Burnt!

Days in México: 169

Today's blog post is a day late because I wasn't feeling well yesterday afternoon. I got pretty badly burnt on Saturday!

This week I was joined in Veracruz by Iina from Finland! She is the first of about 20 to arrive in my city. I went with Martha to the airport to welcome her, along with her first host family. At first I was a bit lost for words because I knew what to say in Spanish but forgot how to say it in English! As more exchange students arrive, we will all go out together and become good friends which is one aim of the youth exchange program.

Welcome!

Friday night I went to the movies with my family and some family friends. We saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I haven't seen the previous movies in the series but I really enjoyed it. We then went out for dinner and ate tacos from my favourite Mexican restaurant. My taco count is now at 126 but we are about to eat home-made tacos for lunch which are really delicious so it will probably reach 130 by the end of the day.

Tacos for lunch!

When I was on Skype with my family last Friday, my mum commented on how happy I looked. I thought about it, and I am probably the happiest now than what I have been for a couple of years. I have never been an unhappy person, but I am really enjoying my life in Mexico. I have definitely settled in and am loving my exchange.

Saturday was a lovely warm day so I went to the beach with some friends who I met when I first arrived in Mexico. I had a really great time but unfortunately it will be one of the last times I will see them because they will be moving away to different cities for university which starts in the next couple of weeks. I was there for 4 hours and re-applied sunscreen 4 times but still got badly burnt. It is probably the worst I have been burnt in my entire life! The sun rays a lot stronger here than what they are in Perth!

Badly burnt!

Almost half way!

Days in México: 161

I have almost reached the half way point in my exchange and my plane ticket in Australia has been booked. I have less than 6 months to go which sounds like a lot of time, but it really isn't! The first of the new exchange students will arrive tomorrow, soon to be joined by the others in the next couple of weeks. At the moment life is pretty relaxed but I have a feeling that in the next month everything will get busier!

I see a lot of clothing with slogans on at the shops and lots of the time the writing is in English. Last Monday at the plaza when I was shopping, I came across a shirt that had a slogan that wasn't quite right...

Someone didn't check the spelling of 'right' before printing

I'm not a big fan of soft drinks and I haven't drunk much since arriving in Mexico but last night I drunk a Coca-Cola and I think it is a different recipe to the one in Australia. I think it has more caffeine in it and possibly more sugar because after half a glass I was really alert and literally starting to shack which has never happened before.
At the moment a promotion is re-running and bottles are being printed with names on the side. A couple of years ago the same thing was done in Australia and a friend found one with my name on it and took a photo of it. The names that are being printed here are popular Latin American names so I doubt that I will find one with my name on it in Mexico.

An 'Erin' Coke bottle

An example of a Latin American name on a Coke bottle

On Friday night I went out with my family to do my favourite activity. We first went to the batting nets, which are machines in an enclosure that shoot out soft balls. It is lots of fun and I have an increasingly good hitting rate. 

Batting nets 

We then walked across the road and went to La Parroquia Cafe, which I have been to a couple of times before. I had what I normally have; a Concha con frijoles y queso (explanation in my post from the 19th of May) and a Champola. A Champola is a thick milkshake that comes in different flavours and tastes really, really good. It is probably the best drink I have ever had and I always order it.

Vanilla Champola

Concha 

Football fever

Days in México: 154

The World Cup is officially over. A big congratulations to Germany! I have got a couple of friends from Germany so I was supporting them in the final. It's going to feel weird not watching a football game every couple of days because that's what I have got use to.

Last Monday I went with Martha, my councillor for youth exchange in Mexico, to a school which is supported by my host Rotary Club Costa de Oro. I got to meet all the children and see the library that is expanding with the help of the club's donations. It was really beneficial for me to see what other projects my Rotary Club is involved in, other than the youth exchange program.

Meeting the students

The library in the school

After visiting the school, I went with Martha to Xalapa. I have been there briefly about a month ago for Father's Day, but this time I went to one of the universities. Martha had to do some work in the library there so I was able to explore the building. The library was four stories and was divided in to different study areas. I browsed in a couple of the different sections and read parts of books in Spanish and also in English.

The library at the university in Xalapa

In Australia I didn't like reading and I wouldn't read a book unless I had to for school, but since learning Spanish I have started to read more books in English and now in Spanish. I think I took the skill of reading for granted and learning a different language has helped me realize and appreciate how hard it actually is.

The university campus was massive and had a lot of really beautiful gardens. We had a walk around one of the gardens near the library while we were there. There was a really steep hill on one side of the garden which looked perfect to roll down. It was tempting but I wasn't in the right clothes for it- maybe next time.

The side of the garden with the really steep hill

 

On Wednesday I went with the family to Diego's graduation. He is moving up from Secondary School to Bachillerato which is the equivalent of moving from year 9 to year 10. There was a big ceremony for the students and their families. The room was decorated really nicely with white cloth hanging from the ceiling and gathered in the middle of the room where the chandelier was.

Graduation

No era penal!

Days in México: 147

It's the first week of July which means all the Rotary Clubs had a changeover of council. The first meeting of the new year for my host club was on Wednesday. The new club president is now Martha who is also my councilor in Mexico.
In Australia, my sponsor club Willetton Rotary now also has a female president, Jane Lowe. With a new year comes a new Rotary mission. This year it's 'Light Up Rotary' which is 'Iluminemos Rotary' in Spanish. I wish both presidents the best of luck for this 2014-2015 year.

Rotary Club Costa de Oro

Since last Sunday's football game, the message of 'no era penal' has been going around in memes (pictures with captions.) No era penal means 'it wasn't a penalty.' If the penalty hadn't been called, the game would have gone in to extra time and Mexico would have had a chance of winning it. I wouldn't be surprised if the hashtag #noerapenal was the highest trending in Mexico.

No era penal!

No era penal mems

During the week my taco count reached 100! The 100th was eaten for breakfast and had frijoles (beans) and avocado in it. I aim to eat 250 tacos in my year on exchange. 

Taco 100!

On Saturday I went to the airport to welcome home Carla, who has spent the last year in my district in Western Australia. I met her in November at the inbound/outbound weekend with all the exchange students from district 9465. We also caught up in January the week before I left for Mexico. I spent the afternoon with her family and had a really great time. 

Welcome home Carla!

Me, Carla and Carla's sister Karina

A couple of weeks ago Carla had dinner with my family in Perth and she asked if there was anything I wanted sent over. Along with some more pins and another Australian flag, my parents surprised my by sending over more milo!!!! I can now enjoy a glass of milo more often.

This Wednesday (the 9th of July) is my Mum's birthday. At times of celebration, I miss my family in Australia more but am lucky to have my family in Mexico to comfort me. I will Skype with my mum on her birthday but giving her a hug isn't the same when there is a computer in the way.