¡Fotos de Mérida!

 I'm alive. It's been a busy couple of days so I wasn't able to write. Please forgive me. No, Manny, I was not kidnapped and forced to participate in the Mexican drug war. It would have made a great story though. I guess it could still happen.

My flight got into Mérida around 11:30 on Monday night. I flew from Vegas to Houston and then from Houston to Mérida. Altogether, it was about seven hours of flying. On my first flight I sat next to a couple from Veracruz and got to talk some Spanish with them. The husband is a lawyer. They gave me their email and told me that I could come stay with them in Veracruz if I went down there. Just a bunch of nice people. On my second flight I sat by a lady named Rosa Rodriguez that lives in Mérida part of the year. She was really outgoing and really nice. We basically just talked about Yucatecan food the whole flight. Here we are at the airport in Mérida. Also, a little peek at my sweet farmer's tan.

Rosa y yo

My Mexican dad was waiting for us at the airport. His name is Ariel and my mom's name is Bety. Ariel drove us to the house. It was SOOOO humid in Mérida when we stepped out of the airport. There had been rain and there was fog and it was super wet. I felt like I was trying to breathe in a sauna (yes, I do know how that feels because of my work experience in the spa). We slept very good even though it was about 85 degrees in our room. Yesterday, we went to the university for an overview of our classes and then we went home and played soccer for a few hours with THIS GUY. 

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Mi amigo José

Mi madre Bety

José is the grandson of Bety y Ariel and he lives with them. Basically, we're best amigos already. He's awesome. We went to downtown Mérida last night, which is called Centro. We got what is supposed to be the best ice cream in the city at Sorbeteria Colon. And it was muy great. 

I got coconut sorbet in a glass of milk. It was unbelievable.

The interior of San Ildefonso La Catedral, which is either the first or the second church ever built in the Americas.  It is built out of stones from Mayan temples. Located in the center of the city.

San Ildefonso

We had some tacos last night at a restaurant and then rode the bus back to our house. Here's some daylight pictures.

View of our house from the street

View from the backyard

La Universidad Modelo, the university that we attend. 

So, there you go. I'll keep adding pictures and stuff as I go for whoever is reading this. I'm doing great and I love it. And I have to get off the computer to go play soccer. Ciao.

Off to Mexico

My flight to Mérida leaves tomorrow at 12:34 PM. Am I nervous? Not yet, actually. I've been in Vegas since Thursday so it already feels like I'm on vacation. It's been great just hanging out with family and friends, especially my cousin David and his wife Kambria. We've accomplished a lot while I've been here, including hours of Super Smash Bros., eating lots of food, hiking on Mt. Charleston, night tennis, and more. My brain hasn't realized that tomorrow I leave on a much bigger trip. Here are some pics I found on the internet of Mérida, the city in Mexico that I'll be in for the next two months. 

View of the city. I really want to go climb those mountains.

Typical house interior in Mérida (I hope!). Apparently, they sleep in hammocks there. They say they're the best homemade hammocks in the world. I'm going to buy one and bring it home.

View from the beach in Progreso, about thirty minutes from where I'll be living. 

Well, there you go. I'll do my best to take better pictures than these when I get there. I know the language and culture shock will be rough at first but it'll work out. Those Mexicans won't know what hit them, especially if I get my Mexi-stache going again. Feel free to give me Mexico tips if you've ever had the chance to go down there. Hasta luego mis amigos.

Zebra Butter???

What's with the butter and the zebra and why is the butter hot and why is it on a zebra's back? I'm sure these questions have popped into your mind. They popped in my mind too when I came back from my mission and remembered that I had created a blog back in high school. I finally found it through Google skills. Here's the link if you want to see how much I accomplished with that blog...

http://hotzebrabutter.blogspot.com/

The best zebra picture I could find

In reality, the only thing that old blog was good for was giving me a title for my new blog. I have no idea why I titled it that. I think back in high school I used to just say or write whatever popped into my head sometimes to try and keep and things interesting. Anyways, maybe someday I can get a picture of a zebra with hot butter on its back and put it as my background. Until then, the title will stand alone and continue to cause confusion to all of those who read it, whether they read this explanation or not.