México, 2008 - 2009

End-of-the-Year Potluck

2009-06-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I volunteered to host an end-of-the year potluck for my classmates and teachers in the Master’s program so that I would have a chance to see everybody one last time before leaving Querétaro. Almost everyone came, and we enjoyed an abundance of food, beer, and good company!

Birthdays and Goodbyes

2009-06-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Two of my friends and classmates, Yutsil and Daniela, have the same birthday, so at the end of May they organized a joint celebration. Even Enrique Brito, one of our teachers from last semester, came! The Molly Katzen Moosewood brownies that I made disappeared quickly . . .

Oaxaca City, Oaxaca

2009-03-30T18:21:00.001-07:00

In between Christmas and New Year’s in Chiapas, I traveled to the neighboring state of Oaxaca for a few days, where I met a dear friend and fellow Fulbrighter Martie. Martie is a working artist who is setting up a print studio in Xalapa, Veracruz. She is one of the sweetest and most inspirational people I have met.

San Cristóbal de las Casas

2009-03-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorites from the city: all of the lively pedestrian streets, lots of inviting cafés, the view of the city from either of the two churches atop hills on opposite ends of the downtown, the fruit punch (served hot) and candied figs from the market, la Madre Tierra – a great breakfast restaurant with fresh whole-wheat bread (a rarity!)

I spent Christmas and New Year’s with Erika’s family in her grandmother Teresa’s home in San Cris. Everybody in the family welcomed me so sweetly. Between all of the family meals and conversations over coffee and pan dulce, I felt like another granddaughter / niece / cousin, etc. (Chalupas are the colorful dish with beets that Teresa is preparing . . . they are nothing like those at Taco Bell!)

El Cañon del Sumidero and Los Lagos de Montebello

2009-03-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

The Cañon del Sumidero is an important place in Chiapa’s history and geography: during the Spanish conquest, a legendary group of indigenous resistors leapt from the top of the canon wall to avoid being captured; the river Grijalva has only been navigable since the 1980s when it was dammed to produce hydroelectricity.

Los Lagos de Montebello form a mysterious chain of more than 70 lakes that vary in depth and color. We only visited several, but it was interesting to note the different shades of blue, green, and gray.

Waterfalls and Ruins

2009-03-30T17:54:00.001-07:00

Cascada el Chiflon: the waterfall that dwarfed me!
Agua Azul: my favorite swimming (it was snowing in Portland!)
Misol-Ha: Erika and Abel hiked behind the falls while I swam across the pool beneath them.
Palenque: Mayan ruins in the tropical rainforest of Chiapas

Holidays in Chiapas!

2009-03-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

In December I traveled to Chiapas in the South of México with my housemates, Erika and Abel. Their families are both from San Cristóbal de las Casas, one of the most picturesque cities I’ve ever visited. Now I know why Chiapas is such a popular tourist destination (especially for liberal European tourists who followed the Zapatista uprising in 1994): it is possibly the most geographically and ethnically diverse state in the Republic. In addition to enjoying the colorful, pedestrian-friendly streets of San Cris, we explored some of the outlying areas, including breathtaking waterfalls and Mayan ruins!

Sayulita, Nayarit

2008-12-09T10:26:00.001-08:00

Sayulita, Nayarit

2008-12-09T10:16:00.001-08:00

Sayulita, Nayarit

2008-12-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

I definitely missed sharing stuffed turkey and gravy and apple pie with my parents and sister . . . but, a few days after Thanksgiving, I joined my cousins in Sayulita, a tiny beach town on the Pacific Coast. I had a fabulous time playing on the beach with my little cousins Nora, Charlie, and Owen. I felt at home visiting with family - in English! – playing cards, building sandcastles, eating fish tacos, and swimming, of course! If Jonathan, Dana, Janet, or Dick check this blog post, thank you so much for a memorable week in Casa Botellas. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves!

