So as I mentioned our plans for a fabulous few days in Tapalpa, shouting and wearing hats, were scuppered. Sadly we didn't end up leaving the city because we weren´t able to find a car safe enough to take any distance on a motorway. and at 4pm they started closing the roads to places like Tapalpa because they were so busy. Boo hiss.
Mario and the other Mexis were reluctant to take us to the centre because it's where the great unwashed of Guadalajara go and get very drunk, and it isn't particularly safe for 'werritas' (little white girls) like myself and stephanie. so we ended up going to a few bars and clubs, sort of like a normal night out with more shouting and confetti and ALOT more banda and mariachi. it was still losts of fun. Somehow we ended up at Tacoville on chapultepec at 5 in the morning with a car full of balloons. lovely.
The next day the beer had taken its toll, so i had a nice productive day watching spongebob squarepants.
On wednesday, Steph, Mario and I trekked to Chapultepec to go and visit Choco and David, she was all lovely and surprised and was insistant that I go back and that I could stay whenever and all sorts. So I went back the next day for lunch. it takes two hours on the bus, it's not pleasant, i arrived feeling a tad ill but it was all good.
On Friday, Marios friend Fer decided, after hearing (LIES) that I only eat Tacos and chips, that she was going to cook me a proper mexican meal with vegetables and everything.
So Mario, Fer and Steph came round and we had Chillis a nogada (this stuffed chilli thing from Puebla), was nice. and they did a toast to me cos i'm leaving, it was sweet.
On Saturday, I gatecrashed another IUPSA event and went on their Grand Rally. It was basically a treasure hunt round the city where we had to answer questions and do random little tasks when we got to each base. Each team was a different country and my team were France. (although I'm obviously not technically a IUPSA member, so I was down on the team sheet as 'la londinese' - The Londoner. pfft.) The tasks included things like proposing to someone, throwing water balloons, doing a painting, roleplay, singing the national anthem etc etc, and we got points for each task and for answering all the sheets.
When they set us off the first task was to run to a little plaza on campus a few metres away and collect an envelope. Within about two metres, Mario fell on the floor and Rafeal (another guy on our team) fell on top of him. Steph and I had to stop and help them up. So 4 out of 5 of our team were not coping, and they'd only just blown the whistle. We were the last to leave the car park, then we went to the wrong first base, then Steph accidentally threw one of the things we needed to gain extra points out of the window....we were pretty much doomed from the start. We finished 8 out of 9 teams. (although bearing in mind the 9th team lost there car keys for about 2 hours, thats not a massive achievement.)
On the other hand, although we won NOTHING (except a bottle of tequila, like everyone else) it was massively fun. That evening there was a party to celebrate with a free bar. which was nice.
Somehow Stephanie and I managed to get roped into doing a dance to yellow submarine on stage. which was ridicularse.
On Monday, I trekked into the centre and went to the San Juan de Dios Market for a little look round (I've refrained from buying obligatory-useless-gifts this time, because you got them all last year!). Its a really nice area to wander round but because the bus took so freaking long to get there, by the time i'd been to the market things were shutting. So I went back the next day and had a look round the Instituto de las Cabanas, which is famous for its Orozco murals and also had a (slightly creepy) art exhibition on. I also had a look round the cathredral, a few of the main plazas and the Expiatorio.
Which brings me to today, my last day. Boo. I spent the morning packing, then after a slight fandango managed to get a taxi to meet Steph and Mario and some other guys in a bar near the Tec for a goodbye-drinks. Then the plan this evening is dinner at Nude, then La Folie with its free entry and free bar. Hoorah!
Monday, 22 September 2008
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Hello Again.
Hello, I'm back! I was originally using Stephs laptop but sadly it did a massive fail and has died for good, so I've been using her hall computers and because there are actual students with actual work to do - I´ve not been able to get on long enough to write anything much, so my apologies.
In short, these last two weeks have been my 'lazy person' holiday, because of stephs exams etc i've spent lots of time reading\sunbathing\tidying up after myself in the day.
There has, however, been a few excellent nights out. Last friday we went to a place called Dubai to see a band (somehow we managed to get 8 ppl in a ka to get there, i'm surprised we even managed to leave the drive), the next night we went back to Dubai to see another band (although very nearly didn't get in because a friend-of-a-friend type was deemed, in short, too unattractive. such is the shallownosity of mexican bouncers.) then we went to the 'it' gay bar, black cherry- it was very techno and very gay, with go-go dancers in tiny lamé pants.
On Tuesday I gatecrashed Stephs degree-getting-to-know-you type party, which was massively fun, even though i accidently outed their president. (I didn't kno it was supposed to be a secret! I could quite clearly see him lurking about in the closet.)
