It's really not that different

Mexico is more like the US than Americans would probably like to admit. Corporate America's presence is ridiculous here.

People buy their groceries from Wal Mart, or Superama, which is also owned by Wal Mart. There's another grocery chain with a pelican logo, but I don't know if Wally World has an interest there.

The Mexican college students dress like Americans and I have yet to see someone wearing a sombrero or a poncho outside of Independence Day.

I've yet to see a Mexican auto company, though I'm pretty sure most of their cars are made here, primarily Fords, Chevy, Nissan or Volkswagen.

You see a lot of Coke being drunk and Marlboros being smoked. A fair share of the TV shows are from the US, either dubbed or subtitled, though most of them are on different channels that are also from the US.

The only real difference is the beer. I've yet to see anyone drinking a Bud or a Miller Lite here, or any lite beer all together. That makes sense, though, because their beer is better and cheaper than any of the domestic macrobrews.

Las Estacas y Ciudad México

We visited Las Estacas, a water park, and Mexico City last weekend.

The water was awfully cold, but it felt good during a hot, sunny day. The water's clarity reminded me of the Mediterranian Sea. It is funny, because the public bus runs along the countryside to the smaller communities and costs around 80 cents US, though the vehicles are actually converted VW microbuses.

Mexico City was interesting enough, though we were pulled around as a tour group, which allowed little time for exploring on our own. I'll have to return later. We saw Diego Rivera's murals, the cathedral and the national museum. After spending the summer in Washington and all of its museums, however, the museum lacked some appeal, though it was filled with plenty of Mexico's culture. It was sunny yesterday with a definitive haze, thanks to the polluted air.

Teotihuacan

We visited Teotihuacan last Sunday. The pyramids were huge and jagged. I don't have much else to say, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. Since I have been studying Spanish so much, I feel my English writing ability is badder.

Taxco

Last weekend, we went to Taxco, a silver mining town about an hour's drive from Cuernavaca. It is known for its silver mining, and makes up 60 percent of the local economy. It reminded me of when I traveled to the Amalfi Coast in Italy several years ago.

Interesting example in class on 9/11

Here's one of the sentences the professor used when explaining a verb in class today:

Yo no me trago que dijo George War Bush acerca de las armas de distrucion masiva.

¿Què ironia, no?

Crazy

Last night, all of us went to el barbazul, the best dance club in town. They have a huge waterfall in an enclosed courtyard and a huge dance floor. Drinks were free for much of the night and discounted the rest. I danced and had a fabulous time.

Around 3, Tim, Tom and I went to another bar across town with Tim's new Mexican friends. The bar was on the other side of town and a bit strange, so we tried to leave. The bouncer at the door wouldn't let us leave unless we'd bought something, which we hadn't, but after a few minutes of tenuous discussion, we were able to go.

After that, we hit up la Gringa, a taco stand close to the university and met up with some other friends. Tacos con carne al pastor are the best remedy for a fun night of partying.

First post

I arrived in Cuernavaca about a week ago and the time has really dragged by, though that's not a bad thing. Before I know it, my time will be up, I'm sure.

We landed in Mexico City on Friday and had no troubles passing through customs. Whether or not your bag is searched is entirely random -- you just press a button, and either a red or green light illuminates that lets you pass or wait. I didn't have anything to hide, but it seemed a bit creepy.

We were oriented on Saturday at the university, then we went home for lunch and a nap. I scored a healthy 28 percent on my placement test, which qualified well enough for beginner Spanish. Whoo. Later that night, we went out drinking and saw a guy get kicked out of the bar and punched in the face twice by a huge bouncer, then hauled off in the tail gate of a police truck.

Monday's classes were incredibly slow and boring, only conjugating present tense verbs, so I changed them on Tuesday to some harder material. I have to get the most of my time here, you know. Tuesday night brought plenty of cheap beer and free liquor, which led to a very early Wednesday morning, though no class was missed.

There has been a huge fair that will continue for a few more days that has created a lot of traffic on my street. Cannons are fired at random times of the day and night -- fabulous, I know, especially when you want to sleep.

I'm amazed at the mix of American and Mexican culture here. There's a healthy blend of American companies and locally-owned tiendas everywhere. While Superama, my local grocery store, is owned by Wal-Mart, there are plenty of tiny restaurants with carne pastor rotating on spits late into the night.

By and large, the Mexican people are incredibly gracious and friendly. They are patient with me as I stagger through their language and typically speak pretty good English, which just reinforces why I want to learn Spanish. If they took the trouble to know how I speak, then I should try to return the favor.

That's about it, for now. This weekend, we will visit Taxco, a silver-mining city and possibly la Ciudad de Mexico.

Oh yeah, I also have a waterfall in my backyard. It's filthy, but pretty awesome, nonetheless.