Temazcal - An Experience in Pluralism

I'm sure everyone has had experiences that are hard to put into words in order for others to capture their full effect. I will try to describe my first trip to a Temazcal or 'cleansing igloo'.


My yoga instructor, Juan (whom everyone refers to as 'maestro')had invited us to attend a pre-Posada celebration and Temazcal cleansing trip, which he does once a month. This man is a true testament to the pluralism of two cultures. His heritage is Aztec Indian, and he practices worshiping this while including the Christian influence which could be seen during our pre-Posada activities.

The Temazcal was located at a small farm in a quaint mountain village called La Rosa. It was great being in the fresh air with animals everywhere...mostly poultry types like turkeys, chickens, rabbits and a parrot.












Our maestro went through each step carefully, beginning with sending thanks to the gods of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. We were each blessed before we went into the igloo in a beautiful event filled with all the ritual steps, which I'm sure are centuries old.


He speaks the native Indian language of Nahtual, as well as Spanish during his entire presentation. I can't begin to go through the complete process that took place inside and out of the Temazcal but suffice it to say it was overwhelming and we were inside for 3 hours!

This is the type of experience that you just must do to fully understand it's importance spiritually and physically. Maestro explained to us that the idea of the cleansing is being more accepted as a form of alternative medicine and there are two located at hospitals in Mexico including Chiapas.

After the cleansing ritual and a cold shower we were treated to enchiladas with homemade mole, a sauce that is a unique blend of chiles. The family that owned the farm and operated the Temazcal also served the dinners.

Next, we had our pre-Posada celebration. This is a Christian ritual, officially starting 26 December, imitating the night Mary and Joseph went in search of a place to stay for the birth of baby Jesus. Candles are held and there are certain songs that are sung to ask for entrance into a home and then the response from the home denying them entrance. Everyone seemed to know the songs from young to old people that were there. I was the only novice. So I settled for taking photos, which was hard because it was by now dark.
Finally, we broke the huge, colorful piñata with the maestro explaining that the hits represented the problems or sins we had committed and when it broke and the fruit and peanuts were released it represented your rewards for giving up sins. No candy was involved with our piñata.

The night ended with drinking the 'ponche' or hot fruit drink made from fruit that many had brought including sugar cane, apples and guayaba. It really hit the spot as we stood around the bond fire and shared stories about our experiences in the Temazcal and life in general in Mexico and the U.S. I was the only American.... hopefully, I represented us well. This is an experience I hope to repeat many times during my stay here ... without the pre-Posada experience of course.

Giving Thanks in Mexico

Homesickness finally set in.....it was Thursday this week, which happened to be Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Just another work day here in Mexico. I did take the opportunity to give my students a brief history of the holiday, which many weren't familiar with at all. I was able to talk to all my family, thanks to SKYPE...the free internet phone service! If you haven't discovered it you must. It seemed everyone at home had a wonderful time doing family dinners and American Football.

On Saturday our very considerate coordinator, Edith Salem decided to find a place to take us to help celebrate. There is a Marie Callender's (an American restaurant chain from CA) here in Mexico City. Their pies are wonderful and we had pumpkin and a variety of other flavors.

I have so much to give thanks for...my faith, my family and friends, my health and the experience here in Mexico. We are soooo fortunate to have Edith as our coordinator here. Edith and I were also able to spend the day together in the city doing some errands, like checking out the bus schedules for the holidays trips I'll be taking and making several stops before arriving at the restaurant. It's so easy to fill 8 hours with interesting places here in the D.F. not really having a plan. We passed the main campus of the IPN University...it is massive with many attractions of its own...like a planetarium, sports facilities, huge library and art attractions.

We made several other stops including a 1500 century Franciscan chapel with a cemetery that had obviously been decorated for the Dia de los Muertos. We also drove around the area where the Virgin de Guadalupe cathedrals (there are 3) are located. I will be taking my family there when they come. Can't wait.

