A New Chapter: Student Teaching

      Well I started my latest adventure over a week ago, but the time has just gone so incredibly fast that this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write about it. Yikes!  I can't even imagine how busy I will be as a real teacher!  Anyway, I am at an elementary school working with the ELL program.  So far I've had mixed feelings.  I absolutely love my cooperating teacher--she is an amazing woman and teacher, but at first, and even still, I'm not sure if elementary is for me.  Everything I've done thus far at UNK in preparation for teaching has all been geared for secondary education since that's what my other endorsement is in, so I feel a little out of practice when it comes to dealing with the little ones.  They do say the funniest things though!  That is one thing I am definitely enjoying.  So I guess I'm still on the fence about whether or not I think I could teach it forever, but I'm definitely loving it for now, and willing to keep my options open in the future. 
       As I said though things have been moving along soooo quickly.  I was already observed for the first time on Monday while I taught the third graders.  I was so nervous I think I was shaking the entire time, but other than my own internal feelings, it went well over all, and my supervisor had positive comments. 
     So I was observed on Monday when I only taught one class, but my cooperating teacher is so willing to just hand over the reins to me that I will be adding a new grade to teach every day, so by the end of this week (my second) I will be teaching all the grades except for kindergarten!  Even as I write it now it seems a little unreal.  I really I'm greatful for the experience though, because I know quite a few student teachers never get the opportunity to teach a full day at any time in their student teaching, let alone in the first two weeks.
    This week has also been interesting because I was asked to translate for a parent meeting.  Both of the school's translators were unable to attend, so my cooperating teacher, knowing that I was fluent in Spanish, volunteered me.  I was awfully nervous though, so much so that I was sick to my stomache and again shaking through the entire fifty minute meeting.  It really did go much better than I was expecting though.  The teachers were good about stopping so I could translate, and I was actually a little surprised at myself how easily it came for me to flip between to the two languages.  The other teachers were all very impressed, and even the principal commented, so I was actually pretty proud of myself.  I was just really glad that something I worked so hard to earn actually proved to be useful and beneficial to someone else.
   As I write about it now I realized what a crazy week or so it has been.  I'm really going to make an effort to journal daily, because the interesting things just keep happening so quickly that I can barely reflect on them before something else pops up.

El Mes Siguiente

With a little under one month under my belt back in the states, I still really haven't found the answers to my questions.  (Not that I was really expecting to, but it never hurts to hold out--at least a little part--for a miracle)  Anyway, it has been so wonderful to be home and be with Scotty again.  It was nice to be with my parents and sleep in my own bed of course too, but mostly it was just soooooooooooo unbelievable satisfying and fulfilling to be with Scotty.  The whole time I was away it was just like something was missing--and it was him.  I know that sounds übber cliché, but it is absolutely the truth.  Every place I visited and thing I did, I always thought in the back of mind how much better it would be if I were experiencing it with him, and now that I'm back and actually with him again, I was reminded why I always felt like that.  He just has this way of making every moment we spend together wonderful.  Even if we accomplish nothing during the day (like we just sit and watch tv all day long) it doesn't even matter because I was with him and every moment was bliss.  And even if we are having some serious discussion or even a disagreement, I would still rather be with him than anyone else in the world.  So anyway, while we were apart for so long I truly discovered that there is no one and no thing that can fill that void in my soul like he can.  I mean I understand that God is there, but I truly believe that God brought Scotty into my life to complete another part of me that is carved out just for him--like a puzzle piece.  And either he is there it the space sits empty.  And I learned over my 1/3 of a year away that it hurts in every way when that space is empty, and that the opposite of that is true too, that when his space is filled, there is joy and comfort and love that brings peace and satisfaction in every way. 

I am happy to be home.