Fall Semester Classes

2008-12-09T10:03:00.001-08:00

Fall Semester Classes

2008-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

Every morning from 8 until 10, Monday through Thursday, I joined about 20 theater majors for a beginning contemporary dance class. They were all so sweet in welcoming me even though I’m definitely not an actress! I had fun learning new expressions (the word for push-up in Spanish is the equivalent of “lizard!”), and we formed a special bond through waking up to dance class first thing each morning. For our final exam / recital this morning, we performed a tango routine from Moulin Rouge that we’ve been working on all term and another combined choreography that included swing dance music and Brittany Spears ;) – Some of the photos are from a dress rehearsal and others are from the final performance.
Unfortunately, I just have one group photo of my literature classmates with our visiting professor.

Enjoying nature in good company

2008-11-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Peña de Bernal (November 16. 2008)

2008-11-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

The blog is finally up-to-date! Yesterday, Osiris, Liliana, Wendy, Christian, and I took a day trip to Bernal, a tiny town overshadowed by a big rock (the third largest “peña” in the world, according to the sign at the base of the rock!). As the legend goes, if you climb the peña during the equinox, a surge of supernatural energy revitalizes you. - We weren’t the only people to apparently made the hike at the wrong time of the year. Even though you wouldn’t think so by looking at the photographs, there were lots of people on the trail and at the top of the peña, including a grandmotherly woman who hiked in a suit skirt and jacket, pumps, and nylons . . . and ventured out onto the very edge of the precipice! Between humoring Osiris’s dreams of being a cowboy and Liliana’s photographic whims, we had fun playing tourist.

Guanajuato

2008-11-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Every October the city of Guanajuato hosts the Festival Cervantino that highlights theater and music and art from all over Mexico. Liliana and I decided to catch the closing concert by Café Ta Cuba. After waiting for over three hours in a line that snaked through the city center, we arrived at the entrance right as the guards were closing the gates. I learned a new word: portazo; definition: what a crowd of angry people shouts in front of a closed door; an attempt to incite enough emotion to break down the door / gate. With images of tear gas and trampled concert-goers in my mind, I was relieved to get away from the crowd and out of the concert zone . . . everything ended peacefully, but I realized that big crowds make me uncomfortable, and I was disappointed by not hearing Café Ta Cuba. The next morning, the streets of Guanajuato were eerily empty as though the crazy concert-goers and the mile-long line had been swept up in the wee hours of the morning along with the crushed cans and taco trays discarded on the cobble stones.

Coffee and cena with housemates

2008-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

José and Naomi are the other Fulbright people in Querétaro. They kindly invited Abel and Erika and I for dinner (cena) and gave us a tour of their impossibly tall house: it has five floors, and there’s basically a room on each floor!
The center of Querétaro is magical at night - - I should take more photos.
Ceci, a friend from school and my neighbor, earned her “título” about a month ago. In Mexico, you can graduate from college without earning a “título,” which requires a thesis and a lot of extra paperwork and dedication. The “titulación” ceremony is when the professors who worked with you personally recognize your hard work in front of friends and family. – I was expecting an American graduation ceremony with caps and gowns and tons of people, so I was surprised to find only Ceci and her family! I learned that the big graduation ceremony takes place separately.

People Watching in Dolores

2008-11-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

Of course one of the most fun parts of exploring a new place is people watching (and trying to be discreet). My tactics for discretion obviously failed when I surprised the musicians tuning their violins.
I always thought the throne-like seats surrounding plazas and parks were only for shoe polishing – not boot painting! Imagine donning sky-blue boots!! I was seduced by the proud artistry and attention in the painter’s brush strokes.

Architecture in Dolores Hidalgo

2008-11-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

It’s easy to forget the injustice and destruction caused by the Spanish conquest of Mexico because the visible remnants of the conquest – Mexico’s colonial architecture- are beautiful.

