Mexican Paradise: July 6th - July 14th

Still lovin it here - although, not enough to move here. I wish I could say I'm more fluent in Spanish since I've been here for almost 3 weeks. Ha! I can say, though, that I'm understanding it a little more. I still have to answer back in English. It's mostly because I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing (wouldn't want to insult anyone). I'll keep practicing. Who knows, maybe next summer I'll spend all 3 months and take classes.

So, anyway, last week started off slow. Last Sunday, my sis hurt her knee playing volleyball, so she was immobile for a few days. We celebrated her 26th birthday on the 9th. We went to a tattoo place with her friend where she (my sis) held a snake. Yeah, I was too chicken to hold it. We went to the movies to see 21 Black Jack (good movie, by the way) and later had cake.

The fun started Friday when we went to Acapulco. We stayed in a hostel. It wasn't too bad, though. It definitely didn't match the image I had (thanks to the movie, Hostel). It was actually like a little hotel...or like a tiny 2 bedroom apartment. We ended up not having air condition (it cost extra). We had to count on the ceiling fans and opened windows. The problem with the open windows was that creepy crawlers (bugs, lizards…scorpions) would have easy access into our rooms. Oh, but the view from one of the bedroom windows…priceless!

Friday, we didn’t get in the bed ‘til 5:00 in the morning. My sister woke me up later talking about getting ready. Clearly, she didn’t realize it was only 8:00 in the morning. Needless to say, we went back to sleep and woke up at about 1:00 p.m. We’d planned on going out to the clubs on the beach that night, but, when we got back from a friends’ house (eating lunch with his parents), we fell asleep. Wanna know how long we slept? From 8:00 Saturday night to 9:00 Sunday morning. Yep. We were so tired, that we didn’t have the energy to get up to party Saturday night. The fact that it was raining pretty hard didn’t help matters.

Sunday, we spent most of the day at the beach. We rented an umbrella (with 2 chairs & big enough for 2 people to sit under) for only 30 pesos ($3 USD) for the whole day. I usually can’t stay out in the sun all day…not without getting sick (migraines, hives…all that good stuff). The fact that we had an umbrella helped. We just chilled on the beach on the beautiful day that God provided for us. My God, it was beautiful!
The beach has vendors who walk along the beach trying to sell things like jewelry, clothes, food, etc to the people. Every 5 minutes, we had people come up to us. I did buy a few things (more than I should have). I also got a much needed, 10 minute massage. It felt sooooo good. I mean the woman got all the kinks out of my neck, back…even my fingers. Some of the vendors were young children. It was hard for me to say no to them (had to refrain from looking at their puppy dog eyes or I would’ve ended up broke). I did by a little anklet from these two girls – 11 and 13 years old. These girls were good. I’m not sure of their circumstances – whether they were under privileged or not – but I won’t be surprised if these girls ended up being business women.
Sunday night, we did go out and had a blast. We met a few hip hop dancers who were just awesome. You don’t really see good hip hop dancers in Mexico – although they do listen to it down here – so we were a little surprised when we met these guys, one of which actually taught a hip hop class. The video I made of them dancing didn’t really come out clear, so posting it won’t help get the full effect.

By the time Monday came around, none of us really wanted to leave. Acapulco is definitely on my list of vacation spots. The thing is, we didn’t feel so out of place because there are lots of dark-skinned Mexicans in Acapulco (some even darker than us). Three of us were either mistaken for native Acapulcans, Puerto Ricans, or Cubans. My sister could have pulled it off because she’s fluent in Spanish, but I couldn’t (darn my lack of Spanish-speaking abilities). She did tell a taxi that they (her and her friends) spoke Spanish and I only spoke Portuguese. That way, I could still be exotic and not have to speak. Not that being African American isn’t exotic enough in Mexico. There are so few of us here, that, when we are spotted in Mexico, it’s like, “Wow!” I feel like a movie star with some of the stares I get.

Not only am I black, but I have the nerve to be blessed with mas hips and butt. Having an ample amount of bottom has its ups and downs. Up: In Acapulco, I got to sit in the front when we rode taxis cause there was no way 3 people would fit comfortably in the back of the VW Beetle taxi if I’d sat in the back. Down: People (especially men) stare and ogle at me (really, my butt) in awe (or admiration, depending on who’s doing the staring). Up: I filled my jeans pretty good. Down: My sister and her 2 friends were smaller, so, at times, I felt like an elephant next to them (a good looking one, though).

Anyway, I think this week’s going to be a chillaxin kind of week. Stay tuned for more…

Enjoy the pics: