk and some hotspots. Then he took us up on to his roof where we hung out for about an hour. Easily the best time of my trip so far. What I like most about this culture is how their pace of life is so much slower than in the states. They also don't need money to be happy; this guy's house had nothing in it but a hammock, a table, and two chairs. He was one of the happiest people I've ever met... Now that I've experienced most of Progreso, I am feeling the need to explore other parts of the Yucatan and hopefully put these pictures to shame. However, I don't have classes on Wednesdays so this is probably where I'll be since it's so close.

More posts next week!

Video of Fiesta Americana

Mi Escuela y Fiesta Americana

A few house pictures..

This is my house. It's less than a one minute walk to the school! Some of the students have to take two buses to the school and it takes them 20 minutes to get there, so we really lucked out! The pool out back is empty Nov.-Mar. but it is still really nice to sit out there!

More pictures to come!

Made it!

After getting my flight cancelled and having to wait in the Columbus airport for 6 hours, I have FINALLY arrived to my new home in Mexico! It has been a long day of travel, once we finally landed in Cancun from Charlotte, we had to take a bus to Merida, which took over 4 hours. I got off the bus to a chaos of confusion and I eventually met my host Mom who took me to her home. It is very spacious and is located just one block from the school where I will be studying. The family was very welcoming and luckily the Mom (Moza) speaks English. She said that she will speak English the first couple of days so I will feel comfortable but she will soon only speak in Spanish. There are a few other people living in the house: her husband (Pepe), their daughter and Moza's sister, all of whom know no English. They tried to say a lot to me and I had absolutely no idea what they were saying. Felt funny to be the foreigner and it made me want to learn as fast as I can. They fed me awesome pork sandwiches and Moza ended the night by telling me that she liked me a lot and that she expects us to get close over this quarter. The whole family loved the chocolate gift I gave them, thanks Mom!

I have orientation until 11:30 tomorrow and then we are all going to the beach (Progreso). Pictures soon!