El Ultímo Día

Is hard to describe.  I took my tests, said some good byes--although I'm still preparing for the hardest ones with Lulu and Anita in the morning-- and now I'm wondering what's next.  I have tons of questions circling in my mind about what I really want.  Because truthfully I'm not sure.  I know I want to be with my family.  But I still feel like I want to travel and be surrounded by Spanish and Spanish culture.  Maybe that feeling will fade once I'm home again, but right now I just want to meld my two lives together into one super-awesome-homey-yet-thrilling life adventure.  Logically and probably: no.  Idyllic and 100% impossible: I think so.  So the questions are: what do I really want? (which I don't know the answer to) and if I don't find what I'm looking for, I'm I willing to settle? (which I also don't know the answer to).  As you can tell I have a lot of thinking to do . . . but I also have 6 hours of flight time to do it, lol.  JK!  I know you can't figure out your life's path in 6 hours of flight time.  I just wanted to make a reference to my flights tomorrow that I'm definitely not looking forward to.  (aside: I really hope my bags fit!!  They are a little heavy . . .) I am desperately looking forward to the days of teleportation :)

Okay, so that blog was all over the place and I'm pretty sure it made no logical sense, so that's all for today.

Nebraska Pelatería

That's right.  It's name was Nebraska.  And it's only like a 20-30 minute walk from my house.  I noticed it a few weeks ago while I was coming home on the bus, and was like "Did that really say Nebraska?" I was so shocked, that I had to go back to check it out.  It definitely said Nebraska, and I now have photographic proof.  To top it all, the sign was even in Blue and Gold!!!  Yay for UNK :)  I did ask the owner how he came up with the name, and he told me it was because he had been to Nebraska.  I would have asked him more, but he didn't seem as impressed as I did that I was from Nebraska and happened t just run into this place by chance, so I didn't push it.  In spite of his obvious lack of enthusiasm, the ice cream was really, really good.  I had this rich creamy vanilla-y flavor with nuts and seeds and rasins mixed in.  It was like trail-mix ice cream and it was amazingly "dericious". (And I'm telling myself it was healthy, too!) In sum: yay for Nebraska/Nebraskans, yay for ice cream, and yay for the joy and happiness they create together :)

El Tiangüis con las Chicas

Sunday I went to a very tradtional tiangüis with the girls at my house (Anita, Lulu, and their youngest sister Veronica).  You know that scene in Aladin in the market where there are all those stands crammed together, selling a whole bunch of crap?  It was that, but 10 times as big.  There were sooooooooooo many stands with clothes.  And hair stuff.  And cheap jewelry.  And tupperware.  And food.  And it went on and on.  I was so seriously lost.  I was actually afraid of getting lost, so I clung pretty tight to Lulu, lol.  It was really interesting though to see a real tianguis that wasn't just for tourists or crafts, which were pretty much all the ones I had been to in the past.  I bought a pair of Hollister jeans for 15 USD, so I thought that was pretty good :)  I also got to try fresh coconut milk and meat; not my favorite, but it was still an experience.  Then after spending almost 3 hours in the maze (seriously this place was a labrynth) we left and came home and all ate lunch together and talked.  It was an amazing day.

Almost the end . . .

One week left here in Mexico.  I bought my second suitcase today (tip of the trip: when ever going on big/long trip, back a duffle inside your regular suitcase so you can use it to bring stuff back in.  I didn't do that, and now I know.)  Anyway, I bought my second suitcase and started packing it up.  I am very anxious to see everyone, (Scotty in super-particular).  It's really weird, though.  This whole time passed sooo slowly day by day, as the only thing I was wanting was to go home, but now to look back on the day arrived, it feels like the time has flown by.  Please don't take that last statement about only wanting to go home the wrong way--I love it here so much--I love the language and the culture, I love the people I've met, and I love the traveling through the country.  But the most important things in my life--my family, Scotty, and my friends--have been absent.  In a perfect dream world, I would bring them (you all) here.  It would be fantastic.  We would all be fat (because of all the tortillas and such, lol) and happy and fluent Spanish speakers :) But that is just an unrealistic dream.  I am coming home, and that reality brings about a very strange mix of emotions.

