My new house

I moved into the house I am going to be staying in for the summer. It is on a "famous" street called Estribo. It is literally the last house on top of this extinct volcano! I still haven't had to walk up the steep street to the house, but even walking down is an adventure because of the uneven cobble streets. I have my own private bedroom, bathroom, and PORCH! It is really lovely. Since this region is known for it's handicrafts everything in the house is hand made- from the tile in the bathroom to the doors and window panes.
My roommates and fellow interns Joanne and Katrina came yesterday night. They are both medical students at Northwestern entering their second year. They are very friendly and I really looking forward to spending the summer living and exploring Mexico with them. Joanne studied abroad in D.F. (Mexico City) and so she knows a lot about Mexican culture and customs.
I have been getting annoying headaches in the afternoons the past few days. I have been drinking plenty of water (So I don't think it is the altitude) instead I blame caffeine withdrawal. I am trying to cut my diet coke addiction because "Coca-cola Lite" is too sweet- but if these headaches keep up I may fail :(

So, today Richard, Joanne, Katrina and I went to breakfast downtown. I ordered Chilaquiles (Sp?) which is a traditional Mexican breakfast of "soggy" tortilla chips with sauce, cheese, and chicken. It is a lot better than it sounds! We ate outside at restaurant on the main plaza. Richard warned us that this spot was a big gringo hangout and sure enough we got to meet two gringo couples from the states. Apparently there are around 50 ex pats who live in Patzcuaro. Most of them are retired and very friendly. Although surprisingly the couple we met this morning didn't actually speak Spanish and wasn't making any effort to try. But I guess when you are a rich old American you don't really care who you offend.
After breakfast we walked to Plaza Chica (the smaller main plaza in town) and through the open air market. It was so big and beautiful! Row after row of fresh fruits and vegetables- they all smelled so good! Joanne, Katrina, and I are very excited about cooking, although none of us really know how. We will definitely have to learn because there are so many good delicious veggies and fruits-even if we don't know what most of them are used for!
After our tour, we went to the language school to sign up for Spanish classes. We are all going to take Spanish classes for two hours a day for the next two weeks to really jump start our Spanish skills.
This afternoon we took a break for a siesta and to allow the rains (they come through every afternoon it seems like during the rainy season) to pass. Also to eat fresh Mango- yum!
We then went to our first Staff meeting and Consejo this afternoon. A consejo is meeting in which important board members and community members come and discuss the progress with the organization. There are 4 other staff members that work for Mujeres Enlazadas besides Richard and Brenda- so it was nice to meet them. The meeting was conducted entirely in Spanish which was sometimes easy and sometimes very challenging to understand. It only became completely overwhelming when multiple people were talking in Spanish at the same time. When that happened it was too hard to concentrate and I often gave up following the conversation.
After our meeting we went out for Tacos at great little taco stand on Estribo. While we were there a really cute little boy came and talked to us to practice his English. He told us all about Texas and his "Mario Bros." It was adorable. The tacos in Mexico are very tiny - about 4 inches in diameter but delicious! I ordered my with Bistec and added lime, and avocado salsa- so good and only about 30 cents a piece!
Our power is out on the main level of our house and the internet service is spotty but all in all life here is good. I am excited to begin my research and improve my Spanish.

I promise pictures soon! :)