Mom got here Sunday and we have been having a blast so far! Sunday, Carlos and I picked her up from the airport. We got her settled in a hotel about a 10 minute walk from my house, and then she came over and had lunch with me and my host family. Then I showed her around the downtown a little bit - to the important hang-out places such as El Jardin and La Basilica.
Monday, we went to Museo de la Cera (museum of the hill), which was basically just some wax figures of important people in Mexican history. It wasn't very exciting. Then we went to the Municipal Market in Las Embajadoras where they sell tons of produce, cooking supplies and other stuff. On the way back, we passed a froo froo candy store and got suckered in to sampling pretty much every type of Mexican candy that there is. We ended up buying tons of candy! Then we went to Mercado Hidalgo where they also sell produce, as well as ceramics/pottery, leather stuff, touristy stuff, and every other type of stuff. Mom bought some dried "jamaica" (hibiscus flowers) to make agua fresca de jamaica. She also bought some huge cinnamon sticks. Then, we went to my favorite cafe, Santo Cafe. We had great tortilla soup and an awesome crepe stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, tomatos, and with chimichurri sauce on top.
Today, we took the bus to San Miguel de Allende - another city about an hour from here. We walked around the downtown a bit and went to the Artisanal Market which it is famous for. I was hungry and in a bad mood, so we ate at some expensive restaurant, and I got fetticini alfredo! It seems like it has been SO long since I've had pasta... wow. It was great. Later, we took a taxi to the hot springs outside of town. There were different warm pools, and then there was a weird, dark tunnel that lead into a dark circular pool with a dome shaped roof. Water from the hot spring poured out from a spout in the side of the room. It was "wild" as mom put it. On the way back to Guanajuato, we took the "luxury" ETN bus back so that mom could see how great it was.
We'll see what adventures we shall have tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Barra de Navidad
I got back from my vacation at the beach on Thursday. Eight of us from my program went - 6 females and 2 males. We went to a beach about 9 hours away called Barra de Navidad. It is a small town with fewer tourists than most beaches. Surprising, the bus ride there was actually very nice. We took the "top of the line" bus line (ETN), which had huge reclining seats, footrests, several tv monitors which played bad Tom Hanks movies, bathrooms, and even food and drinks! However, the trip there was prolonged by the fact that we had a two hour layover in Guadalajara.
When we finally got to Barra de Navidad, it was already dark. We walked to the hostel, threw our stuff in the room and went to eat. Then we headed to the beach with John's guitar, and sang camp songs for a while. We spent the remaining three days of our time there at the beach mostly. We sunbathed, swam a little, and ate a LOT. There were even vendors who walked up and down the beach, selling everything from jewlery, to donuts, to fake tattoos, to pineapples filled with pineapple-watermelon puree with chili and lime on top (of course). I caved in and bought one. At night, there was one main bar that we frequented, which was sadly filled with tourists. However, I did meet some interesting, retired, drunk old men there. I also met many people from Guadalajara who were vacationing in Barra. One awkward thing that happened a few times was that complete strangers wanted to take pictures of me and my friends, or with me and my friends. This has also happened in Guanajuato... it seems a bit weird to me.
The last day, we took a bus to another beach that was close by. This beach was better because it was wasn't as windy as Barra. I went swimming but declined to go on the Banana Boat (literally, a gigantic inflated banana pulled by a motor boat). Also, Jeanie saw a mantaray swimming in the water.
The only thing that was bad about trip was the hostel. I beg you, NEVER, NEVER stay in "Hotel Jalisco" in Barra de Navidad. Ughh. It was disgusting and extremely overpriced for the quality of everything. Plus the owners were rude and unhelpful. Too bad we already paid in advance. First of all, males and females were supposed to have seperate rooms, and we were all supposed to have our own beds. But we didn't. There were three queen beds and two singles in two connected rooms. So most of us had to sleep two to a bed. Also, the "covers" on the beds were SUPER thin and so cheap and old that they had holes in them. So we were freezing at night, and the windows to the room would not close. Lastly, we all had to share one bathroom. The bathroom didn't even have a door, it only had a shower curtain, which does not provide very much privacy for anybody who has intestinal issues. Inside, there was a toliet and a shower head which sometimes only had freezing cold water. We called our room "the hell hole".
Ahem, but to end on a positive note... other than that it was a great trip! I really did have a great time, plus I got a nice tan and was able to relax for a few days.
When we finally got to Barra de Navidad, it was already dark. We walked to the hostel, threw our stuff in the room and went to eat. Then we headed to the beach with John's guitar, and sang camp songs for a while. We spent the remaining three days of our time there at the beach mostly. We sunbathed, swam a little, and ate a LOT. There were even vendors who walked up and down the beach, selling everything from jewlery, to donuts, to fake tattoos, to pineapples filled with pineapple-watermelon puree with chili and lime on top (of course). I caved in and bought one. At night, there was one main bar that we frequented, which was sadly filled with tourists. However, I did meet some interesting, retired, drunk old men there. I also met many people from Guadalajara who were vacationing in Barra. One awkward thing that happened a few times was that complete strangers wanted to take pictures of me and my friends, or with me and my friends. This has also happened in Guanajuato... it seems a bit weird to me.
The last day, we took a bus to another beach that was close by. This beach was better because it was wasn't as windy as Barra. I went swimming but declined to go on the Banana Boat (literally, a gigantic inflated banana pulled by a motor boat). Also, Jeanie saw a mantaray swimming in the water.
