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.

Festejar y Festejar

This is the word for "party". We were included in two separate celebrations this week...a retirement party and a baby shower. The teacher, Amparo had 30 years teaching and with the new policy from the government she decided to leave now...so that she wouldn't lose any benefits. The celebration was similar to many of ours and as always tears flowed when she was asked to make a speech. She will be dearly missed.

Next, we went to a baby shower for Lulu. Another teacher who will be leaving in a couple of weeks. She brought her other son Emilio, a real sweetie, who laughed when I showed him his picture on my camera! Christina was a beautiful and gracious hostess, a teacher who had left the Poly and is teaching at a school near her home in Bosque de Aragon. We ate pozole, broke a piñata and played lotería (bingo) in Spanish.

Lesson I experienced this week-end....the Mexican people love love love to celebrate life at any occasion and love being together and just chatting. ..i.e. the baby shower went on for 8 hours!

More Museums and Native Tour

This week-end I was able to scratch off my list another dozen or so museums! Saturday I spend 6 hours touring Coyacan, an "Art & Upscale " district of D.F. First, I happened on the Museum of the Intervenciones, it was like walking in an open book of Mexican history. It discussed the battles and people leading up to the Reforma or reorganization after Spanish occupation. Once again I noticed huge groups of Mexican high school students touring their history museums and taking notes and listening to their teachers.

Next, I stopped at the Museum or House of Leon Trosky. He was given political asylum in Mexico before World War II from the Stalin regime with whom he had parted ways. I guess you couldn't just part ways electively back then and he was finally met with assassination by Stalin supporters after the second attempt. His home had been turned into a protective fortress after the first attempt on his life, which is where he existed peacefully writing his works of history and lived with his wife and animals. He also kept company with many local art celebrities, such as Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Riviera.

Sunday our director, Edith Salem from the Polytecnico, who is also a Mexican history expert, toured us around on something she called the Metro tour. Each metro or subway stop has a name and many people probably don't realize why each has its name. I know we didn't, until
today. We started at the Normal, then progressed to San Cosme, Revolucion, Hidalgo, and finally Bellas Artes. We visited places that aren't on the popular tour routes and places that are considered museums, such as several cathedrals that people attend for their Sunday services. Of special note was the Cementerio de San Fernando Tumbas, which is where many of the key players from the Reforma movement have their burial tombs. Included here are Benito Juarez and Ignacio Zaragoza. Their deaths were in the years 1872 and 1862.
The tour was incredibly informative and we were lucky to have such a knowledgeable tour leader. I have included a photo of our group, the three U.S. teachers, Edith, our director and
another Mexican teacher, Amparo.

"El Grito de la Independencia de Mexico"

We made it to the Zocolo "center" of Mexico City around 10:00pm, 15 de septiembre...The opposition party of Obregon (the candidate who had lost the last presidential election recently) was holding a rally to try to sway support their way...calling himself the "real" president. Mexicans listened but didn't participate in leaving the Zocolo before "The Grito" at 11:00pm by Felipe Calderon, their current president. The situation during the election was similar to what happened in Florida between Kerry and Bush the last go round!
Back to "The Grito" which is a series of "Viva..." ....like Viva Hidalgo...Viva Allende...and finally Viva Mexico! several times. These were the key players in the movement for independence from Spain in 1810 in Guanajuato. It was moving to see 1000's of Mexican families with their children dressed in different colorful Mexican outfits and teaching them patriatism for their country. It was very peaceful and colorful with all the costumes, faces painted and oh yeah the fireworks! They were set off over the cathedral behind the backdrop of Mexican flags flying everywhere in the Zocolo!

The next day, 16 septiembre was the parade down the Avenida. It went on for about 2 hours with every military group represented including their military academies. There were flybys overhead of all sorts of aircraft from helicopters to the large aircraft and also paratroopers. The streets again were lined with 1000's of people enjoying and clapping for their military. I must also mention that it is the first night and day without rain since I've been here (since it is the rainy season). It was beautiful blue sky all day and night! Viva Mexico!

Beautiful Colors on the Zocolo

This Sunday was a colorful one down at the center or "Zocolo" of Mexico City....from Aztec dancers...candy carts....decorations for the 16th September or Independance Day and even one dish they only create during this month because it is season of the "RED" pomgranite fruit, along with a "WHITE" almond sauce and a "GREEN" chile relleno.. colors of the Mexican Flag! The dish is called "Chile En Nogada" and is delicious! Truly "un monton de colores"!

Teotihuacan - Where Men Turned Into Gods!

We entered the site and immediately one could feel the spirtual energy that encompasses it. For years I have taught about this site from information from a book, not really knowing the power of what I could have been teaching. You can relate the feeling to the first time you see the Grand Canyon....if you've been there.

The site has the size of an area for as far as the eye can see. Historians say that it was the biggest and most organized artisan and merchant population of the continent....born in the year 150 before our age. It flourished between 300-500A.C. and experienced decadence and destruction between 650-750 A.C. The two main pyramides named "The Sun" and "The Moon"....both still in great shape for their age...and firmly tolerate the 1000's who choose to scale the stairs to the top for a spectacular view of the whole area.

If you wonder how color was painted back in those days...there was a local artisan who was demonstrating that the eggs planted from insects in the nopal cactus gave them their red and plants could be used for yellow. ... very long and tedious process. Some of the area still has the remnants of color! I included a photo of the nopal, which also produces a delicious fruit called tuna.

My guides and companions were Carlos and Luis, local Mexicans who enjoyed the visit as much as myself, even though they grew up visiting it with their school groups and family.

Enjoy the photos ... some of my favorites, so far!

It's Been a Month

Hola! I'm closing in on my 1st month abroad. My students are preparing for their first testing period. They are called parciales and take place 3 times in one semester! We have been working hard to prepare for success on these tests. My husband, Brian made his first trip to the DF or the largest city in the world. He learned so much, especially about what taxi to take from the airport! (Only take ones from the airport labeled "Taxi") .
We also enjoyed touring the area and visiting Plaza Mayor in the Zocolo area of Mexico City, very rich in history before the arrival of the Spaniards, this area is known as the main part of the lost village of Tenochtilan. These piramides are below the rest of the buildings in the area because they were covered when the Spaniards arrived in the 1500's. ...."Cafe Tacuba" - excellent restaurante in the area..an old nun's convent with original stainglass and tile!
On Saturday we went outside the city to Tepotzotlan. Luck was with us and we attended the first annual Ballet Folklorico! Dancers were all very young and talented, wearing dress from their respective regions of Mexico. I think my favorite might be Oaxaca, sooo colorful! Represented as well were the Aztec dancers outside of Museo Nacional de Virreinato...a richly decorated church ... painted with gold, gold and more gold. Very European...took 12 years to build in the 1600's by the Spainards as a Franciscan Monastery.

Brian did a great job of representing the "gringo" holding his own and eating the local food and comida mas picosa(hottest food)! He also did a presentation to all my students speaking on the Denver Water Board (where he works) and its place in Colorado. The kids asked wonderful questions and wrote a reflective summary as well. Next up will be my trip to Teotihuacan this week-end and the following week-end of 16 de septiembre or Independance Day in Mexico!