Saying goodbye is hard (part 1)

Days in México: 120 (exactly 4 months!)

It has been a busy week but it has been really great. I have split this post into two parts because my week had two parts to it. This first part was Monday to Thursday and part 2, which is about Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be posted when I have finished writing it. 

Last Monday I found out that there was going to be a trip for the exchange students in my district for three days, and we were going to leave on that coming Friday. I had only seen all the exchangers together once before at the interdistrictal conference in March, so I hadn't had much time to get to know them because lots of them aren't from my city. 
I had only traveled out of the city before in March with my family to Mexico City so I was really excited about seeing more of Mexico, especially now that I understand more Spanish.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed at home because I caught another cold! It wasn't good because I needed to be better for the weekend. I have been sick a lot more times in the past 4 months then what I normally am in an average year. Luckily I was feeling a lot better by Thursday so I went to school and packed my bag that afternoon for the Rotary trip. 

Wednesday was also the last Rotary meeting with the all the exchange students from my host club, Costa de Oro. I know that there will be new exchange students coming soon but it feels like I was just starting to get to know the ones that were already here. There were lots of tears in saying goodbye. I have only been in Mexico for 4 months but the bond between some of the other exchange students is really strong because even though they have changed families 3 times over the past year, they have always had each other. Seeing the others leave has made me realise how quickly my remaining 8 months will fly by and that I need to take every opportunity to have an unforgettable time. 

Friday morning before leaving for the Rotary trip, I was able to Skype my family in Australia who were at a family gathering with my aunties, uncles and cousins from my dad's side. I hadn't seen them since January so it was great to drop in and have a quick chat to everyone. Sometimes you don't realise how much you miss someone until you talk to them face to face. 

I am currently sorting through lots of photos from the weekend (there are lots!) which I will be included in my next blog post in the coming days (the second part.) I will put a message on my Facebook page when it is published. 

Summer is here!

Days in México: 112

Today is the first day of Summer! This is my first ever Summer in June because for every year before this one, I have been in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Lately I have noticed my English getting worse and worse but my Spanish is getting better which is good. I proof read everything I post at least twice to try to eliminate mistakes but some still manage to get through. I will regain my English skills next year but they probably won't be getting better any time soon. Hopefully you can still understand what I'm trying write.

This past week at school has been exam week. I sat the maths exam on Thursday because I have understood most of work in the subject so far, even though the questions in the exam were in Spanish. I found it easy so I am hoping for a 7/10 for my mark. 

I also sat the Biology exam which was a lot harder! The first page was an abstract from a book which I think was about genetic and evolution theories- but I'm not quite sure. It was followed by a series of multiple choice questions so I had a 25% chance of getting each question correct. I only completely understood 2 questions in the Biology exam so I am hoping for at least a 3/10 as a final mark. I'm not worried about getting a high mark because I have already successfully completed high school in Australia so my marks don't count towards anything.
The physics exam is tomorrow so I might have a go at that exam if I can understand enough of it. 

On Wednesday I was meant to go to the National Ballet of Russia with a friend but unfortunately the dancers couldn't get into the country in time for the show, so it has been postponed for 2 weeks. They will only be in Veracruz for 2 shows only so I am glad I will be here when they are.

It has now been postponed for 2 weeks

Saturday night, as a family we went to see X-men at the movies. It was in English with captions so I understood and really enjoyed it. I like going to the cinema because it is air conditioned and the seats are really comfortable, they can even recline. 

Most of the other exchange students in my city are preparing to leave the country to return to their home countries. Most have less than a month left and they are wishing they had more time! Thankfully I still have 8 months to experience this amazing country. 

My taco count has now reached 72. The food is really great and I am eating a lot of it! As of last month, I started going to a boxing gym which is a convenient 5 minute walk from the house. It is a really great workout and I go there most days for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I've also made some new friends there and we all have a good time.

