Case of 'Sometimes'

Do you ever get in the 'sometimes' mode? Like Sometimes I am productive, but other times I sit on the couch and do nothing instead. I have roughly 3 weeks left of this semester and I caught the case of 'sometimes'. And the fact of the matter is... I don't even have anything new to say about my life. Haha. Literally. Nothing has changed since we last spoke. I mean I am still writing 2015 dates on assignments. I am still doing homework like a champ. And I still find these random times where I have nothing to do what write in this thing I call a blog.

Hamm and I have figured out how to make some BOM quesadillas- So Good. I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. ALSO. WE have the coolest FHE brother. Ask me if we have more than one. Probably. But we only see one, and he is pretty legit. So family home evening consists of the three of us. Because everyone else is 'busy'. It happens. (Maybe they caught the 'sometimes' earlier in the semester...)

FHE: The good ol' family home evening. So with our one FHE brother, the guy comes over and hangs out with us all the time and its always a great time. Anyway, On this particular Monday, Chris said he wanted to plan it, so Hamm and I said Okay go for it. You wouldn't BELIEVE what we did. Actually I'm not even sure if I am able to disclose what we did... Oh well.. Here it goes. It all starts with Chris bringing over a bag full of tennis balls to our apartment. You can imagine what Hamm and I were thinking... what the?? "Are we playing tennis Chris?" Nope. So we decided to follow him on campus and find out what it was all about. We followed in through a building, up a stinky elevator, and climbed lot of stairs. Once we got to the top he grabbed a tennis ball and said- The whole point is to get the ball all the way down to the bottom by dropping it just right. There is a perfect space between the railing and all the stairs, and it is a lot harder than it looks. It took my three tries to get it to the bottom. It sounds so weird, but we did 4 or 5 rounds before we left. All the sudden there was a lot of people going up and down the stairs, so we didn't want to risk hitting them... or being caught. You know both possibilities were a thing. All and all, the tennis ball thing was a big hit for the three of us. 

Alright Roommates. I think their great! Haha Story time. I'm rooming with my best Friend, Hamm. So of course I see that lovely lady. But I have been told that I have 3 other roommates. Ask me If I ever see them. Ask me if there is evidence of them. Yes to both by the way. So in a Large sense, Hamm and I feel as if we are living alone. Even though we are facebook friends with them and everything! I never see them- its great and super weird.
Neighbors. We never hear the ones that are right next to us, but the ones above us? OH MY HECK. They sound like a herd of elephants racing through the jungle. And when they run down the stairs- They sounds like they are running for their lives and are filled with screams and again sounding like a herd of elephants. So really the girls above us could be elephants for all I know.


Just a couple of highlights: 
1. Someone Got Engaged in the middle of Broulims- WEIRDEST thing that has ever happened while I have worked there, and I've been there for quite a while.
2. Stick Glue is A LOT stronger than we ever give it credit for. It holds in my home button and does a dang good job.
3. I'm a morning person... Who knew you could get so many things done when you wake up early..
4. We get treats after Sunday classes... Its amazing and I'm never leaving this ward.
5. Chacos. I wear them literally everyday... even the days it snows.
6. The sun is FINALLY coming out.


Also. I have been home from Mexico for 3 months,,, almost a long as I was there. It is seriously so crazy how time flies. I know I also seem to mention Mexico in each of my posts, but even though it was a small moment in my life, it was a BIG impact.

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory" -Dr. Seuss

Someday's I wish I could just go back to that easy carefree life of traveling, eating tacos, teaching little kids- It was simply amazing, almost like a dream.

March 20. 2016.
Today is the first day of SPRING! Also it is international day of Happiness. Also the Sun was shinning so bright today, it was nothing but a good day:) Nothing but a warm, relaxing Sunday. Nothing But a HAPPY College Student right here. Now wish me luck, finals week is right around the corner.

That is all for now. I'll just finish eating my avocado and continue watching Phineas and Ferb.
Maybe sometime I'll actually do something Super Great and Exciting- until then your stuck with my rants about absolutely nothing.

