Palenque

Our next day in Chiapas was spent in and around Palenque. We woke up very early and were dropped off at the ADO station and left on our journey from Villahermosa to Palenque. I was surprised to see that we weren't riding in a huge charter bus, but in a van like bus (the same structure of the cambios in Tehuacan). The bus wasn't full so everything was fine. Our hostel was called Yaxkin Hostal which I would recommend to anyone in Palenque. It's about a 5 minute walk from the ADO station, maybe even less. We were only there for one night but if I ever to go back to Palenque I would like to stay there again. All 7 of us shared a room that was like a little cabin apart from the main reception area. When we got settled in we started our trip. We paid to ride in one of the tour cambios which actually worked out really well. We were able to see the pyramids of Palenque, a water fall that we didn't plan on seeing (but was actually amazing!) and Agua Azul. At the end of the day we had dinner in the hostel's cafe and went to sleep because we had an early bus ride the next day.

Palenque

Palenque was amazing. We spent a little over an hour there but I could have stayed the whole day! The Mayan pyramids are surrounded by jungle. Palenque wasn't on my bucket list but I'm so glad I saw it. It's so gorgeous that I don't know if I'll be impressed by any other pyramids!

Waterfall
The waterfall was an unexpected journey but it was worth it. We only spent 30 minutes there but that was enough time to walk in the back of the waterfall and get soaked! A few of the people I went with also went into a cave that was behind the waterfall.

 This was the 1st sight of the waterfall. It's very huge in person and you can feel the mist from pretty far away. 

By this point we walked past the back of the waterfall. Behind me is a cave. 

Agua Azul

Finally we made it to Agua Azul. It was great to swim in the water because Palenque is very hot and humid. There weren't too many people at Agua Azul so we had our own little "beach" to ourselves. 

Villahermosa

This past weekend was a 4 day weekend for us English teachers because of Mexican Independence Day. I took a trip way down south to Chiapas, Mexico with 6 other teachers. We left from Tehuacan on Friday night at 9:30pm and arrived in Tabasco (a state next to Chiapas) the next day after a little set back. That set back being getting off the ADO charter bus at the wrong stop -_- With all the travelling I've done you'd think I would know to ask if we're at the right stop! I think it was because we were all very excited to get off the bus and be at our destination. So after this set back we got on the bus for 1 more our and arrived in Villahermosa. One of the teachers lives with a host family in Tehuacan and this family has a sister named Isa who picked us up from the airport and showed us around all day. Isa and her husband were so nice, driving us around all day to the see the beautiful and exciting things in Villahermosa.

The first thing we did was eat! Then we went to the Parque Museo La Venta. It has animals and artifacts from the Olmecs. After this everyone was hungry so we ate lunch, went to see a church and ate ice cream in the center of town. They had seats up and ready for El Grito on Monday, the 15th. After this there was a long ride to their house because of traffic. We got ready at their house and then took off again to see a light show and eat pizza for dinner. It was such a nice day, especially because Isa and her husband were so accommodating to us! This was only the first night! It gets better from here...

Here are some pictures::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

We couldn't figure out what kind of animal this was. We asked a man and he said a name but we didn't know what the English equivalent was! Then we read a sign that said it is a badger. 

I fed the badger. They like tortillas!

This is a tomb.

Everything was green.

Crocodile!

There was a bird sanctuary.

The outside of the church.

Light show! There are crocodiles in that water o_o

First Impressions of Mexico

I'm in Mexico!

It was very difficult to leave home. I kept thinking "What are you getting yourself into?!" I was so comfortable at home and in my job. Now I'm living way down south with new people, a new job and a language barrier. I've been here almost 3 weeks and I'm starting to feel more comfortable but I always wake up knowing that I'm not exactly home. I live in a town in the state of Puebla called Tehuacan. Most people are very friendly. They like to greet you when passing by with a "Good morning" or "Good afternoon". I've finally figured out how to get to all the necessary places, which is nice. The zocalo (city center) is about a 25-30 minute walk from the house and that's always nice. Our house ( I share it with 4 other people) is right next door to a little convenience store which is...well...very convenient. There's also a taco stand across the street from us that sets up every night. I've had tacos from there twice and both times were pretty good. I usually make myself meals because then I know what I'm eating.

