Flowers in the Winter

Well it's the end of January here in the D.F. and the average temperature is in the low 70's during the day and 40's at night. Flowers are blooming everywhere. At Christmas time I was surprised to see poinsettias in the form of 10 foot trees. As I walked home today I was amazed to see a Norfolk pine tree with bright pink bougainvilleas vining their way up it..had to remind myself, yes it is winter. Freezing weather is something I am not missing this year, in Colorado it is below 0 some days. It's interesting that people here do dress as we would back in Colorado, that being apres ski boots and fur lined jackets..it is winter.

Think I'll take another walk through my neighborhood!

Going East - Xalapa and Beyond

My personal goal for the second semester is to continue exploring this beautiful and intriguing country of Mexico. Also, my professional goal would be the opening of the English Language section at the Polytecnico ESCA library and help my students use it to develop their English skills. Finally, work is still in progress to have an student exchange with a prepa or high school here in Mexico and Highlands Ranch High. I have a feeling this semester will be a quick one.

This past week-end I took a 5 hour bus trip east to Xalapa for $45.00/round trip. It is also sometimes spelled Jalapa for the Spanish influence. Xalapa is about an hour from Veracruz, where Cortez made his first landing in Mexico from Spain. My fellow Fulbright colleague and friend Nancy hosted me at her apartment. Xalapa is her assignment of teaching English at a university associated with the Universidad Veracruzana. We made the most of the week-end, I had already done some research on places of interest that we could visit.

Being my first time venturing in this direction of Mexico, the scenery from the bus was quite breath-taking. We passed yucca, pine, and cactus forests and the volcanic area of Perote...most of the trip passing through the state of Puebla.

On Saturday we visited the small town of Xico (he-ko), about 45 minutes ($1.80/round trip) from Xalapa in search of the Texolo waterfalls. We disembarked in Xico and strolled for about an hour down a long stone road to reach the falls. The walk was so beautiful through banana groves and small quaint haciendas covered with all kinds of colorful plants and flowers. This area is quite humid and supports all kinds of bromelaids, orchids and variety of flowers I didn't recognize.



People in this area were so very hospitable and gracious! People caring about people and enjoying nature together!

Next we stopped in a small town called Coatepec. For being such a small town, it certainly had its share of colorful Catholic churches. The style is much more simple that in the D.F. area. We had lunch in the Coffino Caffe & Restaurant housed in a small rustic building with a courtyard full of flowers and a fountain. It is hard to believe it is January, where it's snowing back in Colorado. I tried something new called Milanesa de res, which is a narrow cut of meat breaded and cooked. ¡Deliciosa!

In the evening we met some friends of Nancy at La Casona de Beaterio, an old monastery. It was a lovely place mostly open air with live music. The band used very regional instruments, a beautiful harp, the smaller guitars and percussion instruments.









Sunday, Margarita, her daughter Miriam, Nancy and I took off for Hacienda El Lencero, outside of Xalapa.





It was a refuge for General Santa Ana back in the 1800's.













It also has a beautiful garden of exotic flowers, plants and a 500 year old tree. ( if only those branches could talk!)











We relaxed on their portico after our visit and then went over to elMuseo de Antropología. This museum houses the best collection of original stone megalithic heads from various Olmec sights. It was quite impressive indeed.













There is so much more to see in Xalapa and I hope to return soon! Muchas gracias Nancy!

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo

Here in Mexico City Christmas is celebrated in full glory...no Happy Holiday needed..they are predominately Catholic and proud of it. There were numerous beautiful "nacimientos" or nativity scenes throughout the city.

I had the opportunity to host one of my 3 daughters, Jessica in the D.F. for 6 days. She was amazed at how much there was to do and see here and we filled the days with non-stop touring of museums and other sites. We also took a bus trip to Guanajuato, which I think was her favorite. She learned about Don Quijote in the Museo Iconográfico del Quijote, one of my favorites and we climbed the pyramids of Teotihuacan here in the D.F. and the Pipila trail in Guanajuato. She was also fortunate to see one of the many ice skating rinks that the city had constructed for the people. One hour of skating could be had free of charge for those who came out early and waited in line daily. The one in the Zocolo area was claiming to be the biggest rink in the world!


My family and a couple of friends also had the opportunity to spend 16 days at a house in Pie de la Cuesta near Acapulco for our Christmas and New Year celebration.


Was one of the most relaxing times of my life, watching beautiful sunsets every day, swimming, and laying in the hammocks and a pleasant surprise of watching the whales, who migrate through this area in December.

The caretakers of the house, Ruth and Antonio shared their traditional celebrations with us, which included the Las Posadas Christmas Eve, a brindis toast for the New Year and Tres Reyes Magos celebration of gift-giving on January 6th. For this they had chocolate and the pastry with one doll hidden in it..the person to get the doll in their piece of cake will host the tamale party for the Candalaria celebration February 5th. This will celebrate the end of winter..a bit early I think? It does seem that one celebration leads into the next. Family is always of the utmost importance in all they do We felt very fortunate to be included in the traditional celebrations here. A beautiful memory for all who came.

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.....