BoyinSuit

Ping Pong Tournament & Pizza Aftermath

Our school has an annual ping pong tournament where we bring a ping pong table into the school's foyer.  It's a big event and the Student Bar Association buys enough pizza to feed the school (we bought 50 pizzas).

Since I got my DSLR, I've vacillated between not bringing it out and being that guy who is constantly taking pictures of everything.  (If I had it my way, I'd be the latter).  As is human nature, I doubt myself.  I feel that someone with much greater photography knowledge will look at me with my camera and say, "Amatuer.  Who does he think he is trying to be a photographer?"  Everytime I take my camera out, I have to get over that initial hump.

So before the tournament, I had decided that I wasn't going to take any pictures.  Then my friend Chris said that I had to take pictures to document the event.  I got over my embarrassment and snapped about 450 pictures.  I'm glad I did because (1) I had lots of fun taking them, (2) I had a lot of fun editing them, and (3) now we have pictures of an event that we've not had pictures of before.

The entire set is here, but below are some of my favorites.

Temptation

Every year, they come around.  And every year, I'm tempted to stockpile them.

Add to the List

You can now add clementines to the list!

Eating at Sampan

Jesse: (eating) Mmmmmmm... This is so good!
Liz: Why do you always moan when you're eating?
Jesse: Sorry, I don't mean to...

(Two minutes later)

Jesse: Mmmmmm, Liz, this chicken is... (realizing our conversation) never mind.

Eating in India

Trying to figure out what to eat in India is a fun process. 

First, we have to choose the restaurant, which involves looking for the most popular one.  All the travel books we've read say that if a place is popular with the locals, its more likely to be safe.

Second, we have to choose what to order:

Third, we actually have to eat what we ordered.  So far, we've been surprised that everything we've ordered has been good.  Most things are spicy, and while spicy food is awesome, our stomachs have not appreciated three spicy meals a day.  There is an item we've been having for breakfast that is so good, yet so spicy.

I just hope that we keep ordering good things.

Strawberry Jam!

My friend Breanne came over to make some strawberry jam with Brian and I.  I hadn't seen Breanne for about four years and I loved catching up with her.  Even though lots of time has passed, she's still the same fun girl that I remember.  We had lots of fun making jam and wearing red together!

A Good Sale during our Financial Fast

Addiction

Another Sale, Another Zombie Protection Measure

Smith's had Campbell's Chunky soup on sale, so Brian and I went to pick up 105 cans. Yes, you read correctly, 105 cans. They're usually about $2.50 a can, but today we bought them for $0.66 each. As we were stocking up our cart, a lady said, "You must be students."

We filled our other cart with spaghetti sauce that was also $0.66 a bottle. Don't worry; the expiration date on them is 2009 and I know we'll go through them.

Now this is our food storage room:

No Wonder We're Fat

Golden Corral is a really depressing restaurant. Actually, I think every buffet-style restaurant is depressing. There's an overabundance of food that is almost gluttonous. I feel badly for wanting to taste everything, but not finishing anything on my plate. So much food is needlessly discarded and it makes me feel badly.

My Light Lemonade

Diet Coke and Minute Maid Light Lemonade were on sale at Albertson's (5 for $12), so naturally, Brian and I spent over $100 on soda tonight. Brian drinks so much Diet Coke that it's economical for us to buy it when it's cheaper.

Unfortunately, they only had five 12-packs of lemonade. Since I planned on buying more, I asked the cashier for a raincheck.

"Can I please get five or six rainchecks?" I asked, knowing that she probably would say no.

"Sure!" Joann pleasantly replied.

Since there was a line behind me, Joann called over her manager and three baggers to fill out rain checks for me. It was a hilarious scene, might have caused an inconvenience to someone, but at least I got rain checks to buy 360 cans of lemonade!

The Smell of Home

The best way to remind me of home?

A Sunday dinner consisting of roast, mashed potatoes, and corn.

Sausage

I bought some sausage from this company today and it's so good! I put it in jambalaya and it was amazing!

An Evening in Happy Valley

Brian and I drove down to Provo to have dinner with Russell, my mother, and a friend of my mother and her children. We went to Provo's famous Mexican restaurant: Los Hermanos.

Barf! The food was disgusting and tasted much different from previous times I've been there. I think I've become very sensitive to Mexican food and find less-than-par food disgusting!

After dinner, we all went to the BYU creamery and it almost made up for a gross dinner. As we sat there, Brian and I noticed a group of eight girls and two boys. The boys acted feminine and I'd bet they were gay. However, I could tell they were BYU students.

Seeing them took me back to my time at BYU. I hope those boys will turn out okay.

Oink Oink Oink

As if one 250 calorie bag of peanut M&M's wasn't enough, I ate two. Then I felt sick.

