LUCHA!!!!!!

This post is a long time in coming but I when to a Luchador Match! Yes for all you Nacho Libre fans they do exist and in fact they are quite entertaining. I wish I could post pictures and videos but that will have to wait seeing as my laptop is broken.
My roommate, LJ, and I went with three of our guy friends, Moroni, Julio, and Emanuel, and Emanuel´s girlfriend. It was a blast and definitely reminded me of a Mexican rendition of WWE (I think that is what it is called in the US.).
I learned quite a few things while I was watching. Most interesting to me is that not every fighter wears a mask. If they don´t wear a mask they have to grow their hair out really long. If they loose, instead of getting their mask taken off they get their head shaved. We saw a guy loose his mask which it a HUGE DEAL. We also saw a guy give up his mask in surrender.
All in all it may have not have been the smartest thing to go to as it gets a little rowdy but it will definitly be an experience I will never forget!
GO RUDOS!

Happy Birthday SEAN!!!!

For those of you who don´t believe the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder you have definitely not had a loved one half way around the world, literally.
Today is Sean´s birthday. If you don't know who Sean is than you don't know me well enough. I am so lucky to have had Sean in my life. I am who I am today because I know him!
Happy Birthday Sean! Thank you for doing exactly what you are doing!
con todo mi corazon
Carly

The Hair Is Gone (2 months ago)

I do admit this post is rather late in coming but after a facebook post from my cousin Julie I realized that I hadn't told anyone that I had cut my hair. Well world.... I CUT MY HAIR:) My hair has never been a big deal to me and so cutting it wasn't that big of a deal either. However, I will admit that I am proud of my bravery when I look back and realize that I did cut it in a foreign country, one of the other teachers cut it, and she cut it with sowing scissors (they were the best we could find.)

The two Carly's before the process began!

My hair! The best part is Emily's reaction in the back, check it out!

Touching it up.
Finished product!
My hair has grown a little since this picture seeing as I cut my hair on the 19th of September. I love it now but think I will let it grow. Next adventure.... I'm going blond! Solo un chiste!!! I would never! Hasta Luego!

Happy Halloween!

I was really sad this year to miss Halloween! Although I'm not that big of a Halloween fan I do enjoy seeing the kids trick or treating and carving pumpkins. Don't get me wrong Dia de Los Muertos will be incredible to see but since our family is Mormon we won't get to see the celebration first hand, it is a Catholic holiday.
I wasn't the only one missing the holiday. All of us as teachers dressed up in our Mexico soccer jerseys and became the Mexico soccer team. I didn't expect anyone to know why we dressed up when we got to school. However they had a surprise for us!!!!!

My Homeroom Class
Libia, Alex, Marianna, Magali, Deyda, and Nexter
Pepe, Paulina, and Rebecca were missing:(

All the Students at Gaille!

Andrea, Jimena, Nester, Pepe, Santiago, Raphael, Marianna, Andre, and Me!

THE BABIES! These kids range from 2 to 3 and they are speaking English!

Traditional Dia de Los Muertos decor!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!

This is going to be a short post but I'm just writing to let everyone know how excited I am! About 10 minutes ago I checked my email to discover that I got accepted into the European Tour program at BYU-Idaho! What does this mean????

I'M GOING TO EUROPE NEXT SUMMER!!!!!

Lost in Translation...

LJ and I have an incredible host family that loves to take us places on Sundays! One of the past Sundays they took us to a very ornate church. Outside the church was this sign.
LJ and I as well as Emily and Lauren, who were with us, began to laugh. When our family asked us what was up we explained through laughter as best we could. The term lost in translation is an everyday thing for me. However, I am happy to say it has never been this bad!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

So mixed emotions came with today as it is the official halfway mark for all of us teachers here in Mexico. How did we celebrate in Puebla???

We played What Are You Going To Do When You Get Back To The States!!
Results:
LJ-Drink out of a drinking fountain, flush a toilet without a bucket, and eat swedish fish!
Lauren- Wash and dry my clothes!
Carly Laga- Go to the bathroom with a paper cover and walk barefoot in the Airport.
Amelia- Get ice cream (What? We do this at least twice a week in Mexico), Take a shower without flipflops, use a vacuum cleaner, and walk down the street without cat calls.
Emily- Eat Porcupine meatballs
Me- Sleep on the floor, use ice cubes, and listen in on someone else's conversation.