Finally, before our dinner and pie we stopped at a wonderful park called "Hundido" or hidden park. In the park are individually colored trails of the routes the Olmec, Mayan, and Toltec Indians took with replicas of the stone carvings from each group. It also contains the first outdoor amphitheatre in the D.F. where classical music was playing... Beautiful area!

Our dinner was great...in attendance were my Fulbright colleagues, Melissa, her daughter Graciela, Brenda and of course Edith. Muchas gracias Edith!

There are places I'll remember....

As one of my favorite Beatle songs goes....our 1st semester at the IPN just ended today. I didn't realize how attached I had become to my classes until I had to say good-bye. As a teacher or person, you sometimes form stronger bonds with a particular group or individuals that you just can't deny. This was the case with my second class and individuals in my first and third.

My second period surprised me with a fiesta...complete with tinga, which is a delightful blend of spiced chicken, to be put on a taco shell with cream, lettuce and cheese. All had been prepared by the mamá of one of my students...Sweet Lilian.


Sweet Janai brought in a delicious peach pastry.

She's the one on the left of Isaac, and to the right is Nancy. They were so considerate to make sure that I understood what I was eating and how it was to be eaten. I felt like a queen, being served and doted upon. It was hard to stop the tears from flowing as they said a cheer for me and we all shared abrazos (hugs), several times before they left. Daniel, an advanced English speaker in class tried to sum it up for everyone in a speech that I will never forget...saying that I was one of the best teachers they had ever had at the IPN. I felt like they didn't want to leave even though I had another class waiting to come in....and I certainly didn't want them to leave. The good-bye scene was repeated for my next class, very emotional for me indeed...

Next, we have a couple of weeks of testing and then the semester officially ends. Wow...hard to believe...feel like I just got off the plane. The second semester I may have some of the same students but probably not because I'm changing schedules to come in earlier and leave before darkness. My wonderful students made an impression on me about how much people can care for one another and not be afraid to express it verbally and every other way. They are people I will remember all my life.....

Museo de Arte Popular

I've lost count of how many museums I've visited so far...if you count the churches then it's in the 100's. Sunday we visited this creative museum of Popular or Contemporary Art. There were a variety of materials used for the creations exhibited here: including metal, wax, paper, wood, beads...just about anything imaginable, they can create something beautiful and colorful. On special exhibit for the coming Navidad or Christmas celebration was an amazing exhibit of piñatas!
My other favorites are something that looks like giant shields, brightly decorated in themes...such as "The Tree of Life" "The Wedding" and my favorite "Arts and Crafts!













They start them young, as I observed at a workshop for children at the museums...they were making pinwheels and paper turtles.

Día de Revolución

Here are the main points of this celebration: It was a civil war that began with the purpose of overthrowing Porfirio Diaz, a dictator with the desire to exploit land from the natives to enrich his own chosen group of citizen, both Mexican but mostly international. It was initiated by Mexican leaders such as Francisco Madero, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. It ended in 1911 with Mexicans trying to redeem the damage of property loss that had been initiated by Diaz.
In Chapultapec Park we ran across a celebration of the Mexican Air Force, honoring soliders from World War II.












There were also several other demonstrations that include present day conflicts, for example Obrador, who calls himself the President-elect. His situation was similiar to the very close Presidential race we had in the U.S. the last go round.

Día de los Muertos

I'm a little late in describing what I saw here in the D.F during this fantastic and colorful celebration in Mexico. It is a time in Mexico when they celebrate the return of the souls of their loved ones..November 1st being for the children who have passed and November 2 for the adults. Everywhere you go there are "ofrendas"(altars) colorfully decorated with candles, marigolds, incense (important to give the souls guidance) and all the favorite foods and items of the persons they are honoring. Taking a quote from one of Mexico's finest authors, Octavio Paz "Our deaths illuminate our lives" Loved ones have the responsibility of keeping the memories of
their loved ones alive and this is the designated week to do so. I have included a variety of photos, including one for Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo, Dolores Olmedo (whose house in Xochimilco was donated and is now a museum)









Another extremely artistic tribute to this celebration were a collection of skulls, each uniquely decorated to depict the artist style. They were displayed on a main road where all can enjoy.