As Cartman would say, "I'm a little piggy."

Half a Cow - Punky Brewster Style

I'm taking the next two days off from work because I wanted to have a Christmas break. Not going home this year, I didn't get my usual two weeks of doing nothing.

Today I went to Grantsville to get our cow. Okay, half of the cow since my uncle is getting the other half. I brought it back and now it fills half of our freezer. I can't wait to taste him the meat!

My Rice Disaster

The family Christmas party is tomorrow and I spent today making rice. It wasn't as easy as it sounds though. It was pretty much a disaster.

First, I tried making it in the rice cooker and adding tomatoes and stuff.

The rice was hard and undercooked and the whole things looked like a big mess. To the chagrin of African children, I threw this batch away.

Second, I tried making the rice on the stove and adding flavoring to it.

The flavor was bland, but at least the rice was cooked. I put them in two ziplock bags for tomorrow in case they are really needed.

Third, I ran to Albertsons, bought ten boxes of Rice-a-Roni, and cooked them all.

Needless to say, I'm serving this batch tomorrow.

I want cake!

I really wanted a cake so I made one. A chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake! I let the cake cool and then got some frosting. When I pulled back the foil on the frosting, I saw lots of oil at the top. Normally, chocolate frosting looks edible. I looked at the expiration date: November 2004.

"Should we eat it?" I asked Brian.

"It's up to you," he replied.

I really wanted to eat cake but I didn't want to go to the store. So I just mixed the frosting so I couldn't see the expired oil and frosted the cake.

It was delicious!

Knowing Me, Knowing You

I was going to mow Wendy's lawn tonight, but it started raining and Megan invited me to dinner at the Blue Iguana. I'm not known for refusing food OR refusing Blue Iguana.

Brian met up with us later since he had to run home to take Titus out.

I go to the restaurant so often that when we sat down, our server (and manager of the Blue Iguana) brought out a side of cheese that we always order to put into our salsa. When it came time to order, I didn't even tell him what I wanted as he already knew what I was going to order. I thought it was really cool!

Afterwards, Brian and I went to the Home Depot to pick out tile. We've decided that we're going to tile our kitchen, dining room, and living room (the first floor). I hate carpet, plus using tile will be less expensive.

Florida Day 2 - Dinner with Family

My family arrived tonight and it was nice to see them. We decided to go out to eat at a Salvadorean restaurant and they had really good pupusas.

Yummy Dessert

Brian made really, really good spaghetti tonight. It was nice to come home from work and have dinner ready. I told Brian that maybe I should be the lawyer and he can be the stay at home dad. He didn't like my suggestion.

I'm having a wine and cheese party tomorrow, so Brian and I moved some furniture to make more room for people in our living and dining room. We moved the futon into one of our rooms and it was really hard. We mistakenly banged up a wall we recently painted. I guess we'll have to do it again...

Strawberries and raspberries were on sale so we bought a ton of them (since we love them). I bought a four-pack of shortcake from the store and made one for me without realized that I had used two cakes. Also, I used all of the whipped cream for mine and didn't leave any for Brian. It was an accident, so Brian and I just shared the big one I made. It was yummy, though it made me a bit sick since I ate it so late.

 

 

I should put my T-Mobile phone in a Crockpot

I stayed at work all day since I didn't have any work to do at the house. It was my first full day back since I've been taking half days to work on the house.

Since we don't have an oven, I put a roast in the crockpot this morning and later came home to a wonderful, BBQ smell. I shredded the beef and put it on hamburger buns and it was delicious! I'm going to use the technologically advanced crockpot more often.

After we ate, Brian and I drove up to Roy, Utah, to pick up a washer and dryer from his Aunt and Uncle. When we get it hooked up, I want to see if I can do laundry all the time so we always have clean clothes. Plus, I want to iron Brian's work clothes so he doesn't have to anymore.

On the way back from Roy, my phone made the noise it does when someone has left me a voicemail. No one had called, so I was a bit confused as I started to listen to it:

"You have 4 new messages." Four new messages?

After I listened to my voicemails, three of which were from yesterday (and should have been returned yesterday), I received some text messages from May 1st and 2nd. I'm going to call T-Mobile and ask for a discount on my bill.

Chiles en Nogada

One of the biggest thing I was looking forward to before Mexico was the food. I love Mexican food and I've only increased my love for it living in Mexico. Every day after school, I know my walk home will end with a delicious meal that I wish my stomach had more room for. Mama never makes anything that Austin and I do not like.

That success ended today.

Mama served us, as she called it, an "authentic Mexican dish" that many Mexican's love. It's called Chiles en Nogada. From Wikipedia: "It consists of poblano peppers filled with "picadillo" (a mixture usually containing chopped or ground meat, dried fruit, aromatics, and spices) topped with a walnut-based cream sauce and pomegranate seeds, giving it the three colors of the Mexican flag (red, green, and white)."

