The Days are Winding Down

Hola todos,

I hope everyone has been enjoying their week. I've had a ton of stuff going on all week, but it's finally dwindling down to an end. Moments ago i just finished my last paper for the summer. All that's left for school is a little studying for my communication final. It's bittersweet.

But, before I get all emotional, let me tell you of my travels. Yesterday turned out to be quite a fun night. Kayla, Emily and I went to a poetry reading that our school was holding. It was pretty interesting. Most of the poems were in Spanish, so I didn't necessarily appreciate them to their fullest, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. Not to mention we got some really delicious tacos.

Afterwards, a group of us walked to a nearby ice cream place. And let me tell you...Ice cream in Mexico is way better than ice cream in the states. I haven't quite figured out why, but it's far superior. I'm going to miss it.

Then, Emily and I ended up going to hang out at a bar with a few people. It was quite an interesting group. Five white girls and one Mexican guy. I'm sure he was the envy of the bar. It was a pretty chill evening, but I had a lot of fun. We each had a drink or two and shared some good conversation (most of which was in Spanish).

We called it a somewhat early night. Emily and I took a taxi back with Carlos (our Mexican friend) around 12:15. I was probably in bed by 1am.

Today, has been crunch time. I only had one class in the morning, and it pretty much ended up being a study hall. After that class I spent my time at school working on my final essay for English and attempting to study for communication.

It's hard to believe that I'm actually coming home this weekend. It still seem surreal. I'm sure I'm going to be a mess tomorrow.

Oh and by the way, my guitar performance was yesterday and I have a recorded copy if anyone is interested in listening to my mad skills.

It's about dinner time so I think I'm done for tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in just a few days (less than 28 hours!).

Love,

Katlynn

Orphanage Fiesta

Hola todos,

Today was a pretty eventful day.

I woke up as usual and headed off to school. My first class was cancelled so we could go see an author from Guadalajara talk. After I got past the fact that the speech was given in Spanish (with an extremely delayed English translation) it was actually somewhat interesting. She wrote a political novel about an incident that happened down town in the early 90's. There had been a gas leak that got into the sewage system, and despite many complaints from the locals, the government didn't do anything about it. After eight days there was a massive explosion and hundreds of people died. Her novel was about how the government ignored the problem and all of the controversy surrounding the issue.

I skipped my guitar class today to help set up for the annual orphanage fiesta. It was a project for my communication class. We split into groups and we all had to do a community service project. We decided to decorate the orphanage because there was no budget for anything like that. It turned out really nice. I think the kids enjoyed a little bit of color. And, they definitely liked playing with the balloons.

The fiesta itself was a hit as well. All of the kids gave us a concert. The older ones (probably between 4th and 8th grade) played instruments and the younger ones sang. It was adorable. Then we had tacos and played around. We also had four piñatas. One of which was taller than me!

It was really sad having to leave though. I can't image what it would be like growing up in an orphanage. It was really humbling to see all of the kids run around and play together, knowing that all they really have is each other.

After the orphanage, one of Kayla's friends stopped by and we hung out for a while and had a really good talk with our Senora.

Right now I think it's time for a shower and them some serious homework time.

Have a good night everyone. I miss you bunches!

Love,

Katlynn

Michoacan

Hola todos,

I hope everyone is doing well. I am once again recovering from an exciting weekend. I went to a few different places around Michoacan, which has a bad rep, but was completely safe.

We arrived in a city called Patzcuaro on Thursday and pretty much just hung out that night. There were a ton of street venders and small restaurants and stores. It was a pretty cute little town.

On Friday, we went to Angahuan to visit the Puricutin Volcano. The last time it erupted was in the 1940's. The lava covered an entire village, but you can still see the top of a church sticking out of the lava rock. The church was called (and I'm not joking) San Juan Parangaricutirimicuaro. We ended up taking horses down to the lava field and climbed around the rocks for a while. It was breathtaking. I've never seen anything like it before.

After a delicious lunch of homemade green tortilla quesodillas, we visited a national park. It was beautiful, but I was a little disappointed. All of the waterfalls and landforms were clearly man made. But I guess you can't win them all.

