Queretaro myths and legends tour

September 21, 2007 Friday

So, yet another amazing day. I only have one class today but because my teacher was sick, I had nothing! I spent the morning out on our balcony ready and doing some homework. I am going to have to take my computer in somewhere to have it looked at because the battery is possibly slowly dying – a slow painful death…not sure if it’s more painful for me or the comp, but tomorrow will be interesting trying to negotiate and discuss computer problems with a Mexican person.

At 11 some of the students from the English class invited us to go to get michlades (not sure how to describe, or spell for that matter…however, it was described to me as beer with Worchester sauce) haha. Anyway, we sadly couldn’t make it because we had to go to the orphanage! I actually didn’t get to go to either because I wasn’t feeling the best (I’m not sick at all, just a little tired and needed to recuperate from the long week. Either way, I am excited because next week on Tuesday at 10:30 am I am going to begin my volunteer work at the orphanage!! I’m so excited!!!!!!!!!

Ali and I met in the centro and walked around a bit…got the best drink – fresh watermelon, pineapple, and possibly melon (I forget) blended with water!! SUCH a good drink!! Also, we stopped and split a crepe!! YUM! Oh, and I managed to get locked IN the bathroom at the Creperia. It was hard to get out! AND, we found our new favorite panederia!! I am so excited to get bread there. Mom, you would love it and they even have fruit tarts!

After lunch we met up with Torin, Elizabeth, Sheri, Torin, and Mateo and we all headed over to Daniela’s house. We hung out there with Daniela’s friends (yay we’re making Mexican friends!) and a few from the Westmont group! Daniela made the world’ best Pina Colada and we had pizza and ohhh I am loving it here.

We had to leave at 7:30 because we met the rest of our group in the centro for the myths and legends tour which was awesome (I would have liked to understand it a little more, but it was good nonetheless). Our tour guides were dressed in old fashion clothing and we went to all sorts of locations around the centro, learning about the various myths and legends of Querétaro. OH! And there was a cellist during one part of the tour which of course made me super happy. I am missing orchestra/my violin/my piano/ my friends who I can talk about music with! It is killllling me. I think this is the longest time I have been away from all of that since second grade (well, I guess my whole life). It’s just weird to be here, after having it for so many years, and not having ANYTHING. Kills me. I can’t wait to get back into music when I get home.

ANYWAY, after the mitos y leyendas tour, we met back up with Daniela and her friends close to campus. What happens is every week either one facultad (basically a school within the UAQ ie political science, arts, science, etc.) hosts a party for the University students. It was crazy, there were so many people, but it was so much fun. We were at the party for a bit until we left to go to Christian/Chrisjack’s apartment (the guy who makes our coffee in the mornings!) to hang out a little more.

So,basically a summary of my day:

Wake up, shower, eat breakfast already prepared for me (fruit salad, hard boiled eggs, cereal, homemade apple/pear/cinnamon coffee cake), sit on the balcony doing a little homework, reading my book and listening to my ipod, walk to the centro to meet alisyn for lunch, go hang out at daniela’s, go to the centro for the mitos y leyendas tour, go to the party at the university, sleep. No wonder I am having a difficult time thinking about coming home. It’s not even that I am having a fun time here, but I am loving my classes so much more. They are so much more hands on and I am getting so much more out of everything I am learning. I feel like back at UO, everything I do is just to make it to the next level, or just to get past another reqirement…it seems to arbitrary and completely pointless when I have classes here where I am actually learning and not feeling like I am doing tons of work and taking ridiculous tests which I’m fairly confident are not necessary for my future. Ay.

Anyway, more later. I miss everyone!!!

el dia de independencia en queretaro!

September 19, 2007 Wednesday

I was doing so well with updating…what happened?! What happened was I have had the busiest schedule these past few weeks!

As I said before, this past weekend was the Mexican Independence Day and boy was it NUTS here. EVERYONE and I mean everyone celebrates in one form or another. Throughout the entire weekend there are continuous parties, parades, eating, drinking, fireworks – basically anything having to do with Mexico and celebrating and it was happening here in Querétaro.

On Friday night we walked to the centro and it was amazing! Green, white, and red was everywhere! There were musical groups all around the centro, dancing, parades – even a martial arts presentation! After walking around we went to a bar for a awhile and hung out with the kinds from my group as well as some of our Mexican friends.

Saturday I spent all day doing homework because this week was the week for tests and presentations (why did my teachers do that…it was probably the busiest weekend here in Querétaro?!) Saturday night Sam and I walked down to the centro and ran into Dan, Torin, and Jesse there. I cannot even describe the hundreds and hundreds of people who were EVERYWHERE – we could no walk or move.

