Weeks 5 & 6
Oct 15 – Nov 5, 2006
Gotta get this blog caught up. What have I been doing these last couple weeks? Well, for one, surviving my “clase de español 4”. It has been the hardest of my classes so far. Mostly likely due to it being subjunctive, present and past. I basically understood present subjunctive, but had to learn the past! Lots of homework and studying. I managed B’s on all the exams, fortunately they also considered in my grade, homework and participation. So am pretty sure I am earning my A’s. I study so many hours for my B’s, I can’t imagine what I would get if I didn’t study 5 hours the night before my exams.
For fun, entertainment and speaking Spanish opportunities, I have done some sight seeing and some attempts. Two weekends ago, I decided to take my first journey alone. I wanted to see some Aztec ruins nearby. Sounded so easy. Rosalia, my host mom, made sure I knew which bus to take and what time. I was successful catching the bus the next morning. Problem was, since the name is in Azteca, I couldn’t say it, nor understand it if it was spoken. So I am on the big bus, heading out to the ruinas, except I wasn’t to sure where it would be so I counted on the bus driver stopping there and I was sure there would be a sign or something that would have the name. Well, never assume, right? Well after a hour bus ride, the bus stops, the driver gets up mumbles something I could barely hear, let alone understand. He walks the bus aisle, returns to his seat and starts driving away. Since I was a tad car sick, not really paying attention to what was going on, I peek out the window and see 2 taxis parked on the side of the road. Then I think, “Is that the stop?” after I see the taxis. I remember the tour book said, I would take a bus, and then go by taxi to the park. So I figure I will ask at the next stop. Well, that was 2.5 hours later, in some mountain town. So by then my panic has cleared, this is now an adventure. In this new bus station, I could buy a ticket to Taxco, another town I visited a few weeks back. I want to go back anyways for this silver armadillo that had seen but I didn’t buy it the first time. Also, thinking if I went to Taxco then I could have a round trip adventure, see the scenery. Wrong! I was so nauseated on the trip over the mountains to Taxco, I had my eyes closed the whole time (1.5 hours or so) trying not to barf, and I saw nothing. I was so happy when I arrived in Taxco! I stayed there about 3 hours, did some shopping, and bought my armadillo that will look so cute on desk at home! At 6pm, I got on another bus for Cuernavaca, and arrived back home about 8:30pm. My host family couldn’t believe my day and in the end never did see the Aztec ruinas!! I will try again in a couple weeks.
So..This past weekend, I visited Acapulco for 3 days with my host mom, Rosalia. She asked if she could come with me so that I would be safe and not be bored traveling alone. We had a great weekend, I think she really wanted to go, because she loves sitting on the beach as much as I do. Our hotel was nice, right on the beach; we had a room with a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean. We only did a little sight seeing and that was to see the cliff jumpers, that I remember seeing on TV when I was a little kid. That was the only touristy thing I wanted to do. Watching those 5 young men jump off the cliff was kind of worrisome for me as I know there are injuries from jumping, and I really didn’t want to see any blood! But they all dove safely into the water.
Aside from reading a book while sitting by the pool or walking on the beach, I was extremely content to just relax and enjoy the view. This past weekend was a national holiday for “El dia de muertos” or “Day of the dead”. So many Mexican families use this long weekend to head to the beach, just like me!! So to entertain all the tourists, there was an air show. The show lasted for about 4 hours on both Sat. and Sun. There was various planes of all ages, WWII vintage, to modern jets, performing tricks in the sky!! It was cool to sit by the pool and watch. Except for the final jet that did all these fly-bys and was so extremely loud, especially a few seconds after it pasted over. Then it really got loud!! I had to plug my ears!!
Since Rosalia doesn’t speak English, I had plenty of opportunity to practice. We didn’t have long in-depth conversations, as my Spanish isn’t that sophisticated, but we had many casual conversations over pina coladas and margaritas!! And…the hotel tried to tell me that breakfast was not included, well, in my best Spanish, I went to the front desk and demanded (nicely) my breakfast, as I had paid for them in my reservations. Since I got no where with her, I had to go find a internet café, and print off my reservations to prove my point. I returned back to the office lady, showed her my proof, of which she then gave my breakfast coupons. I was so proud of myself, that I achieved my breakfast goal, all in Spanish!!!
The best news of all…. is that Paul returned home last night (Nov 7)! The girls are thrilled to have a parent in the house. Caitlin wants free of taking care of everything and Korinn wants to be free of Caitlin running the house!! I am happy because I don’t have to worry so much about the girls. They have done really well alone, no major problems but it is nice to have Paul there, to handle any issues if they come up.
