On Saturday was the big Cuernavaca QUEST. I was in a group with two other girls. We were given a list of places to go- Wal-Mart, the 3 cathedrals, the Playa de Armas, Zocalo (City Square), Chapel, and the HUGE People's Market. Each group was given 60 pesos. This is how much a person working a minimum wage job makes, plus we got a 20 peso bonus. We had to use it to pay for the bus there (19.50 for the group one way) and back as well as a list of groceries. We were first supposed to price things at Wal-Mart, but wait and acutally purchase them at the People's Market. Overall the simulation showed us that a person working this much does not have enough money to buy food, let alone housing. In the market, we tried bartering to get them to lower the prices, but it was no such luck. They could all tell that we were Americans, especially me (because of my hair color), and they knew we had money, so they weren't willing to barter. I did most of the talking to the vendors in the market, because I was better at speaking. Another girl was better at understanding and listening to what the vendors were saying, so she told me what to say back, since I had a hard time understanding. It all worked out in the end.
Xochicalo are ancient Mayan ruins. We spent Sunday morning there. They are so big. From first glance, it just looked like three large structures or temples. When we kept on walking and climbing up a lot of really steep and tall stairs, we discovered that there were tons and tons of structures that went so high up into the sky. It was so beautiful and the view was AMAZING!
In the evening, we went to a celebration for Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings Day). It was in a local park and there was lots of food, music, and vendors. Later in the night there were "fireworks," which actually was where some people get locked in a gated park. There was a man that held a bull made out of paper mache that emitted sparks. He ran around to try to get sparks on people and it also shot out flying missles. It was actually pretty scary, just to watch from outside the gates.
Today was pretty relaxing! We had a huge breakfast, then played the "Global Awareness Game," where we learned about which regions have the most money, debt, houses, access to clean water, money for military, and people. It was actually really interesting and I learned a lot. We also watched a not very exciting movie about "Free Trade." We were all pretty glad when it was over.
This afternoon was the Sweat Lodge at our Guest House. I decided that I wanted to try it and forgot to consider my asthma. Pretty much, there's a big ritual ceremony outside, then they put a lot of incense all around your body and a lot in your face. That was problem #1. Incense and Kristin Unruh are NOT friends. Then they put a sheet around you, you strip down, and crawl into this hot little igloo lookin' thing that was about 4 feet tall and 6 feet across. You go in with a couple of other people. They're supposed to have water that you can splash on you when you get too hot, but since I was in the first group, that was not in there yet. After 1 minute, another girl and I were feeling like we couldn't breathe and I began to panic. We asked to get out. I wish I could have stayed in longer, but I just wasn't feeling it. When I breathed in through my nose, it felt like an inferno. Not a good feeling... Apparently after a little while, a lady comes in and starts singing and playing a drum, but I wasn't in there long enough to experinece it. I'm glad I tried it, but it just wasn't for me.
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