I made it to Cuernavaca!

Now that I am in Mexico, my blog really gets going! I am mainly blogging so I have an ongoing narrative of my experience here that I can look back on. The reason I decided to do it online is so I can share it with family and friends and it also forces me to keep it updated! Bear with me because it is my first blogging experience- here we go! 

Leaving the US and Arrival in Mexico City

I probably got two hours of sleep the night before we left- so much excitement! I was packing and repacking my two suitcases full of clothes and school supplies. I managed to keep both under 50 pounds! Mama Linda & Steve drove Lindsey and I to O'Hare around 5:30 AM for our flight at 9:59 AM. I said my tearful goodbye to my parents and off I went! I was shocked at how quick everything was at O'Hare. The flight seemed quick (approx. three hours and thirty minutes) and was really easy. When we arrived in Mexico City we had to go through immigration and customs. I can only imagine how comical it must've been seeing three "gringas" trying to corral six suitcases and three duffle bags. We then met up with Javier, a very nice man from the university that would take us to Cuernavaca. We loaded up all of our luggage in the van. At first they put it all in the trunk and the trunk wouldn't really shut. We started driving and had to pull over again to rearrange because I was sure that with one forceful stop all of our luggage would go flying out the back of the van. I am glad we fixed it before we really got going although it would've been quite comical seeing all of my delicates strewn over the streets of Mexico City. 

Mexico City traffic is absolutely insane. Javier told us that there are about four million cars/trucks that travel the city. On top of that they are building a bridge system above the side streets so it's quicker to get out of the city. It took us 45 minutes to even get to the highway to Cuernavaca with all the traffic and construction. Not only is the traffic horrendous but the way that they drive here is much different. If you think you are a defensive driver, try driving in Mexico. No one hesitates to do anything they just go where they need to go. (Example: An SUV just drove out in front of a Police car with no problem.) There isn't really lanes, people kind of go wherever. Motorcycles travel in this tiny spot between cars, trucks and buses. I remember this style of driving from Peru a little bit and it makes me laugh because I get stressed out with our little beltline or rush hour traffic!

Mexico City is very busy bustling city full of people (almost nine million!) It was interesting just to look out the window at all the sights and sounds of such a huge city. We learned that Mexico City has over 4 million cameras around the city patrolling crime and traffic. It became a game every time we found a new camera!

Arrival in Cuernavaca and Meeting my Host Family!

Stairs from the street level to the garden

Once we got on the highway it took about 45 minutes to get to Cuernavaca. The drive was so beautiful full of rolling hills and lush green valleys. We arrived in Cuernavaca around 4:30 and I was the first one to get dropped off at my homestay. That was nerve-wracking! I said bye to Lindsey and Halie and Javier helped me with my bags. My host mom, Griselda, met us at the door and helped with my bags. 

Shortly thereafter, I let out a huge sigh of relief and was grinning ear to ear because Griselda rocks. Within minutes she made me feel so welcome and at home. Griselda is not only super nice but also immediately reminded me of Mama Linda. She was wearing a red shirt, red sparkly earrings and lipstick- I took that as a good sign!  She gave me a tour of the house, which is so adorable. It's a split level house with all of the bedrooms upstairs (on the street level) and then the kitchen, dining room and my bathroom is downstairs. There is a beautiful patio that is off of the kitchen/dining area. They recently went through the first steps of remodeling so everything is so nice.  There is a beautiful garden and pool in the backyard. It is picture perfect! I feel so lucky to have such a nice host family and home. Here are some pictures although I still need to get good pictures of the kitchen- it's so cute and is one of my favorite rooms. 

El jardin (the garden/backyard)

Mi cuarto/my room! I love all the storage!

A few touches of home :)

Sitting Room

A bar! Just like home! I'm thinking my Esser's Best pint glasses
I brought as a gift will look really good up there!

Upstairs sitting room

Griselda and I talked for a while and when I say talk I mean that she talked and I responded with some shaky broken Spanish. ("Ohhhh! Si!! Mhmmm!") I understood what she was saying but could barely think of a response that made sense. My conversational Spanish is a tad rusty so this experience is already so valuable. I blame it on my perfectionist attitude because I am afraid to make a mistake while speaking so I am thinking of the verb tense and vocab all while trying to talk. She showed me pictures of her family from her son's wedding. Griselda has a husband, Gregorio, but he works in Mexico City and doesn't live here full time. She has three kids. Javier, the oldest at 35. He married a woman from Kansas City and that's where he lives now with his wife and son. Grecia is 25 and she is a redhead! Griselda made sure that was the first thing I knew about her! I obviously loved it. She then showed me her room and I think that she may be my Mexican counterpart because her room is accessorized with purses and jewelry and she has a perfectly organized closet with a section for all of her jewelry and bling- I am pretty sure my eyes lit up with delight. Both of the daughters have really good jobs (one for the government and one for a substance abuse center) so they work a lot. I only met Grecia briefly this morning and still haven't met her other daughter, Kenia, who is 23.

I went back to my room and unpacked a little bit. It is SO nice that I have my own room full of storage so I can really feel like I live here. After unpacking, it was time for cena (dinner) I was so excited for my first authentic Mexican meal!! It was a thick piece of ham covered in this really yummy tomato sauce and onions. There was refried beans and cheese on the side and of course, tortillas. They eat three things everyday here in Mexico: frijoles (beans), tortillas and chiles! 

After dinner, Griselda asked if I wanted to go to Walmart with her. Some of you know that I love exploring grocery stores so obviously I jumped at the chance to go to my first Mexican store. We took "la ruta" or these little buses that go around the city. It's similar to the Peruvian combis (think old VW van with seats ripped out and benches crammed in) but these are an actual mid-size buses so I feel less like a white giant. Walmart was bumping! It's a big Walmart! Thankfully there was an ATM so I withdrew 1,000 pesos, roughly $76.00 plus additional fees. It will take some getting used to pesos since it's about eight cents to every peso.

I found this at Walmart by our check out lane- thought it was a good omen!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Stephanie/Estefanie/Estefanía
(These are all of my names in Mexico!)