(above) Me hanging out in the lava

(below) View of the volcano from the lava field

(above) The top of the church that wasn't covered in the eruption

(below) My guide and horse that took me too the lava field--yes he was half my age

On Saturday, we went to Tzin Tzun Tzan, which is a small fishing village located on an island. It seemed like something out of a movie. The boat ride was perfect. The water was calm and mountains surrounded the lake. As we started to move closer to the island, we saw a ton of fishermen with huge butterfly nets. The island itself was very tall. All of the streets winded up to the top of a hill, and were cluttered with every kind of shop you can imagine. I could have walked around there for days.

(above) Fishermen

(below) View of the island from the boat

(above) View from the boat

(below) One of the streets on the island

After the island we went to see some pyramids called "Las Yacatas." There were five of them, identical, and lined up in a row. It was pretty interesting, but looking back on my pictures, I seemed more interested in the landscape.

From there, we went to Morelia, where we spent the night. We had a walking tour of the city after dinner and hung out in town.

On Sunday we wandered around the city again until it was time for the World Cup. I watched it in a bar with my English professor of all people. But, it was fun. She is an incredibly smart and interesting woman, but she loves to gossip. I don't know who watched the game, but it wasn't all that exciting in and of itself. We were both rooting for Holandia, but it was clear everyone else was happy that Spain won.

Anyway, I should probably start on my homework. I'm in my last week of class and have a presentation and three papers due before Saturday. Yikes.

But I will be home be for you know it.

I miss you guys.

Love,

Katlynn

Lucha Libre

Hola todos,

I’ve had quite the adventure since my last update. Let me tell you about it…

I hung out with Kayla for most of the afternoon, while she spoke to Kevin and Brian on line. The four of us ended up going to Lucha Libre totally last minute, and it was fantastic. For those of you who aren’t quite familiar with Lucha Libre, it is basically the Mexican version of WWE wrestling. And, let me tell you, if you thought American wrestling was fake, you haven’t seen Mexican wrestling.

Men in ridiculously small costumes came on stage and proceeded to slap each other-opened fisted. Apparently they can slap pretty hard because it would send their opponent flying off the stage into the crowd. When someone kicked another wrestler in the stomach, the “injured” one would twitch uncontrollably for about a minute and miraculously jump back up and start doing his own damage.

My favorite wrestler of the night was named Maximo. He came on stage in a roman style mini skirt and a huge hot pink Mohawk (he was one of the few that didn’t wear a mask). He was clearly supposed to be gay because he kept skipping around the ring slapping the other wrestlers’ butts. The crowd loved him. Whenever he came close to some one else (either a wrestler or a ref) everyone chanted “Beso! Beso!” Which means “Kiss! Kiss!” And of course he tried, but was immediately body slammed to the ground. I kept my fingers crossed for him the whole time though, and he ended up winning the match.

But, the crowd was by far the best part. We ended up sitting in the “poor section,” and I’m glad we did. We were in the first balcony above the floor seating-the rich people. We ended up maneuvering our way through the crowd and our group was right up against the front of the fenced off balcony. The men around us were nuts. The majority of them wore t shirts that said (roughly translated) “Bitches sit below” and on the back “1000% Poor” (and yes, there are three 0's) then something about “doing your mom.” By the end of the night we ended up yelling at the rich people with the best of them.

I wish I had some pictures to share, but they didn’t allow cameras in the stadium.

It was super late when we finally got home and I went straight to bed. School was a little bit of a struggle today. But, I did go to a somewhat interesting speech by a US embassy rep. He was talking about relationships between the US and Mexico.

Right now I’m sitting in the laundry mat enjoying the air conditioning. I’m hoping I won’t have to come back again.

This will probably be my last update until next week. I’m leaving for Michoacan right after school. It should be an interesting weekend. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.

Until then…

Love,

Katlynn

Happy Tuesday

Hola todos,

I hope things are going great at home. It's been another beautiful day in Mexico.

I got up around 7:15, got dressed, and ate breakfast. We had eggs and hot dogs again. Then Emily, Kayla, and I went off to catch the bus a little after 8:00. There is a group of missionaries from the US that live near our bus stop and we ended up talking to one of them until our bus arrived. She was really nice, but made me a little nervous. Apparently one of the other missionaries was going for a run around our neighborhood yesterday and he was held up by a guy with a knife at 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a total freak incident and everything was okay. Luckily he was okay and the guy didn't steal anything.

