The Zamora home: (PS-this isn't the Zamora house, it is a government building) I was surprised at the accommodations at the Zamora house. The house is nicer and bigger than I expected. They have a nice front room to sit in and a big table in the dining area. The kitchen is very small but it works fine for the 2 of them. We eat at the small table in the kitchen. There is a small area behind the house where Mrs. Zamora washes their clothes. They have a washing machine but not a dryer so the clothes dry on a line. The front of the house is pretty and they are considered to have a garden. That means that have somewhat of a yard with some trees and flowers. Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Mr. and Mrs. Zamora sleep in different rooms (I think it might be a common thing in their culture). They have a bathroom and then there is my room and bathroom. In my room there are two twin beds. YES, twin! It’s been a while since I have slept in a twin but I’ll survive. There is a closet for my stuff and a chair in my room. I think I am going to have a roommate at some point but I don’t know when. My roommate and I have our own bathroom which is very nice. The bathroom is large and I can take a shower EVERY day, which is great since you sweat so much (but, I have noticed that none of the people here sweat when I’m drenched). We have a shower, sink, and toilet. You cannot flush toilet paper or feminine products. It is strange throwing your used T.P. in the trash can after you “big girl potty.” Mrs. Zamora has a small store next to their house that has different gifts and Mexican arts and crafts.
Back door neighbors: the lot behind the Zamora house, which is where my room is located (back side of house), is full of tons of ducks, chickens, and dogs. No people…just animals. So I have a great view and get to fall asleep to the noises that the animals make. It is so strange. There are at least 100 animals back there and they can be quite noisy.
Mrs. Zamora (Marie) used to be a teacher and now she works at her store and takes care of Mr. Zamora and myself. Mr. Zamora (Carlos) is an engineer. It is strange though because he seems to work strange hours.
Mrs. Zamora walked me to the school which is very close to the house. The school is about 4 or 5 blocks from the house. I am glad that I can walk to school because then I can go early or stay late to use the Internet.
The school is totally different than anything that we are used to in the US. There aren’t any “classrooms” in the building (which is more like a house converted into a school). There is a huge patio out back and a large yard with a mini pool, but I don’t know if I would use the pool because it isn’t very clean.
When I got to school I met the two other girls who are here right now. Ashley and Jodi both got to UNC in Greeley, CO and they arrived on Friday before classes started on Monday. They live with a lady who lives one block from the school, so we live close to one another. I was so glad to have people to talk to that knew about the US and spoke English. I hadn’t been here very long but I was ready to at least be able to speak English if I wanted to. I really like the girls and they both seem very nice and outgoing. It is nice to have people with whom I can explore the town. Since I don’t have a roommate right now I don’t want to go places by myself unless it’s to school and back. We stick out everywhere we go with the two of them. I am thankful for the two of them.
We got off to a slow start on the first day of school. It was very unorganized and there was a lot of confusion for the first 2 hours. The teacher that we worked with was Queta. I really like her and I think she truly enjoys her job. After getting to know each other, we went to El Centro de Cuernavaca. We walked a couple blocks and then got on to La Ruta, which is the bus system in Cuernavaca. This was quite an adventure. The second you step into the bus the bus driver takes off quickly. Mexican people in general are not very tall and I am, this was not a good combination on the bus. When the bus driver started driving I wacked my head on the ceiling on the bus and then stumbled to find a seat. When you get on the bus you hand the driver your money ($4.50 pesos, about $0.45USD) and they give you your change later on, if both you and the bus driver remember. As I said earlier, the driving in crazy and when you want to get off you simply stand up and get ready to hop off as soon as the driver slows down. If the driver doesn’t know you want to get off, you have to yell, “Bajo!” The people on the bus are nice and will also yell out when they hear you say you want to get off. We took the bus to El Centro and got off there.
El Centro is one of the main places where people meet in the town. Many of the government buildings are located in El Centro. There are lots of restaurants and places where vendors sell things. Sometimes bands play in El Centro or groups come and dance. There are a lot of vendors; rows and rows of vendors. They all have tiny, tiny, spots where they sell their products. They sell anything from jewelry to clothes to CDs to food. While we were in El Centro there was a lot of activity because the teachers in Cuernavaca are on strike right now. The teachers sit around the government buildings with all of their signs of protest. We aren’t really sure why they are on strike. The reason has gotten lost in translation as of now.
The buildings are decorated in the colors of the Mexican flag (white, red, and green) because September is the month when the Mexicans celebrate their independence. There are flags everywhere. While we were in El Centro we saw and heard the teachers marching and chatting different songs. It was neat to see because I’ve never seen a protest like that. It was peaceful and they were VERY loud.
While in El Centro we went to La Cathedral. It is a huge church and you can go inside and see it. The outside has unusual decoration because there is a skull and crossbones above the door. Queta said that this is not typical of cathedrals in Mexico. The inside of the cathedral was ornately decorated and there were paintings all along the walls and ceilings. I enjoyed seeing all the old architecture and the tall steeples.
