Summary of my semester in Mexico:
Pictures taken: 6121
Days in Mexico:160
Classes cancelled: 24 (out of 108)
Weeks where I had every single class: 4 (out of 18)
Days traveling: 48
States visited: 14, and the DF (Mexico City)
Favorite City: Guanajuato
Favorite Centro: Querétaro (historic), Puerto Vallarta (touristic)
Favorite Place: Puerto Escondido
Only casualty: ipod (lost in Hidalgo)
I didn’t even really get sick, not even from the food!
Things I’ll miss about Mexico:
-my wonderful host family
-the ease and low costs of traveling
-seeing adorable babies everywhere
-how nice everyone is
-so many vacation days from school
-walking to school
-the plazas downtown
-fresh fruit, cajeta, and nieve
-pretty, mountainous views
Things I’m excited to get back to:
-family/friends
-understanding every single word that someone is saying to me, and being able to say exactly what I’m trying to say
-bathrooms that are generally clean, have toilet seats and toilet paper, where you can flush the toilet paper
-lakes
-clean drinking water…I can’t wait to be able to drink a ton of free water in restaurants, and to be able to find drinking fountains again
-my car, and very few speed bumps
-eating what I want when I want (the eating schedule was so varied, lunch was anywhere between 2 and 5, dinner between 8 and 11)
-turkey sandwiches. Most Mexicans felt the same way about ham as I feel about turkey
-a shower that’s always warm and has decent water pressure
-Hope College, where I actually understand the system
-Air conditioning and heat
-debit card and money, most of the ATMs in Mexico give you 200 or 500 bills, and it’s hard to get change, especially if you’re wanting to buy things in the market that cost 20 pesos.
-safety…kids don’t sit in seats, they bounce around…some times the drivers have babies on their laps! Also, cars don’t stop or make room for ambulances.
Obviously I thought a lot about language during my 5 months. Language absolutely fascinates me…the fact that some words are so similar and others are so different from English, that the sentence structures can vary so much.
People in Mexico are kind of funny. When someone finds out that you speak Spanish, they immediately ask “do you speak well?” How can you answer that? I feel like when I find out someone speaks English, I’d ask how long they’ve spoken or where they learned…not if they speak well. Also, sometimes when I meet someone and listen to them talk for a while, they say “wow, you speak perfectly!” when really all I’ve done is listen. Listening and speaking are SO different. I’ve said before that they’re usually excited when they find out that you speak Spanish, but they’re also pretty excited to show you that they speak English. Even when I greet someone in Spanish, usually they ask ‘where are you from?’ in English. Also, it’s quite amazing how well people can understand me, despite the fact that I have absolutely no Spanish accent and my pronunciation in general is just not good. (I blame this on my speech impediment that I had as a child…) Anyway, when someone who doesn’t natively speak English speaks to me, I usually have a hard time understanding them, but I’ve had a quite few people here tell me that they can understand me perfectly. I think this probably has to do with the fact that English is harder to pronounce, as the vowel sounds change so much from word to word. All of that being said, I have improved a lot during my time here, but not as much as I would have liked to. My listening has improved a lot faster than talking, that’s for sure.
What a semester it was. I was sad to leave, but definitely ready to come home. Thank you so much to everyone who read along, prayed for me, and encouraged me throughout the semester.
Two more photo albums:
various photos from downtown Querétaro: el centro
various panoramic photos from all over Mexico: panoramics
Sunday, June 27, 2010
el fin
My last week in Mexico...
Wednesday I hung out at home and in el centro. Also, Maria, a girl from Hope who stayed here last spring, arrived that night. She’s here visiting this week. Thursday I did some shopping and watched the Mexico-France game, where Mexico won 2-0! I also spent time packing. I prefer to do last minute packing, but I knew I was going to end up having to mail a box of stuff home. I made no bake cookies with Laurel and Kelsey. Pierre had never had them before, and neither had mi familia.
Friday I went to Parque Bicentenario.
It rained for a bit, but afterwards we rode some rides. I had come back early to make it to the post office on time. I was going to mail 2 boxes home, but apparently you can’t mail anything breakable or any kind of liquid…so that cut it down to one box. I got back home and met up with some of the Hope girls for girls night. We ate at Chili’s and crossed the highway to the movie theater, where 2 other girls joined us. I hadn’t been to the movies the entire time I was here, and then I ended up going twice in one week. We saw Toy Story 3, which I had already seen, but it was cute and the movies are cheaper here, so I didn’t mind. I plan on watching it a third time when I get home, so I can finally see it in English. Four of us went back to one of the girl’s houses to sleep. In the morning we woke up, met up with one of the Hope boys, and went to San Miguel de Allende. We walked around the main plaza, saw the church and the mirador, and went through the markets. Then we were off to the thermal waters, the same ones I went to when my parents were here. It was lovely.
We went back downtown, hung out for a bit, and came back to Querétaro in time for game night. I hung out with Maria and Edgar. Their family stayed until 1:30 am, so us children were tired and started falling asleep. Before he fell asleep, Edgar told me that he had a lot of fun with me this semester. What a cutie. I was off to bed as soon as they left.
Sunday I worked on packing. It was Father’s day in Mexico too, but it’s no where near as big of a deal as Mother’s day is here. Maria and Edgar came over again to say goodbye, so we hung out and played games and took pictures.
Mis padres, Maria, and Me:
I finished up packing, and ended up having to pass off some things to some of the other Hope girls who have extra suitcase space. After lunch I went downtown for the last time with Laurel. When I got back, my “aunt” and “uncle” came over to say goodbye to me. We ate dinner, and I finished up packing and said goodbye to Pierre and Luis. Later Kelsey stopped over to say goodbye, although saying goodbye to Kelsey and Laurel was a lot easier because they live in Michigan.
I got a solid 3 ½ hours of sleep and was up by 4:30 to start my day of travel on Monday. Mis padres drove me to the airport and we said our goodbyes. I had to switch some stuff around at the airport, but my two suitcases were at the weight limit. I left Querétaro around 7 AM.
