We arrived in Oaxaca on Thursday evening without incident. It was the longest bus trip of my life but it wasn´t that bad. We left the plush Palladium Resort in PV at 7:00 to make our 8:45 bus out to Mexico City. We were being conservative with our time because all the other times we went to PV to sort out the bus situation prior to departure, it took a good 45 minutes by taxi. So, we figured we were in the clear. However, traffic had other ideas. We left the resort only to follow what seemed to be an endless string of tail lights into PV. The best part was when we were approximately 15kms from the bus station, it became a veritable parking lot. We were getting nervous as we didn´t expect so much traffic and we were supposed to be at the station at 8:15 to check in. It was a holiday week and so that explains all the cars. Our trusty cab driver was in full command of the situation and he deftly created a third lane to the right (he must have gone to cab driver school in Boston rush hour!) and we arrived at the station at exactly 8:15!!
Our bus trip from PV to Mexico City was 12 hours. It was good that it was an overnight bus as we didn´t waste a sunny day in transit. The ETN bus was very comfy. Kind of first class - roomy seats, foot rests, snacks, movies with headphones (mine was broken, however...) and all the fixins. The only downside was that we felt like we were cows in their last holding place before a barbeque! It was a meatlocker on the bus! I came prepared with long pants and long sleeves but that was no match for the ETN climate. Even Peter was cold! The bus driver was seperated from the main compartment of the bus so I think he was just out of touch with our situation because I´m sure he would have turned up the heat. I was doing my best to impersonate a tiny fetal position to conserve as much of my own body heat as possible.
We arrived in Mexico City at 9:00 am with our next bus on Cristobal Colon Line not departing until 2:30 pm. We checked our bags at the luggage locker and warmed up in the sun outside the bus station. Unfortunately, there weren´t any nice park benches, so, we opted for ¨Piss Corner¨ You can imagine how it got it´s name! After a while, a really, really old woman came and sat down next to Peter with her family. She was showing us some keychains and trinkets from the Basilica. She said we should go there because we never would know when we´d be back in Mexico City. So, since we had A LOT of time to kill and the place was near, off we went. We´re glad we did. It was an amazing complex of a variety of churches of different eras. Very impressive with gardens and TONS of people. From what we saw in our short stint in the largest city in Mexico (27 million!) it is very polluted and has a zillion cars - I suppose there´s a cause/effect relationship there.
Our bus departed from Mexico City on time and we had the opposite temperature problem this ride. Even I was hot! That aside, the ride took 6.5 hours and seemed to meander through countryside, hills and we even saw a large volcano looking range along the way. We quickly hailed a cab and found a hotel near the city center of Oaxaca. We were starving when we arrived and raced down the the center to find some food. After a meal, we collapsed into bed.
We spent Friday exploring the city on foot - not unlike many other tourists. Any time we walked even up the tiniest incline, I was a bit out of breath. Peter informed me that we were at 5000 feet. It seems that will take some time to get used to. Either that, or I´m a lot more out of shape than I thought! There seem to be a lot of Mexican and international tourists here. It is a beautiful and easy colonial city that is 476 years old. After collecting our things for school today (notebooks, pens, dictionaries), we had an early supper and called it a day.
We arrived at the gates of our school today a bit before 9:00. When we got there, a man approached us and asked if we were Peter and Kerry Lake. We said, ¨Si¨. He is our homestay ¨father¨ I guess you could say, Carlos Martinez Giron. He whisked us back to his home to leave our belongings for the day. He was expecting us yesterday but we didn´t know that, so, we apologized profusely. I hope he doesn´t think it was a big deal because it´d be nice to start out on the right foot! Anyway, our homestay is delightful. We have our own room and bathroom and the room is enormous. There are a few other rooms with students that surround a small courtyard. I´m sure we´ll learn a lot of spanish language and culture just from spending time there.
We went back to school to face the music, i.e. the placement test. I´ve been cringing about it since we arrived! And rightfully so, I found out. The lady handed me a test and told us to go out on the porch to complete it. Peter suggested that I ask for an easier version just from the looks of his - she gave us the same one. So, after looking over the test, I decided that he was spot on and asked for something easier. Thank God they actually had an easier one! I did a great job answering a few questions and then nailed the matching pictures to very simple vocabulary words. I only screwed up some of the masc/fem matching of articles on those, too. But, then then gave some photos that were a sequence that I was supposed to write a story to match. Didn´t they know that I have NO CLUE about making sentences and I have little to no idea about vocabulary? I came to find out that the written test was a cinch compared to the oral exam that came next. It sounded pretty parroty on my part as I fumbled to use some of the words of the professor to answer his questions. When all was said and done, I am in class 1-B. So, not bottom of the ladder, but VERY close. Peter is in class 2A - he´s killing it! It should be a great learning experience for both of us!
