CCM: un sándwich de crema de cacahuate y mermelada

Right now I am in the midst of one of my homework assignments, for which we have to use the imperative verb form and write some instructions on how to do something or suggestions on what to do when you go someplace. When our prof said that we could do a receta (recipe), I knew my topic was decided: I was do write a recipe for el perfecto sándwich de CCM - the perfect PB & J. It's looking to be a good recipe, once I finish it I will post it up on the blog so you too back in the 'states can learn a thing or two about the perfection of the great worldly-famous meal.

Boy, has it been a good long while since I last wrote! Last week was an insanely busy week school-wise. We had a slew of final essays and tests that were due last week, which made it difficult to spend time away from eating, sleeping, school, and going out for our friend Maite's birthday! But I got over the hill that was that week, and here we are with week 4 having just begun! Four of our group-mates left yesterday, and I miss them quite a fair amount. The group dynamic rapidly and obviously changed, it's strange going from 13 to 9. Here are some other tidbits about today that were noticeably different:

- There are a couple of new groups of students on "campus," and it's strange to see new gringo faces around. By overhearing some of them talk today, it was more than obvious that they are from Texas, and we all know how I feel about Texas...!

- Our class schedule changed today, so now instead of taking a composition class in the afternoon, it has switched to a literature class. Which will be a challenge, but a good challenge I think, and the teacher has a peaceful, harmonious presence about here that will make class enjoyable.

- The grammar class that we were in moved from building 3 to building 12 - let me elaborate. The campus consists of 14 different buildings, each with a different purpose. Buildings 1-9 are on the same "campus," which makes it easy to get something to eat or kick it with friends during the 10-minute breaks we have during class. But buildings 10-14 are all separate from the main campus, so now we won't return to main campus until lunchtime. The buildings aren't far away, only a minute or two walk from main campus, it's not bad at all. And the change of scenery is nice, one can only spend so many hours a day in the same place, you know?

Day 1 of Week 4 wasn't a bad day by any means, I am very much looking forward to these next three weeks here. After three weeks, I really feel like I am in the swing of things, like I have a groove and feel comfortable differentiating from the gringo norm. I am so excited for what will come this next three weeks, I know I will have much to recount!

Catch-up time from the past week-ish!

As I said, last week was incredibly busy with homework and such, but that didn't stop Cuernavaca from getting further under my skin!

On Wednesdays, we have a class with our group of students from Gonzaga and the director of our program, our beloved Luis García-Torvisco! Each student is required to do a presentation of 5-ish minutes during the class on a given topic, and my presentation was last Wednesday on the Mexican Americans... I think it went well! My spoken-spanish is definitely better than my written spanish, that is for sure. We also watch a movie every class period, and this past class we watched Como Agua para Chocolate, such a cool movie! If you have not yet had the grace of seeing the movie, I would highly recommend it. It is set during the Mexican Revolution and focuses on the emotion and love one woman pours into her cooking, and presents the story in magic realism... it is an incredible movie! And if you want anyone to watch it with when you come back to the 'states, hit me up :) Oh and Wednesday was also the first time that I went to this restaurant/taco-joint called La Gringa (III)! I had heard such incredible things about it from my classmates, and I had wanted to go for the longest time. It's only a block away from my house here, so I was kind of surprised that it took me almost three weeks to get my butt over there. On Wednesday I went with a few friends and had tacos al pastor, and holy smokes they are incredible!!! Def one of my favorites, bar none.

Oh man I forgot about this story that happened maybe the 4th or 5th day that I was here! So I was up late doing homework (as I tend to be up late doing homework most nights) and when I was walking to my bedroom, I noticed a bug on the floor crawling toward my room, what appeared to be a small scorpion. Of course, everyone else was asleep, and I had NO idea what in the heck I was going to do, I just knew that it was not about to go into my room. So I took one of my handy-dandy Chaco sandals and flung the little pest across the living room, which was probably a smart idea since it decided to start sprinting away from me as fast as it could. But I was not about to take any chances with this little guy, so I ran after it and just smushed the crap out of it with my Chaco. It took me about 5 minutes to build up the courage to look and see if I had actually killed the fella, and thank goodness I did. The next day when I recounted the story to my classes, I felt like such a hero. My grammar teacher preceded to inform me that "wherever there is one alacran (as they are called), there are five more to be found close by." Thank you Daniél, I really appreciate that spout of sarcasm.

