August 22, 2009- Learning to sweat.

So, let’s talk about sweat. I woke up at 9:00 this morning and it was already 92*. I took a shower, stepped out, and by the time I had over- exerted myself by getting dressed, I was covered in sweat again. By 10, it was 102*. If anyone knows me the slightest bit, they know I am always cold…not so anymore. Studying abroad is all about learning and gaining new life experiences, now I know what it is like to be HOT. It got up to 110* today, very humid. I brought pants with me, scratch that idea. Time to buy more skirts or something.

Anyways, there is another chico from a different program here that is leaving tomorrow- had breakfast with him (Davíd) and Doña Ligia- lots of fruit, toast with honey, and pan dulce. My host mom talks a lot! I can understand about 75% of what is said and the other 25% just kind of blows right over my head. I’m sure that not speaking a word of Spanish all summer really helped.

After breakfast, I went to the supermercado with my host mom. As it turns out, I live in the historical center of town, half a block from a park with a lot of little restaurants, a bunch of different shops, etc. I’m about 4 blocks away from Calle 60- the main street in Merida, with has a lot more parks, cathedrals, etc. I think that I am a bit farther away from the other students on the program, but all in all, I don’t think I could have a better location to stay.

After wandering around in the heat, we returned to the house- I unpacked all of my stuffs. My room has a twin bed, a large closet, windows everywhere, and a fan that goes faster than you would believe, and now, has a hammock. I brought a total of 5 long sleeved shirts, what the heck was I thinking?

Lunch time came pretty quickly- we had some beautiful concoction consisting of eggs, tortilla, black bean paste, cheese, and a magical salsa (no clue what it was). It was delicious. She could care less that I’m a vegetarian, completely understands that I don’t eat any meat or fish, and is totally cool with it- que suerte! Lunch took a total of two hours, between the massive amount of food, talking (mostly listening) and whatnot.

After lunch, Davíd took me into el centro and showed me a few parks and cathedrals, UADY (Universidad Autonoma del Yucatan- mi uni), and a shop or two. I have only seen one other white person so far- which I quickly figured out is going to make me a target for every street vendor in the area. El centro is beautiful, there is so much to do, and I don’t even have a grasp on it. There are many different museums, a lot of dancing, a zoo, parks, festivals, etc, etc. Stopped for agua fresca (de sandia para mi)- I forgot how much I love the stuff! Great news- there are at least 5 different places to get it within 3 blocks. Still have yet to spot an ATM.

Poked around the house until dinner at 9ish, just some tortilla with cheese, sour cream, and magic green sauce. Davíd is taking guitar lessons and practiced some- I love classical guitar.

All in all, a pretty slow day- tomorrow looks to be more of the same. Orientation stuff doesn’t start until Monday. I’ve learned a lot of valuable things today though- I actually do sweat, to survive here I need to learn to dance, and last but not least, there are many different types of magic, delicious sauce (salsa).