Today was fun fun fun fun! From the second I woke up until the second I fell asleep I was having fun. The morning started off with breakfast in centro. Classes were cancelled this week and so our teacher had to make up a few days of class. We went out to eat breakfast together and counted that. Why can't my classes at BYU be this awesome?
We ate at this amazing little restaurant that was half a bakery half a restaurant. Everything was made right there and so it was all delicious!
Best class ever!
The most delicious croissant I have ever eaten! It was still warm when I got it!
Amber, Natalie, Brooke, Lilia (our teacher), Lyndy, and I = Best conversation class ever!
Here is the delicious croissant in all it's pride and glory. Ahh I'm craving another one now!
The restaurant was so cute that we went to!
After breakfast we decided to explore the Mexican markets and see what we could find. It was quite an adventure! It was pretty crazy, but this is what Mexico is all about.
Gross... This room smelt soooo bad! There were dead chickens, pigs, cows, etc.., hanging from the ceiling and along all the walls. It was fo (gross in mayan).
Hmm... gross.
Guess what this is? It's an AVOCADO! They're huge here! Luckily our mom buys them all the time and so we have them with every meal. They're my fave... so huge and so delicious!
Pitaya aka Dragon Fruit
Seramuyo
Then we met this cute lady named Juliette and she was selling flowers and so I stopped to buy some for mama. I learned what some of the flowers were called and then used my floral design skills to teach her what they were all called in English.
We all bought flowers for our mamas!
Then I met up with mama at a different market and we went shopping together here. There were people everywhere and it was about a thousand degrees! But it was fun... lots of things to look at!
We bought lime squishers! They are the best things ever! They press every last drop of juice out of lemons and limes and we use them every day to make home made lemonade.
Shopping date with mama... Like her new flowers? ;)
You can buy this whole bag of lemons here for 5 pesos (about 40 cents!)... Also, the lemons here at green, so are the oranges. Someone told me that it has something to do with the humidity.
Habaneros! Soooo spicy!
Mama made Sopa de Lima for lunch and it was delicious! It's a traditional Yucatecan dish and I loved it! Lime, chicken, tomatoes, onions, and tortillas! Mmmm =)
After lunch we headed over to Brooke and Marie's house and had a pool party! We tanned, danced, sang, and then painted our bodies with the paint on the side of the pool haha. We are easily entertained.
Since coming to Mexico we have had a fascination with bigotes haha. Also I literally look like an old man here. Que oso!
Laurita is probably the most photogenic person I know. Look at this babe!
After swimming/relaxing we went to institute for Salsa lessons again! I danced with Moises, my usual partner, and we learned a ton of new moves. Moises is such a good dancer and they're having a competition in two weeks so we're going to enter! I can't wait =)
After dancing we headed over to the park for the paseo en bicis! Every wednesday night a big group of people go for a 4-hour bike ride around Merida and it's become a really cool tradition. It started as a small group of college students who wanted a way to raise environmental awareness and provide a way for locals to get to know their city better, but now it attracts all different types of people. My teacher told me about it and so we decided to check it out. We all rented bikes and it was $2.50 for 4 hours... so cheap! Then we met up in the park with everyone and it was packed! We were sooo excited!
Everyone there was cool... like probably the coolest people I've ever met! Before we started they gave us a little talk about the bike ride and explained why they do it, and then we got in a big line and started riding our bikes! There were 350 people there! I think they said that we set a record or something... it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done. There were so many cool hipsters there and everyone was having a great time. They plan out a route every week, and it's always different, but they have people who stop the traffic so we can ride on the roads and stuff. It's pretty slow though, so it was really chill. Lots of people were doing tricks along the side and showing off for us. I met a ton of people while I was riding too. Also, every hot Mexican was there, it was great. It was the perfect thing to do with people our age because it was just chill and fun.
We were the only gringos there! We loved it!
Ethan.. he's ready for the paseo!
Some institue kids came too and it was so fun!
Lilia (my teacher) came too! She's the one who told me about it, so we rode together for a bit! She's so cool, we had a lot of fun together =)
Ryan and I met the cutest girl ever named Alejandra! She's so adorable!
Kemish and Zuri are the cutest siblings ever! We always hang out with them.
Ryan wanted me to capture this...
Getting our instructions before we left...
Lyndy, Caitlin, and Ryan
In line and ready to start! There were so many people! Our line took up like two blocks.
Derecha! Derecha! All night haha.
Happy to be riding!
Jackie and I!
Waiting at a stop sign... We had to stop a few times along the way, but it was a great way to talk to new people and change positions in the line.
At the half-way point we all took a break at another park on the other side of the city. We hung out, ate some snacks, met some more people, and took some pictures.
Our new cute friend Samuel! We're eating "bolsas" haha... pretty much little popsicles in zip-loc bags.
Rest stop.
Every week they take a group picture. Here's a few people that were there... que padre no?
Sooo many people! Everyone was cheering and singing and full of energy!
We told some girls that it was our first time and then all of a sudden everyone started cheering and chanting "Guerras! Guerras! Guerras!" (white girls) hahaha!
We LOVE Mexico!
Today was a FUN day! Breakfast, shopping, swimming, dancing, eating, and midnight bike rides! Life is good. There's no way I would ever do that many fun things in a week in Provo, let alone one day!