First impressions

Our first week in Mérida has been quite the adventure. Besides the language barrier, which we are trying to overcome, there are a lot of other differences between the United States and México.

One example is the bus system. To put it simply, it is confusing. The buses are all run by different companies, and some of the routes have the same names. They don´t run on regular schedules, nor do they have many regular stops!

Also, we are adapting to the different foods here. From what we have observed, the normal Yucatecan breakfast usually consists of fruits, such as watermelon, cantalope, and papaya, and sometimes some scrambled eggs, toast, and yogurt with juice. Lunch is the biggest meal here, and is served around 2 pm. Lunch foods are more varied but usually include meat, beans or rice, sometimes soup, and tortillas with salsa and cream. Dinner is served around 9 pm, and is smaller than lunch. Some things that we have had are quesadillas, taquitos, and fajitas. Popular drinks are Horchata, Jamaica (juice made from Hibiscus flowers, tastes like Koolaid), and Coke.

We are enjoying our classes for the most part, although they are difficult, and fast paced since we are only here for 6 weeks.

On Thursday (July 2) we began our community service, which we plan to do every Tuesday and Thursday when we don´t have an excursion. Half of us went to home for abandoned disabled children, and the job is to help with painting. The other half of us went to a shelter for families that come to Mérida for medical treatment but can´t afford to live here, and helped throw away expired medicines in their stock room. Doing service will be an exciting adventure, and we are excited to be able to help!

Here are some random photos from our first week.

Here are some Mayan girls in a performance in el centro (downtown area).

This is the church in the Itzimná neighborhood. The LDS church that we attend is directly behind this church.

We have Universidad Modelo ID cards! Here is Ellis´.

This is the cathedral in el centro, and the park in front of it. Also you can see a rainbow!