Tacos number 69, 70, 71 and 72 which I ate for breakfast this morning

Anatomy, mole and football

Days in México: 106

This past week I would probably rate as a 6 out of 10. I wasn't feeling great after it started with a trip to the hospital but it wasn't too bad in the end.

On Wednesday after school  I went to the World Trade Center to see an exhibition called 'Our Body, The Universe Within.' It is about anatomy and showcases all the bones and muscles in the human body as well as organs. The website provides an interesting explanation;

'This educational and scholarly exhibition is made possible by the unique method to preserve the bodies; often referred to as “polymer impregnation” or “plastination,” a process that replaces the body’s water and fat with reactive plastics.  Polymer preservation is a relatively new method of preservation whereby the bodily fluids are replaced by liquid and is then hardened to create a solid, durable anatomic specimen that will last indefinitely.'

'The process leaves even the finest, most delicate tissue structures virtually intact, down to the microscopic level, making the process invaluable for medical study. The organs are actually IDENTICAL to their pre-preservation state. The plastic is initially pliable, enabling the bodies to be placed in many different life-like positions, and then hardens after infusion. The specimens are completely dry and odorless.'

This means that everything in the exhibition, all of the models and specimens were once living people that are now in a special plastic. I was really creeped out once I found out because it was like walking around a cemetery but being able to see the people who were once living. It was a great if you were interested in the components of the human body or were studying human biology but it wouldn't be interesting for the general public. 

I wasn't allowed to take photos so the photos below are from the official website at: http://www.ourbodytheuniversewithin.net/index.html 

A skeleton with the muscles coming off it

A lung

For lunch during the week I tried mole (pronounced 'moley') which is a savoury sauce with chili and chocolate in it. I really liked the mole and it was a bit spicy but it was served on chicken with rice and avocado which was a nice accompaniment with it. 

The mole is on the chicken

Saturday was the Champions League grand final for football (soccer.) The two teams playing in the final were Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. My family supports Real Madrid so I borrowed a jersey from papá and now I supporter them as well. Real ended up winning 4-1 in the second lot of overtime which made it a really good game to watch. It was my first ever soccer game that I have watched from start to end and it was pretty good. 

A weekend of history and tradition

Days in Mexico: 99
I've almost reached 100 days in Mexico! 

Last week I got another day off school, this time it was to celebrate teacher's day on the 15th of May. We had a whole school mass on Wednesday for the 2500+ students from pre-primary to year 12, the teachers and the parents. It was massive and luckily it wasn't a hot day because the service was outside. After mass, new statue was unveiled at the school and the students finished the school day early so the teachers could have a party to celebrate. 

On Saturday I didn't have any plans so mamá and I went to San Juan de Ulúa. It was built over a long period of time starting from 1565 and was used for a lot of things but is most famous for being a jail. It was added to and changed to fit different purposes. It is surrounded by water and has moats between the different buildings.

The building layout as it currently stands

In some of the original structures, there are stalactites and stalagmites. They have been forming where calcium carbonate has come out of the coral that was used to make the walls and ceilings so when it rained it made acid water.

There was also a museum explaining what different parts of the structure were and also had sculptures and pottery from hundreds of years ago.

The main courtyard in San Juan de Ulúa

The building that is now the museum

On Sunday for breakfast, we went to the Gran Café de la Parróquia which is a cafe which has been making traditional Veracruz food since it opened in 1808. I had a 'Concha con frijoles y queso' which is a sweet bread roll with a shell pattern on it filled with bean paste and cheese. It is a strange combination of sweet and savory but it tasted really good! 

I also had a traditional drink called 'Lechero' which is served as some espresso coffee in a glass. There are waiters that walk around with hot milk and to get milk added to your coffee, you tap on your glass with the teaspoon. The milk is poured from as high as possible to make the milk on top foamy.

How the drink was served

Milk being poured

A delicious drink

In the cafe there was a big picture on the wall of the San Juan de Ulúa which I visited the day before. The picture is from when the building was used as a defense barrier before it was a jail. 

