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.