Just a couple thoughts

June 13 by Rachel

So yesterday was fun just like Christian told you. After all that fun, we needed some rest. So this morning we slept in then ate a late breakfast. During breakfast, we briefly discussed our political views on our current president. The food was delicious of course. We took some pictures of our hotel and around the station where we were staying. There is an old train station right by the hotel where we stayed. Our guides suggested that we get a picture on the train tracks. Please note that there are active trains on these tracks and there was a train stopped at the station that we were standing in front of. Don't worry, we didn't get hit by any trains though.  We made it after a very long drive and spent the afternoon around our house in San Luis Potosi.  For dinner we ate Chinese food. Yup, we ate Chinese food in Mexico.

standing on the train tracks at Real de Catorce station

us with our guides

the view out the window on the drive

In the car ride back to San Luis Potosi, I spent some time thinking about my first impressions of Mexico. First off, I LOVE the food. In general, I am not a picky eater. I like almost all food, but the food in Mexico has found a special place in my heart. Everything here is terrific. Here the big meal of the day is eaten around 3. Dinner is pretty late at night at around 9. Lunch is normally just a snack. Corn tortillas accompany pretty much every meal - breakfast included.  Beans are also a common staple. Salsa is also really common and it varies for how spicy it is. Mexican food is normally a bit spicy. 

On Monday, I went and hung out with a friend like Sarah Ann told you. Her name is Lary (short for Larissa), and she is super nice. She lived in the United States for a year when she was in second grade, and speaks English quite well. She is also very patient and lets me practice my Spanish. She is willing to repeat things, talk slow, and explain things, so that I can have conversations with her in Spanish. I think I have spoken more Spanish in the past couple days than in my whole year of Spanish class combined. I am getting more comfortable saying what I want to, even if I still struggle using correct grammar while speaking. I have accepted that my Spanish won't be perfect, so I am just trying to do my best to express myself. Sometimes at night now, I find myself thinking somethings in Spanish instead of English. While I was at Lary's house, we talked about some of the differences and similarities between Mexico and the United States. She said that for girls 15th birthday they will sometimes have up to 300 people at a party. I can't imagine that! 

Well, I am loving it here. People are very friendly and the food is good.