Mountains (Sierra Gorda, Querétaro)
I got to Houston around 9, went through immigration and customs, and was off to Chicago. My carry on bag that I left at the front of the plane was sent to baggage claim, so I had to claim it and go through security and everything again. My flight got delayed, so I had a nice long layover. I got to GR around 8:30, had a nice welcome home committee, stopped at my aunt and uncle’s, and got home around 12:30.
So, 3 ½ hours of sleep, 19 ½ hours of travel, 6 hours of sleep, and I had to be up at 6:15 for work on Tuesday.
pictures from my last few days in Querétaro: Querétaro
pictures from San Miguel: San Miguel
Wednesday I hung out at home and in el centro. Also, Maria, a girl from Hope who stayed here last spring, arrived that night. She’s here visiting this week. Thursday I did some shopping and watched the Mexico-France game, where Mexico won 2-0! I also spent time packing. I prefer to do last minute packing, but I knew I was going to end up having to mail a box of stuff home. I made no bake cookies with Laurel and Kelsey. Pierre had never had them before, and neither had mi familia.
Friday I went to Parque Bicentenario.
It rained for a bit, but afterwards we rode some rides. I had come back early to make it to the post office on time. I was going to mail 2 boxes home, but apparently you can’t mail anything breakable or any kind of liquid…so that cut it down to one box. I got back home and met up with some of the Hope girls for girls night. We ate at Chili’s and crossed the highway to the movie theater, where 2 other girls joined us. I hadn’t been to the movies the entire time I was here, and then I ended up going twice in one week. We saw Toy Story 3, which I had already seen, but it was cute and the movies are cheaper here, so I didn’t mind. I plan on watching it a third time when I get home, so I can finally see it in English. Four of us went back to one of the girl’s houses to sleep. In the morning we woke up, met up with one of the Hope boys, and went to San Miguel de Allende. We walked around the main plaza, saw the church and the mirador, and went through the markets. Then we were off to the thermal waters, the same ones I went to when my parents were here. It was lovely.
We went back downtown, hung out for a bit, and came back to Querétaro in time for game night. I hung out with Maria and Edgar. Their family stayed until 1:30 am, so us children were tired and started falling asleep. Before he fell asleep, Edgar told me that he had a lot of fun with me this semester. What a cutie. I was off to bed as soon as they left.
Sunday I worked on packing. It was Father’s day in Mexico too, but it’s no where near as big of a deal as Mother’s day is here. Maria and Edgar came over again to say goodbye, so we hung out and played games and took pictures.
Mis padres, Maria, and Me:
I finished up packing, and ended up having to pass off some things to some of the other Hope girls who have extra suitcase space. After lunch I went downtown for the last time with Laurel. When I got back, my “aunt” and “uncle” came over to say goodbye to me. We ate dinner, and I finished up packing and said goodbye to Pierre and Luis. Later Kelsey stopped over to say goodbye, although saying goodbye to Kelsey and Laurel was a lot easier because they live in Michigan.
I got a solid 3 ½ hours of sleep and was up by 4:30 to start my day of travel on Monday. Mis padres drove me to the airport and we said our goodbyes. I had to switch some stuff around at the airport, but my two suitcases were at the weight limit. I left Querétaro around 7 AM.
Mountains (Sierra Gorda, Querétaro)
I got to Houston around 9, went through immigration and customs, and was off to Chicago. My carry on bag that I left at the front of the plane was sent to baggage claim, so I had to claim it and go through security and everything again. My flight got delayed, so I had a nice long layover. I got to GR around 8:30, had a nice welcome home committee, stopped at my aunt and uncle’s, and got home around 12:30.
So, 3 ½ hours of sleep, 19 ½ hours of travel, 6 hours of sleep, and I had to be up at 6:15 for work on Tuesday.
pictures from my last few days in Querétaro: Querétaro
pictures from San Miguel: San Miguel
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Seremos grandes, seremos fuertes
Mexico is quite relaxing when you don’t have to go to school. =)
Monday and Tuesday I went to el centro to hang out and do some shopping. Tuesday night we celebrated Kelsey’s birthday at his house. His birthday is in July, but his host mom wanted to celebrate before he leaves. We ate dinner and had homemade chocoflan cake, which was delicious. Wednesday and Thursday I hung out at the house and spent some time in the sun. I actually had time to look at my Spanish grammar review book (a little late, I know), and read my Bible.
Friday was mi padre’s birthday. I woke up early to eat breakfast at the same time as Pierre so we could give mi padre his presents together. After breakfast, I went to a restaurant with Laurel to watch the first world cup game, Mexico vs South Africa. Since it was an early game, we decided to go to the closest place we knew would be broadcasting the game – a restaurant in the mall right by my house. We thought that since it’s a nice restaurant, the people would be calm, but that wasn’t the case, there was screaming every time Mexico got somewhat close the other team’s goal. They’re REALLY into the world cup down here, a lot of taxi driver’s didn’t work during the game, some game shows dedicated their show to world cup questions, and I even heard that the elementary schools showed the game during school. In the evening we celebrated mi padre’s birthday with two kinds of cakes.
Saturday I hung out downtown until the evening, when mis padre’s friends came over to play cards. My “cousin” called my “aunt” to tell her that she had 2 passes to go see Toy Story 3 the next day, and they decided that I’d go see it with the 13 year old, Maria. She spent the night and we went on Sunday. I thought it was cute. We came back to the house and her parents and 8-year-old brother, Edgar, were here. The mom told me that Edgar asks everyday if when they’re going to be coming to Cristóbal’s house (mi padre), and she said, “wow, you must really love Cristóbal.” He told her that he really just wants to see me. I thought that was absolutely adorable, especially since I don’t see them that often. Before they had decided that Maria would spend the night here, the plan was that I would spend the night at their house. When they changed their minds, he was so mad that he wouldn’t even say goodbye to mis padres.
