When I arrived at Plaza del Sol, I couldn't find the house and no one knew where it was. And since I had made friends with the hotel staff, I thought it would be fun to see them again (even though I had left the previous night) and ask where this place was. They knew it immediately and said that it was 3 blocks away. When I arrived at the house, no one answered and there was a guy next house that was outside and he let me borrow his phone to call her. When I saw the place, I loved it. The common room has so much space and has a feeling of openness. Paty reminds me a lot of Houda and then I also met 2 Germans who are living there which reminded me of the Germans I know. So I probably like it so much because it reminded me of Sweden, but I don't know. There are 6 rooms and the Germans (Johannes and Michaela) are a couple and share a room. There is also a Mexican that lives there and there will be another German/Mexican (I can't remember) coming on the 19th.
So I decided then and there that I wanted to live there and asked about all the rules, etc. Here, when you rent a place, the first month you have to put in a deposit that is equal to the amount of your rent. Essentially, you pay 2 months rent, the first month. But you get it back at the end of the contract as long as nothing is damaged and so you just don't pay for the last month. Everything in this place is included which is great for me because I'll be staying for a year and after that I don't know. So I don't want to furnish a place and then have to get rid of the stuff. Water, gas, electricity, cable, and internet are all included plus someone cleans the common room once a week. They also supply the room with a TV, DVD player and sheets. And all the furniture is new in my room! It's a really great location too because it is about 15 minutes away from school by bus. And it costs about $250/month. Sweeet!
Her dad, Alejandro, owns another house and they were having a bbq for everyone from both houses at that house on Sunday and we decided that I would sign the contract then. I was so excited to have a place. It is really stressful trying to take care of your things and move them from place to place and trying to not waste money when you don't have your usual resources with you. I could not help smiling as I walked. I had to share my happiness with someone and so I went back to the hotel. They were very happy for me and I was about to leave when Victoria asked me if I still wanted to go to a Mexican wedding. What?! Are you serious? Of course I do. She explained to me that her friend from school was getting married and she had an extra ticket so we decided to meet around 6 to go to it.
So my plan was to go to Plaza del Sol and exchange money so I would have it for Sunday and then go back to Tomás' place and call up Danielle. But there is a soccer field right next to the hotel and I really wanted to play. Since there wasn't an official game going on, I went in and asked a group of Mexicans if I could play with them to which they replied "Of course." And after playing for about 20 minutes another team came and so I thought we were getting kicked off the field but they were actually there to play the group that I was kicking around with. Then, they asked me if I would play on their team and of course I did.
These fields are a lot different than typical ones. They are about the size of a full street basketball court and there are no throw-ins, only kick-ins. They call it fútbol rapido. I played forward and was doing pretty good but their goal keeper was a like a grasshopper. I had 2 really good, hard shots on goal and they were barely within his reach but he got to them. Then near the end of the half I went for the ball and my leg stopped while the rest of my body kept going. So I pulled my hamstring pretty bad and sat out the rest of the half.
But then I went back in the 2nd half and shot 3 more really good ones and somehow he stopped those as well. I had one that hit the crossbar and bounced on the ground which he knocked back out straight to me, to which I struck right into the left-side post and he knocked that out too. Ridiculous! So we ended up loosing 4-1 but it was a really good game and they wanted me to play with them from then on. So I will probably do that once I come back from the United States.
They told me which bus would get me back to Tomás' house and it was a very difficult ride because my hamstring was still hurting and the bus was always full, so I stood the entire time. But I made it, took a shower and a real short nap and then headed to meet Victoria. By the way, the buses here cost $0.45 no matter where you get on or off. It's the same with the metro. The taxi ride cost me $7.00. I'm going to be taking the bus a lot :-D. Actually I'm looking to buy a bike but the drivers here seem pretty crazy so I don't know if I'll get one.
Victoria doesn't have a car and so her friend, Ricardo picked us up. And then we met up with 2 of her other friends (Adrian and another guy who I don't remember). And then we went to the wedding. It was so much fun. I really liked watching the people and the couples and the children and thinking about their interactions. I also saw and "learned" traditional Mexican dances - la banda and I can't remember the name of the other one. Afterwards another one of her friends, Raul, met up with us and we ended up hanging out at Ricardo house until 3 in the morning just talking and having a good time. They are all really great people and I'm so happy that I met them. Talking Spanish the whole time though really drains me and so I was glad to go to sleep and talk English to myself hahah.
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