Right, once more I'm (just a bit) a bit delayed in posting. But, three weeks ago we had our exchange orientation, located at the wonderful Santa Maria del Oro lagoon resort. We had the whole resort to ourselves, 46 exchange students and 10 odd Rotex (plus some Rotary members). It was a fantastic few days! We had a lovely three days getting to know each other, with a bonfire, loads of games, a boat tour around the lagoon, and a ton of playing around in the pool and lagoon! Then, for a day and a night, we were in Guadalajara. It was awesome getting to know all of these kids from various countries- pretty amazing that we could have such a fantastic time together such a short period after meeting! It is an absolutely gorgeous resort, these quaint cabins with paths that meet up and then lead to a pool, then down to the lake! Being a Canadian and therefore accustomed to glacial lakes (where you summon your courage, leap in, then immediately get out before you get frostbite), it was an interesting experience. The lagoon, despite being allegedly bottomless, was like swimming in beautiful, blue bathwater. We spent a sizable chunk of time in the water, talking and playing around. By 'playing around', I mean flipping people off of kayaks and trying to fit as many people as possible on one (always a safe activity). It was a bit unbelievable that this place is a 40 minute drive from my city- tropical lagoon resort, can't really get a better location than that! It's the sort of place for an orientation that you can only get in Mexico.
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| That's one nice view |
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| Me and the boys.... rocking the sexy (and very safe) lifejackets as we take a tour of the lagoon |
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| The dock of the resort |
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| One of the activities- Make a word. Ours was- can you guess it? Ciao. (Me neither |
The best activity we did at the resort was on the second day. Game: It was a scavenger hunt of sorts- each group of 4-6 got a clue, and then had to go find the activity it was referring to. After completing the activity you received another clue. The events were located around the entire resort. Twist: all of us had to get to each event holding hands or else we'd get sent back to the start, and the first group to complete all events won an awesome prize. Result: groups of teenagers yanking each other along holding hands, running haphazardly through the pathways for a solid hour. Along with getting a solid workout, it was hilarious. There was no way to half-ass these activities- we got competitive.
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| Exchangers all stoked standing at the edge of the pool |
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| Can you spot the exchangers? Three rather tall foreigners amongst some adorable children |
We also got to experience some quality Mexican entertainment. That same day, an elementary school from the town of Santa Maria del Oro came and performed a play about "Rigoberto". I didn't understand much of it, but I was entertained by the kid's adorable acting and their ability to hop like a frog! Then, we sat down to a performance of a few traditional dances specific to Nayarit (my state here in mexico). They were pretty awesome, the guys whistled and stomped around, while the ladies twirled their dresses in an epic illusion-creating way. I can't even explain it, but it was really interesting to watch! Afterwards, myself, the other Canadian and an Italian boy got interviewed by a cameraman about what we thought of the resort, the performance, and of Mexico in general. For some reason I felt the need to demonstrate how awesome the dresses were with hand signals. Result: at the Rotary breakfast two days later hundreds of people got to see our broken spanish explanations and foolish happy grins. (I'll try to post the video, it's got some pretty great clips).
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| Thomas, one of our lovely French boys |
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| Most of the exchange students with the lagoon in the background |
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| Representing Canada with one classy shirt |
After three days at the resort, we left for Guadalajara. We arrived at 9:00 pm, and shprtly thereafter commenced one of the most random nights I have ever experienced. The deal was that all 46 of us would separate into groups of 2-3 for the night and sleep at various rotarian's houses. I went with Sarah and Sunia (Finnish and German), with this man (I don't know if I ever actually got his name). We got into his car, and he asked us if we wanted to go to a party. Going with the whole seize the moment theme, we said Of course! and off we went. However, my visions of a happenin' mexican fiesta at someone's house died the moment we pulled up in front of a ..... castle? The gate opened to reveal a courtyard with a mariachi band, a buffet table, and multiple tables filled with adults (The kids were either passed out under the tables by this point or running around hyperactively). Turns out this man was the owner of several schools in Guadalajara, and this particular one was a castle converted into a kindergarten/elementary school. I'll tell you right now, it was an extraordinarily odd feeling washing my hands in the bathroom with sinks literally the height of my knees, in a circular stone tower. Also, walking through stone halls with medieval torch holders on the wall next to children's drawings. It was a bit like Hogwarts. For babies. Anyways, we were pretty tired from the long days at the resort, so we exchangers retired to a table and tried to eat the spicy fruit without crying. (Try as I might, I cannot understand why Mexicans put spice on FRUIT. Not just a little, too!). After that experience, the Rotarian drove us to what we thought was his house. However, he unloaded our bags, informed us he'd be back in the morning, and drove off. After some confusion we registered that it was a hotel he'd left us at. I to this day don't know why we stayed there, and not at his house. Anyways, we got shown our rooms, and promptly hit the sack. The following morning, there was a bit of confusion. We were expected to be at a Rotary breakfast for 8, however the man had told us to be ready for 7:15. At 7:45, there was still no sign of him, so Sarah called him. Turns out he wasn't coming for us- the hotel owner was going to take us. One the bright side, it gave me time to explore- officially the most artsy hotel I've ever stayed in! As the hotel owner drove us to the breakfast, I got his family's story- he moved from L.A. with his family 4 years ago, and opened up the hotel in the "artsy" district of Guadalajara- Zapopan. (I guess Guadalajara was at one point 4 different towns, that all eventually converged into one. Each has some sort of distinctive factor.) Anyways, the breakfast was dead boring but afterwards was AWESOME.
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| Canada, REPRESENT! |
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| All the exchangers of the district! |
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| I saw this in the courtyard while exploring the hotel. So naturally, I ask some poor janitor to take a picture of me with it. Tourist, and proud of it! |
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| Photos of the artsiest hotel you've ever seen |
We took a tour bus from the breakfast, and drove around parts of Guadalajara being joyfully obnoxious, waving our flags, grabbing tree branches, and screaming patriotic things at innocent pedestrians. The Brazilians began dancing and singing (I swear, those guys are stoked 100% of the time), and everyone was having a generally fantastic time. Later, we took the tour to the ground. We walked around, then went to a restaurant to finish it off. Food was a delicious plate of greasy meat, cheese and salsa (with tortillas, obviously), accompanied with music from a very.. enthusiastic mariachi band. The singer had an impressive set of pipes- she could yodel for a solid minute. Not an especially appreciated talent while eating, but I digress. Welcome to Mexican restaurants. Afterwards we had an hour to explore downtown Zapopan. I found 50 cent ice cream, tequila in a jug, a huggable tequila bottle, and many more awesome things. I'll be back. I hope, at least! Finally, back we went on the bus. It was pretty awesome to compare the rowdy party bus that returned to the awkwardly silent bus that left at the start of the camp. Anyways, it was an absolutely fantastic orientation camp, and I can't wait for the other trips!
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| Germany, Czech Republic, Canada and Finland! |
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| The party bus (tour bus edition) |
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| Not an over-exaggeration. Brazilians. Stoked. All the time. |
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| What a beaut of a guitar |
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| Giorgio & I, Viva Mexico! |
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| Sarah and Luis dancing in happiness |
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| NOM never come between a hungry exchange student and his food! |
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| Our adventures touring central Zapopan: |
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| Johannes and one of the classic 'gordo' statues |
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| Jannis the bird whisperer |
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| Tequila, our one true love |
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| Yep, all those are jugs of tequila |
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| Sarah and Johanna enjoying some 50 cent ice cream |
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| I'm not even sure what this is, but it was artsy. And a bit frightening. |
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