Goodbye 2015 // Hello 2016

Alright who said it could be 2016??! When I was a little kid I swear it took FOREVER to

get from holiday to holiday, from year to year, but now I blink and BAM its 2016 and I will be 21 this year. What the what. I mean seriously yesterday it was January 1st, and I blinked or something and now it's more than half way through the month and I'm two weeks into my 6th semester up here at college and I've been home from Mexico for just over a month.  I miss Mexico like crazy, I can't believe how fast that adventure went by- It was like a dream or something. Alright enough ramblings- To the POINT. I haven't made any blog posts since I've been home, I mean it's not like it was a habit or anything like that it just became something I did in my spare time. And right now, for some odd reason I have spare time. So here I am, writing my rambling thoughts. Just reminiscing 2015 and thinking, how in the world will 2016 compare? LET me tell ya- THIS IS MY YEAR. I've been thinking, if going to school and working is the only thing that happens this year, I'm doing pretty good. I mean I have a roof over my head, I have food, I have a car. If anything, Mexico taught me to be grateful for the things that are right in front of me and that things don't actually matter.

On the topic of school. School is great. School is terrific. School will always be school. I'm gaining an education and it is GREAT. I seriously love learning  I mean I'm getting a lifetime of knowledge and that is priceless. It is still really weird to be home and cold ALL the time, but I really can't complain. I am rooming with my Best Friend, and I live really close to campus. Life is actually really great. I eat about 80 fruit snacks, 3 granola bars, and probably too many gold fish every day. Literally life as a college student. And no, I don't eat Ramen Noodles for every meal. I eat Pasta Roni for every meal, and when that's gone and I'm still hungry, I crack out the cold cereal. Also I take naps. Lots of naps. I live for naps and snacks. That is the college life. Oh yeah and I work. So between school, eating, and taking naps I find the time to go People Watch and get paid for it.

Alright confession time. I'm that person who makes fun of those who take selfies like a second religion. "But first Let me take a selfie". Let me tell ya, Aint nobody got time for that- and then I got Pinterest and a smart phone. It's a piece of cake to just pull out your phone whenever and snap a photo. What does getting Pinterest have to do with this? Ideas. Stupid freaking Ideas. But in my humble opinion I think I found a pretty solid idea that I did for a whole year. Haha yeah laugh, I did this Idea for a whole YEAR. Ready? I saw this really cool collage of someone who took a selfie a day and when they looked back they could see how they changed. I was like WOAH and I was so intrigued. Before you ask "did you take a selfie EVERYDAY for a whole year?" I'm going to shut that idea right down. I did not take a selfie everyday for a whole year, I took a ONE selfie every week, so instead of having 365 pictures, I only have 52. I don't know why I did this crazy experiment on myself, but I think it turned out really cool. And I don't have a million useless selfies on my phone. Its crazy to see how much one person can grow in a whole year. Now obviously I couldn't fit 52 Pictures into collage. So here are 14 of them. Two from January and Two From December and One from every other month. 2015 was a dang good year.

Anyway. Rant over. That's it.

Mole Cactus Chicken.

One week left and so much has happened this last month! All of November went by really fast. At the beginning of the Month we Celebrated Dia De Los Muertos. Kind of... The school celebrated and we just tagged along. All the kids dressed up and decorated their face one way or another. I couldn't tell you a lot of details about the Holiday, but I do know that they pick an ancestor that has passed on and they make an alter for them with lots of flowers and lots of bread. They say they usually make the alter in the cemetery and then spend the night and wait for
the spirit to come..  Or something like that. That is as far as I understand the Day of the Dead. Its a great holiday. Which reminds me, their idea of Halloween is really weird. Let me elaborate- there will be kids in the streets dressed up in some kind of mask, one will be laying on the ground and the other will be standing over him pretending to kill him- THEN off to the side there will be a bucket for money. Its quite the experience to see. Either that or kids will come up to you BEGGING for money. So of course as I am walking down the street some little kids come up to me wanting money- instead I just gave them what I had left of a pack of gum. Haha they went crazy!
Lots of things happened in November. Nothing completely specific. Other than the fact that I life in Mexico and life is great :) I have good friends to spend the weekends with. One time Valerie and I went and got GIANT cups of Orange juice- even though we had to pee a lot it was totally worth it. Another time Laney and I got Friday Shirts and wore them on Friday. This last month we have really gotten to know Pachuca, where as before we were trying to go out and do lots of things out of town and venture Mexico in General. I will tell you what- Mexico is Mexico, the food is great where ever you go, the people are still great and kind- the only thing different from city to city is the streets. Everywhere you go its just a little bit different. Anyway. There was one night I took a bite of a GIANT Torta, that was an adventure in and of itself. Another time we went to our kids Soccer Game. They were so Cute and they won! Also if anything I've learned that Pachcua is COLD. During the day it could be 70 or 75
by the evening it is 60 or 50 or 45. ITS COLD. Of course its not cold enough to snow or anything like that, it's just cold in general. If I would have known to bring a long sleeve shirt or two I would have! Sometimes just a sweatshirt doesn't cut it.