Sunday I went to go see Toy Story 3 with Maria. In the afternoon Laurel came over and we decided to go to the beach. So, after a few minutes of looking up bus schedules and a few phone calls, we arrived at the station just in time to hop on the 9:45 bus to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
We arrived Monday around 8:30 and my “aunt’s” daughter, Jessi, picked us up from the bus station with her boyfriend, Noel. We went back to their place to drop off our stuff and were off to breakfast and then the beach. The beach we went to, Playa Manzanilla, was in Nayarit, the state north of Jalisco.
We hung out and went on a boat tour. From the boat, we saw some little bays and tiny, empty beaches. We stopped and went snorkeling in one of the bays. There were some beautiful, blue, shiny fishies. When we got back in the boat, the driver brought up two black starfish and put them on us so we could take pictures. Just the thought of them on me makes me jumpy, with their 5 legs moving all over.
We went back to the beach, swam, headed downtown to eat, and went back to the apartment to shower. Noel had to go to work, but one Jessi’s friends, Eric, who also lives in the apartment, came with us instead. We missed a lot of the sunset, but did see the last part of it.
We headed to the Malecón, which is the downtown area.
There are shops, restaurants, and bars on one side of the street, and a side walk and the ocean on the other. There were all sorts of things to see, sculptures (of metal and sand), people, a man balancing rocks on top of each other, and a pirate ship with fireworks.
Even though we were exhausted from the long, sleepless bus ride and the ocean and sun, we went to a soccer game at 11. Eric and Antonio, who both live with Jessi and her boyfriend, were playing. After the game we went to dinner with some people, and they tried to convince Laurel and I to stay longer. It would’ve been nice, but I still have a lot to do in just a few days.
Tuesday we woke up and Noel, Jessi, Laurel, and I went to a mirador over the ocean and two rocks called “los arcos.”
There were some little stands, so we looked at the crafts and shirts and stuff, and watched this painter, who was amazing.
Then we went to Playa Boca de Tomatlán, where the Tomatlán River meets up with the ocean. It was really nice and tranquil.
Ocean:
River:
It was really nice and tranquil. We got some sun, swam, ate, and headed back to the apartment to shower and pack up. They took us to the bus station and we were off for another 11-hour ride. This time we actually got some sleep!
Photos: Puerto Vallarta
Monday and Tuesday I went to el centro to hang out and do some shopping. Tuesday night we celebrated Kelsey’s birthday at his house. His birthday is in July, but his host mom wanted to celebrate before he leaves. We ate dinner and had homemade chocoflan cake, which was delicious. Wednesday and Thursday I hung out at the house and spent some time in the sun. I actually had time to look at my Spanish grammar review book (a little late, I know), and read my Bible.
Friday was mi padre’s birthday. I woke up early to eat breakfast at the same time as Pierre so we could give mi padre his presents together. After breakfast, I went to a restaurant with Laurel to watch the first world cup game, Mexico vs South Africa. Since it was an early game, we decided to go to the closest place we knew would be broadcasting the game – a restaurant in the mall right by my house. We thought that since it’s a nice restaurant, the people would be calm, but that wasn’t the case, there was screaming every time Mexico got somewhat close the other team’s goal. They’re REALLY into the world cup down here, a lot of taxi driver’s didn’t work during the game, some game shows dedicated their show to world cup questions, and I even heard that the elementary schools showed the game during school. In the evening we celebrated mi padre’s birthday with two kinds of cakes.
Saturday I hung out downtown until the evening, when mis padre’s friends came over to play cards. My “cousin” called my “aunt” to tell her that she had 2 passes to go see Toy Story 3 the next day, and they decided that I’d go see it with the 13 year old, Maria. She spent the night and we went on Sunday. I thought it was cute. We came back to the house and her parents and 8-year-old brother, Edgar, were here. The mom told me that Edgar asks everyday if when they’re going to be coming to Cristóbal’s house (mi padre), and she said, “wow, you must really love Cristóbal.” He told her that he really just wants to see me. I thought that was absolutely adorable, especially since I don’t see them that often. Before they had decided that Maria would spend the night here, the plan was that I would spend the night at their house. When they changed their minds, he was so mad that he wouldn’t even say goodbye to mis padres.
Sunday I went to go see Toy Story 3 with Maria. In the afternoon Laurel came over and we decided to go to the beach. So, after a few minutes of looking up bus schedules and a few phone calls, we arrived at the station just in time to hop on the 9:45 bus to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
We arrived Monday around 8:30 and my “aunt’s” daughter, Jessi, picked us up from the bus station with her boyfriend, Noel. We went back to their place to drop off our stuff and were off to breakfast and then the beach. The beach we went to, Playa Manzanilla, was in Nayarit, the state north of Jalisco.
We hung out and went on a boat tour. From the boat, we saw some little bays and tiny, empty beaches. We stopped and went snorkeling in one of the bays. There were some beautiful, blue, shiny fishies. When we got back in the boat, the driver brought up two black starfish and put them on us so we could take pictures. Just the thought of them on me makes me jumpy, with their 5 legs moving all over.
We went back to the beach, swam, headed downtown to eat, and went back to the apartment to shower. Noel had to go to work, but one Jessi’s friends, Eric, who also lives in the apartment, came with us instead. We missed a lot of the sunset, but did see the last part of it.
We headed to the Malecón, which is the downtown area.
There are shops, restaurants, and bars on one side of the street, and a side walk and the ocean on the other. There were all sorts of things to see, sculptures (of metal and sand), people, a man balancing rocks on top of each other, and a pirate ship with fireworks.
Even though we were exhausted from the long, sleepless bus ride and the ocean and sun, we went to a soccer game at 11. Eric and Antonio, who both live with Jessi and her boyfriend, were playing. After the game we went to dinner with some people, and they tried to convince Laurel and I to stay longer. It would’ve been nice, but I still have a lot to do in just a few days.
Tuesday we woke up and Noel, Jessi, Laurel, and I went to a mirador over the ocean and two rocks called “los arcos.”
There were some little stands, so we looked at the crafts and shirts and stuff, and watched this painter, who was amazing.
Then we went to Playa Boca de Tomatlán, where the Tomatlán River meets up with the ocean. It was really nice and tranquil.
