We met all kinds of people today

Today we woke up with no more bites, lukily. We had eggs and some sort of sausage for breakfast. It was good, but not our favorite of Mama's dishes. We also had fresh fruit and peach yogurt with coffee. Mama realized that we weren't eating the papaya today. Jillian choked down one piece, and Sarah didn't even bother. Mama asked, "you don't like this one?" We were busted. haha We told the truth, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

We got quizzed over verb conjugations today in the strict teacher's class. It turned into a sort of fun game. For conversation class, we visted a private university here in Cuernavaca. Our teacher's daughter attends this particular school. We got to talk to some of the students there. It was very interesting and different from the University life in the US. It was really strange for us to see boys at school because Columbia College has warped our minds a little. Communicating with boys, especially in a school setting, has become a pretty awkward for us. We met one boy, for example, who was born in Spain. His parents are from Spain too, but he has lived his whole life in Cuernavaca. Let us just say that Spain knows how to make 'em. He was very handsome, and we were a bit shy when it came to talking to him. We also met our teacher's daughter and her friends. We loved getting to see students just like us but in another culture.

After school we had one of the best comidas yet! It was this sort of brothy soup with onions and cheese in it. Then we had toquitos with cheese and spinach in them. Of course, we each put our favorite combo of sour cream, cheese, and salsa on top. Paco, the cuter son of our Mama again ate comida with us. There is a family joke about Paco because he puts sour cream in/on everything he eats. We teased him today about sharing "his" sour cream with us. Everyone had a good laugh. Then he teased us that babies on a diaper commercial spoke more spanish than we can. He's a pretty funny guy when your not giggling so loud you can't hear him talk.
Of course we are somewhat kidding about our obsession with Paco. Besides, Mama calls us her "hijas," or daughters, and we call her Mama. Entonces, that would make us siblings with Paco. We're in Mexico, not Arkansas. :)

After comida, Jillian took a 30 minute nap, and then we took a cab down to the Centro. We went to the Robert Brady museum. It was SO COOL. He was a very eccentric man who died in his 50s in Cuernavaca. His father owned a some sort of traveling company, so he never really had to work. He spent his whole life collecting interesting art, furniture, and various other things. He has stuff (for lack of a better word) from allllll over the world. He really liked primitive art, so he traveled all over into far-away villages. Let's just say, he didn't spend much time in tourist-beaten paths. We think we are going to go back because there was so much to see!

At the museum we heard a group of people speaking English. One girl and 4 boys. We encountered a funny Canadian tour guide who was telling us all fun facts about Robert Brady. After the tour, we started talking with our guide and the group of students about where we are from etc. The boys quickly pointed out our Southern accents. Two of the boys are from Ohio, one is from Holland, and the other is from Germany. The girl is from Switzerland. The girl was quiet, and went back home after the tour. The rest of us went to a restaurant that is really popular in the Centro especially for students from other countries. We sat around and talked for a couple hours. They are all really nice, and we taught them funny things that southerner's say. J'eet yet? Y'ount too? I ain't talked to you in a coon's age. You're actin ugly. etc. They thought it was pretty funny, and we poked fun when the boys from Ohio said things like "mahnster (monster), Haakey (Hockey), caahw (cow)." The Europeans thought it was all hilarious that kids from the same country poked fun at the same language. They also didn't believe that it's still legal to beat your wife on the court house steps with the good ole' rule of thumb, especially the German guy. So sweet. We still think he thinks we were lying or joking about it. Sadly, no.

We think we might meet up again with them for a movie or something. Don't worry mommas... just friends :)

Now we're studying for our exams tomorrow. eek.

Wish us luck!

Can't believe the week is almost up!

The Coldest Day Yet!

