La Bufa

me and kayla comparing bicep size. i think i win.
at the bufa overlooking the city

so. on sunday, we went rappeling at la bufa. it was crazy. parts of it were freakin nuts and part of it was fun. the easy part was when we were rappeling down the side of the cliff, the crazy scary part was when we hung in midair. Out of 23 of us, 20 people did it, so I knew I couldn't back out. and if I did, I knew Alex would kill me. so here are some pics. it was a good day.yep. that's me. way at the top.about half way down the face manly men doing manly things

more photos

fireworks at the dia de independencia
a little restaurant in town.
plaza de la paz. the plaza in the center of town.
our group overlooking the city.
the night of the dia de independencia. Me with a fellow student, amber, who happens to be from canada. she told me to be tall in this pic. I think i accomplished that quite nicely.
walkin around town. and once again in my life, people are staring at me.

hola.

well. it is wednesday. life is good. classes are going alright. had a history test this morning that took me all of 15 minutes. way good times. a bunch of us went to this new club last night called guanajuato grill. crazy techno/electronica/rock/disco awesomeness. got back home at 2:30am. definitely had trouble stayin awake today. had another dance lesson last night and i've realized that salsa is my favorite dance right now. cumbia and merengue are not my thing. not a huge fan of those dances.

I am really enjoying myself here in mexico. actually kinda bummed we are leaving so soon to go to lima. i mean, it is so terrible i have to go to lima. but really, finally gettin the hang of this town and makin some friends with the locals. and my spanish is getting better. not great, but better. alright, gotta go do some homework (weird, homework). the pic is of the university here.

what a weekend!

so. what did this weekend not involve. crazy good food, late nights, and lots of sleep. friday night a bunch of us (other isa students and a couple of mexican buds) went dancing at a couple clubs. i think we got back to the house about 3:30am. then i slept the rest of the day. literally. saturday night we went out to dinner and has some pozule (i think that is how you spell it, a soup with pork, corn, chili, etc. really good), enchiladas, and floutas (taquitos). saturday night was crazy. at 11pm the whole town was at this certain building and we participated in something called el grito. pretty much a celebration of mexican national pride. very crazy and a ton of people. after that another night of dancing until 4:30am. sunday was then spent sleeping and watching movies. overall a good weekend. this week should be pretty cool. more dance classes, more good times. on sunday we are going to a mountain called la bufa, and we are going rappeling. should be sweet. the internet is super slow right now so having trouble posting pics, but never fear, it will happen.

It's friday.

just finished up with my classes. finally it's the weekend. however, it is going to be a weekend unlike anyother. Sunday is la dia de independencia (independence day), so saturday is going to be crazy. it is kinda like a new years eve deal. will fill you all in on the details on monday.

still dancing salsa. it is definitely something i have come to really enjoy. i'm going to another lesson tonight (my fourth this week) and i think its going to be close to three hours. crazy.

well, i'm out, hope all is well.

random photos

this is of my roomate and I with Salvador, my host mom's brother's (who lives next door and is my dance teacher)son

a typical lunch. first soup (in this case, sopa de pasta) and then some meat, rice, veggies, and beans all combined in with tortillas. the green stuff is salsa, and agua de horchata is in the big blue bucket in the back of the photo.
part of my house.
this is looking down pretty much in the center of town. the way the trees are trimmed is awesome.
guanajuato at night.

Samuelita

my new nickname: Samuelita. my host brother has become antonita and juan pedro has become pedrita. adding the -ita just makes your name like that of a feminine little girl. awesome.

jud and I had a conversation with our host family the other night about the economy and jobs and stuff. I have come to a better understanding of why so many people from mexico do all they can to get into the united states. Mexicans really have no confidence in their economy and their government, and the common wage in about $15 a day. A DAY. They thought my summer wage of $9 an hour was really good, but for me it was so-so. My host brother, antonio, is studying engineering with a concentration in topograhy, and he would really like to get a job in the states someday. there just really isn't any opportunities here.

ummmm, change of subject. i had another salsa dance class last night. i have come to the understanding that salsa is incredibly sexy. we learned a dip last night and it was Amazing. way good times. alright. will post more photos later.

sam

San Miguel de Allende and Leon

Saturday we where off to san miguel de allende, where we spent the morning at some hot springs that were awesome. after that we had the afternoon to tour the town, which is somewhat similar to guanajuato but had a real sweet church. on sunday we went to leon to watch a futbol game. crazy good times. here are some pictures that capture a little of what happened this weekend (remember to enlarge, just click on the photo):
pics include: me and my host brother, antonio, bein the thugs we are. another photo is of a side street in san miguel de allende. the other is of the church there, with another isa sutdent, brennan. the fourth is of the futbol stadium. the last one is of me and my roommate, jud.