Till next time….
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
More photos
this is from inside the grand room we all lounge
around in, looking out into the garden.
from the lower level, looking up
around in, looking out into the garden.
from the lower level, looking up
photos.....
me looking down on the 2nd level of the school!
me w/my classmates, the second week of school.
The lady w/red hair is Claudia, who I did a lot of sight seeing with. She has now returned home in Quebeck.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Week 4
Oct. 15, 2006 - Oct 22, 2006
Hola Mis Amigas!!
I just returned from Mexico City. Had a really nice time. Saw lots. So much stuff it is crazy. My host family drove Claudia (other student in my school) and I over to Mex. City with them. The family took us directly to the hotel. Which was very nice, and we got a great rate at the hotel, the rate was $50 a night, so we split it. Juan Pablo, who works at school, got us some sort of deal, which was very nice as the hotel was normally very expensive!
I took lots of photos until my batteries died. I bought some new batteries from a street vendor. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long. I would post photos but my Internet connection is just to weak.
Our hotel was next to the Zocolo, or Constitution Square, middle of the historical dist. Wow, it is a really happening place. Concerts, street musicians, vendors etc. Stuff happening all day long and most of the night. Zocolo is basically the name of the major square of the district. Most every city/town here has a town square, all called Zocolo.
We took a bus tour of the city, on Sunday. There are some very lovely neighborhoods, artsy ones, and trendy ones. MC has it all. We went down one road that was the Rodeo Drive. All the expensive, exclusive shopping you could want if you’re into designer’s fashion. So many statues, monuments comminerating just about anything you can think of. There is a statue of George Washington, can't remember why but it was there!
I have shopped very little if at all for souvenirs. My house has to many souvenirs as it is, however, I did get a music cd in MC. This guy came into the restaurant I was at for lunch, he was playing an instrument very similar to a didgeridoo. You know that long horn thing from Australia. Anyways, this instrument is from the Mayan culture, and so it is native instrument from Mexico. Anyway, it was pretty cool music. On Sat. night I heard a street band, all Mexican rocking out w/ African drums. I have all the same instruments at home as they had!! Except we don’t know how to use them! They even had a couple girls doing African dances. It was cool to hear our drums in action!
Mex. City also has tons of museums. We visited the Museum of Anthropology, a huge incredible collection of artifacts from all the various cultures that have lived here over the centuries. The museum is huge, we only saw part of it, and that took 3 hours. Next time I will see more!!
Mexico is very proud of it ancient indigenous cultures especially the Aztec. Aztec is the general name of ancient culture, but the people were called, mexicas (may-hi-kahs). There are monuments to famous Aztecan leaders, words from the Aztecan language are everywhere. I can't say any of them either!
We only saw a small portion of this giant city, more to see next time.
As I finish up this 4th week and head into my 5th week. I am now starting to miss the familiar. Especially food. Everything I eat here has a name I know, but the food does not taste familiar at all. Drives me crazy at times. While in Mex. City, at a restaurant, I ordered "fillet mingnon" (sp?) thinking I would get a juicy steak...nope...I got an over cooked, chopped up beef, in some sort of gravy. I find it hard to believe that there was a steak in the gravy. I was so disappointed!! So I have told myself just deal with it. It is a foreign country after all. It will not be the same, no matter what, so learn to like it!! In fact, I spoke with a young man about it, and he felt the same way when he studied in the US. He said, US tacos just aren't as good as here, I had to laugh!! It is all in what we are used to.
School is going pretty well, but getting much harder. I am starting to study the little components of the language that make a sentence make sense. It is all so different than English. The students there that speak french, pick this stuff up so much faster than I. Mostly because the french language is structured exactly the same way. French conjugates verbs the same way, uses pronouns that same, and more. English conjugates so differently, english sentences are formed differently, there are just so many differences. I wonder if I will ever get it all straight in my head. Even though, at times, I just feel like a flop, I keep going...on and on...Never say NO!!
Forgive my spelling, my English and my Spanish somehow are merging. My teacher told me that is a phase of learning a 2nd language! First separate, then mixed, then separate, so I guess I am in phase 2!!!
more next week!
Hasta manana
Oct. 15, 2006 - Oct 22, 2006
Hola Mis Amigas!!
