Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Long Weekend

For the first (and only time) while we are in Mexico we had a long weekend. There was no school on Monday in honor of Constitution Day (El Día de la Constitución).  It is a major Mexican holiday which celebrates the day the Mexican constitution was formed in 1917. Although we didn't see witness or participate in any formal celebrations on the actual day, we were ecstatic about having a long weekend. 

Erin's friends, Jamie and Stephanie, came to visit for the weekend. They both teach at an American school in the state of Puebla. Jamie graduated from UW-Madison's World Languages Program last year and is now teaching English for the school's International Baccalaureate Program. The school she works for sounds really great--they pay their teachers a good salary for Mexican standards, get a complimentary flight back to the States once a year, and can get their graduate school paid for if they commit to a certain number of years at the school once they graduate. It's definitely something I might consider looking into down the road because I would love to teach abroad in the future!

Saturday was a big day for us. Cynhia, Alyssa, Erin and I learned to surf! Sayulita is a well-known place for surfers--due to the beautiful beaches and luscious waves. Ever since we got here we've been watching the surfers while tanning at the beach, promising each other that we will at least try it before we go. We tried to go last weekend but there was a swell so the waves were too big for beginners. Luckily, Poseidon was in our favor this weekend and the waves were relatively calm. Kathy connected us with the surfing instructors CVIS uses for their physical education class--yes, the kids actually get to go surfing instead of PE! 

Words of truth outside of the surf school.

The two instructors were really nice and great teachers. We started our lesson on the beach, practicing paddling and standing on the board. Easy. Then, we moved into the water. Not so easy. Even though they taught us how to navigate waves coming at us as when we were moving into the water with our boards, I kept getting water up my nose, in my mouth, and even in my ears! Luckily, our rash guards protected us from the sand, but mine was a few sizes too big for me so it made paddling and swimming more difficult than it should have been. Cynhia and Erin seemed to figure the whole surfing thing out immediately. They are born naturals. I took awhile, but eventually got the hang of it. By the end of the day we had all successfully stood up on our boards multiple times. I am proud to say I got up 4 times! And despite our instructors jokes about tsunamis coming at us and sharks swimming around us, we made it through the entire lesson without any injuries! I call that a successful first lesson.

Practicing on the beach!

Hitting the water!

Posing with our (foam)boards after a
successful first lesson!

Overall, the surfing experience was really fun and a lot easier than I expected. I would definitely go again, but then again I'm not sure if I can replicate what I learned without my instructors by my side! Cynhia is ready to go again though. After our lesson she asked if we wanted to go surfing again the next day. We all agreed to go again, but maybe not so soon. She changed her mind the next morning when we woke up with sore arms and ribs--at least we know it was a good work out! She is still on the prowl for a good deal on a rash guard though, so I am sure we will try surfing again soon.

We also tried out the Puerto Vallarta club scene for the first, and probably only time on this trip, just because it takes a lot of effort to get there. Tamra helped us arrange a driver to take us into Puerto Vallarta for the night, so we didn't have to deal with taxis. We went to a club called Mandala's. The venue was huge and spacious with a modern feel to it. They played lots of music that is typical for clubs in the U.S. The only thing that was different from the U.S. was a mini "indigenous" performance. At one point this man dressed in what was supposed to be indigenous clothing got on stage. He danced around the stage with fire for about 10 minutes. There was background music and another man was reading lines that went something like "And on the third day God created houses." It was definitely an experience! Unlike in the U.S. the clubs stay open all night. We left early, but the club was nowhere near getting ready to close for the night. 

A view of the club from upstairs. Lots of people!

We loved the bathroom wallpaper so much
that we had to take a picture. Ha!

The rest of the weekend was spent soaking up sun at the beach. I got a little over confident under the sun and ended up with extremely pink skin. Luckily my sunburns don't hurt and quickly turn into tan skin! On Monday night we celebrated La Día de la Constitución by salsa dancing at Don Pedro's Restaurant on the beach. We went with América and Jessica who tried to teach us some of the dance moves. It was so much fun and in my opinion a better form of dancing than what is typical in the U.S. The music and dance moves are so lively and well-thought out. There was a good mix of old and young people, couples and singletons. Everybody was just having fun and enjoying life. It was a fantastic way to end our long weekend! 

This weekend we discovered "Ruben's." A 
fantastic restaurant with wonderful sandwiches, fries,
and other delicious sides. It may not be authentic
Mexican food, but it sure does satisfy our "American"
taste buds!




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