Tuesday - Fourth day in Mexico
I have fifteen minutes before my next class and I think I can write an entry for Tuesday in that amount of time. It was a pretty boring day in other words except for the happy news from home about my Praxis scores.
Tuesday was just another day of classes and Mindy and I didn´t have any plans for later. We told our Mama that we were going to come home later, but we really didn´t know what we wanted to do. Dee keeps talking about making big trips to see different places that we just don´t have time for after we have been at school all day. We argued a lot about this and we were just pretty snarky all day.
After classes we wrote, did homework, and emailed a bit then walked down to the base of the hill to find some food for comida (lunch). We decided to eat at Subway even though you would think that we would want to eat good Mexican food while we are here. We have had some very tasty things but occaisionally you want to just eat something safe and familiar. The food at Subway was the same as it is in the States except that there were some additional meat choices that I don´t remember. Dee and I were pretty civil to each other there but we had really had it with each other by the time we returned to the school to call home. It´s hard to be with someone 24/7 and not get testy with eachother but we have gotten along since then (knocks on wood).
I was really glad to hear that I had passed both the PLT and the Latin content test. I really didn´t want to take either again and I was really worried about both. It was very surprising that my score was in the top %15 of those taking the test. I don´t know if that really means anything other than I understand what ETS or whomever is looking for in teaching knowledge. But I was very happy none the less and plan to display said certificate for all to see.
It is always nice to call home and talk to the family. Emails are nice but it is so much better to get immediate responces and be able to describe things that have happened in detail. It is also nice to vent a little so that things can get back to normal. After calling home Dee and I were more civil to each other and we went home fairly early. We both need more sleep than we are getting and my homework is getting in the way of this. I continue to have about ten pages a night but I don´t know if my teacher is even going to correct it. I want to just take these classes for no credit because then it doesn´t matter if I do poorly on the homework. I will still be learning but I won´t have to worry about the effects on my grade point average.
This is a fairly short entry so I will go over some of the things that have been shocking for me.
The first thing that I noticed upon arriving in Mexico was somehthing that I had been warned about previously - poverty. Everyone had warned me that poverty was much more apparent and visible than in the States but that doesn´t prepare you for the reality of cardboard shelters and cement houses built by the people who live before water, sewage or electricity is put in the area by the city. This problem is especially bad in Mexico City where new neighborhoods will pop up in a couple of weeks or months. People can do this because of the squatters rights that we talked about with our Mama earlier. If the people are living there for a year then the land belongs to them. This a problem in the areas along the US-Mexican border as well because of the high population grow. How do you fix a problem like this?
The next thing that was surprising was the bathroom situation. I am very glad that we didn´t flood any toilets before we knew not to flush toilet paper in them! That would have been embarrasing. Is the sewage system just not well maintained here or are they too small or what? Maitainance of the sewage system, roads, sidewalks, etc does seem to be a problem here.
It was also surprising to be invited to participate in that poop study. "We will pay you for your poop if you get Montezuma´s Revenge." Yeah I wasn´t expecting that but it sounds like an interesting and beneficial (not just for travelers but for young children too) study.
The cat calls are also shocking and, frankly, annoying. I am glad I don´t know what the hell they are saying because I would have to figure out how to say "Drop dead!" in return. It is so annoying to walk down a street and have guys yelling crap at you. I am glad the US has gotten past this. Thank goodness for sexual harasment laws!
Along with the cat calls is the staring. Guys will just stare at you and it is so creepy. When Dee and I were at Jardin Borda we were resting on a bench in the shade of a building when this guy walked by and just stared at us. We both felt uncomfortable and hugged our bags a little closer. He sat down a little ways off and just continued to stare until we decided to leave. It is just disturbing to have someone watching you so flagrantly. However, no all the men are like this in Mexico. Most of them are very polite and nice, but the others give them all a bad name (at least with me).
Well that is all I can think of for now. More to follow shortly, however!
Tuesday was just another day of classes and Mindy and I didn´t have any plans for later. We told our Mama that we were going to come home later, but we really didn´t know what we wanted to do. Dee keeps talking about making big trips to see different places that we just don´t have time for after we have been at school all day. We argued a lot about this and we were just pretty snarky all day.
After classes we wrote, did homework, and emailed a bit then walked down to the base of the hill to find some food for comida (lunch). We decided to eat at Subway even though you would think that we would want to eat good Mexican food while we are here. We have had some very tasty things but occaisionally you want to just eat something safe and familiar. The food at Subway was the same as it is in the States except that there were some additional meat choices that I don´t remember. Dee and I were pretty civil to each other there but we had really had it with each other by the time we returned to the school to call home. It´s hard to be with someone 24/7 and not get testy with eachother but we have gotten along since then (knocks on wood).
I was really glad to hear that I had passed both the PLT and the Latin content test. I really didn´t want to take either again and I was really worried about both. It was very surprising that my score was in the top %15 of those taking the test. I don´t know if that really means anything other than I understand what ETS or whomever is looking for in teaching knowledge. But I was very happy none the less and plan to display said certificate for all to see.
It is always nice to call home and talk to the family. Emails are nice but it is so much better to get immediate responces and be able to describe things that have happened in detail. It is also nice to vent a little so that things can get back to normal. After calling home Dee and I were more civil to each other and we went home fairly early. We both need more sleep than we are getting and my homework is getting in the way of this. I continue to have about ten pages a night but I don´t know if my teacher is even going to correct it. I want to just take these classes for no credit because then it doesn´t matter if I do poorly on the homework. I will still be learning but I won´t have to worry about the effects on my grade point average.
This is a fairly short entry so I will go over some of the things that have been shocking for me.
The first thing that I noticed upon arriving in Mexico was somehthing that I had been warned about previously - poverty. Everyone had warned me that poverty was much more apparent and visible than in the States but that doesn´t prepare you for the reality of cardboard shelters and cement houses built by the people who live before water, sewage or electricity is put in the area by the city. This problem is especially bad in Mexico City where new neighborhoods will pop up in a couple of weeks or months. People can do this because of the squatters rights that we talked about with our Mama earlier. If the people are living there for a year then the land belongs to them. This a problem in the areas along the US-Mexican border as well because of the high population grow. How do you fix a problem like this?
The next thing that was surprising was the bathroom situation. I am very glad that we didn´t flood any toilets before we knew not to flush toilet paper in them! That would have been embarrasing. Is the sewage system just not well maintained here or are they too small or what? Maitainance of the sewage system, roads, sidewalks, etc does seem to be a problem here.
It was also surprising to be invited to participate in that poop study. "We will pay you for your poop if you get Montezuma´s Revenge." Yeah I wasn´t expecting that but it sounds like an interesting and beneficial (not just for travelers but for young children too) study.
The cat calls are also shocking and, frankly, annoying. I am glad I don´t know what the hell they are saying because I would have to figure out how to say "Drop dead!" in return. It is so annoying to walk down a street and have guys yelling crap at you. I am glad the US has gotten past this. Thank goodness for sexual harasment laws!
Along with the cat calls is the staring. Guys will just stare at you and it is so creepy. When Dee and I were at Jardin Borda we were resting on a bench in the shade of a building when this guy walked by and just stared at us. We both felt uncomfortable and hugged our bags a little closer. He sat down a little ways off and just continued to stare until we decided to leave. It is just disturbing to have someone watching you so flagrantly. However, no all the men are like this in Mexico. Most of them are very polite and nice, but the others give them all a bad name (at least with me).
Well that is all I can think of for now. More to follow shortly, however!