Spring Break Detour Through Europe

Since my last blog post in early March my study abroad experience has taken an unusual turn... I visited my girlfriend (and some other friends) in Europe for two weeks! I know that study abroad students love to travel, but even I can admit that this was a little ridiculous. But before I talk about that, I should mention my Sayulita surf trip!

The second weekend in March I went with a huge group of Tec students to Sayulita, a tiny little surf town about half an hour north of Puerto Vallarta on the west coast. The weekend mostly consisted of me embarrassing myself on a surfboard in front of the locals, but it was worth the shame. Sayulita is a beautiful place, with palm trees and white sand everywhere, along with a population of what must be at least 70% Canadians. I'm pretty sure I heard more Canadian English than Spanish... My phone was still broken at that point, so I'll just snag a pic off the internet to let you guys know what Sayulita is all about:

Nice little aerial view. You can't tell so much from this picture, but the surf was perfect.

And then the following weekend, I hopped on a flight and headed to England! I spent a few days in Leeds, then flew down south to Madrid to spend about a week there with the ol' "ball and chain" (Gabby if you read this, I swear I don't mean it). It was really interesting getting to see Mexico's motherland, and I figure I should reflect a bit on the differences and the similarities that I've noticed between the two. 

One of my favorites: Crystal Palace, in Parque El Retiro.

First off, the accent really isn't all that different! They speak faster, use different slang, and have what sounds like a bit of a lisp, but I was surprised by how much I could understand in the end. Also, it was very strange for me seeing people other than Latin Americas speaking Spanish fluently... I'm just not used to it!

I've gotta say, the food is way better here in Mexico. In Spain they just don't use as many spices, so I think the food is less interesting, although the Iberian ham is pretty amazing! 

Gabby is in awe of the jabon iberico.

Much of the architecture in Madrid is very similar to the colonial style here in Mexico, especially in well-preserved colonial cities like Zacatecas and Guanajuato. The people in Spain are also very warm and welcoming, but nothing can really compare to Mexican hospitality.

We went to a cathedral in Toledo, where we saw some old relics from the good ol' silver empire days. Here's a pic of a fancy-looking king statue, probably made from the silver taken from mines in Zacatecas or Guanajuato:

Seriously, what a baller.

So after this two week detour, I'm back on track to finish out the semester here in Guadalajara! It's crazy to think that I only have six more weeks of class here, then finals, and then back to the States. Now is the time to shove in every last bit of the Mexican experience I can handle! Stay tuned.

What Do You Mean It's March?!

Good evening blog readers! I'm back after a brief hiatus (they don't mess around with mid-terms here), but happy to say that I've gotten to see and learn a couple new things since my last post. As you can tell from this post's title, it's kinda shocking to me that I'm already in month number 3...

Quick little story: yesterday in salsa class, while dancing with my Cuban instructor, she finally got around to asking where I was from (obviously because she was so blown away by this white boy's salsa skills). I told her the United States, and she told me with a little chuckle that she's still waiting for her visa. Just an interesting dynamic, especially while dancing.

Since my last post in February, I've completed my first round of Spanish-language midterms, started the migration portion of my class with Lalo (favorite professor), and traveled to Tapalpa, Zacatecas, and Michoacan. One of the main reasons that I chose to study abroad in Mexico was to study Mexico-United States immigration, and now I've reached the point in my class La Historia de Mexico Contemporaneo in which I'm doing just that. We're reading three of Lalo's books about immigration, his main field of research. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been more interested in a class before! The one thing that gets my goat is that all three books are in Spanish, so I'm afraid I can't really appreciate them fully yet. But this is the kind of material to which I'm sure I will return time and time again.

During the weekend in the middle of midterms (midterms last two weeks) I went with some friends to the small mountain town of Tapalpa, where we went hiking, relaxed, and enjoyed a local strawberry festival. As part of the strawberry festival, a local cathedral/museum hosted an art exhibit put together by some local elementary school kids. This drawing below caught my eye, not just cuz it's a huge strawberry, but because of what is written to the left! Basically it translates to: "They give work to the men and then they put chemicals on the strawberry to make it bigger and take it to the United States."

Our group on a big ol' rock at Las Piedrotas

Two weekends ago I took a bus with my Canadian friend Sarah to Zacatecas, a silver mining town about 5 hours north of Guadalajara. It's a bit similar to Guanajuato, with gorgeous colonial buildings lit up at night, and small, meandering streets that are all too easy to get lost in. We hit up some really cool museums, toured a silver mine, and ended up returning to the same mine that night to hit the night club there, 300 meters underground! This was basically the vibe (for all you Adventure Time fans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UCvKV012nU

IN DA CLUB

La Catedral de Zacatecas

Main government building (friendly reminder that yes, I am in fact in Mexico)

The old Convento de San Francisco that is now home to el Museo Rafael Coronel, the world's largest collection of masks. 

In Michoacan we saw Santuario El Rosario, the largest monarch butterfly reserve in the world. As cheesy as it sounds, it was a really magical place. When the 200 million butterflies open their bright orange wings, the trees seem to catch on fire! And then begins the butterfly hurricane... We also visited Morelia, Patzcuaro, and Isla de Janitzio, an island in a lake surrounded by mountains with a huge statue of Morelos, an independence hero here in Mexico, looming at the top. The statue is actually taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro! Last on the long travel list for the weekend was Tzintzuntzan, a ruin of five pre-Hispanic castles that overlook the lake. Despite the rain, it was still magnificent.

Quick disclaimer: these aren't my pictures because my phone died this past weekend.

Mariposas!

Morelos looking like a baller (Isla de Janitzio)

Tzintzuntzan

Just as a little closing note: when I'm traveling through the countryside here, I swear sometimes it feels like riding a bus through a Dr. Seuss book! Look at these...

Maybe you can't tell from the bus window pic, but seriously, I've never seen anything like these crazy things.