There were lights everywhere, fireworks, confetti, music, entertainment, etc. The grito was delivered at 11 and people went nuts! It was such a neat experience that I can’t even begin to describe in words, but it was one of the most crazy and hectic things I have experienced. I almost felt like I was in NYC in Time Square during New Years, only down here in Mexico. Things were absolutely nuts but it was so much fun! After the grito, we walked to our friend Carlos’ house and ended up having the most random night ever but so much fun.

Here’s Carlos:

I ended up getting home at 5am which I later found out from my host parents is relatively early for the night after the Independence Day. They told me that as they were leaving for church Sunday morning, their neighbor was just getting home from a party. How funny! I wish that sometimes we could celebrate like that in the states!

As for homework – this was the week for me. I had a test and a paper due on Monday, a paper and a presentation yesterday, a test today, and a paper due tomorrow. We showed up to school at 9 am Monday morning for our test and were there until 9:15 with no sign of our teacher (she is usually about 10 minutes late to class each day so it wasn’t too unusual). Anyway, Christine comes in to tell us that we will not be having class that day or on Thursday either. Welcome to Mexico, right? I’m not sure what is going to happen with the test…I had studied hard for it too!!!

My presentation yesterday was in art history. Basically, Sam, Alisyn, and I taught the 1 ½ hour class (in Spanish mind you!) about colonial and baroque Mexican art! It was actually an interesting topic to research, but it was a lot of work for sure! I have to teach the class once more – in about a month I think – and that with be with Sheri with the topic of post modern art. Should be an interesting topic as well.

After class we went to a panderia (bad news for me – I have a weakness for bread and the panderias consistently have the best baked bread). AHH we got some bread, headed back to Gabi’s school and studied for my literature examen which was this morning. I’m not sure how it went…I felt ok about it but it was all short answer, so I guess it just depends on if she likes my answers. I’m just glad I knew the answers to all the questions. That class hasn’t been my favorite…as much as I love reading xocuicatl and huehuetlahtolli poems, I could do without the class. Oh well…it’s a requirement for the Spanish major so I don’t have much of a choice.

Oh! Sidenote…we had our first cooking class yesterday! Unfortunately, I had to miss it because we had to prep for our presentation (BOO!). I guess I will just have to wait until next week, but I was just so excited!!! Friday is our first dance class…should be good…let’s hope I don’t have to miss that too!

Tonight my class is going on an excursion to Santa Rosa church – the biggest and most beautiful church here in Queretaro. I am excited for this also because it is a barroco church and I just researched the church for my art presentation!

Also, my family has internet now! I don’t have wireless – I have to figure out of they have wireless and I just need a password or what…? There are a number of networks I can connect to but they are all locked so it would be great of one of those locked networks is theirs! As much as I have enjoyed not having internet here, I have realized how much I do depend on it for everyday activities from checking email, to checking my bank account, to searching for information on school topics or using a Spanish dictionary.

Oh and I met a new Mexican friend in the computer lab today. I don’t know why this comes as a surprise to me, but I am still surprised with how many Mexican students I have met here who have or are going to study abroad. I have met three alone who have studied in England and two more who are leaving for England to study next week.

This week I realized for the first time how long it’s been since I’ve felt stressed! Since honestly I left for Canada at the beginning of July, I really have had nothing to stress about. This week, with all of the stuff I have had going on was the first time I had felt that all too common feeling again. It’s stranage because I consistently had that feeling ALL the time when I lived in Eugene…stress and guilt if I ever did anything fun because I knew I had so much more to take care of…or I needed to rush to work, or rush to finish a project, or practice, or clean, or get to class, or study, etc. Here, granted I don’t have ½ the responsibility I had back home and I know this lifestyle isn’t realistic for everyday life, but gosh does it feel good. It’s nice to be able to sit and watch tv, or read, or walk around the centro, or go out with friends, or even sit here and write this entry without feeling rushed or stressed or guilty for not doing something else. If nothing else, it’s nice to have all the time in the world to do my homework and actually do a good job rather than (excuse my French) but “half-ass” it and do the bare minimum to get by. The way of life is so laid back and slow paced, yet I am getting so much accomplished, I’m learning so much, seeing so many new things, meeting so many neat people, and having so many amazing experiences. I know the second I step foot back into the states it’s all going to come rushing back to me, business as usual, which is really hard for me to fathom…it’s is a completely different world than the one I am currently living in. C’est la vie though, right?