This morning we woke up with no new mosquito bites. Thank goodness! This is probably due to the fact that we went to the pharmacy yesterday and purchased some OFF. We then proceeded to coat our entire bodies in it before we went to bed. Our Mama sprayed RAID on the corners of the room and around all the doors and windows. We also slept with the door closed. Luckily, as the title of this post suggests, it was a very cool night. This morning when we woke up, much to our delight, it was rather cool outside. It has been the coolest day yet (only about 85 degrees). This may sound like a lot, but it is much less humid here than it is at home, so it felt rather delicious. We had pancakes for breakfast this morning along with the most delectable peach yogurt we have ever tasted! I must repeat that ALL of the dairy products in Mexico are 100,000,000 times better than at home. I don't know what it is, but the US needs to catch on before we get home or we will be two unhappy chicas. We also had fresh fruit (like always). Today, Mama added papaya to the fruit tray. We can only describe the taste of papaya as heartburn mixed with vomit. Yeah. Luckily, Jillian has tasted papaya before and she warned Sarah not to put too much on her plate. Sarah, being stubborn as always, insisted on trying it anyway. Jillian was right. It did, in fact, taste exactly like heartburn. After this unfortunate incident, we were not planning on eating any more papaya. Much to our disappointment, when we raided the fridge earlier, we discovered that our Mama has an ENTIRE papaya in there. This means that we will be seeing papaya every day until it is gone. It's a good thing that we have beautiful smiles and are good liars when we don't like things. Commida was much better! We had Mexican spaghetti! It's just like the spaghetti at home except better! It has peas, carrots and corn in it! So yeah...pretty much it was delicious just like everything else our Mama cooks. After commida, we had ice cream (like always). It was the most delicious ice cream we've ever had in our lives! It was neopolitan. Yum! After commida, we went back to the school to swim. The water was really cold and it felt fabulous! We swam for about an hour and then came home and took a nap. Our Mama told us that the pool in our back yard will be ready by next week (it hasn't had any water in it because it is being painted). However, next week, we will probably grow gills from being in the pool so much. We are sorry to report that Paco did not, in fact, join us for commida today =( Maybe he will make an appearance tomorrow.

A Tip from the Wise(ish)

If you plan on coming to Mexico any time soon, the key to avoiding Montezuma's revenge must be to eat a little bit of yogurt (best is plain) a couple of times daily. Sarah and I have yet to have any issues (if you know what I mean).

For breakfast we had these little sandwich thingies with ham and cheese. They were toasty and delicious. We also had fresh fruit, coffee, mango juice, and yogurt like always.

Today was our second day of classes. Our grammar teacher has warmed up a little bit, and we are coming to understand her strict teaching-ways. All you have to do is laugh a little on the inside and sometimes on the outside when you get reprimanded. She tends to smile back. :)

We talked about a lot of interesting things in our conversation class, mostly family dynamics and the behaviour of children. During our ten minute breaks we've been putting our feet in the pool. Tomorrow they said we could swim, which we are very excited about because it is hot. Luckily, it isn't as hot as saturday or sunday. During our twenty minute break we went with the doorman, Rafael, to the bank for the ATM. We paid the school a little bit of our balance, but it is difficult because the ATMs only let you take out 4,500 PESOS a day. For those of you coming in June, try and bring a traveler's check, or American cash that you can change at the airport. The banks are located in a mini shopping center with restaurants etc. When we walked by some patio seating of a resaturant, a lady looked at Jillian and said to her friend "pobrecita," which means something along the lines of "poor little thing." This must be because she (and Sarah a little too) looks like she has leprosy from the mosquitos.

After school, we had comida which consisted of tostadas. YUUUUMMMMM.

It is a cruncy taco shell with sour cream, cheese, delicious chicken in some sort of red sauce, and of course, Jillian slathered her's with green salsa that is even spicier than yesterday's batch. Luckily for Sarah, Mama resisted the urge to put chili peppers in the chicken. We also had salad (lettuce), and some sort of cold creamy pasta. Again, the giggle-inducing son ate lunch with us. Mama and Paco both laughed when we recalled the story of the woman in the shopping center feeling sorry for Jillian. During comida we watched the Mexican version of "The Price is Right!" and "Family Feud."

After comida, we took a cab (for about 2 dollars) to el Centro. We walked around the whole centro, and looked at homemade crafts, jewelry, and again we visited the black market. Sarah bought a watch for about about 10 dollars. (Dont worry Donna, it doesn't look like Jeff's NYC purchase). We also bought a clock for our room so that we won't ever be late for school. We delicious smoothie-type fruit blendy thingies in the centro (don't worry moms, the ice is made from purified water). We saw some people dressed in traditional Mayan garb. They played drums and did this cool dance/ritual thing. We again heard people talking about our bug bites. They think we don't understand Spanish.... however, we do.

Now we are sitting at the house playing with Jagger, the adorable house dog.

