A Sombrero From A Stranger in Teotihuacan
Trip Start
Jul 04, 2010
1
7
31
Trip End
Aug 15, 2010
León, Guanajuato, Mexico
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Today was our first excursion on the trip. I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready. I had packed mostly everything last night so I wouldn't wake Holly this morning (she is not going on the excursion because she already went to Teotihuacán with the first semester program students). I got ready in a half hour and was ready to leave by about 5:30. Magda, my host mom, made me a lunch this morning and drove me to meet the students so we could leave for Teotihuacán. We all boarded a huge tour bus and took off for the pyramids. I was very thankful that we each got two seats to ourselves! It made the ride very comfortable. I worked on my homework for about an hour or two on the way there. I read about some Latin American singers for my music class. The reading in Spanish isn’t so bad, and I do know most of the words, it is just slow going. It takes me at least an hour to read five pages. ICK. Anyway, I did my homework and then I got tired, so I took about a 2 hour nap. It was good to be rested.
We arrived to Teotihuacán at around 11 a.m. When we got there, Alma, the program director, gave us directions and told us a little about the history of Teotihuacán. It was built before Mexico City was established, likely by the Aztec people. There are three pyramids there: Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, Pyramid of the Moon, and Pyramid of the Sun. We climbed each of them to see the view. Again, I have to say that the view was absolutely spectacular. It was clearly one of the most beautiful sights I have been privileged to see. What a blessing it was, too, that there was no rain today. It has rained every single day since I’ve been here, but today was sunny with a few clouds and not a drop of rain in sight. It was absolutely beautiful. I only wish I could have stayed there longer without anyone else around to just praise God in the beauty of the place. It was absolutely gorgeous. There’s never enough time to just sit around and appreciate the beauty of a place, it seems. I wish we always had more time to do so. That is why I want to go back to the Pípila that we saw on our city tour to just sit someday.
I spent most of my day with two girls, named Sabrina and Julianne. They are both very sweet. Sabrina grew up in Taiwan. They are both very sweet girls. Livia, one of the girls who works for ISA, also came with us. She took a ton of pictures for us, so that was nice. She seems like a fun person. Climbing the pyramids really wasn’t so bad. It was actually pretty easy compared to other hiking and climbing I’ve done in the past (i.e. Huaynapichhu). Anyway, I managed just fine climbing the pyramids. I was really surprised by how much the students actually spoke Spanish during our excursion today. I would estimate that we spoke Spanish around 85-90% of the time, which is really rare on an excursion day. I was really proud of that, though, because it meant that we were learning to communicate even better in Spanish.
Now, I have an amazing story to tell…so PAY ATTENTION! So, it goes a little like this: I was up on one of the pyramids taking pictures. As I was standing there, I noticed this cute boy who was standing with his hand on his cowboy hat looking out at the pyramids. I really wanted to take a picture of him, but by the time I planned to do so, he had moved. Anyway, when we decided to go down the pyramid, the same boy was standing near the stairs, so I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that I really liked his hat. He smiled at me and all of the people who were with him were laughing and making a big deal out of the fact that I told him that I liked his hat. That was that, but the story doesn’t end there. About an hour later when I had climbed a different pyramid, the same boy saw me. He tapped me on the shoulder and gave me his hat!!! At first, I thought he was just going to let me take a picture with it, but he said I could keep it! I was so blown away that I couldn’t think of what to do, honestly. You know those moments when a guy or girl in the movies forgets their name because they’re a little awestruck? Well, this was one of those moments. I basically just stood there saying thank you over and over. Haha. Anyway, Livia was smart enough to suggest that we take a photo together. So, we took a picture of me wearing his hat. As soon as we took the photo, he left. It was kind of like a strange dream, honestly. I didn’t even get to give him a real hug or get his name. I feel terrible about that and am still kicking myself, honestly. I mean, how can a girl let a handsome Mexican boy give her his sombrero and not even get his name?! Geez…I guess I learned a lesson for next time – if by some random chance that unlikely event occurs again. Haha. That event was one of the most flattering moments I think I’ve ever had. I couldn’t believe he actually gave me his hat. I still can’t believe it, but I have a straw cowboy hat that I didn’t have this morning and I didn’t buy it, so it must have! I’m considering finding myself a handsome caballero (cowboy) here and just never coming home…Haha….JUST KIDDING! J
Well, anything much I say after that story will pale in comparison. However, I have to try. Once we got done looking and climbing the three pyramids, we went out of the place where there were all sorts of little stores with souvenirs. I bought a few things there to remember Teotihuacán. The most favorite thing I bought was a silver necklace that is just absolutely beautiful. I also got some pens and a little instrument that sounds like a jaguar when you blow in it. Of all the things I got today, though, the hat is my favorite – and I didn’t even buy it! Once we shopped for a while, we had to get back on the bus to head home.
By that point, I was absolutely starving. I didn’t eat anything on the way to the pyramids and I left my lunch on the bus, so I hadn’t eaten a meal all day. I was starving! I ended up eating two ham sandwiches, a banana, a strawberry granola bar, and a juice box. The lunch tasted wonderful because I was so hungry! After eating my food, I worked on homework for a while longer. The bus was playing the movie Avatar, in Spanish, so I watched that a little bit. I tried not to watch too much, though, because I still would like to see it in English first, plus, I needed to do my homework. I got quite a bit of my music reading completed, so that was good. I decided to try to take a nap, but then the bus driver started to play The Blind Side in Spanish. I’ve already seen it, so it was easy to follow in Spanish. I ended up watching parts of that and doing my reading here and there. It was actually fun to watch the movie in Spanish. I may have to try to do that more often with regular movies I haven’t seen in a while. I think it is a good way to practice and keep up my Spanish skills.
We got back to the city after another 4 hour bus ride. Alma waited with me until I could get a taxi to take me home. When I got home, all my laundry was done and Magda was in the kitchen. I told her about my encounter with the really sweet cowboy. Soon after that, Holly got home. She showed me the things that she bought in León today and I showed her the things I got in Teotihuacán. Then, we had dinner (soup, toast, and chicken with pepper). After dinner, I unpacked my things, backed up my pictures, and talked to Mom and Dad on Skype. After that, I got prepared to go out. I thought I was going to go out with other students tonight to just hang out. However, Holly decided to stay in and talk to her boyfriend on Skype, so I decided I’d just stay home and work on my journal instead of going out alone. I’d rather go out when we can leave together than go get a taxi on my own. Anyway, I’m just in my bed trying to upload pictures and journaling right now. I’m feeling quite tired, so I think I am going to bed soon. Well, goodnight! :)
