News from our Sponsored Exchange Student Chris Murphy!
Posted by John Betrus
Read about Chris and his adventures in Mexico - send Chris an email!!
Hello everone! This is Chris again giving another update for January and for Febuary. I really need to write on time, but its so sad when i look over the monthly reports because i know that my time here i limited to about 5 months!!! =(
January: This month i was in Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez with my best friend Victor (Brasil) visiting the border of Mexico and USA. I went from Zacatecas, Mexico to Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez, Chihuahua. It took 18 hours to get there... IN A BUS! but at least the bus was cheap! It cost me about 450 pesos to get up there which is not even 35 dollars.
When I got there I stayed with Turkish boy named, Kemal; he's a good friend i met in Creel, Chihuahua at our district conference (Setemper 2009). (We both fell in a waterfall together there and almost broke our legs)
When i got there,they immediately; the parents of Kemal, laid out the rules... Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez is the most DANGEROUS city in Mexico. From what I heard, it has 3 Mafia: The Columbian, The Mexican, and the American on the other side. The Mexican mafia and Columbian are fighting to sell their drugs to America and its dangerous for the people because they are in the center of it. My stay there they killed about 13 people everyday. And the sad thing about it is that some police are with the mafia... There wasn't a day that went by I didn't hear shooting or police chasing. Everyone told me that even the governer lives in another country; Houston, Texas.
There are about 20 exchange students there, but our curfew is about 9 o'clock. We also can't wonder anywhere, we need someone to take us to all places. I had fun though! we went to the mall a lot and i went a jugar boliche (bowling) for the first time in Mexico.
I also crossed the boarder to go to El Paso, Texas. I went walking! I now see what foreigners are going through as they cross into our country. We took my friend Victor to Best Buy to turn in his computer, I went to translate for him. Crossing the boarder they only asked me 3 question and saw my passport. Being an american there wasn't any problem but he came with me with another brazilian and just for being with me, they had to get questioned, their passports re-cheked etc. I was kinda upset because all he wanted to do wast turn his computer in and they made it seem as if he had drugs or something. Over to our left they had just carried a mexican who looked wealthy to the strip search room... That was the most disturbing thing i ever seen in my life.
In El Paso i bought me some shoes, head phones, and socks haha. A week later I went back home to meet my new host familiy.
Febuary: I have a family who owns a ranch. They will teach me how to ride one soon. I got to touch one for the first time and i will ride one for the first time too soon. For some reason i have a fear of horses but i will get over it soon; probably cuz' they can kill me with one kick.
The Family name is, Alvarado-Gonzales. They have three kids: Andrea (19 she is already a pre-school teacher), Luiz Roberto (17 in brazil, Im taking his place) and Victor (15). My host-parents' names are: Maria Elena Gonzales, and Gerardo Gonzales. They have a huge family! They are so active.. The second day i was there they woke me up to climb Mount. Picacho.. Its a moutain in the shape of a human. A very nice family.
The weather to me is crazy... I should of listned to my mother when she told me to bring a coat cause its soooo cold right now, at least during the morning. Its about 40 degrees in the morning and about 88-90ÃÆ'‚° in the afternoon. Everyone here cannot understand why Im always so cold, considering i live in Michigan, but here they don't have heating; therefore, its cold on the outside and on the inside! Soon it will get really warm.. Aguascalientes' winter is like Monroe's end of spring.
I paid for my Ruta Maya trip! (I would like to thank the Monroe Rotary for making this possible) Which is in April for about 2 weeks. It goes to almsot every beautiful beach and ruin in Mexico. So im not that dissapointed that i didn't go with Monroe to Spain and France this year. Speaking of these countries I just stated my Italian class here, so I will come back speak: French, Spanish, English and Italian.
