Look! Pictures!!!

http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/asoconnell/

So that is my Photobucket site that I will be using to upload pictures.  It told me yesterday on facebook that it would take 10 hours to upload my pictures and, after I waited for an hour and it said 9 more, I decided to forget that.  Also, vox won't let me upload pictures because the connection seems to be slow, so I'll just do it through that site!

Anyway, today has been pretty good.  I've been able to relax today after class and just gradually do my homework, which is a nice pace compared to the past few days where we've been constantly running around! 

This morning, I woke up and had breakfast.  It's funny because, since my housemom has realized that I can't eat heavy foods at breakfast, she's been giving me a plate of fruit, which is always amazing.  Then, Allison and I went to school and made it there safely; I think we've really got this "public transportation" thing under control.  At school, we took our Mammal taxonomy quiz, which I think went well.  After this, I had Spanish class.

In Spanish class, we learned numbers, verbs, some gramatical words, and, best of all, how to go to a place and meet guys (while speaking only in Spanish, of course!).  It was pretty interesting not only doing this as an exercise, but seeing the opinion of my Mexican teacher and how Mexican culture approaches meeting guys haha.

After Spanish, I was able to convert 1/2 of my U.S. dollars into pesos, which was good because after the bus this morning, I had absolutely no pesos left!  We then had our culture class and learned about how, in Mexican culture, guys will pay for a trio to go and serenade the women that they are interested in.  Roger said that, for one song, it costs 50 pesos (or 5 dollars U.S.), but because the entire neighborhood watches and listens to the serenade, the guy will often purchase at least a 1/2 hour's worth of music, or about 500 pesos ($50).  If he does not go "all out," the neighbors will think that the guy is poor, so it seems to me as though it is a form of flattery for the girl, in addition to a status symbol for the guy!

We then returned to our homestay and have just been sitting here relaxing.  I was able to catch up with some friends from home online, too, and it was so nice to just be able to talk to some of them for a while! 

Tonight, I will probably just study some Spanish with my CDs that my dad bought me over Thanksgiving break (I told you I'd use them!!!!), and then go to bed early because I am EXHAUSTED!

Enjoy the pictures!

Hastas manana!  I love you all!

-Ashley