Hasta Pronto Cuernavaca!

Well guys,
I sit here writing the very last post of mine for my time down here. This doesn't mean I don't have more stories or tons more fotos to share, but its the last time I do it from Cuernavaca... for now. Oh the effect of putting "..." somewhere. What tension. And drama. Anyways, I digress. It has been absolutely awesome studying down here, learning culture and language. I'm not definitely not fluent, but I've learned enough to finally be able to converse with people and Spanish and actually have the courage to do so, which was probably the hardest part. And I know I've made a ton of progress, had I not come here, I may have graduated from UNT with a minor and Spanish and have no clue how to speak it. But I came, saw, conquered, and got my diploma from Uninter so its official, I'm done. And that means I'm done with undergrad. Quite a way to go out I'd say. Thank you so much to all of you that have checked out my blog and seen how I see the world, and how I see the people and places of Mexico. What a beautiful journey I've taken. I would also like to mention how beautiful this trip has been in other ways. God has shown me my strength by allowing me to face temptation in a foreign place, and just stand firm for what I believe. Here now is a completely different man, and one that now is stronger and wiser, because he knows himself deeper, and knows how much he has to learn. May I be able to pass this strength to those that need it, and may I support my family with this as well. I love you guys, I love you Ayns, and I love my Lord! Rock on, and I will be chatting with most of you soon. Hasta pronto,
-jason

Mucha Lucha

So we went to Lucha Libre the other night, it was pretty crazy, and I'm definitely glad that I experienced some more cultura mexicana. We were in the nosebleed section and couldn't move, which makes me wonder if there are fire codes here. Probably not. Anyways, we went and chilled at Las Estacas yesterday, and Chris and I even went snorkeling - it makes me want to get some underwater equipment, maybe a bag or something. Today is just relaxing and maybe some karaoke, and maybe some studying too, who knows. Enjoy!

Adorable self-portrait.

The crush.

Short on Words

Murals by Diego Rivera.


Iglesia in DF. It was originally built on very poor soil, since DF is a dry lake bed, so it is sinking and falling apart constantly. Thus they are constantly working on it.

Cool Statue in the Musuem of Anthropology (I still can't say Anthropology in Spanish, too much of a tongue twister. At least I can ask where the bathrooms are).

That's about all I got. I'm done writing for now, this weekend will just be chill. And with that, I will be back in the States next Friday. Have fun, I know I will.
-jason

Relajado en Las Estacas

Ayer (yesterday) we went to Las Estacas, which is a beautiful spring-fed river/water park place. The scenery made you feel like you were in the middle of a jungle somewhere (maybe that's why they filmed Tarzan here back in the day), and there were tons of things to swing on or jump off of. Look and see.Chris diving like a maniac off one of many spots. The water was incredibly clear, you could see the bottom everywhere, and it was very cool and oh so refreshing. Good times.

One of the swings we could jump off of. You started from a stump and either stood or sat on it, and when you swung out over the river, you jumped. Muy divertida.

Area where we picnicked/napped/sunburned. Not me though. I bronze.

This my friends, would be the view I had while dozing in the afternoon sun. Not exactly Texas but it will do.

Taxco

So, fuimos a Taxco el Domingo pasado, and it was a beautiful city, with a beautiful iglesia, beautiful vistas, and plata (silver). Definitely a fun place to walk around, but enough chat, because we all know you just want fotos.
-jasonJust a view of the city. It had really narrow streets, as it wasn't exactly built for coches. However an interesting observation: nearly all the vehicles in Taxco are either Volkswagen minibuses or bugs, both of which you can see here.

I find umbrellas to be interesting. Anyone from the Star might remember a somewhat similar shot via Hassy.

Beautiful vista from the restaurant we ate at.

Oh by the way, I like tile too.

On the way out, this place was really pretty and very friendly.

Looks Like We Made It...

This is the piramide de la luna, which is the smaller of the two piramides we ascended, but it still packed a punch. Apparently the pyramids at Teotihuacan are only bested in size by those in Egypt. This ancient civilization would build these piramides, and every so many years, they would add to them, which is how they got to be so grand. Definitely a cool place to check out, and obviously there were a ton of people that felt the same way. Still good though.

Here's life at the base of la luna. Though there is much of these structures intact, alot of it has been reconstructed so that turistas can get some idea of what these things looked like a few thousand years ago.

These are the largest yucca plants I've ever seen, they looked like plants that got hit with the same stuff as the Ninja Turtles (anyone?) and were about six feet tall for the most part. Apparently the natives can make just about anything out of them, from clothes to tequila. Pretty impressive, as I don't know how to make either one out of anything.

Random cacti that I liked.

Now this is the big boy piramide, el piramide del sol. Very tall, very thin air, and the steps are ridiculously steep. The steps were originally designed so that worshippers had to walk up them sideways, as they were not to look directly at their dios. Interesting design concept to say the least.

This is me right before I jumped off the piramide. Hardcore.

Our guia told us if we rubbed this plant together and smelled it, it would help you adjust to the high altitude more easily, and make you learn Spanish faster. Note the amount of hands that quickly went for it. And to be fair, I did the same right after taking the photo.

Cool artifacts, these people knew how to carve stuff.

The Teotihuacan were a very ancient peoples, and used up their resources here and eventually had to abandon the city. It is said the Aztec found the city later and assumed the city had been built by the gods, as they didn't think any human could build structures so huge. And with that, I'm out. Hopefully you've enjoyed thus far, I'll have some more pics soon. Gotta please the masses. As always, que tengas un buen dia.
-jason