As you all know by now, I arrived in Mexico on Sunday, Aug 12th. Its been a week since I've been here and somehow, a lot has happened, but at the same time nothing at all!
Sun, Aug 12: I had just landed in the Houston Airport, and my plane had just arrived at the gate right across from the gate that I was to be leaving from so there was barely any walking and to top it all off, there was a Jamba Juice right next to me. So I got a small smoothie and I was happily sipping away when I we started to board. I was walking through the aisles of the plane and suddenly the Jamba Juice cup breaks and spills smoothie all over me, my bag and a few splatters on some unfortunate women who happened to be already seated. The entire smoothie just exploded in my hand! It was so embarrassing. Then the flight attendant made me put my bag in a plastic bag so that I wouldn't get the other passengers bags messy but it wouldn't fit. So to summarize I was finally sitting in my seat smelling like fruit and slightly sticky with a bag full of clothes on my lap and my carry on halfway stuffed inside a plastic bag! Finally we arrived and I got my suitcase from baggage claim, then it was an hour standing in line waiting to go through customs before I finally met Martin, my Rotarian host. We got in his car and since I was pretty disoriented he took me to a hotel called "Hotel Hi" which is just a few blocks from the university and that's where I have been staying all week! Bienvenido a Mexico!
Mon Aug 13: I took my first journey to the University. I took a taxi there because I didn't really know where I was going but once I got there it started raining. So I was walking around the campus in the rain until I ran into someone who finally directed me to the administration building. I met the lady who I had been corresponding with via email/phone, Cynthia. She was very nice, and gave me all the information that I needed in order start the process of getting my visa. I walked back to my hotel, a 15 min walk in the rain and decided to take a trip into el centro de Guadalajara to the immigration office. I arrived at immigration at 1:30pm only to find that they are only open to the public from 9am-1pm. I walked around the city until later in the afternoon trying to look for a bank or a phone company but I didn't have any luck. After I came back to the hotel I asked the front desk what there was to eat around here and I was told my only options were Dominos or take out Sushi. I opted for something familiar... but was unpleasantly surprised to find out they put Ketchup on their pizza. Later that night Martin dropped off an old phone that I could use. The problem was, his was the phone number I had to call. :)
Tue Aug 14: I went back to the immigration office just to be told that I didn't have the right documents and I needed to fill out more paperwork. It was a frustrating day, but at least I learned a little bit more about the process of being an immigrant and the amount of hoops you have to jump through. I also went to my first Rotary Meeting. The Rotary Club that is sponsoring me has 14 members. They are just starting to introduce female members, mostly just the wives of the current members. They meet at a country club in Zapopan and most of the Rotary members belong to this club. They were all very nice. They are doing a lot of really cool projects right now such as building a kitchen for a school that provides kids with breakfast and lunch who can't afford it. I presented them with a flag and spoke to the president about me possibly giving a presentation in a few weeks once my spanish gets better and he said they would love that.
Wed Aug 15: I went back to immigration with all the paperwork that I thought was correct... but it wasn't. The frustrating thing is they tell you to fill out un tramite (a form) but they don't actually tell you which form is the correct one. So I did a whole bunch of running around and now the only thing I need to do is pay my fee of $550 pesos and turn in a few pictures. It seems like 5 pictures are required with every government document that you turn in in Mexico. They really like to attach pictures. :) At the immigration office I also met a guy named Derek, another American. I was helping him communicate with the immigration people because no one spoke english and we started talking. He is a really nice guy and we became friends. He lives in a town a few hours away and teaches English. He asked me to come and speak to some of his classes if I had time after the summer vacation was over. I think it would be really fun to talk to those kids and help breakdown stereotypes that they have about people from the US.
Thurs Aug 16: I went back to the university to finish my paperwork and Cynthia gave me a tour of the campus so now I know where I'm going. After that I went to look at a couple apartments. The one that I saw that I liked was in a really nice neighborhood in Zapopan. Pretty close to the university. It would just be one bus ride away. It was a nice size room in a house of all women. The only thing that concerns me is that if I have friends come visit me that are guys, they wouldn't be allowed to stay over, they would have to stay in a hotel.
Fri Aug 17: Today I am going to look at a few more places before I decide which one I want to commit to and then I am going to a party with my host Rotarians. I am really excited. I think its going to be really fun.
Saturday I need to go back to the university to get pictures taken for the school and Monday morning I will be finalizing my Visa. Everything is coming together, but nothing has actually happened yet. Its only been a week, but I feel like I should have more done by now. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. After all, it has only been a week. If I'm still in this same position a month from now I will be a little bit more worried. :)
So once the cow was ready, we walked out to the pasture with the calf. While one of the guys was getting the cow ready with the calf (apparently it is necessary to have a calf present for a cow to produce milk), we filled up 4 glasses with a little bit of powdered chocolate and about a shots worth of alcohol. We passed the glasses to the guy sitting next to the cow and.... yes you guessed it, straight from the cow to the cup! I will have to say Lili was right.. it was frothier than I would have imagined.... 