School was school as usual. Nothing too exciting is going on. Next week is finals so things have been a little crazy with class work. Luckily, my classes seem to be a lot lighter than some of the other classes.

After school we had a delicious lunch of chicken mole tacos. If you haven't tried mole, you are missing out. I highly recommend it.

After lunch we just kind of hung out. Kayla has been going through the music on her computer and deleting all of the random stuff that she doesn't want any more. So we've been rocking out to terrible 90's music all afternoon.

I've had this song stuck in my head all day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU It's not a 90's song, but they are constantly playing it in all the clubs here. I hear it practically every day. Is it famous in the US as well?

Anyway, the plans for tonight are still up in the air. I was hoping to go to Lucha Libre, but I don't think I'll be able to make it until next week. Either way, I think I'm going to run over to Walmart to buy a cheap pair of jeans. It's been in the 60's here for the past couple of days and it's not supposed to warm up any time soon. And I heard that it will be even colder on our weekend trip...And I only brought one pair of long pants with me. Oops.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Love,

Katlynn

Guanajuato

Hola todos,

Happy (late) Fourth of July. I hope everyone enjoyed their celebrations. There was a party and a picnic and some fireworks going on in my head.

But I did have an amazing weekend. Guanajuato is probably my favorite place ever. It's a beautiful colonial town, extremely touristy, but a lot of fun. We did so much this weekend, the whole thing kind of just mixes together, but I'll try to give a decent overview.

Thursday night we went salsa dancing at a nearby club. It was really interesting because our study abroad group basically had the club to ourselves. It was unlike any other club experience that I've had, but it was a ton of fun.

Friday we went to the mummy museum, which, according to Gueniss Book of World Records, is the most disgusting spectacle in the world. It was pretty amazing. They had over 1,000 naturally made mummies. None of that Egyptian pyramid stuff. These were created from the environment. Some of them were still wearing the clothes that they died in and had hair on their heads.

After that the weekend gets a little fuzzy. We went on a ton of walking tours and I cannot for the life of me remember which one was when. But, believe me, they were all beautiful.

I do know that we spent Friday in San Miguel, which is about an hour away from Guanajuato. There is a large American population there, and it was bizarre to be able to fully understand stranger's conversations.

We also saw a walking mariachi band on Friday night. They were hilarious. They sang and danced and told jokes and stories, while wandering through the streets at night. It was one of the best nights I've ever had.

Sunday was my friend Melissa's 21st birthday so we went out Saturday night to celebrate. We wandered around the city a little bit and ended up at a few different bars and clubs. That was also quite a fun night.

Now for a few pictures:

(above) This is the smallest mummy in the world.

Anyways, if I ever return to Mexico (and I hope I do!) I will definitely be going back to Guanajuato. No questions asked.

Have a good night everyone. I miss you guys. I can't wait to see everyone in (less than) two weeks!

Love,

Katlynn

A Quick Update

Hola todos,

I hope everyone is doing well on this fine Wednesday.

I have an update about the military officers I saw yesterday. Mexico is holding some sort of political election on the fourth (I don't know much about it. I apologize. ) and one of the leading candidates had a strong platform against drug trafficking. Well...he was assassinated on Monday the 24th somewhere in Northern Mexico. Apparently the officers that I saw yesterday were accompanying another candidate on his trip to Guadalajara. The circumstances of the assassination were terrible, but the scene here looked a lot worse than it was.

Other than that, today has been rather relaxed. I've been working on a paper for my English class for quite a while now. The goal is to finish it before dinner so I can go out for a while tonight. But, we'll see what happens.

I still need to pack. I'm going to Guanajuato tomorrow. It should be interesting. I don't know much about the city except that it is famous for it's "kissing balconies" and mummy museum. I am very excited to see a more traditional Mexican town that isn't geared as much toward tourism. It'll be a fun weekend.

Until next week...

Love,

Katlynn

An Update from the US Consulate

Hola Todos,

Today has been quite the interesting day.