While Austin quickly ate his, I had a really hard time. The only things that got me through it were the rice and beans that she gave us. Even with those additions, nuts in any food turn me off because of the texture and I gagged a few times.

Before I came to Mexico, I made a pact with myself that I would everything that was put in front of me. Today, I couldn't do it. I finished about half and then gave up because it was too hard. I figured that since I've eaten everything that Mama has made before today, she wouldn't be offended if I didn't finish my special Mexican dish.

El Templo de Mormon en Ciudad de Mexico

During conversation class, Sara Bridge said that she and the blonde Sarah were going to the Mexico City temple. Lauren said that she wanted to go also, so I told Sara that if Lauren went, I'd go. I ran home, made a lunch, got my camera, and met them on the main road Zapata.

On the bus ride, I sat next to Lauren and we talked about our insecurities. I really like Lauren because she'??s fun and easy to talk to. I hope we hang out in Utah.

After we got off the bus, we took the subway to a part of the city and then a taxi to the temple. We took some pictures and then went inside the visitors center.




While both Sara(h)'??s went to a session inside the temple, Lauren and I went into a room with a couch and TV to watch the new Joseph Smith movie the Mormon church just made. As I watched the movie, I asked myself a question: Do I believe in the Joseph Smith story? I answered yes. It'??s hard for me to even understand myself because of the awkward position I'??m in. Yes, I do believe that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus, yet I am not Mormon and believe that gay isn??t a sin. It'??s confusing to me and that??s probably why I don'??t like to think about it.

After the movie, Lauren and I walked around reading the signs in Spanish. We were actually able to read and understand them all. It was also a lot of fun.

When Sara and Sarah got back, we took a cab to the Mexico City airport to catch a bus to Cuernavaca. While in the airport, I saw a Cinnabon store and immediately bought one. We hadn'??t eaten dinner, so I saved it while we went to find food. As we looked, I found a Subway and got really excited! I haven??t had Subway in 2 months and ordered a meatball sub. It was so incredible! Then I ate my cinnabon which was fantastic! Yes, lots and lots of calories, but very good.


We got on the bus back to Cuernavaca and realized that we were sitting in the back of the bus in a special area separated from the rest of the bus by a door. We had our own room with 4 chairs facing each other with a table. We were all excited to be traveling 1st class.

As we drove home, Lauren pulled out my journal and started to read it. I don-t mind since I put most of what I wrote there on this blog. She found an entry about me buying stocks and then we started talking about stocks and financial stuff. They thought I knew lots about finances, and I guess I do, but it was fun to tell them the things that I do know.

I don'??t know why, but I told Sara Bridge about my business idea of family history interviews. Her face immediately lit up and she told me that she had the same idea. She told me that she's really good at the interviews, so I asked her if she would like to go into business together. She said she'??d love to and so we started talking about our idea. I'??m really excited because I didn't think I'??d achieve that goal (starting a business) this year-??now I will.

I'm going to Canada 3 days after I get back to Utah to help Sara do an interview with her grandma. I think this is going to be awesome!

Spring Break: Dia 7

Last night, I awoke in the middle of the night to pee. After I finished my business in the ocean, I looked up and saw the most amazing night sky. There were no lights to obscure the sky, therefore tons of stars appeared. The crashing of the waves made the whole experience incredible.

I woke up this morning with many mosquito bites. They were mostly on my back where the holes of the hammock exposed my skin. While I'm glad I slept in a hammock, I don't think I'll ever do it again. It's hard to get comfortably situated to sleep flat. Also, I froze last night because it was so cold! It kept waking up at all hours of the night.



After breakfast, I laid in my hammock and read "The Economist" and "National Geographic." I just relaxed and it was great. I can relax in a hammock--just not sleep in one.

I had to pee, so I ran into the ocean. I was wearing my new sunglasses and was facing the shore when a huge and unexpected wave engulfed me. When I came up, my glasses were gone. I tried looking for them for 10 minutes but gave up when my effort proved to be futile. I'm pissed because I bought them yesterday and this pair makes the second pair of sunglasses I've lost in Mexico. I don't think I can ever buy a pair of expensive sunglasses because I will probably lose them.



I took some pictures of Sam playing in the ocean that I'm going to give her when we get back to the states.

Sam and I played in the water with our inner tubes. It was a lot of fun, especially since the waves were so big. We started pretending that we were the Tube people of Mazunte and were trying to escape the island. Every time a huge wave came, we'd yell, "Watch out! It's a nose plugger!" in our Mazunte people accent that sounded British.

