Today I'm featuring some artwork by one of my students, whose name, you may have already guessed, is Maria José. (Note: she is a female student; José Maria is a male. That was fun to work out at first.) One Friday we had a bad day being "good listeners" in the computer lab, so I told them we wouldn't be going the next time. Instead, we practiced lining up, walking, and sitting quietly. And then, I had them each draw a picture of what it should look like and sound like when we're in the computer room. This was my favorite. Here we have Maria José, Ixchel, and Gustavo in the computer room, and Maria José is telling Ixchel not to talk. I am in the picture as well, with my hair braided as I had been doing that week, and the vocabulary words (that are sometimes stupid, like skip and ill to ESL first graders) we practice drawing are on the board.Saturday, May 26, 2007
Student Art
Today I'm featuring some artwork by one of my students, whose name, you may have already guessed, is Maria José. (Note: she is a female student; José Maria is a male. That was fun to work out at first.) One Friday we had a bad day being "good listeners" in the computer lab, so I told them we wouldn't be going the next time. Instead, we practiced lining up, walking, and sitting quietly. And then, I had them each draw a picture of what it should look like and sound like when we're in the computer room. This was my favorite. Here we have Maria José, Ixchel, and Gustavo in the computer room, and Maria José is telling Ixchel not to talk. I am in the picture as well, with my hair braided as I had been doing that week, and the vocabulary words (that are sometimes stupid, like skip and ill to ESL first graders) we practice drawing are on the board.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A plug for Chiapas
In June, Continental Airlines is running a deal out of Boston and some other Northeast US cities: $283 or so, round-trip, all fees and taxes, to Mexico City. Sooooo...
This is your last time to come visit me in Chiapas! Free accomodation, cheap food, natural wonders, built-in guide and translator. And I get an excuse to take a couple days off from work, company, and possibly a little room in someone's suitcase going back!
You see, everyone wins. Come visit! :)
Lluvia!!!!!
If you don't speak Spanish and you are just looking at that picture and wondering, "...Why?", it's because I haven't seen a full rain shower (other than in Colombia) since November!! I'm rejoicing in the cool it's bringing and how it is calming down the dust. Life is good.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Agua!
Coming home from Pilates tonight, a lady who lives downstairs and who seems to play a leadership role in the building stopped me and informed me that I hadn't paid my water bill, and that if I didn't rectify the situation by tomorrow, they were going to cut off the water (to me? to the building? No sé). I told her that every time I go, they tell me it's already paid. I guess this time it hasn't been! I had thought the landlord was prepaying it.
Not wanting my cold showers to become dry showers, I plan to rectify this situation before the Faculty/Staff volleyball game tomorrow.
Did I just say "Faculty/Staff volleyball game"?? Good gravy, I am getting old.
Did I just say "Good gravy"?
Not wanting my cold showers to become dry showers, I plan to rectify this situation before the Faculty/Staff volleyball game tomorrow.
Did I just say "Faculty/Staff volleyball game"?? Good gravy, I am getting old.
Did I just say "Good gravy"?
Being a gourmande in Oaxaca
In French, for the non-francophones, the word gourmande is a word to describe someone who
knows food, enjoys food, loves food... I wouldn't translate it as "glutton" because I don't think gourmande has the negative connotation. Can you say that a person is a gourmet? Anyhow, I am a gourmande, and as such thoroughly enjoyed Oaxaca City and a return trip to the beaches of Huatulco.
My favorite Oaxacan specialty has to be, hands down, MOLE. I think I've talked about this sauce, pronounced mo-lay, before. It hails from Oaxaca and comes in several varieties (I read on Wikipedia that Oaxaca is also known as "The Land of the Seven Moles"), the most typical being mole negro (black mole). Get around the fact that that sounds like a warning sign for melanoma, and you're free to enjoy its richness. The sauce is usually paired with chicken and sometimes can be found in tamales or other dishes. Once, here in Chiapas, I saw it on pizza. Something that weirds people out a bit about mole is one of its main ingredients: cacao. "Chocolate and chicken?!" Give it a try, it's a lot tastier than it sounds.
Below is pollo enmolada, or chicken wrapped in tortillas covered with mole, lettuce, and cheese. Being the picky eater, I picked off the lettuce and cheese, forgetting to first take the photo. Learn more about mole here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)
The mention of chocolate brings me to Oaxaca's other specialty. Though quite different from European chocolate, the Oaxacan variety is simple (usually just ground cacao, sugar, and sometimes cinnamon or vanilla) and (I find) addictive. More on that: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/mexicanchocolate.htm
Oaxaca is also known for its quesillo, a stringy cheese. Wikipedia compares it to "an un-aged Monterey Jack". I know what I like in the world of cheese, but, like wine, I can't use concrete, conventional adjectives to describe it. I leave you with Wikipedia again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca_cheese
One might think I'd be sated after the chocolate, cheese, and chicken mole, but there was more to come. When I was in town, there was a sort of culinary LARAC (Upstate NY reference, sorry) festival going on, with everything from huaraches (fried and loaded tortilla disks) to GELATO (not a native specialty, but...quite nice) to mezcal (the tequilla-like beverage that hosts the worm).
When I wasn't eating, I wandered picturesque streets (wander, eat, repeat) and visited two museums. I also visited Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotec city outside Oaxaca City. I was reminded why I'm wary of "tours": I could have paid 150 pesos (about $14 US) to go on a "tour" of Monte Alban. I thought this seemed high, and I remembered reading about a hotel that offered transportation to Monte Alban, so I found the hotel. Lo and behold, it was 34 pesos (about $3 US) instead of 150. Neither included admission (free for Mexican teachers with ID anyway), so the only difference would be the guide with the former option. Not worth the difference, I decided. I only lasted two hours in the heat before I was in the cafe, so it was a good decision to forego the guide.
