CouchSurfing: Staying with a Local in Chetumal

As we travel to Chetumal, we are surrounded almost constantly by a wall of rain. The rainy season hasn’t quite ended here yet.

Our host Melissa (22) has agreed to let us stay with her through CouchSurfing, and she even comes to pick us up at the bus station in her small American car. On the way, we stop by her university, where she is studying International Relations for her bachelor’s degree. She spent one semester studying in the United States, so her English is quite good.

In the evening we cook her some “Estonian-style” food in the house that belongs to her uncle, where she currently lives alone. After dinner we go out together with her friends Olga, Uri, and Yami to a grill restaurant.

It happens to be Thursday, which means cheap drinks for the girls—only 10 pesos (about 0.60 euros) each. Melissa’s friends are all agricultural engineers.

The oldest among them is Olga (26). Her name apparently comes from her grandmother, although she is otherwise completely Mexican. After several drinks, Olga drives us home in her brand-new Nissan Juke SUV.