On friday, Sarah (who was a volunteer here last year too) came back to guads for her last night, which we spent in a club called 7sins, which was very good once we discovered the small side room playing normal music and got away from the constant techno and stobe lights (i could feel myself developping epilepsy just waiting for my beer to arrive.) There was even a fabulous drag act who mimed along to Robbie Williams' Angels (naturally we caterwauled along in english, as is tradition with that song) while a little half naked gay chap did some sort of interpretive dance next to her. The beer was cheap too. Always a good thing.
and then Saturday night we went to a little bar for a few cervesas then went to see mamma mia at the cinema. fabulous.
So now I've decided I'm going to spend my last two weeks being a little more active.
Starting with independance day today and tomorrow (14th\15th). Its basically the biggest all night party of the year and is all about beer and sombreros and shouting VIVE MEXICO.
We'd planned to go to Tapalpa because it's a little town and is completely Mexican and we'd get the proper fiesta experience. we were all vair excited.
Sadly we've somehow managed to upset the gods, because they've been pooing in our sombreros since last night.
Yersterday eve we drove to the supermarket to stock up on booze, fully loaded the boot just in time to discover...we had a fully flat tyre. and then it started to rain.
After TWO hours stood in the car park, dragging one of Marios friends and her dad out of bed, who in turn dragged a little mexican tyre man from his. We discovered there was a spare padlocked to the underside of the car. Monse didn't have the key for it. (although she did have a tyre change kit and a jack and everything, which is probably a massively good idea. I don't even think my ka has a spare...).
Eventually the little tyre man went away and got a temporary tyre. But there was something wrong with the bolts. So the tyre is not safe enough to take on the motorway. This morning they eventually got the spare off. It is damaged and not safe for motorway use either.
It is now 2pm, the party officially starts at 3 and we're still in resedencias, eating sushi.
There is a plan though, we've been told we're either going to Lake Chappala or Tequila because they're not too far away. So whatever happens, I WILL be somewhere with beer in hand, wearing a massive sombrero (and hopefully some form of improvised moustache) in time for midnight and 'The Big Shout', where everyone gathers in the main plazas by the cathedrals to shout VIVE MEXICO and so forth. All is not lost it seems.
Other than that, this week hopefully I'll get to see Choco and David etc, get to mutualista to meet up with some of the TPA guys and we've plans to go back to Guzman for my last weekend.
Hopefully this will all come about uneventfully.
and Finally, I do have numerous photos but because I don't have the cable and the laptops done a death i'm unable to upload, so that'll have to wait till i'm home.
The End. XX
In short, these last two weeks have been my 'lazy person' holiday, because of stephs exams etc i've spent lots of time reading\sunbathing\tidying up after myself in the day.
There has, however, been a few excellent nights out. Last friday we went to a place called Dubai to see a band (somehow we managed to get 8 ppl in a ka to get there, i'm surprised we even managed to leave the drive), the next night we went back to Dubai to see another band (although very nearly didn't get in because a friend-of-a-friend type was deemed, in short, too unattractive. such is the shallownosity of mexican bouncers.) then we went to the 'it' gay bar, black cherry- it was very techno and very gay, with go-go dancers in tiny lamé pants.
On Tuesday I gatecrashed Stephs degree-getting-to-know-you type party, which was massively fun, even though i accidently outed their president. (I didn't kno it was supposed to be a secret! I could quite clearly see him lurking about in the closet.)
On friday, Sarah (who was a volunteer here last year too) came back to guads for her last night, which we spent in a club called 7sins, which was very good once we discovered the small side room playing normal music and got away from the constant techno and stobe lights (i could feel myself developping epilepsy just waiting for my beer to arrive.) There was even a fabulous drag act who mimed along to Robbie Williams' Angels (naturally we caterwauled along in english, as is tradition with that song) while a little half naked gay chap did some sort of interpretive dance next to her. The beer was cheap too. Always a good thing.
and then Saturday night we went to a little bar for a few cervesas then went to see mamma mia at the cinema. fabulous.
So now I've decided I'm going to spend my last two weeks being a little more active.
Starting with independance day today and tomorrow (14th\15th). Its basically the biggest all night party of the year and is all about beer and sombreros and shouting VIVE MEXICO.
We'd planned to go to Tapalpa because it's a little town and is completely Mexican and we'd get the proper fiesta experience. we were all vair excited.
Sadly we've somehow managed to upset the gods, because they've been pooing in our sombreros since last night.
Yersterday eve we drove to the supermarket to stock up on booze, fully loaded the boot just in time to discover...we had a fully flat tyre. and then it started to rain.