Anyway back to last week...the end of school on Friday came with a huge shout of happiness, a big fatty nap, and a night of salsa-dancing at Los Arcos as per-norm on Fridays. Saturday we went to Rios las Estacas, a sort of resort-ish place with this crystal-clear rivers that are so ideal to swim in. It is the perfect place to just lay around for a day, drink some beers, take some naps, jump in the river a few times... it was a much needed and well-appreciated break. Sunburn? Yep. Well, Maggie2 was smart and decided that because (the majority of) her legs are tan, she didn't need to put on any sunblock at all. But she forgot that there is a part of her thighs that her shorts cover, and that part never gets any sunshine. So by not putting sunblock on those whiter-than-white areas while wearing a bathing suit, she got a gnarly sunburn. It could've been way worse, but I haven't had one this bad since, well, I honestly don't remember. Eh, ni modo, no big thing. When we returned from las Estacas, we went out that night to a Cuban bar and restaurant, literally a hole in the wall place. So legit. We were the only gringos there, there was art and writing all over the walls, for anyone from Portland who has been to Montage, the menus reminded me of the Montage menus, but wayyyy cooler and Cuban!, and there was live music too! Starting at 1am was the live music and we left at 1230, but I mean, it was still there! Definitely going back there. And hopefully eventually going to go visit the real Cuba!!!

One of the things I love the most about where we live is that I can go with my roomdogs to the bakery at the Superama here and just get a churro or two to chow on. People here know how to cook and bake, I really think it is something in the blood. Watch out though, when I come back I bet I will be able to make a mean churro...!

Holy wow the storms here are incredible!!! There was just a huge burst of thunder, and it appears as if it opened up the sky, because an incredible downpour of rain is coming down outside. Yeah, this feels like home.

If there is one thing about México that I have come to love and appreciate so much, it is the food. And not because the food is incredible, but what food, comida, means. Comida is never just a grab-n-go affair as it most of the times is in the 'states. We eat desayuno in the mornings, then have our biggest meal called comida in the afternoons around 3, and then a small light dinner called cena in the evenings, usually around 8 or 830. The times to eat aren't merely suggested times, but stores close down and people stop working so that they can return home for their comida with their family or their friends. Food brings people together in a way that nothing else has the power to. It is a literally physical source of life and sustenance, but even moreso for the spirit. In these past three weeks, I have come to appreciate so much in my life just from sitting down and really enjoying and knowing the people I am eating with. People have always come first in my life, and the comida here has only reiterated and emphasized that ten-fold. Just you wait for some great comida upon my state-side return, just you wait!

Well, I better return back to my sándwich de crema de cachuate y mermelada, can't leave a serious business like that hanging.

Besitossss!!

"Do you like onion rings?"

There is this bar/restaurant (good drinks, crappy food) called Los Arcos that is downtown in the zócalo, and on Tuesday and Friday nights they have salsa (yes, dancing) nights with live music, and absolutely everyone goes to salsa nights at Los Arcos. Last Tuesday a big group of us Gonzaga kids went, and ordered some food because we were hungry. There are these two girls in our group, Maite and Christine, who are roommates and who I absolutely adore they are so funny. When we were ordering they were looking to split something. In keeping up with Mexican culture, Maite asked Christine "Do you want enchiladas?" and before Maite finished her sentence Christine asked "Do you like onion rings?" Oh man, we all died of laughter. And the best part was that the waitress was laughing too. Good old gringa times. That story was better in person, but it's still pretty classic. (In case anyone was wondering, they ordered the enchiladas).

I was not very good about writing in my journal this past (second) week, and my exhausted brain has little recollection of the smaller details of this past week. I'll do a better job this week!

