a leap of faith

an exercise in exhibitionism and one-time massive micro-blogging

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:51:00 +0000

Slightly caving in to the Facebook trend of "25 Things About Me" (though I actually had been thinking of a post like this before that), here are a few nuggets...just because. There are actually a couple more than 25 things...but that's why I'm using my blog for this. ;-)

I am a child of the living God. The body of Christ is my family and the Kingdom of God is my home.
I am a sucker for insightful and clever song lyrics.
I am ridiculously attracted to scrawny men who wear Converse.
I am very aware that I misuse ellipsis in just about every written communication.
I am a hopeless romantic but fear that I am too pragmatic for love.
I love uber-intense, yet still realistic, movies and movies with superb character development.
I consider myself to be simultaneously an old soul and a late bloomer and am not necessarily convinced that those are not complementary.
Biggest phobias: public-speaking and throwing up. It is not uncommon that the second comes with the first.
My favorite time of day is getting ready in the morning (well, usually in the morning), making an absolute ruckus while I blast music loud enough to hear over the running water or my blow dryer. Unfortunately, to arrive at this moment I have to overcome the most torturous of daily tasks: getting out of bed.
I love to drive--especially in the fog or on a bright sunny day with the moon roof open and some great 80s music.
Learning to drive, however, was one of the worst things I have had to do.
It's insane how much I adore my niece. She has changed me.
I cannot study in public places. I'm too distracted watching people.
I HATE research.
I can be as much a Pollyanna as an Eeyore. I cherish my melancholy side as much as moments of pure joy.
My girlfriends are as essential to my life as my family.
I don't do superficial relationships. I take delight in getting to know people.
I am fascinated by and envy people who use language uniquely.
I don't cry. Well, at least I don't cry as much as most people do.
I am not an emotionally expressive person, though I feel things very deeply.
As I become I older I grow more conflicted and unsure of things I used to be very certain about.
I love listening to NPR.
Singing almost always makes me happy.
I don't crave chocolate during "that time of the month." I crave peanut butter.
I compare myself constantly to others. It is not a healthy exercise.
A part of me will always long to go back to Mexico.
I love people--especially when they are goofy.

on patriotism and citizenship

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:43:00 +0000

This post is going to be about as political as I get. So let's just start out acknowledging that I am not a politically savvy person. I don't keep up with the issues and the talking heads. The very language of politics demonstrates just how much it is a game: campaigns are "races," candidates "win" instead of being elected, and after every debate all the intellectuals get together to discuss the minute details of every word and physical movement and who made which mistake and when. I find it all rather absurd. What happened to being a public servant? What has happened to humility?

Having lived the last year and a half outside of my country, one of the areas in which I have I have noticed a rather large shift within myself has been my identity in terms of nationality. Before leaving I held the cynical view of Americans that many young people going off to another country in search of something substantial tend to have, but still had not questioned much of the rhetoric that I had heard over and over since childhood (*in deep, pompous voice* The US is the greatest country in the world, etc...).

But after spending two Independence Days in Mexico, I noticed an enormous difference between the displays of patriotism in the two countries. In Mexico, I did not find a sentiment of superiority but a simple sense of pride that was not dependent upon comparing themselves to anyone else. I liked that. I still like it. However, when I made this remark to my professor once, she responded that if the Mexican people were truly patriotic, they would not do some of the things that they do; they would not accept and contribute to corruption, even through actions so small as paying off an officer with 50 pesos so as to not receive a traffic citation; they would care for the land and the natural resources that they have; they would not litter...and so on.

It took me all of a few seconds to realize that she was right. I had never made that connection between patriotism and citizenship before really. And while I still prefer Mexican patriotism to American, seeing patriotism simply as a demonstration of the affection one has for the lovely and good attributes of their culture only makes us stagnant.

Now, it doesn't matter whether you are a Barack Obama supporter or not, but one thing that I think everyone can get behind is his call to everyone to restore this country, that this is not just HIS job, but that of every citizen and resident. Crying out that "we cannot walk alone" and hearkening back to the visions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our new President understands that a country is not defined by the potency of its government but rather the character of its people. We must take responsibility for more than pursuing our own individual successes.

On the day before Dr. King was assassinated he said he had been to the mountaintop and that he had seen the Promised Land and rather prophetically acknowledged that he may not arrive there with everyone else, but that it was possible. But earlier in his speech he used the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the responsibility we all have to each other.

For those not familiar with this story, a man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Dr. King remarked, when travelling this very road, at what a dangerous journey it was. Others travelling along this path did not stop to help until this one Samaritan who claimed the responsibility, finding someone to care for him, and paying for all of the expenses of restoring him to health. Dr. King preached that the Samaritan did not ask himself the question that likely all the others had put to themselves: "What will happen to me if I help this man?" but instead asked himself, "What will happen to him if I don't help him?" What a counter-cultural thought!

But not even in the time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was this theme revolutionary. It seems to pop up during crucial times throughout history. Read an account given by Jane Addams of the mindset of people during emancipation:

"...they too had realized that if this last tremendous experiment in
self-government failed here, it would be the disappointment of the centuries and
that upon their ability to organize self-government in state, county, and town
depended the verdict of history. These men also knew, as Lincoln himself
did, that if this tremendous experiment was to come to fruition, it must be
brought about by the people themselves; that there was no other capital fund
upon which to draw."

But why must we wait for a crisis (though it would be hard to deny that we certainly have the makings of one right now) to wake up? What would happen if we were continually alert and had the mindset that "the verdict of history" depended upon us?

So how do we do this? I can't fix the economy. I can't stop wars. I can't (...).

You can't do anything if you only look at the big picture. Look locally, but look past your own front door. Don't passively go to your job and then come back home. Consider some of the following...and imagine some of your own.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Think about an issue that gets you riled up. Find a community organization that addresses it. Volunteer.
Know your strengths so you know what you have to offer.
Be a foster parent.
Adopt a child.
Mentor.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." ~ Luke 10:27
Don't create or permit drama because you are bored. Diffuse situations. "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." ~ Romans 12:18
Vote.
Be empathetic.
Speak truth.
Tell the truth.
Guard your eyes and your ears.
Don't guard your heart...too much.
Give money to someone that asks you for it on the street if you can. Don't worry too much about what they are going to do with it. There is no way to know and it does not serve you to be suspicious of someone.
Don't allow yourself to be complacent and bored. It will eat you alive.

Anyhow, these thoughts have been going on around in my head for a while. They came out kinda jumbled; sorry about that.

KIVA.org...go, do, make a difference

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:51:00 +0000

Confession: I have meant to write about this organization for a long time now but, frankly, have been too much of a bum. But recently we have been talking about education in Mexico, inequality, and now neoindividualism in my Spanish grammar class and it has gotten me thinking yet again about how blessed I truly am.

First off, a rant. We are surrounded by need, though we don't often recognize it. And we can sit for days on end talking about the root causes of poverty, societal problems, and grand solutions to try and aleviate the suffering in the world, but at the end of the day, none of this is empowering to the average person. Rather we are overcome with the largeness and complexity of the problem that we feel anything we do will be nothing more than a feeble and eventually futile attempt. But each of us is fully-equipped to make a difference in the life of another human being. I was searching and searching to find a particular passage in the Bible that speaks to what I am trying to express, but didn't find it. But basically what it boils down to is, if you see a need and are able to do something about it, do it. Don't wait for tomorrow, don't wish the person well, but take action immediately. What reason have you to do anything but that? What is more urgent or important than serving and showing love to another?

Last year in my Development and Society in Mexico class, our professor introduced us to an organization based out of San Francisco called Kiva. I was instantly struck by the power, and still further potential, that this organization has. A brief synopsis: Kiva.org is a website through which individuals can give microloans of a minimum of $25 to individuals for their businesses around the world. Often these loans are for things such as buying more livestock or products for their store. Kiva partners with microfinance institutions in the countries in which they operate and these institutions oversee the loans. The loans are then repaid over a specified period of time. The default rate for Kiva loans is impressively low: only 1.4%. Take ten minutes to watch this video on YouTube of a report done with the creators of the organization and learn about some of the effects that these small loans have made in the lives of a few recipients in Africa.

Impressive Outcomes
Some of the outcomes may not seem enormous (there are no Cinderella stories), but when you stop and think about them, they can be revolutionary. For example, in the video you will hear the story of a man who can now afford to send his children to school. Think about it! His children will have the education that he likely did not receive and have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty, even if it is just a notch. And their children will have even more opportunities than they had. All because a few people gave this man $25.

Additionally, I would say that a majority of the loans go to women. In fact, microfinancing has its roots in providing opportunities to small and marginal farmers and poor women. Women in many countries around the world are still extremely oppressed, dependent on men who cannot or do not provide for them. Microloans are giving women opportunities to break free from this oppression and provide for themselves. I wish I could find the video for you all that our professor showed us in which one woman, I believe in India, was becoming politically active in her community and making incredible changes after being able to finally provide for herself. She didn't stop at just lifting her and her family up, but this one change in her life is impacting and improving the community around her.

And in a general sense, microloans are about empowering people. They not only empower the the recipient of the loan by not turning them into a charity-case, but also the giver of the loan by letting them make potentially life-changing differences in the lives of others. In another promo video I saw on YouTube one particular statement really struck me: Donations silence your conscience but loans change lives. As my Pastor Stover used to say, "Just stop and think about that."

Rebel Against Neoindividualism!
Sorry...I'm hyped-up on this article that I read (and for the most part, understood...in Spanish) on neoindividualism, consumerism, and the fragmented state of our society. But basically it was saying that we have reduced the value of a human being to their purchasing power in our society, to their ability of being a consumer, and if you aren't in the consumer-potential category, you are marginalized even further than you probably already are. We have become a society solely focused on our own desires, lacking social ties that create cohesion (and I don't mean just the U.S. mind you; this was written by a Mexican woman). Don't let that be you! Re-establish connections between yourself and other human beings, even if they live on the other side of the planet.

So, to sum up: go, do, make a difference.

Thanks for reading.

it's been a while...

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:14:00 +0000

I know, I know (Dad!)…it’s been a while since I posted. I don’t know why, but every time I sit down to write about my time here in Mexico this semester, I get stuck. Honestly, this semester has been much harder than the previous two, but I am acclimating slowly.

What I Am Doing
For those of you that I didn’t inform, I am back in Mexico for another semester. I have an internship with the International Programs (IP) office at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, the same university I attended last year through the CSU International Program. The IP office not only receives international students, but sends Mexican students abroad to countries all over the world. I work mostly with these students and Juan Carlos, who manages this program. It’s a lot of paperwork and emailing students, pleading for certain documents that I need to credit their classes abroad here at the Tec…but it is all in Spanish! I also do a fair amount of proofing of text in English or translating Spanish documents into English.

My Family
In an effort to not make this post too long (just for you, David) and so that I will actually get through it, I thought I would focus this post on my family here in Mexico.

I am living with a host family this semester (yay!) and thus have experienced every living situation offered to international students here: host family, dorms, and apartments off campus. A year ago I really wanted to live with a family, knowing that it is really the best way you can reinforce what you learn in the classroom, but a family with an accessible home was not available. Then after living with another American girl in an apartment last semester, I realized that part of what I loved about being in Mexico was being so independent in the respect that I didn’t have to report to anyone when I was going to be home and that no one was worrying about it (it’s OK Mom, I know that’s your job ;-). So then when I found out that I was going to be living with a host family, that liberty was again lessened. I wondered how I would integrate myself and if I would feel comfortable in their home. Natural concerns I imagine, but completely unnecessary.

Mely
My host mom’s name is Mely, or Imelda. She is the secretary of IP, so we became friends last year. She is an incredibly sweet, hardworking, and generous woman whose world is devoted to her family. She is also a fabulous cook! She comes from a family of 11 children, of which she is one of the youngest. Her mother lives very nearby our house (within walking distance) and at least one of the 11 are always there to spend time with their mother, as their father passed away just before I got here.

Olaf
My host dad is Olaf. He works at a clinic doing administrative work very nearby the house and just down the street from his son’s school and the house he grew up in with his 6 brothers and sisters. One thing I love about Olaf is that he is always happy and laughing. You can tell that he gets so much joy from being with his children and goofing around with them. He helps around the house a lot too. While Mely does all the cooking, Olaf does a majority of the housework, including the laundry and cleaning the bathrooms, and frequently washing the dishes. I try to help with the dishes and folding of laundry when I can find the opportunity, and their protests have lessened and been replaced with thank you.

Olafcito
Mely and Olaf’s oldest son is also named Olaf. He is thirteen and just hitting that age when he wants to be his own person, but just doesn’t know who that it is yet and is causing his parents quite a bit of concern. But he is a good kid and I have found a friend in him. We are kindred spirits in our love of music. He plays the guitar very well and learns by ear. He has already learned Layla, Stairway to Heaven, and Unfold by Jason Mraz since I’ve been here. He has made me his confidant and I try to encourage him to be someone worthy of his parents’ trust…let’s hope some of it soaks in.

