Howard Johnson Plaza - Monterrey

... day. <br><br>The surprising part, at least for me, was that I really enjoyed Monterrey. The city itself is interesting, and we explored several free museums and an interesting park. We also went for a nice long walk along a canal (not clear if this was a natural canal made pretty or a man-made canal). The entire length had been made into a park, where they hold concerts, yoga, have boatrides, whatever. There are also ...

... of back alley in downtown Monterrey. It has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom with AC! All for US$10 per night! Sometimes even though we seem to be taken care of - there's just no peace. Monterrey is a BEAUTIFUL city, although very Americanized. After two more meetings were set up for this weekend, we knew we had to cancel and keep moving. It was confirmed by MANY. The people were not happy, but oh well. On to Tampico!

... br> When we arrived at the church, we met the pastor in the back. They told me that I had to speak, yet this was news to me. I declined nicely, and they kept pushing me until Rob said "She doesn't want to!" They had a shocked look on thier face. See, I really felt that I wasn't supposed to. <br> So we walked into the church, which was more like an overcrowded room. I entered the pew and the woman to the left of me was ...

... a boat trip around the lake in a boat belonging to Evers' friend Jimmy along with his son also called Jimmy (who also entertained us with their brilliant family band and some great rock and roll!). All in all, Monterrey as great fun, it was great to meet with a familiar face and be shown such a good time with great people. Thank you Ever, Laura and all the Garza family!

... anxiety, and loneliness, and (3) reintegration and adaptation, where you gradually adjust to your environment. During the flight, I felt a sudden pang of anxiety. How would I communicate? What will it be like? I was scared of not being in control... As soon as I got there, I realized that many people here actually speak English and that my limited Spanish was enough to get me through. After studying six years of ...

Arriving at the airport!! ahh freaking out still not knowing if my friend was going to be there waiting for me. I was an hour later then nwhat i orginally was going to be so there could have been any chance that no one was at the airport waiting for me. Picking up my bag off the machine, while keeping every eye out for my amigo, looking looking jaja Ahhhhh Yay!! :D i see him im happy now. Driving from the airport in monterrey to sabinas a small townlike 3hours away way ...

... apparently the tour changes depending on how much water is present in the caves, or how the rocks are. it was slippery in some places but mostly it was just covered in concrete paths. Saturday was fun! we went to Texas to buy clothes. apparently Texas is the cheapest place to buy clothes, with Monterrey having prices as much as double. i got a haircut too. it was such a strange feeling to finally once again feel like i ...

Well... I finally arrived. It's the last time I'll ever take a red-eye flight after drinking with friends and my father at the airport :P Tequila is fun, not before a flight. ha. Then of course, I assume that a shot of whisky straight up will put me to sleep, but god was I ever wrong. lol. finally, i am here! Monterrey is gorgeous .. Marichu even more. we met at the airport ...

... and you it eat with tortillas and salsa. There's also unlimited chips and salsa. I thought it was really good. After eating, we went to a place called the Luv Pub. It's a little bar across the street from campus. It was a lot different from other places I've been. We sat on the floor--there were tons of pillows--which I thought was pretty cool. Most of the music was techno and in English, but all of the ...

... was about this point I realised I was going to be staying on my own and not seeing the others. Baudelio and Eva took me to their old beat up people carrier and off we went - first to Eva´s Mum and Dad´s (it was fathers day!) so I met them and various family members - all with very little english on their part or spanish on mine (lots of smiles). Then on to Baudelio´s parents - by this time it was about 7 or 8ish in the evening. There was a big family party in the large ...