I finally arrived in Querétaro on Saturday and I already am in love. The city is very colonial style, and it looks somewhat like a European city. The buildings are all old stone, very elegant, the streets are all cobblestone and almost too small for a normal sized car to drive down. We stayed in a wonderful hostel Saturday night called Casa de San Gallito, gallito means rooster, and there were many rooster references throughout the place. The logo itself is of a rooster head, and they sell merchandise with roosters on them; I have no idea what significance roosters have to this particular hostel but it was kind of different and fun. The hostel had no roof over the main entrance/lobby area, which shows just how beautiful the weather is here. The entire building reminded me of a movie I saw that was filmed in Greece. It was all white stone with giant archways and open windows. If it wasn’t so expensive per night I would make an excuse just to stay there again! But yesterday was the big day! I FINALLY got to meet mi familia! My señora is very, very friendly; her name is Ana Luisa. She immediately greeted me with un beso, a kiss, on the cheek and a big hug. My señor, Miguel, is also very friendly; he is an accountant and also very funny. My guess is they are in their early 60s. La abuelita, my host grandma, lives in the house as well, and she is 93 years old! She is very cute and I love talking to her. I also noticed during la comida today that she ate more than anyone else! They also have a dog, Noli, but she doesn’t like me yet. She’s some kind of small Scotty looking dog with a handlebar mustache and kind of long hair. After la comida yesterday, the biggest meal of the day served at 3pm, I went to a meeting with the program directors and all of the other students to go over our schedules and class times. I’ll be taking Mexican Civilization, Advanced Writing, and Mexican Literature, and will be at school from 8:30-2pm Monday through Friday. I’d say that’s a pretty darn good schedule! After the meeting I went to my host parents’ son’s house, where there were tons of people waiting to meet me, and it was quite overwhelming. I’m pretty sure all of the men named their son’s Miguel because my host parents’ son was named Miguel, his son is named Miguel, and I think I heard another Miguel as well, but I lost count. There were brothers of my host parents’ son, their wives and kids, and I think a couple of cousins with their wives and kids as well. I met about 15 or more people total, and all with besos on the cheek. So far I think Queretaro is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. The weather is great, mid 80s usually, with bright blue skies and no pollution, thanks to the 6000ft altitude, and almost everything I need is within a 30 minute walk, which is perfect because I get to see and take pictures of all the buildings along the way. Today I had my first day of school and so far I like my classes. It’s hard to concentrate on school though when my mind feels like I should be on vacation! It’s too pretty here to take anything seriously, in my opinion. But I think that’s also true of most people here. After school and after comida my family is always telling me, descansa hija, go take a nap! And of course they don’t have to tell me twice. Napping is very common here, which I love because it has always been my favorite part of the day. And speaking of sleep…it’s 11pm now and I have class at 8:30 tomorrow morning! Ay! Nos vemos!
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