What caught my attention at Monte Alban more than the ruins (I would fail as an anthropologist
or archaeologist: I just stare) were the noises coming from the trees. This happened to me at Palenque, where I was taken in by the sounds of the howler monkeys more so than the pyramids. At Monte Alban, the noises in the trees were coming from 3-inch insects with huge eyes and a rhythmic sound that was painful to listen to at times. I am not sure if they were cicadas. The pictures I've seen of cicadas feature clear wings, and these insects don't fit that description. Any help with a biology lesson here would be appreciated!
After two days in Oaxaca City, I was off to meet my friend/colleague Danna in Huatulco. It was nice to be welcomed into a private, air-conditioned room after my night at the Oaxaca City hostel. I got a free night at Hostel MezKalito because I had stayed three nights in their hostel in Mexico City.
But, in Mexico City I had a room for four with a private bathroom, and my free night in Oaxaca was in a 14-bed dorm with communal bathroom. Oh, well. I got a random parade out of the deal. (See photo)
knows food, enjoys food, loves food... I wouldn't translate it as "glutton" because I don't think gourmande has the negative connotation. Can you say that a person is a gourmet? Anyhow, I am a gourmande, and as such thoroughly enjoyed Oaxaca City and a return trip to the beaches of Huatulco.My favorite Oaxacan specialty has to be, hands down, MOLE. I think I've talked about this sauce, pronounced mo-lay, before. It hails from Oaxaca and comes in several varieties (I read on Wikipedia that Oaxaca is also known as "The Land of the Seven Moles"), the most typical being mole negro (black mole). Get around the fact that that sounds like a warning sign for melanoma, and you're free to enjoy its richness. The sauce is usually paired with chicken and sometimes can be found in tamales or other dishes. Once, here in Chiapas, I saw it on pizza. Something that weirds people out a bit about mole is one of its main ingredients: cacao. "Chocolate and chicken?!" Give it a try, it's a lot tastier than it sounds.
Below is pollo enmolada, or chicken wrapped in tortillas covered with mole, lettuce, and cheese. Being the picky eater, I picked off the lettuce and cheese, forgetting to first take the photo. Learn more about mole here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)
The mention of chocolate brings me to Oaxaca's other specialty. Though quite different from European chocolate, the Oaxacan variety is simple (usually just ground cacao, sugar, and sometimes cinnamon or vanilla) and (I find) addictive. More on that: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/mexicanchocolate.htm
Oaxaca is also known for its quesillo, a stringy cheese. Wikipedia compares it to "an un-aged Monterey Jack". I know what I like in the world of cheese, but, like wine, I can't use concrete, conventional adjectives to describe it. I leave you with Wikipedia again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca_cheese
One might think I'd be sated after the chocolate, cheese, and chicken mole, but there was more to come. When I was in town, there was a sort of culinary LARAC (Upstate NY reference, sorry) festival going on, with everything from huaraches (fried and loaded tortilla disks) to GELATO (not a native specialty, but...quite nice) to mezcal (the tequilla-like beverage that hosts the worm).
When I wasn't eating, I wandered picturesque streets (wander, eat, repeat) and visited two museums. I also visited Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotec city outside Oaxaca City. I was reminded why I'm wary of "tours": I could have paid 150 pesos (about $14 US) to go on a "tour" of Monte Alban. I thought this seemed high, and I remembered reading about a hotel that offered transportation to Monte Alban, so I found the hotel. Lo and behold, it was 34 pesos (about $3 US) instead of 150. Neither included admission (free for Mexican teachers with ID anyway), so the only difference would be the guide with the former option. Not worth the difference, I decided. I only lasted two hours in the heat before I was in the cafe, so it was a good decision to forego the guide.What caught my attention at Monte Alban more than the ruins (I would fail as an anthropologist
or archaeologist: I just stare) were the noises coming from the trees. This happened to me at Palenque, where I was taken in by the sounds of the howler monkeys more so than the pyramids. At Monte Alban, the noises in the trees were coming from 3-inch insects with huge eyes and a rhythmic sound that was painful to listen to at times. I am not sure if they were cicadas. The pictures I've seen of cicadas feature clear wings, and these insects don't fit that description. Any help with a biology lesson here would be appreciated!After two days in Oaxaca City, I was off to meet my friend/colleague Danna in Huatulco. It was nice to be welcomed into a private, air-conditioned room after my night at the Oaxaca City hostel. I got a free night at Hostel MezKalito because I had stayed three nights in their hostel in Mexico City.
But, in Mexico City I had a room for four with a private bathroom, and my free night in Oaxaca was in a 14-bed dorm with communal bathroom. Oh, well. I got a random parade out of the deal. (See photo) I snorkeled in Huatulco to my heart's content. Maybe more. All I know is that I couldn't keep the mask on my head more than an hour the third day, as I was getting a headache with a potential to make a migraine. I've always known how much I love being in water, but snorkeling made me feel like I was swimming in an aquarium! I sometimes forgot that my back was out of the water and felt like I was down with the fish. A dive is imminent in my future, I can just feel it. The second day, our waiter claimed also 
to be a snorkel guide and offered to take us out and show us the "species" in the water for 25 pesos each (about $2) for as long as we wanted his service, so we agreed. I got to hold a sea urchin, a sea cucumber, and a crazy starfish with a circle body and lonnnnng spiny tentacles. He looked like something out of Men in Black. This last picture is a great one of Danna in her groovy sunglasses, hiding from the late afternoon sun under her beach towel as we tried to flag down a cab in the middle of the desert. My camera batteries were dying at the beach, but we attempted some shots with Danna's underwater camera and hopefully those will develop well.
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