A trip into the mountains...

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The last two weeks have been fun! I took a combi (minibus) the wrong way one morning, and ended up on a gorgeous drive up into the mountains outside Tehuacan. The following weekend, two other teachers accompanied me on an exploratory mission on the same route. It was beautiful. We ended up walking along a dusty path with a local who showed us some caves that were used as ammunition stores during the Mexican Revolution. There were black marks on the roofs from fires caused by burning/exploding ammunition. We met some locals who lived up there, and chatted away with them in Spanish for about 30 minutes. They were very curious and asked for pictures with us tentatively at the end of the conversation.



We then walked further down the trail with a delightful 76 year old local with whom we discussed the Aztecs, and pre-conquistador history. He was bright, charming, and extremely chatty. We're now arranging a second trip into the mountains in a couple of weeks, and the same locals will show us a few historical sights of significance. Mexican generosity knows no bounds!



On the Sunday of that weekend, we went to a Ecological Reserve with hundreds of species of cacti. It was a hot day, and we drove there for about 40 minutes on a combi (minibus) with a guide. We took a tour of the reserve, taking in the different species of plants and cacti. One was called "Suegra Mala" (or something similar) which means 'bad mother in-law' in Spanish, because it was particularly spiky and the thorns are slightly poisonous.



I feel so comfortable here, and have sorted out a second semester at the school, which means I can stay in Mexico until December! After that, I have no idea... Just how I like it. My Spanish has improved, and I feel comfortable in a conversation now, after less than 2 months. More than I can say for my Chinese.



This weekend, I'm off to a beautiful city called Morelos with some of my host family's family, which will be fun! I'll post about that once I have a few minutes spare next week!

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