a quick update...

more photos:
http://s854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/beddowme/?albumview=slideshow

Anyways, time for an update - It's been a full week since I've had both time and internet connection, so this is going to be the abbreviated version of events...

We had orientation all week, consisting of guest lecturers and some trips around Mérida to learn about its history & see the sights...
Monday after the lecture, we went to el centro, la Gran Plaza (navigating the bus system alone!) and had a great meal (for 23 pesos, the equivalent of $2...awesome). Every night since then we've either worked on some menial task that seems to take hours, finding out way around and waiting for those buses (that don't even stop for you to get fully on or off), or gone out to hang out/explore. Yesterday we had a day @ Los Dos Cooking School, learning how to cook traditional Yucatecan cuisine, which was really awesome (and delicious). We also went to our first soccer (futbol) game here, got rained on and completely soaked through and - ah! I have to leave now - but more later!!

Salsa, comida, y el camión...

Where to begin?! First off, I finally got to go to an authentic salsa club - Thania & her friends Marisol & Paulina brought Paige (another international student) & I to Mambo Café on Saturday night (and by night, I mean NIGHT night... they don't even think about going out here until 11, and stay out until 4 or 5 in the morning!). It was a ton of fun, and even though I know only the most basic of steps, it wasn't too hard to follow along and get the hang of it - soon, though, I hope to start salsa classes! Sunday, my host mom Lesvia, Talía, and I went to Mérida en Domingo (this means Mérida on Sunday). All of the streets are blocked off downtown during the day, so that people may walk around as they wish. The cathedral was closed because we didn't get there until after two o'clock in the afternoon (but I hope to see that sometime - apparently it's gorgeous inside), but we got to see a traditional Yucatecan dance that is performed there weekly (along with beautiful music, of course), and plenty of street vendors with food and goods. A few of us shared an esquinate - this thing is surprisingly amazing. It's served in a little styrofoam cup, and you have to eat it with a spoon because it's the consistency of soup: made of boiled corn, mayonaisse, cheese, and the spiciest spices I can imagine - INCREDIBLE! Most all of the food here is incredibly, actually. We're going to Los Dos Cooking School on Saturday with the program, so hopefully between that and observing the cooking going on at home, I'll be able to make some of these for you when I get home! We visited a museum of la artesanía of different areas of México, from different time periods (I've posted some of these pictures on the photobucket site that's linked in the previous post - I'll figure out how to put a slideshow on here eventually). My favorite thing was what is called un árbol de la vida (the tree of life). Made of clay, these are sometimes very large trees that have little cositas - little tiny figurines - that represent all parts of life: from Adam & Eve & the serpent to cooking wares and toys. Afterward, we went to one of the central theaters of Mérida and got to sit in on a rehearsal for something; also, we went to the central building of UADY (the university at which we study). It soon started to rain, so we stopped at a little café and drank Jamaica - it's like tea, but cold, made from a flower, and has a brilliant purple hue - also very delicious. Afterward, continuing our city walk, we came upon the house/mansion of the original conquistador (el mojo?) who founded the city in 1542- very impressive building. Later in the day, after a big lunch (we eat lunch around 3 or 4, and dinner at 10, although it's more of a snack), Jonathan, Shoshi, and I went to a nearby mall to explore a bit more - what was NOT expected was that Jonathan found, inside of his ice cream, a piece of chewed gum!! Que horror, como dicen aqui. So much more to write, but I have to get ready to go to el centro - pues, mas tarde, amigos!! Que todos se vayan bien - adios!

Fotos

http://s854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/beddowme/?albumview=slideshow

^^until I figure out how to put pictures on here, this shall do :) Just a few from the first couple of days...more soon!

Mi primer día en la República de México

Hola a todos!! I arrived in Mérida at nearly one in the morning today, as my flight was delayed for over four hours out of Houston due to the stormy weather. My host parents, Lesvia and Alberto, were waiting for me right outside of the airport, and after a quick snack, I fell right to sleep in my cute little (and very hot & humid) bedroom. This morning I met more of the family: Thania (their 21 year-old daughter, who studies the business of tourism AND to my great delight, is a salsa-dancing teacher), Talia (their 19-year-old daughter, a student of graphic design at another university in Mérida), Lupita (Alberto's mother, who lives here as well), and Lesvia's extended family who live just about a block away, in the same neighborhood: los Jardínes Coloniales de Mérida. Lesvia's sister, Gloria, is also hosting a student, Paige, from Minnesota, so the four of us (Lesvia, Gloria, Paige, and I) spent the morning throughout Mérida, doing various grocery-shopping chores, etc., and showing us the places we'll have to find for bus-stops, program offices, and how to get to la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, where orientation will begin on Monday and classes a week after that. Tonight the extended family will have dinner together on the terrace (in this big beautiful backyard of theirs), and afterward Thania and her friends will bring Paige and I to Mambo Café to enjoy a night of salsa!
I hope that all of you Miami students are having a great move-in weekend, and good luck with your first week of class; to my family back home, I love you and don't miss me too much! I'll put up pictures soon (but first I have to take them...) - adios, amigos!

Un poema para el viaje... (A poem for the trip...)

Caminante son tus huellas
El Camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino:
Se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
Y al volver la vista atrás
Se ve la senda que nunca
Se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino,
Sino estelas en la mar.
-Antonio Machado

(This poem translates roughly to:
Walker, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more.
Walker, there is no road, the road is made by walking.
Walking you make the road, and turning to look behind
you see the path you never again will step upon.
Walker, there is no road,
only foam trails on the sea.)