Ocean:
River:
It was really nice and tranquil. We got some sun, swam, ate, and headed back to the apartment to shower and pack up. They took us to the bus station and we were off for another 11-hour ride. This time we actually got some sleep!
Photos: Puerto Vallarta
Monday, June 7, 2010
Ferias y Festivales
Exam week. My professor told us last Wednesday that he’d come to class Monday to answer any questions we had over the exam. He didn’t show, so I spent that time studying. For the second class, he had told us last Wednesday that he’d bring pictures to class that we would use for our final paper. He didn’t bring them, but he gave us a little more detail for the paper than “write a paper.” I do like the guy, he’s really kind, I just don’t think he makes a good professor (although I may feel differently if I actually spoke Spanish). That afternoon I went to mi madre's sister's house and we made tiramisu.
Tuesday I spent studying.
Wednesday I went to class for the exam at 9. The professor showed up twenty minutes late and then looked worried when he found out that the students had a class at 11, as it was going to be a long exam. Part of the test involved reading a text and analyzing it. It was in español antiguo (Old Spanish), so that was interesting. When I got to a word that I didn’t understand, I had to wonder if it was just a Spanish word that I didn’t know, or a Spanish word that I did know but couldn’t understand because of the different spelling or usage in Old Spanish.
Thursday I worked on my final paper all day, and would have finished if I hadn’t then decided to redo one third of it. I finished Friday, which means the rest of my time in Mexico is free time! The paper isn’t due until June 14th, making this the second paper in my life (ok, maybe my highschool/college life) that I have finished more than a day ahead of time.
Friday I met up with Ricardo, the guy who used to live here, for crepes in el centro. It was the first time I had seen him since March, so we had a nice time catching up. Then I met up with three of the Hope girls, and we went to Laurel’s house to make brownies. We couldn’t figure out how to light the oven though, so we ended up eating brownie batter…not that that’s a bad thing.
Saturday Kelsey, Laurel, and I went to the National Wine and Cheese Fair in Tequisquiapan, about an hour from Querétaro. We saw the main plaza, walked through the markets, and were on to the Fair, which was really crowded. It was a big tent with different stands. Most sold bottles of wine and/or cheese, but there were some with mixed wine drinks too. I had a flotante, which is basically a root beer float, except with white wine instead of root beer and orange nieve instead of ice cream. (Nieve is kind of like a slushie.) I’m not a huge fan of wine, but when you mix it with something sweet…it was delicious. We met up with some other kids from la UAQ and hung out for a bit before heading back to Querétaro.
Sunday we went to Parque Bicentenario (Bicentennial Park), which is like a smaller Michigan’s Adventure, just outside of Querétaro. It was the third annual Festival of Foreign Communities. There was a huge tent with stands from many different countries. Most of the stands had food, and at the end of the tent, there was a stage where they would have performances of different countries. We saw Venezuelan dancing, Irish dancing, Arabic dancing, Martial Arts, and Flamenco dancing.
Venezuelan dancing:
Belly Dance:
Flamenco:
It was really well organized. It started raining really hard at one point, so EVERYONE crowded underneath the tents. There are also a few rides, but by the time we got around to wanting to ride them, they were closing down. Oh well. We went downtown and hung out for a bit before going back home.
Pictures:
random other pics I've taken in Qro:
Querétaro
from the Wine/Cheese fair:
Tequis
a few randoms and the Foreign Communities festival:
Querétaro
Tuesday I spent studying.
Wednesday I went to class for the exam at 9. The professor showed up twenty minutes late and then looked worried when he found out that the students had a class at 11, as it was going to be a long exam. Part of the test involved reading a text and analyzing it. It was in español antiguo (Old Spanish), so that was interesting. When I got to a word that I didn’t understand, I had to wonder if it was just a Spanish word that I didn’t know, or a Spanish word that I did know but couldn’t understand because of the different spelling or usage in Old Spanish.
Thursday I worked on my final paper all day, and would have finished if I hadn’t then decided to redo one third of it. I finished Friday, which means the rest of my time in Mexico is free time! The paper isn’t due until June 14th, making this the second paper in my life (ok, maybe my highschool/college life) that I have finished more than a day ahead of time.
Friday I met up with Ricardo, the guy who used to live here, for crepes in el centro. It was the first time I had seen him since March, so we had a nice time catching up. Then I met up with three of the Hope girls, and we went to Laurel’s house to make brownies. We couldn’t figure out how to light the oven though, so we ended up eating brownie batter…not that that’s a bad thing.
Saturday Kelsey, Laurel, and I went to the National Wine and Cheese Fair in Tequisquiapan, about an hour from Querétaro. We saw the main plaza, walked through the markets, and were on to the Fair, which was really crowded. It was a big tent with different stands. Most sold bottles of wine and/or cheese, but there were some with mixed wine drinks too. I had a flotante, which is basically a root beer float, except with white wine instead of root beer and orange nieve instead of ice cream. (Nieve is kind of like a slushie.) I’m not a huge fan of wine, but when you mix it with something sweet…it was delicious. We met up with some other kids from la UAQ and hung out for a bit before heading back to Querétaro.
Sunday we went to Parque Bicentenario (Bicentennial Park), which is like a smaller Michigan’s Adventure, just outside of Querétaro. It was the third annual Festival of Foreign Communities. There was a huge tent with stands from many different countries. Most of the stands had food, and at the end of the tent, there was a stage where they would have performances of different countries. We saw Venezuelan dancing, Irish dancing, Arabic dancing, Martial Arts, and Flamenco dancing.
Venezuelan dancing:
Belly Dance:
Flamenco:
It was really well organized. It started raining really hard at one point, so EVERYONE crowded underneath the tents. There are also a few rides, but by the time we got around to wanting to ride them, they were closing down. Oh well. We went downtown and hung out for a bit before going back home.
