I Finally Feel Comfortable

A major breakthrough today -- suddenly I can understand almost all of what is said to me, and am conversing way better too. I have heard that a stay of less that three weeks is almost useless, as it takes at least a week for your brain to adjust, and that seems to be the case since I will have been here a week tomorrow. I'm sad that the two women I've grown closest to are leaving this weekend, though.....damn! The other people are nice, but that leaves just four of us, 2 men and 1 other woman plus me, and they are all beginners. There is a man coming this weekend, but he is advanced, supposedly really advanced.....and anyway I am hardly going to pal around with him. It will be odd to have just 5 of us here, and no one to do things with. Sigh! But I like doing things alone too, so it will be fine. Mostly I'm just so happy that I finally seem to be making real progress. Went to the Naval Museum today, which is actually more of a museum dedicated to the history of Verzcruz. It was great! Loved all the maps of what people thought the world looked like back in the 1400's. Lots about Cortez, the Aztecs, etc. Tomorrow we are going on a field trip to a pyramid and also to the place where Cortez had a fort -- the other group is going on a boatride through a mangrove jungle, so I hope I get to do that next week. On Saturday Mary Ann (an advanced student) and I are going to go to Jalapa, about a 2 hour bus ride away. Is supposed to be very different from here, cool and in the mountains amid beautiful terrain. May go white-water rafting that day too if there is time -- ah, the life of the world traveller, haha!

More tomorrow, right now we are heading out to the weekly performance of the ballet folklorico, and then to dinner on the zocalo (main out-door plaza, lots of activities, people watching and restaurants with outdoor seating). More pictures and gab tomorrow, so hasta entonces!