Missing you all!

Today a bus driver was playing Shania Twain's song, "Man, I Feel Like A Woman." I wonder if he speaks English...

So when I said I was done trying classes and changing my schedule, I was wrong. I don't think I'm going to take Anthropology of Religion. The professor is really well-prepared and organized. He handed out a syllabus during the first class, which is really rare at la BUAP, and the syllabus had a schedule for the readings, which is almost unheard 

of here. I am trading organization for adventure. That is to say, here I want to take classes that are not available in the US. In Anthropology of Religion I would have read a lot of old white guys, mostly Germans like Freud and Kant. I could take a very similar class at Smith. Tomorrow I'm going to try another Anthropology class called "Movimiento Indigena" (the indigenous movement). I'm not sure what it will be about because there are a lot of different indigenous groups in Mexico. Which group? Which movement? Questions are a good place to start any class. I really hope it goes well. I also heard that this professor doesn't give very much work. Of course that's another reason why I want to take the class. I have mountains of reading and an essay a week for my International Relations class, and a decent amount of reading for Temática de Colonia, and I need to do some background reading for Revolución Mexicana. It takes me quite a while to read a page in Spanish, and I really don't want to spend all my beautiful Mexican afternoons inside doing homework. So I will welcome a class with very little reading! 

Yesterday my host mom and I went to see "The Time Traveler's Wife" (Spanish subtitles, not dubbed). She loved it, and I thought it was a pretty movie. Interesting scenery and such. Thinking about time travel always confuses me. I just don't understand it on a fundamental level. I guess to me, the past does not exist in a concrete way. One cannot travel back in time to Christmas, 2008 because it doesn't exist anymore. What exists is the present. And one can't travel into the future because it hasn't happened yet. How does anybody know what the future will be like? The future changes every second because of what we do in the present. I guess maybe I could see how one could travel to the past IF AND ONLY IF time was like snapshots. Every second frozen forever. Then traveling back to last Christmas would be like looking through a picture album, finding the correct photograph, and falling into it like Harry Potter falls into the penseive. Hmmm. Clearly I need to read more science fiction novels.

Sorry, that rant had nothing to do with Mexico!

I think I'm going to hang around the kitchen when I get some time (maybe Wednesday) and see if Mari or my host mom will teach me how to cook something else. Last week I learned how to make salsa a la Mari, AKA The Spiciest Salsa You Will Ever Taste. Here are instructions:

1. Grill 4 tomatoes until they are hot and squishy and have some black burned spots, but not too many. Also grill some cloves of garlic (skins included), and 4 thin, hot green peppers.

*Note! The salsa was ridiculously spicy because Mari used 4 peppers. Usually people who value their tongues use 2 peppers!

2. Take the middle part out of the tomatoes, the tops off the peppers, and the skins off the garlic.

3. Throw everything into a blender. Add a bit of cilantro. Puree. 

4. Put the salsa on your molletes and cry a little bit. 

I want to learn how to make fried tacos, and chicken mole! I think I'm going to take a cooking class if it is free or cheap. The director of my program is investigating cooking class possibilities. 

Speaking of extracurriculars, I want to join a chorus. I've always loved to sing but I just don't haven time at Smith. We'll see what happens.

Word of the Day is a verb: Picar. It means to bite (like a mosquito), to poke (like a needle in the hospital), and to be spicy! What a useful verb.

Schedule

To begin, today I had chicken soup with rice! Incidentally, that's also the name of one of my favorite books (by Maurice Sendak). 

"In January it's so nice/While slipping on the sliding ice/To sip hot chicken soup with rice./ Sipping once, sipping twice/Sipping chicken soup with rice.

I've had a similar soup at Erawan, but the Erawan version had a lot more ginger. 