On one random Monday, we didn't have school, so we ventured to the top of the hill we live on, and reached the flag at the top! It was really cool looking over the city and identifying buildings and streets. At the beginning of the semester we had been at the top just looking over the city and I remember thinking HOLY COW. Because the building structure is SO different here, there was no way I was going to try to identify buildings. But now that we have lived here, it is easy to identify where we have stepped foot in the city.
I missed my first Holiday at home- Thanksgiving- it's one of my favorites because all of my family comes together. Anyway we celebrated it here and it was great. The school had a little breakfast thing where they all ate Chicken Nuggets and French Fries, I had a PBJ. That reminds me, as Laney and I were walking to school this lady on the street gave us a piece of bread she had already been eating. At first I was so confused, why would someone who is more poor than I give up food that she needs? After I thought about it for a long time I realized that some people are just kind. If anything I have learned that Living in Mexico people are KIND everywhere you go. They will spend their whole day
with you just to show you around. Its part of the culture and I LOVE THAT.

Wow. Now that I have rambled A LOT... We had our own Thanksgiving dinner. We bought a Mole Cactus Chicken, made some smashed potatoes and stuffing, some rolls- and we had ourselves a small Thanksgiving.
I will always remember the Thanksgiving I had Mole Cactus Chicken instead of Turkey. Not that I am ungrateful for the food I had, I am Beyond Grateful, I will just never forget it.
That weekend Valerie, Laney, and myself all ventured out to Puebla! We just spent a little over the night/ day trip! It was super fun! It was also Laney's first time outside of Pachuca- her first

vacation! I wish Laney had come on ALL of our Vacations- she is such a blast- but I'm super glad she came to Puebla :) Anyway she had a friend in Puebla and she was the kindest soul who gave up everything for two days to just follow us around and take us places. While we were in Puebla we went to this little city called Cholua- just 15 minutes outside the main city. From what I understand, Cholua has a church on every corner, it was a big city of religion. So we climbed a lot of stairs to the top of a hill so we could see a big church and the look over the city. Needless to say, the mini vacation was a BLAST. I will go to Puebla over and over again!

When we got back we had a big wave of realization hit us: We had two weeks left with our kids. Two more weeks of being with each other 24/7. Two more weeks of lesson plans. Two more weeks of Streets Tacos. Two more weeks of Mexico. I literally can't believe that it has already been four months. This semester went by so fast! I look back at the beginning of the semester and it seems like it was just a dream. I have accomplished so much in the last four months, its almost mind blowing! I found out that I love traveling, meeting new people and seeing all the different sites. I'm so glad I saw and took this opportunity, it has been a life changing experience- definitely something I will NEVER forget. Here's to two more weeks in MEXICO!! #vivamexico

Week Long Adventures.

Friday/ Saturday.

The WEEK long started with an over night bus to Oaxaca. We arrived in Oaxaca city at 7 am, bought our bus tickets and waited 2 hours for our bus that was 11 hours. So in total we traveled 16 hours on a bus. It wasn't completely miserable, but it wasn't very pleasant either.
When we finally got to Puerto Escondido it was 7 pm, and from the moment I got off the bus and until we left, I realized that Pachuca is cold! The first step off the bus I suddenly wanted to strip off every piece of clothing I had on, because I was suddenly drenched in sweat. Never before in my life have I ever been in such a hot, humid place- Definitely a first. When we had arrived at our hostel we were welcomed by lots of interesting people sitting around the table listening to one person tell stories. She was the hostel owner, and a well traveled lady who had a German/ New Zealand accent. She had no problem talking to people and we would all be amused for hours.

