Welcome to Merida

The damp, muggy air hit me square in the face as I walked out of the airport. I had just come from Mexico City where the weather was cool and perfect; but this place was nothing of the sort. I suppose I really didn't know what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this study abroad to Merida. Despite the heat, Merida is one of the prettiest places I have ever visited and it chalked full of nice people. Our guides and counselors for UBELONG are named Leo and Linda. They have been super helpful as far as helping us get acclimated to the city and culture. 

Our hostel is located only two blocks from the main plaza so we are right in the think of things. It's great! There are restaurants and taco shops galore. One of the typical foods here is cochinita pibil, which is shredded pork in a special salsa. I have had it in tacos and a sandwich and it is amazing either way! Panuchos are also amazing. They are a corn tortilla filled with beans and topped with either pork or turkey. It's really hard to go wrong with the food here. 

Yesterday we started at our project for UBELONG. I am placed with Kimberly(Kim) and Jake at a community center called Centro de Desarrollo Municipal Amapola. We met the director today and she put us straight to work with the elderly people. We just talked it up with them then played bingo! We played  a round in English so we could feel like we were also teaching something. Then today we had the opportunity to work with kids today! We teamed up with the English teacher at the community center and taught about health with English words. The kids were a bit shy at first but most of them came out of their shells by the end. It was fun to work and interact with them and I really look forward to getting to know them more!

The Merida sign!

Pollo a la curry

Parque Santa Lucia

Tacos de cochinita pibil y un panucho de pavo.

English class!