Dolores Hidalgo

2008-11-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

About two months ago (I know I’ve neglected this blog for too long!), Liliana – a friend from school – and I took a day trip to Dolores Hidalgo, a little town in the state of Guanajuato that is famous for two things: 1) unexpected icecream flavors (pig skin and avocado for example); 2) the cry of independence (el grito de Dolores) that began Mexico’s fight for independence. (The icecream – nieve – is really good; cheese was the most “exotic” flavor that I tried.) In addition to admiring all of the food with tempting colors and textures, we window-shopped in stores selling ceramics – talavería – with colors and designs so brilliant that the flowers or food filling them become adornments!

More house photos

2008-09-17T15:33:00.002-07:00

House photos

2008-09-17T15:33:00.001-07:00

Settling in . . .

2008-09-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not updating the blog for quite a while . . . after the “honeymoon” phase of making lots of discoveries, finding everything exciting and enchanting, and going to Mexico City, I experienced the little dip that always comes when you’re getting used to a new place. My dip came in the form of some intestinal parasites and bureaucratic migration issues, what are called here a “papeleo” – basically lots of paperwork and trips to the National Migration Institute. I have one more trip to make to the NMI, and then everything should be taken care of, and my tummy is doing better.

I’m feeling more settled in now; a somewhat normal routine is starting to materialize. I have a favorite café and bookstore where I hope to spend time studying when I need a break from the library or house. I found a family of women who sell fresh vegetables in a sort of mini plaza, so now I can avoid buying produce at the Safeway-type place where I buy other food. And, my housemates and I are bonding over chocolate chip cookies. The cookies are nothing special, but Erika and Abel love eating them with coffee, and they’ve promised to show me how to make some Mexican desserts. Erika’s mom has been visiting for the past week or so, and she has also been sharing some of her recipes. I know I’m here to study literature, not food, but I love having conversations with people from other places about what they like to eat!

In terms of classes, I’m slowly adjusting to the less structured format . . . I have a lot of independent reading to work on (at least reading that I’d like to do to make the most of the time here). I’m finding that most of my classmates already have a broad repertoire of Latin American authors they’re familiar with, if not from college then from from high school. Obviously we don’t read literature in foreign languages in American high schools, and I wasn’t a Spanish major, so I feel like I need to somehow catch up. Bueno, poco a poco.

I’m including some photos of the house and also Mexico’s independence day (September 16th). Actually, everybody celebrates during the night of the 15.th El grito – the cry of independence – happens at 11 or 12 the night of the 15th.

Orientation in MX City

2008-08-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

Since the last time that I wrote, a lot has happened! The biggest news is that I’m no longer homeless in Querétaro. A week ago, I moved into the house where I’ll be renting a room for the next year. I haven’t had a chance to enjoy it yet because I was gone all last week at the Fulbright Orientation in Mexico City. Even though I haven’t spent much time at home yet, I’m really happy with the arrangement. I have two housemates who are also students, which is nice because we have similar lifestyles. They are from Chiapas in the South of Mexico, so they can give me recommendations for traveling. Our house reminds me of Eugene, with Mexican touches of course. The front gate opens onto a tiled patio with beautiful bushes and climbing plants that we don’t even have to water J Every Sunday night, neighborhood women set up taco, atole, and helote stands on the sidewalk across the street. Last week, I introduced myself to the taco ladies and the owner of the corner store. Every neighborhood has at least one corner store selling junk food, maybe fresh produce, lunch meat, and usually fresh sweet breads. Grabbing last minute groceries is easy, but I don’t understand how all these tiny stores stay in business. I promise that I’ll soon post some photos of the house and neighborhood . . . the house is a mess right now.