Pictures:
random other pics I've taken in Qro:
Querétaro
from the Wine/Cheese fair:
Tequis
a few randoms and the Foreign Communities festival:
Querétaro
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
El agua es vida, cuídala
Monday I went to class and we finally started to talk about exams. The students discussed their exam date, and we decided on the next Wednesday. We began to ask about which readings would be on the exam, and the professor didn’t really want to discuss it, even though he was a little confused too (he was sure that we had read something that we were certain we hadn’t). My second class was cancelled, so we didn’t even get to discuss when the exam would be.
Tuesday I didn’t have class, since my sociolinguistics class ended last week. I was going to go downtown, but we didn’t have water Monday night-Tuesday evening, so I didn’t really feel like leaving since I hadn’t showered.
Wednesday I went to my first class for a review session. I thought that it would be nice, as we could maybe clarify some things about what would be on the exam. The professor came 30 minutes late, and this is how the review went:
“Close your eyes. Take deep breaths. Feel the air filling up your lungs. Feel the blood going through your body. Feel your hair. Feel every part of your body. Now think back to the first day of class…how you felt…your expectations for the semester. Think about the first thing we read…the author…the era…how it made you feel when you read it. Now do this for every book we read.” We then wrote about what we had reflected on. I think that meditation can be a great thing, but it certainly did not help me in terms of review…I already know what I remember, I want to know what I’m missing, or at least which readings we’ll be tested over! During the second class (which was the third time we have had that class this month…), we were told that we would have an oral exam. This did not make me happy. The professor wanted it to be the week of the 15th. This didn’t make the students happy. He decided that instead of an oral exam, he would bring in pictures next week and we would write about them for the final. This was a huge relief (although I’m still a little confused because he told me a few weeks ago that if you got higher than an 8 in the class, you wouldn’t have to take the exam…now it looks like everyone will do it).
Thursday was another free day, during which I was quite productive in studying.
Friday morning I met up with the Hope kids at 6:30 AM to leave for a trip to the Sierra Gorda. The sierra gorda is a mountain range in the northern part of the state of Querétaro. We hired a chauffeur, Jorge. Once you enter the Sierra, it is all curves and mountains and gorgeous scenery.
We went to a waterfall, La Cascada Chuveje.
we had a little hike to get to the waterfall, but the scenery was gorgeous:
La cascada:
Las chicas:
The water was cold, and there were signs that said you shouldn’t swim. We stayed there for a bit and enjoyed the sandwiches and snacks that we had packed. We then drove to Ayutla, where there are two rivers, the Santa Maria and Ayutla, which come together. One is warm water and one is cold.
We laid out in the sun for a bit and then hiked alongside the river until we got to a rock where you could jump off. I was pretty terrified (it didn’t help that on the rock there was one of those crosses that mark where someone died), but eventually I jumped in. I enjoyed it so much I had to do it again. We tried swimming back to where our stuff was, but there were rapids and rocks, so we had to get out and walk and some points. The warm water river felt so good, but the bottom was all rocky and the current was strong, so it was hard to stay put long enough to enjoy it. We then drove to Jalpan, which is the biggest city in the Sierra Gorda, but still tiny. Our hotel was nice, we hung out for a bit and then showered to go downtown to find food. By the time us girls were done showering, we looked out our balconies to see the guys playing soccer with some little (12-13 year old) boys. We went down to watch, and then had to wait for the boys to shower again. The field that they played on was concrete with dirt on top. When they were done playing, one of the Hope boys found a huge nail in his shoe. Luckily it had gone in sideways!
We finally went to el centro (which was right outside the hotel) and we saw the mission of Jalpan:
There are 5 missions in the Sierra to help convert people to Christianity. They were built by Franciscano Fray Junípero Serra and are especially important in terms of architecture.
We were hungry, and there were only 3 restaurants in sight, and one was closed. We had a nice meal and returned to the hotel, where me and the two other girls in my room accidentally took a short nap. Later we all went in one room to make sandwiches for the next day. Around midnight, we got ready to go in the pool, which was supposed to close at 9. Everyone said it would be fine if we were quiet. A manager came out and told us that we could stay if we were quiet. The group isn’t exactly good at being quiet, but the manager let us stay anyway. The hotel shower was wonderful, the first wonderful shower I’ve had since the end of spring break!
Sunday we woke up early and drove to Huichihuayan, which is in the state of San Luís Potosí. Here was the source of the river.
l sábado, fuimos a Huichihuayan en el estado de San Luís Potosí. Había un lugar que se llama el nacimiento de agua.
el grupo:
I had burned the day before, so I didn’t really want to lay out, and even though it was really hot out (we were in the region of Huasteca potosina, which is pretty tropical), the water was really cold. After awhile we packed up and asked if we could go to Xilitla on the way back, which was on the way. We went to a place called Sir Edward Jame’s castle. It was owned by Edward James, who was an artist, and there are all sorts of weird, surrealist structures.
There were also really great waterfalls and pozas (natural pools of water) to swim in. There were people jumping off of things into the water, and part of the rocks in the waterfall even formed a slide.
Unfortunately we were only there for an hour, which wasn’t long enough to see the structures and swim. It was even hotter there, so swimming would have been nice. We drove back and watched “El Estudiante” on the way, a Mexican film that was really cute. It was set in Guanajuato, so it was fun to see a whole bunch of places I had been to before. We got back around 9:30. Sunday I slept in, hung out at home and studied until Pierre made me go to Starbucks with him.
New food: Litchis. This is a small fruit with a coarse peel. Once you’ve peeled it, you eat everything around the pit. It’s pretty sweet and slimy, but good. I tried it for the first time last week when I went to the market with mis padres, but I had never heard of it before. When we were in San Luis Potosi, they were for sale everywhere. Next to the river in Huichihuayan, there was a huge orchard of them.
Pictures from the weekend: Sierra Gorda
Tuesday I didn’t have class, since my sociolinguistics class ended last week. I was going to go downtown, but we didn’t have water Monday night-Tuesday evening, so I didn’t really feel like leaving since I hadn’t showered.