Andrés
Andrés is the younger son and is 8 years old. He is a dear child with a tender heart. At the beginning he helped me a lot to feel at home here by wanting to play games with me every night. He likes to play with my hair too. :-) He wants to be a priest when he grows up and frequently pretends to be one around the house, giving communion to everyone. In spite of his sweetness, however, he is definitely the baby of the family and gets his feelings hurt easily and pouts the rest of the evening.

We live in a colonia (basically a community within the larger city) named Hercules. It is one of the oldest colonias in Querétaro and is absolutely beautiful. I don’t yet have photos of it, but want to take some soon. Both Mely and Olaf grew up in this colonia and a majority of their families live here. The community’s church is just around the corner from the house and the church bells warn me every morning at 6:30 (for the daily 7am mass) that I have been in bed too long. It is a community with a lot of roots and Mely tells me that even though I may not know everyone, they know who I am and are watching out for me.

For more photos of my home and other randomness, click here.

Anyhow, I am going to try to be more faithful in posting for ya’ll now that I have gotten past the first one. They may not be as frequent as they were in the beginning since my life here is pretty much as my life is in the US—go to work, come home, study some, and start over again. But these past 4 or 5 weeks have been quite an intense time of reflection for me, which is at times very hard, but good for me. Nevertheless, I covet your prayers as I continue on here and want you to know that I think of you all daily. Know that you are loved.

tengo tatuaje!!!

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:24:00 +0000

So I just wanted to show you all pictures of my new tattoo!!! I just got it yesterday afternoon and I really like it a lot. It says "Andar por la fe" which means "Walk by faith." I wanted to get it as a little reminder of my time here in Mexico, and since I can't walk physically, but can walk by faith (which this year was a leap), I thought it appropriate to get it on my foot. Well, that and I can't actually feel my feet so it was pain-free. haha! Lucky me!

just a link

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:01:00 +0000

I forgot to post the link to the rest of my pictures that I have posted on my Facebook page. Enjoy!

we are far too young and clever

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:00:00 +0000

First of all, 10 bonus points to the person who can tell me which song that line is from! :-)

So, long time no write, eh? There hasn't been too much going on here in Querétaro these days other than school and the such like. A few weeks back some friends and I did go to a Maná concert here in town and it was quite fantastic! I have somewhat rediscovered my love of concerts here in Mexico. Maná is, arguably, one of the most popular rock bands here in Mexico so there were a ton of people and everyone was very excited. I love the excitement of the crowds, especially with this concert since it was all in Spanish and I couldn't really sing along with the songs as I might normally if I was at a concert of someone more familiar. They fed my joy in being there and I loved watching everyone sing and dance, especially one group of guys of varying ages nearby that seemed to simply be enjoying each others company and singing, without the facade of machismo that may at other times restrain them.

¡CUBA!
The one big-deal thing of late is that I just got back a week ago from having spent a week in Cuba during our break for la Semana Santa or Holy Week (or as we Americans call it, Spring Break). It was quite incredible, though even as I am typing this I am wondering how I am going to organize my thoughts as they are still a bit of a jumble in my brain. Bear with me as I try to sort all of this out.

One of the first things that may have popped into your mind may be, "How did you manage that with the embargo between the US and Cuba?" Well, I have actually had about five American friends here that have made the trip, so the way had been paved for us already.

Originally the plan was for my roommate, Bridgid, and I to go and then our friend Darcy said she was interested too. We searched online but ran into a wall when we wanted to buy airline tickets. We ended up going to a travel agent and a woman named Blanca hooked us up. Unfortunately, due to some previous plans that Bridgid had made for the break, taking a week-long trip to Cuba was out of the question (and yet our only option), so Darcy and I went together.

We were assured by many people that they would not stamp our passports as we arrived in Cuba, which was really our biggest concern. We learned just before we left Cuba from a Mexican woman we met that they don't stamp anyone's passport because, suppose a Mexican that went and had a Cuban stamp in their passport, they would not be permitted to go to the US. Therefore, we never had any reason for concern.

Varadero
We flew into Varadero and spent about 2.5 days in this beautiful beach-town. Truthfully, we didn't see much of this town outside of what we saw through the bus windows. Everything at our hotel was included in what we paid for the package (room, food, drinks, recreation, etc.) so we didn't venture our even once. This was what we saw from the back patio of the hotel. Would you leave that if you only had about 2 days? I didn't think so.

Therefore, we spent most of our time relaxing on the beach, reading, fingering the soft, perfect, white sand, enjoying the sunny, humid, and breezy weather, eating at what turned out to be a pretty lousy buffet, and sipping mojitos. :-) Such luxury that I don't ever recall having for such a prolonged period of time before.

The second day we got a life vest for me and went into the water. This was actually the first time I could recall ever going into the ocean without being held by one of my parents (clearly it has been a while). The water was heavenly. It felt the temperature of lukewarm bathwater and was so clear. Darcy discovered the day before that there really wasn't much to be seen by way of fishes, just white sand and the occasional seaweed or rock.

I was quite apprehensive about going in the water, in spite of wearing my life vest, and was soon knocked head on by the waves and felt the sting of salt water in my throat and nose. After recovering I was hit again, but Darcy was always nearby to drag me up if I needed it. I didn't know the technique of trying to push yourself up over the wave as it came toward you. And once learning of this, it was still rather difficult. Thus, I ended up holding onto Darcy for the rest of my time in the water. But it was still great to be out there, feeling the waves washing over us and losing any sense of where we were, if we had moved or if we were simply standing still.

La Habana
After our time in Varadero we were picked up and bussed to La Habana for the remainder of our trip. We spent about 3.5 days there and pretty much spent our time exploring places we had found online to check out or just simply wandering.

We tried several times to take a tour a tobacco factory, but they had wacky hours. We went to a few museums (The Museum of the Revolution, Habana Club Rum Factory, The Museum of Arts, and a small firefighter museum), walked around plazas, the Capitol, went to a nice market, and took a tour of the city where we saw a lot of government propaganda.

We even found a little alley way that was pretty much a tiny Chinatown. We decided to have dinner there one night and chose the restaurant that actually had Chinese people sitting there. It was pretty good, though I was a little put off by the egg in my hot and sour soup (we determined that Cubans love eggs, especially hard-boiled). And a special little bonus: our waiter was GORGEOUS! Darcy got a picture of him on the sly for me. It was a shame he didn't know I was his future love.

And a side note: while our waiter was definitely the winner in my book for Most-Gorgeous-Cuban, he was not an anomaly. Cubans are a particularly stunning group of people made up of every color: black, white, brown...swoon. :-)

One of my favorite parts that we went to was called the Callejon de Hamel. We had noted it as a place to go before leaving but had gotten the impression that it was the market. But during our tour, our guide stopped in front of this obscure little alley in the midst of some neighborhoods that we probably would not have explored otherwise.

When we went back and went in through the gate, a man was immediately at Darcy's side asking her if she spoke English. Our guards went up because we knew we would get hassled, but eventually we stopped to talk to him. He told us that the Callejon de Hamel existed to preserve AfroCuban culture and talked about some of the things they had and did there. Eventually he did try to sell us a CD which we respectfully declined until after we heard the performance that was going to start in just a few moments. The music was fantastic and lively but we left after a few songs, and upon our exit I met the self-proclaimed top rap and hip-hop artist in La Habana trying to sell me his CD as well. haha!

Reflexions
OK, so this is the hard part and probably why it has taken me so long to get this up. There was a lot to think about while we were there and once we came back.

On My Awareness
I noticed that my awareness of what there was to see and what was around me grew every day that we explored La Habana. Most of you know that I am quite an oblivious person, and as a whole, I kind-of like this feature in myself. I believe that it at times allows me to see things and people through less of a fearful lens, though this is not to say that I am without making any value judgements. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense.

Anyhow, our first afternoon in La Habana we just walked around some neighborhoods near our hotel and then had dinner in a little restaurant on the way back. I marvelled at the architecture of the buildings and the old cars; it seemed to be a city frozen in the 50s and 60s, the time just before the Revolution. As our time there went on, I started to notice that most of the buildings, excepting those in tourist areas or government buildings, were crumbling--especially those on the road against the ocean (which we were told was because when there is any kind of large storm they are hammered by the sea water)--and there was rubble and trash everywhere. They were still beautiful structures, but the realization that these were the homes of people, many without windows that I am sure had been flooded annually, was powerful. I also started to notice that the city had a certain mixed smell of mildew, sweat, and exhaust.

Additionally, I originally was simply fascinated by the beauty of people in general. One thing that I can say is that I hardly saw anyone with insufficient clothing (and I was supremely happy to find that people were a bit less modest in their clothing than Mexico and I didn't feel so scandalous showing my shoulders to keep cool in the heat). But then I noticed that I didn't see many small children or babies. I don't know that this is a significant observation, but it was something that struck me.

The basic point is that it was interesting to be in one spot for so long to be able to see the development of awareness as a tourist. I could see the same things one day and view them in a completely different way the next time.

On Life in Cuba
We didn't get to talk to a ton of Cubans, but we did talk to a few. One reason for not talking to a lot of local people is that it is illegal for them to talk to foreigners (one man was actually arrested for talking to our friends when they were there in February), unless they are serving in the tourist industry, which is the biggest industry in the country. It made me wonder what the non-tourist parts of Cuba were like.

Also, it is illegal for Cubans to leave Cuba for any reason at all (travel, study, etc.) unless they get special permission to leave for work. (Oh, and on speaking to Cubans, I realized how accustomed to the Mexican accent I had become. Their accent is a bit similar to people from Spain in that their "s" sound would be defined by English-speakers as lisp-y. It was quite a challenge to understand them.)

We asked a couple people about the medical care in Cuba. We got a bit of conflicting information, so I am not quite sure what to think yet. One of our taxi drivers told us that it was excellent, but a man that we met on the street told us that it was very substandard. He told us that the doctors that serve Cubans are the medical students, and that once they have graduated, they serve tourists or leave the country.

Along with medical care, education is free, even through university, and the government also gives the people food. We spoke with a Mexican woman just before leaving and she said that someone told her how much food they receive, it it is simply minuscule and not enough to live on.

When we were in the market, and other places too, we had people asking us for things such as soap or toothpaste instead of money. We thought this was rather odd, but found out later that the government does not supply this type of stuff to the people and that soap could take up about 40% of their monthly income (which is only about $10).

On the Cuban Response to Us
We weren't sure at first if we should tell people that we were American or try to pass for Canadian, but we tried it out. Every response that we got (for this is a very popular question) was positive and one man told us that he loved the US. The first man that we met when we got to our hotel in Varadero (he was actually the electrician but also did odd jobs and helped us with our luggage) said that we were the first Americans that he had spoken to and that he would remember us for the rest of his life. He was a very sweet man and spoke English really well even though he had never taken formal classes.

While our response among people on the street was good, I think I may have still been a bit hesitant to reveal that I was American to a government official or police officer.

On the Presence of the Government
Governmental presence was overwhelming in Cuba. At first I was fascinated by all of the propaganda and images of Ché all over the place (and seriously, it is everywhere), but then realized that it almost seemed to be a form of indoctrination rather than a show of patriotism.

In addition to quotes from Fidel and Ché, there was anti-US stuff prominently displayed as well. This included a large monument with 138 flags that basically said "In your face, US" and billboards about five Cubans that are currently imprisoned in Florida, though I don't really know the story yet...something about terrorism. There was one such billboard close to the hotel that actually had a government guard standing underneath it all day long.

At the beginning, I didn't notice much of a physical police or government official presence (part of the oblivion) except for around governmental buildings, in which case they had guards about every 20 feet or so. But then later I noticed people everywhere, often in clumps or 2 or 3 men on a corner. I cannot imagine how that must effect the Cubans on a daily basis.

On Socialism/Communism
I was so anxious to know what people thought of socialism and Fidel and what the deal was with Fidel's brother. We were hesitant to ask out-right though. But mostly I was excited to see a socialist country in action.

I am not anti-socialism...at least in theory. I like the idea of living in a society where I may sacrifice more personally to have more equality among all of the members of society. One of our taxi drivers was reading a book that was an interview with Fidel. Our driver said that he liked the ideas of socialism, but that it never seems to work out in practice. I am along these lines in my thinking. Having seen Cuba in person, it seems more like a dictatorship rather than a place that allows for more freedom because of an equal playing field.

Additionally, it seems to me that the government, while providing for the people on some level, is not giving the best they have to offer, but simply the leftovers from the tourists, of which I was one. The spirit of working toward the best for your community that one might assume would be integral to socialist ideals seems to be lost because of the second-class treatment that the people receive.

I was also curious about religion in Cuba and while we saw a few churches, there did not seem to be much religious expression (however I am used to Mexico now where several times a day you hear either church bells or fireworks set off by churches). I recalled while we were there that Karl Marx said that "religion is the opiate of the people" and that when the Soviet Union was communist, the churches were shut down and fenced off. As one of my professors explained it, Marx felt that religion created a sense of contentment in people that helped them to deal with the suffering in life instead of revolting against it. And since communism is based on revolution, he was decidedly against religion.

A bit of Marx: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo."

On Coming Back
This was the first trip that I have ever taken (aside from short weekend trips here in Mexico) where instead of going home to Modesto, I came home to Querétaro. Instead of coming home to my mom and dad, I came home to an empty apartment. It felt different and comfortable all at the same time to be anxious to get "home" and relax in a place that is still a combination of familiar and foreign.

Also, after having seen Cuba, it made me appreciate Mexico more in terms of the beauty and cleanliness, especially in Querétaro.

All of this (because it seems that I have ended on a bad note) is not to say that I didn't enjoy Cuba. I did immensely! The people were all very nice and there was incredible beauty, but an overwhelming sense of oppression of the people and complete lack of liberty for self-expression created a clearer image in my mind of the realities of socialism, and perhaps the human condition and our ability to "love your neighbor as yourself."

segundo semestre

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:25:00 +0000

ON MY TIME AT HOME
I know it has been a while since I have written anything. My roommate, Bridgid, and I still do not have the internet at our apartment, so my time online has been limited. We are still doing battle with Telmex (which pretty much has a monopoly on such services around here and whose owner recently became the richest man in the world) about getting the internet installed, which we ordered almost 4 weeks ago. It is getting very frustrating, but we are determined to have success this week…even if we have to bring our lawyer into it. Anyhow, enough about that.

First a few thoughts on my amazing vacation before going into my time back here in Querétaro. I was blessed with being able to spend five weeks at home without the worry of a job, school, or any such things over December and the first part of January. At first I thought I might try to find a job volunteering at a Spanish-language radio station or someplace, but I enjoyed indulging in time with my family and friends too much. Thank you to all that made those five weeks so incredible and reviving for this second semester in Mexico.

On being an auntie
I had the opportunity to see my little niece, Reagan, almost every single day that I was home. She is such an absolute doll, and I know that I am quite biased, but aren’t we all? For those of you know that know me well, you know that while I like babies, I never seem to connect well with them. That trend continued for a bit with Reagan too, but I think after a couple weeks a couple things happened: 1) she started to recognize me, and 2) I started to loosen up. I think that there is a special thing that happens when you know you are related (at least for me) to someone that you don’t even know yet. It is almost as if I felt a certain entitlement to a relationship and with that came a level of comfort I hadn’t yet experienced. Being an auntie is incredible, so I can’t even imagine what it may be like to be a mother.

ON COMING BACK TO QUERÉTARO
After these five glorious weeks back home, it was very hard to leave. I wasn’t at all excited to come back until I was actually in my apartment finally. In July, when I first came, it was easier to leave home because of the excitement of the unknown, but harder to stay in Querétaro because of that very same reason. In January, it was harder to leave home because I knew how hard it was to be away from family and friends, but easier to come back to Querétaro because I knew what the challenges were and that I had already overcome them for one semester and could do it again. Now that I am here, naturally I miss home, but I am so happy to be back here in my second hometown in Mexico.

I think it has been about four weeks or so that I have been back and it has already been great. The journey back to Querétaro was long, but I was proud that I did it all on my own. It was my first time traveling solo in Mexico.

On Spanish and my classes
One interesting thing upon returning to Mexico was that Spanish, at least in the beginning, seemed so much clearer. Suddenly I could understand what was being said to me (not perfectly, but better). It was magical. It was as if I needed the five week break to soak it all in, let the frustration melt away, and come back a much more relaxed version of myself.

Unfortunately, this only lasted about a week. Then it was back the mental block of realizing just how much farther I have yet to go.

Over the holidays I had studied some of the upcoming themes that I would be studying in my next grammar class (which would be Intermediate 1) in the hopes that I would be able to skip a level of Spanish upon my return. While still in California I was still psyched about advancing, but in my first few days of classes the fear set in that I may not be able to do it. I had an appointment for Tuesday afternoon to take a placement exam and see if my skill level was up to par. I also needed to have a conversation with one of the professors and academic counselors here. In the meantime, I asked the advice of my professor from last semester. He was supportive, but seemed a bit hesitant to tell me to go for it.

I took the exam and it placed me in Advanced 1, which would be skipping two levels…but I was clearly not going to do that. But it did give me a little boost. I spoke with Vanessa, and she too was encouraging but told me to think about pretty much everything I had already been agonizing over for 2 days. The next day I spoke with my professor at the time and she told me, “Go for it.” That’s all I needed to hear. I made it to the last day of Intermediate 2 of the first week and so far so good. I am still rather intimidated in the class, but each day it gets better.

My other classes consist of a Spanish communication skills class, Spanish composition, and an intro to literature class in Spanish. I like them all, except I am at the same time intimidated and bored in my literature class. I’m hoping that at least my boredom will pass once we are done studying poetry.

PRIMER VIAJE
Last weekend we had an extra day because Monday was a holiday (I’m not sure what it was all about, but I had a free day so I was happy). We decided to take advantage of the time and take a trip to the state of Michoacan. Our group consisted of Bridgid, the two Darcys, and I. We rented a car and headed out Friday night. Our goal was to make it to a butterfly sanctuary in the southern part of the state.

Each year in October and November, millions upon millions of monarch butterflies fly down from Canada and the US and stop in Michoacan for the winter. There are several sanctuaries dedicated to protecting them until they leave for their journey back north in March.

We left around 10:30 at night because Bridgid’s guide book said it would take about 10 hours to drive there and we knew we would get lost. And indeed we got lost in every city that we went through. However, we still got there in less than 6 hours. We didn’t think it would be a problem finding a hotel once we go there, but we were wrong. Angangueo is a small town that thrives off the tourism from the butterflies. Everyone was asleep so after searching for a while, we decided to find a place to park and just sleep in the car. Fortunately we had brought blankets and pillows. We “slept” for about 3 hours and woke up in a chilly car with fogged-up windows.

After trying a couple of places that were either booked or inaccessible, we found a small little hotel with a charming owner. She loved to talk to us, check in on us, and when we didn’t have power in the morning and asked her for a candle, she came in a told us a little parable about a father that asked his two sons to fill a room with only 10 centavos. The first son said it was impossible and gave up, but the second son thought for a while and then went and bought some candles and placed them up high in the room so as to fill it completely with light. She was a total diva who wore a fur hat and had a picture of herself when younger hanging up in the room we rented. If only we had gotten a picture of her!

We encountered a few guys to guide us to the sanctuary later that morning. It was about a half hour bumpy drive up into the mountains, in which Bridgid and Darcy had to ride in the back of the truck. Before going up to the butterflies we had something to eat and I had the best quesadillas I had ever had, made with crunchy blue tortillas and Oaxaca cheese (I believe).

Then we were on our way. It quickly became clear that I wouldn’t be able to take my wheelchair in, so a couple of the girls had someone bring a horse down for me. A few people helped me on and we started up the first hill. I was terrified and felt very unsteady. The man guiding me stopped and waited for the girls. While we waited he told me that it was going to get worse and that it is very dangerous to go down the hills on a horse. Therefore, the girls brought my chair to me because I couldn’t even make it down that hill. I was so thankful to get off that horse, but very disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to see the butterflies.

The girls went on ahead without me and came back in about an hour and a half I think. In the meantime I sat in a small field and watched some children chase the butterflies that were there, spoke with a man that had worked there for decades, watched as quite a few butterflies came to drink from the little nearby stream, and practically fell asleep sitting up.

Initially the girls were going to downplay how amazing the butterflies were, but eventually told me that it was one of the most incredible things they had ever seen. They hiked quite a way and finally came to a small grove of about 4 or 5 trees where all the butterflies resided. They were piled on the trees, weighing down the branches with their masses, and when the sun hit them, they fluttered about until a cloud covered the sun again. They said that it looked like the grove was golden.

We had a relaxed night on the town after resting and cleaning up in the hotel and were on the road again by about 9am the next morning. We headed for the northern part of the state to a place called Los Azufres, a beautiful area with hundreds of natural hot springs sprinkled throughout. We found a sweet little place to stay that reminded us of the camp from Dirty Dancing, with little buildings for lodging, a restaurant on site, and a small farm. On our way there we had found a place with a mud pit, a natural hot pool, and natural steam rooms. Thus, we all changed into our bathing suits and headed out again. The girls went and rubbed mud all over them while I watched and then went to soak in the hot pool…again while I watched. It all smelled of sulfur. Then one of the Darcys and I went and tried out the ladies steam room. We tried it at first for about 2 minutes and then went in for probably another 7 or 8 minutes. It was quite an interesting feeling being in this dark, naturally hot cave and then emerging into a nice cool cave, only separated by a tarp. It was rather refreshing.

After we had had our fill of the sulfur amenities we went to a nearby lake, which we determined we weren’t permitted to swim in, and soaked in the built-in pools right next to the lake. Afterward we cleaned up and found what appeared to be a brand new restaurant where I had some very yummy fish, served with head, fins, and all.

That was pretty much our trip. We had a restful morning before heading home and made it back by early afternoon to Querétaro. For more pictures, go here.

Anyhow, I think this has been long enough! I love and miss you all and hope you are all well!

my bed is amazing

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:37:00 +0000

I'M HOME!!! I am soooo happy to be back in good ol' Modesto, California surrounded by my family and friends, especially as I sit here at nearly 2pm in my PJs on our nice, soft couch listening to my favorite Christmas album of all time.

THINGS I'VE DONE SINCE BEING HOME

Hugged my mom.
Hugged my dad.
Hugged my sister.
Hugged and held and kissed my little niece, Reagan...every day.
Eaten at In-N-Out.
Eaten at Taco Bell.
Realized just how incredible my pillow-top mattress and down-comforter are.
Fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV, much to the annoyance of my mom, I am sure.
DRIVEN MY CAR! I missed Boris mucho.
Hung out with my high school girls from ACCESS.
Gone to a wonderful Christmas production at church with one of my best friends.
Eaten fabulous home-cooked food by my mom.
Baked some pumpkin spice bread (not from scratch).
Flushed toilet paper.
Drunk water straight from the tap.
Seen my breath outside.

A FEW MINOR REFLECTIONS ON COMING HOME

While in Mexico I have realized just how American I am, and that it's OK. That doesn't make me some sort of hypocritical world-dominator, but simply someone who calls the US her home.
I am not a wanderer. I have always known that I am a homebody, but thought that perhaps I could be the type to be a gypsy always finding new and incredible experiences where ever I might be. I am sure that I could do that, especially if God was calling me elsewhere, but my nature is that of someone who wants to settle down and always be nearby my family. And perhaps this sentiment is heightened by the fact that I have come home to Christmas after being away for more than 4 months...I guess we'll see again when I come back in May after my second semester.

Yeah...haven't come up with anything too profound in the almost week that I have been home...guess I've just been basking in being here and soaking up everything. Give me more time and maybe I will have more for ya'll. In the meantime, for those that I have seen, it is wonderful to see you again. For those I haven't, I hope to see you soon!!!

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

muchas cosas!

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:37:00 +0000

Yes, yes, it has been a while again. Sorry! But the good news is...I WILL BE HOME IN TWO WEEKS!!! I'm super stoked!

THE DAY OF THE DEAD
So the last time I posed anything it was just before el día de muertos. Many people traveled to Pátzcuaro in Michoacan. Apparently they have an island where for this holiday it is lit up only by candles and is very beautiful. Unfortunately, I think most of our students didn't plan very well for their trip and arrived in the town too late to get to the island.

The Day of the Dead is held on November 1 and 2; the first day to remember children that have died, and the second for everyone else. I've decided that I love this holiday. It was a bit difficult to participate in the holiday since I am not a part of a family here in Mexico (unless you count the two shots of tequila I had in May that made me Rebekah Turnbaugh-Rodriguez...jejeje), but just the idea behind it is beautiful. One could assume that with a name like "Day of the Dead" that it would be very mournful and dreary, but I did not observe that to be true. Rather it is a time to remember those that have passed and spend time as a family. According to the ancient religions, this was a day when the spirits of the dead returned to earth. And yet, you see images of the Virgin Mary during this time as well so it seems to be a mixture of both ancient religions and Catholicism...as I am learning have not been so very separate historically in Mexico.

This day also seems to acknowledge death as much as a part of life as the part when we are alive here on this earth. But there is also an element of fun in it too. For instance, my Spanish professor told us that people write letters or poems to their friends predicting how they will die as a joke and they are always funny. I had ambitions to do that for my Spanish class but they quickly went away. Additionally, there are these skeletal characters called calaveras that are all over the place. They were originally created by an artist named José Guadalupe Posada, his most famous being Catrina. His original intent was to show that the wealthy, in spite of all their pomp and circumstance, are just as vulnerable to death as the rest of us, but there is also an element of whimsy to them I think.

Anyhow, I decided to stay local for the celebrations. John and I headed to a cemetery in La Cañanda, a neighboring town. One of our professors grew up there and recommended that we visit. Families on this day go to the grave sites of their loved ones and decorate them and then spend the day talking about their family members and remembering them. I was told that some people will sleep there too. As John and I looked around (trying not to stand out too much as we took our photos, which I believe we probably failed at) we did not observe anyone that was sad or crying. Albeit, some people looked pretty bored since I imagine that they had been there all day, but other than that people we enjoying themselves.

After a few hours at the cemetery we headed to el centro to see the festivities there. We asked to be dropped at the plaza where the huge altar was...and goodness it was huge! It was made for two men, one of whom was Epigmenio Gonzalez (which is also the street that the Tec is on) but there were too many people around for me to be able to sit with my dictionary and read the sign about them.

Anyhow, families also make altars to their loved ones in their homes. I didn't see any until we went to a winery that Sunday (more on that later) and then later at a friend's host family's house, excepting the one in el centro. Bridgid and Eric joked about building one in front of Doozo Sushi, our favorite sushi place down the street from the Tec that was mysteriously closed for a long while (which I am happy to report will be re-opening in December).

El centro was very festive with street vendors galore! I had my first elote (finally!), well, actually it was elote in a cup which I can't ever remember the name for that. For those of you who don't know what this incredible food is, it is corn-on-the-cob smothered in mayo, cheese, chile powder, and lime. Mmmm! We spent the rest of the evening just wandering around and looking at everything, running into various clumps of internationals, and just enjoying ourselves.

I MISS WINE
One thing that I really miss here is wine, 1) because I can't have alcohol here in the Res; and, 2) wine is not as popular here as tequila and beer. But my Spanish professor, being the wonderfully-cultured man that he is, told us about a wine and music (jazz and blues) festival that was going on that weekend at a nearby winery. Yay! Therefore we headed out that Sunday to a place that we weren't quite sure where it was. But we (Bri, Bridgid, Lily, Eric, and I) made it to a little town called Ezequiel Montes after about a 40 minute bus ride.

The winery is called Freixinet and was so very fabulous. We paid a 50 peso entry fee (less than $5) and received a wine glass and ticket for a free glass of wine. Thus, armed with our wine we went in. There was music, an art gallery, and all kinds of yummies to buy. After browsing the art, which mostly consisted of copies of famous pieces, we scouted out a table (which ended up being quite a prime location for amusement, or at least interesting occurrences) and then two or three at a time we went to get food for the group. It was quite scrumptious and we enjoyed our afternoon of decadence very much.

At one point I noticed a woman precisely in my line of sight who had had quite a lot of wine I presume throwing up a bit, wrapped in the arms of her husband who was not taking her to the bathroom. Yuk. Lily, in an effort to not watch this, stood up and faced me. After only a few minutes the woman behind me, who wasn't quite as far gone as the woman in front of me, fell flat on her back in her chair. Lily made no effort to restrain her laughter and I turned around only to see her being helped up by her husband. Later that woman and her husband came over to talk to us and they were really cool. Here is a picture of our group with our new friends. :-)

We headed back that evening on a very hot and crowded bus. Here is one final picture of Eric trying to look scary. It's too cute not to share.

THE END IS NEAR
The end of the semester is coming quickly. We are taking finals now actually and I just have one more on Tuesday: Spanish grammar.

Last week we had a nice graduation ceremony for the international students where we received diplomas and such. I also received an award for the most improved in Spanish among the group (it helps if you start the bottom I think ;-). I was very surprised and my professor was very proud.

Last week was also the final week of classes. On our last day of Spanish we all went to Sushi Itto to "review." We did some of that, but mostly just hung out. It was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of our class, except Soheil, who wasn't able to come. Around the table, starting on the left, is Maude from Canada, Nivardo (our professor), Sarah from CA, Jamie from Australia, me, Bridgid from CA, Gabrielle from Washington, John from CA, and Angela from CA. I'm quite sad that class is over, but fortunately we will have Nivardo as our professor for at least one class next semester.

THANKSGIVING--INTERNATIONAL STYLE
Since there are so many Americans here who would be missing Thanksgiving at home, I decided to organize a Thanksgiving potluck here that we could share with out international friends too. It ended up stressing me out a lot, buuuuut was a great night! We probably had nearly 40 people there representing places all over the world. Let's see, we had people from the US, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Australia, France, England, Italy, and Ireland. The food was good and plentiful and the company superb.

We got a turkey cooked from Soriana since none of the students here either had access to an oven or experience doing such things. We also realized that no one knew how to carve a turkey either. Sarah, one of our vegetarians (who oddly enough eats chicken and turkey...don't ask me how that works), started out carving the turkey for us. Then Patrik from Germany took over and did a fine job and also stood there serving everyone. When I got there he asked me if I wanted something from "the foot or some of this white meat." jeje

It was so much fun explaining our traditions and food to everyone who had never had Thanksgiving before. And they were really excited to participate! I sat next to Pablo from Spain and told him that the cranberry sauce was for the turkey and that the whipped cream was for the pumpkin pie. Very cute.

The International Programs office was very nice in helping me set all this up and donated a bunch of water and soda for us. We held it on this terrace that is on the third floor of the library which ended up being a beautiful setting because the campus is decorated (and has been for a couple weeks) for Christmas.

Veronica Martinez, one of the program coordinators and a professor here, came for a bit and loved it! She was talking with Bri about how she would like to make it a campus-wide event next year and a time that the American students can share some of their culture with the rest of the students telling all about the food and such. She also said maybe it could be an all-English night to give the international students a break and give the Mexican students a chance to practice their English (because everyone here is learning it). That would be so cool if I was a catalyst for a new tradition here at the Tec! jaja!

More photos from Thanksgiving.

Well, that's about it from this part of the world. I shall be returning soon to your part and look forward to seeing everyone!!!

¡tope!

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:35:00 +0000

RANDOM
OK, first some random updates before I get to the really good stuff. Please also be advised that my writing ability seems to be greatly impaired this evening, so be prepared for some atrocious stuff. I hope to catch it all before publishing, but I make no promises. This is also not going to be in consecutive order but rather in the order of the randomness in my head. My apologies in advance.

RANDOM EVENT: Yesterday a few of the guys and I decided to go to Chili's at one of the malls here because it sounded good. I'm sorry...I know I am in Mexico and shouldn't be going to Chili's, but it's the best American food in town and they have good margaritas too. :-) Anyhow, we had to take the elevator to leave.

This is a crazy elevator. One time Bridgid and I were in it and we couldn't find our floor. The buttons include some with numbers and some with letters, like the confusing GVC elevator. A guy got in and asked us if we were taking a trip in the elevator and when we said yes he told us that there were better things to see outside. Smart alec.

So we notice that the elevator has stopped, but the doors were not opening so I pushed the button to open them. This is what we saw. Not exactly where we were hoping to stop. We looked around the elevator puzzled as to what to do since there was no emergency phone. After Eric, joyfully yet fruitlessly, laid on the alarm for a few minutes, Paco insisted that no one could hear us. I decided it was time to call one of our friends to see if they could figure something out. That's when one of them remembered that they had seen Lily just before we got in the elevator. I called her to see if she could find help and we were eventually lowered to the lower level of the parking garage below the mall. We weren't about to go back in the elevator or try to tackle several flight of stairs so we took the big ramps that the cars take. In Mexico, interacting with cars is always a risk, but we made it out safely. :-)

This occurrence did not produce the romantic rescue that I had always imagined, including firemen or Keanu Reeves dropping from the ceiling to pull me out. It was, however, quite an entertaining diversion.

LA NOCHE DE BAILE: There are many extracurricular activities here at the Tec, with dancing being quite popular among the international students. A few weeks back all of the dance classes had a performance at one of the clubs in town. It didn't start until 11pm (strange) however, so I had time to go see my friend Jorge perform folklorico dancing at another performance on campus. Sorry for the dark photo. Jorge is the guy on the left-hand side of the picture, though it's just his back anyhow. He is one of my only Mexican friends here and a complete doll.

Afterwards I got ready to head out to a club for the first time in my life. When we got there the place was packed to the max and I didn't think I was going to be able to see any of it, but my friend Fanny that lives here in the Res came and said she found a spot for me, found two guys to help me up some stairs, and then proceeds to lead me to the stage. Ack! It gave me a great view of the crowd and the dancers, but EVERYBODY could see me! The dancing was great and it was so much fun to see all of my friends dancing! Here is a photo of Susie (on the right) and Jaylene (on the left) dancing salsa. I also couldn't resist snapping a shot of Charles' roommate, Daniel (in the middle). hehe

OAXACA
Last weekend a few of us girls took a road trip to Oaxaca, which is in the south of Mexico. It was just the type of spontaneous trip that I imagined taking while studying abroad! Bridgid asked me Thursday if I wanted to go with them and we left Querétaro that night at about 10pm. We rented a car, but with four girls and our gear, it was quite packed. The group consisted of Marthese, Bridgid, Lily, and myself.

The title of this post comes from driving during this trip. Tope is what is on road signs warning of a coming speed bump. Unfortunately, we missed a couple of these signs when driving and our heads paid for it. haha

Goodness, I don't even know where to begin with this trip. We weren't sure if we were going to drive straight to Oaxaca (which is about a 12 hour drive) or stop in Puebla to sleep a bit. After getting rather misdirected in Mexico City because of construction and finally getting to Puebla at about 2am or so, we decided it was best to stop. Let me just say this, it was agreed upon (and reconfirmed by Jorge) that Puebla is a miserable little town as far as we were concerned. We drove around until nearly 3:30am trying to find one of a couple hostels to stay at and never could find them. The streets were impossible to find, with the numbers all out of order (for example Calle 3 was followed by Calle 8, which was followed by Calle 5 and so on). Eventually we came across a motel that looked inexpensive and that offered personal garages. We drove in and spoke to the attendant who informed us that they only rent out their rooms for 4 hours at a time (uh...yeah), but that he would let us stay until 10am. We decided to take him up on it and got 2 rooms. Let's just say that, while the rooms were very clean and nice, there were various details that confirmed the purpose of a room that is only rented in 4 hour increments.

We decided to try and leave by about 9am and ended up leaving around 9:30 (hey, we're in Mexico...that's close enough). We found a place to have breakfast and I discovered the best thing about Puebla, what I affectionately call "pot o' queso." Mmmm, it was delish! Puebla also had a pretty impressive volcano that we saw on our way out (which also took about an hour).

Once we navigated our way out of (I would really love to insert a Spanish swear word here because the alliteration is brilliant, but I shall refrain) Puebla we were enthusiastically on our way to Oaxaca. Mexico has an interesting highway system. You have your choice of either a longer, but free, highway or a more efficient highway with tolls. Our preference was the toll road so that we could take advantage of our time in Oaxaca, but somewhere along the way we must have taken the free one. It ended up being a beautiful drive (which I will only link to a photo or two here and you can look at others at your leisure).

We finally arrived in Oaxaca at around 4:30 or 5pm and went straight to a vegetarian restaurant that Marthese had in her guidebook. It was a great little place that had this posh spa attached to it where Lily got a massage. While there, Lily saw a poster for Lila Downs, who my Spanish professor had just introduced to us in class that week. She was in town that weekend doing concerts on Saturday and Sunday so we decided to go if we could manage it.

After our dinner we set out on another quest for yet more elusive hostels. Our problem this time was not finding the streets, but finding a place that offered parking or that still existed. We were hoping to find a place in el centro but gave up after about another hour and a half long hunt and turned into the driveway of a hotel we saw just to check it out. They offered us a deal that ended up working out to about $15/person per night which we couldn't pass up.

The next morning we got up in time to be ready for a tour bus that we had set up the night before that took us to some pyramid ruins, similar to Teotihuacan but smaller and more beautiful. We had an awesome guide, Raul, who made sure that I could see as much as possible. The site was up in the hills and provided some incredible views of Oaxaca. Here is a shot of our little group that Raul was nice enough to take (nice framing I might add).

After the ruins we made our way to el centro to see what we could find (which we hoped would include food and tickets to the concert that night). Oaxaca is a state that has a lot of political turmoil, which produces all kinds of fascinating tagging. Here are just a few of them: one calling for the assassination of the Governor one calling for justice for those that have died for the cause of an activist group called APPO one calling for liberty for political prisoners (and also including the symbol for anarchy).

We ended up finding a yummy restaurant to eat at, where I got mole, a specialty of Oaxaca. Afterward, we tried for the concert tickets again and Marthese and Lily ended up having to go get them while Bridgid and I got to explore el centro a bit. We saw preparations for el día de los muertos (Day of the Dead). I'm not sure what these sand creations are called, but they were pretty rockin'. Perhaps I will find out tomorrow (or I suppose later today considering the time).

Bridgid and I also found a cool little mezcal (like tequila but made from a different type of agave plant) shop where we sampled many different kinds of mezcal, roasted and salted grasshoppers, some sort of gusano (worm) and chile powder, and chocolate (for which Oaxaca is also famous). We actually had a lot of fun there talking with the shop keepers and trying new things.

Later that evening we were off to the Lila Downs concert!!! It was FANTASTIC! Lila Downs is an interesting person. I believe that one parent is Mexican and the other American. Her music is a nice combination of at times political and other times just for fun. Her performance was whimsical, with her dancing around the stage and playing with her long, thick braids adorned with yarn, passionate, and mournful. Her voice is amazing and she has an incredible range. The concert was a benefit for a local organization for indigenous women.

The next morning we got up early (a bit earlier than we had planned considering that we forgot to set our clocks back the night before) to go to a market for breakfast and have Marthese back to the hotel in time to meet her tour bus she was taking that day. Since we got up at about 5:30, thinking it was 6:30, we got to the market as people were still setting up. I think this is how we should all get to have breakfast everyday. The market had anything you could want: fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh breads and pastries, juice made right before your eyes, flowers, tamales, and tons of other non-food items. I settled on a tamale (why not?) and churros...Mmmmm! More great tagging at the market: Very rich the food of Oaxaca.

We got Marthese back to the hotel in plenty of time. She spent the day exploring Oaxaca more and has been traveling throughout the state of Chiapas all week by herself. Lily, Bridgid, and I headed on our way back. We arrived in Querétaro around 9am that night, after, of course, getting rather confused in Mexico City once again.

OK, whew, that's it for now but I am sure there will be more after this weekend since tomorrow is the big day for el día de los muertos. John and I are headed to a cemetery nearby and then probably to el centro for the evening. And only 2 more weeks of classes! Actually, I'm pretty sad about that, but the time is drawing near when I will be back in the States!

Love and miss you all!

it's been a while...

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:02:00 +0000

I know, I know...it's been a while. For some reason I just haven't been in the mood. I have two theories for why this may be the case. 1) I really haven't been doing anything incredibly remarkable of which to tell you. 2) The novelty of the smallest things is beginning to wear off and it is starting to feel like life as normal around here. As I drive around in taxis I no longer feel like I am in a foreign country (though the excitement and challenge of crossing the street still brings this feeling on), but rather a place that has become home. It makes me happy when coming back to the Tec I can tell where we are and which streets we need to turn on. Of course this is still a very minimally developed skill since I am, as I have always been, a rather oblivious passenger. Neither of these reasons is to say that I have become bored or complacent here, but that I am settling into life here in Mexico. In spite of all of this, I do have quite a few updates...so bear with me.

THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT STILL GET ME
Gringas

A few weeks back, Bridgid introduced Susie, Fani, and I to a place that sells killer gringas by her house. They also have amazing pineapple and jalepeño salsa. Mmmmm! I've been back several times since then.

A Fun Day
Just before el Día de la Independencia (I'll get to that soon), most of us went down to the immigration office to get fingerprinted for our student visas--which I just found out today that they lost my photos so I have to go get more tomorrow--and we took over the place, each leaving with purple thumbs. That certainly wasn't the highlight of the day (you try getting a bunch of international students to get to a government office before 9am on Friday :-). Afterward we walked toward el centro in search of a place to have breakfast. We came across this super hip place that Mel had been to before called Biznaga (I believe). They have this really great loft that was perfect for the eight of us (Mel and Eric tag-teamed getting me up there). As you can see from the photos, there is writing on pretty much ever inch of the walls, tables, and the floor we were sitting on. You could be entertained for house reading quotes from Shakespeare, who loved who, or other random thoughts from past patrons. They also had great original artwork on the walls in addition to a reggae feel throughout, with photos of Bob Marley and our waitor, Hector, with dreadlocks.

After omelettes at Biznaga (oh, I forgot to tell you about their coffee, which is the only coffee I will drink without a ton of sugar and chocolate because it has this amazing cinnamon flavor) we continued on our way to el centro where they were having a dance festival. It was to go on all weekend. Several streets were blocked off and filled with native dancers representing different tribes from the area and vendors. It was incredible to be there, feeling the pounding of the drums resonating in your chest and seeing people, young and old, dancing together.

¡VIVA MÉXICO!
My celebrations for el Día de la Independencia were pretty mild, but good. Rebekah and I went with Darcy and Chevo to a restaurant to celebrate on the night of the 15th. I was tempted to go to el centro as many of the other students did but knew that it would be absolutely insane and without my dancing bodyguards, I would have been trampled (if you don't know the story of the dancing bodyguards and want to know, ask me when I am home for the holidays). After seeing photos and hearing stories I has happy--and sad--that I hadn't gone.

The restaurant was nice and decorated with dozens of old-fashioned radios. There were live musical performances all night, and Rebekah and I made it glaringly clear that we didn't speak Spanish very well when we lit up for the first time and started singing along to "I Will Survive." :-) At 11pm they stopped the performances and turned up the volume on all of the TVs so we could watch the grito. By this time the restaurant had handed out horns to a couple people at each table so the room was full of noise and excitement. We watched the grito from Mexico City with President Calderón. When he yelled, "¡Viva México! ¡Viva Hidalgo! ..." the crowd echoed back with, "¡Viva!" Afterward everyone sang what I imagine was the national anthem and blew the horns. It was a lot of fun watching a yelling "¡Viva!" along with everyone. :-)

GUANAJUATO
OK, so Guanajuato is my new favorite city in Mexico. A group of us went on Saturday and it is an incredibly beautiful and interesting place! We left early in the morning and got there before noon (it is about a 3-hour bus trip). When we were trying to arrange ourselves after arriving a man started to pitch a tour of the city to us. At first we weren't very interested, but then realized that it was only 100 pesos for 4 hours and that we would probably each spend more than that on taxis if we tried it alone. He also took us to the hotel that some were staying at first so they could drop off their luggage.

Our 100 pesos each was well spent. Our guide was super friendly and loved telling us about the city. He is also familiar with the San Joaquin Valley as his daughter was born in Madera (imagine finding a tour guide who knows where Modesto is in the center of Mexico!). He first took us to an old mine and we went for a tour inside. I sat on a chair thing they had that went along the tracks and was pushed as we moved along. It was fairly interesting, but not the greatest part of the day. I did get the sport a very fashionable hard hat however.

After the mine we went to a couple of shops, one where we could buy all kinds of items made out of the quartz from the local mines and then to a candy shop that I could smell all the way in the first shop which was across the street. The candy shop was charming and had lovely candies from floor to ceiling, most of which you could sample. Here is a photo of the group that went along with our tour guide, Felipe Luna.

After our little shopping excursion we went to the first of a couple museums. I didn't tour through this one because it was not very accessible, but they had lovely patios and gardens that I could poke through. I'm not exactly sure what the museum was about but I don't think it as very cheery because it included underground torture chambers.

Next we went to another happy museum of mummies. This museum was actually really fascinating, but rather gross and creepy at the same time. I wasn't able to take any photos, but apparently someone has and posted them on Flickr, so check them out if you are strong of stomach: Museo de las Momias. The mummies of Guanajuato aren't really "mummies" like you would find in Egypt or elsewhere, but are rather conserved bodies as our guide was telling us. The bodies found here are a product of a natural phenomenon that seems to be specific to Guanajuato. They are not embalmed or wrapped, but naturally occur. There are two theories about why this happens. The first is that it is because the ground is rich in minerals that preserve bodies. However, you find similar areas in Mexico where this does not happen. Another theory is that it is the water that people drink there that almost starts to preserve their bodies while they are still alive.

However this happens, the mummies were incredible. Most of them still had hair on their heads (and, ahem, elsewhere) and their skin was in such a preserved state that you could still see the texture. There were several baby mummies there as well, some with their tiny hands folded together and such perfect little toes. One woman that was found was pregnant, and so they have the smallest mummy on earth there: her unborn child.

There was another "museum" attached to the Museo de las Momias that we did quickly afterward. I put museum in quotations because it was half museum and half haunted house, dark, dank, with melodramatic music playing as you walked through this narrow hallway littered with skeletons and mummies along the walls or moving figures about as high-tech as It's a Small World at Disneyland, but of figures like the grim reaper or a man whose head had just been chopped off by a guillotine. Unfortunately, it was too contrived to be taken seriously as a museum, but not creepy enough to be a haunted house.

After our dose of death our guide took us for a drive through the underground roads. There are 26 streets that are in tunnels underground with el centro above. It was incredible, and were I to drive in there I certainly would get lost for all eternity. I love tunnels, however, so it was just fun driving through them. I made several failed attempts at taking photos so I guess you will just have to come visit me to see them for yourselves.

Guanajuato is a very hilly city, much like San Francisco with beautiful and colorful houses built up along the hillsides, so before the end of our tour, Felipe took us up to take in the view. Photos can't really capture the beauty of this city, but nonetheless, I tried. I didn't want to stop taking photos it was all so incredible.

Felipe left us at this point and we soaked in the view before heading down to seek out food. There is a large festival going on during the whole month so el centro was bustling. Vendors and street entertainers were all over the place. It felt to me as I imagine (never having been there) Europe to be with beautiful, tall buildings on either side of narrow avenues. Everywhere you look is another thing to catch your eye. Here is one shot of the street we made it down.

Bri and I both had homework we had to take care of the next day, so we headed back that evening. It was a fantastic day though! For a few more pictures that I didn't post, check out my Facebook album.

IN OTHER NEWS

We are going on a trip to the state of Michoacan this Saturday, so I am sure there will be more stories and photos to post.
We had our second round of parcials last week. I got a 98% on my Spanish grammar exam!!! Huge improvement over my 80% last time.

Hope you are all having a great week!

introductions

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 03:39:00 +0000

After a fun day with the climbing team soaring through the air from the roof of the gym to a platform a distance off, I am in for a restful evening.

I've been, for some time now, wanting to give you all an introduction to the people I have been meeting here. Below are just a handful of the awesome people that I am getting to know!

JAMIE is the first person I met here in Querétaro while my parents were still here staying in Casa Cayala. He is from Australia and is in most of my classes. A fellow Sociology major (with an additional International Business major), he is quite an interesting guy. He has never taken a single Spanish course before and is doing very well--better than I am I would venture to say. Jamie is quite endearing to me and just goes out and does what he wants to, whether he succeeds or not, at least he has tried. He is everything honest and to the point, but very encouraging at the same time.

He lives in an apartment with Francois (from France) and Adrian (from Ireland). Oh, and Pedro, he may be your hero. I think he has washed his hair twice since being here. haha! He doesn't like how poofy it gets.

MARTHESE is the second person I met, also while my parents were still here. Also from Australia, Marthese used to live in the "Res" with me but didn't care for all the rules so she found a great house that I am hoping I might be able to move into next semester.

Marthese has become a confidant of sorts here. You ought to hear this girl talk about food, almost as if it were a piece of artwork. She is a very passionate person, specifically about women's rights and generally about everything. She has already connected with a human rights organization here to connect them with her human rights work back home. This girl is going to change the world, and if not the entire thing, at least a piece (though with her travel plans after the semester, the whole world may be possible).

Since I am on the Australians, this is CHARLES. Charles and Marthese go to the same university in Sydney, but hadn't met before coming here. Once finished with the semester here, Charles will have his degree in English Literature and will start med school when he returns to Australia.

Charles is a total hipster and a gentleman, with excellent taste in music and film (and when I say excellent I naturally mean similar to mine) so he has become my pop culture friend here.

He has also been an enabler and enricher of my experience here in a sense. Helping me up the pyramid in Teotihuacan and assisting me when we went to Mexico City for the Dolores O'Riordan concert, I am so thankful for his willingness to make sure I have the opportunity to participate in things here.

This is PABLO, my RA. I haven't seen him much recently, but got to spend a little bit of time with him today with the Climbing Team. Pablo is studying Agricultural Engineering, or something to that effect. His family has a ranch somewhere around Mexico City, I believe. Pablo is very smiley and sweet. And after watching him today, I thought to myself, "No wonder the kid broke his ankle!" I swear he was going to strangle himself on the cords over the pool during one of their activities.

This is LUIS, my Hermano Mayor (Big Brother) through the AMI program on campus. His girlfriend moved here from Germany about a week after I got here. I haven't seen much of Luis recently either. He seems like a cool guy though. He is sarcastic and makes fun of us students who are trying to learn Spanish, getting impatient when we try to construct sentences that take minutes to spit out. That's OK, he makes up funny words in English (like "moisty" instead of "humid") so we were poking fun at him for that.

SUSIE lives in the Res with me and is a complete doll. She is from Montreal, Canada. She is studying business, and since she is fluent in Spanish (her mother is Mexican and so she learned at a young age), is taking all of her courses here with the Mexican students. Susie is the perfect balance between sweetness, fun, and being down-to-earth and relatable. She has also been helping me a lot both with Spanish and with doing my laundry since I can't access the laundry room here. It's good to have a friend so close!