I just returned from Mexico City. Had a really nice time. Saw lots. So much stuff it is crazy. My host family drove Claudia (other student in my school) and I over to Mex. City with them. The family took us directly to the hotel. Which was very nice, and we got a great rate at the hotel, the rate was $50 a night, so we split it. Juan Pablo, who works at school, got us some sort of deal, which was very nice as the hotel was normally very expensive!
I took lots of photos until my batteries died. I bought some new batteries from a street vendor. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long. I would post photos but my Internet connection is just to weak.
Our hotel was next to the Zocolo, or Constitution Square, middle of the historical dist. Wow, it is a really happening place. Concerts, street musicians, vendors etc. Stuff happening all day long and most of the night. Zocolo is basically the name of the major square of the district. Most every city/town here has a town square, all called Zocolo.
We took a bus tour of the city, on Sunday. There are some very lovely neighborhoods, artsy ones, and trendy ones. MC has it all. We went down one road that was the Rodeo Drive. All the expensive, exclusive shopping you could want if you’re into designer’s fashion. So many statues, monuments comminerating just about anything you can think of. There is a statue of George Washington, can't remember why but it was there!
I have shopped very little if at all for souvenirs. My house has to many souvenirs as it is, however, I did get a music cd in MC. This guy came into the restaurant I was at for lunch, he was playing an instrument very similar to a didgeridoo. You know that long horn thing from Australia. Anyways, this instrument is from the Mayan culture, and so it is native instrument from Mexico. Anyway, it was pretty cool music. On Sat. night I heard a street band, all Mexican rocking out w/ African drums. I have all the same instruments at home as they had!! Except we don’t know how to use them! They even had a couple girls doing African dances. It was cool to hear our drums in action!
Mex. City also has tons of museums. We visited the Museum of Anthropology, a huge incredible collection of artifacts from all the various cultures that have lived here over the centuries. The museum is huge, we only saw part of it, and that took 3 hours. Next time I will see more!!
Mexico is very proud of it ancient indigenous cultures especially the Aztec. Aztec is the general name of ancient culture, but the people were called, mexicas (may-hi-kahs). There are monuments to famous Aztecan leaders, words from the Aztecan language are everywhere. I can't say any of them either!
We only saw a small portion of this giant city, more to see next time.
As I finish up this 4th week and head into my 5th week. I am now starting to miss the familiar. Especially food. Everything I eat here has a name I know, but the food does not taste familiar at all. Drives me crazy at times. While in Mex. City, at a restaurant, I ordered "fillet mingnon" (sp?) thinking I would get a juicy steak...nope...I got an over cooked, chopped up beef, in some sort of gravy. I find it hard to believe that there was a steak in the gravy. I was so disappointed!! So I have told myself just deal with it. It is a foreign country after all. It will not be the same, no matter what, so learn to like it!! In fact, I spoke with a young man about it, and he felt the same way when he studied in the US. He said, US tacos just aren't as good as here, I had to laugh!! It is all in what we are used to.
School is going pretty well, but getting much harder. I am starting to study the little components of the language that make a sentence make sense. It is all so different than English. The students there that speak french, pick this stuff up so much faster than I. Mostly because the french language is structured exactly the same way. French conjugates verbs the same way, uses pronouns that same, and more. English conjugates so differently, english sentences are formed differently, there are just so many differences. I wonder if I will ever get it all straight in my head. Even though, at times, I just feel like a flop, I keep going...on and on...Never say NO!!
Forgive my spelling, my English and my Spanish somehow are merging. My teacher told me that is a phase of learning a 2nd language! First separate, then mixed, then separate, so I guess I am in phase 2!!!
more next week!
Hasta manana
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Where am I?
I just realized, I not written anywhere on my blog...where I am...for those who don't know. I am attending a Spanish school called "Kukulcan", in Cuernavaca, Mexico. I am earning credits/units here towards my bachelors in Spanish from Univeristy of Houston. My classes are basically Spanish 3, 4, and 5. When I return to UH in January for the spring semester, I take Spanish 6, the final "learning spanish class". Starting Fall 2007, I start all my upper division courses, where it is expected that I will be more or less fluent as the classes will be Literature and history etc. If I don't have a good command of the language by next fall, I am in big trouble!! I have to do well here to achieve the progress I need to be prepared.
Cuernavaca is south west of Mexico City, about 75 miles or so. The nickname of this city is "eternal spring" as it is about 75-80 degrees in the day and 65-60 at night, year round. No humidity either!! This is the rainy season, rains most every evening, as well as thunder and lightening. It rains hard, but like Houston, not for long. Maybe a hour or 2. But since it really rains at night most of the time, it really doens't get in the way of much. I am in bed when it rains.
