Toluca, Mexico

Monday we went to Teotihuacán and it was amazing! It is basically this whole road of pyramids from the ancient times and it’s translated to Avenue of the Dead.  But all the pyramids are empty because they(Mayans or Aztecs) believed that every 52 years, things start over.  If you were in jail for 52 years, you would be released, pyramids would be emptied, debts would be forgotten, so on.  Anyways, we got to hike them, and most of us did the Sun pyramid which was the tallest one there.  And I hiked it! I was so proud of myself because I didn’t think I would be able to.  It was a beautiful sight of all the ruins, and there were a ton of pictures taken.  Going back down I went with Anna (Italy) and Giselle (Mexico) and then we went to the little market to pick up some souvenirs.  I got this typical Mexican backpack which is a colorful sac.

The Sun Pyramid

Jumping on top of the Sun Pyramid next to the Moon Pyramid

Meeting of the families was really great this week because it was more like a party.  For about an hour or so, we just mingled with all the host families because they didn’t have their signs up to match us yet.  That was done on purpose because it’s what the sponsors wanted.  There was also a Mariachi band which made it so fun! A bunch of us started dancing which was wonderful.  I finally met my family and was greeted by a big hug and kiss from my 13 year old sister and kiss from my 6year old brother.  I’m alone this week again, but I still feel like the week will be good.  Right away my dad was asking all about me and my host mom listened because she doesn’t speak English, just understand.  They decided they wanted to show me around the city so we drove around and got food and saw some amazing churches.  It was a great start. 

Host Code:Pescador (Fisherman)

Did I mention how beautiful the churches were?

Tuesday was a Culture fair for the students of the school that was sponsoring us.  It was an interesting experience because most of the kids didn’t speak English, so all the Spanish speaking students were translating.  I offered to help Mia from Australia because she didn’t have a translator or a partner.  Little did I know I was going to have to act as translator with what little I knew.  Then Mia started to feel very sick, so I took over Australia.  Eventually Katy from WY came over to help because she spoke more than I did, but neither of us knew much about Australia.  It was quite the challenge talking in a language that wasn’t our native about a country that we didn’t come from.  We still had fun trying!

Saturday was such a great day! Our show was in this huge square outdoors which already made for a unique experience.  The whole day was had a new energy because it was a new experience.  During the show we had close to 5000 people there, but it was still one of the calmest crowds we’ve had which was strange, but that didn’t bring our energy down.  At intermission, we looked into the sky and saw floating lanterns and it was such a peaceful moment for all of us, and I think that came at a perfect time. Performing outside was such a unique experience!

Sunday we drove 2 hours to go swimming at a small waterpark.  It was fun, and for a while we were teaching each other animal words (my favorites were giraffe and ant).  I’m not ready to leave this family, but I believe I will see them again I hope.