For dinner, we went out for and had salads. I had a really nice tuna pasta salad with a pineapple alfalfa juice. It tasted great but about 3 hours later I got an allergic reaction to something in the food. I started to get red itchy spots everywhere and they kept on getting worse so at about 1am on Monday morning I went to hospital. The doctor didn't speak English but I was with my mamá and papá so I was able to be treated with an injection almost straight away. I was in bed and asleep by 2am and woke up the next morning feeling a lot better! 

A quarter down already!

Days in México: 91

This week I celebrated 3 months in Mexico! The time is going quickly and lots of the other exchange students are preparing to leave. Australia is one of the only countries that exchangers from January to January because the new school year starts in February. Most other countries exchange from July to July which means I get to meet two lots of exchange students.

My Spanish is getting a bit better each day. I'm comfortable speaking and reading it but I find it hard to understand some people when they speak and I have difficulties writing it. Some days are harder than others and at times my brain just gives up on me completely (normally towards the end of the day.)

Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) was last Monday. I went to the movies with some friends and did some shopping. I also went to a massive supermarket with my mamá which was a warehouse that had almost everything in it. The shelves were stacked 4 or 5 palates high!

The warehouse supermarket

Stock piled high

There was another earthquake on Thursday. It was recess break at school when it happened so we ere all out of the classrooms. There was no damage because it was small but we had to all stand on the basketball court for 5 minutes, just in case of aftershocks. The epicenter was on the other coast and it was a 6.4 on the Richter scale. It was a hot day and I thought I was just feeling dizzy but then everyone around me started yelling and then I realized that it wasn't just me who could feel it! 

The 10th of May in Mexico is la día de los madres (mother's day.) This year it was on a Saturday so we celebrated by going out to Italian for lunch. Dany created an amazing collage of photos to surprise mamá which we hung on the bedroom door before she woke up. 

The amazing collage

My family 

Tortillas

Days in México: 84

School started again this week, but it feels like I'm already on holidays again. 3 days into the school term and I get a 5 day long weekend! 

Thursday was the first of May, which is the Labour Day holiday in Mexico. 

Friday and Saturday was the inter school sports carnival so 3 other schools from around Mexico came to compete against La Salle. There were no classes and because I chose to do dancing instead of joining a sports team, I didn't participate. 

Tomorrow, Monday the 5th of May and is a holiday to celebrate the victory of the Mexican army against the powerful French army who were trying to invade Puebla in 1862. It was a victory that everyone was sure that the French would win because they were a better established and had more resources, so it is a day were Mexicans celebrate the victory.

Last Wednesday was also children's day. School was still on but we were allowed to wear casual clothes and had an extended recess break. We were also given savoury volovanes, which are the Spanish version of the French vol-au-vents pastries. I had the volovan al pastor, which means mine had meat in it cut from a rotisserie and it tasted delicious.

The traditional food in Mexico is some of the best known in the world. It is full of flavour and leaves you wanting more! An element that appears in a lot of food that is eaten in Mexico are tortillas. There are two types of tortillas that I have tried, one type is made of corn and the other type is made of flour. They can be handmade, bought fresh from a tortilla press or be bought from the supermarket in a packet. Tortillas are eaten as a substitute for bread a lot of the time and the less they are processed, the healthier they are for you. 

Here are some of the Mexican foods I have tried so far that use tortillas:

Tacos- Proper Mexican tacos are made with tortillas, not with hard shells corn shells. They can be served in many ways with a combination of flavours. 

Gringa- A type of taco. Two tortillas with pastor (rotisserie meat) and cheese melted in between. They are normally served with a choice of salsas, onion, pineapple parsley and lemon (which in Mexico look more like limes but definitely have the taste of lemons.)

A gringa taco

Taco de papas- Another type of taco. These tacos are filled with potato then shallow fried to make the tortilla crisp up and to form a shell. They are really nice with sour cream, cheese and lettuce. I have also tried tacos de pollo, which is the same except they are filled with chicken instead of potato. 