Mexicano tu puedes

Mexicano tu puedes (you can, your mexican). when i feel like i can´t eat a second huge portion of food or don´t want to do something, my host family jokes that since i am now mexican, i can (mexicano, tu puedes).

desayuno (breakfast) usually consists of pan tostado (toast), frijoles (beans), and huevos con jamon (eggs with ham), or someother dish. comida (lunch) is made up of a sopa (soup), usually a pasta soup, then some dish that we can put in tortillas. i have a photo i will post later. lunch and dinner (cena) always have tortillas, so whatever meat and side dish we are eating we throw it in a tortilla, add some beans, and layer on the salsa. that is what i call a good time.

life is good here. dance classes three days a week (tues, weds, thurs) and lifting a couple times a week. classes are pretty chill and the spanish i am learning in class i am applying in my conversations so that is way cool. guanajuato has a lot of cool clubs, and a lot of us usually go out a few times a week, you know practice our amazing dance moves and the like. Haven´t connected yet with any mexican students besides my host brother, but hopefully this week will be able to make some friends.

the weather here is pretty nice. when it is not raining, which it was a ton the first week we were here, it is sunny and pretty warm. good shorts and tshirt weather for sure.

my roomate, jud, is a pretty sweet guy. since mexican people have trouble saying jud, he changed his name to juan pedro, which is funny. my host dad is juan manuel, my host brother is juan antonio, and now there is juan pedro, so at times i have become juan samuel. my host mother, leticia, works at a hospital as a manager, manuel was working at the hospital, but recently switched jobs somewhere else in a manager role. antonio is an engineering student at guanajuato university and some days he has up to 11 hours of class. crazy. i only have 4 hours a day and that seems like a lot.

well, i´m out for now. i have some pictures from this weekend at san miguel de allende and the futbol match at leon, but will post those and write about them in the next day or two when i am using my own computer (in an internet cafe right now). adios.

yello. it is now the weekend. holla! had my third dance class last night and i really feel like i have the basics down. the last two classes i have danced with other students from isa who know less than i do, so i was kinda in the teacher role. which was crazy. me, teaching someone to dance?



oh yeah, if you click on the photos, they will open in a new window alot bigger, just a thought. i will try and post more soon.



can't right much cause i gotta go get lunch in a few minutes, but probably just chillin the rest of the day. should be a good time. alright. adios.

Well, I just finished up my third day of classes. I must say they are some of the easiest i've ever had, but hey, can't complain right? I'm taking 2 hours of latin american history a day, the teacher is alright but should be an interesting class. Also have an hour of spanish conversation and an hour of spanish grammar. I've learned most of this stuff before, but forgot most of it, so it is good review. (pics are at teotihucan, the pyramid of the moon is in the background of the group photo, pyramid of the sun is in the background of the other)

A couple of exciting things have happened recently. I had my first dance class last night. lets just say dancing is harder than it looks (especially when your 6'8" and all the girls are half your size). It was a two hour class involving various dance styles, but we mainly focused on salsa. The first half i was with a girl about as good as me, and we were completely lost. the 2nd half i danced with two different girls who are amazing at salsa, so they helped me along with the basics. All i have to do now is learn how to move my hips. agghhh. I also finally got my gym membership, so i've lifted the last couple of days. feels good to be active again. another cool development is at the end of september, there is an orchestra performing queen songs, and i got a ticket, so i'm way excited. this saturday we are going to san miguel de allende where i guess there are some sweet hotsprings. on sunday we are going to leon to watch a futbol game. yeah!

life has been good so far. everyone in my group is pretty cool and we all get along pretty well. my spanish is still alright, but i've got 3 months ahead of me of spanish, so it will come. definitely times when i'm frustrated with it, but i'm learnin from my mistakes. the last photo is the city of guanajuato. the huge white building in the middle is the university, and the yellow one is a giant catholic cathedral. this place is awesome. however, all the businesses, clubs, and things to do are in the center of town, and all the houses are up on hills, so lots of walking uphill. lots.

me gusta mexico.

it is 6pm sunday night. have had a crazy last couple of days. yesterday was spent visiting a bunch of historical sites around guanajuato, including a mummy musuem, which was kinda creepy. last night was also spent at a few dance clubs, and it was pretty crazy. i'm definitely not much of a dancer, but i had a good time. salsa lessons start on tuesday (i'll have salsa lessons on tuesday, wednesday, and thursday), so i can't wait to learn. classes start tomorrow, which is actually a good thing cause it will give me more of a routine.

me and a couple of the guys are getting a gym membership tomorrow for a month and a just found out were a track is, so going to do my best to stay in shape.

I went to a catholic service this morning and had mass. I understood about a quarter of what was going on, but it was an interesting experience. I went with my host family and they seemed to really enjoy having me there, which was cool.

We had a birthday party yesterday for one of the students and the most amazing tacos. the carne asada didn't stop coming for at least an hour, and the guacamole was so good. i also tried chorizo for the first time yesterday, which is a type of sausage, but dark red. really good. also had some amazing enchiladas for lunch today. i am definitely getting spoiled by my host mother. life is good.

next weekend we are going to a town called san miguel de allende, and possibly leon to watch a soccer match. cool beans. adios.