Tomorrow we´re off on an excursion to some ruins in the mountains. Now, we must go to our homestay family to start out on a better foot.
Hope you are all doing well.
Miss you!
Adios! (Spanish is really a cinch!)
Kerry & Pedro (see!)
Our bus trip from PV to Mexico City was 12 hours. It was good that it was an overnight bus as we didn´t waste a sunny day in transit. The ETN bus was very comfy. Kind of first class - roomy seats, foot rests, snacks, movies with headphones (mine was broken, however...) and all the fixins. The only downside was that we felt like we were cows in their last holding place before a barbeque! It was a meatlocker on the bus! I came prepared with long pants and long sleeves but that was no match for the ETN climate. Even Peter was cold! The bus driver was seperated from the main compartment of the bus so I think he was just out of touch with our situation because I´m sure he would have turned up the heat. I was doing my best to impersonate a tiny fetal position to conserve as much of my own body heat as possible.
We arrived in Mexico City at 9:00 am with our next bus on Cristobal Colon Line not departing until 2:30 pm. We checked our bags at the luggage locker and warmed up in the sun outside the bus station. Unfortunately, there weren´t any nice park benches, so, we opted for ¨Piss Corner¨ You can imagine how it got it´s name! After a while, a really, really old woman came and sat down next to Peter with her family. She was showing us some keychains and trinkets from the Basilica. She said we should go there because we never would know when we´d be back in Mexico City. So, since we had A LOT of time to kill and the place was near, off we went. We´re glad we did. It was an amazing complex of a variety of churches of different eras. Very impressive with gardens and TONS of people. From what we saw in our short stint in the largest city in Mexico (27 million!) it is very polluted and has a zillion cars - I suppose there´s a cause/effect relationship there.
Our bus departed from Mexico City on time and we had the opposite temperature problem this ride. Even I was hot! That aside, the ride took 6.5 hours and seemed to meander through countryside, hills and we even saw a large volcano looking range along the way. We quickly hailed a cab and found a hotel near the city center of Oaxaca. We were starving when we arrived and raced down the the center to find some food. After a meal, we collapsed into bed.
We spent Friday exploring the city on foot - not unlike many other tourists. Any time we walked even up the tiniest incline, I was a bit out of breath. Peter informed me that we were at 5000 feet. It seems that will take some time to get used to. Either that, or I´m a lot more out of shape than I thought! There seem to be a lot of Mexican and international tourists here. It is a beautiful and easy colonial city that is 476 years old. After collecting our things for school today (notebooks, pens, dictionaries), we had an early supper and called it a day.
We arrived at the gates of our school today a bit before 9:00. When we got there, a man approached us and asked if we were Peter and Kerry Lake. We said, ¨Si¨. He is our homestay ¨father¨ I guess you could say, Carlos Martinez Giron. He whisked us back to his home to leave our belongings for the day. He was expecting us yesterday but we didn´t know that, so, we apologized profusely. I hope he doesn´t think it was a big deal because it´d be nice to start out on the right foot! Anyway, our homestay is delightful. We have our own room and bathroom and the room is enormous. There are a few other rooms with students that surround a small courtyard. I´m sure we´ll learn a lot of spanish language and culture just from spending time there.
We went back to school to face the music, i.e. the placement test. I´ve been cringing about it since we arrived! And rightfully so, I found out. The lady handed me a test and told us to go out on the porch to complete it. Peter suggested that I ask for an easier version just from the looks of his - she gave us the same one. So, after looking over the test, I decided that he was spot on and asked for something easier. Thank God they actually had an easier one! I did a great job answering a few questions and then nailed the matching pictures to very simple vocabulary words. I only screwed up some of the masc/fem matching of articles on those, too. But, then then gave some photos that were a sequence that I was supposed to write a story to match. Didn´t they know that I have NO CLUE about making sentences and I have little to no idea about vocabulary? I came to find out that the written test was a cinch compared to the oral exam that came next. It sounded pretty parroty on my part as I fumbled to use some of the words of the professor to answer his questions. When all was said and done, I am in class 1-B. So, not bottom of the ladder, but VERY close. Peter is in class 2A - he´s killing it! It should be a great learning experience for both of us!
Tomorrow we´re off on an excursion to some ruins in the mountains. Now, we must go to our homestay family to start out on a better foot.
Hope you are all doing well.
Miss you!
Adios! (Spanish is really a cinch!)
Kerry & Pedro (see!)
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