This city has a long history of being the vacation spot for all the elite of Mexico City. Many famous Mexican artists, politians etc have had homes here: ie: Frida Kahlo y Diego Riviera and many others. Cuernavaca is also the capitol city of this state, Morelos. So all the government offices are here. Naturally the politicans live here as well. They only way, I know there are around here as there is generally armed guards guarding the homes. All homes here are behind walls so one never knows what they look like. Unless, you walk by when the gates are open!!
The city is very pretty. Tons of flowering trees. Some are so beautiful. The color of the trees, just give the city such a nice feel inspite of the garbage issue.
Oh, I found out today, the garbage issue has only been happening for a month or so, and supposedly today it has a solution. So the mountains of garbage should be leaving soon.
Oh... I met another goal!! I finally all by myself, negioated my own taxi to get home from the mall. Now I know I can do it again!!!
hasta manana
Cuernavaca is south west of Mexico City, about 75 miles or so. The nickname of this city is "eternal spring" as it is about 75-80 degrees in the day and 65-60 at night, year round. No humidity either!! This is the rainy season, rains most every evening, as well as thunder and lightening. It rains hard, but like Houston, not for long. Maybe a hour or 2. But since it really rains at night most of the time, it really doens't get in the way of much. I am in bed when it rains.
This city has a long history of being the vacation spot for all the elite of Mexico City. Many famous Mexican artists, politians etc have had homes here: ie: Frida Kahlo y Diego Riviera and many others. Cuernavaca is also the capitol city of this state, Morelos. So all the government offices are here. Naturally the politicans live here as well. They only way, I know there are around here as there is generally armed guards guarding the homes. All homes here are behind walls so one never knows what they look like. Unless, you walk by when the gates are open!!
The city is very pretty. Tons of flowering trees. Some are so beautiful. The color of the trees, just give the city such a nice feel inspite of the garbage issue.
Oh, I found out today, the garbage issue has only been happening for a month or so, and supposedly today it has a solution. So the mountains of garbage should be leaving soon.
Oh... I met another goal!! I finally all by myself, negioated my own taxi to get home from the mall. Now I know I can do it again!!!
hasta manana
Monday, October 09, 2006
Week 2 Oct 2 – Oct 7
I had two goals this week. 1. Find the post office, buy stamps, and mail the postcard to Univ. de Houston. The International Studies director insisted that I mail a postcard to her, so I did. My other goal was to negotiate the price of a taxi ride. I haven’t do it yet, mostly because I haven’t had to go anywhere in a taxi and I haven’t gone anywhere alone. Eventually, it is gonna happen!! I have a tough time understanding numbers, so it will be an adventure.
I have been considerably braver this trip using Spanish than I ever did in Guatemala. I just go for it! It seems to all work.
The big event of the week was that I got sick. Montezuma’s revenge, so to speak. Back in Texas I sign up to particpate in a medical blind study to wear a patch for preventing tourist diarrhea in foreign countries. I am being paid, a stipend for my participation. Well, all last week, I was so confident that I had evaded Senor Montezuma, told the dr. this past Monday, all is great. Yeah, I had a growling bellying, but I am not going to get sick. Well, no matter how hard I willed myself not to get sick, Wednesday morning, I was sick. The other perk of this study is I get free medical care. So Rosalia, (lady of the home I am in) took me to the clinic. As I sat there in the clinic, I am thinking to myself; how I am going to communicate all this in Spanish. I was feeling kinda stressed, nervous, scared etc. But once again, I managed to express myself in Spanish, and in the end between my Spanish and English here and there, I explained myself, and got antibiotics. The next day, I felt 100% better. I hope once the antibiotics wear off I don’t get sick again.
I am in this blind study to develop a medicine through this patch that when worn before departure to the foreign country will eventually immunize tourists from such issues. I thought for a while that I got the “good” patch. Now I am not sure, maybe it didn’t work? Or did I get the placebo? Perhaps, a different sort of bacteria than what the patch was meant for? I will never know, only the scientists who are conducting the study are the only ones who will ever know.
Since I got sick and medicated, I am not sure if I will be dismissed from the study or not. I see the dr. on Monday, so I will find out then.
I was just proud of myself for getting through another situation, successfully communicating in Spanish.
School is coming along. Had another end of the week exam today. I have lots of concepts to learn the details of and a lot of verbs to memorize. I am the only student here, currently taking the classes for credit. Everyone else is here for personal education for various reasons. No pressure for them!
