Please check out my mom's excellent blog here.

I only have one upcoming trip planned, for Germany this summer. I was supposed to go to Mexico for a long weekend, but that trip got canceled due to the swine flu. Very unfortunate, but it's good to be reminded of the power of nature. It makes me really appreciate the gift of travel when I do have it.

Germany will be July9-August 8th. I will be sure to post about that trip.

Final days....

So, my bad for not posting in 2 weeks.

Thanksgiving was great. We all got together as a program, including professors, and ate some delicious Thanksgiving food under umbrellas next to the pool. Yes, it felt a little odd, but was mostly fun. We had turkey, homemade bread, pumpkin and apple pies, elotes (corn on the cob with cheese and chile), stuffing, mashed potatoes, chicken (a recipe Sidy made us from Senegal...mmm so good), cranberry sauce (Dad brought from EEUU). It was all delicious. The apple pies I made actually turned out really well. I made them with puff pastry dough in square pans, so they were slightly unconventional, but delicious too. I also got to talk to Lindsey, Mom, Dad, Gretta, GramElaine, and Aunt Ra, which was wonderful! So good to hear everyone's voices on Thanksgiving.

The Friday after Thanksgiving we all participated in a parade/party for the neighborhood where Casa Sol is; it was the anniversary of Zapata signing the Plan de Ayala (which is the name of the neighborhood). We danced with the Chinelos (people dressed up in outfits originally used to make fun of the Spanish) for about 45 minutes, in a huge crowd of people, many of them drunk men. After, Hilary and I took Jonathan out for pizza. He's a really nice guy that goes to UNILA who is studying culinary arts. And the best part is, he's coming to Earlham next August to be a Spanish TA for a year! I really can't wait to get to know him better and help welcome him to Earlham. He's going to have such a good time, I hope. And I think it will really help his English.

UNILA ended well; although only 5 of 11 students came to the final exam. Ay, what frustration. I still don't completely understand the apathy of some of my students. They are probably going to fail the class, and they just don't seem to care. I don't understand. But they want to have a going away party for me, so Thursday I'm going to go back to UNILA for a little bit to hang out with them some more. As lazy as they are, they are really nice people who I have enjoyed getting to know. My rough draft is done, 20 pages, and I just need to make some minor changes before handing it in Thursday. This week is so crazy...we're done with classes and everything and just have presentations and oral exams. I present Wednesday...I hope I don't get tooo nervous. The oral exam is to see what level we are at on a national hierarchy of language fluency...it should be interesting. I know I've learned a lot and gotten a lot better, but I still make minor grammar errors allll the time, so who knows...

Thursday afternoon is the final party with the families, and then we are done! I am staying until Tuesday, just to hang out with my family a little bit more. I might try to go to Cuernavaca one more time....my students really want to go with me, so we'll see how that shapes up.

This weekend was super fun. It was sort of the last hurrah of everything. Friday we celebrated Ilana's birthday at a garden bar we hadn't checked out yet. Almost the whole group came, so that was fun to be together. Then Saturday night I went to a karaoke bar with Rita, Camila, Miriam, and Pepo (M's boyfriend) which was a blast. We had such a good time just hanging out. I sang some, and we all danced a lot. We got home at 4 AM, which was pretty scandalous. Rita didn't believe me the next day when I told her that's when we gt home. Haha. Sunday morning we had a final group breakfast, which was really nice. Afterwards, Hilary, Justin and I went to Tlayacapan, a small town about half an hour away by combi. It has tons of cute little shops, so I got the end of my shopping done, which really needed to happen. We wandered around, eating nieve, and saw the beautiful church there built between 1530-1550. The best part was when we stumbled upon a panaderia where you could actually see them making the bread. Hilary and I are obsessed with the pan here, and we think we should have a food network show about breads of the world, so we were fascinated by the huge ovens, molds used to make concha (my favorite kind of bread), and huge mixers and wooden tables used to put everything together. The workers were excited by how excited we were, and answered lots of our questions. It was like a bread museum!!! Justin wasn't quite as enamored as us, but he put up with it for a little while.

