Fiesta Inn Morelia

... moon rising over the mountain side and reflecting the orange glow of the sunset opposite it.<br><br>It had been a surreal and unforgetable weekend, despite the disappointing commercialisation of this ancient indigenous festival. It is certainly something worth experiencing once in your life, although I would recommend trying one of the smaller islands in Lake Patzcuaro, which are less likely to be so overrun by tourists and should offer a more authentic version of the Day of the Dead.<br>

... Mexicans took us to a trendy club with an outside bar and a magnificent view of the city lights down in the valley below. I spent the vast majority of my weekend's money on one bottle of Bacardi, from which I got about two drinks as many others helped themselves. Still, we had a great time and it was definitely one of the coolest clubs I've ever been to. We headed back to the bus around 3am but it was only then that the real fun kicked off. Upon returning we consumed far too much of ...

... pretty fluently. Exciting! I've started buying the local newspaper this week too, and can get much of it! <br><br>I seemed to hit a big bump in classes around Tuesday where I couldn´t say anything right, but seem to have gotten over it a bit. Conversation class has started to be really fun - Lupita (see picture several entries ago) really keeps us on our toes and keeps the ball rolling. Also went to Conversation Club a couple of times and both salsa classes this week ...

... specialize their in own handicraft. Also visited the market where we could see (and purchase) some of these handicrafts. Bought a beautiful terracotta pot for about $17...still working on how I´m going to get it home! (what´s Spanish for bubble wrap - plastica con burbujas?)<br><br>Pátzcuaro - went to a nice restaurant for lunch and then wandered around the market and square. Watched the dance of "los viejitos" - young people dressed in traditional ...

It´s Wednesday of my second week already - the time is flying! We are marching on through the maze of Spanish verbs in the first two hours of classes each day, and I was very glad that today that we tackled pluperfecto (have done, had done, will have done, will have wanted to have done if I hadn´t already done...okay I made that one up!) which I´m finding almost comforting after days of trying to decide whether I want imperfecto or pretérito and when I do decide ...

... and the dorm rooms. The rest of the afternoon was spent painting, finishing the tile, installing shower curtains (not as easy as it sounds without any way to hang it) thanks to Russ it got finished, and then cleanup. When the children came home from school it became quite busy - Patti, Carol, Deborah Ann, and Sally continued with the knitting they had started the day before. Patti worked on some art projects ...

... clean with nice linen and cable TV and the staff was friendly. Their advertised rates were 250 and 300 Peso for 1 or 2 persons but they immediately knocked 50 Peso off. <br><br>Hotel Valmen, Padre Lloreda No. 34, Tel: 01 (434) 3421161. This centrally located hotel is another good budget option with current rates of 200 + 250 for 1 or 2 persons. It is much larger Hotel than the one's mentioned above and has cheerful staff and spacious rooms with ...

... night. I was pretty worn out from the week, so I slept pretty well on the bus. It was the second 12-hour bus trip in a week for me, so I'm basically a bus riding expert. I arrived back in Monterrey at 8 in the morning. I got all of my stuff in order, took a nap, and went to class at 4. My Spring break lasted 10 days, and I saw a little bit of everything. I'm really glad I decided not to go to the beach.

... of El Paso. They'd met in Chicago before moving west to Portland where they were involved in the punk music scene. Now, after packing in their jobs, they were on their way to Central America on a voyage of discovery. I loved their stories of getting busted by cops enforcing puritanical laws or of going loco down in Juarez. The girls took off for 'el defe' the following morning. I spent the afternoon wandering around the city in the company with Alejandro, a student from ...

... guns in celebration and we ate a big potluck style dinner with tacos and carnitas and more rum and tequila for everyone. Then one of the uncles came out dressed like santa. He had a present for every kid. Santa only says "ho" twice in Mexico. "Ho ho. . . ho ho. . . ho ho." The next morning we woke up really early and drove to Puerto Vallarta for a week of relaxing by the pool. Well, my apartment is coming along. I took my first hot shower ...