The only thing that was bad about trip was the hostel. I beg you, NEVER, NEVER stay in "Hotel Jalisco" in Barra de Navidad. Ughh. It was disgusting and extremely overpriced for the quality of everything. Plus the owners were rude and unhelpful. Too bad we already paid in advance. First of all, males and females were supposed to have seperate rooms, and we were all supposed to have our own beds. But we didn't. There were three queen beds and two singles in two connected rooms. So most of us had to sleep two to a bed. Also, the "covers" on the beds were SUPER thin and so cheap and old that they had holes in them. So we were freezing at night, and the windows to the room would not close. Lastly, we all had to share one bathroom. The bathroom didn't even have a door, it only had a shower curtain, which does not provide very much privacy for anybody who has intestinal issues. Inside, there was a toliet and a shower head which sometimes only had freezing cold water. We called our room "the hell hole".
Ahem, but to end on a positive note... other than that it was a great trip! I really did have a great time, plus I got a nice tan and was able to relax for a few days.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Weekend Adventures
I have been BUSY the past week or two. I had a 13 page exam in my grammar class on Thursday (huacala!) But luckily now I have a two week vacation... mañana I leave for the beach - a place called Barra de Navidad, it's about a 9 hour busride. Apparently the buses are "very nice" but we shall see how "very nice" they are...
Also, Dia de Las Flores/Dia de la Virgen de Dolores was this past Thursday and Friday. The tradition is to stay up all night on Thursday, and then go to the main plaza on Friday and eat breakfast. And then boys are supposed to give pretty girls flowers in the plaza, and there are virgins everywhere. I mean, Altars to the Virgin of Dolores. Yep, and I did it! I stayed up all night and then had tamales for breakfast with Amanda P. And I also got flowers from two people! Well... one of the was my host brother.... but still! Then I went home and slept until 5PM.
Anyways, the past few weekends, I have had a few other adventures traveling to other small towns or "pueblos," mainly with my host brother Carlos who is a photographer:
La Luz: A small mining town with ruins of Spanish "haciendas" on the outskirts. Probably from the 17th century. Haciendas are huge houses that belonged to the rich owners of the mines. They were also sometimes used to process the minerals from the mines. La Luz also has a beautiful small church, a town square, and tons of adorable farm animals.
Santa Ana: Again, a small mining town with ruins of haciendas... The town used to be huge... back 300 years ago. Now it is just a small farming community. I think the mine closed down. Anyways, the ruins are so beautiful because they are in a lakebed which is underwater half the year, during the rainy season. Since this is the dry season, we could go down and walk around the ruins. We also walked all the way to the dam which creates the lake. It was quite a muddy journey at some points.
La Presa: Me and a bunch of friends (including my Norweigian roommates) went to the house of some rich friends. They have a weekend house on a lake which is created by a dam. The dam caused an entire town to be flooded, and now it is at the bottom of the lake. The only thing that remains is the town church which sticks up in the middle of the lake. The lake is surrounded by a few really huge, rich houses... and many poor farmers whose cattle graze around the lake.
Also, Dia de Las Flores/Dia de la Virgen de Dolores was this past Thursday and Friday. The tradition is to stay up all night on Thursday, and then go to the main plaza on Friday and eat breakfast. And then boys are supposed to give pretty girls flowers in the plaza, and there are virgins everywhere. I mean, Altars to the Virgin of Dolores. Yep, and I did it! I stayed up all night and then had tamales for breakfast with Amanda P. And I also got flowers from two people! Well... one of the was my host brother.... but still! Then I went home and slept until 5PM.
Anyways, the past few weekends, I have had a few other adventures traveling to other small towns or "pueblos," mainly with my host brother Carlos who is a photographer:
La Luz: A small mining town with ruins of Spanish "haciendas" on the outskirts. Probably from the 17th century. Haciendas are huge houses that belonged to the rich owners of the mines. They were also sometimes used to process the minerals from the mines. La Luz also has a beautiful small church, a town square, and tons of adorable farm animals.
Santa Ana: Again, a small mining town with ruins of haciendas... The town used to be huge... back 300 years ago. Now it is just a small farming community. I think the mine closed down. Anyways, the ruins are so beautiful because they are in a lakebed which is underwater half the year, during the rainy season. Since this is the dry season, we could go down and walk around the ruins. We also walked all the way to the dam which creates the lake. It was quite a muddy journey at some points.
La Presa: Me and a bunch of friends (including my Norweigian roommates) went to the house of some rich friends. They have a weekend house on a lake which is created by a dam. The dam caused an entire town to be flooded, and now it is at the bottom of the lake. The only thing that remains is the town church which sticks up in the middle of the lake. The lake is surrounded by a few really huge, rich houses... and many poor farmers whose cattle graze around the lake.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
My Contact Info
Send me something! Call me!!!! I miss the States!
Amanda Tsang
Tenaza #24
Col. San Javier
Guanajuato, GTO
36020 MEXICO
Phone: 011-52-(473)-732-1618
Cell Phone: 011 -52- (473) 119-7899
Amanda Tsang
Tenaza #24
Col. San Javier
Guanajuato, GTO
36020 MEXICO
Phone: 011-52-(473)-732-1618
Cell Phone: 011 -52- (473) 119-7899
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