I think I have my schedule figured out already, which is a relief. Here it is:

Monday

10 AM-12PM: Select Themes: Colonialism; Centro

6PM-8PM: Select Themes: Mexican Revolution; Centro

Tuesday

10 AM-1PM: Anthropology of Religion; CU

Wednesday:

same as Monday

Thursday:

4PM-6PM: International Relations: MX-US; CU

Friday:

same as Thursday

So I have 15 hours of class each week. My 2 history classes are en el Centro, which is the colonial city center (near the zócalo), and my anthropology and international relations classes are in Ciudad Universitaria (CU). So far I prefer Centro because the architecture is beautiful and there are so many people to watch. I also like taquerías (taco shops), and there are lots en el Centro. CU is a big public university. All the buildings look the same (more or less), and none of them are especially pretty. It's easy to get lost if you're new, but now that I know where my classes are I should be fine. There are always plenty of students hanging about to help if I get lost again. I have to take the bus no matter where my classes are. Today I saw Sarah B. on the bus, which was an awesome surprise! 

Other things happened today...I went back to classes! I feel much better. No more plague for me! Also, I spent half an hour playing with gatitito (the little kitten). 

Tomorrow I have a full day. In the morning I'm going on an field trip with my Mexican Revolution class. As far as I know we're going to a hacienda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda). Then I have class at 4, then at 7 the director of my program is having a fiesta at her house! I have plans but I also have homework-so much reading! I need to learn to balance everything.  

To close, here are some pictures of my room:

My bed with the amazing traveling PACE flag. Now it has been to Italy, Massachusetts, and Mexico!

My desk. 

Word of the Day: Mascotas. It means pets. La vida es mejor con mascotas como gatitito (Life is better with pets like the boykitten). 

On Sunday I was sicksicksick.

I was sicker than I have ever  been before.

There are a lot of exciting, happy things I could write about tonight. But in the interest of being thorough, I think first I must write about That Time I Got Sick (Hey remember that time?). Sunday when I woke up I felt terrible: nauseous, sore throat, awful headache, back pain, chills, body aches, and gastrointestinal issues. Rocío called the director of my program (Bernadette), and she said that I should see a doctor. We had to go to the emergency room because I had a dangerously high fever. I was examined by a general practitioner, then I was admitted to the hospital. This involved a disposable gown, and an IV. The nurses were trying to bring my fever down so they put ice packs on my forehead (which made me feel better) and my belly (this was painful and torturous). I couldn't have a blanket, so I lay there shivering for a few hours. I'll spare you all the rest of the details and put the rest of my hospital stay into 2 lists: The Bad and the Not So Bad.

The Bad:

IV discomfort, intravenous pain meds, adult diaper, nausea, feeling very unclean, hobbling around attached to my IV like an old woman, worrying that I would accidentally yank out the IV (ouch!), very little sleep, confusing spanish/english night thoughts, PAIN.

The Not So Bad:

My host mom was really supportive, and so was Bernadette. They were with me in the hospital for hours and hours, and Rocío would have stayed overnight if I asked her to. They advocated and translated for me, because I was in no position to do anything except lie down and wait for everything to stop hurting. 

Hospital Angeles is brand new (well, 2 years old) and beautiful. It has all the latest equipment and enormous rooms for overnight patients. After the nurses moved me out of the emergency ward, they rolled me to my upstairs room, which had a couch, big windows, a tv, art on the wall (actual art that someone painted, not a print) and most importantly, a bathroom four feet from my bed that I didn't have to share. 

The doctors and nurses were all so friendly and helpful. They treated me like a person when I felt like a malfunctioning shell. 

I was discharged Monday at 2 PM. In fact, I was only kept overnight for observation because my fever was mostly gone by dinnertime (American dinnertime, not Mexican-dinner-at-9 PM). I'm glad I stayed overnight though. I think I needed the extra fluids and the bathroom. 

Now I'm home and I feel so different. I am so much better, but I'm still sick. My doctor (Gastrointerologist) prescribed medications that are strange and contradictory to me, and I'm not a big fan of over-medication. So I've been carefully considering what medicine to take, and when to take it. I have prescription-strength laxatives and anti-diarrhea drugs. Tell me, does it make sense to take them at the same time? I think not. I am taking the anti-diarrhea drugs until I get that situation cleared up. Then I'll start the laxatives. I also take antibiotics to clear up whatever infection caused my fever. I still feel nauseous almost all the time, and whenever I try to eat I have the urge to throw up (in Spanish: Tengo ganas de vomitar). I think I just need to give it time, keep eating soup and crackers, and drink plenty of water. My host mom called my doctor and he said "Take Dramamine." Umm, no. I know what Dramamine is. It's powerful anti-nausea medication that has a long list of side effects. The most common side effect is sleepiness, but other side effects include headache, pain or difficulty urinating, abdominal pain, nausea, and loss of appetite. I already have the last 3 side effects! I will only take Dramamine if my nausea is so bad that I can't sleep. 