Also... Paco just got home from work. Card games with the whole family? Yes, please.

k bye

ATTACK OF THE MOSQUITOS!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

The Mosquitos have gone crazy. They are having a feast, and their favorite dish must be American student. They loooove us. They love us so much that they ate us alive during the night.

Sarah was fortunate enough to receive giant welts. Her bites swelled up. Luckily she didn't have a ridiculous amount. Jillian, however...

Jillian Looks like she has Chicken Pox all over again. Every inch of her shoulders and upper back is covered in little tiny bites. She also has some on her feet, hands, legs, face, chest, belly... yeah... everywhere. Pobrecita. :(

Luckily, we took a sweaty walk to our friendly neighborhood Supermercado to buy some bug spray. This better work. We'll keep you posted.

Giggling School Girls

Today was our first day of class! We woke up around 7:20 (central time), and ate breakfast at 8:15. We had french toast (yumm), fresh fruit, strawberry yogurt, mango juice, and strong Mexican coffee. The coffee here could be put in an IV for us all day long... We wouldn't mind. Then our Mama drove us to school, and we started class at 9. Our first class was a 3 hour grammar class. We get 10 minute breaks every hour. We used our break time to soak our feet in the ice-cold pool. Then we got a twenty minute break before our conversation class. Durring that break, we went to a tienda and bought these little cracker-type thinks called "Doraditas." It is a type of pan dulce, but in cracker form with a little honey or something like that on top. It was SO GOOD, especially with our "coca-cola light."The entire purchase of Doraditas and Coke light cost only 15 pesos, which is a little over a dollar. We went back to school, and started our conversation class. Every hour, like before, we had a 10 minute break. Then we came home for comida. We had a type of noodle-y soup that was kind of like home-made spaghetti-os. We had Toquitos with it, and they were filled with potato. We had the option of putting the really spicy salsa on top, and/or cream, and/or cheese. Of course, Jillian had all three with a ton of salsa, and Sarah had sour cream and cheese :). Like always, it was delicious. Then Mama served us icecream from the shop that her sister works in, and we don't know what it is about this place, but every dairy product is one million billion times better than at home.

We have two different teachers, one for grammar, and the other for conversation and culture studies. We met the grammar teacher first. Based on first impressions, we thought she was super-strict, rigid, and a little on the mean side. Turns out, she is very kind, but she taught at and was educated in a Catholic school, so her teaching methods are very stoic, strict, straight-forward, and a little curt (Like Mrs. Spigner). We like her anyways. Our conversation teacher is much warmer, and is quite like our Mama at home.

The reason that this post is titled "Giggling School Girls" is because we are just that. We were not going to bring this up via blog, but it is a recurring theme at meal time and day-to-day life here in Cuernavaca. Our Mama has two, count-em, two really adorably cute sons. We've yet to meet one of them, but the other seems to appear and disappear frequently, just in time for comida. haha. Also, he continues this disappearing act throughout the day, only to make us giggle like dummies and blush long enough before he disappears again. His name is Paco, and he is tall and verrry guapo (handsome). Word gets around quick in this town, we guess, because today, when our grammar teacher found out that we are living with Rosita, she said "Rosita's sons are very cute, no?" To which we replied "hehehe." She then explained that all of the students that have stayed with Rosita tell her that they are muy guapo. Don't worry, Mommas and Daddy's, Paco is the youngest, and he is 25. Also, he has a girlfriend. His older brother, Manuel, is like 28 or 29, and lives far away. We well meet him this Saturday, and try to keep our tongues from falling out on the floor. From the pictures that we've seen, Paco and Manuel look quite alike. Therefore, Manuel must be giggle-inducing too.

Today is Mexican Mother's Day. To celebrate, yesterday we went for a walk in order to buy flowers as a gift for our Mama. We tried to sneak them up to our room so that we could put them on the kitchen table before Mama started cooking breakfast. She caught Jillian as she was walking up the stairs with them. That being said, she was still SO excited and happy this morning when she found them on the kitchen table. The are now sitting in the den for all to see.
Happy Mother's Day to our mommies back the US.

We're here in Cuernavaca!

It's our first blog post!
It's our third day in Cuernavaca, and we are having a great time! We've decided to post little fun things on a blog so we don't forget all that we've seen/done/eaten. :)
This blog is a way for us to remember each day and share memories with family and friends. We decided it would be fun to post all the meals that we have eaten because they have been so wonderful, and we don't want to forget any when people ask what we ate.

