Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that my computer has some sort of virus (or trojan or worm) and therefore, I am back to being essentially, computerless. The only reason that this affects you all is because it may mean less blog postings and definitely less pictures. BUT, I am coming home in 3 weeks (count em, 3!!) for a brief hiatus during which I will hopefully acquire a new computer so next semester, my blogs will be back to normal. This might be a good time to say that in January, I am moving to San Luis Potosi to continue teaching English, but at a different school. I am excited for a change of scenery and hopefully, it will only continue getting better and better!
In other news, this weekend was relatively lax. On Saturday morning, I awoke to a surprise...the señora of my house (she has a strange name, like Joji or Jijo or Jaji or something) was there, prepped and ready to take my king-sized bed. Um, what? They moved that big old thing right out of my room and replaced it with...you guessed it...a twin!! Not the best way to wake up on a Saturday.
After the moving fiasco and eating a cheap lunch of memelitas, Brandon and I walked to the purisima (the giant market) to shop and enjoy the locals. We took it easy on Saturday night as well. On Sunday, we treked down to the mall which I had never been to in the day...(it beats the Oaks Mall, that´s for sure!) We ended up seeing a movie...The Debt, which was actually amazing.Usually, our only requisites for a movie is that it is in English and usually, we are not uber impressed. This one however, was great, and I totally reccommend it.
Following the movie, Brandon and I had a seriously intense game of air-hockey. Needless to say, we attracted a crowd (mostly children under the age of 10) but others came over to watch as well. I guess it isn´t every day in Tehuacan that you see two gringos, one with a ginger beard, sweating profusely and occasionally screaming and throwing the puck (that was me) during an air hockey game. Way to blend in...
On the school front, this is the last real week of school. Halleluja, praise the Lord!! Next week, we have exam review and the actual final for English is next Friday! The following week is Christmas (and Hannukah??) activities. The final day, Fri, Dec. 16, is a fiesta. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown. Until later!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Turkey Day! (Or is it taco day....?)
Hi again! I know I JUST posted, but I figured I may as well update you all on the Thanksgiving-goings-on here in Mexico. But before I do...I have to tell the craziest thing that happened this week.
I was in the kitchen, and I turned the gas on so that I could light the oven to make some toast. As I went to light it, KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole oven exploded! I jumped back from the fire, just in time, because the entire oven (it is a double-decker thingamajig) fell over and shattered into a million pieces. It was completely terrifying. I ran out of the house and called my boss immediately. I thought the whole kitchen was about to go up in flames! Luckily, that didn't happen, and Teo turned off the gas so that we were safe. On the flip side, I burned my arm, and found that my skirt had a giant hole in the front of it. Better my skirt than my actual body!! This old mansion might not be a little more "old" than "mansionesque." Ay dios mio!
Anyway...Turkey Day! Since I am the only American teacher at Discovery, I was the only teacher to celebrate Thanksgiving with my students. I told them the story of Thanksgiving, and we made turkey hats (with my younger kiddos) and turkey figurines (with my slightly older kiddos.)
There was some slight confusion with what a turkey is....my kids may or may not think that Thanksgiving is a day where we celebrate chickens...or ducks....but at least its all in the poultry family! Take a look at my cute little turkeys:
I was in the kitchen, and I turned the gas on so that I could light the oven to make some toast. As I went to light it, KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole oven exploded! I jumped back from the fire, just in time, because the entire oven (it is a double-decker thingamajig) fell over and shattered into a million pieces. It was completely terrifying. I ran out of the house and called my boss immediately. I thought the whole kitchen was about to go up in flames! Luckily, that didn't happen, and Teo turned off the gas so that we were safe. On the flip side, I burned my arm, and found that my skirt had a giant hole in the front of it. Better my skirt than my actual body!! This old mansion might not be a little more "old" than "mansionesque." Ay dios mio!
Anyway...Turkey Day! Since I am the only American teacher at Discovery, I was the only teacher to celebrate Thanksgiving with my students. I told them the story of Thanksgiving, and we made turkey hats (with my younger kiddos) and turkey figurines (with my slightly older kiddos.)
There was some slight confusion with what a turkey is....my kids may or may not think that Thanksgiving is a day where we celebrate chickens...or ducks....but at least its all in the poultry family! Take a look at my cute little turkeys:
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| 2nd Grade |
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| 4th grade turkeys...notice the guitar on the left and the one ready for battle on the right. |
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| 1st grade turkitos |
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| ......quacking. |
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| Franco and Mikel It was a whole ton of fun, and hopefully the little ones learned something about Thanksgiving. On a personal note, Brandon and I ate quesadillas in place of turkey. Can't win em' all, can you? I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and its on days such as these that I miss you all (and America) dearly! |
Mexico D.F.