I can tell you that on Saturday, our group went on an excursion to Cholula and Puebla. In the town of Cholula, there are (I think) 350 churches, almost one for every day of the year. When the Spanish came and conquered México, they saw a temple in Cholula, and as our tour guide described it, "they thought it would be a good idea to throw sand and dirt on the temple and build a church right on the top of it." And so they did, and so became the butt-burning hill-climb in Cholula. From the top of that covered-up temple you could see so many churches in all directions, it was a bit overwhelming I must say. While some of the churches were incredible sights, others had strangely-creepy figures that would have made it impossible for me to worship in a place where they were luring over me so eerily.

All of the churches also made me think of my time in Zambia last summer. When we went on our weekend trips around Zambezi, we often stopped in many churches if not attended mass at the churches we went to. What permeated my brain on Saturday was the disparity between the ornate, elaborate churches the Spanish built in Cholula and the simple, plain churches that the Zambians built on their own. Not only were these differences a point of economic comparison, they were also a point of comparison of the beauty found in everyday simplicity, and the beauty that people often overlook in the simple things that are right before them. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, no?

Voy a dormir, hasta luego!

Besos!

These hips don't lie

It's already the second Wednesday of the 6-week stay, my my time has flown! Thank goodness I am staying for 6 weeks, I couldn't imagine only staying for 3 weeks: there are four students from our group that are leaving a week from Sunday. When originally looking at figuring the trip into my grander summer plans, I figured that I would come to Cuernavaca only for 3 weeks in hopes to come back to the US of A after that and have an internship or shnazzy job waiting for my return. And then something hit me in the face like I was bike-riding into a brick wall: I am only young once (so cliche), so why the hell not get the experience I really wanted to have and stay for the whole 6-week period? So here I am, in Cuernavaca, looking at 1.5 weeks down and 4.5 more to come. Bring it on, baby.

Last week I took the free salsa-class offered to gringos at the University. Dang, rhythm is a hard thing to come by. I definitely have more practice as a sports-player and not as much practice as a dancing-fiend, so not gonna lie, I was pretty dang awkward. But of course since it was so much fun, I wanted to come back this week! So yesterday (the majority of our Gonzaga group) I went to the salsa class again, and this time my feet were feelin the beat. And my hips, my hips were moving kind of like Sharkira's (key word in this sentence being 'kind of').

It just so happens that downtown in the zócalo there is a bar/restaurant called Los Arcos that has salsa nights every Tuesday and Friday nights. They also have a mean happy-hour, and at a normal time too - 8 to 10pm, none of this 2ish to 6ish pm business the United States gives us. So a group of us went down to Los Arcos that night to practice our newly-learned salsa moves and have a Corona or two. That place was absolutely hopping, oh man, and there were some couples that sure did know how to move their hips. Definitely not lying.

Recommendation: Take a salsa class!! Do it. Don't want to go it alone? Bring a friend! Nothing better than improving your groove and being able to laugh with one another. I'll volunteer for the position if you really want :)

Besitos!

¡Chócalas!

...known in english as "high five" or "knucks," this word has quickly become one of the favorite words of our group. Other favorites include chiflar (to whistle, like the piropos or catcalls gringas get on the streets), que honda qüex (what's up dude), and ¡UF!, which really isn't anything translated - we kind of just use it when we want to.

This week has been absolutely crazy, it's hard to believe that we've been in Cuernavaca for one week already! Time has gone by so quickly.

After classes on Tuesday, Sadie (my roomdog), Abby, Maggie1 and I (Maggie2) went to Superama, which is a supermarket within a 2 minute walk of our house. I believe it is owned by Wal-Mart, which they have in Cuernavaca as well (and of course, I refuse to go there). After exploring the aisles of Superama, we went to the zócalito (little town square) to get some ice cream, which was perfect for the hot hot afternoon heat. Cuernavaca is nicknamed "the city of eternal spring," so pretty much ice cream is always welcome in our daily cuisine.

*being side-note*

Maggie Nelson and I have class together all day, every day. To differentiate us, our professors deemed us Maggie1 (Nelson) and Maggie2 (Cech), I am 2 because I was late coming to class on the first day. For the duration of the blog, I may refer to us as "the Maggies," "Maggie1/Maggie2," or "1 and 2," or better yet what we get quite often, "uno y dos."

