The finale....finally!!

Well, Louie and I did manage to get lost on our way to Guanajuato, of course.  We actually somehow ended up going a completely different way, but we did eventually make it.  Our hotel was cute and within walking distance from downtown.  There were full length mirrors on the closet doors, and Maya spent pretty much the entire time protecting us from that vicious looking dog behind the mirror.  It was super entertaining :)  Guanajuato is a completely adorable city in the mountains, and one of the most fun things that we did there was take a trolley up one of the hillsides for a fantastic view.  But more importantly, I wanted to visit the "kissing street,"  home of a very famous Mexican legend. 

Callejon del Beso!!

We had a pretty uneventful drive back to Puerto Vallarta, especially since we let Maya navigate!!  Louie was confident that her relative silence and occasional barking would be more effective than my attempts to give directions.  We enjoyed our last night in Puerto Vallarta with a walk along the ocean, drinks at my favorite ocean side bar (the Cheeky Monkey), a last minute tequila purchase, and a poolside dinner and swim at our hotel. 

Maya in charge of navigating.

It is so crazy to think that I have been home for 6 weeks already!!  My sabbatical year went so fast, and this summer doesn't appear to be going any slower.  But Louie and I are enjoying our new apartment (yes, our relationship survived!!) and all of the fun things that summer in Chicago brings, and I am looking forward to going back to teaching in the fall.  Thank you to all of my loyal readers!!  Keeping this blog has been a lot of fun, and I am so happy that I now have such a great record of my trip!!  Adios!!

San Miguel de Allende

After a wonderful stay in Guadalajara, we headed off to San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato on Wednesday.  Thanks to my excellent navigational skills and Louie’s speedy mountain driving, we made it to San Miguel in only 8 hours, instead of the 4 hours that mapquest predicted J  It was a really lovely drive though, and we got lost in some really cute Mexican towns!!  Louie was a bit scared once, when two teenagers on a moped volunteered to lead us back to the highway, but we made it out safely. 

Once we finally arrived at our hotel (after one VERY STEEP and scary road), things started looking up.  The hotel is completely adorable with a huge courtyard for Maya to play in and a swimming pool, and our room is gigantic.  It is quite far up a hill, so we have a beautiful view of the city, but it is a very steep walk up here.  We have taken a cab almost every day, and one time, our cab driver even refused to take us all the way up the hill because he said his car wouldn’t make it! 

The view from about half way up the hill to our hotel!!

The courtyard at our hotel

 We’ve have a lovely time in the beautiful town of San Miguel de Allende.  We guided ourselves on a walking tour (my navigational skills are significantly better with a street map and on foot!)  Actually, I would like to take this moment to say that it is really difficult to navigate in a foreign country.  I only had printed mapquest directions and a giant highway map of the entire country of Mexico.  I would read the direction to Louie plenty in advance, then all of the sudden, the road would split three ways and Louie would shout “which way, which way???,” and I would have to make a split second decision based on the information that I had just read aloud to him 2 minutes earlier, which didn’t seem to make any sense given the intersection, and as expected, I was right about 1/3 of the time.  It really was confusing, but I think that we are going to do a lot better on the way home J

 Anyway, back to San Miguel.  We guided ourselves on a walking tour and saw 15 churches!  And Louie took 2 pictures of each one, one in color and one in black and white.  We’ll be sure to post them all on facebook J  We also made it to a toy museum and an old textile mill that was converted into art galleries and studios.  Louie was super excited about all the art in one place!  And of course, we ate at several fabulous restaurants.  One of our favorite things, however, was definitely the hot springs that we visited.  The water was so warm, and it was very beautiful.

One of the most beautiful churches.

Hot springs

 Today we are off to the city of Guanajuato, which I have heard is amazing.  And we drove through it on the way to San Miguel, so we know it is beautiful and we should know the way there!!  I really hope we don’t get lost!

