according to plans

Things don´t always go according to plans no matter where you are in the world- but in Mexico- things almost never go according to plans! Let me catch you up:

Friday:
There was a three day bike race that started in downtown Merida that I wanted to see and take pictures of the start. The website where I learned about the race said that it started at 8:30 so being a good, punctual American, I got up early to make it downtown by 8:15. Well I couldn´t believe my eyes. The race had started on time, and the time was 8:00, not 8:30. I was so bummed. So I went to Jugos California, an amazing juice place, and got a very large glass of fresh squeezed OJ for $1.50. You couldn´t even come close to buying the 8 oranges I watched them squeeze to make my juice for $1.50 in the US. What a deal. I walked around a lot looking in stores for things to bring back but I don´t really like most of the stuff they sell here. I went to another market. I love just walking around the market- so much to see and smell. I want to take more pictures but I´m not sure how people would react- I´ll have to ask Ted. After all my walking I was getting tired so I stopped in one of my favorite parks to rest. This guy came up and sat by me and asked if I spoke Spanish. Well I do so we started talking. His name was Ricardo. He kept asking me if I had a boyfriend in the US. I think he wanted me to hang out with him but I´m such a stickler for safety and I didn´t need a tour guide (I have my friends who live here). After we talked for about 40 minutes and he figured out that I wasn´t going to go anywhere with him he said he had to go to work and left. But not without kissing my cheek (don´t get excited- this is normal in Mexico) and asking when I would be downtown again. I should have gotten a picture of him but I´m forgetful about pictures. After he left I headed back toward the buses and bought some cheap shirts at a clothing store before going to my new favorite- Michoacana! It´s an icecream place that has anything you could ever want. I had a "small" dish of lime sherbet which was actually very large for $1. How exciting. I shared my table there with a lady and her little boy while we make small talk. Back at home I took a looooong (3.5 hr) nap and later that night found out about Diego´s mom (see last post).


Saturday
We had left-over pizza casserole and sausage (which is actually hotdogs!) for breakfast. On Thursday night they wanted me to cook dinner for them but I was limited because they don´t have a functioning oven. So I made them pizza casserole (my favorite) without the pepperonis (no where to be found in merida). They said they liked it but I wasn´t totally convinced.

Here I am making Pizza Casserole

Sometimes I say I like food that I don´t actually like! Back to Saturday- Diego´s mom came to Merida to have surgery but when she got here the doctors decided that there was nothing they could do. So she´s back in Xochempich, hopefully on a lot of pain meds, and will probably die within a couple of weeks. So sad. Please keep praying for Diego- this is obviously very hard for him and he has to keep going back and forth because it is exam time at his school. I can´t imagine.

Four hours after leaving for Cancun we arrived at a friend´s apartment (small and dirty). What I discovered from spending three days in Cancun is that the only nice part is where the resorts are- the rest is very dirty and poor. It´s actually interesting though how you adjust to your surroundings (at least I do). After spending a couple hours in Meme´s apartment it felt like I was at a friend´s back in the US. At 12:30 we left to go to the salsa club where Meme´s fiance, Oscar, plays in the band. It was free to get in, food and drinks were cheap, and the music and dancing were great. Ted, Nelson and Pau don´t dance but Meme and Pau´s sister Rosanna do! So I danced with them and they taught me salsa (kinda). I danced with several guys including an older Puerto Rican guy from Brooklyn who spoke English and taught me some more salsa moves. At about 3:30, I was ready to go home. T, P and N had left to go visit a friend so I was stuck with Meme (who, it turns out, was waiting for Oscar). I was sooo tired that I turned down probably 8 offers to dance between 3:30 (when I wanted to go home) and 5:30 (when the cub closed and we actually did!). We ended up sleeping at Rosanna´s tiny apartment until about 1 when we got up to explore Cancun.

Posing for the camera at the Salsa club

Our sleeping arrangements at Rosanna´s: How many hammocks can you fit in one room?

Sunday
We went to the area of Cancun where all the hotels are and went to Hard Rock Cafe where their friend Samantha works at the gift shop. I bought a t-shirt because she gave me her %50 discount! She also gave us free hard rock pins and bandannas! Nice to have connections.


We then ate at Burger King, over looking the beach:)

Some Burger King, huh?

Pau loves this picture. She says the caption is "Now, where is my Mexican boyfriend?"

After meeting up with the boys we enjoyed my favorite part of Cancun- STARBUCKS!!! I got a Starbucks Cancun mug for my collection and a much needed caramel frappachino. Nothing says home like starbucks. I bought Pau a Frappachino too (her first) and she looooved it! We went to the beach for awhile around 6:30 which was nice because the sun wasn´t as strong. We only stuck our feet in because we were going to dinner.

I love this picture of Ted and Nelson

Now I thought maybe we´d go to HardRock or Planet Hollywood or Bubba Gump. But obviously those places are for Americans. We at somewhere much more Mexican...Sirloin Stockade. That´s right. Sirloin Stockade. I HATE buffets but they were all really excited about it so I wasn´t going to say anything. I ate a normal amount of food (plate of salad and plate of other food) and they thought I was crazy! They kept asking me why I wasn´t eating more. Oh Mexico...

My favorite part about Cancun was meeting Meme, Rosanna and Samantha. Other than that I don´t think I need to go back. Monday we did nothing all day (don´t ask) and came back late at night. I was supposed to get dropped off in Xochempich on the way home but Ted´s mom is actually here in Merida and I think I´m going back with her sometime today. Repeat after me: "Don´t ask questions, just be flexible. Don´t ask questions, just be flexible..." Once I get there I´ll be out of touch until Saturday and Sunday we´re taking a day trip to Celestun to see the flamingos. Until then.

This is from when the group was here but I liked it so I thought I´d put it up here.

More Cancun pics to come (from Ted´s camera)