Tuxtla-Gutierrez, Mexico; Day 8

Today was a pretty exciting day! We woke up and went to the Grijalva River for a boat ride through Sumidero Canyon. It was really cool. We saw a lot of different birds and monkeys and at least 10-15 crocodiles on the banks. The canyon is made of limestone, which means it used to be underwater. Limestone is made of crushed and compacted seashells. That's way cool. The canyon is over 3000 meters? High in some places -- that's a lot of water!
After the Sumidero Canyon, we got money for lunches and we went in small groups to buy lunches for the next few days. It was funny because I always like going to the mexican section in the store to see what kind of goodies I can find.. well this entire store was mexican! Haha I wonder if they had an American section..
We went to the Tuxtla Temple and met our host families we would be spending the remainder of the day/early evening with. I went in a group with 3 other girls to a sisters house, Veronica Oleda. She is the Stake Presidents wife. They have 4 kids, 19, 17, 13 and 9. 3 girls, the boy is 17. We didn't get to meet him but the girls are Kris, Dianna and Dulce, respectively. I love the name Dulce! I was thinking the other day how cute that would be but didnt know if it would be weird.
We took a taxi to Sister Oleda's house.. crammed 4 of us in the back seat. They don't care about traffic laws here. it was crazy. Then we talked for a while and had Family Home Evening. Sister Oleda asked each of us to speak and perform a special musical number.. with NO preparation we had to do it lol! And we were also asked to give our testimonies of the gospel. One of the girls with us knew Spanish and the poor girl had to translate everything for us. Sister Oleda also interrogated a couple of us because when you are 21 and female you have the option of going on a mission. Myself and another girl are 21 and she kept asking why we weren't on missions if the gospel was the most important thing in our life. The language barrier was really hard to communicate to her our real feelings about it.
We went to a couple parks with her after taking a COLECTIVO, basically a taxi bus for 20 people. It was a crazy experience. But anyway, we went to Marimba park, there was a gazebo and music being played live and people were dancing. We went to a other park where they were having a huge festival for El Día de los Niños. Its a huge festival that lasts 30 days and the kids don't have school. Its like summer vacation but they had rides and games and face painting and food and stuff. It was awesome!! I wish we had that!
We went back to the church and had a talent show with the Tuxtla stake. It was really good, I sang a hymn with some others in our group in Spanish, some people did dances or a comedy skit in Spanish. They totally showed us up though, especially when they told us they had a special surprise for us and they brought in real mariachis. Haha and EVERYONE knew the songs and they were singing them at the top of their lungs. So awkward haha I felt really inferior. I wanted to start singing the star spangled banner or something. They started all dancing and everyone cleared the chairs and had a big dance party. I wasn't up for it so some of us went outside and took pictures of the temple and talked. It was good. we got back to the temole about midnight. I got a sprite and sat by the pool by myself for maybe a minute and then other people followed suit. There was maybe 8 of us just sitting by the pool chatting.. it started to rain, a warm rain, we states. Eventually we went up to our rooms.. I passed out in my clothes and shoes!

Oaxaca to Tuxtla-Gutierrez, Mexico; Day 7

Right now we're on the bus to Tuxtla.. its going to be 8 hours +... so excited. Haha. It's just hard being in a bus with so many people and mixed personalities and craziness and when cabin fever sets in it gets alot worse. Haha
We visited El Tule this morning, its a HUGE tree. That's all. Oh and we went to church too, that was good :)
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and all the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these. For your father, who is in heaven, knoweth that you have need of these things." D&C 84:82-83

Oaxaca, Mexico; Day 6

Today we ate breakfast in the hotel, which was bread and fruit and fresh squeezed orange juice, and eggs with potatoes. We went to Monte Alban ruins. This is where Nacho Libre is filmed at the end of the movie. In fact Oaxaca is where the movie is filmed in totality pretty much. Anyway, it was kinda weird because it was really grassy at Monte Alban and in the movie its really dry. It was neat though! We got lots of good pics.
After Monte Alban we went to the temple for a while. We ate lunch, a sample platter of a bunch of different foods. It was yummy. We all went down to the Zocalo for the night. It was really nice to have so much free time when we were cramped in the bus the day before. We had the freedom to walk around in the market -- which was a lot of fun. They sold everything! Food, clothes, handmade things, even american imported items.
I bought a fan for Rachel because she collects them and a cool blanket. Im satisfied!