Hello and a happy belated Turkey Day to everyone! I haven't posted in a few days, so bear with me...this one may or may not be a doozey.
This past weekend,we had 4 days off! It was originally only no school on Monday, but at the last minute on Thursday afternoon, the government in Puebla decided that we work so hard that we deserve Friday off too! Holllllla! Brandon and I were planning on going to Mexico city after his last class at 7 on Friday, which would have meant we would get there at around 1 am. However, with these new developments, we were able to board a bus by noon, and we arrived in D.F. by 4:15. Score!
The first thing we had to do when we arrived was find a hotel. Although I would have preferred to book something in advance, Brandon assured me that we would have no problem finding a place, and that he had a few places in mind (this was his 10th-ishtime visiting the city) and after about an hour of looking (and 3 places being filled to capacity) we found a sweet hotel to stay in. The location was great. It was in the heart of a neighborhood called la Colonia Roma, which was full of cute wineries and cafes and restaurants and pedestrian streets. There was even a little ferria going on right on our block at which we sampled about 7 different cheeses and got free wine. It was awesome! We spent the evening roaming around Colonia Roma (no pun intended) and the Zona Rosa, which was another neighborhood right near us. It is a hot spot for the Mexican gays, so we saw a lot of man on man action which was certainly interesting. Being a straight couple in the Zona Rosa is the exception, not the norm!
After eating (the food did not leave me disappointed) we walked around a little bit more, saw a statue called the Angel de Independencia and soonafter, headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
On Saturday, we walked to the Chapultapec Park to visit the Anthropology Museum. On our way, we happened upon this really cool coffee cup art exhibit:
Mexico city is like that: it has art and fairs and street entertainment and stuff going on all the time. It was full of energy and I really loved it. Anyway, Chapultapec Park is absolutely massive and the museum was massive as well. I learned a lot about Mexican history and saw a gazillion artifacts and replications of artifacts. Take a look:
It was amazing, and we spent a solid 4 hours exploring it. After that amount of time, however, little Nicole was getting hungry and a little bit bored (hey, I'm human!) so we didn't make it to the upstairs, but instead opted to walk around the rest of the park and eat. The park is like Central Park...but wayyyy more Mexican. There were taco and torta vendors all over the place, and people trying to sell things everywhere you look. In the words of Laura Santare, everyone is tryna hustle. Most of the stuff being sold were dumb, touristy things, but we found this funny stand selling joke items. We bought some gum flavored "soap," "onion" and "garlic." Watch out fellow Heslingtons!!
On our way out of the park, we saw two extremely important monuments:
We also saw this native tradition of people swinging down from high in the sky on ropes. It seemed kind of dangerous, but they knew what they were doing. I think...
On Sunday, we decided to go to Teotihuacan, which are the pre-Aztec ruins. There are two pyramids, the Sun pyramid and the Moon pyramid, as well as the Avenue of the Dead and some other ruins of homes and temples. It was absolutely incredible.
I feel compelled to tell you all that Mexico city, especially the Centro Historico, is extremely crowded. I was clutching my purse at almost all times and constantly did a wallet check. It's not that I didn't feel safe, but there were so many people around, and everyone is trying to make a buck. A ver:
This past weekend,we had 4 days off! It was originally only no school on Monday, but at the last minute on Thursday afternoon, the government in Puebla decided that we work so hard that we deserve Friday off too! Holllllla! Brandon and I were planning on going to Mexico city after his last class at 7 on Friday, which would have meant we would get there at around 1 am. However, with these new developments, we were able to board a bus by noon, and we arrived in D.F. by 4:15. Score!
The first thing we had to do when we arrived was find a hotel. Although I would have preferred to book something in advance, Brandon assured me that we would have no problem finding a place, and that he had a few places in mind (this was his 10th-ishtime visiting the city) and after about an hour of looking (and 3 places being filled to capacity) we found a sweet hotel to stay in. The location was great. It was in the heart of a neighborhood called la Colonia Roma, which was full of cute wineries and cafes and restaurants and pedestrian streets. There was even a little ferria going on right on our block at which we sampled about 7 different cheeses and got free wine. It was awesome! We spent the evening roaming around Colonia Roma (no pun intended) and the Zona Rosa, which was another neighborhood right near us. It is a hot spot for the Mexican gays, so we saw a lot of man on man action which was certainly interesting. Being a straight couple in the Zona Rosa is the exception, not the norm!