After TWO hours stood in the car park, dragging one of Marios friends and her dad out of bed, who in turn dragged a little mexican tyre man from his. We discovered there was a spare padlocked to the underside of the car. Monse didn't have the key for it. (although she did have a tyre change kit and a jack and everything, which is probably a massively good idea. I don't even think my ka has a spare...).
Eventually the little tyre man went away and got a temporary tyre. But there was something wrong with the bolts. So the tyre is not safe enough to take on the motorway. This morning they eventually got the spare off. It is damaged and not safe for motorway use either.
It is now 2pm, the party officially starts at 3 and we're still in resedencias, eating sushi.
There is a plan though, we've been told we're either going to Lake Chappala or Tequila because they're not too far away. So whatever happens, I WILL be somewhere with beer in hand, wearing a massive sombrero (and hopefully some form of improvised moustache) in time for midnight and 'The Big Shout', where everyone gathers in the main plazas by the cathedrals to shout VIVE MEXICO and so forth. All is not lost it seems.
Other than that, this week hopefully I'll get to see Choco and David etc, get to mutualista to meet up with some of the TPA guys and we've plans to go back to Guzman for my last weekend.
Hopefully this will all come about uneventfully.
and Finally, I do have numerous photos but because I don't have the cable and the laptops done a death i'm unable to upload, so that'll have to wait till i'm home.
The End. XX
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Back in the Homeland..
I've decided to revive this thing at the request of my father, sort of as an ongoing postcard more than anything, and a way for the parentals to keep tabs on my whereabouts and up to date on all new piercings. huzzah!
So to start, the journey was relatively uneventful (apart from the fact I went actually painfully deaf everytime we were landing, and we flew through a thunderstorm coming into Mexico, which was more than a tad alarming.) It was also IMMENSELY tiring. When I finally arrived shortly after 11pm I had to get a taxi to, what turned out to be, the other side of the city.
The driver didn't know where we were going either. I came to this conclusion when he pulled over and whacked out a map. Excellent. After a short conversation in terrible spanish we came to the realisation we were sat directly opposite a sign for where we were headed and were literally round the corner from Stephs university halls, where I was supposed to be.
I arrived and promptly passed out and spent the majority of the next day asleep. Lovely.
In the afternoon we made a short trip up the road to Bernards new house in this posh gated community called Valle Real. It's really very nice, I intend to move there tomorrow and take up residence.
Turns out not only are we no where near the centre of Guads, We're also in a notoriously rich bit, so taxi drivers take the piss.
On the plus side, we found a nice little Euro-confused restaurant. It's called 'creperie' and has a general parisien theme running throughout. and serves mainly Italien food.
As we left the waiter shouted 'Au Revoir'. They actually do really good pizza.
After that, we got ready to go out as we were supposed to be going to good old Chess.
We ended up at oxxo buying cheap alcopops, piling 7 of us into a taxi and going to a house party somewhere near the centre. Just like old times!
The party was for international students at the uni and so everyone spoke english. which was good.
After trying, and failing, to eat a massively offensive vodka jelly, and sampling some 'crazy water' (I don't know exactly what made it crazy, but it wasn't all that good) we decided it was time to go to chess. Just as the heavens literally opened. We made it from the front door to an archway in the front garden, where we huddled with a number of other girls attempting to save their hair. Eventually, we managed to blag ourselves a lift and piled into someones car. I ended up in the boot with an american named Luke who kept mocking my accent. He sounded more than a little bit like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins. i.e crap.
Our journey was made more than a little bit exciting by the fact the rain, in near biblical proportions, had completely flooded one of the main roundabouts. and I mean i-thought-the-drains-in-the-roads-were-actually-fountains flooded. As Luke kept repeating "it's like the f***ing amazon, man!". Quite.
Luckily the queue was fairly small when we arrived, although even with free-entry-wristbands we still had to go through the stage where the bouncers judge whether you're worthy (a.k.a attractive enough) to enter.
Naturally, they let us in.
They place was packed, the music very mexican, the men...just as creepy as I remember.
Today, after Steph finished her 5 hours of Italien, we went to creperie again for lunch. As we left the waiter shouted 'BONJOUR.......bonsoir'. Then we got a ludicrously expensive taxi across town to The Alternative Market. Just in time to watch it pack up. and for the rain to start. This evening I've been informed i'm got free entry to a club called Mood. Hopefully it'll be a good end to a relatively unproductive day.
xx
So to start, the journey was relatively uneventful (apart from the fact I went actually painfully deaf everytime we were landing, and we flew through a thunderstorm coming into Mexico, which was more than a tad alarming.) It was also IMMENSELY tiring. When I finally arrived shortly after 11pm I had to get a taxi to, what turned out to be, the other side of the city.