All- Kiss our families and those we love!
SLEEP IN PAST SEVEN BECAUSE WE AREN'T WOKEN UP BY...
GASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (BUM BUM BUM BUM BADDADA BUM BUM BOOM BOOM) PARA TODO FAMILIA!

I don't want anyone to think that we aren't grateful for our time here or the experiences.... but something are just worth missing.

Que Asco!

Last night I can say I experienced something I never had before! LJ and I walked into our host family´s home to see our 7 year old sister munching on something in a good sided clear tub. I asked her what she was eating and she handed the tub to me and LJ. LJ almost lost her ¨comida¨at the smell but I looked and couldn´t believe what I saw! In this tub was probably three hundred dried minnows. My little sister was just munching on them like they were fries.
Well.... I promised myself when I got here that I would try everything that was put in front of me. Here goes nothing. I truly almost threw up. The minnow wasn´t that bad until I got to the head. I don´t know if it was because it actually tasted bad or it was just the thought of eating fish eyes that made me gag but gag I did.
I guess it wasn´t that bad... At least I gave my host family a huge laugh!

You Never Know....

You never know how much you missed someone until they´re gone. That is how the saying goes right? Well I have a new one! You never know how much you missed someone until you don´t see there face for about two and a half weeks when you are use to seeing it daily. You never know how much you missed someone until you hear their voice and realize that life is truly a wonderful thing. You never know how much you missed someone until your life falls apart and is put back together and through that whole experience you just wanted their advice. You never know how much you missed someone until you see them smile and hear them laugh.

I missed you family! It was good to talk to you!

A New Goal is Set Forth!

I recently got a letter from my older sister that challenged me to take a picture everyday of something exciting that happened. I decided to not just take a picture but to blog about that picture. Now I´m not going to promise that the picture will be on the blog everyday but I will blog about something that happened to me at least 3 times a week.
I hope this doesn´t get boring for those few people that glance at my blog but I am half way through my time here and have not recored anything. Opps!

Today my exciting event is that we bought orange juice! Fresh orange juice! I am not kidding the guys squeezed it in front of our faces. Each cup the teachers bought had 7 oranges worth of juice! Yeah for amazingness! You never know the things that will make you day better. This definately did!

Taxco!!!!

Mexico's Independance day was September 15th! Do you know what that means???? A week off school! With all this time to spare what is a girl to do? Go on VACATION of course! LJ, Carly, and I decided to hit up a place nicknamed the CITY OF SILVER... Taxco! I don't think I have been in a more magical place in my life and it was made even more magical with the addition of red, green, and white lights!

To see some pictures look on my facebook. I'm sorry but it is too difficult to upload pictures to blogger:( It was a wonderful vacation full of sleeping, being lazy, eating more food than humanly possible, shopping, and staying up way to late (I know Mom! I know!):)

The one bad thing that happened on our trip was that the other Carly got really sick. I mean really sick!! She has not been feeling well since we got to Mexico but this trip and all the food we ate put her over the top. Thankfully she didn't get really sick till the last day and we were able to get her home and to the hospital!! She is doing good now thankfully!

This country is beautifully, amazing! Just when I think I have seen it all something else makes me realize that we truly do live in an extraordinary world!

I'm Lovin' It!!!

Yes food in Mexico is to die for but anyone who has been to a foriegn country knows.... Sometimes you just need something AMERICAN!!!!! WELCOME TO MCDONALDS!!

Missing a Special Day!

Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope it is a wonderful one and I sorry that once again I can't be there:( I have talked about my Dad before on this blog and I'm going to do it again!

My Dad is the hardest working man I know! He puts in long hours at work but wakes up at around 3 in the morning so that he can still come home by 4 and be a Dad at home! During my life my Dad has often been the one to drive me to competition soccer games as well as pick me up from school at Weber High. Living far away from school and soccer had an incredible advantage as I got to have amazing talks with him during the drive!

As a child I remember looking forward to Monday Nights because that was Daddy Daughter nights. Although I missed my Mom not being there, she would have to work, I loved them. We would get in the bath and after the bath my Dad would braid up our hair. Then we would eat either scones, waffles, or french toast and then spend the rest of the time before bed watchind Dr. Quinn Medicine Women!

My Dad is someone who does an incredible amount of things but never asks for anything in returen. I love this about my Dad, even though it has made buying Birthday and Christmas presents extremely hard. My Dad is the best kind of Man, physically, spiritually, and mentally!

