Really? That's what you call a fiesta?

Hola! I just got back from Puerto Vallarta this morning around 12:30am. We were on the bus for 10.5 hours because we got stuck behind an accident in the mountains on our way back. Anyways, the weekend was awesome! The food was great; I had fresh vegetables every day with every meal. It was great. Saturday was my 21st birthday; however, it wasn't until 1pm that I realized that it was my birthday. Ha-ha! I had a Swedish massage that morning and went parasailing that afternoon. That night, I (for some unknown reason) became sick, and am still a little sick today. Therefore, Saturday night, I just sat on the beach and watched the sun set. It was beautiful and extremely relaxing because hardly anyone was out there.

So I may have had sun poisoning, but I'm not sure. Sunday, my stomach was hurting, I had a headache and a fever, I was dizzy, and was very nauseous. Luckily though, today I feel much better. But to top things off on Sunday, we stopped at what I guess was a restaurant on our way home. They had dirt floors and apparently did not understand the concept of vegetarianism. I asked them what they had that was vegetarian and she pointed out the Camarones section. I remember hearing that word and remember not ordering that at a restaurant a few weeks ago, but she assured me that it was not meat. The waitress left and I asked a friend what Camaron was. Turns out, it's shrimp. I called the waitress back over and explained that indeed, shrimp is a meat in that it at one time has lived. She was like, oh, I'm sorry. How about some fish then? I couldn't believe it. I then repeated myself and assured her that fish live as well and are therefore meat. She then said that they had vegetable salad. I was relieved. Thank God! I said. After ordering my Pepsi for the fifth time, I finally received it and got my salad as well. The salad was about 60% onions, 20% cucumbers, and the rest lettuce, avocado, and three tomato slices. As you may recall, I hate onions after my fiasco a few weeks ago.

Needless to say, being sick and without food on Sunday did not make it a good day, but my Friday and Saturday were both AMAZING! And I got a really good deal on the trip.

Vegetarianism down here is a foreign concept. Several of my friends' host families, knowing they are vegetarian still cook soups with meat in them, use beef/bacon fat to cook with, etc. I'm glad that my reason for not eating much meat is just because I don't like it. Several of my friends on this program do not eat meat for religious reasons; they are having a very tough time!

We moved to the main campus of the Universidad de Guanajuato today (which is a 3 minute walk from my house rather than a 15 minute cab ride. The main campus is beautiful and it was a nice change of scenery. Several people are having to commute a ways to get here, but they will get over it I suppose. Two of the girls were saying that they have to walk 20 minutes to get to the University and 30 minutes to get back home (because it's mostly up hill). I told them they should just take a cab back, because it would only cost them $1 a piece. They said they didn't mind walking because there were a few shady areas where they could take a rest. I told them that it probably will cost them more to energize their bodies rather than paying for a cab. Oh well, I'm not walking that far.

Something that I found fascinating, and is the reason for this blog's title, is the picture of Mexico that many people may have of Mexico when visiting a resort area such as Puerto Vallarta. Our hotel had a "Mexican Fiesta" for everyone at the resort (where there were tons of white people). Needless to say, the decorations, the food, and some of the music are definitely not typical of Mexico. They may have been typical of Mexico in the 50's, but definitely not now. There were vendors on the beach selling supposedly "authentic" Mexican attire and jewlery; however, the only people that I've seen wearing any of that are obnoxious white or Asian tourists and some of the indigenous people. It was interesting to see the differences between the Mexico I've come to know, and the Mexico portrayed in the resort areas. I like the Mexico I've come to know much better (except for some of the food). Ha-ha!

I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing this week. Right now, I am dying to take a siesta, because I have become way to accustomed to taking them; therefore, I am going to go and sleep for an hour.

¡Nos hablamos pronto!