SUNDAY. On October 25, 2015, I crossed something off my Bucket List. Yes I Touched the OCEAN for the very First time in my life! Everyone says the Ocean is salty, but you really don't know just how salty it is until you inhale half the ocean as you are beached. Oh yeah and the Ocean is really strong, I was beached a couple of times and had sand EVERYWHERE. I also had the opportunity to learn how to surf, and dang it, I know how to surf and it was awesome! I surfed the first wave that came along, and the instructor in his broken English said this "You have good balance" just as he pulled me back into the water to do it again. It was great and I accidentally drank half the ocean. 

MONDAY. We decided that sitting on the beach would be an AMAZING idea, and it was. Then a guy came up to us and told us all about this cool boat ride and how we would see dolphins, whales, and turtles. And I lost it, I was like NO WAY, we have to go- So I made a deal with the man that if I didn't see

any Sea Turtles I wasn't going to pay him, the guy SHOOK my Hand and said deal "You see Sea Turtles, I promise". It seemed promising. In fact it was REAL promising when we were in the middle of the Ocean and the Guide JUMPS into the water and I remember thinking 'What the heck is this guy doing?' - we all turn to look to see where he was and in his arms was a SEA TURTLE. Never in my life would I have thought that is how you catch a sea turtle. In a few short moments the Turtle was on the boat and I touched it REAL QUICK. So after that cool boat ride I went right back up to that man and handed him his money. I will always love the culture here, people are just so different and its Great! Anyway, so after that short excursion we were beach bums for the rest of the day. Shortly after we got back from the beach we made Chilaquiles for us and our new friends at the Hostel. We made an oddly weird connection with the owner and it made the experience at the Hostel really cool.

TUESDAY. Tuesday was our last day in Puerto Escondido so we literally relaxed all day. In the morning we walked around the market and then wandered over to the beach. I sat and ate the 

BEST Guacamole I have ever had. I also had a coconut- the milk, the meat- The WHOLE thing- I knew I liked coconut before, but fresh Coconut, nothing beats that. Not only did I just sit on the beach and eat, but I did the whole beach experience! I wrote my name in the sand, searched for sea shells and swam in the Really Salty Ocean. It was all great! I LOVED every moment of the beach. We stayed for one more Sunset and headed back to the Hostel so we could gather our things and head to the night bus so we could arrive in Oaxaca city by morning. Our Crazy Hostel friend invited us to go to dinner with her and the rest of the gang. We all got pizza and had a moment of lots of talking and funny stories. It was definitely a night I want to remember for a long time. Hearing about everyone's story and why they were traveling really made me want to get out and travel!

After we ate we went straight to the bus station, got a little last minute Wifi and got on a combi. So when we purchased our tickets, we saw the cheaper price and decided it was a great idea! Worst. Decision. Ever. Instead of purchasing tickets for an actual bus, we purchased tickets for a combi. A COMBI. Not one of us slept that night, in fact at one point there was this old lady who put her feet on me! So I curled up into a little ball and fell asleep for a little bit- and woke up and couldn't feel my butt or legs. If I slept at all it wasn't restful in anyway. When we finally got to Oaxaca city it was 7 am- we took a taxi down a couple of blocks to our hostel. We couldn't check into our hostel until 1 pm so we crashed onto the couch until 10 and then went exploring the streets of Oaxaca. I had some really Really good quesadillas and some amazing Jamaica. By the time we wandered back we were finally able to check into the hostel. We set our stuff down and layed on the bed and crashed for 4 hours straight. When we finally woke up we all showered, got ready and went on a hunt for more food. We found these giant quesadilla things called
Tlayuda. Literally a giant quesadilla. We also found some amazing chocolate. Oaxaca is known for their food and for their chocolate- so really we couldn't have been in a better city. Valerie and I found a super tiny gelato shop and it was the BEST Ice Cream I have ever had. I got an ity bity cone and the Lady OVER filled the cone. The night had been made up from the previous night- it all canceled out. Later when we had wandered back to the hostel, we met a bunch of new friends from all over the place. They even invited us to go to a bar with them. They couldn't get over the fact that we don't drink, but we ended up going with them to just dance! We may have met some crazy people, but I think that was just part of the experience ;) It was all just really great.

