A New Place

Well, today I said goodbye to my first home in Mexico: Hostel Menavi (my room there is pictured). Although it was strange living in a hostel at first, I surprised myself at how attached I'd become to it. The reason I moved to an apartment just down the street was a practical one: I will save about $150 a month on rent. This new place (Hospedaje Donato Guerra) has 6 rooms, is only for women, and is run by a family that actually lives on the same floor I do. Right now I can hear the mom quizzing her sons on Latin American capitals :) My new room is a bit dirtier, and without a tv and (currently) a pillow, but if I really didn't like it here, I could always move back into the Hostel.

Otherwise, I did some new things the past couple days. Yesterday, my friend and I went jogging in the Metropolitan Park. It is very far north in the city, so we had to take a bus to get there. It was nice to breath the fresh mountain air and escape the buzz of the city. It's about 5 miles to circumnavigate, so we got a good workout. The park also has other features like a petting zoo and campsite, and every November is host to a hot-air balloon festival.

Today, my friend and I finally bought cell phones! The entire transaction went smoothly until the 2 men helping us tried to explain a 2 for 1 deal regarding recharging our pay-as-you-go phones. We finally figured it out after much laughter and mistranslation.

I've only tried one new type of food recently: elote. This is the Mexican word for corn on the cob, although the word also refers to the form in which street venders sell it: kernels in a cup, mixed with a little sour cream, mayo, cheese, lime juice, and chili powder. It's quite tasty!

Tomorrow I'll begin preparing my second lesson for this Saturday's class, and finalize what classes I'm teaching for the new session that begins Monday.