I woke up at my normal time and had a breakfast of papaya, hot dogs and eggs and a strawberry milkshake. It was quite the combo, but I don't think I will be exactly craving it when I get back to the states (not at 7:30 in the morning at least).

I went to school as usual. Nothing too exciting there...Until the bus ride home. Kayla, Emily, and I are usually on the bus for about 10 to 15 minutes after school. About 5 minutes in today, I looked out the window. Now, I'm used to seeing cops walking around Mexico with huge machine guns. It was a little disturbing at first, but it is an every day occurrence down here. Today, was a little different. When I looked out the window of the bus I saw about 40 to 50 military officers in full uniforms blocking the street with some pretty scary looking weapons. The street was closed for about a mile and cars were backed up all around it. People were running around the closure and trying to see what was going on. It was surreal, like something you'd see in a movie. Luckily, it didn't affect our bus route, and we made it home at our normal time.

After lunch, a nap, and hanging out with Kayla, Emily, and Kevin, I checked my email. And, guess what. I had a notice from the US Consulate in Guadalajara. Apparently there has been increased violence and drug problems surrounding the city of Guadalajara, and has been moving closer in the past week. They didn't give the details, but said that there was a shooting on the 24th just outside of the city that involved drugs and civilian hostages.

It sounds scary, but right now they are saying to just play it extra safe. Don't drive, go out at night alone, or really travel on your own in general. Don't worry. I am safe.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the violence dies down. Until then, it's dinner time.

Love,

Katlynn

Cancun and Corona

Hola Todos,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I definitely enjoyed my time in Cancun. I share the short version of my travels:

On Thursday, we arrived at out all inclusive resort. It was completely insane. There were pretty much no walls in any of the hallways. They were just lined with trees. And it was basically a zoo. There were flamingos living a few feet away from me! Check the picture if you don't believe me.

Tulum

After lunch on Thursday, we went to the ancient city of Tulum. It was huge and beautiful and right on the ocean. The entire place was covered in iguanas.

Friday, I went zip-lining, rappelling, and snorkeling in a freshwater cave. I wasn't able to take many pictures of the action because it was raining all day (which in my opinion made it that much more fun). I did get the chance to use my underwater camera in the cave. It was pretty dark though, so we will just have to hope that the pictures turn out well.

Chichen Itza

Saturday, we went to Chichen Itza. One of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was an entire city that had been preserved or rebuilt. It was breath-taking. My favorite part was the giant sinkhole at the heart of the city. Apparently, they used it as sacrificial water, and scuba divers have found human remains in it's many underground tunnels.

Sunday was very relaxing. We hung out at the pool for most of the day. We tried to spend some time in the ocean, but there is a nasty tropical storm coming in and all the beaches were closed. I wanted to go snorkeling in the coral reef (it's supposed to be the place to go), but all the boat trips were canceled too.

But oh well. It was still a good weekend. I would recommend Cancun over Puerto Vallarta any day.

I had a little bit of an adventure today as well. I went on a tour of the Corona Beer factory in Guadalajara. It was really interesting. It was like being on the show How It's Made. My favorite part was seeing the bottle filling. They moved so fast!

Anyway...That is all for tonight.

I miss you guys. Less than three weeks and I will be home!

Love,

Katlynn

Almost Half Way

Hola todos,

I hope everyone is doing well on this fine Wednesday. I had a pretty chill day myself.

We have a shortened class schedule this week because of midterms. No class tomorrow! I did have one big test today in my communications class, but I think it went well. My other class is all writing so we don't really have to worry about a midterm, just more essays. My guitar teacher was talking about our end of the semester performance today. We are going to play "Guadalajara," "La Bamba" and "Cielito Lindo." All pretty good choices if I do say so myself. I almost have the singing and playing at the same time down. I know you're all super disappointed that you are going to miss the big event, but don't worry. Our teacher is going to record it and put it on CD for everyone in the class.

After school, I hung out with Emily for a while and worked on one of my English essays. I feel like that class takes up a good chunk of my free time. But what can you do? At least I enjoy it.

Emily pointed something out to me today that surprised me. Tomorrow, the 24th, marks the half way point for our summer program. We will have been here for 24 days, and have 24 days left. It's kind of bittersweet to think about. Part of me is ready to come home and see everyone again and continue living my "normal" life. But, at the same time, this trip has flown by and I realize that there is still so much that I haven't done or seen. I will have to make the best out of my few remaining weeks.