THURSDAY.
We met up with some friends that Valerie knew through another friend back in the States- and they followed us where ever we wanted to go. We went exploring through some Ancient pyramids dating back to 100 AD. It was a cool little city, and we were able to climb all around them and walk all about the place. It was really hot and the stairs
were like lunges. So when we got to the top of the largest Pyramid I laid down- I mean it isn't everyday you get to lay down on the top of an Ancient Pyramid. After an hour or so we wandered back down to catch the bus, and on the way down there were SO many people stopping us, wanting us to buy their treasures. I mean they were cool, but it was like peer pressure, I felt like I had to buy everything. Anyway, after the Pyramids we walked all around El Centro, touring through some museums, and eating Ice Cream while slowly melting in the heat. Since we were in Oaxaca so close to the Day of the Dead, the

streets were decorated and filled with skeletons and alters. It was something that I was actually really excited to be part of! Later in the evening there were parades and Mariachi bands playing on Every Street. So if you just missed one parade, don't worry- Just walk down the next street and BAM! Another Parade and Mariachi Band! It was the most interesting thing I have ever seen. People were walking down the street dressed up like skeletons- it was the most fascinating thing I have ever seen. The whole city was a party and even though everyone was dressed up like the dead the city was very much alive.

FRIDAY. Friday was our last day in the City of Oaxaca. Our friends met back up with us and took us to see the FATTEST TREE in the world. It was 2000 years old, still alive, and REALLY fat. I had to take a panorama of the tree because it was so fat. We
honestly didn't do very much on the last day. We walked around a bunch of little shops and ate more quesadillas. Walking around, looking around- they are my favorite things to do and we did a lot of that in Oaxaca city, and it was great! At the end of the day we gathered our things and we went back to the bus station. There were Mariachi bands playing in the station and throwing "Prizes". I got nailed in the foot with a small container of hand sanitizer and I snatched a hat right out of the air- it was great. Shortly after all the excitement happened, we piled onto the bus. Six and a half hours later we arrive back home. Pachuca. I layer back on the layers and get in a taxi, walk inside our quiet home, and crawl into bed. The week long was INCREDIBLE and so tiring. I didn't realize how tired I was until I laid down in my bed.
Anyway Mexico is still great. The culture still surprises me. People are so generous. The food is Great in every way. And I will always love it here.

Teaching. Tacos. Tehuacan.

This week all starts off with a cold. I caught myself a cold- and it was miserable. Teaching was almost a nightmare- My ears were so plugged that I couldn't say anything over a whisper. My head was so clouded that I had snuggle time with my kids... I mean they were already immune to this weird sickness- They were the ones that gave it to me. Anyway that is how this wonderful week started. I stayed home lots from small adventures to try and recover. And the worst thing was, we were ALL sick. It was a great way to start a week. We discovered a really yummy dish, Chilaquiles, It is soggy chips in some really yummy sauce- It
sounds really gross, but trust me I'm getting really good at this food thing, so any replication of the delicious food must be documented for the proof that Mexican food can be replicated by some white girls. Anyway during the week it was very boring, I really didn't do anything but try and get over the miserable cold. I have never loved fresh orange juice so much, and never before have I ever missed Night Quill so much before in my life. By Thursday I was mostly better, I say mostly better because I had finally gone to Walmart and spent money on medicine so I could sleep at night. Also, Thursday was the night that we left for a little weekend trip to Tehuacan. So we took a bus to Puebla then to Tehuacan. The whole reason we were going to vacation in Tehuacan was because of our cute little Head Teacher. She had done ILP for the first time with a
host family in Tehuacan. So the adventure side came out and we all agreed we wanted to go see her host family with her. So we got off the bus really late, it was around 11 pm- late- but not that late. The host family came and picked us all up and took us to their home where we ate tacos- dinner at midnight. And in Mexico that is totally acceptable. The following day we went though a jean factory,
where the host mom works as a designer. So we got a little tour of how jeans are made: by a lot of sewing machines and hands. Hand made. Jeans are made by hand. So I have decided that I shouldn't be picky about my pants... even though I probably still will be. Anyway, I got myself a nice little pair of jogger jeans and they are awesome and super comfy and I am almost convinced to wear them
everyday. Later that day we headed over to the markets. Fresh fruits and vegetables EVERYWHERE. There was also a bunch of random pottery and random things. That is the best way to explain the market place. Everyone has different things, trying to sell you everything. It is in fact one of my very favorite things to do in Mexico- walk around the market place to see all the random things they are selling for only 10 pesos. I even got the BEST cup of fruit at the market- Pineapple- Coconut- Melon. Anyway Mexico is awesome and I've said it before but I will say it again: I might never come
home. Later that night we went to a big birthday party. There was lots of food and little kids. After we ate, all the little kids asked us to come play with us in their little broken English- it was adorable and I couldn't resist. The whole time I was in Tehuacan I never stopped eating- we were constantly going somewhere to eat something. So after the big party with lots of food and cake, we went to an Ice Cream place and had Ice Cream and Churros. So if we weren't eating tacos we were eating Ice Cream, and I was okay with that. The host family that we were staying with were amazing. The Mexican culture is so different and so kind- The family literally took us everywhere. So with the couple of days we were there we got to know their three,