First of all, we got off our plane in Mexico city, and stood in a line for customs for almost an hour. No one spoke English, and it was SO HOT in the airport. Luckily, a creepy, buggy-eyed, green-shirted fellow was nice enough to continuously stare at us and ask us questions. He was also in the "foreigners" line... we think he was italian. haha Anyways, we then met our diver... who also speaks no English that we know of. He was very nice and patient with us as we exchanged money, bought food, and almost peed our pants. We got in the 12-seater van(just for us), and took a pleasant 2 hour drive through giant mountains with our diver who we like to call Earnhardt. He is affectionately called Earnhardt because, like everyone else here, he drives like a bat out of hell. Clearly, this is a bit of an exaggeration. We felt very safe the whole trip, but it is true that everyone is very aggressive on the road.
When we arrived at our house in Cuernavaca, our Mama greeted us with a smiling face, and she hugged our necks immediately, and told us that we are now her "hijas," or "daughters." :)
After we put our things away in drawers and such, we went downstairs for "comida," the late afternoon meal. It consisted of chicken off the bone and delicious rice. Then we partook of deeeelicious icecream with chocolate chips. We slept our first night in Mexico on top of the covers. No one told us this is the hottest season of the Mexican year.
The next morning, Saturday, we ate breakfast. We had pancakes, yogurt, and tons of fresh fruit. We also had mango juice, which was sooo good. Side note: Mexican coffee is delish.
We then went to take our placement tests at the school in which we will be studying. The school is about a 4 minute drive from our house, and luckily our Mama is going to drive us there in the mornings and pick us up every afternoon. The walk is short, but SO hot.
We both will be reviewing evvvvverything in Spanish, including all the verb tenses.
After our exams, we had "comida" again. It was pasta, tortillas, and this sort of breaded and fried crispy delicious meat. We also had hand-mashed potatoes. After dinner, we went to the "tienda," which is like a 7/11 minus the gas. We bought two ice-cold cervezas (beers) for about a dollar each. After we finished them, we played a really fun game with our "tios" (aunt and uncle). The game was basically the Mexican version of Sorry. Our tio, Victor, is hilarious... especially when he wins a game. After he won the first round, he did a funny dance around the kitchen table saying "Soy numero uno" (I'm number one). We also went the the "plaza" on saturday. It's like any other typical American super-mall. There are stores everywhere, and it is HUGE. It looks like the columbiana (or park plaza for you arkansas folk), except everything is in Spanish. I think we will go there to see a movie sometime. At the theater, you have the option of buying VIP tickets. You get the best treatment... we don't really know what all that entails, but we think we might try it out.
After the games, we went to bed. Breakfast today, Sunday, was also great! We had ham and cheese quesadillas (yum), fresh fruit, yogurt, coffee, and juice. This morning, we went to a Catholic church service with our Mama and almost choked to death from inscense poisoning. :) Then we went to the "Centro." It's like the market where you can buy pretty much anything. Sarah bought some tennis shoes for about 35 dollars in the black market. We went to the food market, and watched our Mama buy "chicharrones," which are pork rinds. We had some at comida today. We had this kind of meat that is pounded out reeeeally thin, and then they salt it. Mama Rosita fried it in a skillet, and she had avacado and tortillas to eat with it. Buying tortillas was an adventure too! It's like a drive-thru... but for tortillas! Yumm... A GIANT bag of them costs about a dollar, and they are made by hand. We also ate this stuff (didn't catch the name), and it is some sort of meat spread that is made with lemon juice, garlic, and onion. You spread it on crackers. It is very tasty. At every meal, Mama serves really spicy green salsa. Needless to say, Sarah has yet to sample any. We also had more Coronas today. It takes the edge off the extreme heat a little. :)
Now we are sitting in our room beside the patio... blogging of course.
I think later we will have some yogurt because it is good for our stomachs in order to prevent "Montezuma's revenge."
We will for sure post pictures later. Especially of the Cathedrals in el Centro. They have been around since the 1500s, and they are beautiful!
Wow. It's only been two and a half days, and we already have this much to talk about.
Keep updated. We're sure that there is more to come soon!
Sarah Nan and Jillian Mae