I love you Dad! Happy Birthday!!!!

My New Mexican Family!!!

People in Mexico..... How exactly do I describe them? Incredible doesn't fit and my favorite word amazing doesn't do them justice. I guess I will just say that the people in Mexico are just that, the people in Mexico. I have not met a mean Mexican yet and I love it!

My opinion of Mexicans only gets better with the introduction of my host family. This faithful LDS family has given me everything I asked for and more! It has only been a week and a half with them and I already love them!

I will not lie the first couple of days were harder than I ever would have expected. No one in my family knew English and neither me and my roommate, LJ, knew Spanish. To say the least it is interesting. Everyday consists of charades and a spanish-english dictionary and I love it!
In my host family there are 6 people. My host Father Amair who owns his own paper and internet store that is below the house. My host Mother Tonia who like my Mother is always running the kids somewhere and keeping everything organized. Alonzo who is the oldest and only boy. Alonzo is an incredble big brother and a athletic machine. He plays futbol, basketball, volleyball, and swims. At the moment he is not living with his family because he is at a private LDS High School in Mexico City. Coral is next and is the one who is taking English classes from ILP. She is thirteen years old and talks faster than anyone should be able to. She is a sweet heart and has an obsession with Harry Potter that rivals Megan Marsden:). Melany is next at age 11. She is very proud that her name is a North American name or nombre de Norte Americana as she says it. Melany is probably my favorite just because she loves listening to my very broken spanish and relates to me as we are both the second oldest daughter! Frida is the youngest at age eight and a fireball! She loves to sing and is Mommy's little girl! She has the cutest smile with her missing front teeth and always grabs mine or LJ's hands!

Well that is a little discription of my family. Although I love them I do miss my family in the states more than they will ever know. I love you guys and think of you everyday!

LJ!!! My roommate and saving grace!!!

The Family on our Sunday Stroll!

Melany!!

Alonzo mi hermano!

Coral!!

Coral and Frida!

Madre Tonia!

Padre Amair!

My First Week in Mexico!!!

Hola mis amigos y mi familia!!! So your patience has paid off. Here comes the huge post of what I have been up to the last week. ENJOY!! August 13th-my Mom and sisters helped me into the airport with my luggage, got me checked in and then we all said goodbye, of course there were tears, but I was excited. I then got on the plane with my two new friends Lauren and Emily. We flew to Dallas, Texas where we had only an hour layover. At the Dallas airport we met another girl, also named Lauren but lovingly named LJ, going to Puebla as well as the rest of the teachers who are teaching in Tehuacan. We then flew the rest of the was to Mexico City. We were met in the Airport by on of the ILP representatives named Teo. Teo and his wife are like the principles of the school in Tehuacan. We waited in the airport for 4 hours until our bus showed up (the time was filled with people watching). We then went drove another 2 or 3 hours to Tehuacan.

Going through customs at the Mexico City airport.

Outside the Tehuacan school!

August 14th- My first real culture shock happened the first morning I woke up when I went to take a shower and there was no shower curtain. Although this wasn't a big deal, it was definitely a surprise. The water was cold by I enjoyed it none the less. Life was looking good. The rest of the day was spent walking around Tehuacan and meeting some of the people associated with the school there. It was kinda pointless for those 6 of us not staying in Tehuacan but it was still very fun. While we were walking around town we noticed that there was a small canival going on. Nothing to big but there was three cages with a baboon, a tiger, and a bear. Also there was a street performing Mime. He saw us watching him and in spanish asked us our names and where we were from. Then out of all the girls he proceeding to pick me out and call me up with him to act out a scene. It was fun definitely but a little embarrassing and he made jokes about us being in love. Ha Ha! What is a girl to do? All in all it was fun! That night all of the ILP teachers started out on a trip around Mexico. We did this because are students are still having their vacation and so we took one too. The vacation started that night when a small bus came and picked us up at 11. It would be our home for the next couple of days.

Yep no shower curtains.

MI AMOR!

I love the ARCHITECTURE!!! GO AP ART HISTORY!