Comexus Garcia Robles Reunion

On Sunday, 27 October all the Fulbright Scholarship recepients in Mexico gathered for our 3 day mid-term reunion. Hadn't seen most of these folks since our send off in Washinton DC end of July.
1. Anna from Virginia in Mexicali 2. Elizabeth from New York in Huehuetla 3. Margaret from Maine in Obregon 4. Jan from Montana in Cuernavaca 5. David from Minnesota in Ensenada 6. Billy from Minnesota in the D.F. 7. Melissa from Minnesota in D.F. 8. Brenda from Maine in D.F. 9. Nancy from New Mexico in Xalapa and myself from Colorado in D.F. What stories we had to share! We each did presentations that lasted a total of 4 hours..and its only been two months. Our experiences have all been very different with some common threads.
Comexus is the organization that works collaboratively here in Mexico with the Fulbright in U.S. They did a great job of organizing all our activities with visits to local restaurants in the area including a great one called La Casa de las Sirenas...gourmet Mexican food on a rooftop!
We also had a reception with ex-Fulbright becarios (scholarship recepients) from Mexico and local directors, such as Benjamin from the Benjamin Frankin Library.
This is a resource in the area that is provided by the U.S. embassy and comes with tight security. They have a wonderful website that anyone can access though:
www.usembassy-mexico.gov/biblioteca
definetly worth your time! All kinds of resources for teaching and just perusing.

It was great spending time with all my fellow becarios and their families.





Am now off to the beautiful white sand beaches of Cancun for my birthday celebration with my husband. When I return I will report on Día de los Muertos and what a wonderful and colorful celebration it is here in Mexico and what it represents.

Festival Cervantino

Friday morning we tried to leave the city bright and early in route to Guanajuato and the Festival Cervantino. I feel I must warn my blog readers if they ever attempt to drive in Mexico that the police here can be bought! It happened last week-end while we in Acapulco (100 pesos) and then again this week-end. We were so frustrated at being singled out probably because of the "Maine" plates, that we took a stand and refused to pay or deal with these 3 motorcycle cops. Advice: always have the American Embassy on your cell phone speed dial and make sure your phone is working in Mexico! After much drama and a call to the embassy these 3 young officers decided against pursing us any further and left with an apology! Consider yourself warned about driving in Mexico....p.s. the embassy is open 24/7 for help.

After the drama and the need for a shot of tequila at 8:00am in the morning, the rest of our week-end was wonderful. The drive up north was quite different from the drive to Acapulco...still very mountainous and scenic. On the road into Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, we stopped at several talavera ceramic shops (one of the things this area is known for) and I made some early Christmas gift purchases. The prices were fantastic and the pieces are beautiful. We took a short break at a restaurant and encountered the UNAM American football team there! They were in route to their annual rivalry match with our school the Polytecnico on Saturday. College American Football is taking hold here and from the size of these boys I would say they would fair well against some of our schools in the U.S.

Next stop, Miguel de Allende, a small colonial art colony that has been discovered by Americans, in fact there is a huge retirement community there and you see many Americans around on the street. Very different from where I live in the D.F. This town is definitely worth a visit, being rich in history, the place where the Father Dolores Hidalgo, who started the move for freedom from Spain was born. It reminded me very much of small villages in Spain with the cobblestone streets and small alleyways...beautiful. Churches here dates back to the 1500's.

We arrived in Guanajuato around 4pm and after checking in at our hotel, the Camino Real...we were off to check out the Festival Cervantino. It is considered the biggest art, theater, music festival in Mexico. The streets were filled with college aged teenagers and lots of activity. Most of the big venues were sold out of tickets for their productions, we ended up purchasing one for the Auditorio del Estado and a Brazilian dance troupe....very entertaining. Other than that there were random acts of strolling musicians, mimes, Ecuadorian flute music and art and history around every corner. Saturday we visited approximately 5 different musuems and paid only $1.50, teachers are admitted free with an I.D. My favorite was the Iconográfico del Quijote. This is the museum dedicated to the author Miguel de Cervantes character Don Quixote. My second favorite was the museum, or birthplace of Diego Rivera. Each museum is so comprehensive and teachs one so about the culture and history of Mexico. This town has got to be on your list of places to visit.