Anyway, I have a meeting at Gabi’s school in about 1 ½ hours and then the fieldtrip afterwards. A little later on this week Alisyn have decided to arbitrarily pick a bus (a nice looking one!), get on, and ride it for the duration of it’s route! What a great way to see Queretaro for only 3 pesos! I feel like I have seen a lot, but Querétaro is a city of 1 million people and there is so much more to see than the few places I have been to thus far. I am so excited!

Also, I have noticed that people here are quite nice. They are friendly and helpful for the most part. I don’t remember if I wrote about the security guard I befriended the other day at my busstop…well anyway, he remembered me from a week or two ago, because when I went to my busstop again and he was out there, he remembered me and took it upon himself to flag down the bus for me again. Although I am fully capable of flagging down a bus by myself (a scary experience at first), it was a nice gesture on his part for sure.

Also, yesterday my host mom put mustard as a dressing on top of our salad and it was actually really good! Also, Sam and I have discovered an amazing ice cream shop on the way to Gabi’s school…yesterday I got rainbow sherbet…it reminded me of childhood…I remember Dad would always take us to the drug store (was it called Savons?) and I would always get a rainbow sherbet. Gosh that seems SO long ago!!!

Un poco más tarde:

So the field trip was great! First of all, I forgot my camera! What the heck was I thinking!?!? I just don’t understand myself sometimes. Bah. ANYWAY, our first stop was a beautiful baroque church called Santa Rosa. It’s hard to put into words the beauty of this church, but I am just loving the baroque style. I love all the intricacy, colors, details, and symbolism. We also stopped at St. Agustin which was also a beautiful baroque structure.Querétaro is such a beautiful city…everywhere you look there is something else that is so beautiful or breathtaking.

Mom and Dad, please PLEASE PLEASE come visit me after my program!!! We’ll stay here in Querétaro for a few days, you can meet my host family, and then we can head over to Cancun to visit the beach along with all of the ancient Mayan ruins!!!

After the fieldtrip we walked around the centro for awhile which I still cannot get enough of. It is such an amazing and beautiful colonial city. We went to Biznaca for dinner/ a snack which was again, amazing. I also found my favorite panderia. It’s called la dulce vida (sweet life, hey I love that restaurant in Eugene too!). YUM, I love love love this breaddddddddd.

So I got an e-mail from Mr. Nelson today regarding academy for this upcoming year. I’m not going to lie, I miss playing like none other. It’s not like I practiced for hours a day, but I definitely had my fill of orchestra/violin/piano activities and it was at my disposal basically whenever I wanted. However, here I have zilch, zero, nada and it is killlllling me. Especially now that we’re talking about baroque works in 318 and especially in art, I start thinking of baroque music (hello Bach!) and it makes me want to just pick up and play. Well, I guess I will have to wait three more months for that.

Speaking of months, we reached the one month marker here!! One month down, three left. It seems like I just got here…time is FLYING!!!!!

Speaking of things that fly, let’s talk about mosquitoes and how they LOVE ME. I don’t know what it is, but for the past week, I have woken up each morning with at least two massive mosquito bites. It’s almost a game for me now to try and guess where the next one will show up. LAME.

learning Spanish tongue twisters

Sept 13th, 2007

School was fine today. We went to a different English class today to practice English/Spanish. Today we worked on teaching each other tongue twisters. My accent is getting a lot better, but it’s funny having people try to correct me. Today my partner, Victor, was trying to get my to improve my “r” and my “j” but it isn’t easy! Regardless, I love going to those classes…next week we are telling jokes in class..I’ll have to find one online!

In my cross culture class we went to the centro where they were having tons of celebrations. It is absolutely amazing how much this town goes all out for the Independence Day. We were at the church and there were fireworks going off, parades, people in costumes, food, cleansings, etc. I was in complete awe: I have never seen anything like this before. It is amazing and it is so beautiful to me how into their culture and their country these people are.

I went home for comida and went back to school for art history. In art history we walked downtown and had our class in various places, looking at art which represents the baroque era (which I love). We went to one church downtown QRO which is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. It’s so ridiculous because it’s right downtown! I walk by it everyday. After that, we stopped by our teacher’s favorite ice cream store to talk a little more and got our homework back (I got 100% on the two papers I got back! Yay!)

After class, we walked 2 blocks to find a massive parade…people of all ages, shapes and sizes were marching down the street in these beautiful intricate costumes, carrying various altars, playing instruments, dancing, and singing. It was the most amazing parade I’ve ever seen. We stayed at the parade for about an hour and it kept going and going! I don’t know where all these people or their costumes came from, but it was absolutely breathtaking!!!