There is another new student in my house he arrived last weekend. A very nice young man, named Noé (pronounced N0-way, Noah in english) he is from France. He is 24 yrs, and is set to begin a new job in December for Air France as a flight attendant. He is hoping that learning Spanish will help in his work. He lives upstairs in the house. Where as, my room is basically outside of the house.
So now there is 3 languages bouncing around the dinner table. It pretty funny at times. He and I in our “learning” Spanish, except Noé knows some English, so if he can’t figure out the Spanish, then he will ask me in English. If I can’t figure out the Spanish, I ask him in English. It gets pretty funny at times.
Some of this week’s observations: Teen and young adult couples smooching is a very common sight here in the mall, on corners, restaurants, and on quiet streets. Down the street from me it seems is a popular place to park. I am guessing that since kids here, live with their parents till they marry, if they want to be alone, they have to find someplace other than home!
Motorcycles are not big here; I see them but not a lot. As like in Texas, helmets are optional.
I have come to realize that the garbage issue here is pretty big. Today we drove to some sort of museum (in my opinion, it was a big room w/posters on the wall), but we drove past the hugest mountain of garbage I have ever seen. Someone is still picking trash up from the curbs around the neighborhoods. From what I saw today, they just pick an open area, and start dumping, right here in town. People are driving past the giant mountain of garbage, walking past etc. It was just awful. I know that this garbage issue is a big political issue as well. I am guessing that is probably why there isn’t a solution yet. I ask Rosalia about it, she said that they have no place to take the trash, so they just pile it where the can. She said the officials try to find land out of the city but so far everywhere they look, they are told no. NIMBY I suppose to a certain extent. From what I gather, this is a fairly new problem but I am not sure. I have also read in the local paper there is some sort of strike of the garbage truck drivers. Seems like a very complicated problem. Not easily fixed either.
Saturday myself, Claudia y Noé took a bus to a small town about 1.5 hrs from here. It was really neat. This town called Taxco (tass-co) is a historical town. It is historical for an incredibly ornate church that dates back to the 1750’s. Also, because it is the silver capital of the country. So all the buildings have to retain the historical look. All white, with a certain building style. Also, this town is situated on the side of a mountain. Wow, it is either all up hill or down hill!!! Pretty impressive views!!
There were tons and tons of little stores selling silver. Mostly jewelry. It was just overwhelming for me. I bought other stuff!! I will most likely go back later and get some silver. All silver stamped “925” supposedly means it is 92% silver. If someone fakes the stamp…it is jail. If there is no stamp it is silver plated.
Enough for this week. More next week. I am working on photos but my internet connection via wireless is so incredibly slow. I could cook dinner in the time it take to load a photo!! I will keep trying though!!
Hasta Semana
I had two goals this week. 1. Find the post office, buy stamps, and mail the postcard to Univ. de Houston. The International Studies director insisted that I mail a postcard to her, so I did. My other goal was to negotiate the price of a taxi ride. I haven’t do it yet, mostly because I haven’t had to go anywhere in a taxi and I haven’t gone anywhere alone. Eventually, it is gonna happen!! I have a tough time understanding numbers, so it will be an adventure.
I have been considerably braver this trip using Spanish than I ever did in Guatemala. I just go for it! It seems to all work.
The big event of the week was that I got sick. Montezuma’s revenge, so to speak. Back in Texas I sign up to particpate in a medical blind study to wear a patch for preventing tourist diarrhea in foreign countries. I am being paid, a stipend for my participation. Well, all last week, I was so confident that I had evaded Senor Montezuma, told the dr. this past Monday, all is great. Yeah, I had a growling bellying, but I am not going to get sick. Well, no matter how hard I willed myself not to get sick, Wednesday morning, I was sick. The other perk of this study is I get free medical care. So Rosalia, (lady of the home I am in) took me to the clinic. As I sat there in the clinic, I am thinking to myself; how I am going to communicate all this in Spanish. I was feeling kinda stressed, nervous, scared etc. But once again, I managed to express myself in Spanish, and in the end between my Spanish and English here and there, I explained myself, and got antibiotics. The next day, I felt 100% better. I hope once the antibiotics wear off I don’t get sick again.
I am in this blind study to develop a medicine through this patch that when worn before departure to the foreign country will eventually immunize tourists from such issues. I thought for a while that I got the “good” patch. Now I am not sure, maybe it didn’t work? Or did I get the placebo? Perhaps, a different sort of bacteria than what the patch was meant for? I will never know, only the scientists who are conducting the study are the only ones who will ever know.
