My year in Mexico...and beyond!

Rain in Guadalajara, Mexico

2010-07-18T19:42:00.004-05:00

Currently I am doing grad work in Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. Though bigger than Tuxtla (where I lived for a year, in Chiapas), this city of over 4 million feels like a giant suburb. The "Metro" has two lines and I doubt I'll be using it while I'm here as I live nowhere near it, but buses ("camiones"), taxis, and my own two feet serve as reliable transportation.
Since I've been studying Arabic, it is interesting to me that the name of the city comes from the Arabic wādi al-ḥijara وادي الحجارة, which means «Valle de la Piedra» or "Valley of Stone" (Thank you, Wikipedia).

I am here during rainy season, and have already lost a sandal to the flooded street-river that surges up when a downpour occurs. But I think I have learned a few things from the rain in Guadalajara:
- ALWAYS be prepared. Carry "chanclas" (flip-flops) or rainboots (I'd recommend the rain boots, as my right "chancla" got carried away last week) and an umbrella as it may rain at ANY time. In Tuxtla, the rainy season's storms were more predictable - usually between 2 and 5-6pm, lasting an hour or so and then clearing up. In Guadalajara, rain is possible at any point in the day or night (though night seems more common).
- When the sun shines, get out there. It may be hours or minutes until the next rain episode, but it WILL rain again and one must enjoy the sun while it lasts!
- If you can't beat it... laugh at it. No matter the havoc it is wreaking on your leather or suede sandals, there's not much you can do about the capillary action of the water working its way up your already-rolled up pantalones, oncoming traffic spraying mud puddles onto pedestrians - you -, or the 45-degree angle droplets slapping you in the face. You really just have to laugh.

Nostalgia

2010-01-31T18:58:00.004-06:00

Getting psyched already to visit Europe in June, and I just booked the ticket yesterday! I'll be visiting Madrid (a first), Brussels (a first), Paris and Nice/Cote d'Azur. Having lived in Paris for a year, I have a ton of memories I can't wait to relive. Top 5 (no particular order):

1) le refuge des fondus - restaurant in Montmartre. Fondue, wine in a baby bottle... total tourist experience, so cheesy (pun intended), but I can't wait to do it again!

2) Vélib - Cheap bike rental system provided by the city. Coasting around the city, trying not to get killed by a taxi or bus. The best way to see Paris. Once biked by the Arc, down by the Seine, over to the Tour Eiffel, maybe through the Latin Quarter too... not the most direct path but very scenic!

3) PariRoller - 22h Friday night. Three-hour rollerblade trek around the city, about 25km. Insanity. First and last time I gave it a try, I ended with a head injury and a visit with the pompiers de Paris. Leaving the blades home this time.

4) Picnics on the bridges over the Seine - this may never be the same without the whole crew, but it is a very fond memory of mine!

5) Art! Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, not to mention all of the smaller ones... the monuments themselves are art!

Additionally, I can't wait to see any of my former Paris III classmates, and my babysitting trio! Sure, it was a lot of work bathing four people a day (including myself), getting everyone home from school, one leg of which on the metro with a toddler, and getting food in everyone's belly, but I can't wait to see the tots again, two years later!

On the right: something I hope has become a problem of the past - les crottes (dog droppings)!

I'm more than ready for this trip.

It's back!

2010-01-31T17:17:00.003-06:00

Travel is my drug of choice. Planning the next trip is my addiction. I live in the moment, but live for my next trip...

So, the blog is back.

On a side note, to continue the analogy, I get a secondhand high from helping others plan their travel, so if you're lazy or unsure, I'd be happy to help you search for the best airfare, transportation, lodging, and itinerary for your needs and desires!

Welcome back!

Mis vecinos

2007-06-28T20:03:00.001-05:00

Well, I have two days left here, which really is one (tomorrow) since today is almost over and I leave Saturday early in the morning. I thought it'd be a good time to mention my neighbors, who have provided a source of entertainment and interest throughout my year here.

Let's start on the first floor. These are the neighbors, by the way, who were going to "call the fatherland/national heritage" when I almost tripped over a passed out drunk man at the bottom of the stairs a few weeks ago.

Let's start with their son, who I can never understand. I am hoping, actually, that this is a speech impediment of some sort because it's better to have a documented problem than to just be strange, it would seem. In addition to lacking articulation, he lacks coverage for his upper body! The guy is somewhere in his late teens, and for the first few months I lived here, I was convinced that he didn't so much as own a shirt, as every day he lacked one. Finally, once winter set in (the time when the temperature dips to the 70s and people here whip out their scarves and jackets), I finally saw him in a shirt. About three times. All year. He also parks his motorcycle IN their apartment. Mom, that's a lot worse than a backpack, no?

Sometime during this year, these neighbors put up a sign and opened an internet cafe-slash-copy and scanning center. It's part of their front room partitioned off with a couple of computers. This isn't unusual, though; the neighbors in the building across from me run a small grocery store out of their living room. Things got a little stranger, though, when I started coming home and hearing bad Mexican songs being sung in what seemed like... karaoke?? Yes, the neighbors were doing karaoke shamelessly with the door open, on more than one occasion, but it hasn't happened lately, or I might think it was part of the family business.

All in all, the first floor inhabitants are friendly entrepreneurs with a semi-nudist son. And a really ugly dog; did I mention the dog?

I don't know the second floor vecinos, so our tour moves to my next-door neighbors. It sort of seems like a clown car, except an apartment; the amount of people I see there in what would be a two-bedroom apartment exceeds my North American comfort levels, but living with one's extended family also is not uncommon here. Aside from getting mad at us for setting our supposedly fly-attracting trash outside the door once (for about five minutes!), the patriarch of the group is a nice guy who's always ready with a "Buenas tardes". They have at least two children. Their son, about high school age, is always looking directly into our door when he walks by. "What do Americans do at home?" I can only guess that this is what he's thinking. There is also a little girl whose growth has been marked during my time here! She was a little shy at first, but now she always comes to the door (often accompanied by the curious adolescent) and says "Hola!" with a wave.

Well, that's my neighborhood! Just add lots of noise and a peanut vendor, and you've got the complete picture.

Under two weeks

2007-06-17T17:58:00.000-05:00

Since two weeks from today I will be home in upstate New York, it's a good time to reflect on my year in Mexico...

Things I will miss:

Nearby San Cristobal, with its indigenous culture, variety in international and Mexican cuisine, colorful buildings, and always fun market.
Cheap (2.50-4.50 USD) movies
MY STUDENTS!! I found out that a colleague is staying next year and teaching second grade, and I’m going overboard filling her in on them as a group, giving tips, and otherwise being glad to know whose hands they’ll be in!

The friends I’ve made among the staff

The weather. Sometimes the heat was almost unbearable, but I cannot STAND cold Northeast winters, and not having temperatures below 60 that I can remember was amazing.

Cheap, delicious food! Yes, you sometimes have to watch out for sketchiness in order to avoid parasites and GI infections (I had one of the latter and possibly one of the former), but I could eat and drink mole, agua de avena, jamaica, fried plantains, Juan and Yayci’s quesadillas and tescalate, and taquitos forever. Or at least for one savory year. (One of my favorite candies is pictured here: Glorias, made from goat's milk caramel!)

Tons of natural light! And very little rain.

Things I will NOT miss:

Tuxtla. I’ve had my fill of this hot, crowded city in the jungle.
Movie-goers who answer their cell phones and have full conversations and who laugh during the emotional parts of the film. I swear, some people here have the emotional maturity of seventh graders as adults.
Disorganization and resistance to change at school. I’d actually think of coming back (to take my kids for third grade!) if the school was open to trying to improve or hold its employees and students accountable.

THE MEN. I cannot wait until I don’t feel like a steak on legs. If I ever complain about blending in/being a Plain Jane/not getting attention again, just send me back here and I will instantly remember why no attention is better than being whistled/shouted/hissed at!
Living in a society with a strong class system. I mean, we’re not talking about a caste system or anything, but coming from a society that prides itself on social mobility and equality and not discrimination, living in such a class system has been challenging. I’ve come to resent wealth. I feel like at home we should help out more too, but sometimes we feel that sending our money to charities might not go where it should. That’s a crappy excuse, but here all you have to do is go out on garbage night and you’ll see someone impoverished picking through bags of trash hoping to find things to recycle (and be paid for) or reuse him or herself.
With this class deal comes nepotism, and with nepotism often comes incompetence because, hey, a lot of people don’t have their jobs because they’re qualified for them, but because they or their family knows someone. My place of employment has its fair share of connections-based hiring, as well.

NOISE! I am almost certain that my hearing has worsened from living here. I kept saying, “Huh? HUH?” to Alex when she was here visiting because she speaks at an American-normal volume, and I am accustomed to cacophonous Mexico. I wish I had taken a hearing test before I came so that I could compare it to one I’d like to have after living here. Between loudspeakers (even at work), screaming children (even at work, albeit not in my classroom or you’re in trouble), chains signaling gas delivery, whistles and mouth noises to get people’s attention, honking cabs and combis, and blaring movie surround-sound, I know I’ve done some auditory damage in these eleven months.
Knocking. People knock here like they have a right to come in your house! They knock, knock, and knock some more until you give in or hide. Come on, logic says if the person doesn’t answer, they’re not there, or they don’t want to answer, so you’re doing no good and potentially just annoying them if you keep on knocking!
Disregard for the environment. There is litter everywhere, little or no recycling, and I once watched an eco-tourism guide throw a beer bottle into the Rio Grijalva. ‘Nough said.

The second list looks longer, but I think I just went into greater detail on the things that have been annoying. Don't mistake that for total discontent with the whole year!

Don't worry, in a minute we'll call the fatherland

2007-06-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

So, tonight I went out for some (overpriced and kind of blah tasting) Chinese food after an action-packed adieu to San Cristobal with Danna. Upon returning home, I paid my cab driver and walked toward the stairs. My path was interrupted by... a man sleeping in front of the stairs? Clearly he wasn't homeless, but he was passed out at the bottom of the stairs! I got over the surprise quickly, surmised that the man was breathing, and said, "Disculpe?" (Excuse me?) Nothing. "Disculpe?" Nothing. "Disculpe?" Still nothing. I tapped his shoulder; nothing. The door to my first floor neighbors' apartment was open, so I bid them good evening (We "Buenas Tardes/Noches" here more than we "Hola" each other) and asked them if they knew the man sleeping at the bottom of the stairs. "He's been drinking, I think," the daughter answered. Okay, that's probably true, but he is unconscious and alone lying on cement and his family has abandoned him. I look shocked at her calmness. "They'll come back and get him," she tells me. I'm still shocked. "Ahorrita llamamos a la patria." In a minute we'll call the fatherland?? My shock turns to confusion, I say ok, and walk upstairs as the situation is in their hands. If this wasn't a place with extemely corrupt cops, I would have already called them myself, but they might just make things worse, so I let those who are native to the culture figure out what to do with the grown man who is acting like a college Freshman.

I went up to my apartment and gave the neighbors about five minutes to... call the fatherland/national heritage?? Not sure if this means the police, or the guy's friends, or none of the above. Anyway, I went back downstairs and the guy was still passed out but sitting on the stairs, and the neighbor girl (about 18 years old or so) was talking through her cage door (we all have them). I said, "Did his friends come?" "No, se fueron." They left?? "Yes, they left him here." "Y el vive en este edificio?" No, he doesn't live here. I'm shocked again, but I see they are giving him water (or at least lemonade) and monitoring the situation, so I can with some peace of mind resubir to my apartment. Just when I thought living here couldn't get any more interesting.

Note: the picture has nothing to do with the situation, except for the fact that it was taken three stories above where the story above takes place, but I know an all-text entry can be boring! This picture is from the first or second week in Tuxtla, and is of me and my roommate.

Manna from Heaven? Not quite...

2007-06-09T09:48:00.000-05:00

This is the second part of a note my principal, Michy, sent to the English teachers last week:

"On a different note, you'll soon be amused (or perhaps, jittery, elated, annoyed, or just plain curious!) to discover that very soon botanas [snacks] will be dropping from the sky to fill the streets (and nooks and crannies) of Tuxtla! They are called nucu, and they are fat and clumsy flying ant that are due to appear any day now (they appear shortly after the tiny. dainty, long-winged insects take to the sky...and I saw a couple in my bathroom already!) The dopey nucu are attracted to the light, so the Tuxlecos [people from Tuxtla] have learned that they can capture these yummy treats by setting up tubs of water under strategically placed lightbulbs. After the initial luminous attraction, the nucu plunge to their watery death, and the Tuxtlecos gather them, fry them up in lime and salt, and dig in for a crunchy, tangy, and somewhat pungent once-a-year feast! I wanted to let you know for two reasons: one, you may bravely wish to try out this cultural delicacy yourself; and two, your students will in all likelihood be a little distracted and excited on the day the nucu arrive."

One: I tried grasshoppers, that was enough, thank you.
Two: It's June. My kids are already distracted and excited! :)

At our Wednesday morning meeting, my counterpart (the Spanish first grade teacher) Estela (who I called Estrella, or Star, for months by accident without being corrected) called them "caviar Chiapaneco", Chiapan caviar, because people will charge 10 pesos for a small container.
They have definitely distracted my kids, who have brought tupperware to school to try to catch them, and who ask (and are denied) permission to get out of morning line-up to go chase one that they saw on the ground. "Yes, I'm sure the Principal and Coordinator would love it if I let you run off and catch bugs while she's talking," I feel like saying, but instead opt for, "Not right now."
Anyhow, I could have a picture of one of my cutie pie students and his nucu collecting efforts, but I brought my camera without batteries!! Que tonta soy.

Alex in Chiapas!

2007-06-04T18:28:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping this short until I hear from Alex, who is planning on writing up her take on her visit down here to Chiapas. I can tell you, though, that it was a memorable one for her.

I knew that having Al come down would, as a secondary effect to having wonderful company, remind me of things I've forgotten about. More than doing this, though, her visit confirmed a lot of the things that have been driving me crazy, like having to bargain a price for a taxi or anything in the market, and being stared at constantly.

Alex's favorite part of the trip was Palenque, partly because it was the "least Mexican" part of the trip. That's not to say the food and the people aren't good here (other 99% 0f the men), but life here can be chaotic, noisy, and a bit unpredictable. Palenque sees a lot of tourists, so it offers more peace and stability than Tuxtla.

Another interesting commentary from Alex: would life here have its appeal if it weren't so cheap? "Would be pay 15 dollars for these belts at home?" She asked. No, probably not, I thought. But, they're cute and they're about two dollars here... I think she might be onto something.

I feel a little guilty that Alex had to come in essentially my last month here, when I'm getting a little tired of the noise, relative disorganization, and the gross pigmen. On the one hand, she saw what life, as opposed to vacation, is like here; but I hope she didn't see so much that the trip lost its ability to be enjoyable!

My two highlights from Alex's journey south of the border were:

1. Swimming in a waterfall! Alex discovered one of my remaining fears: walking over a waterfall tidepool on a wet log.

2. Being chased by a mystery animal in the Olmec park. Alex has a lovely video of this, and when she can access her photos I hope to get a copy.

Student Art

2007-05-26T10:20:00.001-05:00

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.

A plug for Chiapas

2007-05-22T20:15:00.000-05:00

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!!!!!

2007-05-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

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.

Agua!

2007-05-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

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"?

Being a gourmande in Oaxaca

2007-05-17T16:54:00.000-05:00

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)

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.

Day of the Child?

2007-04-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I'd often ask my parents around Mother's Day or Father's Day, "Why isn't there a Kids' Day?"
"Every day is kids' day," came the reply. I didn't think that was a good answer when I was little, but... I get it now.
In Mexico, we have Dia del Nino... Day of the Child. I would have LOVED this when I was a kid! But as an adult (at least in physical state, perhaps not always mentally), in a culture where kids have it pretty darn good, I wonder... why? Why "Day of the Child"?
Well, it just goes with how much people here seem to love to spoil children. So today, we celebrated the little guys, and my school pulled out all the stops, offering a bouncy-bounce (brincolin in Spanish), pools, slip and slides, and SNACKS. I managed to stay pretty dry during the water fights (I claimed needing to protect the beverages... right), but most people, kids and adults alike, were soaked!
The kinder teachers decided to give their students pet turtles as gifts for Day of the Child. Cultural bells and whistles were going off in my head when I thought about what my mom would have said if my school sent me home with a PET they didn't ask for! But, I can laugh, because I'm not the one going home with a turtle, nor are my (non-existent) offspring!

The pictures feature:

1. one my students, soaked, who isn't so excited about school but does enjoy soccer and drawing;

2. another student, who gets so excited about school that she was depressed the day before vacation;

3. Glenn, a colleague, also soaked, who told me he can't just smile for a picture, so I said to make a face and this is what I got;

4. A random picture of some students with their Valentine's Day cards back in February (and one who made a Rambo headpiece with his tissue paper).

Current Tuxtla Weather

2007-04-19T16:44:00.000-05:00

Walking home today, I thought it felt pretty hot out, and that the sun was hurting my arms. So, I thought I'd check and see what the temperature is.

According to weather.com, at 4:45pm in Tuxtla (out of peak sun hours), it is 99 degrees F/38 or so Celsius, and "feels like 125". And instead of a "partly cloudy" or "mostly sunny" image, the image is haze and below is written, "Smoke". UV index? 10 + or "extreme".

Welcome to the jungle.

Mexico City! (or, "And I thought drivers in Tuxtla were scary!")

2007-04-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

ARRIVAL
After I reluctantly left Colombia and Diana and her family, I headed for Mexico City, or la Ciudad de Mexico, or el D.F. (pronounced day effay, which stands for Distrito Federal).
I arrived back at the Mexico City airport around 11pm, which I have decided is a labyrinth both in terms of its halls and its lack of credible gate postings, and I called the hostel I had reservations with. I was told before that a reservation at this hostel entitled me to free airport pickup, which would save me over 100 pesos (more than 10 dollars). So, I found a payphone and called the 800 number.
"The car will be white with no markings, a Nissan. What color is your baggage? Are you wearing pants or a skirt?" I suppose I have experienced sketchier?
The car arrived with the driver and a sidekick, neither of whom spoke to me very much. I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't think I spoke Spanish? They drove me to the Hostel/Hostal Moneda on Calle de la Moneda (where did they ever think of that name??), I checked in, and in my half-asleep daze I signed up for a trip to the Pyramids for the next day. At 9am. And I actually got up and was clean and on time, somehow.

DAY ONE: MISSED WORM OPPORTUNITIES, PYRAMID SCALING, AND AN EARTH-SHAKING EVENT
At 9am pretty sharp for Mexican time, we headed out in two vans to go to the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, the Guadeloupe Shrine/Church, a Tequila/Mezcal/Pulque sampling, and the Pyramids. I sat in the front because I was solo, and the driver caught on that I spoke Spanish. I sometimes forget that intergender friendliness here almost inevitably leads men into mistakenly thinking the female is interested in them... maybe this is just with foreign women, I really don't know since I can't test it as a non-foreign woman... anyhow, my friendly conversation with the driver to practice Spanish and just chat ended with repeated invitations for personal dance lessons that I managed to nicely get out of.

The rundown of Day One: Plaza de las Tres Culturas, where some of the only remaining pre-Hispanic ruins in the actually city are, the Guadeloupe Shrine, where the supposed miracle image of Guadeloupe/the Virgin Mary can be found and where a church was built for her because of this miracle, and Tequila/Mezcal/Pulque sampling. All three of these alcoholic beverages are made from maguey, a cactus. I took a picture of the worm in the Mezcal, put it down, and then thought, "WAIT! I should drink it!!" only to turn around and see someone else on the trip ready to down the gusano. Next time.
Then we hit the pyramids. They are the Pyramide de la Luna (of the moon) and the Pyramide del Sol (of the sun). The Pyramid del Sol looks like the mountain range behind it, and the Pyramide de la Luna hides the mountain range behind it. If you follow the link at the bottom, you can see what I described. After hiking the mountains, I stopped into the restaurant/bar just outside the pyramid area with 2 British people I had climbed with, Jared and Jill. I was telling them never to pay over 20 pesos, maybe 25 for a beer in Mexico, when I found out our beers were 30 apiece.
I had dinner with Jared and Jill, and Jill tried my pollo en mole (chicken in MOH-LAY sauce). Her response? "If it looks like a mole, and tastes like a mole, don't eat it!" I happen to love the stuff. After this, we hit the hostel bar, where the bartender wasn't shy about pouring tequila down patrons' throats, and where I wasn't shy about asking the DJ to (attempt to) dance. Not sure what got into me. Oh yes I am: it comes from maguey.
Then, the room started moving, and my chair was rocking, and I thought, "I haven't had much to drink, but maybe I should stop, this doesn't feel right." The motion got stronger, and I told Jill I shouldn't drink anymore because things were moving and swaying, and she said they were for her too, and we realized what was the cause: an earthquake!! We weren't at the epicenter, where it was a 6 or so I was told, so it was only a 3 or 4 for us, but quite an experience to have and better than my first earthquake when we thought someone had driven a car into the building.

DAY TWO: DOWNTOWN, INSECT EATING, MUSEUMS, AND LUCHA LIBRE
The second day, I took the hostel's free walking tour of the downtown historical area. I saw the history of Mexico as painted by Diego Rivera, explored the National Cathedral, and entered the fanciest Post Office I've ever encountered. We also stopped at a market with food and Mezcal from Oaxaca, and one of the items available for sampling was fried grasshoppers. I'm not sure why, but I decided, Why not try? With lime, of course. An interesting thing to try, but they just crunch and don't taste like much.
I explored the Fine Arts museums and the National Museum of Anthropology by myself for the rest of the afternoon and early evening, and then at the last minute I decided to go to the Lucha Libre, or Mexican wrestling, even though I hate wrestling, because it might make for an interesting cultural experience. There were no tickets left at the hostel so I went anyway and bought a ticket from a guy selling them outside on the street. The most interesting thing for me was that when the bikini-clad women came out, the men didn't go much more crazy than they do when my female companions and I walk down the street... I expected them to fall over themselves because they're so rude to us, and we're clothed and not model-esque. They offered the bikini girls a few whistles and catcalls, but nothing too insane. Kind of a relief.

DAY THREE: MYO TOUR AND A FAIRY TALE EVENING
On Saturday, I wanted to go on the hostel's Frida Kahlo/Xochimilco tour or the market and Mexican cooking expedition, but they were both postponed till Sunday and I was leaving midday Sunday. So, I decided to make my own tour. I somehow made it the kilometer or so from the metro stop to Frida's house with a map and without getting lost once. There was a lot of interesting memorabilia, including the bed she died in and many letters between her and Diego.
The second stop was to be Xochimilco, a canal network just outside the city. I'd seen pictures of the colorful boats and really wanted to go, so I started to follow the directions in the Lonely Planet guide. It sounded painless: metro to Taxquena, light rail to Xochimilco, taxi or walk or bus it to the ports. As it turned out, the metro to Taxquena was closed and they were running extremely crowded bus transportation, and the light rail had 15 or so stops before Xochimilco. The whole trip took over an hour. I arrived and started asking around about prices for boat/gondola rides, only to realize that most people rent them as a family of 10 or so and that the public/colectivo boats weren't running (or no one was going to miss business telling me where they were). I finally struck a deal with one guy/company for a half-hour tour for 100 pesos. I hadn't hit an ATM and didn't know where to find one, it was late in the afternoon and I had ballet tickets, so the 30 minutes would have to do.
Families take these boats out and ride for the afternoon or the day, connecting with vendor boats to buy corn, snacks, meals, or mariachi services. They also stop in parks, garden shops, and ice cream stands. It was loud and chaotic, colorful and exciting, much like life in Mexico.
I took a colectivo bus and the subway back to my hostel, and I had to hustle because I had bought tickets to that night's ballet, La Bella Durmiente, or Sleeping Beauty, to be held in the Chapultepec Castle and performed by the National Dance Company. You can imagine why I couldn't pass this fairy tale up, and it seemed like a great first ballet. I didn't realize that the castle is actually a CASTLE, I think built by the Spanish during their days of Mexican occupation, and it is up on a hill offering an amazing view of Mexico City. I didn't bring my camera because if they weren't allowed in I would have nowhere to leave it, so I most unfortunately do not have pictures of the ballet or the castle and its view! Qué lastima.
I was pleasantly surprised by the view, and unpleasantly surprised at the attire. I came in capris, a sleeveless shirt, and tennis shoes because I hadn't brought anything formal for two weeks with one backpack. I'm 99% sure I was the worst dressed person there. But, it was an incredible show, with a real castle as the backdrop, and I got my program autographed by three of the lead dancers. I woke up the next day with the feeling that it had just been a dream, and had to think back on specific moments to convince myself that I really had been there.
On the subway home, I felt a bug in my hair and tried to swat it out. As it turned out, it was something with a stinger, and it sunk its sharpness into my index finger. I managed to remove the stinger and watched my finger redden and swell as I rode home. I would much rather be stung by five jellyfish than whatever got me in the subway.

LAST HURRAH
Sunday morning, I tried to go to the Casa de Francia (la Maison de la France, the French Embassy) before leaving the city, but it was closed. I looked again at the address in the Lonely Planet, and it said Monday-Saturday. My disappointment made it a little easier to leave the city.

Check out pictures here: http://bu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2135884&l=0d5bf&id=904160

Bebe!

2007-04-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

In posting the picture of Diana's niece, I realized I didn't post this picture when it was taken. I love the look on Nathan (the baby)'s face, but I especially love Amy's! It's so her...

Colombian Food

2007-04-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

Above: fried plantains, rice, white beans, potatoes, beef, and pork. Essentially, the staples of Colombian food. Accompanied by jugo de maracuya.

Here are some things I ate, rated on a scale of 1-10 by a fussy eater (yours truly).

AJIACO
A corn, potato, and chicken stew/soup, made with amor by Diana's mamita. Probably very good in cold weather. Pretty good in mild weather, too!
Rating: 7-8, and this coming from a non-soup/stew eater.

AGUA DE PANELA
Panela, a sugar cane product, dissolved in hot water... what's not to like?
Rating: 10 (Yo amo azucar)

PAN HOJALDRADA
Typical at breakfast. Like a croissant or pain au chocolate without chocolate, thus:
Rating: 10

CHICHA
Alcoholic beverage made from corn. Sort of tastes like a thick and corny version of champagne... sort of. An acquired taste.
Rating: 7

CHURRASCO
Basically a medium-rare steak.
Rating: 9-10

TAMALES
I prefer the Mexican ones. The Colombian ones have a different consistency and lack mole sauce.
Rating: 6

CHOCOLATE (CALIENTE)
I hate hot chocolate from the package. Nice improvement here.
Rating: 9

BOCADILLO
At first bite, strange. Made from guava (guayabana?). Grows on you.
Rating: 9-10

AREQUIPE
Variation on caramel. Taste varies from good to kickin'. I prefer dulce de leche, though.
Rating: 9

BREVAS CON AREQUIPE

Figs with arequipe (see above). I only like Figs in the Newtons.

Rating: 5 (in Mexico, 5 is failing)

COW MILK, STRAIGHT UP
Whoa.
Rating: 6

CREPES AND WAFFLES

Colombian chain (as far as I know) of restaurants offering dinner and dessert crepes, ice cream, and combos of the two.

Rating: Off the charts

Below: Banana split from Crepes and Waffles. I also had their Nutella crepe, three flavors of ice cream, and a chicken broccoli crepe, on other occasions.

COLOMBIA

2007-04-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Note: The colors yellow, blue, and red have been used to title sections of my Colombian adventures because they are the three colors of Colombia's flag. As it was explained to me, the yellow symbolizes gold/wealth, the blue is for the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, and the red is for the blood shed for the nation.

Arrival
From the moment I arrived in Colombia until the moment I left, I was surrounded by hospitality from some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I've ever met. I am not just talking about Diana's mother, who was a more than amazing hostess! When I arrived at the Bogota El Dorado International Airport, Diana was nowhere to be found. I tried to stay awake, given that an hour on a table in the food court at the Mexico City airport was all the sleep I'd gotten the previous night. I had considered checking into the airport Hilton. Then I remembered I'm a poor teacher in Mexico.
Anyway, I did my best to put on the, "I know what I'm doing, I'm not lost" face.
"Are you lost? Are you waiting for someone?" The face is clearly flawed.
I turned my head and saw a girl about my age or a little older who looked concerned. I explained to her that I was waiting for a friend to pick me up, and she ended up letting me use her phone and offered to take me to her apartment, an offer which I declined even though she was probably harmless, and she asked me to call her once Diana came to get me so that she wouldn't worry! All this, from a stranger. I knew Diana was nice, but I hadn't yet realized she's pretty representative of Colombian people.

POLLO!
When Diana finally found me (she had been in another part of the airport), we had to look for her cunado (brother-in-law), and he was nowhere to be found. While waiting, I ran into what to my sleep-deprived mind was the COOLEST item ever: Chicken flavored Lays potato chips! Lays potato chips are called Sabritas in Mexico and come in lime and chile flavors, among other things, but not CHICKEN! Lays chips are also called Margaritas in Colombia, by the way. At the end of the trip I bought a package of 12 bags of chicken flavored chips, and I still have a good 6-8 of those if anyone wants to test them!

Lexical Differences
"Chido." "What?" "Cool." "We don't say that here." This was one of many times when my Mexican Spanish became a topic of conversation as Diana and I compared Mexican and Colombian vocabulary and slang. Below are a few differences. On the left, Mexican words; in the middle, their Colombian counterparts; on the right, rough English translations.
chido/padre -- chevere/bacano -- cool
wey -- marica -- dude
cuate -- socio -- friend/buddy
popote -- petillo -- straw
Que onda? -- Que hubo/Que mas? -- What's up/How's it going?
extranar -- hacer falta -- to miss something/someone
pilo/a --listo/a -- smart/clever/quick
Also, a backpack is a mochilla in Mexico but a maleta in Colombia, and a bolsa in Mexico (like a purse/handbag) is a mochilla in Colombia. I was a little confused.

Taking it to the street
Both Diana and her sister called me "pila", which means quick or smart, and they were referring to my streetsmarts, navigation skills, and common sense. I have to include that because my mom worries a whole lot about my safety abroad, partially because I have my fair share of blonde moments. So, Mom, I now know two people who think I manage pretty well out there in the big, bad world! :)
I tried telling Diana's sister that I wasn't so street saavy before living abroad, and that before I couldn't find my way out of a wet paper bag. The expression didn't translate so well.

Magic Passports
"Cuanto vale el pasaporte magico?" (How much does the magic passport cost?)
What?

On Tuesday, Diana took me to Salitre Magico, which roughly means Magic Forest, an amusement park in Bogota. The tickets to enter the park are called "magic passports," and I'm a cheeseball so I found that amusing. In short, we got rained on and then found out we hadn't bought rain insurance, AND that admission is more than half off on Wednesdays, the next day. But we still had fun, except when they wouldn't let us on the kiddie swings because we were over 1m45 tall. Looking at the seats, I don't know if it would have held my budonkudonk anyhow.
The photo: I thought it was an egg; it was a coffee bean.

Karaoke
One of my goals in life (and I'm not shy about it) is to do Karaoke on all six naturally inhabited continents. I've been told to do it on Antarctica too... I'll think about that after the first six are accomplished.
So when Diana asked me what I wanted to do when I came to Colombia, I told her, "Anything you plan is fine with me! But, I really want to do Karaoke!"
I can now say I have sung the Backstreet Boys on three continents.
Unfortunately, the song I practiced, Shakira's "Estoy Aqui", was not on the menu. Que lastima.

Salsa
If you've seen me dance -- okay, stop laughing now, -- if you've seen me dance, you can imagine how well it went when we went out dancing. Diana's sisters mistakenly thought I was bored when I didn't want to dance and tried very hard to convince me that I needed to dance. I wasn't bored; I was quite content watching. It was sort of like being in Germany where everyone speaks fluent German and all you can muster is Guten tag (Hello) or Wie schmecken die bonen? (How do the beans taste?) I've worked up to the point where my mind and my hips know the rhythm, but my *#$%* feet are still lost in translation. So I was content just observing until Andrés came along.
"Bailemos?" (Shall we dance?)
"No puedo bailar." (I can't dance.)
"Si, puedes." (Yes you can.)
"No, no sé bailar." (No, I don't know how to dance.)
"Te enseno." ("I'll teach you.")
I gave up and took the floor. Andrés was patient, but also a smooth talker and I may have found this charming in my younger years (not that I'm ancient, but you get the idea). Now, though, I had to stiffle laughter when he said, "My friend wants to go to another bar. But he's not dancing with a beautiful blonde girl." Right, Andres. Strap on your boots, the mierda's getting deep.
We danced a couple of songs, I assaulted Andres' feet, I went back to my friends, and he came and got me to dance again a little while later. Masochist.
Just before we were going to leave, a visibly drunk man came and sat at our table. I understood the words he was saying, but I had NO IDEA what in the world he was talking about. I started doubting my Spanish, till Diana told me she couldn't understand a thing he was saying, either.

Lovin' It
On Wednesday, Diana and I started calling the airport daily to try to change my flight. I was loving Colombia and didn't care if I ever left; but staying an extra few days would have to be enough. They didn't have availability until we called Saturday morning, hours before my departure, and found out that something opened up for Wednesday and that I could get four more days of Bogota.

Sights
In addition to the historical/downtown area, the bohemian Candelaria/Chorro area, many malls, and the artisan markets (see photo) of Bogota itself, we left the city Friday to go to the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral) in Zipaquira. More info on it here: http://www.catedraldesal.gov.co/
On the way, we went to Panaca, a "Safari" that had rare animals such as cows, goats, and dogs. It was funny because I didn't grow up far from farms, and almost none of the animals there were new to me, but my Bogota-dwelling friends were impressed. There were two highlights: milking a cow (and then tasting the milk, blech) and holding a baby goat that had been born that morning! Oh, and the free snack that went with the milk. I love snacks.

Bebé!
If you know me, you know that I don't pass up the opportunity to hold a baby when it arises. So I really took to Diana's niece, Mariana, and she apparently took to me, falling asleep on my shoulder. I dozed myself for a bit, and Diana wanted a picture but I woke up.

Bittersweet Ending
I was really bummed to have to leave Colombia and Diana, who is a wonderful person and a great friend. I also knew that leaving Colombia meant my vacation was almost over. So because of that, coupled with Diana's mother's bear hug at the airport, I was teary-eyed as I left and headed for security. I rarely cry anymore, so I was really surprised that I got choked up leaving Colombia and Diana.
I had managed to supress the waterworks, kept it in, and then got my Colombian beer confiscated by security because it was over 100mL. Now THAT'S something worth crying over. I refrained, though.
As I mentioned, I felt incredibly welcomed by everyone I met in Colombia, right up to the travelers I met in the airport gate as I was leaving. They were a woman, her sister, and her husband, and they ended up giving me their address for when I come back to Colombia! Talk about hospitality.
I know I'll return to "Locombia", and hopefully soon. Di and I have plans to visit the Zona Cafetera (where they grow coffee), Las Amazonas (that should be self-explanatory), the coast, etc. etc. I liked it so much I could even see teaching there for a little while. Who knows.

I almost forgot...
There were two comical (after the fact) run-ins or would-be run-ins with the Colombian police. First, Diana's brother-in-law got locked in the ATM. We tried to flag cops down, and they weren't stopping. Finally Edwin got out, and we got back in the car and drove away. Diana's sister, Edwin's wife, said something about the cops not following us or not being able to know it was him trapped in the ATM, and I thought, it's not his fault he got stuck in the ATM. I found out later that he knew something about wiring and CUT two wires to make the alarm stop so he could get out. And that is why we dashed out of the area so fast.
The second interesting police incident happened during one of my last nights in Bogota. Diana's friend and her friend's brother were driving us home, and we randomly got pulled over by the cops. Apparently this isn't uncommon. They asked the brother (I can't remember his name) to get out, they patted him down, and then asked for all of our IDs and if we were all citizens. I only had my teacher ID and a wet copy of my passport on me. They told the cop that one of us was American and my stomach did a flip-flop. I was certain that my citizenship was going to cause a problem, but au contraire, once they heard this there were no further questions and we were sent on our way. Still can't explain it.

I believe you can see the rest of my Colombia pictures here...
http://bu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2132561&l=5812f&id=904160

Spanish words, and today's news

2007-03-28T20:34:00.000-06:00

Before I post my recent new Spanish words, I would just like you to know what happened as I was sitting at the table at the staff meeting this morning at 7:30am. In my half-asleep-before-1oam state, I felt something crawling on my leg and somehow knew immediately what it was: COCKROACH!! I hate cucarachas. Becoming their playground was not in my contract...

And if I didn't already mention it, I was stung by jellyfish and confronted by a scorpion last weekend at the beach. I'm thinking after all my creature encounters this year, I could sit on a crocodile tomorrow and not bat an eye. But I don't plan on testing that.

New Spanish words:
chinga, chinga: a vulgar, not classy way to affirmatively respond
asuetos: days off/free day
sasco: gross
lloriquear: to whine
aniquilar(se): to annihilate
ceniza: Lent
empuesta: survey/poll
cotorrear: hang out/joke around? (help!)
coincidir (sp?): to coincide, have time free at the same time as someone else, etc.
sobredosis: overdose
orientador: counselor
ataud: coffin
huelga: strike (ex: a labor strike)
Crees en el amor a primera vista o vuelvo a pasar?
pecoro/a: sinner
cangrejo: crab
frasco: small bottle, flask
roble: oak tree
mecedora (sp?): rocking chair
tenue: blurry/fuzzy (like in images)

Mi mundo

2007-03-27T22:51:00.000-06:00

This map is painted on the wall of the entryway into a hotel in nearby San Cristobal, where I seem to find myself at least once or twice a month. I have a feeling when the temperature is 110 F and we have 90-something percent humidity, I may find myself up there in that mountain town more often.
Anyhow, I think this is a FABULOUS depiction of Chiapas and the surrounding areas. I definitely haven't seen a lot of it... but I have checked out Tuxtla, of course, San Cristobal, the Canon del Sumidero, Chiapa de Corzo, Chamula, Zinacantan, Puerto Arista, Tapachula.... okay, as I start the list I realize that I've seen a good amount of the places around me... here's to seeing more in the next three months!
June 30th I'm heading home! ...For a little while, anyway.

Olmec has spoken

2007-03-26T18:47:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, Erika (the Kindergarten teacher) and I spent a weekend in Villahermosa, in the state of Tabasco. Contrary to what you (and I) might have thought, Tabasco sauce is made in Louisiana, and I didn't see much evidence that would suggest it started in Tabasco... although hot sauces in Mexico certainly take the cake.
Anyhow, we arrived around 9pm and were told by men at a souvenirs kiosk to be careful walking around. A good start to the trip. Despite this, we opted to walk to the downtown "Zona Luz" (not Zona Luz Roja... *forced laughter*) and find a hotel. We checked out budget and high-end options before deciding on Hotel Miraflores, due to the combination of a promotion and air conditioning. It was without question the nicest hotel I have stayed in in Mexico (stay tuned for an episode of indoor camping at Puerto Arista).
We only spent a day and a half in Villahermosa, but I quite enjoyed the city. We visited the Yumka Safari Park, where you can walk through the rainforest (e.g. what would normally be there) and then an African safari (or what would normally NOT be in Southern Mexico). The birds are freely hanging out, much to Erika's chagrin (she's a little fearful of the avian friends), but the snakes are caged (yessssssssss). That looks like hissing; completely unintentional. Interpret it as Napoleon Dynamite-esque.
After hitting the safari park in the morning/early afternoon, we checked out the Olmec trail, within the Parque-Museo La Venta. Before we made it to the statues, we passed the monkeys and almost had to tackle a kid who thought it was a good idea to throw a plastic cup into the monkey area. Actually, his parents should be tackled for not teaching him not to do that, and for not freaking out when he did it! I wanted to throw a plastic cup at the kid and see how he would like it... and make him imagine mistaking it for food... Tirade over.
Since I was a youth during the golden age of Legends of the Hidden Temple, checking out the Olmec heads was without a doubt a highlight of, and a driving force behind, my trip to Villahermosa. There was no temple, but there were plenty of uneven paths and Olmec heads. Purple Parrots forever!
Our last stop on Saturday involved the Villahermosa Mall, Tabasco 2000. Erika is a MAC addict, and MAC is the only makeup I enjoy, and this mall has the only MAC outside of Mexico City, so it was a logical part of the agenda. We made friends with one of the clerks/artists, which made me long for the MAC in Cannes and the girls we befriended there. Nostalgia done.
Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast, I bought shoes I don't need (hey, at least I can admit it), and we found out the bus at 11:15 didn't really exist. Luckily in Mexico there are usually three different means of transportation, so we took a colectivo taxi home. The man sitting in the middle was sleeping and kept falling into me, which was not appreciated, but hey, if there's no bus, you do what you have to do.

Post-script: that animal in the photo (not me! the orange lizard-like dude!) is called a garoto, and he was just chilling out in the wild rainforest part of the zoo, where what naturally would be there just ... is there.

Can I turn 90% of this red in my lifetime?

2007-02-27T22:18:00.000-06:00

I've included Colombia because in ONE MONTH I'll be there (yay!), but this map shows my country coverage so far. Try it out; it's really neat! They also have one for the states, Canadian provinces, and Europe. The site is www.world66.com
My goal is to turn 90% of this map red ... anyone want to lend me a helicopter? :)
Note: It's a tad misleading, as if you've set foot in one city in the country, it shows as red.
Another note: If I can hit up Greenland somehow, I'll have one entire continent down :)

Combi tales

2007-02-25T18:08:00.000-06:00

Had an interesting time in a colectivo today...

I was heading to the east side of town to Cinepolis to see a movie this afternoon, so I took a combi bus to get there. I got in, said "Buenas tardes" (Good afternoon) and sat down on the bench behind the driver. When I handed him my money, he didn't let go of my hand! Now, keep in mind NO hand contact is necessary to take change from someone or to hand them change. So this guy was quite overstepping professional boundaries in taking my hand, especially in requiring me to pull to get my hand back! As if that wasn't bad enough, I had sat on the bench behind the front seats, which makes me the unofficial money passer person for the rest of the new passengers. Only two new people boarded, but he proceeded to grab my hand again! Creep. Finally we were nearing my final destination. To my dismay, by this time, the last passengers got off. I sort of thought to myself, this could be bad. But if he thinks I'm a tourist, I'm not, I have a phone, I can call for help... he stops the combi and turns around. Super. But he says, "I have to go to the bathroom. Can you get out here?" And hands me back my 4 pesos fare. I'm baffled, as this has never happened, and I get out of the combi with my money. I see that I'm not even AT a stop, so I start walking to the next stop. As I'm walking, I see this combi driver who had to go to the bathroom, supposedly, do a U-turn and pick up passengers on the other side of the road, and head off down the street. Bathroom? Riiiight. If you have to be a rude, creepy liar, at least leave me at a combi stop!

Oh, and when I got on the next combi, I realized I could have walked the rest of the way in about 10 minutes. All in all, a lovely experience.

[Note: You may be wondering what the photo has to do with the story. These little ornaments are often found hanging from the windshield or rearview of colectivos.]

Tuxtla, Tuxtla!

2007-02-19T20:42:00.000-06:00

I came across a pretty comprehensive page on my city, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, on Wikipedia. It's in Spanish, so if you speak Spanish check it out, and if you don't maybe you'll understand something or enjoy the pictures? :)

The above picture is from the zoo, when I climbed up to take a picture of the crocodiles and Erika thought I was going to fall in. Me? Never...

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuxtla_gutierrez

Carnaval in Coita

2007-02-18T19:23:00.000-06:00

Apparently Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, making Tuesday Mardi Gras, and making ahorita (right now) Carnaval. I don't know if Carnaval is celebrated in Tuxtla, but I was told it is done up in Coita, so today Jenn and I headed out there to check it out. We knew that there are combi busses that run up there, and found out where they pick up on the Avenida. "Coita?" I asked. "Si, pero ya no hay lugares." No seats left. The man then explains, standing room only. I nod that this is ok, he thinks I am saying ok, no thanks, and starts to pull away; I make him stop, and Jenn and I head into the corridor.
About 1/3 of the way there, just as we're heading out of Tuxtla, the combi bus stops. What now? We sit for about 10 minutes, Jenn and I looking around, me listening to see if I overhear what the deal is, and finally everyone gets off the bus. The hood of the bus is lifted; we've broken down. Greaaaaaaaaaaaaat. So we wait for another combi bus to come and take some of us; the rest will have to wait for another bus. Of course everyone waits patiently and doesn't push to try to get on the first combi... of course.
We get on this second combi bus and get seats this time. Good thing, as the road starts to become windy and the driver does not make speed accomodations for this change.
We arrive in Coita and most people get off, so we decide it's a good idea for us to get off here, too. We're not sure where to go, so I suggest we follow the guy I saw on the bus with the cute glasses... of course because maybe he knows the way to Carnaval. Not because I thought he had cute glasses... anyhow, we followed enough to find the way and realized that this wasn't actually a carnival, so there was no junk food or vendor kiosks, just people in disguises and masks dancing and being intoxicated and spraying each other with espuma (canned foam) and talco (talcum powder in English?). Clearly this is my first Carnaval, or I would have realized that Carnaval and Carnival are not exactly the same. To quote Jenn, "This isn't like any of the other fairs we've been to!"
We took some pictures of the dancing disguised people. The reason I am not smiling in my picture with the disguised men is because they were saying, "Guerita, un beso? Un beso, guerita?" No, just take the darn picture!

Rules?

2007-02-07T21:32:00.000-06:00

Me: Can I take a picture? It's illegal to drink in a car in the States, even if you're not the driver.
Fernando: Oh, it's illegal here, too.
Hence, the accompanying photo. It's technically "illegal" to speed, litter, run traffic lights and stop signs, put up one's own speed bumps in one's small town, etc. etc. etc. and these things almost always, if not always, go unpunished.
And yet we run a palpable risk of being fined for putting our trash out before 8pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Riddle me that...

I had a fun weekend in Puerto Arista, the beach locale about 3 hours from Tuxtla. I become antisocial at the beach and morph into some sort of hydrophile fish-mermaid creature person.

Speaking of creatures (okay, that was a really weak segue), I have somehow become brave when it comes to creatures! I guess I have no choice, as my Dad lives thousands of kilometers away and can't come take bugs, spiders, etc., out of my living space. I have been okay with the cockroaches and salamander/newt/lizard guys at my house, and last weekend in Palenque I apparently slept in the midst of scorpions, but I fully realized how much I've come into my own in terms of creature handling when my friends approached me with a baby tarantula (or other hairy-legged relative thereof) they'd caught in the house, and I didn't freak AND still slept in that house! I've posted a picture of my new friend.

Concussion

2007-02-07T21:02:00.000-06:00

I thought I had made a big mistake starting the year off understanding my kids' Spanish, and was beginning to think they'd never speak to me in English since they knew I understand them. I brought this up with some colleagues, and one of them suggested that I joke, persistently, with the kids that over vacation, I bumped my head and no longer understand Spanish. So, a few weeks ago I told them we had to have a little chat, that I had bumped my head, and I forgot all of my Spanish, so they'd have to try to speak English to me.
I thought it was clear that this was a joke, but a couple of days later, one of them asked me, in Spanish, why I didn't just bump my head again so I would remember my Spanish! It was all I could do not to laugh. About a week later, another student pretended to bump me on the head so she could tell me the elaborate story of how her friend made her sad, in Spanish. This same student once "caught" me understanding Spanish, because one day in Computer she complimented my hair and I wasn't even really aware that it had been in Spanish and just said, "Aw, thank you!" in English and she said, "You understood! The teacher understood Spanish!! I caught you!" Hard to back out of that one.
Then, last week at a different student's Pizza Hut birthday party, I was talking to a parent about my "amnesia" and the "English Dollars" rewarded for English effort, and she said, "I don't think my daughter understood it was a joke; she came home concerned and was wondering, how is the Miss going to relearn all her Spanish?" Sometimes they are too cute.

Another cute student story: today, we were talking about the "value of the month" (schoolwide program), friendliness/amistad. We talked about how to be a friend (students suggested, "help", "hug", "share", and other cute ideas), and then they drew pictures of friendliness, or being a friend as I put it for them. So one little guy, who sometimes is SO serious, drew two people playing futbol (soccer) on half of his sheet. I said, "That's great! But you are done early, and you have half your sheet left, so why don't you draw another example?" He stared at me seriously. I thought he hadn't understood. I repeated, and got the same look. Then I said in spanish, "un otro ejemplo de amistad" and he said, SO seriously, "El FUTBOL ES amistad. [pause] Hay muchos jugadores." This in English is "SOCCER IS friendship. There are many players." Since I "don't remember" Spanish with my kids, I couldn't crack up laughing, but I'm still smiling about it hours later. :)
The pictures here are drawn by one of my students using the computer program paint. Usually part II of our computer room assignment is to depict something to do with what we're learning in class, and this week one of the words in the book was "birthday". After this student finished, I gave her free time with Paint, and she "painted" me.

Another day, another pinata...

2007-02-05T21:08:00.000-06:00

I hear the pinata song outside. I recognize it because I have extensive Mexican birthday fiesta experience, and I go outside to see my itty bitty cutie pie neighbor trying to hack away at a mini pinata. I ask her mother if it is her birthday. "No, she just likes to break pinatas."
I love Mexico :-)

Also, before living in Mexico I never heard this uttered:
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do on an organic papaya ranch." -Glenn (colleague)

Santa Claus does exist...

2007-02-05T20:54:00.000-06:00

And he vacations in the jungles of Chiapas.

We snapped this shot of Jorge posing by the bar, but we really asked him to stand there to get a shot of this Santa look-alike...or just maybe he was the real thing ;)

Màs Palabras (More words)

2007-02-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

Not of the day, or of the month... just some new Spanish words I thought I'd share with anyone who might be interested.

terremotos: earthquakes
broches: snaps (on clothes)
abrochar: to clasp/fasten/snap/buckle something
cremallera: zipper
apretar: to squeeze
burradas: silly things, like betises/conneries in French, maybe?
encajar: to fit in
perderse de: louper (miss, like a train or a birthday)
rastrear: to track (as in, a package)
grunòn: grinch
hacer gargaras: to gargle (gargariser, en francais)
lograr: to enjoy? succeed? not sure
dias habiles: business days
nieta: granddaughter (I'd forgotten)
superdotado: gifted (like gifted and talented kids)
juez: judgepodrir: to rot/spoil
moco: a bugger/snot
fisgonear: to snoop, pry
pelear a punos: to fistfight
arrepentirse: to regret
sobregirar: to bounce/go under (in an acct balance/etc)
viajar de aventon/hacer autostop: hitchhike

Organic Papaya Ranch, what?

2007-01-31T19:23:00.000-06:00

"My friend has an organic papaya ranch. It's just outside Palenque. Want to go there?"
I know, it seems like every day we face this question, and one day, I decided to say, YES! I've been waiting my whole life to go to an organic papaya ranch!
Or, this was the first time I've ever heard the words "organic papaya ranch" all together.
Either way, I thought this sounded like a cool offer from my friend Silvia at work, and this past weekend we trekked up/out to Palenque to spend some time in the mud of the jungle.
I'd like to note that I knew I was in for a fun time when the driver ran a red light within the first 20 minutes of the trip.
So, the plan was to get to Ocosingo (Zapatista hotbed, yessss!) Friday night, stay over, and do the other three hours Saturday morning. Of course, "morning" meant after 11am on Mexican time, and we weren't there till mid-afternoon. Anyhow, I got a great shot of a Zapatista town schoolhouse, and my friends (who aren't pansy gringos!) said, "If they kidnap you, we're out of here, we don't know you."
It seems all roads in Chiapas are built with as many switchback curves as the "engineers" could possibly muster, except the route to San Cristobal, because it's new and a toll road. Otherwise, going anywhere is an almost certain recipe for nausea and holding on the the overhead handle that all cars here seem to have. We finally made it to Palenque mid-afternoon, as I said, and I was quite taken in by the jungle! It sort of seemed like something out of a movie... not quite rainforest, but the same bright greens and lush appearance without the 200 foot high giant trees. After we ate, I sat and watched my friends put down a bottle of Jack Daniels (I hate the stuff) without them even getting drunk (how is this possible?) and then we went to eat again. This was my second weekend on a ranch, and I've come to the conclusion that this is what one does at a ranch: eat, drink, and sit around to one's heart's content. There is an incredible restaurant in the jungle area near the ruins where one can also rent cabanas in the jungle for an adventurous stay. We ate at this Italian-Mexican jungle restaurant for three meals over the weekend, and everything from the pizza to the tacos was good.
The next day, Sunday, we got up and went to the ruins at Palenque. They were quite cool, but I was more interested in the surrounding jungle, part of which we walked through to arrive at the ruins. I'm a hydrophile (is that a word?), so the little streams and waterfalls really got my attention. Also, while standing on some of the ruins (Mayan pyramids, more or less) toward the jungle, I was told to listen, and sure enough, howler monkeys could be heard out in the jungle. I had heard of these, and I pictured them howling, sort of an "OOOOOOOO" type of thing... they should be renamed GROWLER monkeys, because that noise is one of the freakiest things I've heard outside of monster movies! It would make for a GREAT Halloween CD. I'd go back just to hear that freaky growling again!

So now you know...

2007-01-20T15:05:00.000-06:00

Last month (maybe it was longer?), I posted an entry requesting questions regarding mi vida en Chiapas. Though I was at first disappointed by the paucity of responses, a few questions did end up trickling in via e-mail and IM, and here they are, complete with answers. Maybe they'll inspire the rest of you slackers to ask a question? :)

1. This barrage of questions came from Megan via email in September. Thanks, Megs!

What have you been eating?
Mexican food! That would seem obvious... chicken in mole sauce, LOTS of tacos and quesadillas, the occasional burrito, snacks like cheese and juchi (sounds like hoochie) chicken, and occasionally Subway or Dominos when I need a break. And, too much ice cream, as Helados Irma is RIGHT across the street from my complex, and there's a Baskin Robbins at the mall. I can't get enough of their Bumble Buzz ice cream.

Do they have Taco Bell there?
There is no Taco Bell, but down the street, there is Taco Inn ( see picture ). It's overpriced and chain-y, so for the same food I'd rather go to a little hole in the wall.

How's your apartment? Big? Small? Air-conditioned?
My apartment is medium-sized and NOT air-conditioned, but I have a fan. Come visit!

Do you have a kitchen?
No, I have a barbeque pit in the living room. Megs! Come on...

Did we pack the right stuff?
For those of you needing background info, Megan is a trooper and came over my last night at home before leaving for Mexico, helping me triage or pent-age as the case was, what I wanted to bring to Mexico. We packed the most important things and then the less important things until there was no more room. GREAT system, will use it in the future. We basically packed all the right stuff, and I've rarely needed anything I didn't bring. Thanks again Meg!

Where did you put the pretty rug you bought at Target?
The pretty rug, which cost I think 3 or 4 USD on clearance at Targé, is in front of my bed. Does not go with the Mexican fiesta theme, but who looks at the floor anyhow?

Have you decorated your room yet?
When I was first asked this question, no, but now, yes. Mexican fiesta curtains and hang-y things, pinatas, a flag...it's amusing.

Do you have internet at home yet?
Again, at the time of the question, no, but now, yes. Slow as all get-out, but we're cheap.

Is it hot there?
August-October it was in the 90s F (mid- to high-30s C?), now it's in the 60s and 70s which feels chilly after months of hot hot heat... In February/March it'll start heating up again, with the hottest weather in April/May/June.

Do you have a TV there? If so, what channels do you get? Any in English?
I have a TV, and I get about 60 channels in Spanish, English with subtitles in Spanish, and one or two just in English. I would watch more TV just in Spanish, but dubbing annoys the crap out of me, and the original shows in Spanish are mostly soap operas which make the ones in the states look good. Yes, they're that bad. If you get Telemundo in the states you already know what I mean.

Is Chiapas what you expected? Richer? Poorer? Cleaner? Dirtier?
I was expecting it to be more wild, and I suppose at first it was, but I'm used to things now. The wild combi rides of death don't phase me, and I can (almost) navigate the litter-strewn uneven sidewalks with ease. It's about as dirty as I had thought, which isn't too bad but not clean either. There is a lot more wealth than I had pictured, as people usually stereotype southern Mexico to be quite poor. It still is, but there are also, say, the families that attend the American School and who shop at Galerias Boulevard.

And my dad wants to know: "Does she have a new Spanish boyfriend yet?"
Well that question was asked when I still had a French one, but the answer is still: not really. Dating is strange here, I'll leave it at that and you can inquire within if you need to know more.

2. These questions are from Sara in Boston:

Is it weird having a water truck?
Yeah at first knowing the tap water must NOT go into your mouth even in cooked food or boiled form was weird, but now it's second nature to hear the water truck and the man yelling "AGUA!" and run out onto the balcony/porch thing to wave him down. The only thing that gets annoying is we are only around when the truck comes on Saturdays, so if we run out on Monday...it sucks.

What's the biggest difference in your daily life? Is it different or the same as when you lived in France?
Mexico and France are exactly the same. Except not really at all. I can't walk to work anymore... or to the beach. The biggest difference in my life, since I love to eat, is probably the absence of baguette (sigh) and the presence of its substitute, tortillas with EVERYTHING. The tortillas have grown on me, but I'd like my baguette back, thankyouverymuch. Aside from the obvious, like speaking Spanish instead of French, Mexicans are a little more friendly to strangers, but they stare a lot more and I blend in a lot less. Also, the class obsession gets on my nerves, and things were less like that in France.

3. Emmie asked me some really superficial questions, I wish she would have challenged me a little more... Can you tell she's got a lot of International Relations courses under her belt?

How do people feel about nafta?
Truthfully, I don't know if the average person here thinks about that on a day to day basis, and I know I don't... sorry to poop out on that one.

Does everyone want to migrate to the us or do they want mexico's economy to improve?
INteresting question! No, everyone does not want to move to the states, but most really poor people have this pipe dream that it is the cure-all. Richer people have told me that poor people from the countryside want to move to the states because they are lazy and don't want to work in fields 16 hours a day, and I bite my tongue to resist asking them if they'd like to work in fields 16 hours a day... The politicians here are corrupt (where are they not, but it's easier for me to see as an outsider) and all of them promise to help the poor and to change Mexico and "construir un Mexico fuerte", but they'll probably just try to do that... manana. On a side note, I was really shocked when I heard Mexican people refer to those who cross the border as "mojados", or "wet people"... To me that's quite derrogatory, so either they're talking badly about their fellow citizens who cross, or it doesn't have that connotation here. Have yet to figure out which.

How do they feel about the current immigration reform proposals in congress?
The proposed "wall" and immigration reform have been on CNN en espanol, but I haven't heard a lot of people talking about it. See above about those who cross.

4. Amy, who's currently in Hong Kong:

What are some things you will miss about Mexico when you return to God's country?

* tortillas

* Mariachi, especially when impromptu

* being whistled at (just kidding-- but really, the people who play soccer on the field in my neighborhood have been doing so for at least the six months I've been here, they see me almost every day, wouldn't the fun of cat-calling the foreign girl wear off??)

* cheap cost of living and travel!

* friends I've made

* my cute (yet noisy) little ninos!

5. From Oliver, deux questions:

From your experience and living in both societies, do you think americans have more preconceived ideas and discriminate more against mexicans on US soil, or do mexicans towards americans on Mexican land?

I would have to say the former. I don't feel much discrimination here, except for the cat-calls and stares b/c I'm like E.T. in Tuxtla, but American culture is revered here and clothes, etc. that look American or come from the states are quite overpriced. Most people here want to be like people from the states and Europe, and that blends into color issues that go back to colonization when the white Europeans held all of the power. They pretty much still do. So, I see more discrimination here between lighter and darker Mexicans (those with more European roots and those with more indigenous roots) than toward Americans. To me, there's definitely more discrimination against Mexicans in the states, but it depends on where you go. In my mind those who resent Mexican immigrants resent those who don't try to learn English or to assimilate at all into American culture. Not a clear cut issue, for sure.

Also, do you get hit on by locals and how suave are they really?

This cracked me up. YES, and, not very. They think they are (like the French! So sorry). We (the American/Canadian women) get heckled daily, and the techniques are about as smooth as sandpaper. Women still usually hold "traditional" roles here (i.e. do most of the domestic work and child-raising), and from what I see, most men here couldn't handle a relationship like women in the states expect them... could be totally wrong, though. And, one of my colleagues, who recently moved, is American and married to a guy from Oaxaca who is very nice, polite, and doesn't whistle at passing females...and understands that my friend will not be cooking every meal for the rest of his life. :)

6. From Marc:

Is the mexican food down there substantially different from the (good, supposedly authentic) mexican food you've had in the States?

I have not had the privilege of living in an area of the states (like California, for example) where authentic Mexican food is easy to find... I imagine Guapo's in D.C. doesn't count? Their food is great but it's not like the food here. Plus, here there are a lot of regional dishes. So, in my mind the food here is quite different than Mexican food I've had in the states, but you can bet I'll be looking for good Mexican food when I return!

That's all for now, but if any of this has sparked a question, ask away!

Carnivals in Mexico

2007-01-13T11:02:00.000-06:00

Required elements for a Chiapanecan (Chiapas adjectival form) carnival or feria (fair):

1. Churros, panqueques (pancakes), fried plantains, and taco stands
2. Sunglasses and scarves for sale
3. 20 peso games to win ripoff or even pharmaceutical company stuffed animals
4. Rides that make fair rides in the states look as safe as Six Flags

And, if you're in Chiapa de Corzo, men dressed in traditional women's clothing to commemorate either a) a Spanish woman who brought her sick son to Chiapa de Corzo (I'm missing something) or b) when the men dressed in women's clothing to sneak home from the war.
Pictures to come.

Kids' birthday parties

2006-12-14T15:02:00.000-06:00

Today I went to another student's birthday party, and it occurred to me that I have yet to write an entry about birthday parties here. The first one I went to was in September. It was held at a banquet hall type place, and most of the kids were wearing costumes. I asked a parent, "Do kids always wear costumes to birthday parties here?" "No," the parent replied. "Javier just likes costumes." There had to have been 100 or 150 people at this 6-year-old's birthday party. I had spent less than a month in Mexico at that point, so my Spanish was so-so in talking with my students' parents. Before I went to the party, I asked my coordinator at school if she there would be a pinata. She looked at me like I was crazy, and I thought, "Oh, no, I just made a cultural stereotyping boo-boo, maybe they don't really celebrate with pinatas!" But she said, "A pinata? At least two or three!" And there were three, as I recall.
A week or two I went to another birthday party, and before I left I wondered, how many pinatas and tacos will there be? Two, and a few hundred.
Today's birthday party takes the cake for me, because it was held at ROLLER CLUB!! Brought back memories of parties at Skateland... even though this rink was in a mall basement and was half the size... There's a running joke between Glenn, the third grade teacher, and I, that I'm still mad at him because he wouldn't take me to a birthday party he was invited to that was at Roller Club. Anyhow, I went to this party, and none of the parents were skating, and scarily enough, I'm closer in age to parents than the kids, so I have to pretend I'm mature for hours on end! Painful. So I went over to one of my students and asked her if I should come skating, and hey, she said yes, I'd hate to disappoint the kids... right. So I skated for a couple of hours and managed to teach a few of my kids how to skate. I love the moments I can spend outside of class with my students, moments when I'm not telling them, "Quiet hands!" which is Miss Heather shortcut talk for quiet in your seat, hand raised, or you don't exist to me. Well, it's not that harsh, but you get the idea.
Here are some pictures from today's birthday party! I like the one where one of my students is pushing the birthday boy's head toward the cake. And here is Karla and her mom, who I tried to help skate, but she couldn't stop leaning back even though I told her to bend her knees and lean forward a bit in two languages. :) Cute story about Karla: she likes to draw pictures of us, and she labels me "Miss Geder." This has recently progressed to "Miss Heder", and one time "Miss Heather" when her mother wrote it out for her to copy. Cute kid. Cute story about the birthday boy: when he thinks something is really funny, he doesn't laugh as much as he sort of grunts. There's no mistaking it for anyone else in class. :) Also enjoyable is the fact that pizza is served with ketchup to put on it here. GROSS.

What do you want to know?

2006-12-11T20:24:00.000-06:00

So, I've been keeping this page since August. That makes almost five months of adventure-recounting. But, I'd like to know, what do you want to know about life in Mexico? I've gotten a few questions, and I'd like to get more in order to write an entry that answers the question. So, leave a comment, email me, or instant message me to let me know what you question you have about life in Mexico! Gracias :)

November words

2006-12-04T21:33:00.000-06:00

I'd like to take a moment to note some of my better Spanish mistakes, which usually occur when two words ressemble each other and yet have little or nothing in common when it comes to meaning.
1. I spent weeks telling people I was from the edad (age) of New York instead of the estado (state).
2. palo/pavo (stick instead of turkey)
3. "un partido del cuerpo del hombre" instead of "un parte del cuerpo del hombre" ("It's a game with a man's body" instead of "It's a part of a man's body")
4. During the first week of school when English failed, I told my students to "Dejen" in their seats instead of "Queden". The first means "leave/let" and the second means "stay". You can imagine the confusion.
5. juego de naranja instead of jugo de naranja... the first means "orange game" and the second, "orange juice".
6. I once confused "piedra" and "pierna", or "stone" and "leg". I was told to get off at a rock, and I said, "So I tell the driver to let me off at the leg?" Yes.
More to come, I'm sure.

Instead of daily words I'm switching to monthly words... that way when I remember more than one in a day and none in another, I don't feel like I'm fudging the data :-p
lapicera: yet another word for a pen (add that to pluma, boligrafo, etc.)
barro: pimple
cachando: horny (sorry if this offends you, but hey, it was a word I didn't know)
caladera: drain
se le cierro: he cut me off
Noruega y Suecia: Norway and Sweden
la tarima: stage
asferas (sp?): ornaments (on the Christmas tree)
reganar: to scold, break up with, tell off, quarrel with
exito: hit/success
Estar asi del precipicio: to be at the end of one's rope/thisclose to losing it
tener ganas ~ avoir envie (I lack a concise English translation, but it's kind of like "to want")
meter la pata: to screw up
fogata: bonfire
palo: stick
pavo: turkey
trapeador: mop
trensas/trensitas: braids
escoba: broom
varicella: chicken pox
apollitas: chickenpox (perhaps colloquial, or the name for the individual spots)
mora: raspberry
tocino: bacon
muneca: doll, or wrist
pastor: shepherd, type of pork preparation, or a cane

In touch with my inner child

2006-11-27T18:29:00.000-06:00

A couple weekends ago, Jenn (4th grade teacher) and I were bored and decided to go to the Botanical Gardens in Tutxla, and much to our surprise, they were the grounds for a kids' park with rides, games, and junk food! Quite enjoyable, although the "teacups" felt like toying with death. I will go back and take pictures. There is also a dinky train, mini quads on a track, and standards like putt putt and bumper cars.
There was also face painting, which Jenn and I hastily took part in, knowing that we were going to the movies with Carrie (H.S. Language Arts) in an hour and would have to take a combi and walk through the mall with animals on our faces...
Here's my bunny after I ditched the ears! Jenn should send me her picture of her butterfly face, when I remember to ask.

Halloween and Day of the Dead

2006-11-27T17:44:00.000-06:00

Since I work at an American school in Mexico, we celebrated Halloween (Oct. 31) and Day of the Dead (Nov. 2) on November first with a half-day of school and altares de los muertos, which are food and flower, etc. offerings to deceased loved ones, as well as candy skull heads with names of living people on them, with a purpose that I fail to remember...
Anyhow, here I offer some pictures of my first grade lovelies, the altares, and Mr. Glenn has sent me pictures from booths at the market selling goods for Day of the Dead.
I think it would be great if we North Americans had a day to celebrate loved ones that we've lost, so that it doesn't always have to be so sad.
Pictures include: The two cutest witches and Harry Potter!! Till of course I have my own witch or Harry Potter, who I will invariably think is the cutest; Group 1B decked out for Halloween (my little buddy in the left corner looks as psyched for Halloween as he usually does for school), a few Group 1A kids in the corridor, and altar pictures.

Puerto Arista

2006-11-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Last weekend (November 18-20) I was supposed to go to Huatulco, but Friday night I got some major intestinal bug or something and was to sick to get on the bus! So Sunday, once I'd pulled it together, I went with Jenn, the fourth grade teacher, to Puerto Arista, our nearest beach. Basically anywhere out of Tuxtla is relaxing, but watching waves crash while sitting under a palapa is beyond soothing.
On Sunday, a girl was walking down the beach offering hair braiding, so I said, "Why not?" and got the top of my head braided.
Also, the waiter at our restaurant on the beach got us in touch with the keeper of the lighthouse, and we got to go up to see the view...at night...well, the idea was nice. Upon seeing this menu, I said, "Wow, the food here is cheap!" because I thought that most of the menu items were 11 pesos...turns out this was a blonde moment, as the "elevens" were ditto marks for the dollar/peso signs. Oops.

Guatemala

2006-11-14T18:41:00.000-06:00

Talk about relaaaaaaaaaaaaxing!! The weekend of November 2-4 (which was a 4.5 day weekend for me because of Day of the Dead), Danna, Carrie, and I went to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. On the first, we headed up to San Cristobal (I say up, meaning altitude-wise, as I have no idea where it is in the north-south-east-west sense) to stay overnight. We had a lovely meal at Normita's, which I mislabeled as Lupita's on my facebook because they both end in -ita, and I work with a Normita AND a Lupita. Anyhow, at dinner there were two obnoxious, old, (probably) American men talking ...obnoxiously and getting feisty about the fact that one of them had ordered "wrong". One of the men ordered guacamole and food, and the other (I'm pretty sure they were both intoxicated?) started ranting about how his friend had ordered "wrong", and that the waiter would serve his guacamole at the same time at the food... so he proceeded to call the waiter over, and in decent spanish with a HORRIBLE cowboy accent, told the waiter to cancel the food and just bring the guac. Then he told his friend they'd order later, so that they could enjoy their guacamole, and then went on about cultural ignorance... I wanted to turn and say, HELLO, YOU'RE the ones in another country expecting them to serve you like you're in yours!! Idiots! They also proceeded to say that Mexicans are too poor to have wine, and then talked more about rudeness and cultural ignorance, and I was trying not to die laughing at their ignorance, or say something "passionate". (FYI, there is plenty of wine here, and I know plenty of wealthy Mexicans- hell, I teach their children- just in case I need to dispell any stereotypes for y'all.)
Anyway, the next morning we were picked up at 8am to ride in a van/minibus to the Guatemalan border, and then walk over the border, and then get into another van/minibus for the rest of the way to Panajachel. We didn't know of this transfer before it occured, by the way. Upon arrival, we were taken to a viewpoint/lookout of the lake and its surrounding volcanoes...gorgeous! There were four local kids that were freaking out to be in our photos because they wanted to see them on the LCD screens, which resulted in lots of giggling.
Our accommodations were modest but cheap, at about $6 USD a night per person, and we each had our own bed! Ah, luxury. We only had hot water half of the time, but I'm kind of used to that at this point, after having gone three months without knowing how to light the pilot light on my water heater.
Bargaining fever hit me hard in Panajachel, since the Quetzal was stronger than the Peso, and just because sometimes the 'tude has to have an out. So I was the unofficial market/store worker, getting deals for me and for my friends. I actually got a guy to sell me a poncho/sweater thing for 10 quetzales less than Carrie, and he said, "Please don't tell your friend you got it for less." I found myself whispering things like, "Tell him 2 for 50" and "If he says no, we walk; don't worry, he'll call us back and give us our deal!" It was exciting. I'm still kind of miffed at the water bottle holder guy for not coming down where I wanted him. [Above: I was NOT about to dine with that spider.]
We only had a few days in Panajachel, which was entirely too short a time to enjoy the quiet natural haven that this town is. We also visited San Pedro, a town across the lake, where I'm pretty sure people hide out and use illegal substances... the ambience was incredibly laid back, and there wasn't much to do except hike the volcano (which I will do for sure next time, since I will bring the right shoes!), horseback ride, eat, and be lazy. We found a restaurant on the lake where I could have fallen asleep.
I think this spring I might travel out to the Yucatan and down through Belize and back to Guatemala, possibly on the start of a road trip down through Central America to go to Colombia, so there might be more Guatemala to come!
Also, I have posted pictures to Snapfish. Here's the link:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=139297659/a=54499013_54499013/t_=54499013

Ways to Know You're Living in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico

2006-11-09T21:03:00.000-06:00

1. There are three temperatures: hot, hotter, and not quite as hot.
2. You put lime (limon) on everything.
3. If you hear a pouring sign and "Agua" annoucement over a loudspeaker every morning, and I know this is the man selling 20 Liter "garrafons" of water.
4. There are actually an even number of men and women in dance classes.
5. You get stared at, blatantly, on a daily basis, just for being foreign.
6. You wear SPF but somehow are still tan.
7. If someone says one hour, count on two. If they say 10 days, count on three weeks. And so on...
8. You don't get American Idol; you get Latin American Idol.
9. A full meal in a restaurant costs about $4-5 USD, on average, but somehow a plastic organizer shelf stack costs $50 US!!
10. You go to a restaurant and people are staring at the birds outside for sale, but they forgot about the birds when the see a herd of gringos walk in.
And, you can buy freshly made, hot tortillas for about 25 cents a pound.

Homage to Colectivos (if one can pay homage to an inanimate object)

2006-11-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

I was chatting with Danna, the Kinder 2 teacher, while in Guatemala (post coming soon, if it's not already up), and realized that my most common means of transportation is well worth its own blog entry.
I know I've mentioned the vans, called colectivos (or combis for short), that careen down the avenues here, but I don't think I've really painted the full picture.
First, I leave my house at 7am in a zombie like state from which I don't really emerge until about ... 10 am. Don't ask how I teach from 8 until the cloud lifts mid-morning. I'm not sure if I myself know. So, I leave my house (not in the dark anymore since we set the clocks back!) and walk about 6 or 7 minutes to the Avenida Central, to just in front of the Pizza Hut, where I wait for my colectivo. At first, I could only take the Route 1 van, but now I know that the 53 and a few others also pass by my school. One cannot board just any van of death, because the routes are not clear and if you don't know the route, chances are it involves veering away from the avenida at some point, meaning you have to frantically get the driver to stop, let you off, and then you have to go looking for another van that can get you where you need to be. Anyway, before the clocks were set back, it was extremely hard to see the small Route numbers on the colectivos, leading to last minute flagging down and many missed vans.
Once a combi is properly flagged down, it is time for the buttcheek crunch. These vans can hold up to 16 passengers, including the front seat that holds two, and a novice might wonder how this is possible. A seasoned rider can tell you that only Megan and Anj could fit more buttcheeks on these benches! There is a bench behind the driver that comfortably seats 3 but often seats 4... one down the side that comfortably sits 4 but often holds 5-6, and one down the door side that seats 3 well and 4-5 not so well. For some reason the combis are always, always crowded at 7am, often to the point of blazing by my waving arm, and when I finally get one to stop, I have to wiggle my derriere in between reluctant to move riders. Then come the stares. I've been here for over three months now, but I still find it weird to be conspicuously stared at in public. When packed more than a dozen into a converted van well before I am fully awake, I like the gawking even less. There are few foreigners in Tuxtla (I think I might know them all), and those that are here are made to feel like a spectacle.
Next, it's time to pay. It costs 4 pesos (about 40 cents) to ride the combi to work (or anywhere on the route, for that matter), and unless you're sitting in the front or right behind the driver, paying requires passing your 4 pesos, or a bigger coin or bill, down the row, and mumbling something like "Por favor" or "Le molesta" (Can I trouble you?). Then, back comes the change. If you pay with more than fare for one, you are usually asked by several riders and/or the driver, "Cobra de uno o de dos?" (Basically, is that for one or for two?)
Now, the drivers of the colectivos have a death wish, as I have stated before, and in addition to this, they multitask better than even Boston drivers. They take money and make change while steering crazily and shifting gears and opening the door and sometimes changing the radio. It's no wonder all of the combis have bars installed overhead. I recommend holding on. Even while holding on, one morning I pulled some sort of gymnastic move as my feet and hands stayed planted but my torso went flying off the seat. I have yet, though, to fall completely.
Near these bars is usually a cord, or a button, connected to a buzzer. This is used to request a stop. It was hard at first even to determine where the stops are. Just ring and hope for the best. Even scarier was the first time I looked up and realized, there's no buzzer!!! This means that you have to open your freak show mouth and say, "En la parada, por favor" or "La siguente parada, por favor" (Next stop, please), and be stared at even more. The creature speaks!
That's my morning commute in a nutshell. The parents of older students at school don't let their kids ride in these. Would any of them like to drive me to school so I could have a pleasant ride in, too?

October Spanish palabra du jour

2006-11-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

10-31 aceitunas (olives)
10-30 crecer (to grow/grow up)
10-29 al azar (random/ "au hasard")
10-28 aislado (isolated)
10-27 tela (fabric)
10-26 huella de pulgar (thumbprint)
10-25 palomitas (popcorn, or check marks!)
10-24 bombeos solares (solar panels)
10-23 dulcera (sweetness)
10-22 hacer trampa (to cheat, in a game)
10-21 calavera (skull/halloween skeleton dude)
10-20 panuelos (tissues)
10-19 la selva (the jungle...near where I live!)
10-18 amarrar (to tie [e.g. shoes]
10-17 pegamento (glue)
10-16 amargar (to ruin)
10-15 lanchas (like boats)
10-14 hojear (to leaf through)
10-13 apurrate! hurry up!
10-12 el gabacho (slang for the U.S.) also, gringolandia
10-11 comida chetarra (junk food)
10-10 bruja (witch)
10-9 Escondidas (hide and seek)
10-8 arana (spider)
10-7 dispedida de soltero/a (bachelor/bachelorette party); salvavidas: lifeguard
10-6 alambre de puas (barbed wire), nacos (rednecks)
10-5 tapa (lid)10-4 sarro (tartar on teeth, or scum/buildup in bathrooms)
10-3 hipo (hiccups)
10-2 lima (file, like for nails)
10-1 entronque (intersection)

Comitan and the Lagos de Montebello

2006-10-24T21:28:00.000-05:00

Peace and quiet at last. Sitting at Helen's Enrique Restaurant (no joke, that was the name) in the center of Comitan, I listened carefully to see if I really could hear what I thought I was hearing...almost nothing!
Comitan, a smallish city about 3 hours from Tuxtla near the Guatemalan border, made me feel like I wasn't in Chiapas anymore. In Tuxtla, the NOISE LEVEL always seems way too high (See my entry, 'Cultural Bumps'), and in nearby San Cristobal I find more tranquility, aside from being pestered to buy, buy, buy from local peddlers. Comitan was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. There were almost no horns beeping, chains clanging, people screaming "agua", music blaring... just quiet chatter, a few cars, and a group of birds in a tree.
Not only was Comitan quiet, but it was also quite CLEAN!! Not once did I smell that faint sewage smell that I catch a whiff of, ironically, in front of the Human Development Office on my street, and there was little or no litter in the street. And no tourists! Not that tourists are dirty, but they do fit into the "detracting from my experience" catagory, and they make up at least 1/2 the people you see in San Cristobal.
Comitan was only supposed to be a transfer point between Tuxtla and the Lagos (Lakes) de Montebello, a series of at least 12 lakes of varying blue hues. The lakes turned out to be quite pretty, but it was Comitan that was adorable. And cheap! We stayed for 7 US per person per night, it cost about 12 US for round-trip transportation to Comitan and 5 r/t to get to the Lakes, and 5 US per person to have a guide drive us to 13 different lakes, including one that borders Guatemala, for the afternoon. I think including food, this weekend was all-inclusive for about 50 US.

Attention Walmart Shoppers...

2006-10-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

If you know me at all lately, you read that headline and thought, "Here comes a blurb about 'The Man'..." Well, I will try not to be too indoctrinating, but a Walmart just opened about a kilometer from me, and I cringe every time I see it. One doesn't have to look far for reasons to be uneasy about the number one...commercial empire? in the world. They are known for low wages, bad benefits, and doing anything to undercut the competition. I was also told of a store (a Sam's Club) that closed near Albany, NY, and employees showed up to work only to be told the same day that the store was closed and they didn't have a job.
I went grocery shopping Sunday and they were playing music and making balloons for kids...basically doing a song and dance circus routine to try to keep their customers who might run to Walmart in hopes of lower prices. They had marked on a ton of their merchandise their price and Walmart's price, to show that theirs was lower. And who can blame them for putting up a fight? Even those who have a choice won't usually choose to pay more on purpose. But sometimes one has to think of what's behind the low prices, which is usually little guys like those saving money who really pay.

Creature [dis]comforts

2006-10-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

I was warned before my arrival, by a former teacher from Canada, to expect large insects. I have to pat myself on the back and say that I have been handling these new "friends" much more calmly than I (or any of my few readers) may have imagined. Dad, that means you don't have to move down here to take all of the spiders outside!
Here are a few pictures of some "friends" (insects, spiders, salamander/gecko things) that have graced my apartment with their medium- to large-sized presence. Also there's one or two thrown in from the outside environment. It's 90 degrees Fahrenheit in October, so these bugs on steroids are the price I pay.

Cultural...bumps

2006-10-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm into my third month in Mexico, I'd like to take the time to address some cultural differences that could potentially get on my nerves, or that I find interesting.

Class
To put it simply, you either have a maid here, or you are a maid. The middle class is small, and most people have everything or have nearly nothing. To risk overgeneralizing, most people are not shy about making their status known. Even at work, there are those who give orders and those who do. And there seems to be little or no resentment/protest on the part of those receiving the orders; it seems like this is just "how things are" here, and how they've been for a long time.
At the beginning of the year, I went to a student's birthday party. Arriving early, I asked what I thought was the family if I could help them set up. I received strange looks and polite instructions to just sit down somewhere. As it turned out, these were people who worked for the party hall, clearly hired to set up for the family, and as a guest, offering to help set up, clean up, or lift much of a finger, you are usually refused.

Noise Level
I read in a book I bought called "Living in Mexico" that the culture is louder here, sometimes people talk at the same time, etc., and I said, I can dig. Well, I can dig, but it's a tad frustrating to NEVER have a quiet moment, and to have students who are slowwwwwwwwly learning what it means to work quietly and independently.
The water trucks make noise. The gas trucks have chains behind them to signal their presence. Taxis and collectivos constantly beep to alert riders who might want to flag them down. Multiple grown adults in my building BLAST music. People shout to get others' attention instead of going to them. The list goes on... it is NEVER quiet here. Never a dull moment. Even at school, during recess there is constant shrieking far beyond the noise level of a playground back home, and many children SCREAM when the bell rings to end recess, every day, even though at this point it is not a surprise.

Standing Out
There is NO way for me to blend in here. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and I am melanin-impaired. Because of this, I feel like half celebrity, half freak show. The only time I feel sort of normal is at school, because almost half the teachers are foreigners like myself. Otherwise, I'm subject to stares, and sometimes hisses, whistles, and 'mamacitas' from the menfolk. And, no one thinks twice about calling us gringos or gueros (whities, basically). It's amusing...but sometimes I would just like to go a day, or an hour outside, without being stared at!
As a not-bonus for standing out, I often get offered "gringo" prices at the market... c'est a dire, the market vendors know immediately I'm probably not from these parts, they see dollar signs in their heads, and think I won't notice paying a little more than a local might pay. No way, folks! I live and work here; I earn pesos! I will barter with the best of them, so to speak.

Manana...
Nothing ever happens on time. I'm getting quite used to making few or no plans, and then even having the few things I think *might* happen not happen, or at least not when/how I thought they would. Things are a lot more...relaxed here in Tuxtla. No one's in a hurry to get things done, although sometimes outward appearances would tell you that all is going well and is organized. This even continues at school, where the teachers are supposed to plan a week ahead but then be okay with last-minute interruptions, lost prep periods, etc. I've found it easier to laugh and adapt rather than get my shorts in a knot, mostly because doing the latter wouldn't do any good.

Probably more to come...

How am I still alive?

2006-10-03T19:13:00.000-05:00

I must be a cat...

I think I've used up a good share of my nine lives, though, since I've been here, and most or all of them have been used on transportation. My ride to work in the colectivo, for starters, is trying at best and perilous at worst. And many private cars don't have seatbelts, or at least they're tucked under the seats and not reachable.

I really didn't think I was going to survive this weekend, though, on my way to Tapachula with my roommate, my roommate's partner teacher (the 6th grade Spanish teacher), and her husband. Her husband was the driver, and he rarely drove below 75mph on NOT straight strips of highway. He slowed down to maybe 55 for the switchback mountain curves. How nice of him. We left at midnight, and in theory we were supposed to be sleeping overnight while he drove, but I think I could sleep better in a rickshaw. I woke up at one point, and wondered if perhaps he had fallen asleep at the wheel. Realizing he hadn't, I said to Shelly, "I was hoping he hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel, but now that I think about it, if he did fall asleep, the driving might actually improve!" She replied, "Yeah, I think he thinks he's Mario Andretti." "Or in Mario Kart," I retorted. This drive was even worse than our bus trip home from Puerto Escondido, where the bus took the same dangerous curves (curvas peligrosas!) at speeds that exceeded safety, to put it nicely.

When we actually arrived Saturday morning in Tapachula, it seemed surreal that we'd survived! Sirley (my roommate's partner teacher) and the cousin of her husband that we took along, didn't seem to notice that we'd been tossed like ragdolls due to high speeds and Formula 1-like moves, as well as some sort of tire alignment issue that made the ride feel like a roller coaster in some parts.

We were escorted through Sirley's mother's house just before the crack of dawn and taken to our room... on the roof! No lie. Don't mistake this as being ungrateful; we were really happy to go to Tapachula with Sirley and to stay with her family, who were gracious hosts, and her husband didn't let us spend a penny (one time when the machismo thing here comes in handy), but sleeping on the roof was hilarious! We had cement block walls, a tin roof with a one-foot gap between the wall and it, and a bathroom semi-enclosed in plywood. The second night, a BIRD flew into our room, sending us shrieking under the covers. I figured it wasn't a bat...it wasn't fast or low enough.

Saturday, after our catnap (no intended reference to my nine lives), we checked out some Mayan ruins nearby and then hit the downtown area. I use the term "downtown" loosely here, as it was smaller than Tuxtla and not overly happening. There were some interesting snacks, though, like freshly made root beer. We then went to a place similar to Chipalin (here in Tuxtla) where you buy a drink for 2-3 USD and food comes with it. LOVE these places. I love anything where the food is, or seems, free.

Accompanying us on Saturday was "el diablo" (the devil), or Sirley's 2-2.5 year old nephew Gael who is used to being played with roughly by his family members. I would try to be nice to him, and he would hit me. Finally by day two, he realized I wasn't going to throw a shoe at him, so I received smiles and waves instead of kicks and whacks.

Sunday morning I awoke to find a cocoon in my sheets. That's all I can think it could be... some fuzzy gray domelike structure cemented onto the sheets. I was a little more than grossed out that I found this cocoon after I slept in those sheets for two nights!