Tomorrow I'm going to do a bunch of homework, and sleep a lot. Hopefully I'll be back to school on Thursday. I have a field trip on Friday that I don't want to miss. As soon as I get well enough to take the bus I'm going to buy vitamins and fiber pills. I'm going to take steps to keep myself healthy, including changes in diet. And I'm going to start exercising! I'm thinking yoga and swimming to help my back problems, and using the gym at CU. I've been asking around about the BUAP frisbee team because I know it existed 3 years ago, but no one seems to know if it still exists. I Miss Luna. 

I have a lot of other things to tell everyone, but right now I'm going to sleep.

Words of the Day: Tengo fiebre. I have a fever.

First days in Puebla

I'm in Puebla, and everything is an adventure.

I live with a woman named Rocío Gallardo Cervantes. Her husband died of a heart attack 5 years ago.  Rocío sells Yves Rocher cosmetics, and her husband was a career military man. She has a daughter and a son; her daughter is studying engineering in Germany this year (girl speaks 4 languages-I am so jealous!). Rocío's house is really big, but it's kind of divided into apartments and she has several boarders. I don't remember who all lives here, but I know her son lives downstairs with his girlfriend. It's really common for Mexicans to live with their parents until they get married and have a house of their own. Maribel also lives here, and she cooks and cleans for Rocío. I have to say, I don't really feel comfortable with that. I think it's because I'm not accustomed to having a maid. At school I do my own dishes, laundry, etc. and at home I help out. Maribel ironed my jeans, for goodness sakes! And I don't even get to scrape and rinse my plate after eating. 

I have my own room here, with a big closet and a huge desk and a good view of the garden. I'll post pictures of my room soon! The best thing about the house is that Rocío's son has a cat and the cat has a KITTEN! It is so tiny and so cute. I promise to post pictures of Kitten as well. So far I've eaten well. I've had a lot of ham, cheese, and agua de sabor, which is water flavored with fruits usually. Rocío keeps asking me if I like the food and I keep telling her yes-I love to eat and I'm not picky. I'm here to try new things and that definitely includes food. I can't wait to eat out because food is super cheap in some places. Today while walking near the BUAP I saw a sign advertising a chicken molé lunch for 25 pesos! That's about 2 dollars American! 

Today I went to the BUAP with the other program students to meet all of the monitores who will help us out, and to tour the Centro. La BUAP has several locations. Today I went to the School of Philosiphy and Letters, which houses Literature, History, Philosophy, and Psychology. It's conveniently located in the old colonial city center (el zócalo) and the buildings are from the 1600's. I'm going to take most of my classes there. Tomorrow we're going to Ciudad Unversitario, or CU. I'm going to take a class in International Relations at CU. I will be taking four classes. I know that I will take the IR class, Select themes: Modern-Day Latin America, and also a history class called Nahuatl about the Aztecs. 

Friday I get to tour Puebla, and Saturday I'm going to Cholula! So much excitement. Then classes start Monday...ew. 

Word of the Day: palomitas. It means popcorn! I like it because it's fun to say. In fact it may be my new favorite word in Spanish. 

Mexico City Day 4: Teotihuacán!

Today we went to Teotihuacán. The name Teotihuacán means "City of the Gods" and could also mean "City where the dead become Gods" in Nahuatl. When Aztecs discovered Teotihuacan was discovered around the 6th century it was almost totally abandoned. Archaeologists hypothesize that the Aztecs saw the enormous pyramids and thought that the people who built them must have been gods, or something like gods.  The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest pyramid in Central or South America, in terms of volume. The Pyramid of the Moon is slightly smaller, but still really impressive. The site is definitely one of the most amazing places I've ever been. I looked at the pyramids and was in awe of both their size, and the time and effort required to construct them. I can't even imagine believing in something enough to build a pyramid more than a thousand meters wide BY HAND. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and got a pretty good view of the valley. 