I don't know how to explain it exactly, but it feels like I've changed.  I hardly even remember the person I was and the way I felt when I came.  It's a really strange feeling to think back and remember the first few weeks here and think, "Who is that person?"  It's bazaar, but that's how I feel.  Like I don't even remember me.  In general, I just feel so much more capable now.  Not only in my command of the Spanish language, but of my life.  I know this is a little thing, but before I came I was always so shy to ask for directions or something like that, and now, it has just become so natural and common that I don't even give it a second thought.  And my God was I uptight!  I look back and wonder how in the heck I managed to micro-manage so much.  I wasted so much energy.  Being here definitely forced me to let things go.  There was just so much here that I couldn’t control—from what I ate for dinner to the bus system, that I really didn’t have a choice but to relax and learn to enjoy the surprise.  I really hope this sense of "que será será" stays with me when I come home.  It's lowered my stress level (and probably my blood pressure) a lot, lol. 

Before I came, I was soooo concerned about not being ready and not being the person I wanted to be (or the type of person I thought could go on a trip like this) that it never even crossed my mind that through this trip I could (A) change and become more of the person I wanted to be, or (B) just accept the person I am.  I'm not sure which has happened to tell you the truth.  Which ever it was though, I know I am so much happier with the person I am then when I came.  But the thought that keeps looming in my mind is that I am going home to people that are accustomed to/expecting the person I used to be, but because I’m not sure which has happened (A) or (B) I don’t know how things are going to go over.  So if (A) is what has happened, it has me worried that upon arriving home, I am going to disappoint people somehow.  If (B) is what has happened, then everything should be the same, just a more comfortable-in-my-own-skin me.  But (A) . . . disappointing others has been one of the biggest fears of my whole life.  So I guess I'm just going to try to look at it like this: this trip has been chalk full of opportunities for me to grow in multiple facets of my life, and now that I have taken the control and learned something from each of them, it's time to face my biggest fear, use what I've already learned during my time here, and accept one last opportunity from this experience  to change myself for the better.  

Counting Your Blessings

I think I've talked a little bit about Anita before.  She is the lady that works at the house for my abuelita.  She is 28, and at night she takes classes to finish her high school degree.  Last night I was talking with her, and she was talking about how hard her current math class is.  I told her how I hate math and how I am terrible at it, but I asked her what she was working on.  She said division.  But then she said she couldn't do it because she doesn't know her multiplication tables.  I asked her if she understood how multiplication worked and she gave me a blank stare.  She had just been trying to memorize the sequence of numbers.  She had no idea that there was a process.  So I started to explain to here that when you have something like 2x3 it actually is just addition and it means 2+2+2.  She was like "oh . . . ".  So I showed her a couple of example and then asked her to try 4x5.  But she couldn't do it because she couldn't count by fours.  So when she got to 8 and tried to get to 12, she over counted on her fingers and landed at 16, and then added 4 two more times.  It may have been one of the most discouraging things I have ever seen.  I mean I thought I didn't have any math skills because I always mixed up the formulas for sin and cosin, and because I never understood when the heck the limit was anyway.  But at least I knew what the numbers on the board stood for.  I seriously think that she doesn't even understand that.  It makes me heart break because obviously there a hundreds and thousands of more people in exactly her situation.  Wonderful people who are working hard to make a very meager living that won't ever know if you screw them out of 20 pesos at the grocery store.  I don't know how it would ever happen, but I prey that someday Mexico will be in a situation where it can provide a solid education (even if it's just the basics) to every child.  Not just the ones that can afford to go to private school.  Que lastima por Anita que nunca había tenido la oportunidad a aprender cuando era niña, y ahora, es casi imposible.

Chile y Límon? Sí por favor!

Um . . . you know you've been in Mexico too long when all of a sudden chile y límon on your fruits and vegetables starts to sound really delicious.  Today I ate them on my orange.  Yesterday I ate them on my beets.  Both wonderful.  Now I also really like to put hot sauce on my potato chips as well.  And eat everything with tortillas.  If I spoke Spanish with less of an accent, I think I could probably pass as a native, lol :)  (Oh, and I'd have to ditch the "blond" hair too.  I never considered myself as a blond, but here, everyone (people on the street, as well as all my teachers) consider me to be a blond.  I guess I'll just enjoy while I can.)

