Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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!

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