Just Get on the Bus

Interesting things happen to groups when they are herded around on buses and forced to go several hours without eating.  We went through a variety of emotions, from elation at seeing interesting things, to being extremely tired, annoyed and grumpy.  It was funny to watch the different personalities come out.  I should have taken more pictures of everyone because after you go through something like this together you have a special bond. 
One thing that added to the group dynamic is that because we were always running behind schedule we ended up putting meals off until later.  It made sense in a logistics sort of way, but it wasn't that great for morale. 
That is why moments like this one were great.  I finally got ahold of my favorite Mexican apple soda, Lift.

 Brandon was in such a strange position because he is in charge of leading the students, but we also had a tour guide that was in charge of running the tour.  This meant that Brandon was the one dealing with all the complaints and issues, but he didn't really have much power in changing anything.  We were lucky because there weren't any big problems during the whole trip, but there were quite a few little problems.  Someone was always running late, needing a bathroom, needing to get back on the bus to get their jacket, feeling sick, forgetting their wallet, and other basic stuff like that.  None of it is a big deal for one person, but the problems of 28 students add up to a lot of hassle.  Not to mention that he was also taking care of us.  He is a good leader and we all made it back alive and happy, if not completely exhausted.

The bus was a funny part of the adventure.  We had to sit and wait after it broke down and some guys came out to fix it.  Luckily for us they worked very quickly.  There were also 2 incidents right when we first got into the city where the driver tried to turn onto roads and was unable to fit because of trucks that were parked close to the corner.  In both cases he kept trying to go back and forth, sometimes bumping the road signs in front of us, the cars behind, or the trucks to the side.  In the end the traffic all around us just had to wait until our guide went into the businesses and found the owner of the truck and ask him to move.
On the way home we hit a construction barrel and were dragging it for awhile.  It was really late and dark and Brandon had to go out under the bus and literally kick it out.  He was the hero once again and was covered with dirt to prove he had earned the title.  There was also an interesting moment when without any explanation the driver just pulled to the side of the road and the guide, Alejandro got out.  The driver shut off the headlights and we all just waited and felt confused.  After a couple of minutes the guide got back and we headed out on our way again.  I figure that it had something to do with the extra large lemonade I had seen him drink but one of the students referred to it as a cultural tradition.

The rest of these photos are just random things that we saw.
This girl was having her quinceñera and was getting out of a limo when we first saw her.  Rocky thought she was a princess so we got a photo with her.  Who needs Disneyland?

 This fountain shows the coyote mascots by the Casa Azul.

 We had like three hours to kill while we were there so we got to enjoy the weekend scene in the plaza.  Rocky tried this watermelon paleta and it actually had seeds in it. 

 We saw a woman who was trying to sell these puppies and I think it was much more exciting to the girls than any of the historical artifacts that we had seen the whole trip.  I like how Daisy's popsicle smile looks like the Joker.

 This bakery had such huge cakes that Daisy turned into a sugar zombie just looking at them. 

 We saw some guys in traditional costume demonstrating a ceremony where they all started at the top of this giant pole and circled upside down until the got to the ground.  I was dizzy just watching.  They were wearing wings that made them look like birds.  I'm not sure of any of the significance but it was cool to see.

On Saturday there was a huge protest of young people against Peña Nieto.  They said that there were around 500,000 people there.  We saw some of them coming and going and the streets were completely full.

 Mexico City in the morning.

And I'll end this post with three exhausted cuties snuggled up on the bus.