sweet little girls. Their family reminded me of my brothers family and being around them made me miss his three little girls. I haven't really felt homesick until this trip, and even then I don't think I felt it to the full extent. It was just for the weekend. The very next day we went to El Centro. That is where I learned that every city in Mexico has a Centro with a little park, Church, and little restaurants or shops surrounding the area. It has been really interesting walking around everywhere in Mexico and realizing that everything is the same but different. The culture is amazing, I find more and more love for this country everyday.
Anyway, Sunday morning we went on a walk around the city and had breakfast at the host families grandparents house. We even walked all around El Centro and saw the "Story of Mexico". There were a bunch of murals painted on the walls and ceilings telling the story of how Mexico came to be. It was really interesting to see how they perceived the world. The adventures in Tehuacan were really laid back and it was more relaxing than anything. On the way back we barely caught our bus back to Pachuca- we purchased our tickets minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave. I had lots of time to think on the bus and I realized I am so grateful that I can spend time in Mexico and call Pachuca home. It is something I never really thought about before, until now- its not something I can really explain, but its a great feeling and Pachuca is definitely my second home. :)

Conchas. Fair. Conchas. Real de Monte. Chonchas. Fut Bool.

Alright. So this week starts way back to the beginning of last week. Monday morning we were briefly
informed to give a presentation for the Parents that had their kids in ILP. Tuesday morning was early and Super Great. and the Parent Presentations were awesome- we totally rocked it. Wednesday was another Big day, Our Super Awesome Program Director came to visit us and watched all of our lessons. So we had two REALLY big days in a row. To make things better, the kids were CRAZY and super wild. So really our week was good but full of craziness. So to end the week, we treated ourselves and went to the Fair! It was Awesome and it looked like a mini Lagoon. Street food, rides, and the people on the side trying to get
you to play their game to win a prize, There was even a mini concert. Needless to say it was Pretty Awesome.
Okay, so lately I have been obsessed with the delicious pastry, the Concha. Every day after school, after we eat lunch- we walk down the street right past the BEST cocina pan place here. All of the delicious pastries are freshly pulled out of the oven and the whole street smells Amazing! WE all can't help but pull out our three pesos and get a Fresh Pastry that your taste buds will never let you forget. Just as I got a doughnut every morning at work, I get a lovely Concha everyday in Mexico. SO with that little side note of Conchas, I will continue to tell you about the fair. THERE WERE GIANT CONCHAS AT THE FAIR. Also on every
corner of the fair, they had this corn, mayo, lime stuff and it is AMAZING. I will never be able to eat corn the same. I never thought I liked mayo, but when you put lime with it, it changes the whole thing. There is something about limes, they change the world, or at least my taste buds anyway.
Alright. So the very next morning I had the opportunity to listen to the prophets voice- Yes it was indeed General Conference weekend. I LOVE general conference. There is nothing better than Listening to the prophets voice on a Saturday morning. People might think otherwise, and that's fine. I make my religion a
 priority and love the spiritual uplift. After the first session of conference, I went with my lovely roommate, Laney, to Real De Monte to do a Home visit with one of our Students.  It was a really neat experience. They invited us into their home, we exchanged some of his work and in return they fed us Pastes and took us around el Centro. Real de Monte is beautiful city! I feel like the city is built on different hills, so if you want to go to one side of the city you have to go down the hill and up another one. Anyway our student's grandparents took us up to this one place, I honestly couldn't tell you where it was, we weaved in and out and up and down- but here we were at this one place and it was full all these shops that went down the street. As
we looked around the Grandma was like "Are you going to buy anything?". Laney and I just look at each other like Ohhh we are taking the time to do this okay. Okay. So as we looked around to buy something I saw the COOLEST turtle, but I didn't buy it I just held it in my hands, contemplating if I should actually buy it or not. And just as I was going to set it down, My Student grabbed it out of my hands, Bought it and then handed it to me saying "Teacher, this is for you!". I was speechless. I swear this kid hated me! He calls me teacher Ugly every day. This kid Never listens in class and suddenly he was my best friend, sticking by my side, totally interested in what I was buying, wanting to take a Selfie with me, you name it. This kid was suddenly the sweetest kid I had ever met. And maybe it was just because his grandparents were