The driver didn't know where we were going either. I came to this conclusion when he pulled over and whacked out a map. Excellent. After a short conversation in terrible spanish we came to the realisation we were sat directly opposite a sign for where we were headed and were literally round the corner from Stephs university halls, where I was supposed to be.
I arrived and promptly passed out and spent the majority of the next day asleep. Lovely.
In the afternoon we made a short trip up the road to Bernards new house in this posh gated community called Valle Real. It's really very nice, I intend to move there tomorrow and take up residence.
Turns out not only are we no where near the centre of Guads, We're also in a notoriously rich bit, so taxi drivers take the piss.
On the plus side, we found a nice little Euro-confused restaurant. It's called 'creperie' and has a general parisien theme running throughout. and serves mainly Italien food.
As we left the waiter shouted 'Au Revoir'. They actually do really good pizza.
After that, we got ready to go out as we were supposed to be going to good old Chess.
We ended up at oxxo buying cheap alcopops, piling 7 of us into a taxi and going to a house party somewhere near the centre. Just like old times!
The party was for international students at the uni and so everyone spoke english. which was good.
After trying, and failing, to eat a massively offensive vodka jelly, and sampling some 'crazy water' (I don't know exactly what made it crazy, but it wasn't all that good) we decided it was time to go to chess. Just as the heavens literally opened. We made it from the front door to an archway in the front garden, where we huddled with a number of other girls attempting to save their hair. Eventually, we managed to blag ourselves a lift and piled into someones car. I ended up in the boot with an american named Luke who kept mocking my accent. He sounded more than a little bit like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins. i.e crap.
Our journey was made more than a little bit exciting by the fact the rain, in near biblical proportions, had completely flooded one of the main roundabouts. and I mean i-thought-the-drains-in-the-roads-were-actually-fountains flooded. As Luke kept repeating "it's like the f***ing amazon, man!". Quite.
Luckily the queue was fairly small when we arrived, although even with free-entry-wristbands we still had to go through the stage where the bouncers judge whether you're worthy (a.k.a attractive enough) to enter.
Naturally, they let us in.
They place was packed, the music very mexican, the men...just as creepy as I remember.
Today, after Steph finished her 5 hours of Italien, we went to creperie again for lunch. As we left the waiter shouted 'BONJOUR.......bonsoir'. Then we got a ludicrously expensive taxi across town to The Alternative Market. Just in time to watch it pack up. and for the rain to start. This evening I've been informed i'm got free entry to a club called Mood. Hopefully it'll be a good end to a relatively unproductive day.
xx
Monday, 23 July 2007
Friday and Saturday...
...were spent being highly cultural. My mother would be proud.
Then we went to the zoo...
This is a white rhino. It was sponsored by Walls ice cream. The zebras were sponsored by mcdonalds. God knows why.
I don't remember the name BUT I do know these are the largest triumphal arches in the world. Which is nice.
Then it started to rain. alot. So we went up the Torre Latinamerica and waited for it to stop, and then looked at the lovely view (I'm aware this is slightly stating the obvious but Mexico City is actually HUGE. I mean seriously. Even without clouds my camera couldn't pick up the edges.)
(Jeremy Beadle hand!!)
Then we went to the Belles Artes to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition that sarah had been ranting on about....and it was actually really really good. New found appreciation.
Saturday, we went to the San Angel market, then walked to Coyohuacan, a really pretty little suburb so very much different from the centre, to Leon Trotskys house and the Diego and Frida museum.
It was the end of the day by then so we were the only people walking round Trotskys house, and it was actually a bit eerie standing in his study, which was identical to how he'd had it, reading about how some guy broke in and assainated him with a pick axe, and then how some other people had attempted to assasinate him and his wife while they slept, leaving bullet holes all over the bedroom wall. 
Saturday, 21 July 2007
Monday
On Monday we decided to be healthy and whatnot and go for a walk. (sarah wore hiking gear and I had THE sandals....we clearly meant business)
Our 'little walk' turned in a 6KM HIKE UPHILL.
As you can imagine, I was so pleased. There was not a word of complaint. On the upside...I didn't go blind or anything. clearly my level of fitness has therefore improved somewhat.
At about 4.5km there was a big crash of thunder and flash of lighting....at 5km we bailed and got a lift back down in a pick-up. A wise decision as the heavens literally opened 5 minutes later. Sadly, this meant the four of us had to wedge ourselves into the drivers compartment with the two guys in there. Comfort was not the word of the day, but we got all the way home free!
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