Nothing intresting is happening really, raining alot, waiting for La Feria de San Marcos which is the best fair in Mexico. ITs in my city. Also waiting for my cancÃÆ'Æ'ºn beach trip! Thank god im going it was very expensive, 1650 dollars for almost a month in paradise...First time i will ever see clear water in my life and actually see the Mayan piramids in front of me instead of television
January: This month i was in Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez with my best friend Victor (Brasil) visiting the border of Mexico and USA. I went from Zacatecas, Mexico to Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez, Chihuahua. It took 18 hours to get there... IN A BUS! but at least the bus was cheap! It cost me about 450 pesos to get up there which is not even 35 dollars.
When I got there I stayed with Turkish boy named, Kemal; he's a good friend i met in Creel, Chihuahua at our district conference (Setemper 2009). (We both fell in a waterfall together there and almost broke our legs)
When i got there,they immediately; the parents of Kemal, laid out the rules... Ciudad JuÃÆ'Æ'¡rez is the most DANGEROUS city in Mexico. From what I heard, it has 3 Mafia: The Columbian, The Mexican, and the American on the other side. The Mexican mafia and Columbian are fighting to sell their drugs to America and its dangerous for the people because they are in the center of it. My stay there they killed about 13 people everyday. And the sad thing about it is that some police are with the mafia... There wasn't a day that went by I didn't hear shooting or police chasing. Everyone told me that even the governer lives in another country; Houston, Texas.
There are about 20 exchange students there, but our curfew is about 9 o'clock. We also can't wonder anywhere, we need someone to take us to all places. I had fun though! we went to the mall a lot and i went a jugar boliche (bowling) for the first time in Mexico.
I also crossed the boarder to go to El Paso, Texas. I went walking! I now see what foreigners are going through as they cross into our country. We took my friend Victor to Best Buy to turn in his computer, I went to translate for him. Crossing the boarder they only asked me 3 question and saw my passport. Being an american there wasn't any problem but he came with me with another brazilian and just for being with me, they had to get questioned, their passports re-cheked etc. I was kinda upset because all he wanted to do wast turn his computer in and they made it seem as if he had drugs or something. Over to our left they had just carried a mexican who looked wealthy to the strip search room... That was the most disturbing thing i ever seen in my life.
In El Paso i bought me some shoes, head phones, and socks haha. A week later I went back home to meet my new host familiy.
Febuary: I have a family who owns a ranch. They will teach me how to ride one soon. I got to touch one for the first time and i will ride one for the first time too soon. For some reason i have a fear of horses but i will get over it soon; probably cuz' they can kill me with one kick.
The Family name is, Alvarado-Gonzales. They have three kids: Andrea (19 she is already a pre-school teacher), Luiz Roberto (17 in brazil, Im taking his place) and Victor (15). My host-parents' names are: Maria Elena Gonzales, and Gerardo Gonzales. They have a huge family! They are so active.. The second day i was there they woke me up to climb Mount. Picacho.. Its a moutain in the shape of a human. A very nice family.
The weather to me is crazy... I should of listned to my mother when she told me to bring a coat cause its soooo cold right now, at least during the morning. Its about 40 degrees in the morning and about 88-90ÃÆ'‚° in the afternoon. Everyone here cannot understand why Im always so cold, considering i live in Michigan, but here they don't have heating; therefore, its cold on the outside and on the inside! Soon it will get really warm.. Aguascalientes' winter is like Monroe's end of spring.
I paid for my Ruta Maya trip! (I would like to thank the Monroe Rotary for making this possible) Which is in April for about 2 weeks. It goes to almsot every beautiful beach and ruin in Mexico. So im not that dissapointed that i didn't go with Monroe to Spain and France this year. Speaking of these countries I just stated my Italian class here, so I will come back speak: French, Spanish, English and Italian.
Nothing intresting is happening really, raining alot, waiting for La Feria de San Marcos which is the best fair in Mexico. ITs in my city. Also waiting for my cancÃÆ'Æ'ºn beach trip! Thank god im going it was very expensive, 1650 dollars for almost a month in paradise...First time i will ever see clear water in my life and actually see the Mayan piramids in front of me instead of television