Tonight I'm going to see Madagascar 2 with Ruben, Miriam, and my mom. It should be really fun. Last night Rita was apologizing to me for their financial situation, and how she would have liked to go out more and do more fun things while I was here, but they just don't have the money right now. It breaks my heart, but there's not a whole lot I can actually do.

I'm getting really excited about coming home though! I am excited to see family and friends. As much as I have loved being here, it will be nice to return to my own culture and traditions for Christmas. I can't wait to make cookies, decorate the tree, play board games, etc. I also can't wait to bundle up. Warm weather is nice, but I also love the snow. It's weird to see Christmas lights tied around palm trees.....

The final stretch has officially begun, and it is tangible in the air. 3 weeks from tomorrow, I will be flying back to home soil. Mixed feelings; but mostly excited. I will be sad to leave Mexico, but I am certainly not leaving empty handed.

This weekend we wonderful; it was so great to have Dad here. Friday night we went out to dinner with Rita, Rubencito, and Andrea to VIPS, the trendy Friendly's-esque restaurant that my mom just thinks is so cool. It was fun to chat in Spanish with them; I think it was really good for Dad to mee them and them to meet Dad. Afterwards, we went to Italian Coffee so he could meet Camila. We both hit the hay around 11 to get up early for Cuernavaca. We left Cuautla at 7, and arrived in Cuerna around 8:15...it was a speedy trip. We had an elegant breakfast at Las Mananitas, a fancy hotel complete with cloth napkins and parrots chirping in the background. We enjoyed watching a couple planning their wedding....always a fun people watching experience. Next, we headed to Jardin Borda to stroll through the gardens of Borda/Maximilian. Unfortunately, they weren't running the boat rentals, but we got some sweet pictures with some big Day of the Dead figures of Maximilian and his mistress. We checked out the cathedral, and hit up the big artesania market, where we made some good purchases. We decided to head to Tepoztlan after realizing how far Taxco was going to be. After looking up at the cliff that is the pyramid in Tepoztlan, Dad decided we could stay down below, walk through the market, and eat some lunch. It was really fun to catch up with him and share all of my thoughts about Mexico, capitalism, etc.

Saturday night when we got back to Cuautla we met Hilary for a coffee in "La Cafecita", our favorite place for Concha (sweet bread) and capuchinos. After, we went to Barry's and met up with Lauren and Isana and Dad got to sample the best tacos of Cuautla. From there, we went to dad's hotel, the luxurious Villasor, and had a coffee and some dessert. It was really nice to chat with him, and I was sad to say goodbye.

Right now, I'm sitting in my kitchen chatting with my mom and sister, waiting for my chocolate chip cookies to be ready. Dad brought me some chocolate chips, so now everyone can try the deliciousness of chocolate chip cookies. I had to improvise a little bit with the measurements, but hopefully everything will turn out ok. It smells good, at least!

My UNILA project is going very well, and I'm starting to write the 20-25 page final. I have done a bunch of really interesting interviews with students and teachers, and can't wait to put everything together. I only have 3 more classes with my students!!! And so much more to teach! Now I understand how easy it is to get behind in a class. This experience has certainly helped me appreciate the difficulties of teaching....

In other news, I'm going to URUGUAY in a month. The whole world seems slightly annoyed with me, but there are times in life when people have a responsiblity to themselves to be selfish, and to do what they know will make them happiest. Of course, I am sad that I won't be home for a long time at Christmas, but honestly, would you pass up the chance for a free trip to South America? I really loved Germany with the Edelmans, so this just seems too perfect to refuse.

Ohhhhhh Mexico

This is the week Dad (hopefully) comes to visit! I am so excited!!!
We only have 3 weeks more of classes, one week of presentations, and then a few days after before I come home! I am still super happy here, but also starting to get very excited about coming home, seeing everyone I have missed so much, and celebrating Christmas in VT!