After eating (the food did not leave me disappointed) we walked around a little bit more, saw a statue called the Angel de Independencia and soonafter, headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
On Saturday, we walked to the Chapultapec Park to visit the Anthropology Museum. On our way, we happened upon this really cool coffee cup art exhibit:
Mexico city is like that: it has art and fairs and street entertainment and stuff going on all the time. It was full of energy and I really loved it. Anyway, Chapultapec Park is absolutely massive and the museum was massive as well. I learned a lot about Mexican history and saw a gazillion artifacts and replications of artifacts. Take a look:
It was amazing, and we spent a solid 4 hours exploring it. After that amount of time, however, little Nicole was getting hungry and a little bit bored (hey, I'm human!) so we didn't make it to the upstairs, but instead opted to walk around the rest of the park and eat. The park is like Central Park...but wayyyy more Mexican. There were taco and torta vendors all over the place, and people trying to sell things everywhere you look. In the words of Laura Santare, everyone is tryna hustle. Most of the stuff being sold were dumb, touristy things, but we found this funny stand selling joke items. We bought some gum flavored "soap," "onion" and "garlic." Watch out fellow Heslingtons!!
On our way out of the park, we saw two extremely important monuments:
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| The monument for children killed in an American conquest. |
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| An life-size alambre (meat on a stick.) |
It is hard to really get the gist of it from my tiny pictures, but rest assured, it was breathtaking. We had an awesome (and educational!!) time. However, there was one little glitch. When I went to go to the bathroom (in the middle of the mountain, obviously) I accidentally sat straight on a cactus. OUUUUCH!! (And that is the G-rated version of what I said.) I had to actually pull some prickles out of my tush. Yikes.
Teotihuacan took the entire day, and by the time we got back to our hotel, we were absolutely pooped. I thought my legs were going to fall off!!
On Monday, after a delicious breakfast (sidenote: Brandon and I are totally in agreement about breakfast: gotta have it, it's gotta be good, and it's gotta happen immediately after leaving the hotel,) we walked to the Centro Historico. Every Mexican city has an "old" center, called the Zocalo, and Mexico City's zocalo was incredible. The Catedral was breathtaking:
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| Outside |
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| Inside |
We also checked out the Municipal palace and the Casa de Bellas Artes, which are both beautiful, huge and famous buildings in the city center.
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| Palacio Municipal |
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| Casa de Bellas Artes |
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| The Centro Historico |
When we went to the Merced, it was even crazier! Mexican markets are already enormous and sell everything from onions to cacti to remote controls to those little rubber things you put on your furniture to keep from scratching the floor to pornography to baby clothes....but this one outdid them all. It was awesome!! (Dad--you would love it, its like a Flea Market on serious steroids!)
After checking out the Merced, we walked to a little artisan market that sold really beautiful Mexican art, and indulged our shopping needs for a little while. Finally, despues de comiendo muchisimo tacos, we boarded the bus back to good old Tehuacan.
We are already planning our next trip back to D.F....can't wait!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hello all!
I hope everyone is having a great week thus far. I haven't posted in a while because we have been pretty busy, which is always good! Last Wednesday was Alan's 28th birthday (no manches!!) and we celebrated in true Mexican style...with a piñata!!
So that was great fun. Also, on Wednesday, we had the "open class" where a ton of parents piled into each of our classes to observe us. (Poor Alan...what a birthday!) It went better than expected. The kids were on their best behavior (duh) and the parents gave us good, useful criticism, for the most part. I was soooo happy by the time 2:05 rolled around though, it was stressful being watched!
This weekend was nice as well. On Friday night, we went out eat at Brandon's place of choice. We split a meat plate among 4 people that had grilled meats, peppers, onions, chiles, and pineapple and only cost 100 pesos! I loved it. Afterward, sufficiently full but having saved some room for beer, we went to this bar called Tag. I was pretty sure it was a gay bar the first time we went, and this time, my suspicions reemerged. There were a loooot of men, and not just men, really pretty men. They were touching each other and stuff in a way that could be seen as "friendly"...but when I saw a few of them enter the bathroom stall together, my hunch was confirmed. Gay bar!