Since I got sick and medicated, I am not sure if I will be dismissed from the study or not. I see the dr. on Monday, so I will find out then.
I was just proud of myself for getting through another situation, successfully communicating in Spanish.
School is coming along. Had another end of the week exam today. I have lots of concepts to learn the details of and a lot of verbs to memorize. I am the only student here, currently taking the classes for credit. Everyone else is here for personal education for various reasons. No pressure for them!
There is another new student in my house he arrived last weekend. A very nice young man, named Noé (pronounced N0-way, Noah in english) he is from France. He is 24 yrs, and is set to begin a new job in December for Air France as a flight attendant. He is hoping that learning Spanish will help in his work. He lives upstairs in the house. Where as, my room is basically outside of the house.
So now there is 3 languages bouncing around the dinner table. It pretty funny at times. He and I in our “learning” Spanish, except Noé knows some English, so if he can’t figure out the Spanish, then he will ask me in English. If I can’t figure out the Spanish, I ask him in English. It gets pretty funny at times.
Some of this week’s observations: Teen and young adult couples smooching is a very common sight here in the mall, on corners, restaurants, and on quiet streets. Down the street from me it seems is a popular place to park. I am guessing that since kids here, live with their parents till they marry, if they want to be alone, they have to find someplace other than home!
Motorcycles are not big here; I see them but not a lot. As like in Texas, helmets are optional.
I have come to realize that the garbage issue here is pretty big. Today we drove to some sort of museum (in my opinion, it was a big room w/posters on the wall), but we drove past the hugest mountain of garbage I have ever seen. Someone is still picking trash up from the curbs around the neighborhoods. From what I saw today, they just pick an open area, and start dumping, right here in town. People are driving past the giant mountain of garbage, walking past etc. It was just awful. I know that this garbage issue is a big political issue as well. I am guessing that is probably why there isn’t a solution yet. I ask Rosalia about it, she said that they have no place to take the trash, so they just pile it where the can. She said the officials try to find land out of the city but so far everywhere they look, they are told no. NIMBY I suppose to a certain extent. From what I gather, this is a fairly new problem but I am not sure. I have also read in the local paper there is some sort of strike of the garbage truck drivers. Seems like a very complicated problem. Not easily fixed either.
Saturday myself, Claudia y Noé took a bus to a small town about 1.5 hrs from here. It was really neat. This town called Taxco (tass-co) is a historical town. It is historical for an incredibly ornate church that dates back to the 1750’s. Also, because it is the silver capital of the country. So all the buildings have to retain the historical look. All white, with a certain building style. Also, this town is situated on the side of a mountain. Wow, it is either all up hill or down hill!!! Pretty impressive views!!
There were tons and tons of little stores selling silver. Mostly jewelry. It was just overwhelming for me. I bought other stuff!! I will most likely go back later and get some silver. All silver stamped “925” supposedly means it is 92% silver. If someone fakes the stamp…it is jail. If there is no stamp it is silver plated.
Enough for this week. More next week. I am working on photos but my internet connection via wireless is so incredibly slow. I could cook dinner in the time it take to load a photo!! I will keep trying though!!
Hasta Semana
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Week 1
I started the week all nervous and confused by just about everything. I couldn't figure out the phones, my cell doesn't work; pay phones were intimidating, very cautious about walking about the neighborhood.
Now at the end of the week, I have figured out I can't use my cell phone to call home, but Caitlin's cell phone will call mine directly! Yeah, a hotline so the girls can call me. I finally figured out how to make calls home on the pay phones. It is about a 3 min. process of many access numbers to make the call, but I now can do it!! I was very nervous about taxis but so far I have taken two (I have yet to negotiate the price, I have gotten others to do it) but the drivers so far are very nice. Next weeks goal is to negotiate my own taxi fare. You always settle on a price before you get in the taxi!!
My host family is just delightful. The first half the week, my host mom was out of town. On vacation with her girlfriends. She returned on Wednesday evening. What a lovely lady. She is so nice, so helpful, kind, thoughtful...just wonderful. On Thursday after school I was surprised by her that she was taking me with her and 7 of her girlfriends to a big fiesta in a local town nearby. It was really fun experience. There were about 15 ladies, we all met in a little restaurant that is owned by one of the ladies. Dinner was huge! They were celebrating something about St. Miguel, some sort of Catholic holiday. The main food of the celebration was "elote”, corn! Lots and lots of roasted corn on the cob. Traditionally the corncob is slathered in mayonnaise and sprinkled w/cheese and chilis. I gave it a try, and it was pretty good! Also served, were beans, spaghetti, and chicken. Most meals don't have to many vegetables, some fruit sometimes. My host mom took me on a walk about the little town, which is quiet cute and nestled in next some quite large mountains and huge rock cliffs. Very impressive. Also, it was amazing but up on one of the cliffs is an ancient Aztecan pyramid!! I have know idea how the ancient people could achieve such things, but they did!