RACHEL is a surprise. She is from Missouri and wants to be a Spanish teacher. In the first week that we were here, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do it and I worked to convince her to stay and now she has completely embraced her time here, fearing that it is going too quickly. She is quirky and indecisive in a completely lovable way, very enthusiastic about hearing everyone's opinions and thoughts, and a good listener. I am also turning her into a Cranberries fan. :-)

This is REBEKAH (please note the spelling). She is from Southern California. Kim, this is your twin. She describes herself as an "alpha female" who at times clashes with her host mom over being able to toast her own bread. She and I get along well, both being a bit more reserved, especially when it comes to the party scene (though I call her a lush because she can really down the wimpy fruity wine...hehe).

She got engaged just before coming here so she is missing her fiance very much.

JOHN is also from Southern California and goes to CSU Channel Islands with Rebekah. He is 50 years old and a cool guy. He recently went back to school to become a teacher. He has a daughter in her mid-20s who is also a teacher. I love hearing him talk about his daughter, always with great affection and admiration.

When he first went back to school he lived in the dorms with all the young guys. The administrators asked him if he knew what he was getting into. He said "of course!" and was once selected as resident of the month (or something like that) by the guys in the dorms.

ELKE is from Germany. She is always up for going out and doing something fun, but me being the kill-joy that I am only take her up on it about half the time. She is at the same time spontaneous and a planner, ready to try something new if the opportunity presents itself, but still attentive to her studies. After the semester is over she will likely be doing an internship in France for school. Lucky Europeans, get to travel all over and generally know at least three languages (in Elke's case, four)!

BRIGID goes to CSU San Francisco and is from Berkeley (living the dream, eh, Desiree?). She and I have all of our classes together. I've found in her a bit of a kindred spirit, with a love of hanging out and having chill nights. Brigid is studying literature but has a dream of one day owning an international bakery.

She lives just down the street in a house she shares with Lily from CSU Monterey Bay. They always have a new drama to tell about their house from not being able to get their gas refilled, broken plumbing, or leaky roof. They also just got a little wiener dog puppy and named her Mija.

This is ADRIAN. He is from Ireland and is super friendly and a completely fun person to be around. He loves Dolores O'Riordan and the Cranberries, which naturally makes him awesome. He got to hear her sing his favorite Cranberries song (Ode to My Family) at the concert. Marthese made the observation on one of our first days of orientation that she wasn't sure if he was naturally funny or if she just found him to be funny because of the accent. I think it is both.

And finally, this is ANTHONY. Anthony is originally from Lodi but has lived in Indiana for so long that I think he identifies more with that area. He is interning for the semester for the Programas Internacionales and is studying journalism. He's spent two summers in Querétaro before this semester.

We had a discussion this week that he just might be the worst person in the world because he doesn't believe in global warming (or at least that we have had anything to do with it), is part of the media, and is a white male from the U.S. hehe

what's the craick?

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 01:16:00 +0000

No, I have not taken up drugs in Mexico. This is simply a phrase that Adrian said I should use if I got to meet Dolores O'Riordan. Sadly, I did not get to use it, but it may come in handy one day if I ever need to impress someone from Ireland.

So one of the greatest experiences I have had since being here in Mexico is distinctly non-Mexican but was pretty much a dream come true for me. Last Sunday Adrian, Charles, Tiffany and I went to Mexico City to see DOLORES O'RIORDAN!!! For those unfortunate readers who do not know who she is, she is the lead singer for The Cranberries and has now gone solo. And for those of you know know me well, you know that The Cranberries are my favorite band of all time!

Since it is parcials time (like midterms, except three times a semester) we didn't get to spend much time in Mexico City but got there enough in advance to find a cool little Cuban restaurant in a quiet part of the city and have a relaxing meal. Pictured from left to right are Tiffany, Charles, and Adrian.

The restaurant was pretty interesting, with writing from past-patrons scribbled on every inch of the walls, ceiling, and lampshades. They also had cute waitresses peddling t-shirts and trinkets of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and cigars. I wasn't terribly hungry so I just got platanos con crema...Mmmmm! After we were done eating a friend Charles has that lives in Mexico City met us at the restaurant and joined us for the concert since we had an extra ticket. Off to el concierto!

The concert was at Auditorio Nacional. Charles, Adrian and I had splurged on the expensive tickets but it was SOOOOO worth it! We were speculating beforehand whether she would perform any Cranberries songs. The concert started just as we got to our seats and the first song she did was Zombie!!! It was incredible! A majority of the songs she did were Cranberries songs, including Pretty, Linger, Salvation, Animal Instinct, Ode to My Family, Free to Decide, and others. Her solo songs were awesome too and I can't wait to get the album. I was beaming and singing as loud as I could the entire time. :-) Dolores finished up the concert with Dreams...perfect! Immediately following the last song, however, they turned on the lights in the auditorium and started playing a Glen Campbell song over the speakers. What the...?!?! Total mood-killer!!! We suspect it was an effort to get people to empty out quickly--and it certainly worked. For more tiny pictures of Dolores, visit my Facebook album.

The concert ended early enough that we were able to get back to Querétaro around 1am and be semi-rested students for our exams that morning. :-)

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Last week in my Introducción a la cultura mexicana class we took a field trip to el centro. Since this class is only once a week for three hours it is feasible to do such things. I really love this class. It is totally relaxed, but certainly not a waste of time. Most of the classes consist of getting into groups consisting of both international and Mexican students and learning from each other. The professor is one of the kindest and most genuine people I have come across here and creates an environment where both international and Mexican students can inquire and share openly without fear of judgement. The Mexican students in this course are great too and are so happy to share their culture with us.

I have been to el centro several times before, but am usually in search of a restaurant and have missed so much of what there is to know and see (aside from admiring the occasional building and snapping a photo). Our professor first took us to the government building and shared with us some of the history of Querétaro's role in the independence movement of Mexico. He shared with us the story of the corregidora (the wife of a ruler back at the beginning of the 19th century) who conspired against her husband and the Spaniards to organize the movement to liberate Mexico. I have heard a couple versions of this story from two of my professors, but it boils down to that she was discovered and locked away in the building that is now the office of the Governor yet somehow was able to get a message out that mobilized the people. I believe she was later imprisoned, but not executed. El Día de la Independencia is coming up next Saturday and I hear the celebrations are spectacular! The city has been decorated in preparation for a couple of weeks now.

A part of this government building used to be a prison and for prisoners that we to be punished in harsher ways than to be locked in a cell, they would place them in these little spaces (as Mel is demonstrating) for days at a time.

After seeing the government building we stopped to talk to some activists that I have seen several times before in one of the downtown plazas (my professor is on the right). The protesters are students who have been standing in that plaza for three years. They started out petitioning the government to provide a housing facility for poor students so that they could afford to go to college. If I recall correctly, I believe they were told that they would have been successful except that they are associated with a national organization that the government opposes. A teacher that is a leader in the organization has been imprisoned for years. They have gone to court to free her four times, and have won each time, yet she is still in prison because the government doesn't agree with her ideals. They are still working to free her.

The students have been protesting in the plaza every day for three years, prohibited from attaching their signs to any building so they take one-hour shifts holding their sign day and night. They are completely supported by donations from people on the street.

I have heard that the government in Mexico is corrupt, but after hearing from that student and then in our class yesterday hearing about the protection provided to elected officials which basically means they are untouchable while in office, I was shocked. I wasn't as much shocked about the degree of corruption, because there is corruption in every country, but I was mostly astounded by the blatancy of everything. In that U.S. the corruption is hidden much better. I don't know that one form is better than another, but the difference is interesting.

The tour ended with a fruitless hunt for churros and hot chocolate (they were closed) and then gorditas for all. You've got to love a class like that!

on learning Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:24:00 +0000

Learning Spanish is hard. I knew it would be and it isn't necessarily more difficult than I thought it would be (I was very frustrated in my last Spanish class), but good heavens it is a complex language! It is coming along however. I can conjugate verbs much more easily now, though it isn't an extremely fluid process yet.

Today I got a little bit of a Spanish-high because I got to use my Spanish a fair amount when talking with a taxi driver when Rachel, Andrea, and I were heading back to the Tec. I'm sure it wasn't anything very impressive, but I did get to respond to a statement that he made about Arnold Schwarzenegger and I believe that I was understood. This interaction was interesting because our driver was speaking in his best English and we in our best Spanish. This was beneficial for me in that it allowed me to be able to speak in Spanish because I knew what he was saying, but in a sense wasn't helpful because I didn't get to practice my comprehension skills which are also sorely lacking.

Additionally, I went to the pharmacy today and attempted to get some information but it wasn't that fruitful. We realized as we were leaving that it wasn't because I was asking the question wrong but because what I was asking (how many days before needing my medications should I order them) just didn't make sense to them. In Mexico I guess you just go in and pick up the medication on the same day...and hope they have it in stock.

Some frustrations:

I know that the best way to learn the language is to be speaking it with Mexicans and not spend so much time with the international students. But my classes are primarily with the international students. And among the Mexican students that I do interact with, I either need to speak English with them (because we are working on a project for which the level of complexity far surpasses my language skills--this applies to anything more intellectual than Dr. Suess at this point) or they talk to me in English automatically. Plus, I really like the international students. :-)
I would really like to meet some Mexicans outside of the bubble of the Tec that I live in, but the level of accessibilty of the city prohibits me from venturing far on my own. I don't know how to solve this problem yet.
I like formulaic learning yet I know that just being exposed to Spanish, even though I don't understand it all, helps me to learn. This is a very mystical and magical osmosis process that I wish I could make sense of.
I feel an enormous sense of guilt when I speak in English, listen to music in English, or read in English now. I don't want to waste a moment of this opportunity that seems to be passing me by, but sometimes I just want to have a real conversation without struggling. I allow myself Thursday nights after class ends at 7pm for guilt-free indulgence in all things in the English-language.

Some observations:

Spanish is a very literal language that makes so much more sense logically when you think about it. For instance, in English we say, "I am hungry" but the very essence of the phrase "I am" implies something much more substantial than a passing sensation. In Spanish you say, "Tengo hambre" which literally translated means, "I have hunger" which is a much better representation of what is meant to be communicated.
Spanish is also a rather efficient language as far as I can tell at this stage of my understanding. I know that often times we think Spanish is quite a verbose language, using more words than we do in English--and certainly at times this is true. But the verbs are quite amazing, encompassing not only an action but the person doing that action and the moment in time that action is, has, or will take place. For instance, "¿Qué haces?" means "What are you doing?". Additionally, the upside down question marks and exclamation marks are supremely helpful when reading. I don't know how many times reading aloud not realizing that the sentence was actually a question or meant to be read with more feeling that I have completely butchered the meaning.
With this economy of words also comes the necessity for an incredibly large amount of words and complex sentence structures in order to express just what you want. I know that there is some rhyme or reason to this system (aside from those cursed irregular verbs), but this causes me much frustration and agony--and at times, embarrassment (one day in el centro when meaning to tell a woman holding out a cup asking for money on the street that I didn't have any change, I actually told her that she didn't have any change...how very rude of me).
I find it rather amusing that I can say a word incorrectly, but it is still a real word and instead of getting a weird look communicating, "What are you saying?" it is more a look of "Are you sure you know what you are saying?".
I also seem to be getting worse at English, not being able to recall words as quickly as I may normally be able to. I don't know if this is a good thing, indicating that my brain is deep in Spanish-mode, but given my current ability in Spanish I think it simply means that I now speak two languages poorly instead of one.

mas fiestas!

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:11:00 +0000

OK, so I don't mean to give the impression that all I do is go to parties in Mexico...but there are a lot of birthdays this month! We have figured out that it coincides quite well with 9 months before the holiday season. :-)

I had quite a busy, and in terms of homwork, a rather unproductive weekend. BUT it was a fantastic weekend and certainly not a waste.

MIS CUMPLEAÑOS
Friday was mis cumpleaños and the people here made it very special for me (I almost got to share a birthday with my sobrina, Reagan). Here at the residence hall I had this cheery sign and subsequently received many wishes of "Feliz cumpleaños!" throughout the day.

I was determined to make it to the pharmacy that day to ask some questions about getting prescriptions so I decided to try and be a little bit social and work on my translation in the common area in hopes that I might have the opportunity to have some small conversations. What awaited me at that little table was not quite what I was hoping for. While I was there I ended up helping one of the students, Lalo, with his English homework (which I didn't mind) and then just as he was leaving a woman came in asking if we wanted to participate in something. It looked like a survey to me, but I really had no clue. Lalo asked me if I had received a note about this and not to do it if I hadn't. I hadn't received anything to my knowledge but after Lalo left one of the staff came to wish me a happy birthday and then seemed to indicate that I should do this thing. Still clueless, I consented. It ended up being a drug test. Lots of fun. I made my way through the questionnaire (who is really going to be that honest about the last time they took cocaine?), making sure I understood it all before signing the bottom. I was then ushered into the bathroom where another woman awaited me holding a little cup. Ugh. She waited outside the stall until I finished. Two minutes later: Horray me - all negative! By the time all of that was done I had enough time to try and eat something before heading off to meet my team for one of my classes. Never made it to the pharmacy (don't worry Mom and Dad, I'll get there this week...Diego heped me with my translation).