Today I had no class at UNILA...it's some Mexican holiday. And we were supposed to have class with Andres at 12:30, but he never showed, so we all left at 1:30 and now I'm home waiting for la comida at 3. Tonight at 5, we have our first Mexican film class, and we're watching "Los Olvidados", which is apparently about some troubled youth living in a barrio of Mexico City. It should be pretty depressing, but hopefully still interesting. Tomorrow we have literature class, Goyo's class, and I go to UNILA for my class. This past weekend I did some interview with a bunch of my students to get started on the final project. We have to write a 20 page paper about our projects, so I'm getting more information about my students and how they feel about English. It was really interesting, and fun to chat with them about other stuff too. I think it was fun for them to speak with me in Spanish, because they saw my weaknesses, just like I see theirs with English everyday in class.

This weekend was a blast; Friday a bunch of us went out to a bar called Resa-K (resaca means hung-over in Spanish). We ran into Justin's sister and some other friends there. The music was good and we danced for a long time. Saturday night Leah's family was having a graduation party for her sister and they invited all of us to come. It was great; food, dancing, socializing. She has some really great siblings and cousins that we have all gotten to be good friends with. Her host dad is so cool; he is a very-powerful socialist politician, and when you talk to him, it's hard not to feel intimidated. But he's really interesting. Yesterday morning we got up early to go to Puebla, which is 2 hours northeast of Cuautla. We all went together via bus, and when we got there, divided up to explore the city for the afternoon. I walked around with Hilary, Isana, and Justin, like normal, and we visited some churches, a museum, and, of course, the market. Justin and I ate lunch together and had to try the mole poblano that Puebla is famous for. It was pretty good, but I still prefer the mole in Oaxaca. I really hope they have mole at La Mexicana in Richmond, because I will miss it a lot when I leave. We all slept on the bus ride home, especially because we were still tired from dancing at Leah's the night before. When I got home last night, my mom and I chatted a bit and then when to pick my sister up at work.

Next week, we have Thanksgiving to look forward to! It should be really fun...we're all going to cook something and then meet at Casa Sol to eat together. I can't wait!

Everything is good. The last 2 weeks since vacation have actually been very laid back, with the exception of the paper we wrote for Howard.

We started new classes; a few are basically the same as before (grammar/writing/reading/conversation), but we have also started a literature class with Felix, which has been great so far. He is a very calming presence, and when he reads, you feel like you're listening to a book on tape. We started out by reading Aura last week, by Carlos Fuentes, which (gracias a dios) I had already read in high school. It was a nice review to read it with a better level of Spanish. Now we're going to be reading some short stories. We are also taking a lecture series with Andres Barreda, a brilliant political economist from UNAM who is essentially socialist. He thinks capitalism is the root of all evil, and that the world is in the midst of about 8 grand crises (he's right...). He can talk and talk and talk, and you never really get bored. Friday night we had class with him 5-8, today 12:30-3, and we have 2 more sessions with him. We will also be starting a film class with Norma soon, but I think we only have that a few times.

It's nice because the course load is less, since we're spending 10 hours a week in our projects. My class is great, but now I have to start thinking about the final 20-page paper and 30 minute presentation. I am going to write about my students, and their process of learning English. I am planning on conducting interviews with them this weekend, and it should be really interesting to see what they have to say. I am also serving as an assitant, and sometimes substitute, in other classes, which has been a great way to get to know more teachers and students. Today I had a class that was supposed to have 10 students, but only 2 showed, unfortunately. It was really hard because the grammar was simple past vs. continuous past (ex) I was running when I fell), and they didn't understand the difference in Spanish, so it was hard to teach in English without that foundation. I tried my best...

This weekend was really fun because I went with my family to DF (Districto Federal) for a baby shower. The niece of my mom is 7 months pregnant, so I got to meet my mom's brother, sister, parents, and lots of cousins. It was the first baby shower I had ever been to, and it was really fun to play all the games associated with babies and giving birth (they hired a party-planner to run everything). The only bummer is that my mom feels like the black sheep of her family, because she doesn't have as much money as her siblings, so I could feel some tension. It was really fun to be together with all of my 4 siblings though, and to see how they all interact in a group. Camila and I spent the night with Andrea (my oldest sister, Stew's age) in her apartment. It was a good opportunity to get to know her a little bit better. She is a computer engineer, so we don't have a ton in common, but she's still really fun. The highlight of the weekend had to be watching America beat Monterrey in fútbol yesterday. The whole family was super psyched.