Cuernavaca and this part of Mexico has a proud heritage from the Aztec's. Many of the streets are Aztec names, which I can't even begin to pronounce! Many traditional foods stem from the Aztecs as well.
Driving here is very interesting. First, very few, and I mean very few, traffic signs. Rarely you will see a stop signs. Big intersections on main streets have traffic lights, but other than that no traffic signs. Everyone just enters an intersection, just poking their cars across the traffic lanes, waiting for a break in traffic. Need to make a turn, just poke through until the cross traffic let’s you through. Since the roads aren't that wide the speeding isn't an issue, the issue is to get where you’re going w/o getting hit!! To keep the traffic at a slower pace, lots and lots of speed bumps! Not to mention, a lot of the streets are pretty uneven, which also slows cars down. Basically driving here is a major free for all!!
Mexican people in general are very kind and sweet. Everyone I have encountered has been very friendly and chatty. I am greeted generally with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Since I am from US I am not "a American", in their opinion, we (US, Canada and Mexico) are all Americans. Which is very true, so I am known as a "unidostatadense" which is more or less, a "unitedstates'er". Casually, also a "gringa". Here, gringos are all from the US, when I was in Guatemala years ago, gringos were ALL foreigners. Shows differences from various countries.
Shopping here is basically all the same stuff at in shops and markets in the US. I have yet to find the local crafts. I hear they are in the huge central Mercado (market). I got a cute little black purse at Sears today. Prices there seem similar to the US. I visited Costco, all so pretty much a copy of the US. Although, I was looking at clothes, and stuff was expensive. I visited a lovely museum here, which holds a large collection of Freda Kahlo and Diego Riviera artwork. I enjoyed that a lot.
Most of the TV here is in Spanish, a few English-speaking channels where there are subtitles. A lot of the US TV shows and movies are dubbed in Spanish. I am trying to stick to the Spanish language programs to I can listen and get a better understanding of the language.
My family has cable TV and wireless Internet!!! I feel pretty lucky about that!!
My family also has a pet dog, a poodle, named Kike!! Really sweet dog, about 4 years old, weight about 20 lbs.
The weather here is mild, 75-85 during the day, 70-65 at night. It does, however, rain almost daily. I am not sure why. But daily there is thunder and lightening, then rain. Sometimes midafternoon, sometimes at night. So far, no days w/o rain since I have been here.
My host mom is Rosalia or Rosa, her husband is Manuel. They had 3 kids. Carlos is around 28yrs. married and works for the Mexican Supreme Courts. I am not sure what he does, but I understand besides working, is in either a master or PhD program as well. The other son is Manuel, around 30 and married, is a electrical/computer engineer. The only daughter, Lily, 25, works at my Spanish school and is going to graduate this year with a bachelors in International Studies.
In Mexico, traditionally, all children live at home till married, both sons and daughters. So Lily is still at home. Every weekend, I hear, all the kids come home for a big dinner. So I think I will be meeting the sons and daughters in law this weekend sometimes.
This is the exterior of the home, looking at it from across the street. All homes are behind, gates and wall. Tradition and security.
This is looking down the street. It is kept very clean. The city is full of trees, many blooming flowers of many colors.
Looking up the street.
Adding photos is so time consuming...so I will just post and be done with it!!
Now at the end of the week, I have figured out I can't use my cell phone to call home, but Caitlin's cell phone will call mine directly! Yeah, a hotline so the girls can call me. I finally figured out how to make calls home on the pay phones. It is about a 3 min. process of many access numbers to make the call, but I now can do it!! I was very nervous about taxis but so far I have taken two (I have yet to negotiate the price, I have gotten others to do it) but the drivers so far are very nice. Next weeks goal is to negotiate my own taxi fare. You always settle on a price before you get in the taxi!!
