Day 17, 18, 19: Dinosaurs, Frozen yogurt, Cockroaches

I was counting out the days and was surprised that I have been here 21 days. That's cool. However, it's crazy how fast time is already flying! I keep thinking I just got here a few days ago, not three weeks ago. I guess that just means that I'm keeping myself busy and having fun doing it. 

I guess I have been pretty busy. 

Last Friday was the finish of our first week of teaching! We survived! ... But at a price. We were all pretty tired and ready for something fun to do. And boy did we find something fun to do. 
Fridays are our Culture Class days. This is basically when this lady takes all of us around town or to her house and we learn about Tehuacan, Mexico, and lots of traditions and customs that are all around us. That Friday, we went to the Mineraila. It was cool walking into the little shop filled with rocks and beads of all colors and material and shapes and sizes. After looking through that for a couple minutes, I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong. 
She took us to the other side of the building where we went inside and saw....
A ginormous warehouse of stones. They were all made of different and cool material. There were sculptures and figurines and beads and such all out of material like Onyx and obsidian and jade and.... lots of others that I don't actually remember. I'm guessing that this place is the warehouse for all of Tehuacan. It was pretty huge. We walked down the aisles and I found something quite peculiar. It was kind of funny just sitting there in the middle of the store. I'll tell you this, it wasn't a rock. 

I made a dinosaur friend. So... My Friday was definatly super exciting!

After that adventure, we continued on teaching. Me and Miss Cassie had planned something extra special that day for the kids. We were pretty excited for the last 15 minutes of class. 

We were gonna have a dance party. :D Now if you know me at all, I LOVE dancing. Doesn't matter how or to what music, I pretty much love dancing in general. We decided to make it a song that all the children could sing along to (after all this is an English Class).... Something fun and upbeat..... Something a little ridiculous....

Something like this....

Don't worry, you don't have to watch it. But you have to admit, this is a fabulous song about weekends and what day it is and what you do during the day. I'm pretty sure she got this from Sesame Street or something, it seems like it would fit perfectly into their TV program. 

Long story short, our first class... 

Yeah, that was a pretty Epic Failure. But we learned what we did wrong and our second class was a Complete Success!! So it shall become a tradition. Every Friday, is dance party Friday. 

We're going to have to get video of the kids dancing. It's pretty fantastic. 

So after that whole adventure... it was time to go home. Yay! 

Saturday was a teachers day out. We all met at the mall and did some shopping and went to see a movie. Typical me, I got food at the mall. That frozen Yogurt was just calling my name!

Those gummy bears were too. 

Isn't it just a masterpiece? 
Nutella and Mint yogurt with coconut, gummy bears, cherry filled chocolate bites, and a chocolate wafer. I now realize as I am typing this, I had three different kinds of chocolate in there. Yes. :D





For the movie, I finally saw The Dark Night Rises. In espanol. I understood most of it actually. The only thing I won't be able to take from the movie is all the quoteable lines from it. But it was good enough that I would see it again in English. Got to say, I am pretty excited for Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his role in Batman. 

That was all for Saturday. Pretty nice and relaxing. 

Sunday was also very good. I got to go to church and one of the other teachers came with me this time! Yay! Amanda and I sat together and listened in sacrament meeting to all the Testimonies (since it was fast sunday). I was actually surprised at how many youth got up to bear their testimony! It was so cool to hear them speak about what they knew to be true and the happiness the gospel brings to their lives. Even though I couldn't always understand them, I could understand the spirit they brought into the room, and that is the most important part of the whole meeting. 

I didn't stay the whole time because I had to get back to my family. They were planning on going somewhere a little farther away. We ended up going to Orizaba with them and a couple of their friends. 

I have to tell you about the way to Orizaba. 
It's kind of a little insane.
The drive was beautiful because you're traveling through the mountains filled with trees and jungle life. But it was treacherous because of the winding path down the mountain. I wish I had taken pictures because I just don't know how to describe it, it was so crazy. There was a neat little system they had though to help cars not have such tight turns. There were lines drawn on the road indicating the cars to switch sides on each turn. At first I thought it was very strange, but once I figured it out, I thought this was a super smart idea! I hope to get pictures next time I go down the road... if there is a next time. 

Once we got to Orizaba, we got out of the car and me and my sister got ready to go....

Wanna guess what a tirolesa is? Don't cheat. 

I love that girl's facial expressions. She's at that "I'm cute and I know it" phase. All sugar... well sometimes.  










We're all ready to go! Honestly, I don't know everyone's names but their all really good friends so I have a feeling they will become like extended family.









I wasn't the first to go but I was the first to go upside down! Figure it out yet? That's right, we went ziplining! So fun! Papa ended up taking pictures because he said he was afraid of heights. The only time I got scared was when flipping upside down and the harness feels a little loose. Not loose enough to be dangerous but too loose for comfort. I flipped back to normal soon after, but now I have photographic evidence that I went ziplining upside down.

Leslie went afterwards. Woo! You go sis!

 And then we returned safely. I just like the guy's face in this picture. It's kinda funny. I think he's saying, "Woah!" He thought we were going too fast. 

After that whole adventure, we went out together for chicken and pork tacos. They were really good. There was only one thing about the restaurant that kind of freaked me out!

Up in the corner (the corner near Leslie in the picture) was none other that a huge......

Cockroach. 

Ew.

One of the dad's jokingly told me it was for dessert. Now if I had actually been even a little bit younger, I may have believed him. I can imagine it now... they come out with ice cream and a chocolate covered roach on top of it.

Like I said before. 

EW.

Lucky for me, the thing stayed up in it's corner the whole time. Yes, I did keep an eye on it the whole time. WOULDN'T YOU?? So I was able to enjoy my food in slight peace... praying that that bug was single and friendless. 

And then we went home. 
And then I skyped my family. :D SO AWESOME. I'll admit, I already miss them a ton but I am glad that they are doing well. That's Logan. Being... Logan. :) Love that kid like crazy!

I love spending time with family on Sunday. It's what I think, and what I have grown up knowing, is the best way to bond with family. I love the laughing, joking, and togetherness that I have gown up with in my family back home and I am grateful that here in mi familia de Mexico they have similar traditions. :)

And that was my weekend. A fabulous weekend if I do say so myself. Just livin my crazy, beautiful, life. :) 

Just lovin teaching, dancing, mi familia, my family, and Mexico, like crazy.