I'm so glad that I got to know Samantha really well on this trip. I told her that one of the reasons I like her so much is that she'll play pretend with me--something that no one else will. Too many people are grown up. Samantha also likes potty humor, so she and I are constantly making jokes about our brown eye. She and I are very similar and it will be fun to hang out with her in Utah. My only concern is that she'll want to hang out with her boyfriend all the time and won't be available to hang out with me. Hopefully, that won't be the case.

We had to leave to catch our bus back to Cuernavaca, so we started to get ready. I took a shower in a really nasty shower, but I was proud of myself that I did it! I've gotten used to nasty bathrooms here in Mexico. After my shower, my falda came in handy because I was able to get dressed in the open. I love my falda!


We took a truck back to an intersection where a bus picked us up to take us back to Puerto Escondito. We found a restaurant and ate dinner. I had a "Mexican steak" which basically is cut up meat doused in hot sauce. It was so incredibly good! Spicy, but good!

After dinner, I had to poop (since I didn't go in Mazunte) so I went to the restroom in the restaurant. Normally, I would never do such a thing, but I really had to go! To my surprise, it wasn't a big deal. Sure, there was pee on the seat and the floor was nasty, but I didn't care. Actually, I considered it a 5 star bathroom for Mexico. I think I'm getting over my fear of public restrooms.

We found our bus and rode to Acapulco. My left arm strangely hurt on the way there--badly enough that I wanted to rip it off. I've never experienced anything like it. Also, a federalli (federal Mexican police officer) stopped the bus and randomly asked people for ID. I would have slept right through it but Samantha woke me up because I was one of the lucky people that had to show ID.

(All my pictures from Spring Break can be seen here.)

Spring Break: Dia 5

Carla, Austin, and Logan woke up early to run on the beach and watch the early morning surfers. Sam and I had no interested in those things, so we slept in. We finally got ready and decided we wanted to have a simple, relaxing morning. We went to get breakfast and it was nice eating with just her.

Since today is my 3 year anniversary with Brian, I thought it would be nice of him to buy me some gifts. Samantha and I went to a surf shot to get new board shorts for me and I also bought some sunglasses. I normally wouldn't have bought them, but they were gifts from my sexy lover!

I got onto the internet to chat with Brian. I think its so weird that we've been together for 3 years! The time has flown by and I've enjoyed almost every minute of it. I know he and I will be together forever and I can't wait to start having 5 or 10 or 15 year anniversaries. I wish we would get married, I really do. I don0t want to be like those couples that are together for 7 years and then decide to get married. Actually, all I want is a ring on my left finger. Simple and satisfying.

After an hour of talking to him, Carla found Samantha and I and said they were leaving to go to another beach. When I asked her if they could wait, she said no. I thought it was a little rude not to wait, but she gave us instructions on how to get there.

Samantha and I finished on the internet and found our way to the beach Carazararilla. I wanted to play in the waves, but my sunburn hurt. I decided to just have fun (my sunburn wasn't that bad) so I covered myself in sunscreen and went out. Samantha and I had tubes we blew up and had a blast! The waves brought us to the shore as we rode them, then they dragged us back into the ocean. I laughed and laughed because I was having sucha great time. Samantha and I acted goofy the whole time.

We spent the whole day there and after sunset, we went back to town to get something to eat. We went to the resturant we ate breakfast in and I ordered 2 plates of spaghetti. I normally wouldn't have done that, but it was my anniversary and I had to eat a plate for Brian.

After dinner, I went to check my email and lost everyone in the group. It was early (about 9pm) and I wasn't ready to go to bed, so I got my National Geographic magazine. I sat on a bench in a public area and read a really cool article on a civil war naval battle that occured on March 8th. I really liked reading in public by myself, especially the atmosphere, and I want to do it in Salt Lake when I return.

Spring Break: Dia 4

I really wanted to tan today, so instead of sunscreen, I put on tanning lotion. sure, good idea, but not for 3 hours! I made sure to put it on every hour, but I'm red and burnt right now. I guess you aren't supposed to tan that long. It sucks cause tomorrow I will have to wear a shirt all day.

Samantha and I made a sandcastle that had a really high wall facing the ocean. We had fun building it cause we're both like little kids. After we built it, I found a dead, headless fish that washed up on the shore. I took it, put it into our castle, and proclaimed him king. It was really funny to see people who walked by take a double take and realize they were looking at a dead, headless fish.

After that, I found a beach chair and read "The Economist" for about 30 minutes. It was so relaxing! Everyone stared to play in the ocean, so I put down my magazine and joined them.

As I was playing in the waves, I saw a girl on the beach wave to me. It was Beth, so I came out of the water to talk to her. TJ and Lauren arrived 5 minutes later and invted us to the place where they were staying. I honestly didn't want to go because the three of them had been smoking pot and I didn't want to be around that. I guess no one in our group felt the same way and we started walking toward their beach.

