Cell Phones.

My cell phone stopped working about a week and a half ago. On one hand, I like having a cell phone. It keeps me more in the loop. On the other hand, sometimes I feel a little too easily accessible. I mean what if I want to take a nap? People can be so offended when you turn of your phone, as though it is a personal insult- like you just don't care if they call you or not. Really, all you want is some nice midday uninterrupted sleep. Also, I was receiving mutiple text messages each day from Movistar (the cell phone co.) about specials and deals. I once recieved 7 messages from Movistar in one day. I started feeling like the only reason I had a cell phone was to get crap messages from that crap company. v v obnoxious. If I get a cell phone again, I will def not be using Movistar. The desperation is really unattractive.

3 teachers have already left the school. Strange that I haven't yet been at the school 2 years, and I am the teacher who has been here 4th longest (and the others are married to Mexicans). That being said, I think my time here is about up. I mean really, the cell phone I bought when I first moved here just wore out. It's almost 2 years old. Time to moooove on.

***Note:From the photo, it may actually appear that the phone did not just "wear out" as aforementioned. It looks as though it may have been damaged. The reason being that when I realized it was dead and not to be brought back to life...I took the opportunity to throw the phone against the cement wall of my bedroom. Not out of anger, just felt like doing it. Therapy.

Mac n' Cheese

So for some reason, Mexico likes to sell certain foods, and then decide to stop. For example, the awesome tomato soup that I was addicted to for a while. Now I had to go back to the Campbell's and it is crap. More recently, however, they stopped selling Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. What did Kraft ever do to you, Mexico? What the heck, this is the one thing from the states that makes me feel better after a bad day (or a loooong night). BUT alas! I have discovered a new and IMPROVED mac n' cheese! It's made with REAL CHEDDAR CHEESE...in powder form....? They better not stop selling this one......and yes, it IS a great value.

Ay niños….

So I have some pretty funny (and strange students). Recently, the students had a vocablary quiz. It was a fill in the blank quiz with a word bank, including words like "guess, estimate, increase, decrease etc". One of the questions was 1) Sometimes I ______________when I don't know the answer on a test.


obviously the answer would be "guess". But one of my students wrote- "cheat". It wasn't even a vocabulary word! It wasn't in the word bank! But hey, at least he's honest. And he spelled it right. I mean, I was impressed he knew the word "cheat".

Most of my students just say "Miiiiiiiss he are doing tramp" (Trampas being cheating). Although I must say, I do find it interesting that he wrote cheat but obviously was not cheating at that moment since no one else in the class wrote cheat......strange. Not a v. good cheater. Of course he got a point for that question. Too bad that was one of the only. Again, not a very good cheater.


This picture is my favorite food chain drawn by a student. So awesome. Could be in a disney movie. Just look at that squirrel! Artistic genius...eat that dreamworks. Booya.

Aw hells yeah them papparazzi be tryin to get at me....

That's right....I am now a small town celebridad. That's me and Marlies at a party. There were like 20 people in someone's backyard. Clearly a newsworthy event. Clearly. If you want my autograph, best stand in line. I'm about as famous as this other girl in the newspaper who made the news because she eats corn. I hope I don't start to get a big head. It don't matter how many rocks that I got.

¡Viva México!

September 16th: Mexican Independence Day. Went to El Chico ( an awesome mountain town in the center of El Chico National Park about 30 minutes from Pachuca) and celebrated with friends. Hung out in a bar right up the street from the church and "El Grito" (The cry of independence that happens on September 15th). El Grito is when the mayor of the town reads a long list of places and people....basically Mexican historical figures and after each all the people shout, "VIVA!" I love it. Way more patriotic than watching a bunch of fireworks (no offense...I do love the 4th of July, but a picnic and fireworks is just not as exciting as it could be!).They also have a huge wooden "castillo" that has tons of fireworks on it and you see Miguel Hidalgo's face light up in fire at the end and a huge flaming disk shoots off the top into the crowd. There are also men carrying wooden bulls that are shooting fireworks off of them running around and mauling anyone who gets in their way. Great times, great friends, great tequila (and rojas) YUM!

Visitors?

So I haven't written in a while....mainly because nothing exciting has happened. Except that my grad school classes started...which is another reason I haven't written-I don't have a lot of time! BUT I was thinking that maybe something exciting would happen if someone came to visit me. Think about it. You could come for my birthday (October 30th). Or for Thanksgiving (We can go on a turkey hunt since they aren't common here). Think about it. Please. If you came to visit, then I wouldn 't have to spend allll my free time watching this video on youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDlNy0cIw4A

Lately.

School started last Monday. Haven't had much time for posting because of it. My students are cute, but a lot of work. I knew that my class would be difficult when one of my students wouldn't stop singing opera within the first hour of class. My karma since I used a similar method to torment my mom as a kid. Another of my students, I have been warned, has an almost unhealthy obsession with animals. Apparently last year he put a baby bird in his backpack because he wanted to keep it. Unfortunately he was taking a lot of books home that day as well and it was smooshed. We went to the library and he found a book about animals. He showed me a picture of dolphins and then said to me, with a crazy look in his eyes, "Miss...I love the animals with all my heart." Cute, but also a bit scary. I'm teaching about ecosystems. We are going to make a terrarium and sing there was an old lady who swallowed a fly (food chains!). Any more ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The other day I was reading in my living room when I kept hearing an annoying scratching sound. I assumed it was my neighbors outside on the balcony beneath my window but the sound just wouldn't stop! Finally I looked out my window and there was a little bird...not a baby but not fully grown...trying to get in. It stood on the window ledge and kept flying up against the glass for about a half hour. I thought maybe it was kind of trapped because it was very very windy that night and quite cold. So I got a bowl and caught it and brought it inside. Then I sat it outside on the roof...but it kept flying up against my glass door. It just really wanted to get into my house. Finally I turned off the light and it kind of looked at me, I may have imagined it but it seemed annoyed...and flew away into the night. Weird.