Together Again

Guest Writer:  Louie :)

Well hello everyone.  I am honored to be guest blogger on Liz's very popular blog.  I have been asked to write about our trip up to this point. So here it goes.
     I arrived in PV on Saturday, after a night of no sleep. You see, I have heard nothing but warnings about kidnappings, shoot outs, and blood thirsty drug cartels. So my nerves had been a bit on the fritz leading up to my departure. However, thus far we have encountered nothing of the sort, although a small part of me was hoping for a wee car chase or two. But I digress.
After spending our first night in PV, we hit the road early on Sunday morning. I was really excited to hit the road mostly because the car we rented was manual transmission (I love manual transmission) and partly because I was expecting a Roadwarrior type senario on the highway. Roadwarrior has yet to happen, but driving is still a lot of fun.
The scenery was gorgeous as we drove up through the mountains. Thankfully we did not have to drive along cliffs as I had originally thought we would. We did stop briefly to take in a scenic overlook, which for some reason smelled like fish.


Fishy Overlook

Tequila Lunch

Our first stop was Tequila (The town, not the drink). When we got off of the highway along the road leading us up to the town, there were very large billboards shaped like tequila bottles, so we were certain we were headed in the right direction. The town made me think of Hershey, Pennsylvania as that where ever the could, they had agave plants: built into fences, handrails, etc.  The town was quite cool; however, should you ever decide to make a visit, try not to do it on a Sunday as most of the town is closed down. After having lunch and the obligatory margarita, we hit the road toward Guadalajara.

Mandatory Margarita

In under an hour we were in the city limits, at this point I really started wishing we had a gps, because among Liz's many and varied talents, navigation would not be counted among them. However we still made it to our lovely hostel.

Centro Historico

The very next day we went out to explore Centro Historico (our neighborhood). We saw many beautiful old buildings, including a Cathedral, The Government Palace, and theater.  The true highlight of the day was our visit to the Wax Museum and The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. The Wax museum was quite fun and somewhat educational; it was filled with famous Mexicans and Politicians, as well as a few American celebs. The Ripley's Museum was quite fun. I kept getting tricked by this little boy in front of us, he was laughing so hard he may have peed his pants....serves him right.

Michael Jackson

Don't Mess with Wax Superman!!

Lunch in Tlaquepaque

Today we hopped on the bus to a suburb named Tlaquepaque, which is the center of art for the Guadalajara area. The town was right out of a Mexican movie set. One thing I love about this part of Mexico is that where ever they can put a gazebo, they have one. Tlaquepaque had some of the coolest art galleries I have ever seen. I fell in love with the art galleries much more than my travelling partner who was done with them by about the 3rd one. We also had one of the most delicious/expensive meals to date here, but well worth it.

Tlaquepaque Town Center

Tomorrow we hit the road again to San Miguel. Keeping my fingers crossed for a car chase.

Almost Finished!!

I can't believe that I will be picking Louie up from the airport tomorrow afternoon, and we will begin our road trip adventure through Mexico!!  I am so excited; I'm glad that I had a lot to do today so that this day is going by fast!!!

On Wednesday, I had my last day of volunteering at the after school program.  We had a little party to celebrate International Children's Day (April 30), and like usual, my dad generously gave me some money to spend on the kids.  As a teacher, of course I bought them all two books to keep at home and also plenty of new books for the classroom.  And treats too!!  But as I predicted, the cupcakes were very popular, but not nearly as popular as the books!!  The kids were so excited to get to take home two books of their very own!

Cupcakes!!

Carefully selecting books

Such cuties!!

Thursday, I was feeling adventurous, and I still had one more new beach to check off my list, so I took a water taxi out to Yelapa.  I had heard a ton of great things about this beach, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.  First, the boat ride was super fun.  I had to text Louie immediately to tell him to start saving his money to buy us a boat!  We would be so popular :)

 The beach was very beautiful, but the real highlight of the trip was the little town of Yelapa.  There are no cars there, so the village only has sidewalks, no roads.  It was super cute.  I also took a little hike to see a really cute waterfall.  It was a really nice day, and I totally want to take my family there next time we visit.

I "heart" tours.

This title is not actually true.  I do not like tours.  And when I say tours, I mean very touristy, guided tours that you pay $50 or $100 for a day of "fun."  I almost always refuse to do them while traveling.  I would much rather explore myself and try to find more local places.  So I am not sure what gave me the idea to take a city tour of Puerto Vallarta today.  My mom recommended it, but I should have known not to listen to her because she LOVES tours!!  I also should have known that since I have been living in Puerto Vallarta since January, I probably have seen everything on the tour.  

Last week when I went to book my tour, the agent told me that if I listened to a timeshare presentation, I could go on the tour for free...plus have a free massage!!  So I spend my morning yesterday at a random hotel listening for two hours to someone trying to get me to buy a timeshare that I definitely wasn't even considering buying.  But the massage was nice.  And at least I didn't actually pay any money for the day of boredom today!

Our first stop was a small church in Pitillal, a cute little neighborhood about 20 minutes from downtown.  I was actually excited to visit this neighborhood, but my spanish teacher had told me last week how to get there on the city bus, and I should have just done that.  The church was our only stop!!  After about 10 minutes of picture taking, we got back on the bus to headed to a tequila distillery, where we had a quick presentation about how they make tequila and got to taste a few different kinds.  Now don't get my wrong, I really enjoyed my first tequila presentation back in February.  My second one with Louie was fun too.  And I even enjoyed my third one while Kellie and Joe were visiting.  But my fourth one was a little boring.  

Mariachi Band in church :)

So the day wasn't starting off very well.  Next, we headed to Old Town (a few blocks from my house) for an hour of shopping.  And not even fun market shopping, but "store" shopping.  Clearly this tour company has a deal with these store owners because I have checked out a LOT of shopping areas here in PV, and this was not the best one.  Not that I have any money to spend or any room in my suitcase to buy anything anyway!  And I definitely have all of the Mexican souvenirs that I need already.

Next we headed south to my favorite beach, Mismaloya.  This is the beach where Night of the Iguana with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was filmed.  Parts of Predator were filmed here as well.  But as I stated before, Mismaloya is my favorite beach, so I have already been there several times.  And since nobody had their swimsuits, we only pulled over to get a view of the beach from the side of the road!  But at least I got to take a picture holding an iguana.  

We ate lunch at an expensive and super touristy restaurant, and I was a little nervous that I was going to have to eat alone, but fortunately, I had chatted with another single lady traveling by herself earlier in the tour, and we found each other, and had a really lovely lunch together, discussing the state of the world.  It was definitely the highlight of my tour.

We made one more stop along the road on the way home for another scenic overlook (which was pretty beautiful, but I have driven along that road like 10 times already), and headed back downtown.  I was getting a little worried that we weren't going to visit Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's old houses which are connected with a bridge and that was the part of the tour that I was most looking forward to!!  So I asked the guide, and he told me that they don't go there any more because people have to walk up the hill (very steep) and some lady broke her leg once!!  But he told me that the house was downtown, and the bus could drop me off at the bottom of the hill if I wanted, and I could walk the 5 blocks uphill myself.  I said yes, and when the bus stopped, I realized that I was only about 2 blocks away from my own house!!  Yes, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's old houses are only about 4 blocks away from my own apartment!!  So I guess I could have done that on my own too.

The bridge between Richard's and Elizabeth's houses.

Anyway, at least I know that I did a great job of exploring Puerto Vallarta on my own, and this whole experience reaffirmed the fact that I am just not a big fan of guided tours.  When traveling, it is way more fun to just explore.

Two Weeks Left!!!!

I can hardly believe that the time has gone so quickly, but I only have 2 weeks left here in Puerto Vallarta!!  This coming week is my last week of Spanish classes, then I have one more week to just relax and enjoy PV before Louie gets here and we head out on our road trip to Guadalajara, Tequila, Guanajuato, and San Miguel de Allende.

April seems to have flown by, probably partly because my family was here for the first 10 days!  Actually, Kellie and Joe arrived on March 29, and stayed in a hotel downtown near my house for 3 nights.  I had a great time showing them all the sights of downtown Puerto Vallarta, including the zoo of course.  The rest of my family arrived on April 1, and Kellie, Joe, and I met them at their hotel.  I got to spend several afternoons at the hotel with my family, including Easter weekend (when Maya got lost!).  Also, the rest of my family came downtown for an afternoon/evening to see my apartment and go out for dinner at the best taco place in PV. 

Tacos at Panchos in Old Town

After my family left, I realized that my time was ticking down very quickly, and there was still a lot of things that I wanted to do while I was here!!  So of course, I made a list!!  And I have been steadily checking things off for the past two weeks, but I still have lots more things to do!  One of the most important things on my list was to visit at least 2 new beaches (one down, one to go).  There are a couple of beaches here that I just love, so I always end up going to those or to the one closest to my house, but there are so many great beaches here, and they all have their own character.  Last weekend, I visited Playa Conchas Chinas for the first time, and I loved it.  Here is the description from the Puerto Vallarta website.  It really was as good as it sounds!