When I landed in Mexico City I went through customs which was pretty scary for a second. I wasn't sure if the lady was going to give me my 180 day stamp. Then when I went to get my luggage I couldn't find it! It was supposed to be at baggage claim 5! I eventually found it by baggage claim 3 when most people had already cleared out. The great thing about that airport was when going through security one last time I didn't have to take off my shoes or jacket! I exchanged the euros I'd had for so long to pesos and then got on the bus (which had wifi!) to Puebla. In Puebla I got on another bus to Tehuacan where two people were waiting for us to take us to the new house. All in all it was a good welcome to Mexico.


Here is a picture of my house. Don't be deceived by the outside, it's very modern inside.

Missing Deutschland

I've been missing Germany so I thought I'd reminisce about my time in the country. This is where I lived for half a year in Germany. *Schützenweg 42. I took the first picture in September when the weather was still great, a few weeks after I'd arrived. I can't believe I thought it was cold when I first got to Oldenburg in September. I always wore my red sweater from Forever 21 and leggings under my jeans. Once winter came along I realized how good we had it that first month! The second picture was taken in February. By this time I was so used to the rain and snow (snow I never see in Los Angeles, rain I only see so often and always leads to news about an upcoming apocalypse). This was the view from my window after the constant snow turned into constant rain. From my window I had a view of the train and if I remember correctly the brick building across from this view is a daycare. It's something to do with kids. If you were to go down the path near the daycare you would be lead to the botanical garden. I went down to the garden once and saw a few animals and plants that weren't yet in season. So a lot of it was just brown and green. I also saw a cat chasing a mouse. The cat actually caught the mouse and was playing with it...like viciously playing with it. Then a German lady grabbed the cat and reprimanded it. I thought that was hilarious! ^__^


Now that I look at the pictures they sort of represent my outlook at the time of being in Germany. The weather definitely plays a big part of your outlook on the world. First arriving in Germany everything was new! The sun was still out (although there were rain showers all the time) and I had so much to learn about the German culture and people. I became comfortable speaking the language even though I knew I making a lot of mistakes. I feel like I transitioned really well into the German culture because I went there with an open mind.

There are so many differences between American and German culture and after a while I just got tired of it all. The picture from my window is just that. Me looking out into the cold German world. That sounds so dramatic but that's how it felt at times. I think it was the weather that did it! I figured that culture shock finally hit me because all of the things I was having trouble with were things I didn't mind when I first got to the country. Even after all the emotions and leaving the country abruptly to get home for a funeral I still have love for that country. Germany is das Land der Dichter und Denker. I can feel it in the history of the cobblestone streets and churches. I can't wait to get back to the country!

*I don't know how to type umlauts from my laptop so I copy and pasted the ü from the internet. That's why it might look weird.

I'll write more about my travels in Germany and Europe. Soon!!!!!!

The Beehive State

Who knew that Utah is the Beehive State? I certainly didn't! Truthfully, I now want to know what every state's nickname is. This is what I'll be searching the internet for right after this blog post. I bring this up because I was recently in Utah. I took a roadtrip with 3 other girls (and fellow world travelers!) to a state none of us had ever been to. We drove the 7 hours from my house and ended up in the southern part of the state which is full of hiking and sightseeing adventures to be had by all.

This is a picture taken from the backseat of the car on our way to Utah. We were in the high desert at this point...meaning we were still in CA and almost in Nevada. I got this picture of sunrise because we left my house at 3am! I don't really drink coffee but I had one of those iced mocha coffees to make sure I didn't fall asleep on the drive to Utah. Did it do me any good? I guess so because I was awake for 2 days -_- haha. Okay, I blame the non-sleep on the change in elevation, weather and excitement. All 3 of those definitely did something to me. Also...I had to idea there is an hour difference between CA and Utah. I thought we were in the same time zone! It was really easy to get used to, but strange. 