On Saturday, Brandino and I woke up late and had a leisurely morning eating and hanging out before we set out on our day-trip to San Juan Raya. At about noon, we boarded a bus, even though the bus driver said that he didn't drop us off exactly at San Juan Raya, but instead at a sort-of fork in the road from which we had to walk 30 mins. I was wary of this (30 minutes to Mexicans usually means 1-2 hours for us...I am not sure whether they think Gringos walk at a super-human speed or what, but that seems to be the case.) Furthermore, the bus didn't have a single empty seat. Que suerte. Anyway, after about an hour of trying my damn-est not to fall into giant sacks of beans that were on the back of the bus, he dropped us off. This is what we saw:
After stopping a few times to pick up some fossils (I found like 25 and B only found like 19. WIN!), we finally reached the city. We wanted to go to the fossil Museo, but we realized that it was 4:15 and the only bus back to Tehuacan was at 6. That meant that we would have to basically turn around right away and walk all the way back in order to catch the bus . Luckily for us, a super sweet couple, Vanessa and Jesus, and their 3 month old, Saul, offered to drive us back to Tehuacan later that night if we wanted to hang out longer in San Juan Raya. Um....yes please!! We enjoyed the Museo as well as our new friends (especiall Saul.)
Vanessa and Jesus then drove us to Zapotitlan Selinas (sp?) which is a small town not too far from where we were. There was a ferria for San Martin, so the city center was decorated really nicely and the main church had about a zillion flowers in it. It was really cool. We walked around for a while, surveying the shops and puestos until we decided to head back to Tehuacan.
On Sunday, we just relaxed at home (in a hammock!! Wooot!) and mentally prepared for the week ahead. Adios!
I hope everyone is having a great week thus far. I haven't posted in a while because we have been pretty busy, which is always good! Last Wednesday was Alan's 28th birthday (no manches!!) and we celebrated in true Mexican style...with a piñata!!
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| The piñata! |
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| Spinning around the birthday boy |
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| Wack that s***! |
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| The aftermath. |
This weekend was nice as well. On Friday night, we went out eat at Brandon's place of choice. We split a meat plate among 4 people that had grilled meats, peppers, onions, chiles, and pineapple and only cost 100 pesos! I loved it. Afterward, sufficiently full but having saved some room for beer, we went to this bar called Tag. I was pretty sure it was a gay bar the first time we went, and this time, my suspicions reemerged. There were a loooot of men, and not just men, really pretty men. They were touching each other and stuff in a way that could be seen as "friendly"...but when I saw a few of them enter the bathroom stall together, my hunch was confirmed. Gay bar!
On Saturday, Brandino and I woke up late and had a leisurely morning eating and hanging out before we set out on our day-trip to San Juan Raya. At about noon, we boarded a bus, even though the bus driver said that he didn't drop us off exactly at San Juan Raya, but instead at a sort-of fork in the road from which we had to walk 30 mins. I was wary of this (30 minutes to Mexicans usually means 1-2 hours for us...I am not sure whether they think Gringos walk at a super-human speed or what, but that seems to be the case.) Furthermore, the bus didn't have a single empty seat. Que suerte. Anyway, after about an hour of trying my damn-est not to fall into giant sacks of beans that were on the back of the bus, he dropped us off. This is what we saw:
You got it...a long-ass road to nowhere! We walked and walked and walked and walked...for appx. 2 hours before we saw any sign of civilization. It was beautiful though, and we got to see a ton of different species of cacti.
After stopping a few times to pick up some fossils (I found like 25 and B only found like 19. WIN!), we finally reached the city. We wanted to go to the fossil Museo, but we realized that it was 4:15 and the only bus back to Tehuacan was at 6. That meant that we would have to basically turn around right away and walk all the way back in order to catch the bus . Luckily for us, a super sweet couple, Vanessa and Jesus, and their 3 month old, Saul, offered to drive us back to Tehuacan later that night if we wanted to hang out longer in San Juan Raya. Um....yes please!! We enjoyed the Museo as well as our new friends (especiall Saul.)
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| Did I mention that the museum was tiny? |
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| Resemblance? |
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| There is a supposed dinosaur footprint in the area, but we had to save it for another day! |
On Sunday, we just relaxed at home (in a hammock!! Wooot!) and mentally prepared for the week ahead. Adios!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Twick or Tweet
Even though Halloween was last weekend, we had parties at both Discovery and Heslington this past Friday to celebrate this wonderous holiday. At Discovery, it was really cute and fun. All of the kids dressed up in costumes (although they could have been a little more creative....every other child was either a zombie, a pirate, or Harry Potter.) There were games and food and activities for the kids and parents alike. A favorite amongst the little ones were these little eggs filled with confetti that they enjoyed smashing on each other's (and my) heads. There was also a parade of costumes:
The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing. Lots of reading, eating and chilling out. We went out to a few bars and went back to the Purisima, but overall it was just a much-needed rest.