Conchas Chinas Beach, is one of the most fascinating beaches you are likely to find here. Only a few minutes south of downtown Puerto Vallarta, flanked by lush mountains on one side and aquamarine waters lapping at the clean, white sandy beach. Enjoy natural pools formed by encircling rocks, a fried fish on a stick, relax & enjoy yourself as you rarely have before. The transparent waters offer you a clear view into the depths where you'll see a wide array of fish and other sea animals that are found in the area, an experience you will likely never forget. Proof that is is one of the cleanest Vallarta town beaches available.

This weekend, I have also been busy checking things off my list.  I went to the movie theater to see the Lorax in Spanish.  I was pretty impressed that I could actually understand it pretty well.  I went to the farmers market to get some tasty snacks.  I went to a play at the Puerto Vallarta Theater, Blanca Nieves (Snow White) of course in Spanish.  And finally, I went to the Marine Museum.  I'm doing pretty well on my list, but I still have lots more things to do!!

Maya was Missing!!

I have had family here visiting for the majority of the past two and a half weeks, which has been so much fun (although not very good for my spanish)!!  With the exception of Joe and Kellie who braved a weekend in downtown PV (and I think they enjoyed it!), the rest of my family stayed in an all-inclusive hotel in Nueva Vallarta, about 20 kilometers north of Puerto Vallarta.  It took me about 90 minutes on the bus to get to the hotel from my house, so for the weekend of Easter when I didn't have classes, I wanted to stay in Nueva Vallarta, closer to the hotel.  Of course, the Rui Palace did not allow dogs, but one of my Mexican friends here lives in an apartment in Nueva Vallarta and invited Maya and I to stay at his house for the weekend.  This was perfect, as the apartment was only a 15 minute bus ride to the hotel, and I could still spend the nights with Maya to give her her medicine. 

Little did I know that there was going to be about 8 other people staying in the apartment as well, mostly visiting Puerto Vallarta from Guadalajara for the Easter holiday.  Maya and I did have the bedroom (with the only bed) to ourselves, which actually worked out fine for everyone since it seemed like I was the only one who actually wanted to sleep at night!!  Even Maya wanted to be out partying in the livingroom on Friday night, but her mean mother wouldn't let her!

On Saturday night, everyone (except Maya and I, of course) went out somewhere, and didn't get home until 6 am!!  I am definitely too old for that kind of partying these days!  When I left for the hotel at 8 am, there were literally 7 or 8 people passed out on the livingroom TILE floor!  I woke up my friend to let him know that I was leaving, and that my family and I would be by around 5 in the afternoon to pick up Maya, since my family was actually going to leaving their all-inclusive hotel for a few hours to check out my apartment and have dinner downtown.

When we arrived at my friends apartment on Sunday afternoon and walked in, it seemed like everyone was acting a little weird...and I didn't see Maya.  I finally asked my friend's roommate where my dog was, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn't know!!  Apparently when he woke up (at about 1pm) she was already gone!! 

My family and I immediately headed out into the neighborhood to look for her, but I have to admit that I was not feeling very hopeful since it was already after 5 pm and she had been missing for at least 4 hours, probably more.  As we cruised around the neighborhood, it seemed as though everyone had seen her at some point during the day.  She really must have been making the rounds!  My mom and sister talked to a police officer that said he had seen a dog earlier that afternoon, but when he tried to pick her up, she bit him!  Well, we knew we were on the right track then.  After enlisting the help of 4 little neighborhood boys and almost 2 hours of searching, we finally found her outside one of the neighbors houses.  The neighbor had put out food and water for her during the day. 

I was beyond relieved, and Maya also seemed very happy to be found, although she was definitely no worse for the wear and it seems like she had a really fun adventure!!  It was an Easter miracle!!! :)

Maya...happy to be back in her own bed!

Volunteering

I have been volunteering now for a couple of weeks at a kindergarten after school program in Bucerias, a neighboring town to Puerto Vallarta.  The afterschool program is run by a program here in Mexico called PEACE, which does a lot of great things around here.  Around 8 to 12 children attend the program, and they range in age from 3 to 5.  They are so cute!

Getting ready to paint

Volunteering is excellent practice for my Spanish!!  Neither the teacher or the kids speak any English, so it is definitely a struggle sometimes for me to figure out what is going on!!  And often, the kids have a hard time understanding my American accented spanish.  But it is kind of amazing how much can be said with non-verbal communication! 