Later that evening I had somewhat arranged for a group to go out to dinner for my birthday. We had to be ready to go to Teotihuacan by 6:45am the next morning so I was in the mood for something mild. After much confusion because of the lack of organization (I am learning, with much frustration, the difference between Mexican and American organizational ideas), we made it to a restaurant in el centro. We had a great evening and great food (new favorite: chorizo and queso with tortillas). There ended up being about 25 people there to celebrate with me!

After dinner we headed off to a party hosted by Jess, my "birthday twin", vowing to leave no later than midnight. The party had a theme of pirates and other magical creatures (I didn't want to go buy a costume so my excuse was that I am a magical creature and therefore did not need to dress up as one). It was fun to see everyone's costumes. Five of the guys got little boy Buzz Lightyear pijamas. Here is a picture with Thibault, Francois, and Jamie...and an Italian pirate (Buzz Lightyears not pictured: Adrian and Charles). True to our word, Marthese, Susie, and I made it home at about midnight at which time I made a makeshift vase out of a water bottle for all my lovely flowers given to me. For more photos from my birthday, try this link to my Facebook album.

TEOTIHUACAN
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we arrived at the designated meeting place on campus at 6:45am to leave for Teotihuacan. It is about a three hour bus trip from Querétaro and most of the bus zonked out after about 10 minutes.

When we arrived at the pyramid site Léon, my very aggressive tour guide, said that it would be best for me to stay on the bus and go to the second entrance, which was closer to the pyramids. I say aggressive because that man definitely took charge! After he figured out that I am a bit timid, especially in asking for help if I need it, he constantly told me to stop being shy. Then he kept trying to push me to get up in front of the crowds and practically rammed into people's heels all day. In spite of all that, we formed a bond and he gave me a big hug at the end of the day.

Anyhow, back to the pyramids. Anthony, who is an intern with las Programas Internacionales for the semester (and is from Lodi!), was somewhat assigned to me for the day to make sure I could get around and such. Before the trip he was determined to get me to the top of the pyramids but was told later that he wasn't allowed because it would be too unsafe. He, Léon, and I went to the second entrance after the rest of the students got off the bus. Charles also stayed with me instead of going with the others.

Once we arrived, we navigated our way down to the site. The pyramid site is enormous! It was constructed in the shape of a corn plant, with the roots and nuts on one end, the corn cob, and then the flower at the top. This site used to be a thriving city of 250,000 people until the people of Teotihuacan left, because their supply routes and water were being cut off (it is believed that the society was controlled by the priests back in the day), and then later the Aztecs moved in. This is what I gathered from the Spanish explanation at least. Most of what is at the site today is reconstructed, sadly, and the pyramids used to be covered with murals. There are two main pyramids: el Sol and la Luna. The names are misnomers and have nothing to do with the sun and the moon, but just kinda stuck.

Although Anthony had been told "no" on getting me up the pyramids, this didn't necessarily apply to Charles. ;-) As Anthony was receiving some instructions from Léon, we decided to try it (at least that's the story we were going to stick with if caught)...though with much hesitation on my end because while Charles might have liked the idea of the challenge, I don't think he realized just how tough it would be. We had about half an hour before the rest of the group was to arrive.

Thus we embarked up el Sol, the larger of the two pyramides. Here is a shot from the first level where we stopped to rest. You can see Anthony at the bottom guarding my wheelchair. On the way up, the thinness of the air became apparent and Charles decided that it might be time to stop smoking (unfortunately, that declaration was short-lived). After a few minutes, we started up to the second level with a much more spectacular view! I love this photo looking down from the second level (Mom, you may not want to look at this one), which is about halfway up; if you focus you can get a little disoriented. :-) At this point Anthony gave us the "Stop!" signal and shortly thereafter we saw our group coming. We hurried to start on our way down and made it to the bottom safely where Anthony met us with the wheelchair. Only one of my classmates later asked me about noticing an empty wheelchair when they got there.

The rest of the tour was good, but certainly el Sol was the best part! Here are a few more photos photo 1, photo 2, Brigid, Sarah, y Sarah. Oh yes, and Anthony posing as the obnoxious American tourist.

After Teotihuacan we had lunch at a nearby hotel/restaurant where we were entertained with live music and Native dancers. I always wonder everytime I see performances like this if something within them cringes at doing dances that are to them sacred as a spectacle for tourists as their cameras flash away. There was no explanation of the dances to know that they were sacred, but the woman seemed to be paying homage to the north, east, south, and west before starting. Does poverty drive them to do this? Or are they so far removed from the spiritual aspects of the dance that it is just a cultural ritual? Or could it simply be that they genuinely enjoy sharing that part of their heritage with outsiders? I have no idea, but I didn't take pictures either way.

After lunch we got back on the bus and drove about an hour to the Museo Nacional del Virreinato, which is a museum within an old monastery. Ornate is too bland a word for this place. I have never seen such excessive adornment concentrated in one area. To be honest I was too tired and lost in Spanish to get much out of this place or have much to report back. The museum was our last stop and so we got back onto the busses and headed home. We got back to the Tec a little after 8pm. For more pictures that I didn't post, go to my Facebook album.

Sunday was a fun, but tiring, day...but I am too tired to go into much detail now (plus the photos are still on my camera). Quick summation: church, lunch in el centro, mall with Susie (both of us exhausted), surprise birthday party for Tiffany who turned 19. There was a pink piñata. It was a fun party and Susie and I got back to the Res at about 10pm (muy temprano!).

Now I must be off to bed and try to sleep through this very loud techno music that one of the guys is playing very obnoxiously at 1:30am. Buenas noches! Besos!

Soy una tía!

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:46:00 +0000

I am an auntie!!! Reagan Susan Tavares came into this world early this morning at 4:46pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 20.75 inches long. Both mama and baby are doing well. Pictures are below!

I smell peanut butter and I don't know where it is from...

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:38:00 +0000

...but now I am eating it from a jar with a spoon. And now I need milk. :::one moment please:::

So I had an AMAZING weekend with a couple more to come! The weeks are good as well but generally the same, full of classes and homework. I start out each Monday excited about starting classes again but by the time I reach Thursday I am pretty deflated, discouraged, and frustrated. This weekend certainly picked me up again!

THURSDAY
Thursday night Marthese, Elke, and I went out to dinner at Doozo Sushi which is really close to the Tec. It was the first time that I had gone outside the Tec "on foot" so to speak and it was quite a challenge. There is no way that I could have done it myself. It's a bit disappointing because that pretty much limits me to the big superstores and el centro. Anyhow, I digress.

When we got there they only had tables that were taller than me so they set us up with some folding chairs to sit in and for our drinks. Without me even noticing, our hostess had set up a wonderful table and chairs behind me just for us. They were so nice and accommodating!

I think I have decided that while I don't have a strong repulsion toward (can you be repulsed toward something?) sushi, I can't say that I like it either. I do, however, love (I'm probably spelling this wrong) etamame. They are soy beans heated and salted still in the pods and they are wonderful. We also had some of the most amazing desserts I have ever had, excepting desserts at the now defunct Gran Finale. We got Pay de Queso (cheesecake with mango and chocolate syrup), mango tempura with chocolate syrup, and fried ice cream sandwiches with a strawberry sauce. All were incredible!

It was nice to have a quiet dinner with the girls too. Afterward we walked to an apartment shared by Jamie from Australia, Adrian from Ireland, and Francois from France. On the way over we were met by Thibault from Belgium. The apartment situation is pretty hilarious since Jamie and Adrian both have rather heavy accents and Francois has limited English and so none of them can communicate with each other very well and spend most of their time just trying to understand what they are trying to say.

We spent a little bit of time hanging out and then all crunched into a couple of cars to head to a party hosted by the host family of two international students celebrating their daughter's return from a long trip to Europe. Jamie's friend had a car so she drove as many as we could cram into her car. She and Jamie were in front with Charles, myself, and Elke in the back and Marthese laying across all of us. It's a good thing she is very petite but it took a bit of acrobatics for her to get out of the car.
The party was fun and the home of the family is beautiful and enormous with a lovely plaza in the center and the house surrounding it. I love the homes in Mexico. The family wanted to go to bed at about 2am. This is where Adrian and I tried to take a few photos, but I'm not so very good with the self-portraits when people are to the left of me apparently. But I just couldn't resist trying to get some photos of a drunk Irishman simply because it is so cliché!

FRIDAY
Friday ended up being a pretty useless day where I didn't accomplish much. BUT, Rebekah (she spells it correctly, just like me) called that evening to see if I wanted to hang out at her host family's home since they were out of town. She, Sarah (another international student), and I spent the night visiting and playing Mexican Train Dominos. It was a really nice evening, but it turns out that Sarah is far superior at dominos than we are, even though she was sick.

SATURDAY
Saturday was unexpected. I was able to chat with my parents for a while online which is always good! Afterward I met a friend, Rachel, and we went to Soriana to do some shopping. Soriana is literally right behind the Tec but there is one significant hurdle (a curb too large for me) to me getting there on my own. I think I will ask the guards for help in the future if I need to go on my own (much better than paying 30 pesos for a taxi).

There we came across Elke and Jenny (I also saw the international student from Japan who I have never spoken to, but I just learned that he doesn't speak much English so perhaps that is why). Jenny invited us to go to a barbacoa (BBQ) that some of her Mexican friends were having. Elke and I decided to go and it ended up being a fantastic night! Her friends were all really nice and it was just a good time talking and eating. I had my first torta and it is hands-down the best thing I have eaten since being here. Here is a photo of Jenny digging into hers. The entire evening was in Spanish which was really great for me. I understood more than I could participate in the conversation, but that's how it goes. The evening ended with lots of dancing and music! The couple in the middle of the photo are dancing champs and were fun to watch. They gave Jenny and Elke a few lessons too.

SUNDAY
On Sunday I was finally able to go to a local church. Rachel, Bri, and I went to la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Querétaro and it was wonderful! It was in a small, unassuming building on a street on the outskirts of el centro and there were probably about 50 people at the service. The people were so warm and welcoming and I felt at home immediately, in spite of the fact that there is a massive language barrier. I brought my English Bible in the hopes that it would help me to understand the sermon better, which it did. One of the gentlemen at the church also lent us his Spanish Bible to follow along in. The message was on Matthew 7:24-29 about being doers and not just hearers of Christ's teachings. Pretty much the only part that I caught was that Jesus never meant for us just to just hear His message, but to also live it. The pastor was pleased to give us his copy of the sermon when Rachel asked so we could read it.

Everyone was so happy to have us there. Before the sermon they actually gave the microphone to Bri (knowng she was the most fluent in Spanish) to introduce ourselves to the congregation. My favorite part, by far, was the Canto de Bienvenida. We weren't sure what they were singing at first and then a man sitting nearby showed us where to find the song in the program. Suddenly, as we were singing this beautiful song, the congregation starts to move and everyone greeted and welcomed those around them with a warm handshake, smile, and "bienvenida." I loved it!!! The lyrics to the song are below. I was going to translate them for you as best I could but it is getting late and I kinda want to go to bed. :-) Perhaps next week I will get it done. For now, consider it a challenge.

ES POR SU AMOR (Canto de Bienvenida)
Es por su amor que estamos aquí,
reunidos hoy, para cantarle,
para adorarle en comunión.
Tu con nosotros si puedes
cantar con gratitud, dame tu mano,
sé bienvenido, alaba a Dios.
CORO: // Dame tu mano, se
bienvenido, que puedes encontrar
gozo, paz y amistad //
Muy diferentes, sí, pero su amor
nos unirá, somos la iglesia el
Cuerpo de Cristo que El llamó,
Que Dios te guarde es
nuestra oración y volverte a ver.
Dame tu mano, sé bienvenido
alaba a Dios
CORO

I love the Church and the fact that I can be so welcomed by people who in every other respect are perfect strangers but that I can also call mis hermanos y hermanas (my brothers and sisters) because of our shared faith in the God of the Universe. I can't wait to go back next week!

Well, that's it for now! More to come after this Saturday's excursion to the pyramids in Teotihuacan I am sure. Love and miss you all!

a show with everything but Yule Brenner

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:01:00 +0000

This post doesn't really have any rhyme or reason but simply contains things that have no other place (thus the strange title which no one but my Uncle Joey will probably get, but that's what makes us cool).

