Mi Vida en Mérida

I live in a beautiful house in the northern part of the city. The street I live on is all houses, but one block over is a major avenue with many stores, banks, and restaurant. I catch my bus three blocks in the other direction at the local Costco. It takes about 15 minutes to get to el centro by bus from my stop; the bus stops about a block away. All the bus fares in the city are only 6 pesos; if you have a student or senior citizen card it is 3 pesos. The public transportation here is very safe and reliable. In addition to lots of buses, there are also taxis. Taxis are much cheaper here than in the US, but it is still more economical to take a bus unless you are a family traveling a short distance.

The houses here in the city are made out of concrete due to the tropical climate. The house that I am staying in has a courtyard that two or three of the rooms open out to; in the morning, I eat breakfast with a view of the courtyard, which is nice with large trees and many pigeons. My homestay family feeds leftover food to the pigeons. I am not sure if this is true of all or even the majority of houses in Mérida, but both the house that I am staying in and the house that my college has purchased as a permanent residence have only tile floors. The tile is different in all the rooms in this house, but it can’t beat the original gorgeous tile pattern pictures in the college house. The architecture around here is like a mix of Florida and New Mexico; I am reminded of both places every day. 

The schedules for daily living in Mérida are quite different than any schedule I’ve ever been beholden to. Breakfast is at an early hour but lunch isn’t eaten until 2o’clock in the afternoon and dinner not until 7:30 or 8 o’clock in the evening. I usually cannot make it till lunchtime; I have to eat a snack. My house pretty much closes down after dinner, with most people going to their rooms to sleep or watch TV. The stores here don’t close early but they also do not open until around 10 AM, at least in my neighborhood. Everything about time is very different here.