It's almost time for dinner, so I will have to leave you for now. I won't be writing again until next week. I have a 9am flight to Cancun tomorrow. Should be an exciting weekend!

I love and miss you,

Katlynn

Puerto Vallarta

Hola todos,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I was hoping to get these pictures posted last night, but I had a bunch of homework and started talking to people and lost track of time. I hope the suspense wasn't too much. I have to admit that I didn't take a ton of pictures this weekend. I spent the majority of my time on the beach or at the pool and water and digital camera seemed like a bad combo to me. I do have a disposable waterproof camera, but I was super smart when packing and forgot to bring it to Puerto Vallarta with me. I guess I'll just have to take twice as many pictures this weekend in Cancun.

Overall, Puerto Vallarta ended up being a pretty relaxing weekend. We stayed in a beach side hotel, so Thursday night and most of Friday was spent hanging around by the pool or the beach. And, yes I went into the ocean. It was warm and salty and I loved it. Friday night we went out downtown for a while, but ended up calling it a (somewhat) early night because we had big plans for Saturday.

We took a 9am boat to a secluded island about 20 min. away. It was a little touristy, but absolutely beautiful. We got to go snorkeling and kayaking and got all the food and drinks we could handle.

I did have a little excitement during the kayak trip. A small fishing boat went past us pretty fast and splashed waves into our kayak. It just so happened that at that moment we were surrounded by hundreds of tiny jellyfish. When the water came over the side of the boat, so did a quarter-sized jellyfish. It landed right on my leg. And guess what. I got stung. My friend Johnny was overly eager to pee on the rash, but luckily I was able to find a bartender with some Cortozone lotion before I had to accept his offer. It didn't hurt too bad. It felt a lot like a bee sting, but it was more irritated and hurt longer. But, now I can say I survived a jellyfish attack.

And now for a few pictures:

(above) Beach by the hotel

(below) I sat next to him at the secluded beach. And, yes. If you were wondering that is a wild boa constrictor. The lifeguard said he was about a year old.

(above) Me and my new Mexican boyfriend

(Below) View from the boat

Today has been quite the adventure as well. I did my laundry. Which doesn't sound too exciting, but I walked to the laundry mat alone. I didn't know exactly where it was, and to tell you the truth my Spanish is a little lacking. When I successfully finished I felt like I had accomplished something huge. It's funny how a little language barrier can make every day tasks seem like huge achievements.

Anyways, I think it's time for a little pre-dinner nap. Have a good night, everyone.

Love,

Katlynn

Don't worry. I hand washed my underwear.

Hola todos!

I apologize, but this one will have to be quick. I have a paper to write tonight (told you I was going to get slammed with homework today) and I want to go to bed early because I'M GOING TO PUERTO VALLERTA TOMORROW!!! I'm pretty excited, if you couldn't tell. There aren't really any beaches around Guadalajara, and I've been dying to get out in the water. Not to mention, it will be my first time swimming the in ocean.

But let's see about today...It was actually pretty relaxing. Emily and I hung out for a while after school. We walked to Walmart and tried to find the laundrymat, but failed. Part of me kind of wishes I would have over packed a little-like pretty much everyone else here-just so I don't have to do my laundry so often. It's cool though. A little laundry never hurt anyone. Oh and don't worry. I hand washed my underwear so I won't have to go commando this weekend.

Anyways, I'm going to get started on my homework. I will have pictures for everyone next week. I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend.

Love,

Katlynn

Chill Night with a New Roomie

Hola todas!

I hope everyone is havening a good evening. I just got out of the shower. It was pretty hot today and I wanted to cool down before bed time. But, all in all today was a good day.

The program I am with does a community service project with one of the local orphanages. We raise money, donate toys, and-best of all-we get to go play with the kids once a week. The plan was to go today after school. I was really excited, but something came up. Kayla and I got a new roommate! Her name is Emily and she was having some issues with her original host family and roommates. So after school Kayla and I took a taxi to her house and helped her move into ours.