We slept in a ski resort which is lovely in the summer time. The trees and the cabins higher up on the mountain reminded me of my time spent in Taos, New Mexico. There were deer running around and on our last day we saw ranchers herding their cows to a barn or wherever you herd cows to. A field? Yeah, probably a field. I'm not a country girl :p On our first full day we hiked at Zion National Park and then took a drive to Bryce Canyon National Park and took another hike there. It was a very eventful day! The next day we drove 4 hours to Arches National Park and took some pictures in a few of the arches. That day we also had some trouble at a gas station. I'm laughing just thinking about it right now. All I can say is if you go to Arches National Park DO NOT use the first gas station you see when you go into the small town. It's right across from a Denny's. DO NOT use that gas station! The next day we were tired from all of the driving so we went to the sauna and the hot tub. I'd never been into a dry sauna before. It seemed like it was going to be unbearable but it wasn't bad. Especially after being in the wet sauna! The next day we drove back to CA returned the rental car and went out separate ways. All 4 of us will meet up again next year in the Midwest! It'll be really fun! Hopefully we can stay a little longer and get a lot of sights in. We were planning on seeing the Grand Canyon and the Antelope Canyon and the Horseshoe Bend during this trip but there wasn't enough time! But I have to say, I was really amazed with all of the national parks in Utah and I truly had a great time :) Now here are pictures!!!!!

ZION NATIONAL PARK

 This was our stop at Zion. We got off at the shuttle stop called Temple of Sinawava and hiked the Narrows through the Virgin River. The views are beautiful! 

 Every picture can be made into a postcard. The views are unbelievable. 

 The water is so clear and blue. There was a man jumping from a rock into a deeper section of the river. It looked like fun but I wasn't prepared for that! 

 Me in front of the beautiful blue water. This was the most convincing smile I could give haha. 

 We hiked through this!

My shadow in the water

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

 We hiked the Queens Garden. This is supposed to be the easiest trail but it wasn't easy coming back uphill!

 This is one of the safer rocks I took a picture on. 

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

This was my favorite rock to climb! 

What To Do When Your Interviewer Doesn't Show Up

I really don't know. I had a Skype interview and the interviewer didn't show up at the time we agreed upon. I checked and double checked to make sure that I was on at the right time. I waited an hour but nobody showed up. So I sent an email to the company a few hours later (I took a quick nap) and they said it was because they were having bad connections on that day. I really wish they had sent me an email but if what they said was true, I understand why they wouldn't want to have the interview. Bad connections are the worst. I didn't end up doing the interview because they kept on missing the Skype times we had planned on. I was very excited to interview with them but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Plus...I already have that job in Mexico lined up. So I guess what I want to say is... if you are interviewing from your home country, make sure to have a lot of interviews lined up because some of them just won't happen.

And So the Search Begins

By the search I mean job search. And okay, so it started a while ago...but I'm finally writing about it. Right now, Dave's ESL Cafe is my best friend. So if you're looking to teach English abroad Dave's ESL Cafe is a great way to start. If you're looking to teach in South Korea get a recruiter because there are soooo many positions on Dave's ESL Cafe that it can get overwhelming. I applied to teach in a little town in Puebla, Mexico a few weeks ago and I had my Skype interview two Thursdays ago. During the interview they had an earthquake in Mexico! After the interview I thought, "Hey! Maybe that'll make me more memorable!" I got the acceptance this Monday and let me tell you, I was so happy! If I choose to teach with this school I will be paid half of what I'm getting at my current job, but hey...I'll be in a new country! I'll most likely be teaching English to the young learners. I think that'll be very fun! Difficult...but fun. I'll have to keep the kids in control and entertained for the whole 50 minutes or however long I have them.

I also applied to a job in Japan and I had the interview last Thursday. I'll know by this Friday if I got that job or not. I'm glad I applied to this job but I'm having second thoughts about it because of the conditions of working with this school. I also applied with Berlitz to teach in Colombia. I'll be making more money than in Mexico but I'll have to pay for my own accommodations and utilities, which might end up being more or less the same pay as living in Mexico. But I'll be able to have my own apartment! :) Which is exciting to me! I reaaaalllyyy want to go to Colombia so I hope I get this job. I've learned a lot from my TEFL course - I should be getting my certificate in a few weeks :)))))) - and I hope this helps with the interview. Whatever happens, I should be out of the country by July at the earliest. AHHHHHH ^_^