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 ^_^

A Day Trip to Catalina Island

More travelling! Last week a few of us went to Catalina Island to celebrate a birthday. I hadn't been there in yeeaaarrrsss! Last time I was there it was with my mom and two of my brothers and I think I was in middle school. I remember going snorkeling with one of my brothers and we went on a tour that went through the city of Avalon (which is really small). It's definitely a cute place!is

This time we got on the boat to Catalina which departed from Long Beach :)))) I Love Long Beach! The ride was sooo bumpy and took a little over an hour, nonetheless it was fun! The city of Avalon seems really small but there is actually tons of stuff to do. You can go bike riding through the city or rent a golf cart and see the city that way. You can go kayaking, there are tons of restaurants, bars and stores to shop at. There is also a museum that used to be a casino. And of course there are glass bottom boats that take you on short tours to see sea monsters...oops...I mean fish.

I would like to go back in the summer to try kayaking and explore the island a little more by bike. This time we rented a golf cart which was fun. We went up a wrong road and had to back up which was scary because we were on a hill. Basically it was like that scene from Austin Powers where he's trying to turn the cart around but just gets stuck in between the two walls. Seriously...IT WAS LIKE THAT. haha.

                              Getting off that bumpy ride and onto the Catalina Island pavement.

                                                                        Catalina!!!!!

                                                          Of course I got a German beer ;)

I was so surprised to see pay phones! I haven't seen one in forever. The woman that was there told me that only the one on the left worked and you couldn't just put coins in it. You have to have some type of calling card. . . So much for a pay phone -__- 

                                                                   That blue water

This was us getting back to Long Beach. 

Everybody Goes to Hollywood

On Friday I went to Hollywood with a couple of friends. We had plans to hike up to the Hollywood sign but that didn't exactly happen. After the tiny hike we did walk around Hollywood. Let me tell you, I have a love hate relationship with this part of Los Angeles. But we can get to that later.

I woke up on Friday at 6:50am (sometimes it doesn't make sense the way I set my alarm) and left my house at 7:20 to pick up my friends in LA. By the time we left LA for Hollywood the sun was out and shining heavily on us. I've hiked the Hollyridge Trail up to the Hollywood sign twice before and had no trouble finding parking because we got there early enough. Friday we got there too late because there were tons of people hiking up Beachwood Dr. where they parked their cars. So I parked my car on Beachwood Dr. and then we walked up to the start of the trail. I had never really noticed a lot of the houses leading up to the trail but they are sooo beautiful! Some of them have an old world medieval feel, some of them look like little cottages and some of them are very modern. That might seem weird to have so many different styles of houses next to each other but it works for some reason. It must be that eccentric Hollywood air.The houses at the bottom of the hill have the most beautiful unobstructed view of the Hollywood sign. It's amazing. Nevertheless, I would not want to live on that particular street because it is crowded with cars and hikers. Anyway...once we finally walked up to the entrance of the trail we just went a little bit into it to see views of the city. I absolutely love views form hills and mountains! I don't know what it is but it makes me very emotional! When I lived in Germany I missed this very much because I was in a part of Germany that's very flat. Once we started travelling and we got to eastern Deutschland I saw hills and it was so amazing! It made me miss CA. So we just took some pictures and then went back down to my car to hang around Hollywood for awhile. Being us...the first thing we did was eat on Sunset. Haha. After that we walked around Hollywood Blvd. This is where my hate relationship comes in to place. Hollywood Blvd is such a tourist trap and on a Saturday--ughhhh--you have no place to walk. In the morning it's pretty much just shopping, eating and wax museum central. At night it's the same deal, the difference would be that more bars and clubs are open. I don't mind it at night but Hollywood just isn't my favorite place to be. The first time I went to Hollywood I was about 10 years old and I was so disappointed. I thought Hollywood was a place where you see celebrities and everything is beautiful and you get discovered but I was wrong. Well not totally...we saw a D lister on Friday. Basically, when I know people are coming to LA for the first time I would not take them to Hollywood first. That would be the last resort. Maybe it's because I'm not a native of the area so I clearly don't know that much about it. Maybe it's because I don't like being in such crowded walking areas where people are walking directly behind you and if you stop for a second they'll bump into you. But this won't be the last time I go to Hollywood. One day I'll figure the city out and maybe learn to sort of like it...and not only because I've been drinking :p