Tapalpa

A town that is supposed to be only an hour and a half away from Guadalajara.  A little more than three hours later, I finally got there.  Lol, I don't know what it is with things taking like 10000 times longer than they should, but it seems to be a trend here.  Anyway, Tapalpa is another "pueblo magico" meaning it still has all of it's original architecture.  It was nice, but I have to say it just didn't compare with Morelia.  It was nice though.  Bought a few things.  Just a nice way to pass what other wise would have been a very boring Sunday.

Morelia!!!

My apologies.  This is very late.  I went to Morelia two weeks ago.  Eek!  Time has been flying!  For those of us counting, I only have 18 more days left in Mexico :)  Anyway, Moreila was like this: AMAZING!!!!!  I seriously fell in love with this city.  It's the capital of the state below mine.  (I'm in Jalisco, and Morelia is the capital of Michoacan.)  It still has all the original architecture from the colonial era in the town center, they just repurpose all the buildings.  Like the hotel I stayed in was absolutely stunning and used to be an old mansion.  And because it was the weekend of Día de Muertos, the city was all decorated.  The had altars in almost every business, and the streets were filled with Catrinas (the fancily dressed skeletons) and grand arches made of marigolds.

The first night there, which was Oct. 31, Louise and I went on a "legends" tour of the city.  We thought it was going to be historical, but it was basically just like a bunch of ghost-esque stories.  Kind of boring, and by the second hour we were both so exhausted from the day's journey there, that we really weren't understanding much (it was all in Spanish, obviously) so we just left, lol. 

The next day we took a tour of the city and got to see a lot of beautiful buildings.  That night was the official Día de Muertos, so we went with a tour group a town near by called Patzcuaro.  We ate a traditional meal of tomales, bread, cheese, and atole.  Very delicious!  Then we actually got to see some of the altars the people had built in there houses.  There were incredible.  Altars of marigolds surrounding a picture of the person, with a mountain of food below.  Seriously, a mountain.  Like two or three Rubbermade totes sized.  Huge.  Mostly fruits and vegetables with some special bread laid on top.  It was really powerful to see these families commemorating the lives of their loved ones in such an elaborate manner.  Especially when you think of how much time thy must have put in to construct all the altars, the money they spent on the flowers and food.  It was really impressive.  From there we went to the cemetery and that was crazy.  Basically like what we had seen in the houses, but on a massive scale.  Every single grave was covered in flowers and food and candles.  Some of the graves were just decorated, but most of them also had the living members of the families gathered there.  Did I mention it was cold?  Oh it was freezing.  I'm serious, I would guess it was in the low forties.  Louise and I had sweatshirts on.  Everyone else was in winter coats and blankets.  We were not prepared.  So I bought a scarf while I was there--and I'm so glad I did.  (Just keep reading it all comes together).  So anyway, from that cemetery we got back in the vans a drove a little bit to this lake in Paztcuaro.  In the lake there is this island called Janitzio where people live and work.  This island is the most famous in Mexico for their traditional celebration of Día de Muertos.  So we got on this long boat with benches on both sides to ferry us over to the island.  It was even colder on the water, and it was about a twenty minute ride.  But we got there.  We tried to go up and see the cemetery, but there were so many people at the entrance crowding and pushing, that it got a little scary and we just decided it wasn't worth it.  So instead we just hiked up the island some more.  If you haven't gathered it by now, this island was a giant hill with a very steep incline.  So anyway, along all the streets are the inhabitants selling food, goods, handicrafts, and all sorts of things.  Finally we found a place that overlooked the cemetery.  So although I didn't actually get to pass through it, I did get to see it.  Again, all the graves were covered in flowers and food and candles, and most of them had family members around.  A very fascinating sight to see.  So all in all, we were on in the island for about two hours, which gave me enough time to warm up a little bit because we had to do so much climbing.  So around two am, we met back up with our group to go back to the mainland.  We got on our boat, and of course I rapidly cooled off.  But I didn't think it was going to be too big of a deal because it was supposed to be only a twenty minute ride.  Supposed to be, being the operative words in that sentence.  But after thirty minutes, and forty minutes, we were starting to get concerned.  It was really foggy, and we ended up lost on the lake for a total of two and a half hours.  The boat driver and our tour guides pulled out flashlights and started scanning the water looking for land or other boats.  They had crappy little flashlights though, so I lent them the amazing one my uncle David gave me before I left.  His reasoning was so I could temporarily blind someone if they tried to attack me.  Lol, or save my butt from being lost for even longer on a freezing lake.  Either way--super useful.  When they weren't having any luck seeing anything, they told us all to be quite so they could listen for all the noise from Janitzio.  We couldn't hear it though.  Who knows where we were.  I'm partially convinced we were in the Bermuda triangle.  No matter where we actually were, It was sooooo miserable.  Louise and I were huddled together trying to keep warm, trying to keep calm.  (Louise can't swim and was starting to freak out a little bit.)  I seriously think we would have fallen apart if this really generous girl next to us hadn't lent us her blanket.  It was an amazing gift from God.  We were sooooo cold.  I can't even describe to you how cold I was.  Thus, I was also very thankful I had bought the scarf.  I had pulled my hood up and tied my scarf around it to keep the wind from blowing it down.  Ugh.  I'm still kind of in shock that it all even happened.  So bizarre.  But anyway, eventually we made it back to the mainland dock and were able to use the facilities (I had had to pee since we initially left Janitzio, but I thought it was only going to be twenty minutes . . . there's a lesson there, lol) and then we loaded up into our van for the hour and half or so ride back to our hotel in Morelia.  At this point it's almost six in the morning, and as if God hadn't already proven his point, we go into our room and realized we had left the air conditioner on.  It was again freezing.  I got in bed with all my clothes on and doubled up the comforter (it was a queen-sized just for me :) I woke up later that morning (like eleven) and my toes and fingers were still cold.  Ugh.  All in all though, I still think it was worth it.  Cold, very very cold, but worth it.

