!Viva Mexico!

This last weekend a lot of the international students went to Guadalajara for the weekend. There were about 12 of us total..and we even ran into other internationals there who hung out with us. We got there really late friday night and checked into our hotel then went and found some tacos because we were all starving. Honestly, Guadalajara is definitely not a place that I would ever want to live..it is far too big for me. It is like the second largest city after Mexico City. It just isn't as cozy as Queretaro. Queretaro is a big city, with tons of things to do..but with that same feel as a small town.
Saturday in Guadalajara we first did a lot of sight-seeing. We saw sooo many beautiful Catholic churches, I took a lot of pictures of those and inside. hah One time we were all taking pictures inside and I was kind of waiting for everyone to get done, and some lady came and whispered something in my ear like "This is the house of God" but in spanish..it was something like that, because I was kind of startled by her and she said it really fast. But you are allowed to take pictures in there, I guess she just thought it was rude. BRIGHT SUN (I'm allowed to throw in a few inside jokes here and there, right?)
Later in the day we went to several parks, and to a museum which had a lot of murals and paintings by Jose Clemente Orozco, which is Mexico's most famous muralist, supposedly more famous than Diego Rivera, but I had never heard of him before I came here. Come on...Diego Rivera, you know who I am talking about..he was married to Frida Kahlo, here is one of his murals that you will probably recognize.
After the museum we all met in the market because I had heard that the markets in Guadalajara were the cheapest in all of Mexico so I really wanted to go there. I bought a super-mexican looking women's shirt and some headbands that were about 25 cents each, the kind that you can buy at walmart or target for like 6 bucks..so nice deal huh? OH YEAH..and where-ever you go in Mexico, you have to eat the food that that place is known for!!! In Guadalajara it is Torta Ahogada!! WOW..it literally means, drowned sandwich! It was soo good. Basically, it is a bread called birote salado (salty bread) stuffed with fried pork meat, bathed in a chili sauce, served with big amount of tomatoes sauce, lime and limed or pickled onion slices. I ate 2 that weekend! It is hard for me not to eat pork here because meals are so centered around it so I'm just taking a break from that for now! Its too hard to avoid! Here a link to what it looks like http://lidercorp.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/torta-ahogada.jpg And John and Liz, we can eat these when you come because this is food from Jalisco and Puerto Vallarta is in Jalisco! Lucky you! ;) Oh yeah, I still need ideas and recipes for what I should cook my roommates for an American meal!
So anyway, after the market and stuffing our faces..we went to a Tequila Factory called Tequila del Senor, which use to be the makers of Patron, but they sold the brand to an American Company. Patron cannot actually be called tequila any more because only the alcohol that is made in Jalisco can be called Tequila, just like that whole champagne thing, only if it is made in that part of France can it be called that. They showed us all the plants that are made for the tequila and they take sooo many years to grow, and the alcohol has to sit for so long in barrels, and depending on how long it stays in the barrel is which kind it is. Then we got to sample the tequila, which you think would be the best part but I do not really like the taste of tequila. He was like "just put a little in your mouth and swirl it around to impregnant the tongue, then take another sip and each sip tastes better" Pfff...yeah right. It tastes better with mountain dew, which, by the way, they do not have in mexico. There was this bottle of tequila they had for about 1500 dollars because it was in a crystal bottle with all kinds of diamonds on it and was a brand of tequila that had been in the barrels for 12 years. That is the kind of alcohol that if you mix with any thing the person would be insulted.
Omg..I'm not even done with talking about the trip to Guadalajara but this is a lot so I will do more later! The same group of people that went there, we are leaving for Zihuatanejo tonight at 11:30 on the bus, and the bus will arrive there at 7 in the morning..so I am sort of not looking forward to that bus trip. But I am SOOO excited to see Zihuatanejo, ever since I have seen the movie Shawshank Redemption I have wanted to go there..the beach at the end of the movie where its so mellow and peaceful. YES, i get to see that..although it might be raining some I don't care! VAMONOS!

-Besos!