Adios Guatemala, Bienvenidos a Mexico!

8th of August, 2011

After a very teary goodbye leaving Alex in Honduras, she continued her travels down to Costa Rica, and i northbound to Mexico.
i flew back through guatemala for one day to pack my things from Manolo's house, say goodbye to his family, and jump on another plane to D.F (mexico City). from their we had another internal flight to the city of Guadalajara about an hour flight from Mexico City.
We stayed our first week in Guadalajara in a hostel while searching for an apartment here with a good location close to universities, shops and downtown.
it only took a few days and we were moved into our apartment. costing us each $2600 pesos a month (thats about $200 a month!!) we have a nice (just renovated,painted) clean apartment with a nice room with furniture, bedding etc, and clean kitchen.
The location is great, i am only one block walk from the main bus line which takes me straight to University and manolo's college is only a few blocks walk away. our street also has heaps of restaurants, cafes, bars and a mall with a cinema all in 5 minutes walk.

The first week of August was Orientation week for Exchange students at my university (Instituto Tecnologico y de estudios superiores de Monterrey) or just "TEC". there are over 200 exchange students from all parts of the globe and also many other australian students from other universities. as part of our orientation we went for 2 nights to the nearby city of Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is on the Pacific coast of mexico about 4 hours drive from Guadalajara, my impressions of it were similar to a mini Cancun like holiday spot for Americans and some wealthy mexicans. the beaches are flooded with locals pestering tourists to buy tacky jewellery and sarongs, and the city is full of high rise hotels, all of which are "all-inclusive style" resorts.
our resort was also all inclusive, all you can drink (alcohol), all you can eat. which proved dangerous for all students involved. This was not really my style of travelling at all, i despise all inclusive resort style holidays and touristy places, but nevertheless it was a good opportunity to meet the other 250 exchange students.
the following week we started class, my timetable is not to bad although i need to go to uni monday- friday, but only in the mornings so i have the afternoons off. Manolo and i joined a gym down the road from our apartment which is very necessary as i am already eating tacos daily!
The food here is absolutely amazing, real Mexican cuisine is completely different to what western countries try to imitate, no mexicans do not eat nachos!! and tacos do not have hard shells, they are soft tortillas filled with different types of meat, for example (a short guide to mexican street tacos):

TACOS DE CANASTA: or “basket” tacos, sold in the morning, are the only tacos not prepared on the spot. They are made at home, wrapped in layers of cloth and paper to keep warm, and tucked into baskets. Sold from doorways, small stalls and even bicycles, they are sometimes called tacos sudados – “sweated” tacos - because of the steam created by wrapping the warm tacos. Small corn tortillas are commonly stuffed with either papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo), chicharron (pork rind), frijoles (beans), picadillo (spiced ground meat) or a specialty of the housewife who made them.

TACOS DE BARBACOA (personal favourite): The filling for these tacos is traditionally prepared by wrapping sheep, lamb or goat meat in maguey leaf linings, called pencas, placing it over a pan to catch the juices which help steam the meat, and burying it in a fire pit in the ground, something like an underground oven. Nowadays, especially in the cities, the method is simplified by wrapping the meat in papel de mixiote, which is a substitute for the now-endangered maguey leaves, and cooking it in a vaporera (steamer.)

TACOS DE CABEZA: literally meaning “head tacos”, are just that. they are popular in Mexico City

Tacos de Asada: Served on tortillas, and garnished with guacomole or salsa, Grilled Tacos can be a compilation of came asada tacos, triped tacos grilled crisp, or chaizo asado (Spanish-style sausage) tacos.

Tacos al Pastor/Tacos de Adobada: Made with thin pork steaks Shepherd-Style Tacos are skewered and seasoned with adobada seasonings, rotisserie cooked, or flame broiled, and overlapped on one another.

Tacos Dorades: (Best for hangover or late night tacos) Fried Tacos are also known as Flautes (flutes), or Taquitas. The tortillas for these tacos are filled with pre-cooked, shredded chicken, Barbacoa (beef), or Carnitas (pork), rolled into cylinders, and deep-fried crisp.

Tacos de Pescado: Made from grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream/mayonnaise sauce

Virtually anything that can be rolled inside a tortilla becomes a taco. Tacos are pretty much the heart and soul of Mexican cuisine, but they vary from regions and states to different parts of the country. but the fact is that EVERYONE eats them, from rich well dresssed couples, to narcos, to laborers, they can all be seen standing on the side of the street next to a taco stand enjoying what is called "the most democratic of Mexican foods"

TORTAS AHOGADAS: the most typical and famous dish from the city of Guadalajara, it is literally like a drowned roll filled with meat, and quiet spicy

Mercado San Juan de Dios

The Market "san juan de dios" is the largest indoor market in the whole of mexico! needless to say, when you go to buy something you will probably not find that item, but get lost for a few hours and leave with many other items you didnt need. there are about 3000 stalls inside the market selling everything from nike shoes, to puppies, to xbox's and playstations, to specticles, to knives, to clothes, to seafood! EVERYTHING is in this market... but good luck finding what you actually want