That next day (well, same day, but it felt like the next day because I didn't get to bed until six am) we just got to relax and wonder around the city some more before our bus left at five.  We went to lunch at a restaurant and sat outside so we could enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  It was great.  But as we were sitting there, this TV reporter comes up to me and asks me if I'm from the U.S.  I was like, "Uh, yes." (this is all happening in Spanish) and she was like, "Oh great.  Would you like to comment on the legalization of marijuana and who are you voting for?"  And I was like, "Oh no I don't want to comment.  I don't think I Spanish is good enough to express it."  So she responded, "Oh don't worry about it, we have subtitles for that."  So she kind of strong armed me into commenting, but I basically just said something to the effect of how it would be really good for the economy, but really bad for the people that used.  Very general.  At the end she asked me for the full name and state of origin, and I was just like, I'm Michelle, from the midwest, lol.  I had a fear of being tracked down.  So that was that.  I don't know what my deal is with getting interviewed about politics in foreign countries (something similar also happened to me while I was in Colombia), but I sure wish they'd ask for my opinion in while I'm in my own country!

So that was my trip to Morelia.  Very beautiful, very fun, and very cold (at times at least).

The (Almost) First Thing I'm Doing When I Get Home . . .

Getting a pedicure!!  As much as a like this city and all the fun things there are to do here, it is the dirtiest place I've ever been.  I spend my summers outside in the dirty parks chasing after five year olds, and I still didn't get as dirty doing that as I do spending just an hour or two walking around the city.  Seriously, I come back to the house and my feet will be black from the fine dirt that coats them.  It's disgusting.  I don't know if it's from the fact that there are five to six million people in the metro area plus all their cars, or if it's just like the climate/nature of Mexico, but it's awful.  I just want my feet to be clean again.  I'm not even kidding, some days when I shower I'll spend minutes scrubbing my feet, and even then when I get out, my heels are still some shade of gray!  Ugh!!!  So it's decided.  December 4th I come home, December 5th (Sunday) I think Anne's (the owner of the best nail salon in the world!  (And yes, that is a fact, and you can find it on Wikipedia)) shop is closed on Sundays, plus I'm going out to Kearney Sunday-Monday, so that means first thing Tuesday (the 7th of December)  I'm going in to give my feet a much needed treat!!!!  I can't wait :)

Tonolá!

