San Cristobal de Las Casas

After 17 hours, 3 flights, 1 taxi ride and very little sleep I finally made it to Mexico, more importantly to Kurtis! I feel kind of silly going to Mexico for Spring break, you'd think I could be a little more creative...I can't count how many groups of college girls I saw in the Chicago airport getting on my flight to Mexico city. This included one group of three girls wearing pink tanktops with "Free Snooki" written on them- not only making a reference to Jersey shore but also to their favorite extracurricular activities...

I have met the whole group of students Kurtis has been with and they all seem like very cool people, very friendly.

We are being rained out today so we are holed up in Tierra Dentro, a center full of little zapatista shops around a café which serves delicious food and drinks. I have never heard rain this hard, the leaking plastic rooves probably emphasize the noise but I am just glad to have a roof over my head for now. We were rained out yesterday too- about 10 minutes walk from our hotel it started pouring down rain, St Louis style rain, and we had to run all the way back to our hotel without raincoats. Needless to say we were completely soaked but laughing and very conscious of the fact that we looked ridiculous to the locals who were taking shelter under the eaves of buildings, watching us run right by.

Before getting poured on we walked through the text-tile market which was full of beautiful scarves and hand-embroidered shirts mostly sold by indigenous women who wear their traditional clothing. It has really surprised me how much the indigenous culture is a part of everyday life here.

The city feels so much safer than Nicaragua I can't even begin to describe it- I could walk around on my own and honestly not feel the least bit worried or harassed- don't worry, I'm still very aware of everything around me! The city is beautiful, all the bright pastel colors and dozens of cathedrals really make this town special.

Today, Kurtis and I got up early (for us) and took his clothes to the laundry-mat where they wash, dry and fold and large load for less than 3 bucks and then we headed out on a walk that lasted us until lunch. We climbed all the way up to this catholic church that sits on the top of a hill, overlooking San Cristobal, arriving right as mass was starting so we got to hear the bells over and over and over again. We hung out there for awhile, it was still blue skies so we got to enjoy the sun. We headed down after an hour or so and went to the market to get lunch which was chicken quesadillas on homemade tortillas and stewed chicken in tomatoes and a delicious sauce with rice and tortillas. Right as we got to our little café to eat, the hail started-that's right, hail! Then the rain. By the time we were done eating we were able to head out to pick up Kurtis' laundry, this time with raincoats, without getting completely soaked. Now we are sitting in Tierra Dentro and I am enjoying every minute of it. Great Zapatista café con leche and a two man mariachi band playing. Life is good.