Oh! I forgot Dia de los Muertos! The weekend itself wasn't that full of excitement, just because my family isn't really that into the holiday. BUT Monday, we went to the cemetary, and it was AMAZING. It was just like all the photos. We chatted with a bunch of people about their loved ones who have passed away, or about the tradition. They think it's very weird that we don't celebrate the dead like they do, and I agree fully. People were super friendly and open, and lots of kids wanted us to take their picture.

I am mostly excited about Dad coming to visit in a couple weeks! I can't wait to show him around, and for him to meet my family! I just can't believe I only have 5 1/2 more weeks! Time is flying!

Vacation

Ok, the post we've all been waiting for....drumroll please...
2 weeks of vacation; 1 word: incredible.

On the 11th, we traveled to Oaxaca. I almost didn't make it because my alarm didn't go off (my bad), but thankfully, my mom is a speed demon driver and got me there in time. We took a public bus together to Puebla, and from there another to Oaxaca. We arrived in the afternoon and had a little rest. We stayed at a really nice hotel right near the zocalo. The first night we all went out and ate at various places in the zocalo, and explored the nearby markets. Howard is really good about giving us time to rest whenever we are traveling; probably because he enjoys his breaks too. I don't remember the days exactly, but we did a number of super cool things. We went to 2 archaeological sites; Monte Alban and Mitla. Monte Alban was amazing; smaller than Teotihuacan, but in my opinion, more beautiful, because the mountains of Oaxaca are incredible, and there's less pollution in the view. The pyramids were easy to climb, and fun to explore (you could go into a few small parts...even though my claustrophobia was pretty strong, I managed ok). Mitla was smaller, without pyramids, but more opportunities to enter the remains and see the intricate designs and art carved into the walls. Mitla is really interesting because when the Spaniards arrived, they constructed their cathedral with pieces of the old temples, so there is a beautiful (although Colonial) church in the middle of the archaological site. There was also a really nice market in Mitla, where I bought Camila (my sister) a Club America (favorite soccer team) hat, which she has been wanting for awhile.

Also in Oaxaca, we visited two agricultural organizations, both trying to help indigenous farmers in Oaxaca stay competitive with the growing influence of US products and transgenic corn. They are experimenting with organic farming, and creative methods of irrigation. It's really tempting for a lot of them to immigrate to the US or abandon their farming lifestyle, but these organizations are trying hard to help them maintain their historical culture of corn. It's pretty great to see that in the midst of global economic crisis and TLCAN (NAFTA), there are people trying to avoid change.

The city was beautiful, and we had a really good time, but the real deal was in San Antonio Huitepec, an indigenous village of around 1,500 people, about 50 miles from Oaxaca City. Now, you would imagine that 50 miles would take about an hour, right? Try 6, on an incredibly terrifying road. I didn't really realize my fear of heights until I arrived in Mexico. There were a few moments when the bus tipped a little bit, and it felt like we were going to fall off the mountain into the countryside. The road literally cut through the mountains, which was absolutely breathtaking, but also scary. The really cool thing about Huitepec is that there are about 100 people in Richmond from this small town. So now we have a strong connection with this small community. We spent three days there, talking to various people, eating with them, learning about what it means to be indigenous in Oaxaca, and the challenges and benefits they face with so much immigration. The best was probably talking to the high school students (the high school only opened in 2004) about what it means for them to be indigenous, and how hard it is to maintain their culture and language (mixteco) in an increasingly "modern" world. Most of them said they would like to go to college, and then return to Huitepec to benefit the community. We watched a sampalilu dance, which is part of the marriage process, and also attended a dance. Hilary and I played the drum/cymbal in the band for awhile, which was fantastic. It's really interesting, because although the money that people working in the US have sent has helped many people in the community, the influence of the US is also destructive to the cultural traditions. I could go on and on about this town and the days we spent there, but I can't write a novel here, so I will just have to tell more stories in person. Overall, it was incredibly humbling, and I learned a ton. I realized the other day that I have met FAR more people who have lived in the US than I ever thought I would. I have heard so much about immigration, and I know there are millions who cross the border every year, but to meet so many people has been amazing. One guy I was talking to yesterday in the panaderia told me he thinks people should stop calling the US and Mexico two different countries, because the flow of people between both countries is so constant that we should just stop pretending there's even a border. I also thought being in central Mexico, it would be less common to meet people immigrating, but the lack of jobs affects the whole country, and people are desperate everywhere. Even indigenous farmers from Oaxaca, in a village that you can't even imagine are heading north for better opportunities and the fulfillment of "the American Dream." How bizarre, and sad.