I have been very busy this weekend!  Anway, Louise and I went to Tonolá today to do some shopping!  Tonolá is the town about forty five minutes outside the GDL centro where all the local artisans live/work/and sell their goods.  Needless to say, it was absolutely incredible.  If I was to guess, I would say the main strip was about fifteen to twenty blocks long, plus all the side streets that were also filled.  Filled you may be asking.  Yes.  FILLED.  As in stands on the sidewalks on both side of the street, and on both sides of the side walks.  So if this makes sense, it went like this: street, row of tents with goods, two-foot-wide pathway, another row of tents with goods, another two-foot-pathway, and then actual buildings with more stores (and then repeat this scenario on the other side of the street as well.  It was nuts.  And apparently really hard to explain.  But you seriously couldn't even take a picture of this madness.  It wouldn't do it justice at all.  Anyway, it's a good thing I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to buy, other wise I would have got crazy!  I ended up buying this absolutely amazing red, embossed, leather purse.  Gorgeous (and hand made in Mexico)!!  It was really expensive, but worth it I think.  I also bought a similar one for my mom in black.  Then I bought some super traditional clay mugs because they just scream Mexico to me, and when I'm at home enjoying my Mexican hot chocolate, I want to be able to do it with my Mexican mug :)  And then there's my impulse buy . . .lol.  You always have to have one of those, right?  I ended up buying this stunning mirror.  It has this amazing silver frame with a flower design.  But the cool thing is it had like this arched french doors on it, so you open the doors, and there's the mirrors. (There's three of them, the center one, and then one on the inside of each door.)  It was just too great--not to mention outrageously low priced.  So I bought it.  I'm still kind of wondering how I'm going to get it home because it is a little big.  Originally, I was just going to ship all my purchases home, but now that some of them are larger than I was planning on, I'm starting to think it might just be more economical to buy another suitcase.  I'll have to see how much it costs to ship; that will be my new project for the week--in addition to studying for my second set of finals!!  Yep that's right!  This will be week ten of my trip = end of my second session of classes, and the completion of 2/3 of my trip.  Which is good and bad.  Don't get me wrong, this has been such a wonderful experience, not only to improve my Spanish, but to learn about myself, to truly do something independently, and that kind of thing.  But what I've learned is that I'm more of a family and friends oriented person (and Nebraska girl) than I thought.  I miss home, and although this has been the adventure of a lifetime, it still doesn't hold a candle to the life I know is waiting for me.

(Sorry.  That was a total run-on paragraph.)

Guachimintones!

Today I went to the ancient ruins of Gauchimontones about an hour and a half outside of Guadalajara.  It was so COOL!  They were these circular step pyramids build around the time that Christ was living--so we're looking at over two thousand year old structures!  I was just in awe of them.  The only bad part was that all the guides were occupied giving tours to this group of high school students.  We tried to just jump in and tag along with one of the groups, but the students were so rude and talked over the guide the whole time, so I could hardly pick up what he was saying.  One of the things I did catch, though, was something about how all the numbers of rings and pyramids signifies something.  Like when you add up the number of levels on the main pyramid with the number of rings around it, (or something like that) it adds up to the number of full moons in a year.  The guide also said that the three main pyramids are also in the exact same configuration as the pyramids in Egypt.  Obviously their not as big or have as much distance between them, but the angles are the same.  I think it is just so amazing that cultures on opposite ends of the earth would be so inspired by the sky and so smart to use it as a template and build off it.  It was all super interesting.  Not only that an ancient culture could physically build these things, but that they were advanced enough to calculate everything out so exactly so that every little detail had a purpose.  I just can't even imagine. . . Plus the scenery was absolutely stunning.  This was the first time in eight weeks that the air didn't smell like smog and sewers.  In fact, it smelled almost exactly like Nebraska at this time of year on a nice, warm day.  It was wonderful; it made me feel like I was at home again :)  All in all a wonderful and fascinating day!

