Grande Mocha Frappuccino, No Whip

Sleeping in is a luxury, no matter where in the world you are.

Today was our first day off, well, our first day off since we started class. And it was great. Although, from the sounds of it, I may have missed a pretty epic Mexican dance party at the disco last night my regrets are few. I was very tired last night and sleep is a hot commodity here.

It was even nice to be able to wake up, look at the clock and decide it wasn't enough sleep. The house has been rather full lately, and by lately I mean since yesterday afternoon, but it has been noticeable. The father lives and works in Puerto Viarta and is not home much, the daughter is working most days, and the other daughter has a family of her own that I am sure keeps her plenty busy. For the weekend it appears they are all around the house. Mother's Day is this weekend and I've been told that no where celebrates Mother's Day quite like Mexico. They love their moms here, a lot. Monday is even a holiday.

So regardless, I slept in today, and had a late breakfast then retired to my room for some studying, reading, researching, etc. It seemed like a good day to get a bunch of stuff done. Although I don't feel like I've accomplished too much it is nice to have a start.

A late lunch of a bacon cheeseburger was a welcome, and delicious, surprise. Again, back to my anti-social nerd self, I worked on school work. In my defense it is very hard to accomplish very much in this heat. Every reading takes a little longer because it requires more concentration that normal.

Around 5pm I headed down to get to work on some of my participant observation at the main Cathedral in town, Catedral Basílica Menor de Colima. It was still quite hot out so I decided to make a pit-stop at Starbucks before catching a taxi. Grande Mocha Frappuccino! I love that the words are the same in English as they are in Spanish. The lovely girls at the store even write your name on your drink, mine proved to be somewhat difficult so it came out a little strange, but the message came across just fine.

I went out in sweltering heat. As it is taxis are somewhat hard to come by that time of they day, because they are so cheap (about $1.55USD or $20Peso anywhere in the city) they are a main mode of transportation so it isn't that there aren't many of them, it is just that they are usually all full. I always end up walking the opposite direction in order to get ahead of the game.

When I finally found a taxi to pick me up and take me down town he seemed more than elated that he had found me on the side of the road. I showed him the address and off he went. Within a few Spanish questions he quickly realized that I spoke no Spanish. He switched to English, and although he said he spoke only a little he was pretty good. Questions about where I was from, what I was doing, etc. quickly turned into "how many of you are there?" "17" "all girls!?" ha! He wanted to know when we were going to the beach, all that, he kept staring at me with a giant smile, clearly I was blinding him with my pale white beautiful skin. Eventually he came to a stop and asked for my number, as I laughed I handed him 20peso and stepped out of the cab. Sorry Mexican friend.

Upon arriving downtown on my own I ran into 3 of our group, then another, then another. It appears that even when I set out alone I won't be alone for long. This was a lovely feeling. It was my intention to observe inside and outside the cathedral for about 15 minutes each, in order to not be a creep. I ventured inside the church, it is quite beautiful, and sat in the very back (the best vantage point). However, upon seeing how hot I was the friendly people inside directed me to a cooler location, inconveniently located very near the front of the very large church. Graciously I moved but found that my observations was almost impossible. It wasn't long before I was outside, where I ran into yet another group member. We sat and chatted until I decided to abandon my observations for some rip off ray bans - which I didn't even buy.

Again we ran into more people and ended up at a little bar with cervezas. What can I say?

It was convenient that we all ran into each other because we were headed to a University soccer (fútbol) match. U of Colima is in some sort semi final. We arrived shortly before 8pm and the game was already underway. Although we didn't watch much of it, which can be blamed on the wonderfully distracting people seated around us, it was lots of fun.

Afterwards we headed to a local restaurant for some dinner and drinks, and what happened to be some live music. Overall it was a great day.

Today's High: 36℃ - I just realized that this doesn't include humidity or the 'feels like' temp but I can't seem to find that anywhere

Today I learned:

• Bugs are just part of the decor
• Illegal or not, carrying an infant on your lap in the front seat while driving is not frowned upon
• Laying down while reading will result in sleep almost immediately

I am grateful for:

• Bacon
• Dresses

Starbucks. Good try Mexico.

Soccer Game. A little grainy but I loved the hills in the background.