there watching, or maybe it was just because he suddenly discovered that I wasn't scary. I will in fact never know, but I definitely connected with him on more of a personal level and I can only hope that he will be better in class now. This was definitely a moment to always remember.
Remember when I said it was conference weekend? Okay so Sunday I was planning on staying in my Pjs all day, eating snacks and listening to the Words of the Prophet. On the lovely Sunday morning the Wifi decided to cut out, so I had to get ready to go watch it at the church. One of the reasons I just wanted to stay home was because I wanted to watch conference in English- I knew I would get more out of it that way. So after getting to the church and finding out that they don't broadcast it in English, I just gave up and watched it in Spanish. It was fantastic, I caught words and sometimes phrases here and there, but I didn't catch a lot. But hey, what else should I expect,
I live in Mexico.
So that weekend was a great start to the Next week. We didn't do a whole lot and that is why I am combining two weeks into one post. Two for one! Anyway. This last week we seriously did 5 things. 1. Watched a movie in Spanish. IT WAS AWESOME. I will definitely be watching The Martian in English- it was So good. 2. We taught our daily lessons to the crazy children. 3. We went to this super awesome cafe. Our principal's son, who has two kids in the ILP program owns the little shop. So we got some really yummy treats. Anyway the whole trip was short and really fun- it was Great. :) 4. Saturday we went to Real de Monte and went to the crazy awesome Paste festival and ate lots of Pastes. We also

had the awesome opportunity to Tour through a Silver Mine! I have never before walked through a Mine, and now I can say I have, and it was AWESOME. 5. We went to our awesome friends house and watched the BIG Soccer game -Mexico against the United States. So our Saturday night was dedicated to watching Fut Bool and eating Hoot Doogs. It was a great day to an awfully boring week. :) Did I mention I caught a cold? It is the weirdest cold I have ever had, and I wish it was gone already- It makes teaching miserable. But its all good. Just like all colds it should pass... right? Right. Anyway I have discovered that time is passing WAY to quickly and I only have Nine Fridays left!!! NINE. I mean if you think about it, nine weeks is a long time, but when you're in Mexico that isn't very long at all! So basically I will have at least Nine more Awesome Adventures! YUSSS. P.S. Mexico won the big Game.

Mexico, one step at a time.

So this next week all starts with My class making Ninja Turtles for art projects. I had arts and crafts this week and since I love turtles, I thought hey why not make my kids craft them together. It was a genius idea and the kids LOVED them. I had them make all sorts of funny little crafts, and not one of them complained- it was a miracle!

