City Life Week 2

After a long week of intermittent internet access, it is finally fixed at our house! (and yes, I am again using that as my excuse for not posting all week.)  It’s been a very full week with Spanish classes, research classes, a birthday party and a visit to the central market. Because my thoughts are scattered and I like lists, here is my week in bullets:

• I’ve finally cracked my Tropical Diseases book and now know more than I ever wanted to about diarrhea and the pathogens that cause it! 
• I'm a big fan of writing 400 word essays for Spanish class
• Sleeping 9 hours every night is amazing
• I am absolutely shocked that I have not gotten sick yet. Leftovers here get left out for HOURS and the reserved. I'm kind of wishing we hadn't talked about food safety this summer with HSM teams!
• The city life, while kind of fun, is not really my thing. An hour long bus ride on the way home for a trip that takes 10 minutes on the way to school is not my idea of a good time.
• They celebrate 60th birthdays very differently here! We surprised my host mom with a birthday party last night...complete with a DJ, flashing lights, a fog machine and lots of loud music. It was a very fun evening full of yummy food and dancing! 
• There's nothing quite like an overpriced bagel sandwich when you're feeling homesick for American food. 
• Where can you buy a scarf for $3, a pallet full of 20lb bags of rice, a futon, a kids bowling set, undergarments for your whole family and a really cute recycling bin? Why Pequeño Mundo of course! As Bre described it, it's like a Costco and a Dollar Store squished into one tiny store.  
• In a completely unrelated story, my MCAT scores are still not posted...and it's been almost a month! I'm going a little crazy. 

Now for some pictures! 

Tina, another girl staying at our house, my host mom and I

Ligia with most of her family while a mariachi band plays Feliz Cumpleaños

This little fellow was my dance partner for the evening!

Blowing out the candles

Tina, Helen and I