Samantha and I were walking the slowest behind everyone becase we were enjoying the walk on the beach. She started singing and I asked her if she knew Moulin Rouge. When she said she did, we started singing duets from the movie (just like Ashley Obray and I used to do). We thought of other musicals to sing and then moved on to Disney songs. I had a blast! Samantha is so much fun!

When we finally got to their beach 20 minutes later, I took a look at the place. It was full of hippie like people who were just sitting around and talking about stupid stuff. It was really dirty and there were cabanas for people to stay. The place reminded me of the movie, "The Beach" because the atmosphere was the same. When I commented to Carla, Samantha, and Lauren that I don't like hippies, they all jumped on me and told me not to be judgemental. I rolled my eyes because they were stupid.

Earlier in the day, my Wal*Mart board shorts tore at the crotch and left a small hole. When it happenned, I made sure to be careful that I kept modest. But after awhile, I forgot about it and was quickly reminded of the hole when all of a sudden Carla yelled, "Jesse, your ball is showing!" I looked down and saw one of my testicles hanging out of my board shorts. I should have been embarrased, but I wasn't. I put my ball back inside and promised to remember that I had a hole in my shorts.

We were all hungry, so we found a resturant on the beach. When we asked for a menu, the lady said, "Fish." Someone asked if there was chicken, but she responded, "Fish." No one from our group wanted to stay, but we did because some Norwegians came and sat with us. They were all high and acted stupid. Once the sun set, our group said goodbye and we went back to downtown Puerto Escondito to get something to eat besides fish.






We found a restaurant and sat down. As we were talking, Logan said something and I responded, "You don't make sense!" Immediatly, Beth looked at me and said, "Jesse, you are so rude sometimes." Logan added, "Yeah, sometimes you can be cruel." I tried to defend myself so I could explain.

I ordered spaghetti and it was so great! I haven't eaten spaghetti in ages, so after I ate it, I realized how much I miss Brian's spagetti. I can't wait to eat it again!

After dinner, Samantha, Logan, and I went back to the hostel. Elizabeth went home and Austin and Carla went out. As we sat around, Samantha made a bagel with her belly fat and we all started laughing. She also showed us a scrotum. I joined in with my belly fat and made things. We were all laughing hysterically and I finished with rolling dough and making bread with my stomach fat. We kept laughing and laughing.

Varias Cosas

I sent an email this morning to Dad wishing him a happy birthday. It was all in espaol and I received a quick reply from him in espaol. It was really cool.

I also sent a birthday postcard to my ex-boyfriend Tanner. I hope he likes it.

Andrew and Beth, in grammer class, said they've noticed that I've lost weight. Andrew says I look "stronger." I hope they are right!

I feel that my Spanish is getting better. I'm able to understand a lot more and can actually talk. I know my Spanish is better than it was 4 weeks ago.

I send an email in Spanish to Mom every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to practice my Spanish. Today, I received her reply to my Monday email. I had to read it a couple of times, but I understood it. That's so much better than before!

When I call Brian, I've usually had to use a $10 phone card at a public phone for only 30 minutes. Today, Mam said that people can call us here at the house! I'm excited because it will be a lot cheaper and I won't have to buy phone cards--only my family and Brian will!

I'm having these stupid feelings right now that no one here likes me. I feel like people don't want to be around me cause I'm boring, annoying, etc. I hate feeling this way! After I worked out and spent some energy, those feelings diminished. I hope (and rationally think) that I'm wrong.

Tonight, Beth, TJ, Logan C., Ana, Austin, and I went to Domino's pizza. Its 2x1 day, so we ordered 4 large pizzas. I scarffed down 6 pieces--I know, I shouldn't have, but it was so good! I haven't had pizza in 3 months. A little America never hurt anyone, right?

Zihuatanejo Day 2

I awoke this morning feeling really sick and it made it even worse that I wasn't at home where I feel comfortable. I really dislike being or feeling sick in an uncomfortable place. I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. The bathroom felt like a sauna and the heat didn't help my upset stomach. I downed some Pepto Bismol and went back to bed for 30 more minutes.

We ate breakfast at a place that advertised waffles. After we ordered, it took about 45 minutes before we realized (at least those that ordered waffles) that we were still waiting for our food. When we asked the waitress, she told us that there weren't any waffles available. It was so annoying, but I guess in Mexico, people don't like to disappoint so they'd rather not say anything. After ordering some bisquets, I realized how glad I am to be an American!

The plan for Zihuatanejo was to arrive on Friday morning and leave Sunday night. We made the plan wanting to spend as much time on the beach as possible (before knowing what there was to do). The plan changed this morning with some people wanted to leave tonight and some wanted to stick with the original plan. I wanted to leave tonight, mostly because I felt a little sick. We went to the bus station and bought tickets.