As this weekend is the independence day and people go nuts here, I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping much because there is so much to do between the demonstrations, parades, costumes, music, food, dancing, etc. My host parents invited Sam and I to attend a party with them on Saturday night for Independence Day.

In other words, my host mom is still an amazing chef. I normally do not like hard boiled eggs, especially the yoke, but this morning she put some sort of sauce on top of the eggs and they were SO GOOD. Also, if you know anything about me, you know I hate celery. Well, she made homemade celery and potato soup and I actually enjoyed it! Go figure, right?

Anyway, I’m beat and I’ve got a ton of stuff going on next week. A presentation in art history, two papers due in art history on Thursday, a test in comp on Tuesday, and a test in 318 one day next week also. Ay dios mio. It’s going to be busy, but it will all get done…hopefully…

Un poco en espanol-

Pues, cada dia mi espanol es mas bien. Cuando primer llegue aqui in Queretaro, pensaba que mi espanol era mala y tenia muchas problems con la lengua. Pero, he vivido aquir por una mes y mi espanol es mas bien. Frequentamente yo hablo en espanol cuando no pensar a hablar en espanol. Anoche llame a Nicole y Tia y todo el tiempo que hablamos, queria dar respuestas en espanol. Me siento mas bien de mi espanol y conozco que tengo muchas mas cosas que necesito aprender, pero me gusta el progreso de mi espanol, y ojala que en el futuro

Alright…well that spanish wasn’t good because I was 1/2 asleep when I wrote it. ohh well, I will write more in spanish when I’m not asleep! Ohh and for whatever reason my computer isn’t allowing me to upload pictures, so there are more to come when I am able to do so!

when it comes to food, Mexicans are Greek in hiding

Sept 12th, 2007

Yesterday was fairly uneventful; however, yesterday in art history we played with modeling clay! We just finished our unit on prehispanic art, and so we had the day in art to replicate it. So much freaking fun.

Well, today went well! In my Spanish literature class I had a presentation over Hernan Cortes. Ashley, Ali, and I read a story over Hernan Cortes and then gave a ½ hour presentation this morning. I think it went well, but I guess we’ll see when we get our grade.

After class, Elizabeth, Ali, Sam, and I went to the centro for some shopping. I didn’t get much, but I love walking around the centro and seeing all the little shops. On the way to the centro, we stopped at a torta stand and bought the world’s best torta. I got Queso con vegetales and it was SO GOOD! I split it with Sam and it was only 23 pesos total…que un bueno deal!

After shopping, we walked to the restaurant where we were to have our cooking class. Well, long story short, there was a misunderstanding and our cooking class didn’t happen, but hopefully it will resume next week.

Afterwards, a bunch of a went to a restaurant, walked around for awhile, went to an internet café and walked around some more. This is actually the first day I went to the centro and looked in all the little shops. I love looking at all the clothes, food, knick-nacks, etc. I bought this paper looking thing which I though was candy, but it turns out it tasted exactly like paper. Gross.

Also, when we were walking around the centro, we saw a band playing!

Oh our walk home, Sam and I discovered a bunch of little shops and shopping areas we will have to check out, maybe tomorrow!

We went to my house, and Nacho forced us to try this pastry that Maru made. I told him no, but he said follow me, and cut us a piece of apple cake and ice cream. It’s so funny, I swear they are Greek on the inside – always trying to get to me eat! After the cake and ice cream they offered us (multiple times) this sweet bread that Maru had made in her cooking class earlier. We said no thank you and they really wouldn’t take no for an answer so they gave us bread for the road (the 10 steps over to Sam’s house). I went upstairs to get my stuff and on the way down they offered me a quesadilla. Haha they are so wonderful!

Yesterday was even better. I didn’t eat breakfast at home because I wasn’t hungry and they more or less flipped. When I returned from school, I was up in my room doing my homework…well every ten seconds, another one of them would come in my room offering me food…first maru with fruit, then nacho with fruit, then nacho with cheese and crackers. This morning I had gone down to the kitchen before Maru had made the fruit salad so I told her I was fine with just cereal this morning. She said no, you need fruit it’s good for you. I swear she threw that fruit salad together in about 30 seconds flat. There is no getting around not eating if I’m not hungry here. I’m fed if I’m hungry, I’m fed when I’m not hungry. They are such amazing host parents. I really really did get lucky!