In the first shopping excursion with my parents I bought orange juice--or what I thought was orange juice. It seems that what I actually have is orange-flavored soy milk or something. Lesson learned: don't just pay attention to the orange on the box but also look for the word jugo.
I still don't know what the loud booms I hear every night or sometimes in the afternoon are. There must be a lot of fireworks here. :-)
I really like the one-kiss-on-the-cheek greeting.
Tuna is better with jalepenos in it (my own invention).
I love my Spanish/English dictionary.
Pablo, my adorable RA, broke his ankle this weekend playing soccer. I can now hear him rolling up and down the hall in an office chair because he doesn't like his crutches. I'm still working on getting a photo.
The water pressure in my shower changes at least twice every morning and I sometimes have to turn it off entirely because it goes so high that the drain can't keep up.
My hair dryer has decided to stop working.
I haven't gotten sick once!

classes

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:11:00 +0000

CLASSES
I am now in my second week of classes and I love them! I have four classes: Basic Spanish 2, Communication Skills 1, Social Development in Mexico, and Mexican Culture. The last two are in English and with Mexican students which allows me to get to know some actual Mexican students! Imagine that.

I love my Spanish professor, Nivardo! He is really young (has to be in his 20s), fun, energetic, and says "Super bien!" a lot. This class is so unlike my previous Spanish class where I was terrified to be called on. There are only 9 students in the class and Nivardo creates a really non-intimidating environment for us. Too bad I am still so timid and frustrated outside of class!

The Social Development in Mexico class is my most challenging one so far. We are studying the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for 2015. The class has been split into four teams and each assigned two of the eight goals to focus on for this first part of the semester. My team presents on Thursday (ack! public speaking!) but it should be fine. I have four guys (Mauricio, Alejandro, Jorge, y Carlos) on my team and they are all really great. I am excited to be challenged in a way I don't feel I was at Stan State for the most part (for any former professors reading, this is not a blanket statement :-).

The professor is a little interesting though and I am still trying to figure him out. He likes to have a lot of class discussion, which would lead me to believe that he likes the input of his students. But at the end, I get the impression that he wants to make sure we take his opinion as the most valid when I haven't heard much other than anecdotal evidence from him thus far. Makes me want to speak up in class a little less. He also draws a very clear line between the Mexican students and the international students in an effort to find only dissimilarities between our cultures and no similarities. I don't know that this is a bad thing, but it will take some more time for me to figure out how he ticks.

My Mexican Culture class should be really interesting, though I am not quite sure what to expect yet. It seems like it will be very interactive, but also with that distinct line between Mexican and international students. This environment seems to me to be a little more about learning from one another however. I think we are going to be taking some field trips and watching films during class which I am really excited about!

Communication Skills thus far is not terribly interesting and I don't feel like I am learning a whole lot yet, but my professor is nice and fun so I enjoy the class.

It doesn't look like my Batik class is going to work out. It started today and is on the second floor of the gym which doesn't have an elevator. A couple of friends asked the professor about how I might be able to participate and all I received was a text message that said, "She said there's no elevator." I'll ask for more details on Thursday. In the meantime, sorry Desiree and Aunt Cheryl--no Batik projects!

LA FIN DE SEMANA (THE WEEKEND)
My weekend starts Friday since I don't have classes at all that day. Last Friday one of the student organizations, AMI (Alumnos Mexicanos y Internacionales), held a Bienvenida lunch for us. It was very nice and the food was muy delicioso! They also had some mariachis come in and play for us. I got to sit next to Nick from Pennsylvania and John from CSU Channel Islands. Nick was telling me about his host family and that their home might actually work for me to live there. They have requested not to host girl students because they have had a problem with them bringing their boyfriends to the house and such, but I don't think they would have to worry about that with me. He said that I could come over sometime so I can meet them, so maybe that is an opportunity for next semester. At the end of the event I was assigned a big brother, Luis (not the one with the amazing hair), for the semester. I'm not sure yet what this means, but he sent me a text yesterday to see how my weekend was.

Later that evening I went to a surprise birthday party that one of the international students (Angela) was planning for one of our other members (Darcy). It was a fun night but Darcy didn't end up arriving until about 40 minutes after she was expected which just meant that we all gathered in the foyer of the home it was hosted in several times in anxious anticipation. She was very surprised and happy.

Quote of the night came during the taxi ride home and was said by Rebekah (not this one) in all seriousness: "Elton John is gay?" It doesn't even need a story it is so good!

I had a lazy day on Saturday and aside from doing (or pretending to do) some studying I went to Soriana, which is the Mexican version of Wal-Mart more or less, and got some groceries.

By Sunday morning I was having quite the pity party and feeling rather lonely but it ended up being a great day! Susie, from Montreal, and I went to el centro and had a long, leisurly lunch and got to know each other a bit. Then we just walked around the different plazas observing people. El centro on Sundays is wonderful, full of people just sitting enjoying each other's company or watching the others around them, listening to live music, or dancing. There is no rushing, no clock watching but only people taking a moment to enjoy being alive. That evening Susie and I attempted to watch the meteor shower outside the dorms. After an hour we had seen one meteor, two shirtless guys through open windows on the lower levels of the residence hall, and gotten several mosquito bites. We decided to call it a night.

My big praise from this weekend was finding people that are somewhat of kindred spirits, not craving the drunken party scene. One of my greatest struggles here has been feeling completely out of place in this youth culture (and I don't know that it is specific to Mexican youth). Sometimes I think that I was just born older than my counterparts. And in some warped form of logic, a part of me felt that in coming here to Mexico the lonliness that follows me around would finally be justified, and through justification would seem less. But it isn't less; it's just different. But each time it seems that it is going to swollow me up, God sends a new friend or two or three and the lonliness is gone. Huge praises! :-)

the first week

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:11:00 +0000

So I am all set in my sweet digs here at the Tec de Monterrey. I am so happy to be here and I am not even sure why since what I'm doing isn't anything terribly fabulous or exciting. Below is a video to give you a tour of my room here in the dorms con los hombres (with the boys).

I thought I would try to give a brief idea of what I've done since I got here a week ago, though as I discovered as I was talking with my mom earlier this evening, I think I am getting my days a bit mixed up.

SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2007

My parents and I finally arrive in Queretaro after about 24 hours of travel. It was an arduous journey. We started in Sacramento and from there went to Los Angeles, Monterrey, México City, and finally Querétaro. Each flight was delayed between 20 minutes and 2 hours but with our long layovers that wasn't much of a problem. While the México City airport was probably the most confounding, the LAX international terminal was absolute insanity...even at midnight!

We were picked up at the airport and stopped at the Tec only long enough to drop off all my gear and pack up an overnight bag for me. Then we were taken to Casa Cayala where my parents were staying while here. For any future visitors, I highly recommend this hotel. It is very nice, costs about $100 US dollars per night, and is only a short walk from my campus. All other hotels are in el centro which is about a 10-15 minute cab ride from the Tec.

SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2007

On Sunday we focused on getting my dorm room all set up, which my parents did with great efficiency. Once we unpacked we headed off to Wal-Mart (for all my liberal friends, I'm sorry--it was the only place recommended by those we spoke to here and since we didn't know the town, we went with it) to get a few essentials. As you can tell by the video, that included a lot of water!

We then decided to take a stroll around the campus and explore. It is a beautiful campus and very high tech. Each table on campus has a portal to be able to plug your computer in and get online. Most of what I need to access is very centrally located as well, unlike Stan State where I have to schlep my books from one end of campus to the other.

MONDAY, JULY 31, 2007

Monday was the last day my parents were in town as their flight back home left Queretaro at a terrible hour (6:20am...sorry guys). Since I was all settled in my dorm at the Tec we decided to go to el centro and walk around and find some yummy food. Downtown Queretaro is quite stunning and has several amazing plazas. I didn't take any photos out this day, but here are some photos from when I visited in May with Hector and Larry.

Once done in el centro we headed back to Casa Cayala and had some dessert. Later that night they walked me back to my dorm for my first night there and to say a very sad goodbye.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007
Tuesday was the first day of orientation for all of the international students in the Programas Internacionales (PI). We were introduced to the staff, some students, our lawyer in charge of our immigration paperwork, and the campus. I must say that after that first day of orientation (all done in Spanish) I felt extremely far behind and discouraged with my language skills, especially when most of the other students were having full conversations in Spanish and many of them already knowing 2 or 3 other languages!

The other international students have come from all over the world and from places I wasn't expecting. The countries I can recall off the top of my brain at the moment are: Japan, France, Germany, Austrailia, England, Ireland, Spain, Chile, Belgium, Canada, and Ecuador. I am having a fantasatic time getting to know them before we start classes next week!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007
On Wednesday morning the students that work with the PI program took us on a tour of the campus and played a few silly games with us. The one in the picture involved a large cucumber and dish soap.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
I didn't have any scheduled events on Thursday so I just hung out either on campus or in my room. I did, however, have two very minor successes that day. First success: I went to the bookstore and asked for help in finding the books for my classes. I successfully understood the woman when she told me that my professors would tell me on the first day of class which books I would need. This was apparently communicated during the orientation but I didn't pick up on it that day. Second success: I ventured off campus on my own to pick up the photos that we had taken the day before for our immigration papers. Yes, I know they aren't fabulous but I am trying to find value in the small things so I don't get too discouraged at my inability to communicate yet.

That night I went to a house party with many of the other international students at the home of Marcos, a local Tec student. It was a fairly fun night, but not really my type of scene. The music was too loud to talk very easily with anyone. At about midnight they ran out of drinks (I remained sober) and headed off to a club. I decided to head back to the residence hall and Charles, a very wonderful Austrailian, accompanied me back in the cab so I wasn't alone. I ended up being very happy he came since our driver got a little lost taking us back and Charles was able to direct him. His righteous indignation at the driver charging 15 pesos extra for the "service" of putting my wheelchair together was a little endearing too. But I figured that the driver probably needs that money more than I did, so I handed it over.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
Friday ended up being a tad confusing. We were told that there was to be a feria de servicios all day during which we could sign up for extra curricular activities and get our ID cards. They said to arrive early because things fill up quickly. Many arrived by 9am so we could be the first in line only to find out when we tried to enter that it didn't actually start until 1pm. For me this wasn't much of a tragedy since I live on campus and hadn't stayed out as late as the others, but some that lived farther away were trapped on campus with not much to do for about 4 hours.

Once la feria started, we headed over and were herded into the basement of the Salón de Congresos and tried to figure out the madness. I came out with only one class that worked with my schedule. It is called Batik, which I had never heard of, but apparently involves wax and dying material. We'll see how it goes. I was hoping to be able to do some sort of painting, but this should be fun.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2007
Today I was lazy and slept until after 11am and was shortly thereafter visited by a friend wanting to use my computer. Later in the afternoon, a few of us went out to lunch in el centro and I had a yummy something that I can't remember what it is called anymore! But if you come, we can go there and get it. In the photo from left to right are Susie from Canada by way of France, Rachel from Missouri, and Molly from California.

Well, that's about it! I just had my "bed check" for the evening so I can get in my jammies now. I think Pablo, my RA, was a little embarrassed to come in my room last night and find me in my PJs. Actually, I didn't realize he was knocking on my door so he came in. Perhaps that is why Fernando came tonight. :-) This curfew thing will be very interesting.

If you made it this far, congratulations! I'm sorry to have been so long-winded!

the big leap

noreply@blogger.com (bek) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:34:00 +0000

Bienvenidos to my blog! My apologies for not posting sooner as I know that several of you have already been checking. Some of you may be curious as to what this year is all about. Put in a few words: faith, challenge, growth, service, perspective.

The image for the title of my page I felt was rather appropriate for what I anticipate this next year being like. The picture is of a souvenier given to me by a good friend from a trip he took to some of the pyrimads in Mexico around the holidays (forgive me Hector for not remembering precisely where they were :-). He framed its significance as a metaphor for my experiences here: it will be a tough climb with moments in which I will probably want to quit, but with each challenge or step becoming a bit smaller, yet with its own tint and unique lessons. In the end I will emerge at the top with a completely new perspective and a beautiful view. The gift was wrapped (guy-fashion) in a Mexican newspaper and a black plastic bag which in self-admitted BS was supposed to symbolize the darkness of being in a foreign country and the language barrier.

I will post more details about my experiences here mostly likely tomorrow or Thursday, but I am truly enjoying myself. As I write this I am rather distracted by a magnificent storm that has been going on for more than an hour and a half. It is probably the best storm I have ever witnessed! It started as the sun was setting with each electric white flash lighting up an orange-pink sky. Most of the storm was initially on the other side of the dorm building so all I saw was flash after flash followed by rumbles and cracks so close together that I couldn't tell which thunder clap corresponded with which strike of lightning. It has now seemed to move around to just in front of my window to where I can see the jagged lightning bolts etch their way across the sky or down to the earth. I am enthralled. Storms like this remind me of the enormity of God's power and might; no other time do I seem to feel this close to Him. It has stormed, though not to this degree, every night I've been here. Perhaps God is letting me know that He is here with me, even in Mexico while I am far away from everything else familiar.

With that, I must be off to bed. My day starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning with an activity led by some of the students here.

Thank you all for your emails and prayers! They are much appreciated. Buenas noches de Querétaro, México.

* for those of you Spanish-speakers, constructive criticism of any Spanish I may post is appreciated. :-)