That Friday we got home from school and immediately packed and left for our First REAL Vacation! I say the first real vacation, because we haven't gone farther than the outskirts of Pachuca the whole time we have been here. So for the first time we left the state of Hidalgo and wandered over to Puebla! The State of Puebla, the city Puebla. The Streets kind of look like Disneyland- everywhere you turn there is a new street full of shops. The buildings are all colorful and there are people playing music at every corner. Its quite the magical little town. In the Dark there are lights EVERYWHERE, just as if it was Christmas or something. I mean literally, it all kind of looks like Christmas because of the colors of the Mexican flag. Its glorious and the little town is filled with tiny shops and restaurants. As we wandered we found the BEST Churros EVER. They were fresh, hot, and they dipped it in sugar right in front of you. I could go on and on about the Churros, and I probably could have spent all my money on the delicious treat, but that didn't happen- that won't happen. They were just really good and that's all you really need to know. The very Next Day we spent the Whole day Touring the Cute Little Town of Puebla. We first visited the Old Historic

Cathedral, and it was SO amazing and it really made me appreciate art and design. Some of the artifacts and designers dated back to the 1600's- Life is literally a small moment and completely amazing. Also I got a glimpse of how dedicated the catholic people are- EVERYTHING we saw was hand crafted and hand carved- Literally the most amazing thing I have ever seen.
Second we walked town the street and into the open areas of little shops. Every where you turn there is someone sitting there just waiting for you to touch their stuff and buy it. It was also so incredibly easy to get lost in this place and never return, but eventually you run out of money and you have to find your way out. Story time: So I decided that I was going to get a turtle in Every city that I visited, that way I wouldn't buy 10 turtles in one city. So confession time, as we were passing through a shop I saw the COOLEST turtles, so just out of curiosity I asked how much they were and this guy clearly stated that he would give me all 7 of the turtles for 50 pesos. But I had already bought a turtle earlier, so I said no and walked away. For some odd reason we ended up passing this guys shop two more times. The more time we lingered there, the guy kept trying to convince me to buy the turtles for 10 pesos less. Long story short I
 indeed bought all 7 of the turtles for 30 pesos. So in the city of Puebla I got 9 turtles in total...
We spent two nights and one full day in Puebla and it couldn't have been better! One of the glorious nights we went to this GIANT Ferris Wheel! It was so BIG, and it went so Slow- It was so high in the air that we could see over the city of Puebla. It was simply amazing. That is all.

Our Adventure doesn't stop in Puebla! Out next stop was in Cuetzalan! The city is built on a hill, so literally every step you take is a NEW ADVENTURE. This place was so cute, it was filled with a lot of old women and lots of young men. There were very few in between and it was really weird. Anyway while I was there, I experienced some really good tacos, the BEST
 Fresh Orange juice, and the coolest water cave I will probably ever tour through. First of all we found this awesome tour guide, and he took us through the jungle, cave, and then he lead us right to a really cool water fall. Now again, the whole City is on a hill, so by the time we were done hiking, and done touring the jungle cave and waterfall, we were exhausted! But we weren't done yet- We had heard from our tour guide that there was going to be a little fair right in town. Something I've learned about the Mexican culture, any excuse they get to throw a party, they go all out and party HARD. Cuetzalan is a tiny little city, so the "fair" was three little taco stands and one little shop filled with homemade things. Then the WHOLE city was in this little building having a little Mariachi band competition. It was really cute. We left at 9 pm and went straight to bed in our lovely little Hostel. The very next morning we wandered around town a little bit and made it a thing to go see the Ancient Cuetzalan Pyramids, It was something to cross
off my Bucket list- I have ALWAYS wanted to see ancient ruins! They were Amazing, really tiny, and broken up. I mean yeah they were incredibly old, but they were so cool! It's crazy to think that little ancient people of Cuetzalan made a living and homes out of these pyramids. I can just imagine little ancient people wandering around this place. Yes I say LITTLE ancient people, because I was either the tallest person in town or some of the men were just as tall as me. So these little ancient people are adorable and I'm in love with the city of Cuetzalan. Shortly after we saw the Ruins, we caught a bus back to Puebla and then back to Home sweet home, Pachuca. The bus ride was long and a little miserable, and I discovered that I get really, REALLY car sick. Anyway, the whole trip was AMAZING! I loved every moment and I'm pretty certain I can call Mexico my second home. :)