Metepec, Zapotitlan II, y Thanksgiving

So the last week can be broken into three events which stand out from the run-of-the-mill drudgery of paper writing: a group trip to Metepec, a non-group trip to Zapotitlan, and the Mexican try at a Thanksgiving dinner.


Metepec:
A pueblo with a vacation resort where you can do all sorts of sports and other fun things, including eat, rent ridiculous bicycles, and hang out on Smith-campus-beautiful lawns. We went there on Saturday as a group-o-gringas (actually literally only half of the group went; the rest either already had plans or simply didn't show up. Their loss, however, because it was totally kickin'. Plus the remaining group was super positive and fun!).

The day started out with teamwork activities led by a group of three young men. I was feeling pretty negative about the whole thing at the beginning, but quickly got over myself and started to enjoy the fun! After we had established our ability to trust each other, we moved on to the high ropes course. I've always wanted to do one, but until now have never had the chance. Two words: Awe. Some. There were four set-ups:
The first consisted of a single wire which two people had to walk along, from opposite ends, crossing each other in the middle, using suspended ropes as supports. Toby and I did this one, which was not exactly difficult but which (being the first one) was really scary.
The second consisted of two wires at about shoulder-width apart, with small wooden platforms at intervals. Again, two people had to cross from opposite ends, this time without the hanging ropes. Asaki and I did this one together, and had fun!
The third consisted of a pole that you climb, stand up on, then jump off of trying to touch a hanging globe or grab onto a trapeze. I tried for the trapeze but didn't quite reach it.
The fourth is basically a hanging bunch of ropes and logs and wires with a tires at the top. Two people climb it, using each other as support. This one requires not only guts but also a fair amount of strength. Also by far the coolest. Toby and I did this one together, and it was a definite bonding experience.



Who's strong? We're strong! Me, Toby, and Stephanie rockin' the climbing look.



See how tall it is? Ay, que miedo!



Toby and I at the top of the fourth one! We were so proud of ourselves! I couldn't stop giggling.


Then after all this excitement, we went to eat lunch. Per usual on these group outings lately, the food was bad; however, to be quite frank, this meal was an all-time low of unappetizing food. As you may already know, I am not a picky eater yet could not bring myself to eat more than a few bites of ANYTHING that was served to us as part of this 4-course meal. Couldn't even eat the cake we had for Asaki's birthday. Too baaad...

But after said disappointing lunch we returned to the fun stuff! Stephanie and I rented a crazy bicycle which has the basic shape of a golf cart, but powered by two sets of bicycle gears and steered by a tiller connected to the front wheels. It was fun to bop around in for a little while, but it was surprisingly difficult to pedal. No probs, however, we recruited a few more friends and all took turns riding and pushing the cart from behind. Wheeee!! Then we chilled on the lawn until it was time to go. Returned to Puebla very satisfied, very proud, and very, very tired.




Zapotitlan II:
So I returned for a one-night camping trip to Zapotitlan Salinas, the same place I camped with my biology class. This time, however, we went just myself, Dofus, and Roberto. Their ecology class was there doing a field-trip, but the group camped at a different spot while we stayed with the same senora as before. We pretty much got treated like family. Our time consisted of two data collections that the boys had to do for class (I helped) which took about an hour each, several hikes to cool places, and plenty of hanging out and talking. Oh yeah, and I bought a baby cactus (Ferrocactus latispinus)which I will now have to smuggle back into the USA. Allow me to explain in photos:


Beautiful landscape!! I feel so happy here.



Roberto on the left, Dofus on the right. Yeah, guys, whatever...



Do you remember la Frijola? She's so big now! I want to bring her home with me, but for several reasons that's out of the question. I guess I'll just have to visit her frequently!



BMF arachnid, about the size of my palm. This was one of two that we saw. We got to watch it catch, disable, and devour a bee. This is why biology is awesome.



Before we could climb the mountain up to some ancient ruins and tomb, we had to ask permission from the gods. This is our guide, with the conch shell he played to the four corners of the earth, as well as a few other spiritual articles, including corn and water. The ceremony was basically that we all stood in a circle around him and faced east, he prayed, we repeated a word in (I think) Nahautl, then he played the shell and we all held our hands up to receive the energy. Then we repeated that facing the other three cardinal points, always turning to our left.




Thanksgiving:
Well, let's just say that there's no place like home. The Thanksgiving dinner organized for us by the program was not exactly a shining success. Though I must say that I think I enjoyed it pretty thoroughly anyway. Sure, the turkey was unappetizing (they said it was smoked but I say turkey shouldn't be pink and gelatinous) and there were no mashed potatoes, but everything else was pretty good. There was stuffing and cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, so my favorite parts were present (minus the mashed potatoes, of course). Shout out to some amazing chocolate chip cookies!! And although there were some complaints from the group, no one can deny that they had a fun time!