The wondrous month of April

Where has this month gone?!

April started out calmly enough, with a day trip to Valle de Bravo with Nicole three weeks ago, where we strolled around the town known as the "Mexican Hamptons." Despite the town's reputation for being a bit fresa, or snobby, it actually has a really quaint feel to it and the large man-made lake in the center of town gives it the feeling of Newport or Nantucket, but with a Mexican flair, of course. Our afternoon was spent strolling through town, enjoying lunch in a restaurant located on a barge in the lake, and enjoying the day's slow place.



Two weeks ago, all of us Fulbrighters in the state of Mexico hopped on a bus and headed 5 hours north to Aguascalientes to visit our dear friend, Will and experience the opening weekend of the city's infamous month-long festival (which also happens to be the largest in the country). To give you an idea of the scale of this feria, some workers are able to earn their entire year's salary by working just one month as vendors, etc and cab drivers earn more in a day during this month than they typically make in a week. It was great to have everyone together in Aguascalientes: Will, Alexis, Will G, Nicole, Andy, Cammie and her friend Cathy, and to boot, it was Andy's birthday on Saturday! We went out to a bar that serves you dinner with the number of courses depending on the number of drinks you order....dangerous combination. Towards the end of the meal, Cammie surprised Andy with a giant (delicious) chocolate birthday cake and we sang to Andy in both Spanish and English. Later that night, we went down to the main feria area, which is built specifically for the festival and has everything from a casino, to numerous restaurants, bars and even a plaza de torros. We had a great time celebrating together among the throngs of drunken Mexicans.




The following morning we went to the rodeo competition being held downtown. Alexis was the only one in the group who had been to a rodeo before (in Atlacomulco, the epicenter of Mexican culture) although the one she had been to was all female, and was basically a giant horse ballet. This time, there were competitions that involved lassoing wild horses and knocking them to the ground. After a short while this became less than pleasant, and so we moved on to the general feria area to check out more of the exhibits and activities.



The weekend went by more quickly than I would have liked, but it was really great to have everyone together to hang out and celebrate Andy's big day. It's becoming all too clear that we have just a short time left in Mexico and I don't think any of us are ready to return to the States. As excited as I am for this summer in Manhattan (where I'll be working at a law firm and finally seeing friends from back home) and starting law school in the fall, I'm already envisioning myself shivering in the library during the cold Chicago winter day dreaming of Mexico.

Last week I flew back to New York for my cousin Alyssa's beautiful wedding. I arrived at JFK on Wednesday night and got revved up to spend all of Thursday apartment hunting in Manhattan. My mom was a great sport and spent the entire day with me running around the city and seeing some really not-so-nice places. I also got to see Libby when we first arrived! She met up with us outside Penn Station and after grabbing coffee, she came with us to check out the first sublet option. With Libby's expert advice, I picked out an apartment on the Lower East Side that I love and I'll hopefully get (I'll find out this weekend and I'm crossing my fingers!). I can't wait to spend the summer in the city and to be so close to so many of my best friends!

Rockefeller Center

The wedding, which was held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was on Friday evening. We were late arriving to the ceremony after I experienced some a serious wardrobe malfunction. A piece of advice for all women: try on dresses before you plan on wearing them in public. In my crazed state of apartment hunting, I grabbed this dress I've worn once before and threw it into my suitcase on Friday morning. When we got to the hotel in PA with just this one option, I realized that the top had stretched out and had suddenly become quite revealing. Despite my sister's best efforts, no amount of safety pins or double-sided tape was going to fix this one. I arrived at the ceremony with a cardigan thrown over the dress and feeling pretty sloppy. Immediately following the ceremony, there was an hors d'oeuvres hour, during which time I grabbed my sister, drove to the nearest Marshall's, ran in like a crazed woman grabbing whatever dresses I could find, trying on one that I liked, running back into the car with the new dress and doing a not-so-private wardrobe change in the front seat while my sister drove the getaway car. As I arrived for the second time, I definitely got a few double-takes, but I was ready (and covered) for the rest of the wedding. The reception was beautiful. Alyssa planned out every last detail, including a candy bar for the guests that was color-coded to match the theme of the wedding. The rest of the evening turned out to be a giant dance party and we all had a wonderful time!

Saturday was spent shopping at the outlets (the last thing I expected to do in Amish country), hanging out with the family downtown and watching a movie together in my grandparents' hotel room. It was nice to have some down time with the family after not having seen them since Christmas and I'm looking forward to seeing them more this summer!