*end side-note*

Wednesday was a busy day: in addition to our 6 hours of class, we had our weekly 3-hour Gonzaga class from 4-7pm that has its own extraneous amount of homework it requires. So class got done on Wednesday at 2, I took the salsa-class offered at the school from 2-3, and then had lunch and had our Gonzaga class from 4 to 7pm - needless to say I was fried when the end of the day came. And as for the salsa class... well, it was fun! But I'm an athlete, I have no rhythm. That's not humility speaking, that's blatant honesty. I'll try anything twice though, and the class is on Tuesday, so who knows what kind of moves I'll have after this week.

Thursday we had class as usual until 2, went home and had comida after school was over, and then at 4 we met up at the school for a tour of the zócalo (the main town square). There was a large group of students from the University (Universidad Internacionál, or UNINTER), from GU, Illinois and Indiana. When we got to the zócalo, we hopped on a double-decker tour bus, that was probably designed to make the gringos look even more ridiculous than we already do. They had us take a super-gringo bus because they were making a video about UNINTER for a t.v. station in Cuernavaca, we're gon' be famous!!!

Friday we had our end of the week exam, which kicked my butt, way much. Then we went with Abby's friend to get some ice cream (like I said, ice cream is always appreciated in our cuisine). We were pooped Friday, long first week.

Yesterday early in the morn, we went to México D.F. (Distrito Federal). Our first stop was the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is HUGE and absolutely gorgeous. After that, we headed to the Palacio Nacional where the Federal Government offices are. More importantly, there are some absolute phenomenal Diego Rivera murals there that detail the history and ancient cultures of Mexico. There was so much beauty in the detailed meaning of each figure in the many murals, it was a very spiritually-stimulating experience for me. Following the Palacio Nacional, we went to the Templo Mayor, which is an archaeological center and museum with ancient ruins that now sit preserved in the middle of the city. After the Templo, we had the chance to grab some grub and kick it in the zócalo for awhile, and at one point, a group of Mexican young'ins approached me and asked me if I would do an interview with them in english. We were chatting and they were asking me questions and told me it was for their English class at their university in D.F. "Is it because I'm a gringa?" I asked them in spanish, jokingly of course. They hesitated and looked at each other and then at me and smiled while they said "yes!" We all got a good laugh out of that. Finally, we went to the Anthropology Museum of Mexico, which is abound with ancient and current cultures and artifacts, such as the original Aztec calendar (frickin' giant)! As much as museums are interesting (apologies for a lack of a better vocab word), there is only so much one can handle of museum-going in one day. And Saturday, well, Saturday was a lonnnng museum day, fo sho.

...which brings us to Sunday! Today! We went to mass today at the Cathedral in the zócalo, at 10:30 so we could sleep in. A few things for us to keep in mind for mass next week:

a) the 10:30am mass is the mass at which there are the most babies and children. while they are absolutely adorable and make me want to adopt several Mexican children, they also were rather loud and distracting - partly because there were 3 babies sitting within arm-length of our 6-person group, and partly because I am not used to the attendance of children at the 8:30pm mass in the Gonzaga chapel.

b) pick up the books at the entrance of the Cathedral next week. There weren't books in the pews with which we could follow along the scriptures, and the stuffy heat of the Cathedral along with our newly-christened spanish-listening ears made it difficult to understand what was being said. Our mamá told us that there are books at the entrance that you can pick up for the service to read along with if we wanted to. Good job, gringas, good job.

c) the 12:00 noon service has a mariachi band! We will go to that one next week!

I am rapidly and most definitely falling in love with Cuernavaca. I am head over heels for the language, there is a freedom that comes along with understanding another language. It's a portal of sorts into a world to which the door had been closed before. The culture has come alive vibrantly, and while I am definitely a gringa, I didn't experience the traditional, famous "culture shock."

So this time, I will just say that even though the program ends in five weeks, I have an itching feeling that I won't want to leave. Who needs to graduate and finish their undergraduate career anyway, right? (jokes jokes, mom and dad!!!)

Week 2, here I come!

Besos!

Stairmasters and kegstands

After many attempts to upload photos to the blog, my impatience has gotten the best of me. It has taken at least half an hour per upload, so I feel as though my patience isn't that bad...? I'll upload a photo one of these days, I have about 40 more of them in Mexico, so there's plenty of time left!