We went to the beach (the first beach we arrived at yesterday morning) and played for about 2 hours in the waves. I had a blast, but drank lots of salt water on accident. For about 20 minutes, i walked away from the group and sat by myself in the sand. As the waves kept hitting me, I thought of how much I wanted Brian right next to me. We'd be holding hands, laughing, and just having a great time being together. I really missed him as I sat by myself.

For the next two hours, we made sandcastles, actually Mexican pyramids. Our whole group got into it and we had a great time.

Everyone got hungry, so we left the beach and walked to find a resturant. I badly needed to go to the bathroom, so I went back to the hostel to do my buisness and drink more Pepto Bismol. I quickly met up with them at the resturant and ordered a hamburger.

It was about 5pm when we wandered to another beach in Zihuatanejo. The sand at this beach was the best--smooth and no large rocks. Everyone got into the ocean to play, but I forgot my swimsuit because I changed my clothes when I went to the hostel to poo. I really wanted to get in, so I just took off my shorts and swam in my underwear. Everyone laughed and I was a little embarrased.

It's Valentines day soon, so I wrote messages in the sand and took pictures of them to send to Brian. I wrote a "I heart you", an "I miss you" and "J+B" encircled in a heart. I hope he likes them.

We played in the ocean as the sunset and it was so perfect--so perfect! It was a perfect moment that I want to do with Brian someday.

Once the sunset, Samantha, Logan, Carla, and I skinny dipped under the moonlight. It was really fun and very freeing.



We packed up our stuff and walked back to the hostel. My legs were chaffed, so I had to hold my pants up the whole time to prevent the skin from touching.

When we got back to the hostel, people took showers and changed clothes (I didn't shower because I'd rather stay dirty than take a shower in the disgusting bathroom). Everyone wanted to go to dinner, so we waited for people to finish.

Unfortunatly, some people didn't wait long enough and wanted to eat immediatly. Without telling everyone else, Andrew, Austin, Logan, TJ, and Carla left. I wanted to eat, but I also wanted to wait for everyone else. It was a hard decision, but I decided that I'd rather eat than lose them (and not eat).

I wonder if the group dynamic has changed. Andrew gave me a really lame excuse about leaving so suddenly for dinner-"Everyone was just sitting around"- well, yes, because we were waiting for people to get out of the shower and get ready to go. It really annoyed me. When we finally found a resturant to eat at (and when the others finally found us), Carla, Austin, and Andrew sat at their own table.

The group that was leaving went to the bus station and took a bus back to Cuernavaca.

(All my Zihuatanejo pictures can be seen here.)

Coja una Botella del Agua !

I had a Spanish test this morning and I think I did pretty well. There were some sections that were hard.

I found out that Elizabeth and Lauren aren't coming to Zihuatanejo with us. I hate when people make plans to do something and then change it. I really wanted them to come along.

This afternoon, I felt a little sick but got over it in time for lunch. After 3 weeks, I finally had my first "bad" or "less than tasty" meal. It was soup with chicken and vegetables. I'm not a big soup (or vegetable) fan so I was less than thrilled to eat it.

After Austin and I worked out and packed, we took a taxi to the bus station. Austin and I were hungry, so we walked next door to the KFC and ate some chicken and mashed potatoes. I was disappointed that they didn't have baked beans.

I tried falling asleep on the bus, but it was difficult since it wasn't a bed. I finally did fall asleep but all of a sudden, I woke up with a water bottle in my hand. I thought it was mine, but it wasn't. After I investigated a little, I figured out what happenned: above the seats were places for luggage. Above me was a partially open backpack with a water bottle sticking out of it. When the bus hit a bump, the water bottle fell and I caught it. It was really weird!

Churros no son bueno una da viejo!

Yesterday, when Austin and I went to the Superrama to buy some Aloe Vera for our sunburns, I bought 20 churros to share with my friends at school today. This morning, when I gave them away, I learned a valuable lesson--churros are not good when they are one day old. About 2 hours after I ate one, I felt sick and the feeling continued the whole day.

I went to work out with Austin, but I didn't work out very hard because I didn't feel well.

Tonight, I was really cold after my shower so I put on a hoodie. I stayed cold and kept it on when I went to bed, only to take it off an hour later. I hate the hot/cold game game when you're sick. It's not at all fun.

I also called Brian. It was wonderful to hear his voice.

Roid, Cell Phones, and Indecisiveness

My friend Roid, as Austin calls it, is back. I discovered him last night in the shower and he really caused me pain this morning. After class, and during what should have been my next class, Austin walked with me to the Superrama to get some Preperation H suppositories. They didn't have any cheap generic brand, so I had to spend $16 USD on a brand name product. While at the store, I bought some churros and donuts.