From Huitepec, we returned to the city for one night, before leaving for Acapulco the next morning. I went with Brian and Ilana (who are together), Justin, and Lauren. It was great to get to know Lauren better, because we hadn't spent too much time together. The trip was so long. We left at 8 in the morning, and got to Acapulco at about 9 PM. We had to pass through Mexico City because that's the fastest way, but it took so long. It was worth the trip though. We arrived in the center, which was totally overwhelming after spending days in the mountains, and quickly took a taxi to our hostel, which was in a more remote part of the city. October is not tourist season anywhere, so things were pretty quiet. It seemed like we were the only people at our hostel, which was great. From Sunday to Wednesday, we woke up around 1 PM, went and got some food, and headed to the beach. We spent 2 days at Puerto Marques, and 2 days at Princess. The water was warm, the sun was wonderful, and we relaxed wholeheartedly. We stayed at the beach everday until sunset, when we reluctantly returned to the hostel, and then went out to eat dinner, usually around 9. We ate a lot of dominos, burger king, and tacos, unfortunately. Because we were in a less touristy area, there were far fewer options for places to eat. But thankfully, there were also 2 oxxos close (like 7/11), where we bought ramen, tuna, bread, large jugs of water, and other necessities. Every night after eating, we would hang out by the pool, which was all ours. It was so nice at night to go for a cooler swim, and chat by the pool. We usually went to bed around 2 or 3 AM, and woke up the next day and repeated the same pattern. One day, we went on a banana boat, which is a big float that you ride on attached to a speed boat. It was super fun.

Justin, Lauren, and I returned Thursday afternoon, while Ilana and Brian stayed another night and decided to go to a fancy hotel. It was so nice to get home after all the traveling, and to see my family again. It was also fun because Angela, an Earlham student who lived with my family last fall, was here visiting with her boyfriend Dylan, who was also here last fall. She and I know each other a little bit, and she worked at F+W this summer, so it was great to hang out with them before they left Saturday. It was also reassuring, because she told me the family loves me and is really happy with me. The rest of the weekend was really chill; I didn't hang out with anyone from the program or go out at night, and I had a lot of good quality family time. My sister Camila is working at Italian Coffee (like Starbucks) so I went to visit her at work a couple times and did some reading.

Today, we started new classes. The next (and final!!!) 6 weeks, we will be taking Literature, Grammar/Conversation, Writing/Reading, and a Mexican film class. My project is also going really well, and I am now going to be there 10 hours a week. I'm going to stay with my class (thank god!), but also be an assistant for high school English classes on Mondays. It should be good. My students were so excited to see me today, and the other professor who was filling in for me said a lot of them stopped coming when I was away; it's probably just because I'm less strict, but I also like to think they like me as a person too.

I can't believe it's almost November! This weekend is Dia de los Muertos, and I promise to take lots of photos. Friday I am going to a Halloween party at my aerobics studio; we are having a party with the karate class and we're both going to do a little presentation. We are doing a dance/aerobics sequence to "Thriller" which is shaping up nicely. Mago, the aerobics teacher, is really sweet, and is so excited about the party. It should be fun. And Hilary and I are planning to dress up at "Limon y sal" (lime and salt) which is the Mexican equivalent of salt and pepper. It should be quite cute. I hope everyone has an awesome Halloween, and I hope to talk to you all in the near future!!!