August 15th started out wonderfully with the opportunity to go to the temple at Veramosa. Although all of the individuals I traveled with are LDS not all brought their recommends and I was so very grateful I had mine. It was an incredible experience to see inside this small temple and to hear the prayers said in a different language completely. Next on our travels we went to a small zoo/museum in the city of Tabasco. The animals we actually really interesting! The funniest part to me was seeing all the people gathered around the raccoon cage while all of us were looking at the crocodiles. In the museum were all sorts of Native Heads and artifacts. An exciting moment for me happened when I spotted the Colossal Head. For those of you who don't know this is the head that you always see in the History and Art books! That night we slept in what is called a hostile which is basically a small hotel that can fit about 6 people in a room. The crazy part is that we only paid 100 pesos, 9 dollars, and there was a swimming pool. It was great!!

The Veramosa Temple

Kissing THE Head

August 16th was my favorite day that we had. We went to two exciting places, Palenque and Agua Azul. Palenque is basically a park filled with huge pyramids dating back to right after Book of Mormon time. It was incredible and if you don't believe me look at the pictures:) I ran up the tallest temple there just to say I did it! Man was it hard!

Agua Azul was so much fun, especially after a hot day of hiking ruins. Basically Agual Azul is what it is called Blue Water. However, the name does fail to mention the huge falls that that this Blue Water cascades down. It was a blast to swim in the water and jump off the falls. At one point a man had jumped off and after him I did. All the sudden he started saying something and a man started swimming to him. He started to say the same thing in English and the word was "Help" I began swimming to him, thanking my Mom and Day for the lessons, and helped the other man support him. LJ jumped in soon after and helped us. It was a good thing because she is a trained LifeGuard. All in all it was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

After Agua Azul we were heading back to the bus when all these kids with food start crowding around us. We start talking to them in our broken Spanish and before long we have friends. We bought some food, including sugar cane YUM!, and some of the girls braided the little girls' hair. We had lots of fun and ate some tasty food. That night we slept on the bus and drove to our next destination.

Lauren, Ashley, and Me jumping for joy!!! It took 20 pictures, no joke, to get this shot.

Ashley and ME!!!

The Whole Group!

Palanque!

Agua Azul!!!

Sugar Cane!!!

Our little friends at Agua Azul

August 17th was spent on a boating trip down a river that divides Mexico from Guatemala. The boat ride took us to some more ruins that were supposedly built during Book of Mormon time. Also the river we went down is supposedly the river Sidon talked about in the Book of Mormon so that was really cool! On the way back from the ruins we talked to our boat captain and got him to go over to the Guatemala side of the river. We stood on the beach and collected shells and had a really good time in Guatemala for about 5 minutes. After the river we went into a small town and went to an internet cafe to talk to family and friends online. For 8 pesos it was definitely worth it! That night we slept in another Hostile and were on our way the next morning!

It is so GREEN!!!

The Palace

Lamanite Ruins... Maybe.

Hanging from a vine at the ruins

Guatemala

August 18th we traveled to a really pretty lake. It reminded me of home except the fact that there were palm trees everywhere. It was rainy that day and so we didn't go out on the lake. Instead we played with all the kids who sold things by the lake. One of the girls that was there just started braiding my hair for the fun of it. It was really sweet and she was darling!

After the lake we went to San Crusibal and stayed in a really nice hotel for again really cheap. One of my favorite things about Mexico is all the incredible colors they use. Our hotel was no exception with pink and green all over! As soon as we got to the hotel we all crashed even though it was still early because we were all so incredibly exhausted!

Little girl at the Lake braiding my hair.

The two Carlys in our incredibly colorful hotel

August 19th was the last day of vacation. We took it easy with shopping a little around San Crusibal which is where are hotel was. We also took another boat trip into an incredibly canyon. This canyon has incredible history as it is the place where the natives of Mexico would jump to their death to avoid slavery. Yes a little gruesome but interesting none the less. Also on this boat ride I saw the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. They call it the Christmas Tree and it is a small waterfall that is fed by a natural spring. I couldn't really get a good picture of it so if you want to see good pictures go to Google images and put in The Christmas Tree Waterfall. It is Green and on the side of the Canyon.

While we were on the boat ride people began talking to us in English because 17 girls all together and all white look like Americas:) We soon started talking to a couple of older gentlemen and come to find out 2 of them were from Utah and work for the visual media part of the church and the other was a temple president. In fact we went to the temple he was president of later that day however it was closed for cleaning.

Boating down the Canyon with Kami by my side.

Tunsla Temple

Tunsla temple

Our wonderful bus drivers and guides

As you can see it has been a crazy week full of excitement, adventure, and culture! I love it here and will write again soon about going to Puebla and finally meeting my host family!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures and thank you so much for all of your prayers!!