We were supposed to leave that day at 11am. Those of you who have any concept of how time is treated here may have already guessed that we didn't leave at 11am. Or noon. Or 2pm, like the third estimate. Instead of leaving, we went to the beach for lunch and fun, and at 3pm, our driver, Mario (real name Daniel, fyi), was snoozing in a hammock, hat over his face.

At 5:30pm, we were ready to leave, but not until we learned that "la prima" (cousin) had her husband coming with us (he works in Tapachula). Six people in a car that uncomfortably sits five... where will we put the sixth person? Logic clearly states that the sixth person has to sit in the back with the bags, of course. Of course...

This led to a great idea... why don't we put all of the bags into larger plastic bags, grab some pink twine, and strap them to the roof?? GREAT idea, since Mario will surely have star power in his foot and floor it all the way home over bumps and curves. I thought Shelly was going to wet her pants when I mentioned the similarity between this idea and the ideas of middle schoolers or high schoolers (or even college students, who am I kidding) when left to their own devices. But there were no adults to say that this was a bad idea, since those who'd thought of this genius plan were the adults. Shelly and I opted to keep out bags at our feet. Better cramped than bagless.

Somehow we got back to Tuxtla alive, and with luggage. Seven hours off schedule. But really, do schedules exist here?

The pictures include: Me and the biggest hamburger I've ever had, "el diablo", me in a cocoon before I found a cocoon in the sheets, Daniel the driver sleeping and me ready to go and an engraving from the Mayan ruins.

September Spanish du jour

2006-10-02T22:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to keep track of new and/or interesting words that I encounter. Here they are for September:

9-1 hoja (sheet [of paper])
9-2 rompehuesos (bonebreaking)
9-3 nalgas or nalchas, not sure (buttcheeks)
9-4 wey (castrated bull; insult or greeting, depending)
9-5 tijeras (scissors)
9-6 diente flojo (loose tooth)
9-7 resistol (glue, b/c of the brand)
9-8 pegar (to glue, to stick)
9-9 arbitro (referee)
9-10 federales (federal employees/officials)
9-11 cola (animal tail, or a line)
9-12 estuche (pencil case)
9-13 un pedo ( a fart)
[Vacation]
9-16 pinche olas (freakin' waves)
9-17 moscas (flies)
9-18 bronceador (sunscreen/bronzer? not sure which)
9-19 cajeta (caramel)
9-20 junta (another word for meeting)
9-21 chistoso (funny)
9-22 pastanas (eyelashes)
9-23 paquete (package)
9-24 rompecabeza (puzzle, lit. "headbreaker")
9-25 suceder (to happen), Que sucedio? (What happened?)
9-26 unas (nails)
9-27 conejito (bunny)
9-28 hazmerreir (laughingstock, a "makemelaugh")
9-29 bomberos (firefighters)
9-30 carril (lane [of traffic])

My Kids

2006-10-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, when I first started off this year, I was wondering what exactly I'd gotten myself into. My six- and seven-year-old students in first grade are in many ways more immature and dependent than my four-year-old charges were this summer in D.C., and this came somewhat as a shock. It is very much the result of a culture where children are babied moreso than in the states, and the children at my school are quite wealthy, so they don't really have to lift a finger at home. Some of them cut their paper right over the floor. Y'know, to save the trouble of having to brush it off of their desk onto the floor.
But, I also have to admit that they're adjusting to me, which means I won't talk to them if they're yelling "Teacher! Teacher! Finished!" until I come to them, and not cutting their paper over the floor, and I've adjusted to them being a little more needy than kids their age would be in the Land of Autonomy. All in all, they're growing on me, even the kids that, at the beginning of the year, I wasn't sure I'd grow to like.
Last week, the third grade teacher, Glenn, came to do a science and bubble show for my lovelies. Here I am posting some pictures from that adventure. There's also one or two from "mufty day", what they call Friday because the kids can come in their...mufties? I don't know, it just means they're out of uniform. Aren't they cute?
Above: Mr. Glenn getting his bubble on for group 1A.
Right: Gustavo in a bubble!
Below: Sergio, Arturo, Siu, Alejandra, Andres, and Gustavo.
Below that: Joseline, Ixchel, and Maria Jose on the reading rug.

El Canon del Sumidero and Chiapa de Corzo

2006-09-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (Saturday), Shelly, Danna, Carrie, and I went to Chiapa de Corzo, a small town about 30 minutes from here, to chill out and take a boat in the river Grijalva, which flows through the Canon del Sumidero. Chiapa de Corzo is cute, has a nice plaza, and offers different handicrafts than Tuxtla, but let it suffice to say that I'm glad I live in Tuxtla, where there are actually things to do.
The boat ride itself almost didn't happen, since we didn't have a full boat, and they wanted to charge us the price of a full boat divided among the would-be riders. We vetoed this, and waited an hour to see if more riders would come along, and they did.
I was expecting a slow boat cruise, but as I quickly found out, we were going to zip along in a speedboat, hair in the wind. My lifejacket made a nice cushion and safety net, and the ride was underway. We raced down the river to the start of the canon, and the driver stopped to tell us that the canon (pronounced canyOHN, I don't have the ~ over the N key) was starting...as if we hadn't noticed? We continued along, with the driver slowing down a few times to point out the highest point of the canyon, (1000 meters up, 100m water depth!), some crocodiles, one of the most powerful dams in Mexico, and a point where, if I understood correctly, someone fell on September 13.

Puerto Escondido

2006-09-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

...or, not feeling like a freak show for once.

This weekend, we (Shelly, Lisa, Jennifer, and I) went to Puerto Escondido, a beach town about 12 hours from here on an overnight bus (or 6-7 if you drive yourself!). In August, we went to nearby Huatulco, and I really can't compare the two... Puerto Escondido just blows Huatulco out of the water. And with the size of the waves there, it really could. Puerto Escondido is mainly a surfer town, which implies a very laidback feel, and lots of gringos. Since there were many tourists, we weren't stared at very much, and it felt good to "blend in" for once! I didn't blend in trying to surf, though, as my two attempts to stand up on the d**n thing were fruitless.

We stayed at Casa de Dan y Carmen, which is now Casa de Dan y Carmen is down the road at their restaurant, which was the deal when they broke up. We rented a cabana/apartment for two nights, and got a great deal. I am itching to return!

The accommodations were great, the food was great, the beach was amazing (although unswimmable in some parts), and I really can't wait to go back!

Below: Ice cream man on the beach, an overhead view of one of the beaches, and our cabana.

Update on the kids

2006-09-11T22:06:00.000-05:00

A number of you have volunteered to send monetary donations or supplies for the kids we are sending to school and for other children to attend school; for this I say, "THANK YOU!" And, so do the kids. I wanted to let everyone know that we've visited the school the kids are attending, and we are expanding the project to include helping the school in various ways. My roommate, Shelly, who is in with me on this thing, has started a blog just for updating everyone on the kids. You can check it out at http://bellasninos.blogspot.com . Basically, the kids attend a two-room school, with two teachers and NO other staff. The kids clean the bathrooms. No meals are served, and there's not even drinking water available. Among possible projects we might embark on with the school are:
- Supplying drinking water
- Starting a breakfast/lunch program
- Providing P.E., Art, and/or Music Equipment
- Volunteering teaching time, and arranging for teachers from our school who want to volunteer to do so
- Starting a scholarship program for kids who can't afford to pay for school/clothes/supplies

For more information, check out the blog my roommate started! There's tons of information.

Quieres gallopar? Esta bien asi.... WHOOSH

2006-09-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

So, if you don't speak Spanish, that translates as, "Do you want to gallop?" "I'm good like this..." And the WHOOSH is self-explanatory. I spent Sunday morning (9/10) horseback riding and checking out a market outside San Cristobal, in a village called Chamula. The riding itself was a little hair-raising. Our "guide" (who's barely safe from being called a kid) told me I could go gallop if I wanted to once I'd showed him I could trot and post, and I said that I was okay, but he whipped the back of my horse and OFF we were. I really was picturing Christopher Reeves in my head as I was flying with the horse, thinking of how fast we were going and what sort of shape I might be in if I were to fall. I was also thinking about kicking the stirrups out of the way really quickly should I know I was going down, to avoid being dragged... but it ended well, and the views were beautiful.

We rode for about an hour, then spent an hour at the market at Chamula, then rode for an hour back. At the market, Danna had a good scare when she attempted to take a picture of some officials, it didn't work, yet the officials came flying at her telling her they needed to check her camera, photographing officials isn't allowed, etc. We knew photographing people at the market wasn't allowed (long story short, the indigenous people don't like it), but the officials were technically not in the market... As it turned out it was okay, but Danna was pretty shaken up and thought they were going to steal her camera!

Jaguares!

2006-09-09T21:10:00.000-05:00

The Chiapas soccer team, the Jaguares, are not the world's most challenging bunch, but their game today against San Luis was cheap and entertaining. Beer peddlers carrying paint buckets of lager were followed up by peanut, mango, and Domino's pizza vendors.
We got to the game late, and realized that if you are five foreign women, you cannot walk into the soccer game late and go unnoticed. I felt like a turkey on the 4th Thursday of November.
As usual, I'm pretty tired, so I'll let the photos do the talking again.

Above: Moi, Shelly, Sarah, and Carrie.

Below: Moi and the unofficial Jaguares mascot, and a guy with a make-your-own visor made from his empty beer cup...

Spanish Words du Jour

2006-09-07T16:39:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to keep track of some of the words I learn, at least on a one-a-day basis... I hope I'm learning more than that!

AUGUST (end)
8-28 despampanante (stunning)
8-29 iguende (elf)
8-30 eructar (to burp)
8-31 sacapuntas (pencil sharpener)

Ranch weekend

2006-09-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

I spent this past weekend on one of my bosses' ranch, about an hour and a half outside of Tuxtla. It was the most peaceful, relaxing, Spanish-filled weekend I've had in a long time! And, I got to take one of their (old, slow) horses out for a bit! It felt nice to be "back in the saddle", and I'm looking forward to going riding again soon, maybe this time with a faster, younger horse.
Here are some pictures from the weekend. I'm exhausted from teaching so it's easier to let the pictures speak for themselves. There's a photo of me in a hammock, then me in the fields, then the group sitting around the table outside relaaaaxing, then a couple of me montar-ing en caballo...

"Adopted" Kids

2006-08-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

A most pleasant update on Ana Cecilia, Pablo, y Julio, who are now going to school! They are all set with new uniforms (except shoes, we're saving up for them!) and school supplies, and we are going to pay ahead at school for fees and lunch...
I was at my pilates class (don't ask, I always fall off the ball) when the kids came by, but they were still there when I got home. I came to the door, and Pablo and Julio, grins on their faces, came running to the door saying, "Te queremos mucho!! We love you so much!" and greeted me with big hugs. Helping them go to school was already rewarding, but it was all I could do to not to tear up! My roommate, Shelly, who is also heading up the "send the kids to school" unofficial operation, said, "Guess what? It's not 150 pesos per kid, it's 150 total!" Five dollars a year?? Thoughts started racing to my mind at how many kids could receive help to pay for school!! Then, it came out that it is 50 pesos per month, so 150 per month per child...and then it really dawned on me how the children's mother couldn't pay! That's, give or take, 50 USD per child per year, which is a ton of money for that family! So, it's going to cost a lot more than we bargained for, but as a teacher I REALLY can't place a dollar (or peso) sign on an education. They also need fifty cents each a day for lunch, as it turns out, but this too is manageable.
Some of you have volunteered to send funds or supplies for the kids and for others who will we will be locating to send to school. I can't thank you enough. It's too bad that you can't be here to see the ear to ear grins on the kids' faces and to receive their hugs in person, but know that I am passing those hugs and grins onto you!! We live such a padded existence in the U.S., that I feel like these little things to us can make SUCH a difference in the lives of others!!
Above, Pablo tries on his new uniform (and his mom's going to have to hem those pants! He's such a peanut!).
Below, the kids' supplies, their warm greeting, and Julio has a big hug and a smile for Shelly!

Intercultural Mingling

2006-08-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

The English third grade teacher, Glenn, decided even before school started that he was going to have a party for the whole school at his house on the Friday of the first week of school. I wasn't sure if the idea would be forgotten, or how big the group would be, but it happened, and the turnout was great. Tons of teachers and staff from school, both foreign and Mexican, gathered in Kris and Glenn's [sweet] apartment. Many put away a ton of beer, others apple soda, and all enjoyed snacks before moving poolside. I managed to swim in my clothes, while others opted for (or had the option of) bathing suits and swim trunks. And Julio, one of the elementary P.E. teachers, drank too, too, too much and hit on everything female.

Inside pictures:
Teacher whose name I forgot, Paty, Annette, and Adriana (my boss)

Next picture: Girl I don't know who was trying VERY hard to speak English with us, Kris, and Tomas (elem. P.E.)

Next picture: Glenn taking my picture taking his picture

Next picture: Kris, Glen

Poolside Pictures:

We told Kris to "act natural"

I think Shelly is doing the respect salute?

Paty, Glenn, and Kris

Kris, Marlon, Lisa

Ana Cecilia and Pablo (and Julio, too)

2006-08-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

The kids are going to school! I'm so happy! I feel like a proud mother hen!!
Ana Cecilia stopped by today, in her attempt at a school uniform, saying, "I went to school today. They need you guys to pay, though..." Originally we were going to take the Colectivo to Ana's stop, and meet her mother, and walk to the school because Ana Cecilia doesn't know its name, but then we got to thinking about how we were warned to be critical and on guard here, yet not jaded, and thought it better to wait for her mom to give us the name and directions of the school, so that we could go directly. Odds are, there wouldn't be any problem just meeting Ana's mother and going with her to the school, but we feel a little better going ourselves.
It's only going to be less than 100 dollars for inscription for all three kids and uniforms...and yet, they wouldn't be able to go without it. I REALLY wish there were some way to start "becas" (scholarships) here where people in nations where 15 dollars is NOTHING could send it down here for a kid to be able to pay to go to school. I don't feel knowledgeable enough about the situation to even begin trying to set a system like that up, though. Any suggestions?

Classroom Pictures

2006-08-22T17:44:00.000-05:00

I'm posting some pictures of the school and of my classroom. No class (student) pictures yet, however, because I only know half of their names so far! Well, I know most of the names, but matching them to faces is proving interesting. And to top it off, there are some language things that confuse me. Like, Jose Maria is a boy, but the two Maria Joses are girls. And in addition to two Maria Joses, I also have a Maria del Mar. I have a Sergio Enrique who goes by Enrique, and a plain old Enrique. I could go on.