After a delicious ice cream welcome (we know how to do it around here) the three of us went for a walk in the neighborhood. We ended up at Kevin and Brian's house. They only live about five blocks away and are on our bus (and Brian is in my guitar class). We hung out for quite a while. It was a good time. We ended up watching the first half of the Laker's game because they are basically obsessed.

Eventually we did have to leave though, because our senora had dinner waiting. We ate fresh tamales that she bought from some nuns. They were really delicious. They reminded me of the cornbread my mom makes, and made me miss home.

But, like I said it was an overall good night. I've been trying to enjoy my lack of homework the best I can because I know I'm going to get slammed in the next couple of days. I think I'm going to take some time for myself and do a little recreational reading.

Love,

Katlynn

Mexico City!

Hola todos!

I hope everyone had a spectacular weekend. I have a ton to talk about, so I will do my best to go over the important parts. Let's see...I last left you on Wednesday when I was decided whether or not I should go out for lady's night. I did, and I had a blast. The club was packed, which was kind of lame. But, they played excellent music and I had some really great company.

After just three hours of sleep Kayla and I went to school on Thursday. It wasn't too bad though. We had really short class periods and an eight hour bus ride to look forward to. We spent three night in Mexico City. I could go on for hours talking about everything I saw, but I'll try to cover the basics.

The View

My roommate, Rosa, and I lucked out. We ended up on the 18th floor of the hotel with an amazing view of the city. You can't see it in this picture because of all the smog, but the entire city is surrounded my mountains. It was beautiful.

Museum

After breakfast and the Mexico World Cup Game on Friday we went to the biggest museum in Mexico City. You could easily spend an entire day there without seeing everything, but we had limited time so we stuck to the Aztec and Mayan exhibits.

(above) Me and Melissa in front of a replica of the Tree of Life

(below) Aztec statue of their virgin mother

(above) Replica of a traditional Mayan house

(Below) Replica of a Mayan Temple

Frida Kahlo's House

After the museum, we ventured to a new part of town for lunch. We walked around a small bazaar for a while then went on to one of my favorite sites of the weekend: Frida Kahlo's house. We actually visited the house that she was born and died in! It was unbelievable. There were about 30 original Kahlo paintings and a dozen Diego Rivera (her husband's) as well. We weren't allowed to bring cameras inside, but I did snap a few pictures of the courtyard.

(above) Frida Kahlo's garden, where her ashes were scattered

(below) Me with a cat that I can only assume belonged to Frida herself

Later Friday night, the entire group went out to a club. It was pretty fun to get everyone together. There was a famous DJ there from California, too. It was a good time.

Diego Rivera

Saturday we woke up early and head towards Mexico City's central plaza. We went into a church that was build in the same place as one of the Aztec temples, followed by the National Government Palace. The palace was decorated with Diego Rivera murals. Here are a few of my favorites:

After the palace we went to a museum of Mexican art. We weren't allowed to have cameras there either, but I can tell you that I saw some of the most beautiful murals I have ever seen. It was really interesting because each one had some sort of historical or political statement hidden inside of it. It was beauty and history wrapped into one.

The Basilica

Last on our agenda for our Saturday tour was the Basilica to see the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

(above) The old Basilica

(below) A church built on the hill where Juan Diego gathered roses for Our Lady of Guadalupe

(below) The original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Pyramids

After a delicious Mexican dinner in down town Mexico City, I hit the sack early. We had to get up at 7:00am to check out of our hotels on Sunday so we were guaranteed enough time at the weekend's grand finale: the pyramids. There were two main ones named after the Sun and the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun is the second largest pyramid in the Americas. And, I climbed both of them. Up wasn't so bad. It was going back down that was terrifying. The steps were each about a foot to a foot and a half high and were so narrow my size seven shoe hung off the edge. But, I made it and it was well worth the climb.

(above) Pyramid of the Moon

(below) Annette, Megan, me, and Melissa admiring the Pyramid of the Moon from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun

(above) Pyramid of the Sun

(below) 2 and a half miles away from the Pyramid of the Sun (right) with the Pyramid of the Moon in the distance (left)

I know I went over everything very briefly. I have a million stories if anyone is interested in hearing more. (and about a hundred more pictures too!)

I miss everyone very much. I hope you are doing well back in the States!

Love,

Katlynn

Another Day in Mexico

Hola todos!

I hope everyone is doing well at home. I've been having a pretty good relaxing day.

What did I do...

I got up at 7:00 as usual, took a shower, and ate breakfast. Kayla and I decided to do our laundry together and our Senora let us use her washer. I was pretty happy about that because apparently she is supposed to have our laundry done or send us to a laundry mat, but doing it at home is by far the most convenient. I'm not going to lie though, having my undies hanging on a clothes line for all the world to see was a little awkward.

After laundry I went to school, which went pretty well today. Tomorrow we have shortened classes because we are going to Mexico City. It's like a six hour bus ride so we need to leave early.

We got home around 3:15 and ate lunch. Today our Senora made spaghetti, which I was really excited about at first. But, then I realized that it wasn't the same spaghetti that I'm used to. It had this weird orange sauce on it instead of the standard red tomato sauce. I was kind of disappointed. The food here has been extremely heavy and while it tastes good, my stomach doesn't really like it much. I've been nauseous for the past three days and I haven't really had much of an appetite.

But anyways...after lunch I hung out with Kayla for a while and ended up taking a much needed nap. We had a thunderstorm last night and it was probably the loudest storm I've ever heard. It woke me up several times, so I didn't get a very good night's sleep. Our Senora told us to start wearing earplugs to bed, but we'll see.

Anways, I have to finish a paper for my composition class. I'm hoping to go out for a while tonight. Kayla is going for sure and our Senora keeps telling us that it's lady's night, but it will depend on how far I get on my paper...not to mention I have to pack for Mexico City!!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend. I miss all of you!

Love,

Katlynn

Me llamo Shay-la

Hola todos!

Today has been an overall good day. Kayla and I had yogurt and quesadillas for breakfast. It was pretty delicious. The food here has been pretty heavy, so it was nice to get a lighter meal for a change. We've actually been eating a lot of hot dogs in the past few days. They have been chopped up and served with this weird, spicy orange sauce. I'm not gonna lie though, I prefer them on a camp fire.

After school our Senora took us to a shoe store. Apparently Guadalajara is supposed to be famous for their shoes and she insisted that Kayla and I check them out. I was pretty impressed actually. It's crazy how many women walk around in ridiculous high heels every day (especially since the sidewalks are so terrible).

Other than that not much has happened today, but I thought I would share with you my new name. I've found that it is really hard for Spanish speaking people to pronounce the "Kay" sound in my name and in Kayla's name as well. Our Senora was having a particularly difficult time with it so she decided to rename us based on our last names. Kayla's last name is Ulrich so her new name is pronounced "Reesh." And my name is pronounced "Shay-la". Which, is kind of interesting because my nickname sounds more like Kayla's name than mine. So every time our Senora talks to me or introduces me to someone new she calls me "Shay-la."

Anyway, I have a paper to write for my composition class. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the night.

Love,

Shay-la

Sunburn is No Fun

Hola todos!

Not much is going on today, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm thinking of you. I've been trying to buy credit for Skype so I can call phones, but for some reason I can't get it to work. It's kind of frustrating.

I haven't really been feeling well today. Kayla thinks it's because of the altitude difference, but I have no idea. I also got sunburned yesterday, which really doesn't help either. But, my Senora put this weird powder on it and it seems to be getting better.

Anyways, I don't want to be too much of a Debbie Downer so I'm going to go play my guitar for a while. I'm pretty excited because we finally started to learn how to play our first song. :)

I love you guys,

Katlynn

A Day at the Country Club

Hola todos!

Today was fantastic! It was our first day off of class since we've been here. Only a one day weekend. (bummer) And we didn't have any excursions planned so my roommate and I had a day out with the girls.

Irma (our host mom) and her sisters Chewy and Cristina took us to a country club about a half hour outside of Guadalajara. Don't ask me where it was because I can't even pronounce it, let alone spell it. But, it is on a lake and apparently my Senora's family runs it. So we basically hung out by the pool all day and talked to our Senora's family. It a ton of fun and really beautiful. Notice that the entire place is surrounded by mountains.

Enjoy the pictures! I want to practice my guitar before dinner.

I hope everyone has been having a good summer so far. I miss you guys.

Love,

Katlynn