My host family is just delightful. The first half the week, my host mom was out of town. On vacation with her girlfriends. She returned on Wednesday evening. What a lovely lady. She is so nice, so helpful, kind, thoughtful...just wonderful. On Thursday after school I was surprised by her that she was taking me with her and 7 of her girlfriends to a big fiesta in a local town nearby. It was really fun experience. There were about 15 ladies, we all met in a little restaurant that is owned by one of the ladies. Dinner was huge! They were celebrating something about St. Miguel, some sort of Catholic holiday. The main food of the celebration was "elote”, corn! Lots and lots of roasted corn on the cob. Traditionally the corncob is slathered in mayonnaise and sprinkled w/cheese and chilis. I gave it a try, and it was pretty good! Also served, were beans, spaghetti, and chicken. Most meals don't have to many vegetables, some fruit sometimes. My host mom took me on a walk about the little town, which is quiet cute and nestled in next some quite large mountains and huge rock cliffs. Very impressive. Also, it was amazing but up on one of the cliffs is an ancient Aztecan pyramid!! I have know idea how the ancient people could achieve such things, but they did!
Cuernavaca and this part of Mexico has a proud heritage from the Aztec's. Many of the streets are Aztec names, which I can't even begin to pronounce! Many traditional foods stem from the Aztecs as well.
Driving here is very interesting. First, very few, and I mean very few, traffic signs. Rarely you will see a stop signs. Big intersections on main streets have traffic lights, but other than that no traffic signs. Everyone just enters an intersection, just poking their cars across the traffic lanes, waiting for a break in traffic. Need to make a turn, just poke through until the cross traffic let’s you through. Since the roads aren't that wide the speeding isn't an issue, the issue is to get where you’re going w/o getting hit!! To keep the traffic at a slower pace, lots and lots of speed bumps! Not to mention, a lot of the streets are pretty uneven, which also slows cars down. Basically driving here is a major free for all!!
Mexican people in general are very kind and sweet. Everyone I have encountered has been very friendly and chatty. I am greeted generally with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Since I am from US I am not "a American", in their opinion, we (US, Canada and Mexico) are all Americans. Which is very true, so I am known as a "unidostatadense" which is more or less, a "unitedstates'er". Casually, also a "gringa". Here, gringos are all from the US, when I was in Guatemala years ago, gringos were ALL foreigners. Shows differences from various countries.
Shopping here is basically all the same stuff at in shops and markets in the US. I have yet to find the local crafts. I hear they are in the huge central Mercado (market). I got a cute little black purse at Sears today. Prices there seem similar to the US. I visited Costco, all so pretty much a copy of the US. Although, I was looking at clothes, and stuff was expensive. I visited a lovely museum here, which holds a large collection of Freda Kahlo and Diego Riviera artwork. I enjoyed that a lot.
Most of the TV here is in Spanish, a few English-speaking channels where there are subtitles. A lot of the US TV shows and movies are dubbed in Spanish. I am trying to stick to the Spanish language programs to I can listen and get a better understanding of the language.
My family has cable TV and wireless Internet!!! I feel pretty lucky about that!!
My family also has a pet dog, a poodle, named Kike!! Really sweet dog, about 4 years old, weight about 20 lbs.
The weather here is mild, 75-85 during the day, 70-65 at night. It does, however, rain almost daily. I am not sure why. But daily there is thunder and lightening, then rain. Sometimes midafternoon, sometimes at night. So far, no days w/o rain since I have been here.
My host mom is Rosalia or Rosa, her husband is Manuel. They had 3 kids. Carlos is around 28yrs. married and works for the Mexican Supreme Courts. I am not sure what he does, but I understand besides working, is in either a master or PhD program as well. The other son is Manuel, around 30 and married, is a electrical/computer engineer. The only daughter, Lily, 25, works at my Spanish school and is going to graduate this year with a bachelors in International Studies.
In Mexico, traditionally, all children live at home till married, both sons and daughters. So Lily is still at home. Every weekend, I hear, all the kids come home for a big dinner. So I think I will be meeting the sons and daughters in law this weekend sometimes.
This is the exterior of the home, looking at it from across the street. All homes are behind, gates and wall. Tradition and security.
This is looking down the street. It is kept very clean. The city is full of trees, many blooming flowers of many colors.
Looking up the street.
Adding photos is so time consuming...so I will just post and be done with it!!
Friday, September 15, 2006
8 Days to Go!!
It is almost here!! I am full of lots of differing emotions, excitement, fear, anticipation and nervousness. I guess I have it all!! But I will hold up my head, get on that plane and do this. I will go and I will become fluent. These 10 weeks will offer to me a experience of a life time and open doors I can't yet imagine. Many thanks to my family for supporting me through this adventure so I can pursue my dreams. 8 more days......
Friday, August 11, 2006
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