I have not updated in quite some time, so in procrastination from my paper (EZLN, Atenco, and APPO: Social Movements and Their Relationships with the Mexican Government) I would like to give a brief update:

Tepoztlan: 2 weekends ago, we traveled to Tepoztlan to climb a mountain to see a pyramid. It was essentially a cliff; we climbed straight up for about an hour and a half...my asthma was not too happy. But we made it to the top eventually. It is a tourist hotspot, for Mexicans and Internationals alike, and it's free on Sunday, so it is a constant flow of people hiking up the mountain...it sort of felt like we were on a pilgrimage. But the view and pyramid were well worth the hike. It was pretty foggy, but still beautiful. And there was a big festival going on at a church in the town, so we could hear the music and see the floods of people. Since it was Sunday, the markets were also incredible, and I was able to pick up a few gifts along the way. Hilary, Justin, and I ate in a market for the first time. It was pretty squashed, but it was probably the best food I've had in Mexico so far. We ate Tlacoyos, which are sort of like quesadillas, but much better. They had "queso de Oaxaca" inside, which is the best type of queso...it's salty and stringy. Mmmmm.

This past weekend, Hilary and I decided we wanted to check out Cuernavaca for a day trip, so we left Sunday morning around 9, and took the 1.5 hour bus ride to Cuerna. We visited the Palacio de Cortes, which is an archaeological museum with ancient-modern artifacts, and also includes a beautiful Rivera mural that portrays the history of Morelos very accurately. Next, we went to the Catedral, and the Jardin Borda, which has lots of beautiful fountains and plants. We ate lots of yummy food (churros, helado) and we found a great cafe that had delicious salads and coffee. We also visited the Mercado Artesania, which had beautiful jewelry and artwork. Hilary found a great painting for her brother, and I bought birthday presents for my mom and brother here, whose birthdays are both today. My 14-year old brother received from me a "100% guapo" shirt (100% attractive, essentially), and my mom some silver earrings. Camila and I stayed up until 1 last night baking them a cake. We finished it off with the very Martha-esque "R" that I stenciled on with some cocoa powder....everyone was impressed.

We are all watching the election very carefully. I already sent in my absentee ballot, but it's still interesting to watch the debates. I think I'm more interested in it here than I would be in the US. It's really interesting to talk to Mexicans about the election. They don't really care that much but seems to prefer Obama. The economy is freaking me out a bit...I took out cash today, taking advantage of the sweet exchange rate, but who knows what the future holds....

Sunday we head to Oaxaca for a week of group travel. I am super excited...we are spending a few days in the city, and then a few days in San Antonio Huitepec, the pueblo in Oaxaca where about 100 Mexican immigrants in Richmond are from. I think it will be a really cool experience to be able to go back to Amigos in Richmond, and be able to understand where these people are actually coming from. After Oaxaca, Ilana, Brian, and Justin and I will travel to Acapulco for vacation, from Saturday-Thursday, and then return to Cuautla for a couple days before classes start up again. I'm pretty excited for the tourist experience of lounging on the beach and drinking pina coladas.

UNILA continues to go really well....my students are pretty upset that I will be gone for 2 weeks, but they understand that I need to go. I still feel weird about being here in general. Being in Mexico, teaching English. Proliferating American values is not something I'm sure I support. And my students' intentions are good; and I understand why they want to learn English. But the confidence I have walking around this town, and the way I know people perceive me makes me uncomfortable daily. I feel like we keep asking ourselves, "what are we doing here? what right do we have?" Especially when visiting "indigenous villages" to see "how they live." I understand that there aren't many better ways to become more culturally educated, but it's hard when you're always coming from a position of power.

Entonces, I'm very happy here, but currently digging into the harder stuff of what it means to be American in another country, and how as much ans I try to reject my identity, I am still not Mexican, and I will never fully be part of this culture I love so much. Neither will me Spanish be fluent at the end of this program. But I think I have come to accept that. I will just keep doing my best and we'll see where that leads...