Little Pajaros :)

This is a very different experience than volunteering in Africa.  The teacher has lots of supplies, and although the classroom is small, it is filled with books, art supplies, puzzles, games, and toys.  The teacher does an excellent job of working with the kids at different levels, doing a variety of art projects, outdoor games, and learning activities.  It is really fun for me to work with this age level on a volunteer basis, but I would never want to teach kids this young full time!!  I'll stick with my 4th and 5th graders!!!

Louis visits PV

As many of you saw from the pictures on facebook, Louie was here visiting me the first week of March.  I can't believe that he has been gone already for almost two weeks, and I am just sitting down to write this blog!  Of course, we kept very busy and had so much fun!!  I had a list of nearly 20 things that I wanted us to do, and we did pretty well on the list.

Our dorky list of activities :)

Since we are both on very tight budgets, especially since we have a lot of fun expenses coming up, we tried not to spend too much money while he was here.  Good thing there are so many free and fun things to do around here.  Also, I had taken a couple of cooking classes at my spanish school, so I made dinner at my apartment a few nights as well, which was a lot of fun.  I think that Louie was impressed that I was actually able to cook something that did not come out of a package!! 

Louie enjoying tacos dorados con papas y chorizo

Of course, I had to take Louie to the zoo.  I knew that he would love feeding the animals and playing with the baby tigers!!!  Really, who wouldn't??  We also took an evening cruise on a pirate boat.  There was a pirate show, and also all you can eat and drink.  We had a lot of fun, and even found Louie's long lost twin!!  I had to go up on stage to dance during one part of the show, and I think that Louie took like 50 photos (all of them extremely flattering, of course)!!  Our biggest adventure, however, was our bicycle trip up into the mountains to see and swim in a waterfall.  It was a VERY difficult trip up, but we had a blast swimming and playing in the water (but Louie was too afraid to jump into the water from the rocks!).  And the ride back down the mountain was super fun!  Although I was a little scared to get going too fast!  I didn't want to crash! 

Louie was loving the pirates!!

 Besides those three big activities, we spent a lot of time at the beach, shopping (well...looking mostly), and trying lots of different restaurants and street foods.  And of course, hanging out with Maya.  I made Louie watch Dirty Dancing for the first time, and we spent a lot of time practicing "the lift" on the beach.  We successfully executed it several times, but I still need to work on my form!!

I was very sad to say goodbye, but Louie will be back on May 5, and we are renting a car to travel around Mexico for a week.  I am very much looking forward to that adventure!  And for now, I have lots going on with studying spanish and volunteering.  I definitely don't speak spanish well enough yet to come home, but I am definitely getting better!!

For more pictures, check out my facebook album: 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101186654376997.3092674.8644195&type=1&l=e0e7b0ad71

I am not very good at Spanish.

So I am officially halfway finished with my spanish courses, and I am just not very good at Spanish!!  Sure, there are plenty of things that I am not very good at.....sports, trivia, sports trivia, etc.  But I have always been really good at school.  And I hate not being very good in my Spanish classes.  Now don't get me wrong, I am a model student.  I come to class every day, on time, and with my homework completed.  I don't just do my written homework exercises in the evenings, I actually study words and make sure that I understand all of the sentences.  I have made hundreds of flashcards for vocabulary words.  And I make poor Louie listen to me read aloud in Spanish almost every night (thanks honey!).  So it is not as if I am not trying my best.  But during class, I feel like I am doing fine and understanding the teacher...until she actually asks me a direct questions.  Then I get nervous, forget every spanish word I ever learned, and stare blankly at the teacher for like 30 seconds until I remember how to say "como?"  And I consistently get C's on my exams.  And did I mention that these are take-home exams?? 

Lots of flashcards!

I am looking on the bright side though.  If nothing else, I am at least developing a whole new understanding of my own students' behaviors.  I am going to be a much better teaching when I get back to Chicago.  Every teacher should be required to study a subject that is difficult for them every couple of years because I think that we really do forget what it was like to be a student.  It is sort of ironic that I am a special education teacher, when I, in fact, have never struggled with a school subject in my life (until now).  So this is definitely a great experience for me in that regard. 

My old classmates (who all spoke better spanish than me!) and our teacher Jovanny.