Oh man except there was this one photo, of our first tequila "shots" in Mexico [I say "shot" in quotations because it was in an itty-bitty cup equivalent to about 1/4 of a shot of a drank]. But shoot, was that some delicious tequila, 100% hecho en Mexico. This took place at a pit-stop on our way to our excursion site on Sunday...

...and on Sunday we went on an excursion to the ancient Aztecan-city ruins of Teotihuacan. It's located north of Mexico City, and is still in tact after so many years of wear-and-tear [it's estimated that there were agricultural settlements there as far back as 600BC]. It was incredible to see how much people could do with their bare hands and a little bit 'o elbow grease! The temple of the Sun and the temple of the Moon were incredible, with the Sun temple towering about 72 meters, give or take, above ground! And yes, yes we did ascend the Sun temple. Let me tell you-stairmasters 'aint got nothin on this baby. Those old-fashioned pieces of equipment can kiss my thoroughly toned buns-and-thighs, thank you.

Flash forward to today, the first day of clases! Here was the schedule of the day (for me):

8am - Orientation

1015am - Advanced Grammar [this class is in the morning from 8am until 11am, but since I had orientation today I went late]

1115am - Conversation

1210pm - Advanced Composition

2pm - end of classes!

My teachers are great: in addition to speaking extremely-rapido espanol and being very funny, my Advanced Grammar teacher is also very exotic looking [in a very good way, of course] - dark skin, piercing eyes...bienvenidos a la Universidad, muchachas. My Conversation and Advanced Composition teacher is a riot, we talked about the indigenous people of both Mexico and of the United States, and then we chatted about some slang and explained the good American kegstand, which is explained as a very strange American tradition [si, es la verdad]. He told us of a group from Dallas [Texas, my state of choice] that was studying here and had a keg at one of their houses every single weekend... Now, there's the "Go Big or Go Home" kind of mentality that I so lovingly know Texas for. A little bit of Mexican culture, a little bit of American culture, and we're good.

It's really incredible though how much spanish I feel I am soaking up after only one day of classes. I have a feeling that I may not want to speak english for awhile once I return stateside. Amigos, be fore-warned...

OH MY GOSH AND MY BAG CAME TODAY!!!!!!! It was SO nice to be able to change into clean clothes after 3 days. Here's lookin at all of you back in the states: please please don't take advantage of your closets and dresser drawers. :)

Time for some homework. Hasta luego!

Besitos!

"¡Estoy feliz, estoy en México!"

Buenas noches de Cuernavaca!

After arriving at my host-family's house today with no suitcase, an empty belly and in need of a really good night's sleep, I am currently pretty incapable of writing anything worth reading. One thing I can say with clarity is that the gin & tonic I had with dinner last night was much needed after my looooooong day, I can't recall ever having tasted such a satisfying beverage.

My bag isn't with me though. Because of all of the flight cancellations/etc., it is said to have arrived in D.F. around 4:30pm today, and will be delivered to my homestay tomorrow morning. Same clothes three days in a row? No problemo.

Oh my host family is so fantastic! It's just a mama and a papa, their two daughters are older and have married. I haven't met mi papa yet, but mi mama is amazing! I am living with another GU friend and there are two girls from a school in Pennsylvania that are studying at the Uni. here and staying at our house. Should be a wonderful time, fo sho.

I am thankful I arrived today though, because tomorrow our group is going to Teotituachan, some pyramid ruins north of D.F. With that, I am off to bed.

Besos besos besos.... porque Estoy feliz, estoy en Mexico!!!

Welcome to Fort Hood

Due to severe weather in Dallas, we were unable to land there on our airplane from Portland. So as alternative #1, we were going to fly to Waco, Texas to re-fuel until we could land in Dallas. Whelp, Waco was flake-o with weather as well, so alternative #2 was to head to Killeen Military Base/Regional Airport in Fort Hood, a little south of Dallas. Long story short, I am here now in Fort Hood, Texas [no, no I am not in Cuernavaca]. I am kicking it with two new stranded-traveler friends I made, Laura and Mary, and we are about to watch Netflix to pass the time until we depart to Dallas. Go big or go home, right Texas?

Besos