Also, Sam and I had the opportunity to talk with Nacho regarding September 11th and his opinion on the subject. It’s interesting the learn the opinion of Sept 11th from someone from another culture. Of course, when we began talking about that, we also started talking about everything else regarding politics, obesity, cultures, etc.

People here are quite nice. For example, whenever Sam and I are trying to cross the street, people here will (generally) always stop and let us cross, regardless of it if out of their way or not. Also, yesterday I was having problems with the bus. Normally I only need to wait about 10 minutes tops for a bus to come to take me to school. However, for whatever reason, none of the buses that I needed came. One bus did pass but did not stop when I flagged him down. There is a prep school right next to the bus stop so the security guard started making small talk with me. He ended up asking me if I needed the bus to the university and I told him I did but there didn’t seem to be any buses coming, so he told me not to worry and that he would flag down the next bus for me (which he did). Although I frequently feel out of place here, the people here are generally quite nice and oh so helpful.

Well, now I am at Sam’s house, watching Ms. Congeniality with her, Jacobina, and Pancho!

a day in the Mexican life

Sept 12th, 2007

Yesterday in art history we played with modeling clay! We just finished our unit on prehispanic art, and so we had the day in art to replicate it. What better way to learn than hands on experience – love it.

In my Spanish literature class I had a presentation sobre Hernan Cortes. Ashley, Ali, and I taught a unit in Spanish on Cortes – it lasted about an hour and I believe it went well!

After class, Elizabeth, Ali, Sam, and I went to the centro. I didn’t buy much, but I love walking around the centro and seeing all the little shops. On the way, we stopped at a torta stand and bought the world’s best torta. I got queso con vegetales and it was SO GOOD! I split it with Sam and it was only 23 pesos total…que un bueno deal! (yes, spanisglish…I know!)

After shopping, we walked to the restaurant where we were to have our cooking class. Well, long story short,  our cooking class didn’t happen this week, but hopefully it will resume next week.

Anyway, we left the restaurant and walked around some more. This is actually the first day I went to the centro and looked in all the little shops. I love looking at all the clothes, food, knick-nacks, etc. I bought which I though was candy, but it turns out it tasted exactly like paper. gross.  We also saw a band playing! love this stuff!

Oh our walk home, Sam and I discovered a bunch of little shops we will have to check out, maybe tomorrow!

We went to my house, and Nacho forced us to try this pastry that Maru made. I told him no, but he said follow me, and cut us a piece of apple cake and ice cream. It’s so funny, I swear they are Greek on the inside – always trying to get to me eat! After the cake and ice cream they offered us (multiple times) this sweet bread that Maru had made in her cooking class earlier. We said no thank you and they really wouldn’t take no for an answer so they gave us bread for the road (the 10 steps over to Sam’s house). I went upstairs to get my stuff and on the way down they offered me a quesadilla. Haha oh man.

Yesterday was even better. I didn’t eat breakfast at home because I wasn’t hungry. When I returned from school, I was up in my room doing my homework…well every ten seconds, another one of them would come in my room offering me food…first maru with fruit, then nacho with fruit, then nacho with cheese and crackers. This morning I had gone down to the kitchen before Maru had made the fruit salad so I told her I was fine with just cereal this morning. She said no, you need fruit it’s good for you. I swear she threw that fruit salad together in about 30 seconds flat. There is no getting around not eating if I’m not hungry here. I’m fed if I’m hungry, I’m fed when I’m not hungry..

Also, Sam and I had the opportunity to talk with Nacho about September 11th. It’s interesting the learn the opinion of Sept 11th from someone from another culture. Of course, when we began talking about that, we also started talking about everything else regarding politics, obesity, cultures, etc.

People here are quite nice. For example, whenever Sam and I are trying to cross the street, people here will (generally) always stop and let us cross, regardless of it if out of their way or not. Also, yesterday I was having problems with the bus. Normally I only need to wait about 10 minutes tops for a bus to come to take me to school. However, for whatever reason, none of the busses that I needed came. One bus did pass but did not stop when I flagged him down. There is a prep school right next to the bus stop so the security guard started making small talk with me. He ended up asking me if I needed the bus to the university and I told him I did but there didn’t seem to be any busses coming, so he told me not to worry and that he would flag down the next bus for me (which he did). Although I frequently feel out of place here, the people here are generally quite nice and oh so helpful.

Well, now I am at Sam’s house, watching Ms. Congeniality with her, Jacobina, and Pancho!  How funny – sometimes I think they watch more American TV/movies than I do!