Saying goodbye, for now

I can hardly believe it, but I'm just two days away from the end of the fall semester here at the Facultad de Lenguas. It's been a great four months, although I feel like the time has absolutely flown by. As much as I'm excited to go home and spend a month back in the States, there are a few things I'm going to miss about this country: the intoxicating smell of the many varieties of the tortilla + meat + cheese + salsa combination lining the streets, the warmth of the people who don't just wave hello as they pass by, but actually stop to give you a kiss and ask how you are doing, the thrill and mild terror that comes with a public transportation system that lacks established routes or stops, the fact that I can get my shoes shined so well that I can see my reflection in the black leather for a dollar or take a bus all the way to Mexico City for four, coffee dates that last for more than three hours, the incredible friends I have made here, the creepily mechanical voice of the automated vendor selling "tamales oaxaqueños" in the neighborhood, and the feeling after teaching a class that went really, really well.

I never expressed what I was grateful for during Thanksgiving, so I may as well do it now. I am grateful that I have great family and friends to see back home and I am very grateful that I have five more months to explore this incredible country.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

New Year's Resolution: Be better about updating this blog!

The Three Amigas

La abuelita ha llegado!

The past couple of weeks have certainly been eventful! My grandma and her cousin, Cathy, came to visit for eleven days, which turned out to be non-stop fun. When they first arrived we stayed in Mexico City for the four-day weekend and soaked up as much of DF as possible. Being that it's the second largest city in the world, there's definitely a lot of ground to cover and I was able to see a bunch of the tourist attractions for the first time. Over the weekend, we visited the Bellas Artes Museum, the zócalo area (the downtown plaza), the main Cathedral (which is sinking), the Palacio Nacional, which holds some of Diego Rivera's most incredible murals, the Ballet Folklórico, Coyoacán, the Frida Kahlo museum, Xochimilco (which is famous for its floating gardens) and the Dolores Olmedo Museum. Needless to say we were busy, but had a great time and ate some incredible food!



After the weekend, we headed back to Toluca, and my grandma and Cathy stayed with me at the house and even came to my school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The students were pumped to meet them and after three days I think they understand why I refer to my grandma as "la loca" (in the most endearing way). We spent Wednesday afternoon with one of my students, Alba, who is a Colombian woman I tutor and one of the sweetest people I've ever known. She's also hilariously energetic and dramatic and it didn't take long for my grandma and Cathy to pick up on her favorite expression, "OH MY GOD, Renee," which is heavily sprinkled into conversation whenever she is surprised/excited/upset/embarrassed/needs a filler. That became the phrase of choice for the remainder of the trip. Sadly enough, Alba is moving back to Columbia next week, so she had us take home a "souvenir" from our meal, in the form of a hand knit throw pillow off her couch.





We had a huge dinner party on Friday with 4 of my friends from the language faculty, the Fulbrighters from Mexico City (along with a very significant other), my roommates and one of my private tutoring students. Our long menu consisted of sopes (a Mexican specialty) with the choice of chicken, sausage and potato, or beef toppings, chicken parm, two apple pies, brownies, ice cream, beer and margaritas. It took us hours to get through the courses, but luckily with Cammie's help we were able to polish off those pies without any trouble.




The next day we headed to Taxco, a city about 2.5 hours away that is known for its silver markets. The city is sprawled across a mountain range and is full of extremely narrow roads, colonial buildings and every last antique VW bug in the country. We stayed at the hotel, Monte Taxco, which is on the edge of a cliff and is accessible via cable car. It was pretty incredible and I came home with roughly a pound's worth of silver jewelry.

Life in Mexico is wonderful. I encourage you all to visit! I just finished a very Mexican Thanksgiving and can't stop thinking about how lucky I am to be here this year. I miss you all but I'm starting to realize just how much I'm going to miss this place.

Día de Muertos

So I may have missed out on some Halloween costumes and candy corn this year, but I was able to experience my first Día de Muertos here in Mexico. The holiday, which takes place between November 1st and 2nd, is a celebration of deceased friends and family members. To honor the deceased, families will build private altars covered with merigolds, and ofrendas, which include the person's favorite food and drinks. During the weeks leading up to the holiday, the cities are filled with the sweet scent of pan de muerto, a sweet bread, and calaveras (skeletons) made out of either chocolate or sugar.