Pyramid of the Sun. As Billy Fucillo would say, "It's HUUUUUUUGE!"

Pyramid of the Moon.

Sarah and I on top of the Pyramid of the Sun!

The Pyramid of the Moon as seen from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun

After Teotihuacán, we went to a local artisan's shop. He showed us how Mesoamericans used the maguey (scientific name is agave) plant. The plant exudes a juice used to make pulque, which can be further fermented and refined to make mezcal and tequila. But ancient peoples just drank pulque. The skin makes a durable paper, and the fibers are used to make cloth. The pointy tips of the leaves can be weapons or needles or writing implements. Maguey plants live about 15-25 years. 

Maguey plant! I like these a lot.

Then, the guide showed us different precious stones that can be found in Mexico. He had some beautiful specimens of obsidian, and jade, and turquoise. He carves obsidian right at his shop, so we got to see how obsidian figures are created. He even had xoloscuincles (pronounced show-low-squink-lace), those hairless dogs I mentioned in my last entry. I highly recommend a visit to his shop if ever you visit Teotihuacán. I don't recall the name but it's right down the road from the pyramids and it has beautiful obsidian figures out front. 

After Teotihuacán we had lunch at a restaurant in a cave, hence, it was named "La Gruta" which means "cave" in Spanish. The salsa was excellent! Thus far I love all the food I've eaten. 

Our last stop was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico. It's Church Central. There were 5ish churches on the grounds. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a bigger deal the Benito Juarez. In the Basilica there is a moving sidewalk and all it does is take you underneath the fancy portrait of the Virgin so you can take pictures. I got on the moving sidewalk and wondered, "Where are we going now?" Why, to genuflect underneath Our Lady of Guadalupe, of course! 

The old Basilica.

I just packed up all my stuff because tomorrow we go to Puebla. I am excited but also pretty nervous to meet my host mother. I'm worried that we won't get along well because I won't be able to communicate with her in Spanish. I guess I'll just have to try my best. She has had students from my program in the past, so I'm sure everything will be OK. 

Word of the Day: Escaleras. It means stairs. There were manymany escaleras on the Pyramid of the Sun, and then more at the Basilica. In general here there are more escaleras and less elevators and escalators. 

Mexico City Day 3: Frida!

Today we went to Frida Kahlo's house, the Casa Azul (Blue House). Frida was born and died in la Casa Azul. There, we saw some of her famous paintings, some of Diego's paintings, and Dego and Frida's collection of Prehispanic art. And her furniture is also art! I really love the style of the Casa Azul. The rooms are small and simple, but decorated with Mexican folk art in every color of the rainbow. Her garden is especially beautiful. Unfortunately no one is allowed to take photos inside la Casa Azul, but I took some of the garden. 

"Frida and Diego lived in this house, 1929-1954"

The garden and a pyramid that Diego designed to display sculptures.

We also saw lots of pictures of Frida and Diego. She always looks so serious! I don't think I've ever seen a picture of Frida smiling. She had an accident when she was about my age and it left her paralyzed for a long time. She was eventually able to walk again, but she suffered nearly constant pain and she was never able to have children. One can see from her paintings that her many miscarriages were really tough for her (and Diego as well). 

After la Casa Azul, we went to La Museo de Dolores Olmeda. Dolores Olmeda was a wealthy woman who modeled for Diego Rivera. Now her house is a museum that contains some paintings by Frida and Diego, and some other works of art she collected, and also modern folk art. The museum has beautiful grounds with peacocks and geese and hairless dogs that existed before the conquistadors came to Mesoamerica! The dogs are kind of so ugly that they're cute.

A real dog basking in the shade of a sculpture-dog.

The peacock has babies!

We had lunch in a fancy restaurant with really good appetizers. It was a bit expensive but the food was worth it. The place was packed because on Sunday, family lunch is The Thing To Do. I really like the trend of having a big lunch at 3 PM or so and then eating a small supper around 9 PM. 