Oaxaca, Mexico; Day 5

We woke up and walked to church in Puebla this morning.. it was interesting ti hear the talks in Spanish, I couldnt understand everything but we had someone to translate in the bus after. Basically the first talk discussed not missing out on opportunities to spend time with those people we love because we never know when our time is up! Haha sad but it was a good message. Also its important to forgive others but to forgive ourselves for things that have happened in the past.. the second talk was about service to others, and the third talked about how we arent all perfect people, theres no perfect Mormon family or perfect parents.. its a choice to be mad or to act a certain way and its a choice to love someone.. the guy who gave this talk was a high leader in the church and his wife isn't a member which was super surprising, he talked about how even if our spouses aren't members we can still love them and have faith in the future. This was interesting to me.
We then had a reeeaally long bus ride from Puebla to Oaxaca. It ended up taking 7-8 hours. We we're supposed to go to a Cactus Garden but because we were stuck in traffic for so long we didn't get to. We were supposed to go to the Oaxaca temple as well but that didnt happen either. By the time we got to Oaxaca it was almost 8pm so we went to dinner and ate.. we scarfed down some good food and walked around in the Zocalo a bit. I really like Oaxaca! There was a lot of vendors like Mexico City but it was old style, also had fancy parts though.. I liked it.. our hotel was fine, probably the nicest so far. There was an open lobby with like a rainforest in the middle and cages of birds and parrots.

Puebla, Mexico; Day 4

We checked out of our hostel this morning and made our way to Teotihuacan, our first "real" ruins site, in my opinion. When we got here I was surprised by all the vendors here too! Walking around the ruins site trying to sell jewelry and obsidian small sculpture, as well as these awesome opal/turquoise masks. I dont want to buy a while lot here because we still have the whole rest of the trip to go, but I did buy a cool jaguar whistle thing. I want to buy a mask but not yet, I don't want it to break.
Teotihuacan was really cool, like our class coming alive! I was shocked at how huge it was. The hike to the top.of the temple of the sun was brutal! So hard but definitely worth it. I got some great pictures. I got super burned today, I kinda wanted to though, I wanna go home looking like I was in Mexico!
We're heading to Puebla for a night, to meet the people at the BYUI Pathways Program. Its like an online program for people here that want to take classes through BYUI, but they also do lectures and stuff via Skype. It'll be cool to meet them.
Being at the Pathways Institute building was so incredible! We got to meet a bunch of students who are taking classes through the online program. I met a woman named Dianna, age 32 who just graduated from the program... she's now studying Marriage and Family Studies online. The people go through the pathways program which prepares them for college and then they can graduate and study marriage and family, english, web design or business management. Its a pretty neat program. I also met a guy, Carlos, who is 21 and served his mission in Chihuahua, Mexico.. he has been studying english for 2 weeks but speaks it better than I speak spanish. They completely immerse them, it is HARD work.
I really enjoyed being with them. We also played "pato, pato, gonzo" with the little kids.. this is "duck, duck, goose" in english. One of them reminded me SO MUCH of Chrissy's little girl, Becca. Turns out her name was Rebecca too. :)

Mexico City, Mexico; Day 3

This morning we got up, ate breakfast and walked back to the Zocalo to take a group picture in front of the Cathedral. It was funny, the professional people who took the photo asked us to say TEQUILA! for the photo. On our way to the bus we saw some nude photos for sale
There are so many vendors, they sell everything hoy can imagine.. backpacks, bracelets, socks, jewelry, pencils, post-its.. some even sell their services. Like plummers. Its crazy. I wonder if they even have department stores here because they have so many small shops and vendors.
So we're on our way to the Anthropology Museum, Chapultapec Park and Ninoes heroes. We will hopefully get to the Latin America tower and then tonight we will see a Ballet Folklorico!
The anthropology museum was awesome! there was just way too much to see in one trip though.I saw so many things that I had already seen in various classes with Brother Raish. After that we actually got to see the flight of the voladores.. that was cool.. the mexicans do an ancient ritual of wrapping ropes around the top of a pole, playing a flute, wearing fancy costumes and rotating around the pole.. its hard to explain.  We walked through Chapultapec Park to find the Ninos Heroes monument, which is really amazing. These kids didn't want to back down from fighting for their country so they wrapped themselves in a mexican flag and jumped off the top of the Sumidero Canyon.. which is like 9000 feet.
After we changed into concert dress, I went shopping and bought a hand woven backpack for Heidi.. then we went up to the 44th floor of the Latin America tower. We met the guy who's father was the architect. We then went to the ballet folklorico. Lots of traditional dances, all telling the story of Mexico.. amazing talent.
Something that I realized when I was watching the dances that I've been thinking about now is that there are really only two kinds if people in Mexico.. maybe 3. The really really poor people, the poor people, and the really well off. There's no middle class. The first are literally beggars on the street asking for money with cups in their hands, much worse than the homeless we see in the states. The second are selling things. Anything, to make a living. Services, goods, food, whatever they can do. These people have NO choice. And if you are born into this life, you're probably going to be doing it the rest of your life, unless you can, by a miracle, break the mold. The 3rd kind of people are barely the indigenous people, barely of mexican descent. They are soo mestizo, so european that they have been able to come out of poverty. Im not sure why race has so much to do with economic status but it does. There was a rebellion in the Chiapas state against the government  to break this mold but it didn't work. People come to the US to do that, to have a better life and seriously, if they can come over and do it legally, I would almost give them my job if it meant they'd have a way of living. Id have to get a new job but at least Im able to get one. I am so humbled by this trip.