Taco de papas with sour cream and cheese on top

Enchiladas- Tortillas with a choice of fillings that are heated in a tomato sauce. They are served with sour cream and cheese on top and sometimes frijoles (warmed beans) on the side. 

Enchiladas filled with chicken served with frijoles on the side

Quesadillas- A tortilla that is filled, folded in half and then heated in a pan. I normally take quesadillas to school that are filled with ham and cheese. They are really quick and easy to make and are delicious. The most delicious type of quesadilla is with queso (cheese in Spanish) melted over a hot plate on the BBQ. 

A queso (cheese) quesadilla from the BBQ

I have my own version of the quesadilla which is made with Nutella and is best with a fresh, hot tortilla. The first time I made it my host family thought I was crazy because tortillas are traditionally only eaten with savoury food but I soon made them realise that they taste really good with Nutella.

Nutella quesadilla

Tortillas are also eaten with soups and as a side to compliment dishes. Last week for breakfast I tried birria which is a slow cooked meat that falls apart in your mouth in a rich sauce. It is eaten with tortillas to help scoop up the meat and contrast with the richness of the sauce.  

Eating birria for breakfast

There are lots of other dishes that use tortillas but these are my favourites that I have tried so far. 

Semana Santa

Days in Mexico: 77

This week has mainly been dedicated to relaxing. I've caught up with friends and have spent a lot of time at the beach and the pool. The weather has been hot with most days reaching above 30 degrees but it hasn't been too humid.

Just after I posted my blog update last week I went out to a Japanese Restaurant with some friends to have dinner. I was having a really great time until I went to the bathroom and realized that I didn't know which door to pick; the one with an 'h' or the one with a 'm'. In Australia we either have 'm' for male and 'f' for female or 'l' for ladies and 'm' for men. There was no one else around and there weren't any pictures on the doors. I thought about what to do and as I was walking up to the 'h' door a man came out so I quickly turned and walked through the 'm' door. That day I learnt an important lesson that 'h' stands for 'hombres' (men) and 'm' stands for 'mujeres' (women). 

Semana Santa translates in English as Easter week. This year Easter was very different to what I am use to. It wasn't commercialized with loads of chocolate, in fact I didn't eat any chocolate last Sunday! My family went out for breakfast and then we went shopping. At the shops there weren't any decorations up or Easter eggs being sold. In Mexico, Easter is a time to relax and spend time with your family.

An Aunty and Grandma (from my dad's side) came to spend a couple of days with us from Mexico City. I had met them before when we visited Mexico City in early March so it was nice to see them again.

On Monday I showed my family how to make sushi. It isn't a typical Australian food but I like making and eating it, especially on hot days. I learnt how to make sushi about 10 years ago in a cooking course I did through my primary school. They turned out well and we were able to use local produce in the sushi rolls like avocado and mango.

The ingredients

Demonstrating how to make sushi 

Sushi rolls

I have also spent some time at the plaza and watching movies. When I was at the plaza we had a look through the pet store. There were cats, dogs, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and... turtles!

In Australia you need to have a licence to keep turtles but in Mexico you can just buy them from the pet shop. They were so cute and they were tiny!!!

Baby turtles

Last Wednesday I found out that the Ruta Maya trip that I wrote about in my blog last week has been cancelled. Unfortunately there weren't enough people wanting to go but hopefully a shorter trip of a similar route will be scheduled for later. I still have over 9 months of my exchange left so I am sure I will get another opportunity to see other parts of Mexico. 

My taco count has now reached 53! Yesterday for lunch (Saturday) I went out to a taco buffet with my family and managed to eat 7 tacos which is my new record. The all time record for anyone in my family is 12 tacos which I don't think I will be able to match. The tortias were smaller than normal which made it easier to eat more and were really good. 

At the taco buffet

School starts again tomorrow and the weather is expected to get up to 38 degrees with thunderstorms later in the week. It is going to be hot and humid!