And I am getting better.  I actually got a 100% on my exam today.  I was super excited since my previous high score was an 89% (my lowest score was a 73% my first week....not good!).  I notice that I am able to read signs in spanish automatically now, without even thinking.  And I am starting to be able to converse with people without thinking too much...but I still have a loooonnnng way to go!!  I started volunteering at a kindergarten this week, and that will really help my spanish since neither the kids or the teacher speak english.  And the kids speak so fast too!!  It's a lot of fun though.  So....at my official halfway point, I am optimistic :)

One Day at a Time

While I was home for Christmas, my grandma asked me if I ever got homesick while I was traveling so much this year.  I answered yes, I did get homesick sometimes, but that's just part of being away from home.  And I always tell myself that the homesick feeling doesn't last, take one day at a time, and you will definitely feel better tomorrow.  In Africa, I was really only homesick a couple of times.  The first few days after I left were pretty bad, especially when my dog bit my sister in the face!!  I was also homesick on Mt. Kilimanjaro, since it was pretty miserable at some points, and I had no internet and very limited phone access!  Here in Mexico, I was homesick after my first week here when Maya and I moved into our own apartment, mostly because Maya was all excited because she thought that we were going home, and that made me sad.  I also get a little homesick when I know that all of my family or all of my friends are getting together for something special and I am missing it!

I am definitely homesick today, but I am going to allow myself to be since I think I have pretty good reasons.  First, I just got home from taking Louie to the airport after a wonderful 9 days together!  We did so many fun things together this past week, and it was so nice to have him here.  Although, as I predicted, it didn't really help my Spanish too much!!  It was really hard to say goodbye today, even though we will be together again in just 8 weeks.

Louie Maya and I today in Puerto Vallarta

Second, all of my family is together today, but not for a fun reason.  My grandma died this past week, and her wake and funeral are today and tomorrow.  My grandma was a really wonderful woman, and it is really sad for me to not be there to celebrate her life with my family right now, but I know that my family will be here visiting me in just 3 weeks from today, so I just keep focused on that.

My whole family with my Grandma at Christmas

Even when I am feeling a little homesick, I still know that this trip is a wonderful experience for me, and I am so lucky to have been able to do it.  I seriously cannot believe that I am nearing the end.  It is the middle of March already, and I will be home by the middle of May!  I'll be sad for my year of travels to be over, but I'll definitely be happy to be home again.

Pesos

So far, I have been spending A LOT of money in Mexico!!  Of course I realized that Puerto Vallarta would be a bit more expensive than Tanzania, but it's not a lot more expensive, so I really had to analyze why I am spending more money here.  This is what I have come up with.

1.  My friends here have more money, hence, suggest more expensive activities.  The general standard of living here seems a bit higher than in Tanzania, so even my local friends here have more money than my local friends in Tanzania.  And even Sofia from Sweden (fellow volunteer in Tanzania) was on a pretty tight budget, which really helped me out!!  I usually hang out with my classmates here in PV, and most are here only for a few weeks, so they are looking to experience as much as possible in a short time!  And of course, I have a hard time saying no to fun activities!!

My expensive friends and I cruising around PV!

2.  I live right in downtown Puerto Vallarta, whereas in Africa, I lived a good 20 minute, very shady, dala dala ride away from downtown.  Here I am super close to shopping, restaurants, and activities, whereas in Tanzania, I was pretty close to the orphanage and....not much else.  It is so tempting to spend money when everything is so close!  Which brings me to number three....

Hanne and I dining on the beach!

3.  There are so many great restaurants here!  I had really good intentions of getting groceries weekly and almost always eating at home, but so far, that has not really happened at all!  I have gotten groceries exactly once since arriving here, and I still have quite a bit of food left in my cupboard.  I just love to go out to eat, and when there are probably 30+ restaurants within 10 minutes walking distance, it is pretty hard to eat at home.  And Mexican food is so good!!  I have actually decided to seriously limit my semi-expensive, touristy restaurants, but allow myself as much street food and local Mexican food as I want!!!  In Tanzania, unless I wanted to take the 20 minute shady ride into town, I had exactly 2 food choices near my house....chips mayai and cassava.  Hence, it was a lot easier to convince myself to eat at home.

Mmmm....quesadilla!