Friday!!!

Yesterday in the afternoon I went to the Día de Muertos Tiangüis = Day of the Dead open-air market.  Where the sell everything you need to celebrate your dead ancestors with success!  Seriously.  They had food, flowers, tons of the candy sugar skulls (see photo), banners (which I bought plenty of for my future classroom), toys, and everything else you could imagine, all with a colorful, skeleton theme!  It was great.  And I tried a gordita for the first time too!  Basically it's like doughnut dough, but it's placed on a skillet, so it's not fried and there's no icing.  It's like a doughnut flavored English muffin :) Delicious!  And the best part is Anita is going to show me how to make them on Tuesday.  Score!

Yesterday evening I spent reading, and then after dinner, ended up talking with Anita and Lulu for like, two and a half hours about all sorts of things.  It was wonderful to actually have a conversation with them. (my abuelita is gone for the weekend, and they told me that she doesn't like them socializing with us--which I can totally see--I think she kind of a class system in her head) Anyway, besides the fact that it was wonderful practice for my Spanish, they are such sweethearts, I can't wait to talk to them every day now.

Tango-Ballet!

Last night I went to a show at the Teatro Diana.  It was of the Mora Godoy Tango Company . . . apparently something rather famous in the tango world.  It was really interesting.  It was only four couples plus Mora and her partner, so five couples in all.  The tango was absolutely stunning, plus they did a lot of lifts (I think that's where the ballet comes in?) so it was all really impressive.  And we (Louise and I) ended up with better seats than we had paid for because the show wasn't sold out, so they moved us from the first balcony to the main floor.  They were actually practically perfect seats!  The only bad parts were that 1) they started almost a half hour late (Oh Mexico, your lack of punctuality never fails to annoy me; maybe someday I will adjust to your mentality of time . . .) and 2) the couple seated next to me kept talking the whole time.  The lady was even on her cell phone at one point!  I realize that the culture is different, but seriously!  But my abuelita backed me up, she said that that was totally ridiculous and I should have said something to her.  Then she went on a tangent about how the people that used to go to the theater were really high-class and cultured, but now it's just all the daughters of the narco-traffickers that think it would be fun.  Lol, I don't think they lady next to me was the daughter of a narco-trafficker, but it was funny to hear my abuelita accuse her of it :)  All in all a very nice time--but whenever I see a show like this, it always makes me want to dance like that . . . but then I realize I can't, and it makes me sad.  I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through my sister!

San Nicolas de Bari

Actually the name of the church.  But also how they refer to the fabulous food market located in the park across the street on Monday evenings.  Can we say, "Hello weeks worth of calories in one meal!"?  Yes, we can, lol.  Seriously, my abuelita bought us (Louise and me) some pan dulces, so I got an empañada filled with cream and a really big sugar cookie type thing.  Then I bought myself these little tacos that were also delicious.  And when I saw that Louise had purchased this hot drink called "atole", of course I had to get one too.  I kid you not it was hot, liquidy, crem brule.  That rich, sweet, and decedent, but in sippable form.  Delicious!  I even went so far as to dip pieces of my sugar cookie in my cup of atole.  Yeah, I'm that fat kid, lol.  But it was sooooo good--I just couldn't help myself!  Then on top of all that my abuelita went and bought this strawberry dessert tomale (which I already knew I don't really like) and made us share it with her.  She is so nice I couldn't say no, but I was already sooooo beyond full.  Oh my gosh my stomach is still in shock of the sugar I've consumed tonight.  After we finish our less than balanced meal, we went to the San Nicolas de Bari church for mas with my abuelita.  It was interesting.  Long, but interesting :)  All in all a very cultural (not to mention (again) delicious) Monday evening!

Tequila!!!

