D.F., Puerto Vallarta, and Nuns!

¡Hola a todos!!! It's been a little while since I've written an entry and I apologize but I have been very busy as of late! I am now done with my classes here and with having received all A's (do a happy dance for me!!!) I have begun my summer vacation!! Nick recently came down to visit and we had a good time traveling a bit throughout the country.  He arrived in Mexico City (D.F.) and we ended up staying there in a really cute and quaint hostel for about 3days.  We bummed around and visited all of the really touristy areas and we even went to the zoo, which believe it or not, was completely free! This was like any other zoo really but we got to see 2 animals that I had never seen before, a hippo and a PANDA!!! I was really excited about the panda because it was so cute and cuddly (at least it looks cuddly).  I also had my first experience riding the metro...which was ok as long as I was drugged up on my dramamine.  However I did learn my lesson very quickly about getting inside the doors when the buzzer sounds after the first time of having my head, knee, and somehow foot all clapped in it's deathly grasp all at the same time?  As I stood there squealing with my foot still somehow closed in the door, thoughts of being drug along the tracks to my imminent death raced through my head.  The people already inside the metro car just stared at me, but luckily Nick came to my rescue and pulled my foot out! After the fright wore off all I could think was of how embarrassing that had been and how the people in the car were probably just shaking their heads and thinking "stupid american"!! In spite of my traumatic incident with the Mexico City metro we ended up having a pretty enjoyable time all in all.  From D.F. we took the primera plus bus back to Querétaro and stayed here with my family for one night before taking off again to Puerto Vallarta.  I found a really nice (and CHEAP!!) hostel in Puerto Vallarta that was only about a 10 minute walk from the beach and we ended up staying there for a whole week.  Pretty much we did what most people do when they're at the beach, absolutely nothing.  However, one day we did take a day trip to another smaller bohemian surf beach called Sayulita about a 45 minute bus ride from Puerto Vallarta.  Sayulita was beautiful and surrounded by tropical forest covered mountains.  After soaking up some sun and playing in the ocean for a bit we walked back towards the bus area and ended up finding a small shrimp and fish taco stand.  SOOO DELICIOUS.  Probably the best tacos I've had while in México, and trust me I've eaten a lot of tacos here.  They were 15 pesos, the equivalent of about $1.00 for what was 2 huge tacos covered in lightly fried shrimp with a mountain of shredded cabbage, carrots, tomato, and special spicy tartar sauce!!! Nick liked them, but as he was not yet used to eating in such hot weather, he was (fortunately) unable to finish his tacos.  Don't worry they definitely didn't go to waste!! For the rest of our stay in Puerto Vallarta we relaxed and bummed around.  The beach there at Puerto Vallarta was very pretty, being completely surrounded by mountains, and the water reminded me of the North Carolina coast.  However, the only thing that I didn't really like so much was the constant pestering of the beach vendors who would go around on the beach and try to get you to buy whatever they were selling.  Usually they would go away if you said no thank you, but a few were very persistent and some even offered pot and cocaine after you turned down their handmade bracelets or necklaces.  Also at the end of the stay in Puerto Vallarta, on our last day, we found a little burger shack called Derby City Burgers, and after 5 months of not having a big juicy cheeseburger it was way overdue.  These cheeseburgers were amazing and I would even say they gave U.S. cheeseburgers a good run for their money!!! I ended up ordering a "house burger" which came with avocado, pepper jack cheese, grilled jalapenos, spicy mayo and the normal fixins.  Nick ordered a different burger, that I can't remember the name of, but came with the normal fixins like ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheese and such.  These burgers were huge and sooooo good.  Also we ordered fried pickle chips for our appetizer and they were by far the best pickle chips I've ever had.  The burgers, which came with your choice of regular or sweet potato fries (which may I add were absolutely wonderful) only cost around $6.00!!  So long story short, if you ever find yourself in Puerto Vallarta don't leave without trying this place, it was great!  So after filling our bellies with yummy american food we went back to the hostel to wait until our bus left that night.  We arrived back here in Querétaro early the next morning, after a long night of being sick in the 2X2 bus bathroom, and slept most of the day before going out on one last "date night" for crepes! Once again with our bellies full of white chocolate and strawberry and nutella and banana crepes we passed out for a long night's rest.  The next morning we took the bus to Mexico City, and sadly, Nick's stay was at an end.  I quickly realized that with nothing to do and no one to explore with that I desperately needed something to occupy my time.  My host mom helped me get in touch with an institute where nuns volunteer their time and support for adolescent girls from troubled family situations.  This institute provides free housing and education (cooking, sewing, and basic academics like mathematics, science, and reading) to these girls in need.  I went on Tuesday and spoke with hermana Marta about volunteering my time there during the week doing whatever I could to help them out.  On Wednesday I went and met all of the girls and the nuns and began my first class in sewing!! Sewing is hard enough for me in English, much less in Spanish, but I have persevered and am slowly but surely learning how to cross-stitch! Many of the girls are soooo nice and my "partner" in sewing class whose name is "Dulce" or Candy is very helpful and patient with me.  While sewing is interesting, it's fun just to sit in the class and listen to the girls talk about their boy problems or gossip about who did this or who said what. They all are very nice and some talk to me more than others, but so far I have really enjoyed my time there.  While as of right now they are teaching me things, like sewing, when the end of June arrives hermana Marta has asked if I will teach English to a few of them who are eager to learn!!! This will be very exciting and a good way to repay them for my lessons in sewing and for their grand hospitality.  Now that I have something useful to do with my spare time I don't have to sit and "twiddle my thumbs" until dad comes down in July!!! Love and miss you all! ¡Hasta luego!