Week 2

So last Sunday I went to this café/restaurant called ‘La Pasteleteria’ for lunch. So as we walked in at 13.30 we got handed the menus. While checking the menu’s we noticed that it said ‘desayunos’ (breakfast). We told the waitress that she must have been mistaken as she should have handed us the lunch menu. And do you know what? They told us that lunch started at 2PM. Can you believe? Not even hotels serve breakfast until 2pm hahaha. They said that because it was a Sunday people would wake up later and that is why there was an extended time of breakfast serving. Hard to believe but oh well I enjoyed my second breakfast with some chocolate milk and chorizo scrambled eggs.

Furthermore it has been impossible for me to sleep, I wake up at least 3 times every night desperate for some cold air but the second I turn it off I feel like I can’t breathe. I am really hoping this will pass by soon even though they told me the temperatures are still rising in August, help!! Besides that I finally accommodated my stuff in my room. I have a HUGE bed, a balcony, own bathroom and sort of walk in closet. I have also been eating tortillas 4 times a day because I did not have any other food. Speaking about food, Monday I was desperate for some sweets and as someone told me there was an OXXO (like a 7eleven) close by I decided to look for it. I walked next to the road where lots of cars were driving quite fast. Not wanting to be run over I walked on the grass/sandy part next to the road which was by the way full of dead animals. I went on for a long while and did not see anything until 35 minutes later. When I ended up at a shopping mall which my parents and I had visited the other day. By car. Totally exhausted and overheated I entered the supermarket and spent a good 10 minutes in the meat and fish area as it was full of cold air and ice cubes. Then I proceeded to the ‘Pan Dulce’ (sweet bread) section and picked a few yummie things. After I paid I still had a long way to go. When I finally got home one of my housemates told me that I should have gone left instead of right and the Oxxo would have been at 1 minutes. Super!

Tuesday I had an appointment at an acupuncture center to continue my treatment. I decided to take a taxi as I was not planning on walking an hour in the heat again. Locals had told me that it should cost me 50 pesos max. Well everything good the taxi took me to the place and as I asked how much I had to pay he took a good look and said ‘100’. Can you believe? Even though I spoke Spanish he still considered me a tourist. I asked him like what the hell? But yep I will need to throw in some Mexican Spanish street slang in there next time. On the way back I decided to look for a bus stop, and to only find out after I walked again in to the wrong and waaaay longer direction. As I walked at 9AM it was already a good 30 degrees and again no sidewalks. After a while a big car stopped next to me, a woman asked me if I was heading for the main road. I nodded and she told me to get in as the road was quite rough. Not knowing what I was doing I just stepped in the car and within 3 seconds I had 1 dog on my lap 1 dog at my feet and 1 dog sniffing my arm. I told her I was heading for the bus stop and she then offered to drop me off at home. She even gave me her number if I ever needed a ride. Seriously, how nice are people? Later that day our house got a new housemate! Fenja from Holland  So now I am living with two girls from Costa Rica and a Dutchie.

That night the guy who helped us get the house took as to a typical Mexican food place called ‘Las Palapas’. It is basically a big open square filled with palapas were you could sit under while enjoying Mexican food and drinks from the 100 food stands around it. There was also some live Mexican music playing. It was hard for me to sit still haha. After that they took us to an art exhibition of really nice handmade things, also tattoos. We then sat in the underground hipster café attached to it with lots of fairy lights everywhere. Really cool!

Wednesday was our first day at school, we all received t-shirts and it was an introduction day. We went from class room to class room where we got told what kind of activities we could do at school. Also there was a field for sports etc. Students can do those to earn points which they need to pass their year. We were so impressed with everything the school organizes! There was salsa, music lessons, theater, charity work, social programs, all kinds of sports, committees for several conventions and my personal favourite; scuba diving! So guess what I will be signing up for? Hopefully! So after a lot of information we had lunch and then all the non-Cancun students came together. A lot were from other Mexican cities but there were also people from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, El Salvador, Dominican Rebublic, Ecuador, Costa Rica and many more!

Thursday Fenja and I went to Xcaret tower in Cancun, it’s a scenic tower that shows you an a-ma-zing view of the city, all the different colours of the sea and the lagoon with crocs! After that we decided to check out some of those beaches however they were all behind hotels. We entered this fancy hotel and walked to the beach, there were even empty seats! We were surprised on how easy that was but soon someone from the hotel came over and asked to see our key. We pretended to had forgotten it, he then asked our room number on which we answered with a random number. Long story short; we ended up sitting under a palm tree haha. But we still swam in the water which was sooooo pretty! We then had lunch at a place called ‘Natura’ which made all of its food and drinks with natural fresh products. I ordered a strawberry, pineapple, orange juice and I have been craving it ever since! We then went to another beach. It is actually in front of a beach club. Walking towards the beach you could already here the loud music from the club. It’s called ‘Mandala beach club’. You basically pay 300 pesos (20 euros) and get a bed on this big platform with pools etc. on the beach. You get your money 'back' through ordering 'free' drinks. It’s a place for lots of young people which was really nice! But we decided to find a place on the beach. We even found a closed parasol so we were super happy! However 10 minutes later we were again sitting on our towels in the burning sun. Turns out you had to pay 20 dollars for it -.-. Oh well we stayed there for a while and went for a swim. After we went to an outside shopping centre called La Isla. We got some frozen yoghurt and sat down to watch the pretty sunset colours by the mini harbour. On the way back we had to take 2 busses. At home we got ready as we were going out that night with a Mexican friend Fenja knew. We went to a Mezcal bar where we tasted a nice Mezcal juice with cucumber and lemon. Mezcal tastes a bit like tequila as it is made from the same source. After we went to a ‘small club’ as it was ladies nigh we didn’t have to pay! It was full of Mexican people which was really nice, a place where locals hang out! I loved the interior of the club. All the lights were like jars with a light bulb in it and it was decorated with old wood and nice figures, a little hipster place. The music was also really nice! Kind of like European music but with some Spanish songs in between. Loved it!

Friday we went to school to choose our classes for next week as classes start then. Then we went with a friend to our close by shopping mall Las Americas where we went to the cinema and saw ‘Paper Towns’ which we really liked! We went shopping and suddenly it was already 21.30. We went home and had dinner. Today I am just going to relax a bit and tomorrow we might go to the beach!

P.S. Last night was the first solid night I’ve had since I’ve been here! Didn’t wake up once! Which does not mean I am used to the heat. I have been buying lots of sleeveless shirts.

P.P.S. Me and Fenja have received many nationalities since we have been here; German, French, Brazilian, American, South African, Danish and someone asked her if she was Russian????? Amazing

P.P.P.S We have a pet iguana. She, Lizzy, has been living around our garden for a few days such a cutie! We are trying to feed her tuna (fruit from a cactus) because we could not figure out how to eat it ourselves.