Chocolate and Cheese

This weekend was quite an adventure. It started out with none other than THE BACKSTREET BOYS. That's right, I am just that cool. I went to a BSB concert on Friday night. In my defense, I would never have gone to see them if they'd come to Michigan in concert. However, for some reason the fact that they were coming to Puebla, Mexico was just to hilarious to pass up. I mean, to go to their concert 10 years after they're actually big, and in Mexico of all places.. it's just such a unique experience! Anyway the concert was hilarious from the first moment they stepped on stage dressed as boxers. The first number involved them dancing/"fighting" inside a boxing ring they set up in the middle of the stage. It was probably one of the cheesiest things I've ever experienced. And it was also fun just singing and dancing to the old songs and reliving a bit of my junior high years.
ANYWAY, the really exceptionally fun part of my weekend was a trip to Oaxaca with some friends. We waited until the last minute to decide where to go (but were set on going somewhere since we had today off.. woohoo!! Today is Benito Juarez's birthday. He is the most famous and beloved president of Mexico. Basically, he's their Abe Lincoln. But there I go on a tangent trying to educate everyone about Mexico! Sorry.) So, Friday morning my friend Abbie said they'd decided on Oaxaca, and even though mom and Caitlin and I are going there for a few days during Spring Break, I decided to go with them rather than stay here. And I don't regret going at all. Actually, I can't wait to go back; there are still several cool things there I didn't get to do, and I just loved the ambiente.. I can't think of how to say it in english.. I guess I'll just say the feel of the place. It's very pretty and relaxed.. and its famous for its chocolate and cheese.. need I say more? Yesterday we went on a tour which included seeing the world's widest tree!!! (actually, that part was the most boring), going to a place where we watched and learned how people make Oaxacan rugs (which was really cool. they use plants and such to dye the wool!), checking out some ruins (where people dressed up as Aztecs were performing dances in honor of the equinox), hiking to a petrified waterfall where I got to swim in a pool formed by a natural spring (the deal here is that the water from the spring has a lot of calcium and salt in it, so through the years the calcium deposits from the water built up as the water tricked down the mountainside.. even though there is extremely little water flowing down the "waterfall" at any given time, the build-up looks like a ginormous waterfall), and finally going to a Mezcal factory to take some free samples (Mezcal is an ancient drink here.. you may be familiar with the most popular variety, Tequila.) Anyway, the stuff we tried was disgusting.. apparently they add stuff to tequila which makes it taste better. So, imagine stuff that tastes a lot worse than tequila, and you've got mezcal! Anyway, we'd learned about it in my Mexican Culture class, so even though it was awful, it was cool to actually try it. I love having so many opportunities here to actually experience and see the things that I learn about in class! It makes me really happy. I feel like I'm going to be an expert in Mexican culture by the time I leave. : ) But anyway, the tour was really cool. My favorite part was the waterfall. It was just really unique, and the view of the mountains was gorgeous. Other fun parts of the weekend were going to the markets here, and on Saturday night, going to the restaurant in a nice hotel that overlooks the city. The view was gorgeous, and the strawberry daquiri I had was made with fresh strawberries. That's something you don't get in the states! Another great thing about the weekend was how sweet the owners of the hostel we stayed in were. The husband made a very sincere effort to learn all of our names, asked us what kind of music we like (when I said old stuff like Frank Sinatra, he proceeded to bring down a DVD of "Frankie boy" (his words) for us to watch), and when we asked for the number of a pizza place, he let us use their phone to call, even helping me give them the address of the hostel. They couldn't have been nicer. So yea, that was quite a detailed description of my weekend. It was just really great and definitely one of the best experiences I've had so far!