Finally took the day trip to Tequila!  And as one would expect, it was super fun.  First we stopped at one of the agave fields (the plant that tequila is made from) which happened to be almost right at the base of this volcano--so the land was really fertile--but there were also obsidian rocks everywhere!  So naturally, I picked up a few specimens, and I'm pretty darn excited about it.  Anyway, at the field they showed us how they plant the agave, how they cut it back, and of course how they harvest it.  We got to taste the part they use to make the tequila, which is basically this white, really dense and tough, cabbage flavored substance.  Less than delicious, but still worth tasting.  Then they let us try this creme that the workers made from the leaves of the plant.  It was probably one of the best moisturizers I've ever put on my skin! Ugh, it was nice.  I wanted more.  So then from there they took us into the actual town of Tequila where we toured the Jose Cuervo distillery.  It was really interesting.  First they steam cook the "pineapples" (that's what they call the core of the agave plant after all the leaves have been cut off because it looks kind of like a pineapple).  At this point it's basically turned all the starches and stuff into sugars,  so what was once white is now this great caramel color.  They let us sample pieces of it.  I think I would almost compare it to the meat of a coconut.  But you didn't eat the actual substance, you just sucked out the sugar water, but it was tasty.  They also make this honey product from the sugar water.  It was interesting because it did taste a lot like normal honey, but for some reason it doesn't alter your glucose levels (I think maybe because it's a different form of sugar?  I really don't remember why) so it's totally safe for diabetics.  But that's a tangent-- continuing on with the tequila process now: next they pulverize the steam cooked "pineapples" to get out all the sugar water.  Then they let it ferment and then distill it twice and add distilled water.  That makes regular white/clear tequila.  To get rested tequila(the light amber color), it is stored in white oak barrels for up to four months.  To get aged tequila (darker amber), it is stored for between one and three years, and to get extra-aged (or the darkest amber color), it is stored for between 3 and 5 years.  The darker the color, the more expensive.  So now you know, lol.  It really was super fun though.  You can check out facebook for pictures too :)

Car Wash by Day; Fabulous Las Papas by Night!

That's right.  It's a car wash during the day and a restaurant at night.  Take a moment and imagine.  Yes, it really is as ridiculous as you just pictured it.  Basically it's this normal-looking car wash, but then around nine o'clock at night they put up this fence and start putting out all this plastic tables and chairs and setting up the kitchen.  The kitchen in in the back, so it's on a flat surface, but all the tables and chairs are on an incline, lol.  It's so funny.  The even more outrageous thing is that this is a chain restaurant!  It's not just some small street stand-- it's a legitimate business; it's a full-blown restaurant.  Seriously, they even have a greeter that seats you.  I mean I don't have a car here, thus I've never had it washed there (lol, like I ever even wash my car at home!), so I can't really comment on the caliber of that business, but I really did like the food at Las Papas.  Plus you know it has to be clean, because I just can't see how food coming out of a business that is drenched in soap and water could possibly be dirty.  That's my theory anyway :)  But I would definitely go back for a late night/early morning snack.  Lol, did I forget to mention that they are open til 6 am? Oh the thought of the whole crazy situation just makes me chuckle every time!  I'll have to snap a picture of it's dueling identities so that people will actually believe this tale.  Oh the things you can only experience in Mexico!

Oh Salad, You Evil Temptation.

Did I eat a salad at a restaurant yesterday?  Yes.  Did I know better?  Yes.  I'm I paying for my insolence now? Absolutely, yes.  Ugh.  This is definitely the sickest I've been since I arrived, and it's been awful.  I just want my mommy :( and for this to be over!  I hope I feel better soon!!!

Exploration

So, a little bit sad to say, up until this point I'd really only explored the city south of my house, but yesterday Louise and I went north.  It was super cool.  We ended up maybe a fifteen or twenty minutes walk from the house in this very traditional commercial area, where all the stores are jam-packed with all kinds of random things.  It was really fun to see the traditional side, when really all I'd explored before had been the very modern version of Mexico.  And I think it's kind of interesting how these two very different versions can both thrive with less than ten blocks between them.  Culture continues to surprise me.