Gorgeous Guanajuato!!

On Tuesday we moved out of Irapuato (where the government agency office was that we're working with) to the city of Guanajuato about an hour and a half away. We are stationing ourselves here until our host families in the villages are completely figured out (it's taking a little longer than expected) and then return here every weekend for the next 9 weeks in between our weekdays in the ranchos! I was so surprised by how stunning this city is! The bright colors, historical sights, food and shopping, and the colonial feel make it such an enjoyable place to be! We've had a good time exploring some more before getting settled into our internship routines!

Cheap, delicious food everywhere you look! Watch out! Gorditas, quesadillas, tacos...

It's so much fun just walking through this city!

Just me and don Quixote!

May is "el mes de María" here, so there is some kind of celebration going on every night next to the cathedral, it seems like!

Off to Irapuato

So in between our touristy adventures and teaching literacy in the rural villages, we are spending about a week in the city of Irapuato (about 4 hours away from Mexico City) to coordinate with the INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos/ National Institute of Adult Education) and receive training on how to teach literacy classes. So now we are staying in small apartments as we explore a little bit and live the real Mexican life! Plus work on all of our Spanish and internship credit reading and writing assignments for BYU...

Saw the Avengers in theaters for less than 2 American dollars!! That's what I like!

Got a ride from a member and his cute grandson to the the INEA office!

So Dominos here has this special Chimichurri sauce for pizza that is amazing! Neal told us about it.

Checking out the malls/ plazas...

I think it's funny every time I see the way they spell "donas."

We went to church on Sunday in Irapuato and the members were so welcoming and loving!

We can't get enough of the "Michoacana" ice cream shops around here!

"El Centro" of Irapuato is a fun, busy place with all kinds of yummy food and goods being sold! Also prime for people-watching!

Sunday was our good friend, Chelsi's birthday!! 

We surprised her with her favorite dinner dishes from home, birthday cake and ice cream (which I had the honor of shoving into her face to live up to the Mexican tradition), and a PINATA (filled with plastic and paper "men" for her big 25!)

The INEABA government agency workers drove us out to the "ranchos" where we'll be doing our internship work to figure out what resources are available in each community before we assign ourselves to different ones. Also, we scored some delicious grilled "helotes"!

Pyramids of Teotihuacán

Amazing archeological sites of Teotihuacán! We hopped on a bus about an hour and a half out of Mexico City to see these ruins and pyramids! (Our guide told us that technically they're not pyramids because the tops are flat and not pointed... but we don't need to go there.)

Guess who we ran into at the top of the tallest pyramid??... THE MISSIONARIES! 

Mormons always find each other! It's crazy to think that I was one of them just 8 months ago!

Climbing, climbing...

Don't tell my roommate that I got this souvenier for her birthday! (She loves elephants!) I talked the vendor down a bit and he gave me a pretty good deal for the unique stones it is made of.

Our tour included a demo on how the plants and minerals in this area can be used to create tools like paper, string and beautiful jewelry and artwork!

 This cute little puppy was hanging around the shop too!

 There were some unique foods on the lunch menu!! (Worms, grasshoppers...)

"Coke Light"