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

Funny Story of the Day

Hola todos!

I don't have a ton of time. Kayla and I are going out to a club tonight. :) It should be fun. But I just wanted to share my funny story of the day.

Kayla and I were waiting for our bus this morning as usual. Minding our own business. A truck with two middle aged men pulled up to the stop sign on our block. It drove past us at first, but after seeing two unaccompanied American women it backed up so the men were right in front of us, giving them a better view to stare. We were used to honks and cat calls in the morning, but this was a little ridiculous. They were blocking traffic! Luckily they were in the middle lane, and a cop car was in the lane closest to us. The cop backed up next to the truck and blocked their view. Both cars stayed there for a little while, but it was clear the cop wasn't going to the the first to move. After a few awkward minutes the truck finally drove away.

Kayla and I laughed about it the entire way to school. Hopefully there will be no more creeper incidents tonight.

I love and miss you guys,

Katlynn

Tour of Guadalajara

Hola todos!

Yesterday was unbelievably busy. I had class at nine, but they were shortened periods. Only 50 minutes each instead of two hours. They haven't been too bad so far. My composition teacher is a little intense, but I think I'm going to like the material. We've been reading travel journals from around the world (and of course Mexico). We are supposed to write one of our own every weekend.

My communications class is a blast. Right now we are focusing on multicultural communication. The last three weeks we will be doing small group communication. The teacher is a blast and the content has been fun too. It's really interesting because all of the other students in the class are from Mexico or California and I've been the guinea pig for her experiments about what it feels

like to be part of an out group.

Did I mention the campus was beautiful? The building on the left is were all of my classes are. And the pathway on the right is how I get to them. It's absolutely amazing. The entire campus is covered with those twisty trees. Jealous? I love it.

At 11:30 the entire group gathered and we went on a tour of Guadalajara. We traveled through the city on buses, but we were able to get out and walk around a few of the more impressive

places.

Our first stop is the cathedral, which is in the heart of downtown Guadalajara. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city. I actually read about it in one of the travel journals back when it was the only building in the area.

Our second stop was at another church. Apparently it's extremely famous and houses the bodies of the first Mexican Cardinals. The inside was unbelievable. It is probably the most elaborately decorated building I have ever seen.

Next, we went to the Government Palace to see the politics of Mexico in action. Apparently, it's an excellent place to protest. In the second photo, you can see some trucks parked in front of the building. They are there because the government owes them a ridiculous amount of money. It's right across the street from the opera house, which for the record only costs $17.50 American for a performance.

The last place we stopped was a small town just outside of Guadalajara called Tlaquepaque. It's a little touristy, but it was really nice. It's pretty much what I have pictured when I imagined a Mexican city with a lot of small stores and amazing food.

We got home pretty late last night, with pretty much just enough time to eat dinner and do homework before bed.

Today we had class as usual, but I did get to go to the huge market downtown to buy a guitar for my Spanish guitar class. The market was huge. I could probably wander around it for an entire day and not see everything. We pretty much went straight to the instrument store and back though.

I ended up with a beautiful light wood acoustic guitar with nylon strings. I'm really excited about it. It sounds amazing, and it only cost about $30 American. How sweet is that?

Sorry if my descriptions are a little brief. I still have some homework to finish before dinner.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Love,

Katlynn

I'm here!

Hola todos!

Guess what. I made it to Mexico, and everything has been fantastic so far.

I’ll start from the beginning.

I was sitting at the airport in Phoenix, Arizona waiting for my plan to board. Pretty much everyone was speaking Spanish around me, and I was starting to get nervous about what I was going to do when the plane landed. But, a few minutes before we were allowed to board, I noticed a girl sitting near me pull out the same orientation handbook that I had. Turns out we have a class together. Her name is Kristina. We talked for a little bit before we got on the plan, but we were a few rows apart.

I actually ended up sitting next to a really nice older gay couple. One of them asked me how long I was going to be in Guadalajara when we were filling out our papers for customs. We started talking and it turns out that they have a vacation home in Guadalajara and have been coming here for the past six years. They told me about some of the restaurants around town and about some of the museums. They seemed to really love the town and the people who live here, and I was super excited by the time I got off the plane.

I met up with Kristina again in the baggage claim and she told me she was going to wait for her roommate because her flight got in about 20 minutes after ours. I decided to wait with her so she didn’t have to stand around the airport by herself. Turns out, my roommate, Kayla, was on the same flight. It was really nice to have someone to share a cab with on the way to the host family, especially since the driver got lost. We drove around the city for an hour and stopped three times to get directions. Luckily we paid for the taxi at the airport.

We finally got to the house around 5:30 and both Kayla and I were starving so Senora made us dinner. We had shrimp, vegetables, and soup that was similar to Mrs. Grass noodle soup, but it had some sort of salsa in it. It was delicious. She also made fresh squeezed strawberry juice. If you haven’t tried it, you should. It was amazing.

Our family is just Kayla, Senora, and me. Senora has a few kids but they are all out of the house and her husband died several years back. But, she has international students staying with her all year round. She is a great host mom, very accommodating and understanding. She can speak English, but will only talk to us in Spanish. It’s a little difficult to communicate, but Kayla is pretty much fluent in Spanish and has been a big help. I’ve been surprised how much I can understand.

Today, was our first day of class at ITESO. Kayla and I got up at 7:00 to shower and eat breakfast. We had papaya, toast, and scrambled eggs with ham and onion (just like mom makes them). We had an orientation in the morning then shortened class periods. First I had advanced composition, then multicultural small group communication, and Spanish guitar. Spanish guitar is taught completely in Spanish. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

After class we went on a tour of the campus. It was beautiful. There are a lot of trees that I have never seen before with really twisty trunks and huge leaves. I took a few pictures, but I haven’t put them on my computer yet. I’ll post them as soon as I do.

After the tour we had lunch on campus. We had traditional tacos, with pretty much any meat or sauce you can think of. I’ve never had anything like it. The Tacos in the United States don’t even compare to the one here. They also had a mariachi band come play for us. They were all dressed up in matching traditional outfits and wondered through the picnic tables playing any song that you requested. I was really excited about the accordion player.

After class, Kayla and I both ended up taking a nap then going for a walk around the neighborhood. It’s not too much different from the neighborhoods in Racine. There are a lot more trees and a lot of different types of them. The houses are very square and brightly colored (orange, yellow, green, blue) but they’re about the same size and distance apart as home.

The crazy part was the driving. I didn’t notice it as much yesterday because I was so tired, but they really are nuts. There aren’t very many stop signs or stop lights so the traffic is pretty much uncontrolled and extremely fast. No one uses their turn signals and people honk…A LOT. We had to take a cab to school today because the bus missed our stop, and he was pretty crazy as well. We were driving down a highway on our way to ITESO and he missed the exit. Instead of taking the next exit and turning around he backed up down the highway in the middle of traffic like it was no big deal. Don’t worry though, everyone got out of our way.

Anyway, it’s almost dinner time, so I will have to write more later.

I hope everyone is doing well at home. I miss you guys.

Love,
Katlynn