Mango donut snack

4.  Shopping.  My street is pretty much the "cute boutique, accessory, and shoe store" version of Michigan Ave.  I have thus far restrained from buying any new clothes or shoes (I can't say the same for accessories), but it is SO tempting!  And I don't even like to shop that much, but I walk past these cute displays every day on my way to school.  I simply didn't have this temptation in Africa!  There were very few stores in the whole city that sold new clothes and shoes, as most people bought their clothes second hand at the flee market.  By the time I was finished with my 14 weeks in Africa, I was pretty sick of wearing the same clothes that I had packed, but here, I am getting sick of my clothes already!!  I want cute NEW ones!!

New beach chair and new inner tube......obviously I needed these things!

5.  Maya is doing great, and I love having her here with me, but she is certainly an added expense.  Dog food, treats, poop bags, a new bed, not to mention that we've already been to the vet twice since she developed some sort of skin allergy from the humidity here!  But besides that, her health has been great, thank goodness, and hopefully her medicine will be cheaper here.

Me and my baby

Next week, Louie will be here visiting (I'm so excited!), but I swear after he leaves, I am going on a strict budget!!!  We'll see how that goes....

Mi clase de espanol

My classmates.  Joelle (Canada), Hanne (Belgium)
 and Martin (Austria)

I started Spanish class last Tuesday, and so far it is going really well.  It has been a really long time since I've taken a class taught completely in Spanish, and it does take a bit of getting used to!  It has actually really made me think about my own students and my teaching practices.  It is really hard to learn new concepts when you don't understand quite a lot of the words that the teacher is saying!!  When I am teaching my own students, I sort of expect them to remember the definition of a word that we just talked about 10 minutes ago, but in my Spanish class, I am shocked at how often that happens to me!  The word sounds familiar, and I know we just talked about it 10 minutes ago, but I just can't remember what the stupid word means!!!!!  I will certainly be more patient with my students next year when teaching new vocabulary and concepts!

I am getting the hang of it though, and I can already tell that my Spanish is getting better.  Although I still can't imagine what it will be like when I can actually think in Spanish and do not have to translate constantly in my head.  If I am at that point at the end of my 12 weeks of study, I will be very very happy.

Dinner at Senor Frogs

Not only are my four hours a day of Spanish class keeping my busy, by my classmates and I are keeping busy outside of class as well.  There are school sponsored activities every day of the week (board games on Mondays, movies on Tuesdays, Cafe Social at a local bar on Wednesdays, cooking class on Thursdays, and salsa lessons on Fridays, and I usually sign up for two or three of those.  In addition, my new friends and I come up with our own fun afternoon and evening activities as well.  We've tried many different restaurants for lunch and dinner and of course a few bars as well for drinks and salsa dancing! 

Cafe Social with our teacher Edgar, Hanne, Joelle, and Diane

Hanging in PV

After Maya and I moved into our new apartment, I had a week before my classes started to just hang out and enjoy Puerto Vallarta.  In addition to Maya and I's daily walks to the beach and setting up the apartment, I have had a few other adventures as well. 

Last Monday, I went with Antonio and Ricardo and some other friends to a nearby town called Sayulita for a night of salsa dancing!  There was a live Cuban band and everyone was dancing.  And since I went there with four Mexican boys and two others met us there, I was never without a dance partner!!  Actually, I barely had a minute to sit down for a rest!  I will be an excellent salsa dancer by the end of this four months!!

On Friday, Antonio and I checked out the Puerto Vallarta Zoo.  It is a few miles outside of Puerto Vallarta, so we took a very scenic bus ride along the coast to get there.  The zoo was quite different than a zoo in America.  We could get so close to the animals and even feed them!  Also, I got to play with three baby tigers and two baby monkeys! 

For the Superbowl on Sunday, I went to a bar owned Antonio's friend Cesar to watch the game.  It was fun, but unfortunately, they were watching the game on a Canadian channel, so there were no good commercials!  I had to watch the best ones on-line the next day.

On Monday, my last day of vacation before starting school, Saul and I headed to Punta de Mita for surfing lessons!  It was my first time surfing, but I think I had a great teacher because I actually could stand up on the board almost every time I tried!  It took me about half of the wave to actually stand up, but I was able to stand for a while.  It was so fun, but my arms were so tired from paddling!!

Also, I wanted to add a few more pictures around my apartment.  It is such a beautiful area; Maya and I chose our apartment well!

Outside the apartment.

Our view of the ocean.

The walkway up to our apartment.