Loca Por Las Compras

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Hey there!

So, the biggest update is that I moved. As I told you all before my family was going through a hard time and I was sort of isolated and alone, but now I am living with a new family and a girl from Delaware. It is really great, because even though I am living with another Delaware student we speak mostly in Spanish in the house and she is at a higher level of Spanish so she is able to help me. I am also just a 5 minute walk to campus and a 5 minute walk across campus, which is great because I can run home and come back when I need something and it is down a short main road with a lot of people, so I feel much safer. I will be posting pictures of the house soon!

OMG, I have been eating so much food in the last two days since I moved houses. If I returned to the United States after living with my first family, I would have been anorexic, but now I might be quite large, haha! Thus far I still have not met the father, something about meeting the fathers, but he comes home today so I will meet him. The mother is very animated, happy, and she loves to take us to do things around Cholula and Puebla. This is making it easier for me because I am getting a better idea of my surroundings and what there is to do around here. Yesterday we went and saw Loca Por Las Compras (Confessions of a Shopaholic), which was in English with Spanish subtitles, so it was a nice little taste of home and a cute movie. On Wednesday here, the movies are a deal of 29 pesos, which comes out to be about $2, and on all the other days, they are 40 pesos, which is about $3.80. Also the family will be having a Bar-ba-que on Saturday for Julia and I to meet all of their friends and we can each bring two of our friends; I haven't decided whom I am going to bring yet. I guess we are going to hang out, play dominos (they love to play dominos), and then go out salsa dancing!

Classes are going well, for the time being they are extremely easy; we never have homework and I had my first exam yesterday and it was really fairly simple. Other than school work I have been doing research on some of the places we are going to visit and compiling information so I can reflect on that when I visit the different cities and also so I can educate all of you on these places. Tomorrow we are going to Puebla for the day, so during this next 2 hours that I have between my classes I am going to look at some information about Puebla. I will post pictures and tell you all about it over the weekend.

On Monday night one of the professors here took a group of us to see Lucha Libre (WWF in America) and it was very comical. The people get very into it, but it is pretty obvious that they are not actually fighting. My favorite part of the whole thing was the costumes. Some of the guys had on skintight tank tops and underwear, while the girls wore black one-piece bathing suits with multiple cutouts and studs. Some of the girls just had on outfits that were very similar to dance costumes. On Tuesday I started taking a hip-hop class here at the university with a couple of my friends and a bunch of Mexican students. They are definitely a lot better at dancing than the Americans, but I think I am going to keep trying it. I have the class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. A group of us are also hoping to get together after the dance class and kick around a soccer ball for a while or just hang out. In addition to all of that we are in the preliminary stages of planning spring break. Six of us are going to go to Chiapas in the south of Mexico and backpack around to see amazing ruins, waterfalls, lakes, beaches, etc. I know: BE CAREFUL, the good news is I am going with four boys and one other girl. A quick aside on danger thus far, during the day everything here in Puebla-Cholula is relatively safe and in the city we just have to be aware of pickpocketers. Probably the thing I am most afraid of right now is just the food on the streets, so I will just stay away from it and only eat in my house and here a school (much more economical as well).

During my last semester at Delaware I took my first International Business class and in this class we talked a lot about globalization, obviously, and its affect on other countries. Yesterday, we went to a movie theater called "Blockbuster Cinema" and later drove by a Starbucks packed with people, need I say more. Here in Puebla-Cholula there are countless fast food restaurants, a Walmart, Costo, and American television channels with Spanish subtitles. There is an ongoing intense argument about whether or not globalization really is just "americanization." As I think back over all my travels, mainly to Europe, I can remember many Burger Kings and MacDonalds, and it seems as though maybe all globalization really does mean is americanization. It may have not been as obvious in Europe because Europe still maintains its quintessential European character regardless of what store or restaurant is there, with its small avenues and historic architecture. But I have to say here in Mexico, there are just large shopping centers that feature a movie theater, a Sam's Club, a store that resembles CVS, and other sporadic stores. Is this what I really came to Mexico to see, essentially what I can see across the street from my house or off my dad's balcony? I don't think so. I will say that some parts of Puebla that I have seen thus far still have some historic charm, but how much longer will it stay this way? Right now I would say that the only reason Mexican culture still exists is because of the elder people that are fighting for their lives to pass this down to the people my age. If my generation does not pick up and hold on to these customs, I am pretty sure that Mexico will be no different from the United States in a few years time. This is something that I will continue to look at as I make my way around Mexico (I know that Cuetzalan and Chiapas will still have something very different to offer, but I am betting that many of the other towns we will visit are going to be "americanized.") and as I travel around on Semester at Sea.

Hope all is well in the United States and I will talk to you all soon. Feel free to comment or email me, I would love to hear but people are thinking so far.

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