Wednesday I went to my first class for a review session. I thought that it would be nice, as we could maybe clarify some things about what would be on the exam. The professor came 30 minutes late, and this is how the review went:
“Close your eyes. Take deep breaths. Feel the air filling up your lungs. Feel the blood going through your body. Feel your hair. Feel every part of your body. Now think back to the first day of class…how you felt…your expectations for the semester. Think about the first thing we read…the author…the era…how it made you feel when you read it. Now do this for every book we read.” We then wrote about what we had reflected on. I think that meditation can be a great thing, but it certainly did not help me in terms of review…I already know what I remember, I want to know what I’m missing, or at least which readings we’ll be tested over! During the second class (which was the third time we have had that class this month…), we were told that we would have an oral exam. This did not make me happy. The professor wanted it to be the week of the 15th. This didn’t make the students happy. He decided that instead of an oral exam, he would bring in pictures next week and we would write about them for the final. This was a huge relief (although I’m still a little confused because he told me a few weeks ago that if you got higher than an 8 in the class, you wouldn’t have to take the exam…now it looks like everyone will do it).
Thursday was another free day, during which I was quite productive in studying.
Friday morning I met up with the Hope kids at 6:30 AM to leave for a trip to the Sierra Gorda. The sierra gorda is a mountain range in the northern part of the state of Querétaro. We hired a chauffeur, Jorge. Once you enter the Sierra, it is all curves and mountains and gorgeous scenery.
We went to a waterfall, La Cascada Chuveje.
we had a little hike to get to the waterfall, but the scenery was gorgeous:
La cascada:
Las chicas:
The water was cold, and there were signs that said you shouldn’t swim. We stayed there for a bit and enjoyed the sandwiches and snacks that we had packed. We then drove to Ayutla, where there are two rivers, the Santa Maria and Ayutla, which come together. One is warm water and one is cold.
We laid out in the sun for a bit and then hiked alongside the river until we got to a rock where you could jump off. I was pretty terrified (it didn’t help that on the rock there was one of those crosses that mark where someone died), but eventually I jumped in. I enjoyed it so much I had to do it again. We tried swimming back to where our stuff was, but there were rapids and rocks, so we had to get out and walk and some points. The warm water river felt so good, but the bottom was all rocky and the current was strong, so it was hard to stay put long enough to enjoy it. We then drove to Jalpan, which is the biggest city in the Sierra Gorda, but still tiny. Our hotel was nice, we hung out for a bit and then showered to go downtown to find food. By the time us girls were done showering, we looked out our balconies to see the guys playing soccer with some little (12-13 year old) boys. We went down to watch, and then had to wait for the boys to shower again. The field that they played on was concrete with dirt on top. When they were done playing, one of the Hope boys found a huge nail in his shoe. Luckily it had gone in sideways!
We finally went to el centro (which was right outside the hotel) and we saw the mission of Jalpan:
There are 5 missions in the Sierra to help convert people to Christianity. They were built by Franciscano Fray Junípero Serra and are especially important in terms of architecture.
We were hungry, and there were only 3 restaurants in sight, and one was closed. We had a nice meal and returned to the hotel, where me and the two other girls in my room accidentally took a short nap. Later we all went in one room to make sandwiches for the next day. Around midnight, we got ready to go in the pool, which was supposed to close at 9. Everyone said it would be fine if we were quiet. A manager came out and told us that we could stay if we were quiet. The group isn’t exactly good at being quiet, but the manager let us stay anyway. The hotel shower was wonderful, the first wonderful shower I’ve had since the end of spring break!
Sunday we woke up early and drove to Huichihuayan, which is in the state of San Luís Potosí. Here was the source of the river.
l sábado, fuimos a Huichihuayan en el estado de San Luís Potosí. Había un lugar que se llama el nacimiento de agua.
el grupo:
I had burned the day before, so I didn’t really want to lay out, and even though it was really hot out (we were in the region of Huasteca potosina, which is pretty tropical), the water was really cold. After awhile we packed up and asked if we could go to Xilitla on the way back, which was on the way. We went to a place called Sir Edward Jame’s castle. It was owned by Edward James, who was an artist, and there are all sorts of weird, surrealist structures.
There were also really great waterfalls and pozas (natural pools of water) to swim in. There were people jumping off of things into the water, and part of the rocks in the waterfall even formed a slide.
Unfortunately we were only there for an hour, which wasn’t long enough to see the structures and swim. It was even hotter there, so swimming would have been nice. We drove back and watched “El Estudiante” on the way, a Mexican film that was really cute. It was set in Guanajuato, so it was fun to see a whole bunch of places I had been to before. We got back around 9:30. Sunday I slept in, hung out at home and studied until Pierre made me go to Starbucks with him.
New food: Litchis. This is a small fruit with a coarse peel. Once you’ve peeled it, you eat everything around the pit. It’s pretty sweet and slimy, but good. I tried it for the first time last week when I went to the market with mis padres, but I had never heard of it before. When we were in San Luis Potosi, they were for sale everywhere. Next to the river in Huichihuayan, there was a huge orchard of them.
Pictures from the weekend: Sierra Gorda
Monday, May 24, 2010
Guanajuato por fin
I have 27 days left in Mexico. This means I have less than a month to find Zorro.
Tuesday my only class was cancelled (are we starting to see a pattern?) because my classmates had to go to a conference. I went to the market with mis padres. Later that day I went downtown with Kelsey, and we were sitting in a plaza filling out postcards. A guy came up trying to get us to buy something. I told him I didn’t have change. He told me he’d take a bill. I told him no. He talked a bit more, and then asked if I wanted to go smoke some marijuana with him. Lovely. He may not have enough money to visit his family, but at least he has enough money for drugs.
Wednesday both of my classes were cancelled. It was día del estudiante (Student’s day) but that didn’t really have anything to do with it. We went to a presentation during the first one, and then when I got to the second one, someone told me we wouldn’t be having it. Thursday I went to class and then someone said we weren’t having class, instead we were going to go look at our grades. I thought they must mean the grades from our last essays, but they meant our final grades. Our professor is so pregnant that she doesn’t want to have class the last two weeks. I got a 9.5 (grades in Mexico are from 1-10), but the .5 rounds down to a 9. I can’t complain about that though, seeing as how I don’t have to write the final paper, and I got a 9 in a class taught in Spanish. Not only that, but it was a 6th semester linguistics class, and I’ve never taken a linguistics class in my life. Now I will only be having class Mondays and Wednesdays.
