Update from a slacking blogger!

Hello again! I know it has been quite a while since my last post, so I guess it is about time for an update! Since I last wrote about my Mexican Adventure in the beginning at March- nearly TWO months ago- a lot has happened.

March 23^rd - 25^th: Tuxpan

We had a Rotary trip to Tuxpan the third weekend of March. Tuxpan is about four or five hours north of Veracruz.  The four exchange students from my Rotary Club were to travel together, leaving Friday morning at 8 a.m. from Veracruz. We arrived on time, passed through the doors, and started to look for our bus. Every bus station employee we asked told us our bus had not arrived yet. After ten minutes, the next person we asked said the bus had left, TEN MINUTES AGO!! We immediately started telling them how NO ONE had told us, we didn’t hear the announcements, etc. In the end, we had to change our tickets, and wait three hours in the bus station. We got to Tuxpan around 4:30 in the afternoon, and we met up with all the other exchange students from the state of Veracruz at a pool party. It was awesome to see them all again, just like a family reunion! We were assigned host families for the weekend, and we went to our new houses to get ready for the evening. I was staying with Paola, an Outbound to Germany, with Charlotte (Germany, lives in Veracruz) and Florence (Belgium, lives in Veracruz).  We had a lot of fun chatting and hanging out. We went out for dinner with all the exchange students, hung out some more, and then headed back to our houses. The next day, Saturday, we went to some ruins, called Tajin. I really enjoyed it because they were not quite as populated by tourists and they were really cool ruins! On Sunday, we had a pool party/ pot luck at a hotel. It was a great time hanging out with all the exchange students and Outbounds! Of course, I returned home redder than a tomato, but besides that it was a lot of fun!

With my German friend, Jula! 

Charlotte (Germany), Paola (Outbound to Germany), me, Jula (Germany), Florence (Belgium), and Cleo (USA)

Voladores de Papantla: Flyers of Papantla

Me, Jula, Kara (Australia), and Amy (USA)
At Tajin

Germans dressed up like Veracruz natives "Jarochos!"

Semana Santa (Holy Week): April 1st- 15^th:

In Mexico, Holy Week is a nationwide holiday, celebrated with up to two weeks of vacation from school and work. Some jobs only have a few days, but most of the elementary and high schools have two full weeks off. Since my host parents at the time are teachers in a middle school, they had lots of time off and decided to take the exchange students from our Rotary Club to a hotel in Tierra Blanca for a couple days. So Monday, April 2^nd, my host parents took Aino (Finland), Edouard (France), and I on a mini vacation. We spent hours in swimming, playing volleyball and soccer, laying in the sun, and singing Karaoke!  We came home on Wednesday with lots of stories to tell.

Desi, Me, and Aino

Aino and I dressed up dancing in our cabin!

Thursday, April 5^th: My first host family took Aino (Finland), their current exchange student, and I on a trip to Queretaro. Queretaro is about 7 hours away from Veracruz, in the center of the country. It is a really cool colonial town with a lot of history, especially as part of the Mexican Revolution. As part of our stay, we took a nighttime tour of the old “Casonas” as our tour guide told the legends associated with them. I tend to be frightened pretty easily, so I spent the evening constantly making sure there were no ghosts or any other suspicious creatures following us. Our weekend ended on Sunday with a long drive back to Veracruz!

Aino and I in a park in Queretaro!

Friends! In front of a fountain :)

Host Sisters! Nora, Me, and Aino

Beautiful Church

Tuesday, April 10^th: My friend Elaine Anderson, fellow Watertownian and Rotary Youth Exchange student living in Villahermosa, came to visit me in Veracruz for a week! We took her around Veracruz, visiting “famous” places, spending time at the beach, eating lots of ice cream, walking around the plaza, and getting caught up after 8 months in Mexico! It was a lot of fun and I am so glad she came. I’m working on a visit to Villahermosa in the next few weeks!

Visit to La Parroquia with Elaine

Lunch on a lazy day

Me, Marcela (Brasil), Aino (Finland), Desi (2nd Host Mom), Elaine, and Florence (Belgium)

Aino's Future Telling Card Game!

Friday, April 13^th: Changed to my last host family! I had a wonderful time with my second host family so it was a bit difficult to “say goodbye”, but it is just another phase in my exchange year. I am now living with my last host family, and I’m back to the other side of Veracruz. I really enjoy being so much closer to town.

Saturday, April 14^th: We had our Rotary Club’s Anniversary Dinner on Saturday. Here are some pictures!

Aino (Finland), Desiree (2nd Host Mom), Marcela (Brasil), Edouard (France), Me, Jorge (2nd Host Dad)

Me, Marcela, Angela Perera (Aspiring Congresswoman for Upcoming Elections), Aino, and Elaine

Marcela, Ely (1st Host Mom), AIno, Me, Edouard

Club President's Wife Lucero and I

Singing Karaoke!

April 20^th- 22^nd: Rotary Trip!

We had another scheduled trip with all the exchange students, this time to nearby Xalapa (the capital of Veracruz) and a camp called “Mexico Verde”. They piled us all on a bus and we drove the two hours to Xalapa, where we visited an anthropology museum. Next step was a bit of shopping at street stands, I bought some adorable homemade earrings. After that, they took us to “Mexico Verde” for the rest of the weekend. We played typical camp games, did an obstacle course (in my opinion, taking kids who have been in a country for 8 or 9 months eating a lot and rarely exercising to a physically challenging activity is a pretty bad idea), and spent hours talking. Once again, it was awesome to see all the exchange students. It was the last trip for several of the students, so there were a few sad goodbyes.

April 29^th: Day Trip
Last Sunday, a Rotary family took me on a trip to some nearby towns. We visited “La Antigua”, home to the first church of America and Hernán Cortes’ house. It’s a really neat place to visit because of the rich history. After “La Antigua” we went to Cempoala to check out some ruins. I didn’t know that all these archeological sites existed so close to Veracruz! Next, we went to Chachalacas- to the beach! On one side is the river; on the other is the ocean. We spent a few hours swimming and laying out in the sun before going to eat a nice seafood lunch. One of the foods I have been able to enjoy a lot this year is seafood, and I have found that my favorite is octopus! Yum! By then it was getting late and they took me back to my house.

Tree used to tie up boats back in the 1500s, when the water still reached it! 

Me with Rotary family! In Hernan Cortes' bedroom!

Really cool building, trees are intertwined- if they cut down the trees, the walls fall down. Amazing!

Just posing!

Bridge.. 

Ruins in Cempoala

April 30^th- May 1^st: Chachalacas
On Monday, my friend Daniella and her family invited me to go with them to Chachalacas again! We drove up around noon and spent the whole day relaxing. We had a wonderful view of the ocean, and were able to sit out in the sun, in the pool, and have a good time. We spent the night, and after spending a good part of Tuesday in Chachalacas, we made our way back to Veracruz.

Poolside!

My friend Daniella posing on the bridge

showing off the awesome hotel!

 

Meditating..

Re- Enacting our 12th Birthdays

Well, that’s the update! As of May 1^st, I officially only have two months left in Mexico. It seems like just yesterday when I had just finished two WEEKS here! I am getting excited to see my whole family once again, especially those who I haven’t been able to talk to very much throughout the year. Lucky for me, we’ve got a few weddings coming up!!I plan on enjoying the little time I’ve got left, although the heat may kill me! May is supposed to be one of the warmest months in Veracruz, and I can already feel the temperature rising. My dad and I keep joking that I’m going to freeze when I go back to Watertown, but I think there’s a lot of truth to the statement!

Thanks for reading!