The donuts were supposed to last all weekend, but when I got back to class, people were hungry so I gave my food to them. I wanted them for myself, but I wanted to give them away more.

One big problem in Mexico, at least for me, is not having a cell phone. If we want to make plans with other people, we have to plan ahead and arrage to meet at certain places at certain times. Yes, very old school.

Tonight, instead of making plans, Tmas was going to call everyone at 6pm. Austin and I waited for the call and by 8pm, we decided that we weren't going to hang out with him. As we were about to leave the house for the zocalo, Mam insisted that we stay for tamales. She invited 7 other women over for a fiesta and said there was plenty of food. Austin and I decided to stay and ate yummy tamales. They were so good! It was actually the first time I've had tamales in my entire life! Austin and I spent the next hour and a half talking about life and stuff. It was really cool.

Angelita finally called us and told us that everyone was meeting at a certain bar in a part of the city. We left the house at 9:15, caught a cab, and drove up to the bar just as our friends were leaving. They said that the bar was too loud. We walked up the street and found another bar. We sat down for 3 minutes before someone said that the music was too loud and wanted to leave. Their indecisiveness drove me nuts (especially since we sat down already) so I kinda got upset. We left the bar and found a quiet one that was really cool. We only spent about an hour and a half there since we didn't want to stay out too late.

Beth and I being cool
I was kissing a Angelita on the lips, but Sara, who took the picture, totally missed it. I think the resulting picture is hilarious!

My first day of school

I thought waking up at 7am would be harder, but it wasn't. I actually woke up naturally before the alarm went off. Austin y yo got ready, ate breakfast, y mam took us to school - our primir dia de escuela (our first day of school).

We went to a classroom where we waited for everything to start. While we were waiting, I captured the attention of the whole class by telling someone across the room how we watched The Bodyguard. I even said, "Me gusta la cancion (I like the song), (singing with a Spanish accent) And I will always love you!" Everyone laughed and thought it was funny. I probably looked like a big dork.

Then we were taken to the computer lab where we took a written Spanish exam. I didn't know the imperfect or predirite conjugations, but I thought I did pretty well. We then went back to the classroom.

When I got my examen back, I saw that I did horribly. Immediatly, I was taken to a professor where I had an oral examen. I bombed it. The professor said that I needed a lot of review.

As I walked back to the classroom, I felt like a failure. I wanted to be by myself so I could wallow in my self pity. I wanted to be angry with myself, but I also realized that being mad at myself accomplishes nothing. It was hard to know the right thing to do and not want to do it. I expressed my frustration to Austin and he was a good listener.

We received our schedules and found that Austin y yo were in the same classes. I think this going to be really nice. We'll really bond because of it.

Oh! I was also frustrated because I lost my sunglasses- my nice Oakley ones. So as I was frustrated for being stupid, I also felt like an idiot cause I lost my glasses. It's the first day of school! I will look tomorrow to see if someone turned them into the lost and found.

The professor in my first class was very nice. Talking to him en espaol really put me at ease because I could talk to him.

After his class, I did what I've wanted to do for the last 3 days--check my email! I told someone that internet access is like a cocaine addiction for me. It was so nice to go to yahoo.com and read my email. I wrote a quick email to mis familia y amigos to let them know everything was okay.

My second and third classes are conversation classes. Well, kinda. A professor just teaches and we repeat everything he says.

At 2pm, class ended and Austin y yo walked to the gimnasio to check out prices. It's going to be $550 pesos a month ($55 USD), but it will be worth it if I can lose some weight before I go back to Utah. A person's body can really change in tres mesas!

While in my second class, some classmates found out I was gay because I mentioned my boyfriend. One girl thought it was cool, another girl said she knew because I said that I like singing and dancing.

Anyway, we walked back to our casa where Mam made spicy meatballs with arroz y frijoles--and tortillas! I love having tacos every dia! The food made Austin y yo sleepy, so we took a nice siesta that lasted until 4:45pm.

I had to poop, but I also can't poop in public places because, well, I'm poop shy. Anyway, it took alot to poop in the bathroom when Austin could hear me, but I did it and was proud of myself. Yes, I was proud that I made a poopy.

We walked back to la escula donde we used the computadores. I updated by blog y read some others. Austin needed to go to la tienda por the ATM, so we walked to el supermarcado. We browsed the aisles and it was interesting to see American brands en espaol. I'll have to take a picture.

When we walked out of el supermarcado, it was dark. Luckily, we bought some churros y pan to keep us company. We went back to school where I downloaded pictures from my cmara. Hay no CD burner so I don't know how I'll save all my pictures. Hay un amigo who said I could download all my pictures on his laptop, but I take too many for his 20GB hard drive. We'll see...

I'm really feeling my sunburn. My arms and neck hurt. At least it created a base tan so I won't get burnt again--at least I hope so.

My first day of school picture!