Thursday night I hung out with some of the students from Hope. We basically had an American night, as we met in Starbucks, went to McDonalds, and then went to the mall.
Friday morning I went to the market with them. The Hope kids are all really nice, and being around them has made me realize how much I have improved. When I hear them talk in Spanish, I am reminded of where I was at the beginning of the semester. I may not have improved as much as I would have liked to, but I have definitely improved more than I had realized.
This weekend I went to Guanajuato with Kelsey. It is the capital of the state Guanajuato, and it’s about 2 hours from Querétaro. We left in the afternoon on Friday. We found our hostel and walked around el centro. We saw the plaza principal (main square), the teatro (theatre), la basilica, and la Universidad de Guanajuato, which is a really cool building with a pretty view (although pretty much everywhere in Guanajuato has a pretty view).
The theatre:
We watched part of a performance of la estudiantina, a group that walks around and plays.
Our hostel was right over a bar, so we didn’t get much sleep.
Saturday we went to the market. There are a whole bunch of fondas, or teeny restaurants, and as we were walking up to them to figure out where we were going to eat, the owners all start waving the menus, calling out, and making noises to get you to come to theirs. We walked to a building called the Alhóndiga, which I will explain later. Then we went to callejón del beso (Alley of the kiss), which is a really tiny alley. At one point it’s so tiny that the two balconies across from each other almost touch. Legend has it that two lovers kept apart used to kiss from these balconies.
Basilica:
Main Square:
We walked through a lot of plazas and stores, and then walked far away from downtown to see a park by a dam. The dam was empty because they were doing construction. We went back downtown and rode the funicular up to the Pípila statue.
The statue is of a man holding a torch. At one point, the Spanish were occupying Guanajuato, and they had locked the Alhóndiga, which is where all of the food was stored. If anyone tried to get to the door to unlock it, the Spanish would shoot them. This guy carried a stone big enough to cover his body along with a torch, and burned down the door of this building so the townspeople could enter and get food. The statue is at the top of a huge hill with a beautiful view of the city.
el centro:
We hung out there for a bit and actually ran into one of our classmates, which was quite a surprise.
Sunday we went to the Casa Diego Rivera museum, which is the house where Diego Rivera (famous Mexican artist) was born. It’s four stories, the bottom story has all of the typical furniture from that time period, the 2nd and 3rd stories have his artwork, and the 4th story has art from other artists. On the way back to our hostel we ran into Pierre, who was also there for the weekend with other students from his program. We wandered around some more walking through the tunnels.
There are tunnels underneath the whole city, it’s pretty neat, and a nice way to avoid too much traffic in the city streets. Later we went to the Don Quixote museum, which had artwork from all over featuring Don Quixote.
We got back to Querétaro and I caught up with mis padres who had been in a different state for a wedding.
Photo album from this weekend: Guanajuato
Tuesday my only class was cancelled (are we starting to see a pattern?) because my classmates had to go to a conference. I went to the market with mis padres. Later that day I went downtown with Kelsey, and we were sitting in a plaza filling out postcards. A guy came up trying to get us to buy something. I told him I didn’t have change. He told me he’d take a bill. I told him no. He talked a bit more, and then asked if I wanted to go smoke some marijuana with him. Lovely. He may not have enough money to visit his family, but at least he has enough money for drugs.
Wednesday both of my classes were cancelled. It was día del estudiante (Student’s day) but that didn’t really have anything to do with it. We went to a presentation during the first one, and then when I got to the second one, someone told me we wouldn’t be having it. Thursday I went to class and then someone said we weren’t having class, instead we were going to go look at our grades. I thought they must mean the grades from our last essays, but they meant our final grades. Our professor is so pregnant that she doesn’t want to have class the last two weeks. I got a 9.5 (grades in Mexico are from 1-10), but the .5 rounds down to a 9. I can’t complain about that though, seeing as how I don’t have to write the final paper, and I got a 9 in a class taught in Spanish. Not only that, but it was a 6th semester linguistics class, and I’ve never taken a linguistics class in my life. Now I will only be having class Mondays and Wednesdays.
Thursday night I hung out with some of the students from Hope. We basically had an American night, as we met in Starbucks, went to McDonalds, and then went to the mall.
Friday morning I went to the market with them. The Hope kids are all really nice, and being around them has made me realize how much I have improved. When I hear them talk in Spanish, I am reminded of where I was at the beginning of the semester. I may not have improved as much as I would have liked to, but I have definitely improved more than I had realized.
This weekend I went to Guanajuato with Kelsey. It is the capital of the state Guanajuato, and it’s about 2 hours from Querétaro. We left in the afternoon on Friday. We found our hostel and walked around el centro. We saw the plaza principal (main square), the teatro (theatre), la basilica, and la Universidad de Guanajuato, which is a really cool building with a pretty view (although pretty much everywhere in Guanajuato has a pretty view).
The theatre:
We watched part of a performance of la estudiantina, a group that walks around and plays.
Our hostel was right over a bar, so we didn’t get much sleep.
Saturday we went to the market. There are a whole bunch of fondas, or teeny restaurants, and as we were walking up to them to figure out where we were going to eat, the owners all start waving the menus, calling out, and making noises to get you to come to theirs. We walked to a building called the Alhóndiga, which I will explain later. Then we went to callejón del beso (Alley of the kiss), which is a really tiny alley. At one point it’s so tiny that the two balconies across from each other almost touch. Legend has it that two lovers kept apart used to kiss from these balconies.
Basilica:
Main Square:
We walked through a lot of plazas and stores, and then walked far away from downtown to see a park by a dam. The dam was empty because they were doing construction. We went back downtown and rode the funicular up to the Pípila statue.
