Sra. Fuertes' suitcase finally came!  She is much relieved, and the students are happy for her!

We visited the city of Taxco, famous for its silver. It was a beautiful and lively place. - Julia

Yesterday after morning classes, we went to the town of Taxco. After the two hour bus ride we arrived in the very picturesque town, known for its mining of minerals such as silver, gold and copper. The mines are so deep that tourists can't go in them so instead we went to a silver store which had a replica of the mines. The stores that sell jewelry have tables covered in hundreds of earrings, bracelets and necklaces, so many that is hard to focus on just one item. We then walked through the narrow streets to the center of town where the baroque style cathedral is. The cathedral is covered in gold and ornate sculptures of the Virgin Mary, the Heart of God and many other Catholic figures. After spending some time shopping, we went to a restaurant with a gorgeous view of the town. We got back on the bus exhausted but having had a great time. - Emma

¡Hola! It's Ceci (chica de cumpleaños #2) and Susanna here. We're going to tell you about Sunday, our first day, and our amazing, yet tiring, trip to Tepoztlán and the pyramid there. On Sunday morning, we got to sleep in, because we had arrived at one in the morning the night before. We had our first breakfast with our Mexican host family. It consisted of fresh tortillas with beans, salsa and eggs; delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice; and our first taste of Mexican sweet breads. After breakfast we headed over to the institute to meet the bus. After arriving in Tepoztlán, we walked for a little while to get to the downtown market. The first thing we noticed were the colors. It was so colorful there, and all of the vendors were selling vibrant home-made crafts, souvenirs, and street food. There were so many vendors! We walked through the market to get to the mountain that we were going to climb. From afar it looked scary tall and even scarier up close. The climb took two hours, with much heavy breathing and lots of resting points. When we finally reached the top, we were able to see the small pyramid that was built by the Aztecs many years ago. We looked out on the city from the top of the mountain and the sea of colorful houses seemed the size of cars. Then, when we were all resting on the very top of the pyramid, one of the tour guides told us all about the gods that were worshipped in this pyramid. The hike down was relieving and much easier than the hike up. It only took one hour. Once we'd returned to the ground, we went to get "Tepoz Nieves," or ice cream. There were many new flavors of ice cream that we had never seen/tasted before, including flavors such as rose, lime, cheese and more tropical fruits. It was a big relief after the long climb. After this, it was quite late and we returned to the bus and drove home. We were exhausted from such a fun day and so slept extremely well that night. All in all, the day was full and tiring, but extremely worth it. It was a great beginning to such an exciting two weeks. 

¡Hola amigos! It's me, Skye, writing about my amazing birthday that I spent here in Cuernavaca yesterday. I started off my day with breakfast with my host family. My host mother served us cake with our breakfast for my birthday, which was delicious! We then headed over to the school, and we took our placement exams. If we weren't being tested, we would be hanging by the pool. It was really nice to bond with my fellow trip goers while enjoying the heat of the Mexican sun. After the exams, we found out our groups and then headed to class for a few hours. ¡Class was muy divertido! After class, we went back to our host families to eat the main meal of the day- lunch! There was an abundance of food, and even after I was done eating (or so I thought), my family kept bringing out more. After chilling at home for a bit, it was time to go explore downtown. The group met at the school, and from there we took taxis to the center of Cuernavaca. The taxi was definitely an experience, and driving on the streets of Cuernavaca felt like I was in a car racing video game. It was really fun! When we got to downtown, the center was beautiful. The buildings were vibrant with color, and the cathedral we visited was amazing. We then headed to the marketplace, and had some free time to shop around. I bought some pens and bracelets, and they cost less than 5 USD! Wow. I love how cheap everything is here. It makes me feel rich :) After shopping, we got to watch the sunset over the hills of downtown Cuernavaca. It was fabuloso. 

Break time at the little cafeteria in the school.  Estela makes the most delicious food ever.

Dinner at Pizzería Marco Polo to celebrate Skye and Ceci's birthdays!

Churros!  After leaving the Cathedral in downtown Cuernavaca.

​In the Mexico City airport - flights were uneventful, customs line in Mexico City was long and boring, but poor Sra. Fuertes lost her luggage!  Here we're waiting while she deals with airport bureaucracy.  Good news!  Her suitcase has been located and is en route to Cuernavaca. 

On the bus to our first excursion to Tezpotlán, a bustling tourist market town about 45 minutes outside of Cuernavaca.

Bug spray application before students make the trek up a mountain to see some ruins.  The verdict?  "Tepoztlán: the struggle." - Destiny.  "It was the hardest thing I've ever done." - Skye.  "Very, very hard.  We stopped very frequently." - Riley.  Welcome to Mexico!  Fortunately our other excursions will be less strenuous!

At the beautiful Cuauhanauc institute! Students are relaxing before and after their placement exams.