After lunch we went back to the Museo Nacional de Antropología to see Ballet Folklórico. They are a famous touring dance company based in Mexico. Here, the word "ballet" just means "dance". It does not mean tutus and buns and pointe shoes. The Ballet Folklórico performs folk dances from all over Mexico. The costumes are amazing, and all the dances are fast-paced and require an awful lot of energy. 

Tomorrow we're going to Teotihuacán! Yay! Huuuuuuge pyramids, lots of sun, and our awesome guide who knows so much about Mexican history. 

The word of the day is postre. It means dessert. Used in a sentence, "Siempre puedo comer un postre" (I could always eat dessert). 

Mexico City Day 2

Today we went to the Museo Nacional de Antropología. I wanted to see this museum ever since I first heard about it in January, and it did not disappoint me. The museum is enormous and full of archaeological treasures. The downstairs is devoted to Mesoamerican civilizations, and upstairs are exhibits about current Mexican culture. Here are some highlights!

I think this guy looks like a hysterical ballet dancer with the tail of a scorpion. 

This is the awesome Aztec calendar representing the four worlds that existed before our own. Incidentally, does it remind you of something?

The cursed gold from "Pirates of the Carribean" (picture not mine!)

This is the Tree of Life, or World Tree. My picture does not do it justice.

These sneakers have a mermaid on them! I'm not sure why, but I want them. A lot.

Then, we walked around the park next to the museum, and we saw los voladores. In Sarah's words, ¡No puedo imaginarlo (I can't imagine it)! This is pretty self explanatory, and I bet you could guess that volador means flyer.

Before flying.

This looks like fun, except all the blood rush to my head. Still, I kind of want to do this.

Finally, we visited el Castillo de Chapultapec. The castle was constructed in 1785, but Maximillian and Carlota (of the Hapsburgs) had the whole place remodeled in the neoclassical style when they moved in, around 1864. Porfirio Díaz (dictator extraordinaire) also lived in Chapultapec. Now the castle houses the Museo Nacional de Historia, where one can see murals by Orozco and O'Gorman, paintings of key figures in Mexican history, and the furniture of Maximillian and Carlota and Díaz. Fun fact: "Chapultapec" is a Nahuatl (an Aztec language) word for "At grasshopper's hill." There are pictures of grasshoppers everywhere. Today there was also a squirrel which I thought was rather small and mangy, but it attracted quite a crowd. In fact I think people took more pictures of the squirrel than of Porfirio's throne. Una ardilla famosa (famous squirrel). 

Word of the day:  perros callejeros. It means, dogs who live on the street. Stray dogs. And our monitora told us that the word callejero can be used to joke about a person who is never home; i.e., they spend all their time on the street. Even though she assured me that it's not considered rude to call a friend callejero, I don't think I'll be using that word much. I really don't want anyone to think I just called them a street-walking bum!

 

Mexico City Day 1

I'm finally here! It's surreal because I spent so many months dreaming and planning and worrying and now I'm in Mexico. I could not believe the vastness of Mexico City when I saw it last night from the air. My flight landed at 10 PM, so flying over the city all I could see were lights for miles in every direction. 

Flying here was an adventure. The kind that involves hours in airports and no sleep for 36 hours or so. I spent Wednesday in the city with my friend AK and her brother Roman, so I brought all my luggage with me and stored it at this 