Mexico City, Mexico; Day 2

Today we are still in Mexico City. We woke up and went down to breakfast. We had available to us cereal, watermelon, bananas and toast. Nothing too special. We did go up to the roof of the hostel though, and saw an amazing view of the Zocalo, the Cathedral, the Palacio and just downtown. It amazes me just how huge Mexico City is.
After breakfast we walked to Tenochtitlan, the ruins that were accidentally discovered while building a water pipe, and where the Aztec calendar stone was found. We got to walk around for a while and then went to the museum there. It wad really neat because I had taken Brother Raish's MesoAmerican Art class last semester and I got to apply my knowledge and share with the people on the tour with me. Also, getting excited I can call on others who were in the class with me and we point out cool things to each other.
We then went to the Cathedral Nacional and looked inside. Like the Basilica yesterday, there was a mass going on so we had to be quiet but we walked in and immediately I recalled my world foundations class.. there is a style of art in Europe called Rococo, and the Cathedral is in the Mexican style of Rococo.. super ornate and lots of detail. I noticed lots of saints that I had learned to recognize in my WF class. That was neat. We got a tour of the bell towers. Some of the bells are hundreds of years old and weigh 13 tons.
We went to Lunch at "Tacos de la Canasta", tacos from a basket. BEST I'VE HAD EVER. So greasy and delicious lol. I had 4 tacos, chicken adobo, mole verde, papa and chiccharon. There was also an extreme spicy jalapeno guacamole. So tasty.
From there we went to the Palacio Nacional. The Mexican President used to live here so this is like Mexico's White House. We had an intense tour of Diego Rivera's paintings by a guy we met at the bell towers. He is a historian/professor and knew EVERYTHING about them. Now we're on our way to the temple! We'll eat dinner at the MTC.
Our baptisms were great! It was all in Spanish. Our dinner ended up being inside the temple cafeteria. We ate mashed potatoes, some chicken that was kinda like weinerschnitzel (the german food) and a dessert. I tried this pudding with a cookie in it and a few bites if a strawberry tres leches cake <3 also had some bread and a guava drink and a salad. It was good! We were dog tired when we came back, I finished my reading for the day and PASSED OUT!

Mexico City, Mexico; Day 1

I'm behind because I've been so consumed! The dates are going to be wrong as far as when I posted this but I will try and go back and fix this when I'm on a real computer! I will post the titles as dates for now and copy everything from my journal.. enjoy!!
Hola from Mexico! Estoy en Mexico ahora! Esta manana mis companeros y yo fuimos al aeropuerto pot autobus. (I am in Mexico now! This morning my classmates and I went to the airport by bus.) We left at 3am from Rexburg and arrived in Salt Lake City at about 6:45am. We checked in, went through security and sat at our gate for a while. We left for Mexico City at 9:50am and got there at about 2:45pm. The plane was long but good. We went through customs, which took FOREVER! But it went smoothly. We had to wait nearly two hours for our bus to arrive. Once it got there we got inside and saw how awesome it was! It is so nice. It will be our tour bus for the whole time we are in Mexico.
We then took our bus to see the Old Basilica, even though it was closed we got special permission to go to the top of the hill and see the view of Mexico City. It is incredible how HUGE this place is. 22 million people in this city alone. It was nice to walk around and we even sat inside the new Basilica for a mass for a few minutes. When we went inside, we saw a lot of people waiting in line for confessional. Many in the group were shocked at the practice and didn't know what it was. We continued on and saw a cloak with the Virgin Guadalupe on it. From what I can remember, the story goes that a priest wanted to build a church here and they needed some kind of divine proof that it should be there, and while he wad carrying roses or something, the Virgin appeared on his cloak. It looks alot like a painting but its really important to these people.
We got on the bus and traveled to our hotel.. its actually a HOSTEL near the Catedral Nacional and right near the Zocalo. When we got out we were bombarded with children.. dirty nasty children asking for money and pulling on our clothes. It was bad, and sad. We kept walking and went up to our rooms. They're alright. 6 to a room with bunk beds. They don't flush toilet paper down the toilets here because the sewers can't handle it so theres a trash can next to every toilet. Sick right?
We went to a restaurant to eat.. I had horchata and red enchiladas. Soo good. Spicy! So tasty. We left to go to the Latin America tower, it looks like the empire state building. There was a really long line or something so we're going to go a different day. We walked around and saw some interesting people. Everything kinda closes down at 930, which was weird I thought. Overall the trip is good so far though!

