the new year....

well, i decided to wait a while before writing about the new digs. jon had warned me they weren't exactly what we had been promised at $950 a month, as i saw when I arrived. The location is great, about a mile south of downtown, in a quieter more jungly area. And the house DOES have a nice view of the sea, and about 2 blocks to the beach. But beyond that.... The "Huge, fully furnished one bedroom with plenty of room for three" stopped short. The place only has a single door, and it is NOT in the bathroom. The front door locks, luckily, and leads you into our apartment, contained in a single large room. the front of the room is divided from the back by a half constructed wall that doesnt quite reach the cieling, and further back are the kitchen and the open bathroom. Quite lacking in privacy. And upon my arrival, we were still awaiting a second bed, a working stove, and any sort of linens, dishes, pots and pans etc. The owner, this older hippie guy who we have decided is just not good at life, finally showed up about eleven pm. Two pillows (we are three...), one blow up mattress, one blanket and a camping stove were what we were provided with. Jon and Tyler argued forcefully with the guy (while i awkwardly hid in the bathroom) that despite our appreciation of his efforts, this was NOT fully furnished. However, this only succeeded in making him angry, finally leaving with an "this isn't a hotel. i'll do what i can." (which is nothing more, if it requires any effort). However, being the crafty travellers we are, we have made do. Yesterday we made a trip to Walmart, toting Jon's hiking backpack, and loaded up on food, pots and pans, and another pillow. We were pretty comical trying to get onto the bus with a 50 lb backpack the size of me, tyler carrying a case of beer and a cooler, and me with a bucket full of all the odds and ends that wouldn't fit. But we made it back, courageously taking busses the whole way instead of paying for taxis, and I think, once we arrived home, we are all the more comfortable and happy for it. Luckily, the internet was one of the only parts of the ad that was indeed true, so I have been busying myself looking for our next place. Meanwhile, we are bonding and building charachter or something.

New Years itself was pretty fun here. We headed downtown to where the excitement was, had a great dinner at an italian restaurant, and then barhopped a little until 11:45. The Malecon is the main boardwalk where people gather, so we left our bar and went to go find a spot to watch the fireworks. By chance, we happened upon the exact spot where they were going to be shooting off the majority of the city's fireworks. And it being mexico, all that separated us from the men in the hard hats and their tons of explosives was some caution tape. Obviously, I got right up in there, and I think improved the feeling of excitement greatly by never ceasing my screaming. Got some great videos and pictures too. And since then, our time has been spent looking for jobs, exercising (we live at the base of a huge, steep hill. Legs of steel in no time), cooking, and bumming around on the beach. Tyler is looking for a golfing job, and Jon wants to teach, while I really don't care what I do, but i really miss hanging out with kids, so that might play into it.... untilllll next time...