For the long weekend I met up with Cammie and Nicole in Mexico City and then traveled to Michoacán (one of the Mexican states) with Nicole's friend Claudia and her family. We were told we would be traveling in a camioneta, which turned out to be an amazing Toyota van that could fit a small country, looked like a spaceship and was fully loaded with camping gear. Two highlights from the drive: 1. Getting stuck in traffic because of the horde of people on horseback along the highway and 2. Getting stopped by a group of small children in costume shouting "No hay paso" and blocking the road with a piece of rope to collect money or candy (aka a fun twist on door-to-door trick-or-treating) from the passers-by.

We left Mexico City on Friday evening and arrived in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, by night. The colonial city was entirely illuminated and as we drove through the narrow, cobblestone streets I felt as though I had been transported back to Spain. Since the camping grounds were full we ended up staying in a hotel that night and I'm sure you can all guess how disappointed I was. Who wants a hot shower and warm bed when you can experience nature? Umm, me.

We spent the day on Saturday stopping through nearby towns, including Santa Clara which is known for its copper production. The streets were lined with markets selling just about everything you could imagine that can be fashioned from copper. In the evening we headed back to Morelia for a fireworks show in front of the famous cathedral. I felt like I had landed in Disney World. The show was accompanied by a video on the history of the city and I found myself singing along to the soundtrack because it was, I kid you not, music from The Lion King with new lyrics.

That night we were going to try our luck on a campground, but one of Claudia's friends had an empty house just outside the city with hot water and electricity. We basically camped out in the bedrooms with the mats we packed. I was the happiest little high-maintenance camper you could imagine.

On the actual Day of the Dead, we spent the day in Pátzcuaro and night on the island of Janitzio, which is famous for its celebration. After having missed out on Independence Day back in September (thanks a lot, swine), I was really excited to experience the authentic Día traditions. The island was llenísima with people who took launches over to climb to the top of the island and visit the cemetery full of ofrendas. It was incredibly beautiful and really interesting to see how different the concept of death is in Mexican culture. Rather than sharing ghost stories, people will talk about how their deceased relatives are coming to visit them and some will spend the entire night in the cemetery alongside their loved one's grave.

The family we traveled with was great! I'm really enjoying being adopted by Mexican families, especially ones with adorable 10-year sons. They were total champs for driving for hours on end, surviving on chips and Coke, and managing to smile the entire time.

Abrazos de México!

Piñas y Pirámides!

Welcome to Tenango...the land of las piñas and pyramids. This past weekend I went to my friend Lety's house for a big birthday bash in her hometown of Tenango, a small town about 25 minutes from Toluca. The town is famous for a drink called las piñas, which is made with pineapple juice, a splash of vodka, ice and a bit of condensed milk. Yumm! Tenango is also famous for having pyramids, which happen to be about 5 blocks from Lety's house. Other than that....well, that's about it for the town, except for its charm.

Having been my first official birthday party in Mexico, I decided to live it up, which wasn't too difficult with a DJ at the house. After eating la comida and enjoying a piñas, a group of us started dancing (mind you this was at about 4pm) and we basically didn't stop until 11pm. While a good amount of the music was straight from the good 'ole US of A, some was more typically Mexican, which meant a lot of spinning and twirling and steps that I could hardly keep up with. Three of Lety's cousins were self-taught dancers, (and men! not something you find very often back home) and were kind enough (and extremely patient) to teach me a few moves. We had an excellent moment of cultural exchange when Christina Aguilera's "Come on over baby" came on in Spanish and I sang the song through in English. By the end, we had some sort of Spanglish mixture going on. I'm going to have to include that in my midterm report for Fulbright. The gringa is officially sharing her culture and amazing vocal prowess (hah).

The morning after the party, we woke up to a real-life rooster (Toto, we're not in New York anymore) and headed out to climb the pyramids. In order to enter before 9 am we had to convince the guard we were all from the town, so I was registered as Renée Díaz Mendez. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? We also told them that we were there to run - and I was wearing a pair of silver flats and a peacoat...convincing, I'm sure. Somehow we charmed our way in and headed straight up to the pyramid, and I mean straight up. Nothing like altitude training before 9 am on a Saturday! Jokes aside, it was really beautiful and we got an incredible view from the top of the pyramids. That pretty much beats anything I could find within 5 blocks of my house on Long Island....well, besides that really great bagel shop. Did I mention I've been missing bagels?

That was pretty much the highlight of my weekend. I was adopted by Lety's family (I now have quite the extensive span of relatives here) and had such a great time living it up fiesta style.

Things at school are still going really well. I taught my students the word "brown noser" today and I happened to get a card from a student telling me that she thought I was really nice and that she wanted to be my friend and later a bag of candy as a thank you for correcting a paper. I'm thinking that was a coincidence, but I still have to wonder. There's no shortage of friendliness around here, that's for sure!