The classroom The books corner, in between the two groups' attendance charts (yes, those are fish with their names on them)

Above: color words; above that: The Days of the Week, The "Traffic Light" of discipline (if we end the day on green, the kids go home with stickers...Red is hard-core bad; we haven't gotten there yet), and the beginning of my Alphabet chart (thanks, Megs!) and numbers

No ProblemA for groceries

2006-08-22T17:31:00.000-05:00

"No problemo!"
How many times have you heard that one?? More than you can count on one hand, or both, or maybe even using feet, too, I would imagine. BUT...it's wrong! The word for a problem in Spanish is problema, with an A, not an O. I would hazard a guess that since so many words in Spanish end in O, someone just created this to be funny, and it stuck, but you can do the world a favor by starting to say, "No problema!" Or, not.
Anyhow, I just grocery shopped, and it always makes me happy to see that, if I don't buy stupid American products (and even if I buy one or two), my grocery bill is never much more than what would be $10 USD. To give you an idea of what food shopping costs here in Tuxtla (and at the Bodega Gigante, to be more specific), here is my receipt.

Cheese, 2 packages $3.00 USD
Popcorn, 2 packages $1.20 USD
Quaker granola cereal $1.50 USD
Oranges for juicing (5) $1.00 USD
Pasta $0.30 USD
Hot sauce $0.50 USD
Cilantro (1 big bunch) $0.30 USD
Jar of Jalapenos $0.35 USD
Three fancy cookies $0.80 USD
Tortilla chips (Tostitos) $1.40 USD
Apple Soda $0.50 USD
Bananas (2) $0.15 USD
Tomatoes (2) $0. 62 USD
Serrano pepper (1) $0.03 USD

Grand total: 116.14 pesos, or about $10-11 USD.

Ding at the Domino's

2006-08-22T17:16:00.000-05:00

I was riding a combi (or colectivo, the busses/vans of death that serve as public transportation) home today with my Principal (no, this is not scary) and I kept looking out the window for my stop, and told her, "Gotta ding at the Domino's". To which she replied, "That'd make a great title for an email home." Since I am no longer doing the big emails home, I've made it a blog title. And yes, I ding at the Domino's to signal my stop on my ride home; if I dinged at the closer Pizza Hut, my driver/grim reaper would whiz past my street by about 4-6 blocks. I have no right to complain about walking one stop further, though; colectivos cost 4 pesos (about 40 cents) for as far as you want to ride in one direction on one colectivo.
Speaking of Colectivos, or combis, one of my colleagues, Glenn, has postulated the following. Becoming a colectivo driver has one prerequisite: the would-be driver must have a death wish. I have NEVER seen a female combi driver. Not sure why. Maybe women are too smart to want to spend hours a day in an endless near-death experience? In addition to having a death wish, my colleague hypothesized, the test to become a combi driver must including having to take down at least 2 pedestrians. I'd like to add that coming a centimeter within hitting the bumper between you and then miraculously stopping in time not to hit it must be on the exam, too. Below is a picture I TRIED to take of a colectivo, but they drive so d**n fast that it's a wonder I got the rear end. And,here's to hoping never to end up like the second combi pictured here (taken from the net, not by me). The picture above, I stole from Glenn (a colleague) because I'm just not fast enough with my camera. But he got three in one shot!

Huatulco

2006-08-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

For the earlier portion of the 4-day weekend before school starts, I went to Huatulco, a beach town in the state of Oaxaca (pronounced Wa-hah-kuh, not O-ahx-ahca). We took an overnight bus there and back, and stayed for two full days. August, ironically, isn't their high tourist season, so the rates were decent. October-December is their high season, when all of the Canadians and Americans truck down to the beaches to escape frigid fall and winter weather.

Here are three photos, but many others are available on Facebook.

San Cristobal

2006-08-15T00:03:00.000-05:00

About an hour from here by "bus" (translation: 15 passenger van), for 35 pesos (about $3.00) one way, lies San Cristobal. Once a colonial city and the capital of Chiapas until the late 1800s, San Cristobal de las Casas is a beautiful day trip away from Tuxtla. I visited it on Saturday, and the first thing I noticed on the way was the difference in altitude. To reach San Cristobal from Tuxtla, one climbs 1000-1500 meters (I've forgotten the exact figure), and my ears, which popped on the way up, can attest to the fact that the difference is noticeable. I enjoyed wandering the markets, parks, and streets of the town, as well as eating at a wonderful all-natural restaurant tucked away on a quiet road away from the tourist path. Their bread is delicious, and you can buy a small loaf for 10 pesos (about a dollar) or a large one for about 20 pesos.

Mariachi (Did I spell that right?)

2006-08-14T23:34:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, our school put on a BBQ for us, complete with lamb (tear), beans (of course), and a Mariachi band! It definitely put a smile on my face.

Come visit!

2006-08-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

I'll take this moment to shamelessly plug coming to visit me in sunny southern Mexico! Free lodging, cheap food, and a built-in tour guide and half-decent translator await you in Tuxtla Gutierrez!
There's tons to do in the region, including the beach 2 hours away, San Cristobal less than an hour away, and a beautiful jungle canyon not far at all. I have TONS of long weekends throughout the year, so anyone who visited for a week or so that included one of these weekends would be able to travel a little in the area with me. My long weekends, as of now, are:
September 14-17 (4 day weekend for Mexican Independence or Chiapas joining Mexico, I forget which)
November 2 and 4-5 for Dia de las Muertas
November 18-20 (3 day weekend)
December 1-3 (3 day weekend)
February 3-5 (3 day weekend)
March 17-19 (3 day weekend)
April 28-May 1 (4 day weekend, not confirmed yet, but I do have the 1st off)
May 11-15 (5 day weekend) for Teachers' Day!
I also have 2.5 weeks off at the end of December and beginning of January, but I will be in upstate NY for a week and France for the second week. In April I have two weeks' vacation for Easter/Holy Week, but I'll most likely be home for part or all of that.

New friends

2006-08-14T23:14:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday night, around dinner time, a little boy about 5 years old and a little girl about 7 or 8 showed up on our doorstep. They asked us if they could take out our trash for us in exchange for a glass of water. We refused the trash offer but took them up on the water and threw in a peanut butter sandwich. As it turns out, these two kids come to our complex three days a week on trash nights and ask if they can take out residents' trash in exchange for a few pesos or a snack, or water. They don't go to school, and asked us if we could teach them. They also asked us if we had anything that they could try to sell, and even if they could come back to the U.S. with us. Later that night, at about 11pm, the little girl came back, with her mother! Her mother asked us if we could take her daughter back to the states with us, saying she could work there. We told her, politely, that it doesn't work that way, and that you need visas and permission to come, and that lots of people want to move to the U.S. And the little girl's mother, eyes full of naiveté, said, "We'll have to ask the President." The whole experience really put things into perspective, especially when the little girl asked how much house cleaners make in the states, and I realized that per hour, they might make a lot more than someone here might make in a week. Count your blessings...
Ana Cecilia and Pablo, as we have learned are their names, sure enough, were back Friday night, working our neighborhood on trash night. Again, we offered them water and peanut butter sandwiches, and they told us a little more about their life. They used to go to school, but they can't afford the 150 peso entrance fee (that's about 14 dollars), so they aren't going this year. My roommate and I told them to ask their mother if they could go to school if we paid their entrance fees right to the school. There is no way a child should go without an education because of 14 dollars. I always knew that some kids had to work instead of attending school, but it had never occurred to me that a child might not go to school because he or she can't afford to attend public school! I hope that there's a happy ending for Pablo and Ana Cecilia.

El canon del sumidero

2006-08-14T23:03:00.000-05:00

Our second day of "orientation" really consisted of a trip up into the jungle outside Tuxtla, but in a safe part where the mosquito bites I got were deemed not malaria-threatening.
In the near future, I hope to be going to nearby Chiapa de Corzo to take a boat or kayak in the canon del sumidero.

More recent Tuxtla happenings/observations

2006-08-14T22:50:00.000-05:00

The picture above is the high school wing of my school, the American School Foundation of Chiapas. Coming soon, pictures of my decorated First Grade classroom.

One of the markets in Tuxtla is in the Plaza Civica, the park at the center of the city. There's a stand there where you can buy coconut milk, rice water, or Jamaica (pronounced Huh-my-kah, not like the country), which is a sweet drink made from hibiscus flowers. The other park, Marimba Park, is so named because nightly, from 6-10pm, Tuxtla residents come to dance Marimba to a live band. I wasn't brave enough to shake it in the dance area, but I did have a great time watching. My favorite song was one in which the band sang, "La vaca, [pause] ugh!" La vaca [pause] ugh!" La vaca, for the non-Spanish speakers, means "the cow." Before going to the park, I dined with some of my new friends at the Marimba Park restaurant. I sampled empanadas and tomales, which were, of course, delicious. In most restaurants in town, one can eat for about $5 USD. After dinner and [watching] dancing, we took a ride on the "Panoramico" bus for 15 pesos (a little over a dollar), which takes riders up a hill near the city to get a... panoramic view of Tuxtla. It also points out a few historic and/or cultural points.

Although the school partially pays for a gym membership for its teachers, I was not planning on going anywhere NEAR these sweat-inducing establishments. But, a gym near me offers classes, two of which are modern dance and salsa. I decided to give the salsa dance class a try, and, despite tripping and nearly taking a dive, I have enrolled in the class. Sometimes we look down over the balcony and see people working out have stopped to watch the three gringas (white girls) trying to dance. Let it suffice to say that salsa is not in my blood. And, the instructor, Andres, is like the Mexican equivalent of Billy Blanks (the big Tae Bo guy) in terms of intensity, and doesn't really appreciate the gringas giggling throughout the lesson. I think he forgives us because he's taken a liking to Lisa, one of the teachers who also takes his class.

Getting cable service in other countries appears to be a universal struggle. I had quite the time trying to get service in France due to loads of paperwork and non-existent customer service, and things haven't improved much in Mexico. On Saturday morning, my roommate went to the cable office to investigate our options, but the line was out the door and down the corridor, so she gave up. Monday afternoon, we both went, and there was no line, but they also had no registration forms. Perhaps they ran out on Saturday? They said they would have forms "manana", or tomorrow, which I'm quickly learning could really be "manana manana" or even "manana manana manana". Flexibility is key. Nothing accomplished, but they did realize we weren't paying for cable and turned it off! Funny how they can turn off the cable in 30 minutes, but it takes a week to install. We trekked back to Megacable the next day, and sure enough, they didn't have any forms. We told them that they had turned off our cable, and suddenly, out of nowhere, forms appeared! Not only did they suddenly have forms, but they signed us up, and arranged for installation for 7 days later. Another friend had been told 10 days. Sort of a "dartboard" system, like I ran into often in France.

2006-08-14T21:58:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of my apartment.

The living room/dining room area, my bedroom, and the oh, so charming exterior (my apartment is on the third floor, on the left).

Getting here

2006-08-13T12:34:00.000-05:00

Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of the state of Chiapas, is the city I will be calling home until July 6, 2007, give or take a few days. The city has grown quite substantially over the past few decades, and this can be seen from above the city, which now fills most of the valley it is in. It is the first Mexican city I've ever been to, actually, but from what others have told me, it is comparatively very clean, safe, and pretty. I like the fact that it isn't huge like Mexico City, but it isn't a small village, either, which means most modern day conveniences (maybe even too many) are readily available.

I live on Calle 16a Poniente Norte, which means I live just northwest of the city center (about 16 blocks, to be more precise, as I live on 16th street NW). After landing at the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport (one of the smallest airports I've ever landed at), surrounded by some of the greenest scenery I've seen since England, I was met by Paty, a representative of the school, and the person who hired me. After three flights and twelve hours of traveling, I was happy to see a smiling face, albeit one I'd never seen before. Paty drove me to my apartment, and as we pulled into the apartment complex, I thought to myself, "I will be spending the next 11 months in the ghetto; how interesting." However, the inside of the apartment doesn't look as crumbly as the outside, and I've found this to be a recurring theme: many buildings aren't freshly painted, and sometimes look delapidated, but the interiors are often nice. I've hypothesized that this is to avoid advertising worthwhile targets to would-be thiefs.

Nearby San Christobal is a beautiful, colonial town where a surprising number of European backpackers are not hard to spot. It's quite quaint, and gives the impression of an authentic Mexican town. We went to the Museum of Mayan Medicine, which is off the beaten path, so to speak, and saw the other side of San Cristobal, where the indigenous population lives. The Museum was small, but on its grounds was a Mayan medicine shop, with natural remedies for many things. I'll have to get back to you regarding whether the things I purchased work.

After bringing me to my apartment, Paty took me to the nearby Bodega Gigante, or Gigantic Store/Grocery Store, to grocery shop. I wasn't really in the state of mind to grocery shop, so I came out with odd things like packaged tortillas, pastries, apples, spiced peanuts, chicken, etc. I found out very quickly that it will be quite difficult, if not impossible, to eat organic here, so I've resigned to just trying to eat healthy and attempting to scrub potential pesticides off my fruits and veggies. I was also a little sad to see the bag wasting at stores. Baggers put 2 or 3 items in a bag, and often put small items in small bags that will end up within bigger bags. I usually have to insist several times to get the bagger to reuse bags I've brought, and I get a lot of funny looks from them for it. It's funny how the U.S. and other [over-]developed nations started being wasteful, and the rest of the world has caught on and made it even worse. I've been realizing that I have a great location. I'm a 20 minute walk to the city center, and about 10 minutes from an internet cafe, the Bodega Gigante, a few taco places, a laundry place (not really a laundromat, as you leave your laundry, and for about 50 cents a pound, they wash, dry, iron, and fold your clothes), and other food places. And, as I've discovered this week, I live across the street from a camouflaged ice cream and dessert shop with very good prices!

The day after I arrived, orientation started at school at 9am. The rest of the foreign teaching staff (and the local teaching staff, for that matter) is made of a lot of great people who've taught abroad before in lots of cool places, like Egypt, India, Thailand, Argentina, and Saipan. As it turns out, orientation and classroom setup will last three weeks, with school starting on August 21, and we only have to be at school till about 1pm on orientation days. After the first day, I explored the city and some markets with two other teachers, and was almost pickpocked. I can't help but look out of place here. I'm getting a tan despite SPF use, and I wear sunglasses (which cover the light eyes), but my hair keeps getting lighter from the sun, which isn't doing me any favors for blending in. And I'm pretty sure the handful of American and Canadian teachers are the only foreigners in Tuxtla. Back to the would-be pickpocketing incident. Due to my lightning-quick reflexes, I was not robbed. Okay, so one of the guys got the pickpockets away from me. But if he hadn't been there, I could have fended for myself...maybe.

Getting ahold of me

2006-08-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

If skype, AIM, MSN, and email aren't enough, you can call me at:
(from the states/Canada:) 011 52 961 60 23406 (my apt line)

I can receive mail with more stability at school:
Heather Way
American School Foundation of Chiapas
Blvd. Belisario Dominguez 5580-F
C.P. 29052 Teran, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
MEXICO