Hola amigos y familia! I'm starting my fourth week here. I have less than a month in Mérida and honestly, I'm already getting sad. I have had such amazing memories but I feel like I'm finally getting to the super fun point in my trip. My spanish is improving! In fact, I actually have some confidence haha. I still have a long way to go with Spanish but I can feel the improvement. I am lucky to have such a rewarding experience.

Some things I love about Mérida:

The people. Gosh. Church is so powerful every sunday. I now understand more of what it means to be "a humble people". It feels like there are less barriers in relationships. All types of relationships... familial, and with God. My family cares about their religion, family, and education. Those are the main topics of conversion at the dinner table. I'm always so excited for meal time because I haven't eaten in about 7 hours and, because I always learn so much from my parents Elisa and Carlos. They have so much knowledge and love to teach us. Also, they have such a strong marriage and bond with extended family. Carlos had a business trip this week and had to travel to Cancun and Campestre. He was gone for 2 1/2 days. When he got back, Elisa ran up to him, they kissed, and then were attached at the hip the rest of the night. ah! love them. The people here seem super happy.

Kicking it poolside. That's their chihuahua Dana.

On our way to the Vaqueria -the traditional yucatec dance- in Centro.

The lady on the right is my grandma. We are at her house in downtown Mérida.

The food. I thought I wasn't going to like the food because I'm not really a huge fan of Mexican food in the states. However, the food in the Yucatán is very different than the rest of México and especially from the US. Actually, everything about the Yucatán is very different than México. Until 1950ish, this state was isolated from México because of the mountains and poor streets and thus, has had a huge influence from Cuba and Europe. This influence has affected all aspects of the state, including food. The people are very proud to be Yucatecan and especially to live in Mérida. Although they aren't a separate country, they actually have a separate republic and I have heard people here talk about how one day the Yucatán will be a separate country from México. 

Our mom makes a new meal every day. We have tried so many dishes! We have only repeated meals for cena, our dinner meal that is usually pretty small. But almuerzo is always a big meal and also an event. We eat together and Carlos comes home from work almost always. Meal time is important here. I've always wanted to have that in my family because it is so important, but it just seems so hard to make time for that in the states. One of my favorite meals so far is enchiladas verde. The tastes here are so different than what Americans know as Mexican food. The enchiladas had a slight pesto taste, it was so yummy. We always ask Elisa about our favorite meals and if we could make them when we go home but she usually says no, you can't find this spice or chile, or fruit in the US. haha I'm sure I'll be able to find substitutes for certain ingredients, but I imagine it won't be quite the same. I also love pescado (fish). I had an amazing meal in a gorgeous fishing town called Celestún this past weekend. It was drenched in lime, like almost everything here. 

Fútbol. I was surprised, and totally bummed when I found out that Yucatecans don't love fútbol as much as the rest of México. Actually the most popular sport here is béisbol. Even still, there are canchas everywhere! Saturday I played fútbol de calle for my first time. You can walk from pretty much anywhere, find a cancha, and Mexicans to play with. So good. Other than speaking spanish, soccer is what I want everyday. Next time i'll post a picture of a cancha in the street.

Hamacas. I take naps and sleep in a hammock every night. Beds aren't even comfortable anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go home. I have always slept really well at nights but I have never slept so well in my life. stoked! 

The hammocks here are way different than what they sell in the US. They don't have wooden bars and it's not easy at all to fall out of them haha. It's a little tough to explain but they're made from nylon and weaved in way that supports your whole body when you sleep. I've especially noticed the support in my back. Our rooms are designed for hammocks with heavy duty hooks. You can buy different types and colors too. They have hammocks for infants, singles, and couples. I bought one for me and my future husband and one for my parents! 

It takes about 3 weeks to make a hammock because they are weaved from hand. Such an intricate process. We met the lady who made ours and saw her shop. Wow. So crazy that she does it for a living and that we only pay her 500 pesos for one (about $50). 

Just hangin

Some things I miss about America:

I miss clean streets, clean clothes, beautiful landscape in front yards, the weather, the mountains, milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, definitely not cheeseburgers, driving a car, and only occasionally seeing a bug in the house. I've really had to get used to seeing ants on the dinner table. I don't think I've had one meal without seeing one. 