Finally, on the way home Sunday we stopped in Queretaro, which claims to be the crossroads of Mexican history. They have an incredible antique water aqueduct running down the middle of town, very similiar to Segovia, Spain. Also, some beautiful churches and of course a zocolo area (center of town). Here we tried the barbacoa, and really enjoyed their open air restaurant. The temperature during the day in almost all of the towns we visited was in the 70's...very pleasant for strolling through Mexican pueblos!

La Playa!

Being the small town, wide open space type, I was feeling the need to explore what Mexico has to offer outside this largest city in the world. My coordinator, Edith offered us a night at her family's ocean home. On the way out of town you have to climb into the mountains because for those of you who aren't familiar with this area, it is approx. 7250 ft. starting here in the city. So we climbed and climbed and truly enjoyed seeing the wide open spaces of the mountains outside of town. We made a stop to eat in "Tres Marias" outside of Cuernavaca. These small places offer a variety of home style cooking and barbacoa, which is lamb cooked in an underground oven.

The down point was paying all the "cuota" or toll fees on the interstate...they add up to approx. $45.00 before you arrive into Acapulco...and then there's the return! We enjoyed the sunset from the beautiful house on the beach and just relaxing. My companions were, Edith, and colleagues/friends Brenda and Bill. We recharged and returned, with one more downside, traffic making its way back into Mexico City....apparently lots of folks exit the city for the week-end. Fortunately, the memory of a great and relaxing week-end outweighed this problem. Back to work on Monday and our second set of tests starting on Thursday.

What A Great City!

So many events this week ... it is hard to include all the details .... I'm going to try to summarize the week with comments and of course my favorite photos!

My students are working on oral presentations, and I was so impressed with their concentration that I had to take some shots. They will present in English, which is very stressful, but they have worked diligently and I am looking forward to hearing them on Monday.

Friday night we were invited to attend a "chareada" or mexican rodeo. It was a private event, and very beautiful with female riders showing their riding skills in full white dress, and men who rode the "Paso de Muerte". This is where they jump from a tame horse to a wild horse, while riding very fast! Two out of three made it...felt sorry for the one rider....he got up and gracefully walked out of the arena, but ouch! Not too many photos of this because of night, distance, etc.

Last week-end my friends Brenda and Bill from Winterport, Maine and I bought bikes! We were advised against it because of all the traffic, but after spending our week-end riding around a couple of different areas, this proved to be the wrong advice for us. In fact, on Sunday, the city actually closes two of the main streets in the center of town for all the folks to walk, run, bike, or whatever you choose! The streets take you to the Zocolo and all the way to Chapultepec Park. It was so great to be able to build up some speed and not be bothered with too many obstacles. Brenda says "this is their way of giving the city back to the people". ..for a few hours anyway(9am-2pm, Sunday). In my opinion, if they did it more often, it could be an answer to their pollution problem. We rode both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, we rode in the park for many hours....touring this way gives one access to so much more. One of my favorite areas in the park is "the poet's row". They have bronze sculptures of the best Latin poets and some quotes from their work.....Sor Juana de la Cruz, Najera and José Othon to name a few...his poem is called "La Casita". We also came across a group of Indian performers that had the most beautiful instruments, a mandolin and a concha shell horn. At this place a couple of students approached us because they needed to interview someone in English for their class! We were of course delighted to tell them on film how we loved their country and hopefully our tape will be shown in their classroom!

Chapultepec Park is celebrating 100 years and with this comes lots of celebration. We happened on a stage with a mariachi band dressed in white, ballet folkórico dancers dressed in lots of colors, and a female cantante (singer). They were wonderful!
Right next to them of all things was an antique car show! Model T Fords and lots of others! They have auto clubs here too. On the way back on the Paseo de Reforma(a main street) I took photos of several unique park benches, what creativity in this city! In a city of 20 million people there certainly seems to be something for everyone...never a dull moment.