I have to say it was bittersweet to be home. I of course had a wonderful time seeing my family, but it was also the last time that I'll ever step foot in the house I grew up in since my parents are moving in a week's time. I guess it's all about moving forward, so I'm sure it'll be for the best, but I feel like this upcoming month is going to involve a whole lot of changes. I guess I haven't sit still for the past year, so why start now!

Abrazos de México!

Steve's Visit to Mexico and an Adventurous Spring Break

What a couple of weeks! Steve arrived in Mexico City on March 20th for a week-long visit, which of course flew by, but we managed to make the most of our time! We spent Sunday in the city visiting the historic district and meeting up with some of the Fulbrighters for drinks in the Torre Latinoamericana, which boasts incredible panoramic views of the sprawling city.


We then headed to the Ballet Folklórico, which Steve was initially less than excited about, until he realized that it's much more of a Mexican version of Lord of the Dance than a traditional ballet. The next three days were spent in Toluca, where Steve accompanied me to work and taught my students about the proper medical terminology for different limbs while discussing an article about racism (he's a natural). Though Toluca isn't exactly a hot-spot tourist destination, we still managed to enjoy the beautiful botanical gardens and some delicious food (and let's not forget a memorable trip to Wal-Mart).



On Wednesday afternoon we left for Puebla to experience firsthand the birthplace of mole and the Mexican revolution. Can you guess which of the two Steve was most taken with? We spent Wednesday evening and Thursday strolling around the beautiful colonial city and visited Cholula, a nearby city that claims the world's largest pyramid by volume on Friday morning. On Friday we bused back to Mexico City to visit Coyoacán, Chapultepec park, and eat the most delicious tacos Mexico has to offer. Not to mention an amazing house party at Cammie's house on Friday night and Steve's birthday on Saturday! For his 24th we went for round 2 of Mexico's most delicious tacos, and I'm not exaggerating. Despite my wishes, there was no grand mariachi band to properly mortify Steve on his big day, but I think we managed to have a great time celebrating nonetheless.



After a sad goodbye on Sunday morning, it was time to begin Phase II of Spring Break: turn Renée into a cow-shit lovin' hippie. The transformation began with a bus ride to Guadalajara on Monday night and a 3 hour dirt-ridden drive to a pueblitititititititio (with roughly 10 people) where we'd be helping to build an adobe house. The contractor we worked for, Levi, grew up on a nearby commune and was beginning to build 100% biodegradable houses that invoke the Mayan spirit and are ALL NATURAL (phrase of the week).

On Tuesday morning we drove to the job site where we began what would be our task for the next few days:

STEP 1: Grab a handful of the cow shit mixture.


STEP 2: Smack it against the chicken-wire enforced straw wall and smear.



STEP 3: Continue and repeat as needed.

That's right, my friends. I barehanded cow dung. Toto, I don't think we're on Long Island anymore. It was actually a pretty cool experience, despite the pungent fragrance. Levi liked to refer to it as a spa experience. I was on board until I literally was pouring blood and swear into the project and began to wonder what sort of cow-dung born blood diseases I might be extracting. Having grown up around construction workers, electricians and plumbers, it was definitely an eye-opening experience to see such an alternative, natural approach to building a home.



One of our highlights of the trip was getting to know the workers on the job (who went by Chewy, Kilin and El Negro...amazing) and learning more about the little town we were staying in. It was pretty empty and there wasn't a young man to be found, as most of them work in the States half the year. Since we were technically WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), our work was exchanged for housing and meals, and our gracious host Cheli made us some incredible home cooked Mexican deliciousness. Mornings that begin with café de olla, homemade tortillas and beans can never go bad.



On our last morning, we went to one of Kilin's farms, where he grows garbanzo beans. When we arrived at 6am to what seemed like an endless field overrun with bushels of garbanzo, it looked like we were in for a day of pain, but just 2 hours later we looked up to realize that the sun had risen over a newly barren landscape (although we can't take too much credit, 3 of the guys with us were MACHINES). With that, I had spent my first half of Spring Break rubbin' some dirt in it and actually enjoying it! (Much to Cammie's surprise).






Our last few days of our break were spent camping in Sayulita, a small beach town about 30 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. Sadly enough Andy and I had to say goodbye to Cammie (who headed back to Mexico City), while we met up with our friends Nico, Jairus, Ale and her friends from San Luis. Our days were spent lounging on the beach, drinking beers from 12-12 and eating the original Chocobanana (kind of a highlight). It was a pretty magical place and not a shabby way to end my weeks of adventure.

Once again Mexico, you never cease to amaze me.

Abrazos!