This weekend I'm off to Michoacán for Día de Muertos so I'll have plenty of pics next week!

Abrazos!

Weekend with my Aunt & Uncle

This weekend my Aunt Lupita and Uncle Lawrence came to visit! They flew directly into Toluca on Friday night and after renting a car, they came to pick me up at my house and we drove together into Mexico City, where we stayed with Lupita's sister, Veronica and her husband. On Saturday, we started our day off with fresh papaya followed by homemade molletes, which are made by baking bolillos (white bread) with refried beans and queso oaxaca (a Mexican cheese) and then topping them with fresh salsa. Needless to say, it was delicious.

After breakfast, we picked up a few things from the local market which was packed with people and any type of food product you could imagine. After walking around for a bit, we headed back to Veronica's house, where my two of my aunt's sisters had arrived along with their families. I feel like I spent most of the afternoon laughing. My aunt's family (who I haven't seen since I was 2) certainly doesn't lack personality and I had such a great time talking and laughing with them. At the end of the night, we went to the nearby Sky Mall to sip teas while enjoying the view of Mexico City by night. I have to say, Paris has some competition for the title of the city of lights.

On Sunday I went with my aunt and uncle to Valle de Bravo, a town about an hour west of Toluca that surrounds a beautiful lake. I have been hearing about this place since I arrived and it's considered the Hamptons of Mexico for residents in Mexico City. The town is full of quaint shops, restaurants with lake views, and colonial architecture. There happened to be a circus in town and while leaving the city we passed a truck with a caged tiger in the rear - not something you see everyday. It was a great weekend and despite the fact that it took coming to Mexico to see my aunt and uncle who live in California, it was really nice to see them and I will definitely be heading back to Valle de Bravo with some Fulbrighters soon!

A Camerific Weekend

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting Cammie (one of my lovely fellow Fulbrighters) in Toluca. I have to say, after having been told that Toluca is the coldest, ugliest city in all of this land, it's been a hot spot for the Fulbrighters- first Alexis, now Cammie... When Cammie first arrived from Mexico City we picked up a few things from the grocery store and decided to cook ourselves a feast. I know what you're thinking, this blog is turning into a chronicle of my eating/cooking habits, but that's a pretty big part of my life here.

After picking up some pechuga planchada (literally "ironed chicken breast") we headed back to what is now being referred to as my Tolucan villa and got our Martha Stewart on. We, and by we I mean Cammie did most of the work and I chopped some onions, made pechuga rellena, which is chicken breast stuffed with queso oaxaca, a mozzarella-like cheese, and cooked in a blend of tomatoes, chicken stock, onions, garlic, s&p, and a few chipotle chiles. As a side dish (my gourmet creation) we had sauteed black beans, corn and onion. It was delicious! For dessert, we fell off the Mexican bandwagon and ended up making chocolate-chip cookies. Cammie and I are now DEFINITELY ready to get married.

On Friday night we went out in Metepec again, which is a small city right outside of Toluca where many Toluqueños go out on the weekends. To be honest, the night was a blur of dancing, but it ended with roses and notes that said declared our "superness" so I really can't complain. I'd have to say that the highlight was the moment we were about to leave when suddenly Shania Twain's "I feel like a woman" came on and Cammie and I immediately ran back inside to have a last dance.

Other than that, I've been sticking with the routine at school and continuing to LOVE my students (not in the illegal way), oh yeah, and applying to law schools - that's fun!

I just found out that my Grandma (the crazy one) will be visiting in November and I am incredibly excited. Not to mention that my Aunt Lupita and Uncle Lawrence will be visiting a week from Friday....hmm, I may very well put this little city on the map! My door's always open!

Abrazos fuertes de México!

How to bribe students and get a Mexican marriage license

How could you possibly bribe your students to come to your coffee hour and gain permission to get married in Mexico all in one fell swoop? Bake oatmeal chocolate cookies, of course!

After a little baking experiment with Alexis this weekend, which involved sticking our heads in the oven for far longer than either of us was comfortable with (long story, but thanks to Skype and our dear friend Nicole we learned how to manually light an oven), I decided to whip up a batch of these delicious oatmeal chocolate chip (NOT raisin) cookies and handed them out at the Faculty. That went pretty much as planned. The response I was expecting was "mmm, these are yummy", which I did get, but to my surprise the most common response was, "now you can get married!"

I'm accomplishing major feats left and right in this country.
Watch out, I'm officially a housewife-to-be! Just wait until they get a hold of my chicken parmigiana, they may just give me permission to be polygamous.