place on 46th St. AK, Roman, and I visited MoMA and saw a sculpture exhibit by Ron Arad among other things (check him out at http://www.ronarad.com/). I also got a brief glimpse of some noted Mexican muralists: Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. I saw more works by both artists today. Anyway, after MoMA I met my Christina and her mom in Grand Central and then we went to South Street Seaport for a bit, then St. Marks Place for cheap food and Pinkberry! (my first Pinkberry experience!) where we ran into AK and her housemate Jamie! Such good luck! Later, Christina and I went to Times Square. I consider that my official adiós to New York, and I miss that city so much more than I thought I would. Christina's mom met us at the Times Square Station and we took the train to Sutphin Blvd., which is way out in Queens I think. From there we took the relatively new AirTrain to JFK. The subway followed by the AirTrain takes  a while, but if you have the time it's the cheapest way to get to JFK from midtown. At 4 AM I learned that my flight to Phoenix was delayed because the crew needed more rest. Apparently there are laws about this sort of thing. So I waited in line for a very tense hour, and then the (lovely, amazing!) employees of US Airways rescheduled my flights. The downside? I spent 8 hours in Charlotte, NC. The upside? I flew into Mexico last night and so I didn't miss any activities in the city. When I got to Mexico all I wanted to do was pass out because by my calculations I hadn't slept in about 36 hours. But I had to go through immigration and then customs, both of which were stressful because I was way too tired to comprehend most of the Spanish I was hearing. Luckily, that process was short and when I left my terminal Patrícia and Elizabeth from my program were right there waiting for me. We took an airport taxi (taking non-registered taxis is a good way to be robbed in Mexico) to the hotel in Zona Rosa and I ate tacos! That was definitely the best thing that happened last night. Yummy crispy tacos with fresh guacamole, ¡que delicioso!

This morning I met my roommate for the next few days (just while we're in Mexico City). She's from Kyoto, so she speaks Japanese, English, and passable Spanish. I am in awe. We had breakfast buffet at the hotel, and apparently Mexicans eat beans for breakfast. Also papaya! Then we went to the zócalo (city center) and toured the Palácio Nacional.

Smaller Rivera mural.

We saw the murals that Diego Rivera painted there including História de México (very big!) and some other smaller ones. Then, we saw the former home of Benito Juárez. 

My buddy Benito.

He is a Very Big Deal here, and some time when I am less tired I will write about him. Next, we saw the ruins of the Templo Nacional that the Aztecs built, the most important temple in Tenochtitlán. Mexico City is built on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlán. 

Mexico is old and older.

Snake and former pyramid!

We went to the museum associated with the ruins and saw some of what archaeologists have unearthed there. Tomorrow we get to see many, many more artifacts at the Museo Nacional de Antropología. After lunch we visted the Palacio de Correos (Mail Palace! A whole Palace just for mail!), which still functions as a post office. There's a small museum dedicated to the history of the post on the second floor, and a naval museum on the fourth floor. The last stop of our day was the Palacio de Bellas Artes. I have to go back there. We only spent an hour or so, and there's so much more to see. They have some really interesting Orozco murals, and some by Siquieros, and of course el famoso Diego Rivera. All the famous muralists side by side so one can compare styles and messages. Very awesome! 

Oh and somewhere in all of the above we went to the Catedral in the zócalo. Not sure of the name, but it's quite large and beautiful!

El catedral.

Inside.

It was an overwhelming but amazing day. Mexico City is huge and loud and exciting and yes, a little bit scary, but so far I love it. And as for Spanish? To my great surprise I can understand about 80-90 % of what other people say, and I'm fine with reading almost anything (anything but poetry and other works of literature. Those take more time.). Speaking is my problem. Today I just didn't really talk. I maybe said 3 or 4 sentences on my own, without someone asking me a direct question. I refuse to speak English here. I heard some students speaking English today, and I responded in Spanish. My solution:  if I can't think of what to say in Spanish, I won't say anything at all. I think every day I will push myself to speak a little more. Tomorrow I will ask my roommate an open-ended question in the hopes of starting a conversation. She seems nice and I think her Spanish is about as good as mine. I can't exactly explain why I am reluctant to speak. I'm not scared. I think it's more that I don't like being wrong. I don't like appearing stupid, and I really don't like it when people can't understand me. Sometimes I feel like the village idiot when I mess up something so easy, so basic, something I learned in the first week of middle school Spanish. When that happens I try to remember that I am doing something very brave. I'm really making the effort to learn a foreign language and it's not going to be easy, but right now it's what I want most in the world. 

Mexico is where I want to be.

More tomorrow!

Word of the day is actually two words: buen provecho. It means enjoy your meal! 

I think I will always try to do a Word of the day. It will be either a word I learned on the day in question, or a word that was important that day. Buen provecho is both! I enjoyed every meal today.