This week in school, we have been talking about body parts. Needless to say, it gets a little awkward when kids start asking me how you say...certain things...in English. I plead the fifth, most of the time, but it does cause a lot laughter and distraction from the kiddies. (I did make the mistake of drawing the lines for the pectoral muscles on my male figure on the board, which caused a lot of "boobie" talk....whoops.) Other than that, everything is going well in teacher-ville. Tomorrow is an "open class" meaning that the parents can come and watch us teach if they want. Super annoying, but, as we say in Punchinello, the song that my 1st graders swear by, 'What can you do?'
Adios, amigos!
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| Mikel, one of my kids, dressed like a bull. Original! |
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| One of Brandon's kids, a scary lobo |
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| Regina, the witch |
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| Valentina the Katarina |
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| Alex, Veronika's host-brother, and his mom: Spiders! |
This week in school, we have been talking about body parts. Needless to say, it gets a little awkward when kids start asking me how you say...certain things...in English. I plead the fifth, most of the time, but it does cause a lot laughter and distraction from the kiddies. (I did make the mistake of drawing the lines for the pectoral muscles on my male figure on the board, which caused a lot of "boobie" talk....whoops.) Other than that, everything is going well in teacher-ville. Tomorrow is an "open class" meaning that the parents can come and watch us teach if they want. Super annoying, but, as we say in Punchinello, the song that my 1st graders swear by, 'What can you do?'
Adios, amigos!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
La Dia de los Muertos
Happy Thursday, everyone!
So yesterday was la Dia de los Muertos, (the Day of the Dead.) We wanted to experience a traditional, Mexican holiday, so one of our friends, Margot took us to the hometown of her friend, Rachel, to see what goes down in the little pueblitos. I cannot recall the name of the pueblito (Sant Nicolas something) but it was high up in the mountains, and we rode, in true Mexi-fashion, in the back of a white pick-up truck. Five little gringos ridin' in the bed; no big thang.
The ride was beautiful, and when we arrived in the pueblo, our first stop was the Panteon, or the cemetary. For la Dia de los Muertos, families all congregate at the graves of their loved ones and hang out, plant flowers, eat, drink, talk and listen to music. There were even bands playing in the graveyard. I think that it is a really nice and different way to celebrate the dead...although some of the men were celebrating a little too much. They drink this alcohol called pulque, and it is absolutely vile but extremely strong. There were more than a few older, Mexican man, completely smashed, having a grand old time. They also enjoyed making fun of Brandon (and the rest of us, but mainly Brandon since he is the most gringo-looking of the bunch.) We assumed that since this is a little town of only 1,200 people, they rarely see white people, especially not in their cemetary in the middle of a hugely important holiday, and they definitely did not hide their astonishment at our presence.
After hanging out in the cemetary for quite some time, talking, drinking, eating, etc. we went back to Rachel's family's house. It was really cool; the kind of place where they dont even have a real floor, just dirt, and animals all over the place. We walked all around the mountain, exploring the pueblito. It was absolutley beautiful. We also ate some homemade mole, which was unbeatable.
En total, mi experiencia de la Dia de lose Muertos era muy bonita y divertida y especial y a mi me encanta esta tradicion y todos de los tradiciones en Mexico. Adios!
So yesterday was la Dia de los Muertos, (the Day of the Dead.) We wanted to experience a traditional, Mexican holiday, so one of our friends, Margot took us to the hometown of her friend, Rachel, to see what goes down in the little pueblitos. I cannot recall the name of the pueblito (Sant Nicolas something) but it was high up in the mountains, and we rode, in true Mexi-fashion, in the back of a white pick-up truck. Five little gringos ridin' in the bed; no big thang.
The ride was beautiful, and when we arrived in the pueblo, our first stop was the Panteon, or the cemetary. For la Dia de los Muertos, families all congregate at the graves of their loved ones and hang out, plant flowers, eat, drink, talk and listen to music. There were even bands playing in the graveyard. I think that it is a really nice and different way to celebrate the dead...although some of the men were celebrating a little too much. They drink this alcohol called pulque, and it is absolutely vile but extremely strong. There were more than a few older, Mexican man, completely smashed, having a grand old time. They also enjoyed making fun of Brandon (and the rest of us, but mainly Brandon since he is the most gringo-looking of the bunch.) We assumed that since this is a little town of only 1,200 people, they rarely see white people, especially not in their cemetary in the middle of a hugely important holiday, and they definitely did not hide their astonishment at our presence.
After hanging out in the cemetary for quite some time, talking, drinking, eating, etc. we went back to Rachel's family's house. It was really cool; the kind of place where they dont even have a real floor, just dirt, and animals all over the place. We walked all around the mountain, exploring the pueblito. It was absolutley beautiful. We also ate some homemade mole, which was unbeatable.
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