I walked home (by myself) to have lunch around 2pm. In Mexico, lunch is around 2 or 3pm and lunch is the largest meal of the day.
Back door neighbors: the lot behind the Zamora house, which is where my room is located (back side of house), is full of tons of ducks, chickens, and dogs. No people…just animals. So I have a great view and get to fall asleep to the noises that the animals make. It is so strange. There are at least 100 animals back there and they can be quite noisy.
Mrs. Zamora (Marie) used to be a teacher and now she works at her store and takes care of Mr. Zamora and myself. Mr. Zamora (Carlos) is an engineer. It is strange though because he seems to work strange hours.
Mrs. Zamora walked me to the school which is very close to the house. The school is about 4 or 5 blocks from the house. I am glad that I can walk to school because then I can go early or stay late to use the Internet.
The school is totally different than anything that we are used to in the US. There aren’t any “classrooms” in the building (which is more like a house converted into a school). There is a huge patio out back and a large yard with a mini pool, but I don’t know if I would use the pool because it isn’t very clean.
When I got to school I met the two other girls who are here right now. Ashley and Jodi both got to UNC in Greeley, CO and they arrived on Friday before classes started on Monday. They live with a lady who lives one block from the school, so we live close to one another. I was so glad to have people to talk to that knew about the US and spoke English. I hadn’t been here very long but I was ready to at least be able to speak English if I wanted to. I really like the girls and they both seem very nice and outgoing. It is nice to have people with whom I can explore the town. Since I don’t have a roommate right now I don’t want to go places by myself unless it’s to school and back. We stick out everywhere we go with the two of them. I am thankful for the two of them.
We got off to a slow start on the first day of school. It was very unorganized and there was a lot of confusion for the first 2 hours. The teacher that we worked with was Queta. I really like her and I think she truly enjoys her job. After getting to know each other, we went to El Centro de Cuernavaca. We walked a couple blocks and then got on to La Ruta, which is the bus system in Cuernavaca. This was quite an adventure. The second you step into the bus the bus driver takes off quickly. Mexican people in general are not very tall and I am, this was not a good combination on the bus. When the bus driver started driving I wacked my head on the ceiling on the bus and then stumbled to find a seat. When you get on the bus you hand the driver your money ($4.50 pesos, about $0.45USD) and they give you your change later on, if both you and the bus driver remember. As I said earlier, the driving in crazy and when you want to get off you simply stand up and get ready to hop off as soon as the driver slows down. If the driver doesn’t know you want to get off, you have to yell, “Bajo!” The people on the bus are nice and will also yell out when they hear you say you want to get off. We took the bus to El Centro and got off there.
El Centro is one of the main places where people meet in the town. Many of the government buildings are located in El Centro. There are lots of restaurants and places where vendors sell things. Sometimes bands play in El Centro or groups come and dance. There are a lot of vendors; rows and rows of vendors. They all have tiny, tiny, spots where they sell their products. They sell anything from jewelry to clothes to CDs to food. While we were in El Centro there was a lot of activity because the teachers in Cuernavaca are on strike right now. The teachers sit around the government buildings with all of their signs of protest. We aren’t really sure why they are on strike. The reason has gotten lost in translation as of now.
The buildings are decorated in the colors of the Mexican flag (white, red, and green) because September is the month when the Mexicans celebrate their independence. There are flags everywhere. While we were in El Centro we saw and heard the teachers marching and chatting different songs. It was neat to see because I’ve never seen a protest like that. It was peaceful and they were VERY loud.
While in El Centro we went to La Cathedral. It is a huge church and you can go inside and see it. The outside has unusual decoration because there is a skull and crossbones above the door. Queta said that this is not typical of cathedrals in Mexico. The inside of the cathedral was ornately decorated and there were paintings all along the walls and ceilings. I enjoyed seeing all the old architecture and the tall steeples.
I walked home (by myself) to have lunch around 2pm. In Mexico, lunch is around 2 or 3pm and lunch is the largest meal of the day.
After lunch I met up with Ashley and Jodi and we walked to Wal-Mart to buy a few items. We figured it would be good to walk, but that turned out to be a bad idea because we had already walked all morning and Wal-Mart was almost a mile away, and up-hill. There was a Starbucks next to Wal-Mart so we stopped for a nice American treat. After we got back from Wal-Mart I finally got a chance to unpack my bags.
Like I said, dinner here is a small meal compared to what we eat at dinner, so my body is adjusting to the change.
After dinner I went to my room and somehow was able to access a wireless connection and I was able to talk to Mom and Dad for about 40 minutes. It was nice to talk to them and Skype works great.
After dinner I went to my room and somehow was able to access a wireless connection and I was able to talk to Mom and Dad for about 40 minutes. It was nice to talk to them and Skype works great.
1 comment:
Is that a picture of the Zamora home? Wow, looks very nice. You'll have a get a pic of Mrs. Zamora's storefront as well. Love the details you're sharing! xoox, Mom
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