Arriving in Cuernavaca

Megan bought me this journal for Christmas because she thought I wouldn't have internet access to write on my blog. While the school I'm going to in Mexico has computers, I thought that I would be able to access them every day. I don't know if that's true any longer.

I'm lying on my new bed in my new house where I will live for the next eleven weeks. I'm excited to be here but I miss the familiarity of home. I'm in a nuevo country, learning a nuevo language, living in a nuevo house and have a nuevo roommate. I'm more excited now than I was this maana.

I woke up at 5am and got in the shower. I had packed everything last night so all I had to do this morning was dress, brush my teeth, and leave. My plan and preparation worked and Brian and I got to the airport at 5:45am for my 7:15am flight.

We met my roommate Austin and his girlfriend Melissa at the airport check-in. She was cute. Austin took meeting Brian as, well, nothing much to write about. We checked our bags and walked to the security checkpoint and I said goodbye to Brian. I'm going to miss him alot but I'm glad I'm going. Our goodbye was not very long, as oppsed to Austin's and Melissa's.

In the airport terminal, I met our fellow travellers. I'm really trying hard to follow Megan's advice: be yourself! The Jesse I am said hello to everyone and tried to make everyone feel at ease.

The plan ride was uneventful. It was great sitting next to Austin and getting to know him better. We flew to Phoenix and then to Mexico City.



Austin and I at the Phoenix Airport toasting our trip!

Me eating the oatmeal cookes that Megan and Mckenna made me. I shared them and everyone really liked them!

Look at those exchange rates!

One of the coolest things I saw was the smog above Mexico City. I'd heard about how bad it was, but it was awesome to actually see it in person. It looks like a dense fog.

After getting through customs and baggage claim (where I took pictures and was scolded by la policia to stop), we boarded a bus to Cuernavaca. I got sick on the ride, but only a little.

We arrived at the school and sat in a classroom. One by one, they called our names and announced who our new families were going to be. I was really nervous because this was my "new" family who I'll spend the next 11 weeks with.

When our names were called and I saw the woman who was going to take us in, I approached her with open arms and kissed her cheek. It was a proper Mexican welcome. She drove us to her home. My limited espaol made it hard to communicate, but we managed. She showed us our small but clean room and started to make dinner. We had chicken with cactus and rice. It was very good.

After speaking with our limited Spanish, we went upstairs to get ready for bed. Oh! When Mam showed us the bao, we noticed a sign. It had some warnings on it about the toilet. We had no idea what it said, so we asked her. She told us that toilet paper couldn't be flushed down the toilet.

Tonight, Austin made me laugh as he told me how hard that was going to be. He went to the bathroom and explained that it was hard. After he took a shower, I jumped in and noticed that the drain was crappy. As the shower filled, Austin knocked on the door and told me to unplug the drain. I felt like an idiot.

At least there is hot water. That was my #1 concern.

Cavities and Tacos!

I went to the dentist this morning because I missed my 6 month appointment. Going to Dr. Graham, as opposed to other dentists, is quite fun. Not only do you get a parafin wax hand treatment and face massage, Dr. Graham is hot and his whole staff is made up of beautiful people. What more could a dental patient ask for?

Unfortunately, a patient could ask for no cavities. Dr. Graham told me that I had 4 cavities and needed to schedule an appointment for another day. When I told him that I was going to Mexico on Saturday, he told me that he'd try to fit me in later in the day. After I left, he called and I went back to take care of my teeth. This is the second time in my life I've had cavities. It really sucks.

I told Leah that we'd get together but I found myself pressed for time. Since today was the last day with friends, I called Megan, Scott, and Leah to see if they wanted to go to dinner at the Red Iguana. They all agreed and they met my family and I there at 8pm.

Leah went to the same town doing the same program in Mexico two years ago, so I was interested in asking her all my questions. She brought her friend Dave who also went to Mexico with her. After sitting down, Dave asked Brian and I, "So, are you guys in an open relationship?" Brian and I were both surprised and Brian quickly answered by saying, "No" in a condesending way. I also said, "Even if we were, that's not really an appropriate question to ask someone you've just met."

After dinner, Mom, Russell, Brian and I went to an ice cream shop across the street and chilled.

Dinner and Games

Tonight, my Mom, Russell, Brian and I went to my Mom's friend house. She's the woman who we went to church with on Sunday. She's really nice, and even though I don't know her, I really enjoy being around her.

Probably the funniest thing that happenned was my mother walking into the house. On her first step on the hardwood floors, the snow on her heels caused her to nosedive toward the floor. After making sure she wasn't hurt, I started laughing! It was hilarious!

Mrs. Lovell made a fantastic dinner that I loved! Then we played board games and ate dessert.

The combination of food and games is one of my most favorite things to do. And physical humor...