Most of the photos I’m posting now are from the Fulbright Orientation. In total, there are eighty students receiving funding to study and research in Mexico, more than any other year. The Fulbright staff treated all of us amazingly. I felt like I didn’t deserve the recognition because my project isn’t altruistic, but I nonetheless appreciated the chance to get to know the larger community of students in Mexico. One of the best aspects of the orientation was the opportunity to talk to other people about their projects and exchange contact information. I especially enjoyed getting professional, academic, and life advice from older participants. We range in age from twenty-one to eighty. Marty, the eighty-year-old woman, is a print-making artist who has already lived all over the world prior to coming to Mexico. I loved talking to her about her experiences and will definitely visit her in Veracruz. I also plan to go back to Mexico City and sit in on classes with another literature student. How often do you live in another place and have a built in network of travel contacts?!

From the photos, you can probably see that the experience in el Distrito Federal wasn’t the typical, hostel-style trip that I usually take. I felt quite spoiled but definitely enjoyed the hotel’s water pressure and comfy bed (an uncomfortable bed is my only complaint about my house here). When we weren’t listening to conferences on Mexican history and politics and Fulbright administration, we were eating really amazing meals. My favorite activity, however, was having dinner with two other students in the home of a past Mexican Fulbright participant and his wife. They treated us so graciously. After the formal presentations and lectures, it was refreshing to be in a host family situation again and to just chat casually.

Unfortunately, I came back from el D.F. sick, so I suppose I need to slow down a bit and make sure I’m sleeping enough. Back to homework and regular life this week!

First Weeks in Queretaro

2008-08-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks in Queretaro have really been a whirlwind of figuring out logistical details like where to live and what classes to take. I enjoy the city's aesthetics as I walk to and from the university, but so far I haven't been taking photos to share daily scenes with you. Photographing, especially in a place where I already look different, has always made me feel self-conscious. I'll try, however, to become more brazen as I settle into life here and perhaps feel less like a tourist or an outsider. Even though I'm aware of not fitting in physically, I feel much more comfortable in the city than I did two years ago . . . the narrow, cobbled streets in the city center are familiar. My senses appreciate but are not startled by the smells of masa, elote, and rainstorms and the visual mosaic of colonial churches, elegantly dressed professionals, otomí women and children panhandling, and tiny shops selling every possible gadget, from nail polish to cell phone cases.

Living in a downtown hostel called la Jirafa Roja has allowed me plenty of time to absorb the city's daily comings and goings. The hostel is a temporary refuge while I wait for a room in house to become available. While staying in the hostel has postponed that comforting feeling of being settled, it has given me a reason to walk from one end of the city to the other each morning and has also introduced me to some great people who I hope will continue to be friends. The owner of the hostel has been taking me on night runs through the city, which gives me a different and beautiful perspective of Querétaro and stretches my legs. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to moving into my own room this weekend.

For those of you who are following the more academic aspects of this experience, I'm quickly learning about the Master's program and about my own interests. The literature courses I'm currently taking are considered preparation for a Master's in Latin American Literature, which begins in January. The preparation and the official program are both geared toward forming literary researchers, and they culminate in a thesis. Acquiring the bases of Latin American literature and literary theory will be up to me, but the prospect of getting to spend time researching a topic of my choice is exciting! I am thinking of comparing the different ways that Latin American literature represents utopia . . . so I'll have a lot to read! The people in the preparatory class come from all different professional and academic backgrounds, from philosophy to engineering. I am getting to know several of them better, and those of us who don't have degrees in Latin American literature are slowly forming a nice support group. In addition to the literature classes and studies, I'm taking a contemporary dance class just for fun. The group of theater students in the class have welcomed me kindly, and I look forward to beginning each day with reggaeton and salsa music!

I'm going to wrap this up. I'm realizing that I'm stuck in the mass-email mentality, and learning to use a blog as an interactive and more visual form of communication will take some practice. Now that I've made my first real entry, however, I think I'm ready to add more entries (probably smaller ones) on a more regular basis.

I wish all of you well!

2008-08-06T22:50:00.002-07:00

2008-08-06T22:50:00.001-07:00

Querétaro

2008-08-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

2008-08-06T22:42:00.000-07:00