Excursions:

Our second excursion was to Uxmal, the second most visited ancient Mayan town here. It was super interesting. There were way more ruins than at Dzibilchaltún. We had a tour guide who spoke super fast, and threw in tons of Mayan words so of course I didn't understand a lot of what he said. I did understand that the rain god was super important to them and his name was Chak. I also so a ball court where they would play a sport (similar to basketball). The loser was sacrificed, and supposedly it was an honor to play. After my visit to Uxmal and talking with my dad, I was feeling like that town, or what we know about it are the remnants of either the Nephites (towards the end of the BOM who became wicked), or the Lamanites who perhaps inhabited Nephite cities. Either way, seeing the Mayan ruins is super cool! 

This is me in front of the pyramid of the magician

We saw the luz y sonida (light and sound) show and listened to a Mayan legend.

Our third excursion was to the fishing town, Celestún. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Mérida. We rode boats to see flamingos and also saw the "petrified" forest which is basically manglare trees in the middle of the ría. It was cool because you couldn't see the roots, basically just the branches and trunks. Celestún is gorgeous, the water is so green, and it was super nice to have a relaxing excursion and break from school. By the way, we wake up everyday at 5:30am for school, catch the bus between 6:20-6:30 and don't get to bed any earlier than we usually do. Somehow I am fine. I usually take two 3 hour naps during the week in my hammack. Feels great. 

This is my favorite picture I've taken. 6:20 am. way too early. 

Celestún

The petrified forest

For some reason we decided to take squatting pictures everywhere we go haha

This friday we're going to Chichen Itza. Gunna be so rad.

I finally decided to make my appearance on this blog thing because it seemed like the easiest way to show my family and friends about my trip to Mérida, Mexico. This city is already a special place to me. In love with it right now! But even more in love with the Spanish language. The experiences I am having here are so intense and exciting because my life has never changed so drastically and in such a short amount of time. Learning a new language can be extremely frustrating. It's similar to a puzzle or any other similar game because you don't know how you're going to finish it, and you don't know where all the pieces should go. But you know what it is supposed to look like. So you just keep going. I usually don't understand everything in a sentence that my Latino friends are telling me. But, I gotta try and figure out what's going and focus on the main idea. A game all day! A metaphor for life.

Anyways, here is my bed! I know my family will want to see this. 

La Universidad de Modelo. It's pretty great here! There was a lizard in my classroom the other day. There is a nice library, and even drinking water! The professors are very intelligent and classes are never boring. There are only 10 students in my class. Such an amazing opportunity. 

I wear coral errday here. Brought way too much. woops!

Those are the classrooms in the back. This city is super hermosa.

My roomies Alli, Gayleen, and Audrey (in order). I am so impressed with them always. Gayleen is blazingly intelligent. Audrey is constantly thinking bout others. Alli is rock solid.

By the way that is gulf of Mexico behind us. The water was perfect!

Our first excursion was to Dzibilchaltún. One of the important Mayan ruin sites. It was first inhabited in 300 BC and then the city flourished in the post classic era around 800-1200 BC. It was only a 20 minute bus ride from our house! This ruin in the middle of the site is called "Las siete muñecas". They told us that on March 21 every year you can see the equinox through the huge windows and the light shines in from the back and out the front. It's supposed to be gorgeous. That's me standing right where it happens.

This is called a cenote. It's basically a natural sinkhole. Very typical in the Yucatan. The water felt so good in this 90+ degree, 70% humidity, grueling sun. We spent an hour in the water, and performed various tricks off the rocks. 

Here is an excerpt from my journal that I wrote while I was in Dzibichaltún: 

" I felt like it was a sacred place. It's amazing to think of and honor those who came before us. Where I am is also important in the LDS history because there is some Book of Mormon evidence here. Elder Grow's belief that the Mayans were the Nephites and that the Aztecs were the Lamanites seems accurate. I wonder where exactly it was the King Mosiah taught the people of Zarahemla. Dzibilchaltún was run by the administrative and religious elite. Sounds like the descendants of Nephi. I am excited to one day learn the secrets and wonders of this earth...I feel like I'm on cloud nine even though this is no easy. I'm hard on myself i know. But my Spanish has already improved immensely. The people here are so patient with me!"

Mi hermanita Ximena!

Rain dances! Rain storms just walk right in without knocking. That's the balcnony right outside our rooms. 

Hammacas! Its very common for people here to just sleep in hammocks. Imma one back to the USA.

On our way home from school. Busses here are called camiones. Always an adventure because the system can be super confusing. The first day we went without our madre I sat next to a really nice lady who could tell we were new at it. She saaid, "La universidad es aquí and yelled Baja!" She was super nice.