My Itinerary

I thought I would post my itinerary for anyone who's interested in where I am at any specific time in the next 3-4 weeks! I'm getting so excited, I feel like this weekend is going to be the longest of my life!

DAY ONE: Monday, April 23
ARRIVE in Mexico City, Basilica, Latin American Tower
Stay the night in Mexico City

DAY TWO: Tuesday, April 24
Zocalo: Tenochitlan, Catedral, Palacio Nacional, Baptisms at LDS temple
Stay the night in Mexico City

DAY THREE: Wednesday, April 25
Anthropological Museum, Chapultapec Park, Niños heroes, Reforma, Ballet Folklorico
Stay the night in Mexico City

DAY FOUR: Thursday, April 26
Teotihuacan, BUS to Puebla, BYU-I Pathways Program
Stay the night in Puebla

DAY FIVE: Friday, April 27
BUS to Cactus Garden, BUS to Oaxaca; LDS temple, Zocalo
Stay the night in Oaxaca

DAY SIX: Saturday, April 28
Monte Alban (Where they filmed the end scene in Nacho Libre), Santo Domingo, Mercado
Stay the night in Oaxaca

DAY SEVEN: Sunday, April 29
Church in Oaxaca, El Tule, BUS to Tuxtla-Gutierrez
Stay the night in Tuxtla-Gutierrez

DAY EIGHT: Monday, April 30
Sumidero Canyon, Zoo, dinner and FHE w/ LDS families, Talent show and dance with youn gsingle adults
Stay the night in Tuxtla-Gutierrez

DAY NINE: Tuesday, May 1
BUS to Zinacantan weavers, San Juan Chamula. BUS to San Cristobal, Zocalo.
Stay the night in San Cristobal

DAY TEN: Wednesday, May 2
Agua Azul, Miso-Ha, BUS to Palenque
Stay the night in Palenque

DAY ELEVEN: Thursday, May 3
Palenque ruins
Stay the night in Palenque

DAY TWELVE: Friday, May 4
BUS and BOAT to Yaxchilan ruins
Stay the night in Palenque

DAY THIRTEEN: Saturday, May 5
BUS to La Venta, Villahermosa, LDS Temple
Stay the night in Villahermosa

DAY FOURTEEN: Sunday, May 6
Church in Villahermosa; BUS to Santa Elena
Stay the night in Ticul

DAY FIFTEEN: Monday, May 7
Uxmal ruins, Ruta Puuc, Ecomuseo del Cacao
Stay the night in Ticul

DAY SIXTEEN: Tuesday, May 8
BUS to Chichen Itza, BUS to Valladolid, Cenote swim
Stay the night in Valladolid

DAY SEVENTEEN: Wednesday, May 9
BUS to Tulum ruins, beach time
Stay the night in Tulum

DAY EIGHTEEN: Thursday, May 10
Tulum ruins w/ LDS guide
Stay the night in Tulum

DAY NINETEEN: Friday, May 11
BUS to Maya Museum in Chetumal; BUS to Orange Walk (Crossing Mexico/Belize border)
Stay the night in Orange Walk

DAY TWENTY: Saturday, May 12
River trip to Lamanai ruins
Stay the night in Orange Walk

DAY TWENTY-ONE: Sunday, May 13
Church in Orange Walk; BUS/BOAT to Caye Caulker
Stay the night in Caye Caulker

DAY TWENTY-TWO: Monday, May 14
Snorkel Trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Stay the night in Caye Caulker

DAY TWENTY-THREE: Tuesday, May 15
BOAT/BUS to Belize City; BUS to Belize Zoo, San Ignacio, Green Iguana Project
Stay the night in San Ignacio

DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Wednesday, May 16
Actun Tunichil Muknal Caves
Stay the night in San Ignacio

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Thursday, May 17
BUS to Belize City; Depart Belize City Airport

And then, I'm catching a train in Salt Lake City at 11:30pm and I'll arrive in Sacramento around 2:30 on May 18th!