Almost done

well, i am at the end of my second week and it seems
like it just raced by. i'm working really hard in my
classes because i know this is my last chance to get
some formal training. next week i'm headed to an
orphanage for four days to help out and to practice
more spanish. this weekend it's off to sunny,
beautiful, lazy acapulco.
i've come to realize that the amount of time that
we've had here is just enough to get used to being
here and already i have to leave in less than a week.
sometimes, in the morning i get up and go outside to
look at the volcano which is in nearby peublo. you
usually can only see it in the morning because it gets
shrouded in clouds after that. it's just a reminder of
what a cool place i get to spend time at. i've been
going down to el centro a lot and to the catedral just
to walk around and talk to the vendors. i can now say
that i am able to make a phone call in spanish as well
as ride the bus by myself, ask directions to the black
market, and read national geographic in spanish. i've
also discovered that i love spanish/latin american
music. i just bought cds by juanes, jarabe de palo,
maná, and manu chao. $13 for five!
my dilemma at the moment is trying to figure out what
to give my host family as a thank-you gift. they're
great but it's hard to think of something that they
need or that they don't already have. speaking of
mexican families i should tell you that the family
set-up down here is very different than in the states.
most children live in their parents house until they
get married (which isn't all that soon considering
none of the "kids" in my house are married and they're
all older than me). and when they do move out, it is
often just down the block or even within the same
gated community. my house is part of the gated area
that surrounds the school and it is entirely made up
of the sandervol family. edmundo, the director of the
school is the brother of one of my parents (i haven't
figured out which one yet). anyways, everyone here is
very affectionate and quite vocal in their
conversation. they don't shout but they're very
expressive and i'm laughing during most dinners just
from watching the expressions on their faces.
today was the last day of our classes (que triste) and
although i'm looking forward to going back to the
states, i'm going to miss the people i've hung out
with down here. last night, a bunch of us from the
school (all americans) went out to zumbale which is a
really popular dance club on thursday nights for salsa
dancing. fantastic music and some seriously good
dancing. i don't have the faintest idea how to salsa
and so i pretty much stuck to the sidelines. later in
the night (around 1am) they started playing some
american songs that i had danced to in junior high and
highschool (i.e. gangster's paradise) and i was so
excited that i actually knew the song! i didn't need
much convincing to get out on the dance floor then and
i ended up dancing for the next two hours. i didn't
get back to the house until 3am at least. so 3.5 hours
of sleep and 6 hours of classes later, i am completely
wiped out. that's ok, because i can sleep on the bus to
acapulco. :)
it's possible that this will be my last email out
because i don't know what the email situation will be
at the orphanage and i don't know if i'll get to an
internet cafe between now and then. so take care
everyone!