The statue is of a man holding a torch. At one point, the Spanish were occupying Guanajuato, and they had locked the Alhóndiga, which is where all of the food was stored. If anyone tried to get to the door to unlock it, the Spanish would shoot them. This guy carried a stone big enough to cover his body along with a torch, and burned down the door of this building so the townspeople could enter and get food. The statue is at the top of a huge hill with a beautiful view of the city.
el centro:
We hung out there for a bit and actually ran into one of our classmates, which was quite a surprise.
Sunday we went to the Casa Diego Rivera museum, which is the house where Diego Rivera (famous Mexican artist) was born. It’s four stories, the bottom story has all of the typical furniture from that time period, the 2nd and 3rd stories have his artwork, and the 4th story has art from other artists. On the way back to our hostel we ran into Pierre, who was also there for the weekend with other students from his program. We wandered around some more walking through the tunnels.
There are tunnels underneath the whole city, it’s pretty neat, and a nice way to avoid too much traffic in the city streets. Later we went to the Don Quixote museum, which had artwork from all over featuring Don Quixote.
We got back to Querétaro and I caught up with mis padres who had been in a different state for a wedding.
Photo album from this weekend: Guanajuato
Monday, May 17, 2010
hasta que el dinero nos separe...
Sarah, the girl from Hope who lived here last semester, was here visiting this week, so she slept in my room and we shared stories. A group of 10 students and a teacher from Hope had arrived earlier in the week for a two-month summer program. I saw them for the first time on Wednesday. I talked to some of the students, two of which are actually living in the same area as me, and chatted with the professor too. I believe that I will end up going on a trip or two with them, so I’m pretty excited about that. My second class on Wednesday was cancelled. This happens quite often, but it’s always a nice surprise.
Thursday after class I had coffee with a friend. I always cringe when someone invites me to coffee when they mean actual coffee – I’m just not a fan. However, this was café de olla, which means coffee prepared in a pot, and it’s prepared with piloncillo, which is obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. It was delicious, probably because it tasted nothing like coffee.
The weekend wasn’t extremely exciting, but I was still trying to catch up on sleep from last weekend. Saturday I went to one of the markets in town. I didn’t buy anything, but it’s always fun to look. Also I had the best horchata I’ve had down here. I took a delightful two-hour nap, and later in the night one of the families that comes over for the weekly card game came over. The boy, Edgar, is 8 (I think) and he never has anything to do. He showed me the toys we bought, and then I asked if he wanted to play a game. He showed me the program on his dad’s phone to make music, and then the program to take pictures and edit it. I got my computer and played in photo booth with him. He absolutely loved the effects, and Maria (his sister, who’s around 13) came over to see what all the laughing was about. We spent the rest of the night taking pictures while the adults played their card game.
Playing with the effects:
Sunday mis padres invited Laurel and I to come to the church. They go to the first mass and stick around for the next two to sell tamales, waffles, fresh orange juice, and atole afterwards.
They were leaving at 7am, so they had their friends pick us up and take us at 9. We ate waffles (mine had cajeta, chocolate syrup, and strawberries with cream…so good) and then went to the ten o’clock mass. It was the kid’s mass, and it was different than any mass I’ve been to in the US. The songs were more modern, and were performed by a band (I could see about 7 guitars, 2 tambourines, and 4 singers, but there might have been more instruments). The kids all gathered at the front for the sermon part. There was a puppet and it was more of a asking questions sermon than an actual message. For communion, it wasn’t dismissed row-by-row, rather whoever wanted to go up went up. The adults went first, and no one took the Eucharist in their hands, it was placed in everyone’s mouths. The kids went up next, and they got real bread.
Later that day Pierre invited me to Starbucks. It was a nice sibling bonding experience. We chatted over delicious drinks.
This was the first week I actually felt like my speaking has improved. I still stumble over my words, so it could be that the change is completely psychological. Either way, I’ll take it.
Thursday after class I had coffee with a friend. I always cringe when someone invites me to coffee when they mean actual coffee – I’m just not a fan. However, this was café de olla, which means coffee prepared in a pot, and it’s prepared with piloncillo, which is obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. It was delicious, probably because it tasted nothing like coffee.
The weekend wasn’t extremely exciting, but I was still trying to catch up on sleep from last weekend. Saturday I went to one of the markets in town. I didn’t buy anything, but it’s always fun to look. Also I had the best horchata I’ve had down here. I took a delightful two-hour nap, and later in the night one of the families that comes over for the weekly card game came over. The boy, Edgar, is 8 (I think) and he never has anything to do. He showed me the toys we bought, and then I asked if he wanted to play a game. He showed me the program on his dad’s phone to make music, and then the program to take pictures and edit it. I got my computer and played in photo booth with him. He absolutely loved the effects, and Maria (his sister, who’s around 13) came over to see what all the laughing was about. We spent the rest of the night taking pictures while the adults played their card game.
Playing with the effects:
Sunday mis padres invited Laurel and I to come to the church. They go to the first mass and stick around for the next two to sell tamales, waffles, fresh orange juice, and atole afterwards.
They were leaving at 7am, so they had their friends pick us up and take us at 9. We ate waffles (mine had cajeta, chocolate syrup, and strawberries with cream…so good) and then went to the ten o’clock mass. It was the kid’s mass, and it was different than any mass I’ve been to in the US. The songs were more modern, and were performed by a band (I could see about 7 guitars, 2 tambourines, and 4 singers, but there might have been more instruments). The kids all gathered at the front for the sermon part. There was a puppet and it was more of a asking questions sermon than an actual message. For communion, it wasn’t dismissed row-by-row, rather whoever wanted to go up went up. The adults went first, and no one took the Eucharist in their hands, it was placed in everyone’s mouths. The kids went up next, and they got real bread.
Later that day Pierre invited me to Starbucks. It was a nice sibling bonding experience. We chatted over delicious drinks.
This was the first week I actually felt like my speaking has improved. I still stumble over my words, so it could be that the change is completely psychological. Either way, I’ll take it.
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