Cuando en México: How Time Flies...Weddings, Pyramids, etc.

Thanks for all the encouragement I've been getting on the blog, friends! Sorry I haven't been updating frequently (so much has been happening in the past couple weeks that time has absolutely escaped me!) but I will make it up to you with a mega post summarizing what I've been up to.

It's almost 2 in the morning and I've gotta get up early to go to class and then, guess what??!, I'll be going to Oaxaca until Tuesday! It'll be my first trip without my trusty Mexican tour guide/friend/step-mom (lol) so I'm kinda worried but hoping it'll be a blast and I don't get too lost in a foreign land. Oaxaca is one of the southernmost states in Mexico and is known for its vast population of indigenous peoples. There will definitely be a post on everything I do there.

For now, here's a short glimpse of what's been going on over here:

My pops got married! I've been spending this time in Mexico with my new step mom and we've been getting along really well. I'm really happy that my dad has finally found someone that makes him genuinely happy. Here are some glimpses of the special day:

Don't they look so cute and happy? Not even the flaky Mexico City weather could stop the party. Oh, and I also met a lot of my new family! Most of my new cousins are a couple years younger than me but they're really fun and in the past few weeks that I've gotten to know them better I know we'll get along really well.

My dad was in Mexico for a couple more weeks and we've been spending some much needed time together. Since I don't see him except for a couple times a year it was really nice being able to share this time with him and his new wife.

One of the most memorable things we did was witness the mega protest march that happened in downtown Mexico City after the presidential election. We were on our way to watch a movie when all of a sudden hundreds of people crowded the streets and it was nearly impossible not to watch. So, a little background: The right-wing party in Mexico that has pretty much held power for a really long time (called PRI) won again, but it was found out that they actually PAID people to vote for them! As in, they handed out gift certificates (for about 100 pesos, that's around 7 dollars) in exchange for people's voting registration card. I couldn't believe that actually happened and that the government allowed that, but apparently in Mexico it is not enough of a reason to demand a recount. So people are pissed off that PRI is back in power and on such dishonest terms, even after Pena Nieto (the elected president) was responsible for the brutal massacre of hundreds of Mexican people who were trying to protect their land from being taken away by the government. There's a whole story there and Mexican politics is definitely not my specialty, but from what I keep hearing and seeing there is so much to learn. Here are some pictures of the protest:

It was truly an experience being in the middle of this and something I won't soon forget. It's great to see how active people are even though I am also worried at how ineffective the entire process can be. There is so much voice and passion but not suitable outlet for it.

Well, enough about politics...Later that week we took a day trip to a pueblo in mountains about a couple hours outside of the city. It was an amazing site and I couldn't believe how differently life is lived in this part of Mexico. Although, I think that pueblos like these are more common than big cities like Mexico City. Here are some pictures of our getaway:

It was a beautiful place to visit: waterfalls, boat rides, great food, old mansions...definitely worth the trouble it took to get there (bus, taxi, van, and boat). It also gave me a better idea of how the majority of people live in this country.

Another big trip I made was to go see the ruins of Teotihuacan. They are absolutely breathtaking, and again, worth all the pain and sweat that it took to climb the pyramids :). The history of the city is really unbelievable and partially a mystery. By the time the Spanish took over this place had already been deserted and many suspect it's because the population simply got too big and all the natural resources had been depleted. Since it was abandoned and posed no threat, there was no need to destroy it and it has since held its original structures. Everything that has been excavated and found shows that the Teotihuacan people were really advanced for their time in terms of technology, engineering, and artisan so it's really a shame that it all of a sudden came to a halt.

So there you have it...what I've been up to in a nutshell. There so much more, but it's mostly random and scattered. My weekdays are pretty much spent going to class in the morning, having lunch with new friends, and then exploring the city a bit. Everything is really financially accessible with a student ID (for example, movies are only a couple bucks) and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface in terms of what I've seen in this city. I've heard that there are people who live their entire lives and still get lost here...so weird. And the weekends are dedicated solely to traveling. Like I said, I'll be in Oaxaca until Tuesday, the weekend after that I'm going to Puebla and my last weekend here I'll be heading to Guanajuato (where my dad's from). Wow! Only three more weeks here and then back to real life...yikes!

Oh yeah...I signed up for a gym membership and it was the best decision of my life! The classes are sooooo much fun! The instructors were really intimidating at first because they actually go up to people and yell "mas rapido, mas rapido" right in there faces or they walk around and slap/grab/pinch people to make them move faster. They're so intense, but they make it so much fun. The couple days after my first class I couldn't even get up from a chair without crying out loud in pain...but now it's just a lot of fun because everyone is so energetic and enthusiastic.

Here are some random pictures. Enjoy!: