Sarah Evangelist(a) en Mérida: First Weekend and First Classes

This past weekend was a fun break before the start of classes this Monday. On Saturday our group went to some Cenotes (underground water caverns? water holes?) outside of Mérida. To get to the Cenotes we first took a bus, then tricitaxis (similar to rickshaws), and finally some carts that were pulled by horses along a small-gauge railroad track. There were 3 Cenotes in all. It was a pretty bumpy ride to get to each one, but they were a lot of fun to swim in and very refreshing.

After returning from the Cenotes, I went early with my host mother to her niece's 17th birthday party. It felt a little funny to go to a party where I did not know anyone but my host family, but the other guests were friendly and some of them practiced their English with me or taught me phrases and words in Spanish. Before the party got underway there was a storm with an enormous downpour and lots of wind - it was a little scary but it did cool the air down a little bit. The food at the party was delicious, and there was a piñata and even a real mariachi band! I don't think they played any songs that I know, but they were fun to listen to.

On Sunday I went to church at El Divino Salvador with my host family. The church is fairly large, and fortunately the pastor speaks slowly enough for me to catch most of what he says. El Divino Salvador is a Presbyterian church, and it was actually pretty similar to what I am used to at home. After church we went to my host mom's sister's house to have lunch with other family members, many of whom I had met at the birthday party the night before.

Monday was the first day of class for me at La Modelo. The students at La Modelo actually started class 2 weeks prior, so some of our professors are having us catch up while some of them are not. University classes here are a little different from what I am used to, from what I can tell so far there will be more group work and in some classes students talk quite a bit among themselves during the lecture. After my last class on Tuesday, the Modelo students invited the 6 Calvin students in the class to go to lunch at TGI Friday's to celebrate someone's birthday. The TGI Friday's looked and felt just about the same as those in the United States, but I think it was a little less expensive. We ended up being a little late to our class at El Divino Salvador with the other Calvin students because of lunch, but it was nice of the Modelo students to invite us and it was a good opportunity to talk to them some more outside of class.