Independence for Mexicans and for Teachers

Last Thursday (the fifteenth) was Mexican Independence Day. Okay, actually it's the sixteenth, but they celebrate the night of the fifteenth through the sixteenth. It was pretty awesome. There were tons of rides, shops, and cheap tacos. They also do this thing called a Grito. The Grito is a tradition taken from many many years ago when Miguel Hidalgo, a freedom fighter of the day, ran out into the streets yelling Viva Mexico!! So every year, the people go to the town square and to that same thing at midnight. We, unfortunately, watched the one on TV that happened in Mexico City. I was hoping to go out and be part of that, but Martha and Toño decided it would be better to go later. I got decked out anyway.



For some reason, they like to cut their bushes in the shapes of birds for Independence Day. I'm still not sure why they do that one, but it's pretty cool I guess.



The next day, because we didn't have class, we decided to go to a place called Cuetzalan for the weekend. This place is home to many indigenous Mexicans, many of which don't even speak Spanish. It tested our Spanish skills as well as theirs. The city itself is absolutely amazing because Mexico made it into a Magic City, which is where they can't tear old buildings down to make new ones. The city really is magical. Cobblestone roads, old dome churches, 4-feet tall old ladies carrying twice their size on their back, the whole nine yards. Not to mention the Pyramids. But these weren't any old pyramids. These pyramids were built in such a way (4 buildings making a rectangle with only 2 passageways) that if you stood in the center and talked regularly, people at the very top of the pyramid could hear you. If you clapped, the echo was right behind rather than delayed a little bit. It was AMAZING.









After we went to the pyramids, we went to the city center because all the vendors from anywhere remotely close to the city of Cuetzalan came to sell their stuff. I got some really cool stuff for really cheap. And I even used my newly-acquired bartering skills! I am so proud of myself- I didn't pay full price for anything! Okay, I did pay full price for the food, but only because I got 2 gorditas and 2 empenadas for 10 pesos, which is like 75 cents. I wasn't going to push that one. Anyway, so as we were shopping around, everyone started gathering to the very center where there was a huge pole. We're talking like 50 feet up. They take the tallest tree in the forest and cut off all the branches and add a ladder on the side. Then 4 people climb up to the very top with ropes and they swing around the poll coming down. In Cuetzalan culture, they try to get as close to God as they can, and then they try to connect their umbilical cord with God again. They swing with their head down and their feet high and their belly up, trying to connect with God again. It is really cool to watch. I got a video of it, but it doesn't seem to be working on this computer. I'm afraid photos will have to do.





We had to take little camionetas (which is just a guy with a truck that has tarp over the back that drives from little towns to Cuetzalan) and we walked a huge amount of stairs and steep roads. Cuetzalan could put San Francisco to shame.







Such a beautiful city. And everything is really cheap, too! We stayed at a cute little place run by indigenous women. They made us whatever we wanted--really, they didn't even have a menu. We had maracuya juice every morning, too. Maracuyas are definitely not found in the states. But they kind of taste like Clementines, but not quite as sour. They are in the citrus group, but more on the sweet side. All I know is that they were delicious, especially juiced. So here is our cute little place we stayed in:



And a banana tree. Yes, I felt like hopping on top, jumping on alligators, and busting through barrels. (Donkey Kong reference.)




This leaf below is what they call an Elephant Ear or A Poor Man's Umbrella. The sap is like Poison Ivy though, so it's a ride on the wild side for those poor men.



Overall, we had a wonderful day off and an adventuresome weekend. México never ceases to amaze me with its beauty and delicious food. Martha and Toño said that I should have weighed myself before I came to see how much weight I'll put on. Oh that's not offensive here, for the record. Ba da ba baa baaaa.... I'm lovin' it :)

It's Catch-up time.

Hey, it's been a while! Everyone still out there? Don't worry, I'm still alive. And I finally have access to a computer that I can put pictures on. That is good news for you guys!! There is so much that has happened that it may take a couple of blog posts to catch you up. I'm sorry that the internet at our school is sketchy. I finally found out that there is a desktop computer in my host family's house that I can use. It is really slow, but it works. Okay, now time for a little catch-up.

I tried my first Helote a while back, and I am totally addicted. I think I'm going to start my own Helote business when I get back to school. I'd make bank! Especially off of the RM's. Helote literally means an ear of corn, but this way that they prepare it is totally delicious. Don't be scared of the whole Mayonnaise business, it's just to hold the cheese on. You can't even really taste the Mayo. So it's a layer of mayo, delicious cheese, and chili powder sprinkled on top. It is so amazing. Behold.








Yeah, deliciousness on a stick. The food here is just pretty much amazing. A ton of it is fried, so that always helps in the deliciousness department. My family likes to show me new things, so it's a pretty rare occasion when I get something that I've had before. My favorite things I've had thus far are Gorditas and Huaraches. Gorditas consist of tortillas stuffed with beans and delicious meat and then fried. It's like a stuffed scone, except not sweet. Then Huaraches are tortillas that are stretched out and have beans inside and salsa verde and meat and all that good stuff on it. They are flat, but they are fried too. Oh man oh man, they are good. I just love mexican food.

Tehuacan is a relatively small city, but it still has a mall. We went to the mall (all 5 of us teachers) to go see a movie one Saturday. Movies here only cost 35 pesos which is about 3 bucks, and it's a nice theater! I was pretty excited. We went to Crazy, Stupid Love, and it was really funny. It was also a little bit sketchy for my taste, so I don't think I could recommend it to you, but it was still really funny. I didn't know anything about it except that it was PG-13, so I went for it. The other cool thing was that it was in English with Spanish subtitles, so we weren't completely lost. Hooray for American movies! Anyway, when we were on our way to the theater, we had to pass through the mall. Look what we found.



We all BUSTED a gut when we saw this. I tried to explain to my family that Athlete's foot is a fungus that is not good, but I don't think they understood. Oh well, I got a kick out of it.

Last of all, Alicia and Danielle's family has a ranch about an hour away from Tehuacan, so Saturday they invited me to go with them. We had such a blast! And it was just what I had expected rural Mexico to be. Tons of corn and little cute old Mexican women. We ate corn soup, smoked corn, and steamed corn with lime and salt. May I just say, regularly cooked corn with lime and salt is really good. You cut the lime in half and dip it in a bowl of salt, and then you rub it on the corn like a stick of butter. I don't know how else to explain it other than that, so I hope that is satisfactory. Anyway, I think I'm just going to let the pictures talk now.









Oh, for the record, it's Mexican Independence Day on Thursday, so there is more to come. Get excited.