Hopefully the next time I cook it'll be something slightly more Mexican. I made a pact with my friend Mario that if I teach him to cook something American/Italian, he'll give me lesson in Mexican cuisine. We'll see how I do!

Pictures!

My life so far..

Happy Anniversary Mexico, we've been together for a whole month! It's hard to believe that just a month ago I was frantically packing and trying to imagine what my life south of the border would be like. I have to say, there's seldom a dull moment. In just 4 weeks I've explored Mexico City (DF), climbed 2 pyramids, traveled to Acapulco (and saw Rebecca Richardson there, no big deal), visited Cuernavaca, moved into a house, planned a semester's worth of lesson plans, and made friends! Oh, and I most recently enjoyed some tequila as a true Mexican so I think it's safe to say that I'm off to a great start.

Where to begin? Since I last sent out an email my classes have gotten off the ground. I am teaching 3 conversation workshops, which are very informal and attendance is voluntary for the students. Essentially, I leave an article in the copier, the students make a copy and (hopefully) read it before coming to class and then we have an hour to discuss the topic. It's a great set up because there is very little pressure on the students and they have the opportunity to simply practice their English and share their ideas in a comfortable, relaxed setting. I also have 3 cultural workshops, each with a corny title, that require no preparation for the students. The workshops are called Frenemies (discussing US-Mexican related issues), Insider's Guide (discussing American slang, customs and traditions), and Everyday English (practicing English in different situations and contexts). In addition to my workshops, I also have 2 Coffee Hours per week when I sit on the patio in front of our faculty's cafeteria and hang out with students who simply want to practice their English. I also TA for 2 English classes and in one of them the students are creating their own magazines and the teacher is absolutely incredible, so I've been doing some side projects with her. Other than that, I have office hours when students can come to ask questions, get homework help, English corrections, just chat, etc.

What I am loving most about this job is the fact that I am here to basically help out these students in any way that I can and the students are GREAT. They're mostly between 18-23 years old (although there are a few middle aged outliers) and they're either studying to be English teachers or translators. Since we're in the Faculty of Languages which holds the English and French departments, the students are also studying French and I'll soon be sharing my office with 2 French teaching assistants...I'm thinking that maybe I can freshen up my French while I'm at it. But like I said, the students really make my work fun. They are all so enthusiastic, smart, opinionated and SO friendly. After talking to one girl for literally 20 minutes, she invited me to her hometown for a weekend. Another girl in my conversation group had me over to her house for la comida (the big meal in the afternoon) last Sunday and I was over there for 6 hours, during which time her family basically adopted me, told me I was always welcome in their home, and when it came time for me to leave (which I had to initiate, otherwise I think I'd still be there chatting with her grandfather) Fati's mother, father, grandmother, sister and two cousins all piled in the minivan to bring me home. I've been going out for lunch on Fridays with this girl Carolina who loves to chat about boy drama and last Thursday a group of girls brought me to a huge concert downtown.

At home, the guy that I'm renting from (Alex) has also been so incredibly helpful and friendly. When I was sick with what I'm pretty sure was swine flu (no worries, I'm 100 percent better now) he made me tea and his mom's cure-all recipe of apples and pears, and the past two weekends he's brought me out on Saturday night. Which brings me to this past weekend when my fellow Fulbrighter Alexis came to visit and on Saturday night Alex and his friend Lelo drove us into DF (Mexico City), picked up our other fellow Fulbrighter Cammie, and we all went to the very chic Santa Fe to go out for dinner and drinks (tequila!) at an Irish pub. It was such a fun night and as soon as the live band started playing Bon Jovi we immediately got up and started a dance party in this pub that was not equipped with a dance floor. By the time we left there was a group of people still dancing, so I can say that night was a win.

Other than that, I've been getting to know this city and its surroundings, swimming through the streets during rain storms, and sticking out like a giant gringa. At one point a fellow faculty member was asking me about my typical breakfast, and began to reason that since I'm so big I must need a LOT of food in the morning. I'm hoping that was a "lost in translation" kind of moment, well, at least that's what I'm telling myself. The machisimo here is very real, but luckily since this is a smaller city it isn't too bad. I mostly have to deal with being honked and yelled at by random people, the police and public buses.

AND THE FOOD. All I can say is yum. Everything is fresh, delicious and nothing like the Mexican food we have at home. Want to know how good it is? Let's just say that the fact that I'm now eating all types of meat- yes, steak, pork, you name it- is a testament to the true deliciousness that is Mexican food.

I realize I'm now using my blog as a place to drop novel-length stories, but I promise to start writing more frequently with hopefully shorter entries.

I miss and love you all!! If you can't tell I'm LOVING México and there is of course an open invitation for visits!