Spit my game.

So I guest taught Abby's new students on Friday when she was off gettin' married (yay!). Was pretty interesting. Please keep in mind that these students speak little to no English and are between 1st and 3rd grade. One girl came up to me and said, "¿Qué significa thriller?" So I told her that Thriller is something that is scary. She is obviously a fan of MJ. Then a little boy came and asked, "¿Qué significa spit my game?" How do you answer that? And where did a 2nd grader hear that and remember it to ask the teacher? Eventually I just said....hmmm....I don't really know. He walked away shaking his head with disappointment and said, "Ay otra maestra que no sabe." (Another teacher who doesn't know). Kids are funny.

I love beans.

First day back to work. Cool new staff. Good to be back. Margaret came and got Nolita today. Strange without her, but quite nice. I love beans. So does the pastes restaurant by Parque Hidalgo. Not sure what Michigan has to do with it. But cool. Who doesn't love beans?Yeah.

Downhilling Tulancingo.....pinches locos!

Today I went to a downhill race with the boys in Tulancingo. They all did a really good job except Salvador who couldn't race because of an injured shoulder and Salomón who lost a toenail when he fell during his first time trial and didn't race anymore after. I saw some crazy falls...especially after it started raining. One guy completely nailed a tree and it was pretty funny (don't worry, he got right back up!). Another guy fell and nailed his ass on a rock. It looked pretty painful, but everyone just laughed because he started screaming,"Mis nalgas ayyy mis nalgas!" Which basically means "my buttcheeks, my buttcheeks!". Great day standing in the rain with great people. Now I am going to drink some hot chocolate abuelita, watch a película, and sleep. Tomorrow is my last day of summer vacation -and I got shit to do.

Cat.

This is Nolita. Nolita is not my cat. I am catsitting while Margaret is in the US. Nolita is obsessed with my bathroom. Specifically the shower, whether I am in it or not. Nolita watches from her guard post while I am in the shower. When I get out, she plays in the water on the floor then walks on me with wet paws. When the water on the floor dries she plays with my bathroom mat by ripping it into shreds. She likes to beat up my T.P. She tries to jump into the toilet bowl. Sometimes when I am on it.

I can't open the windows in my house. I was on the phone talking to my mom on skype. All of a sudden Nolita tried to jump out of the window in my living room. Luckily I got round to her and grabbed her by the hind leg and tail before she got out. I live on the third floor.

Last night I opened my bedroom window because it was a bit too hot and stuffy to bear. Not too mention some flies, but I don't mind them because they keep Nolita entertained. She likes to stalk them. I was reading and watching to make sure Nolita didn't jump out the window onto the porch and try to escape. But ooooops. I fell asleep. I woke up.....later. Not sure how long. No Nolita. I ran into the guest bedroom to the porch to see if she was there. She was pawing at the door. She knows when it's dinnertime.

Nolita will be going back to her home on Monday. I don't know if I'll miss her or not. We'll see when the time comes. I have an inkling that I will be ok without her :) Hopefully she won't be going back to her mama any more crazy than when she came.

There are a few cruel things I may or may not have done to Nolita during her stay here. I am not admitting to having done these terrible acts.... but at least fantasizing about doing them, probably. You decide if you think I am evil enough to do these things to a poor innocent creature like Nolita.

1. Putting a gym sock on her head and watching her struggle to get it off until she lay down defeated...or suffocated.

2. Beating her with a book after she bit me. I am reading World Without End. Not exactly light reading.

3. Throwing her in the shower after she knocked my facewash off of the shower shelf and broke it.

4. Kicking her when she bit my toe. And by kick I mean across the room......

Do you really think I would do that to a helpless animal? Of course I would.

Mexico DF

Went to Mexico yesterday with Salvador. It was a great trip. We left at about 10:30 am and when we got to the city we took the metro to Chapultepec park (Chapultepec comes from "el cerro del chapulín" or the cricket's hill.) It may be my favorite place in Mexico City, although I still have a lot to see. There is a castle there (which I can never seem to find the entrance to), many statues, a pond where you can rent paddleboats, a museum of contemporary arts, a museum of modern art, and many grassy areas to lounge around and read books. There are also lots of interesting things to buy and a lot of people selling shaved ice and homemade paletas (popsicles). But my favorite thing about Chapultepec Park, and quite possibly my favorite thing in Mexico City is El Museo de Antropología. It is huge! One could spend days and days there just looking at all the mayan and aztec artifacts. There are also a lot of colonial artifacts and the bones of a mammoth. The exhibit on homosapiens and neanderthals is really interesting as well. It makes you wonder what the Earth would be like if neanderthals had evolved just as humans. And why didn't they, if they supposedly had bigger brains and a stronger bone structure and like homosapiens were apex predators? Makes you wonder. Anyway, I also love the amazing fountain at the museum that is beautiful and keeps it cool outside of the exhibits so you can rest in the cool spray.



After we went to the Anthropology Museum we took the metro to a colonia called Polanco. It is a beautiful and high class neighborhood and we ate lunch and then walked around in a plaza where the stores were obviously not made for us meager teachers. Very expensive. Lots of designer names. It kind of felt like being in the States for a minute.



After we left Polanco the real adventure began. We took the 7 line to the 2 which weren't bad. Obviously we didn't have seats because it was about 6 o'clock but it could have been worse. And then suddenly...it was. As soon as we got off of the 2 at Hidalgo to go North on Indios Verdes, the insanity began. The station was so crowded it was just a mob of people pushing and shoving trying to get to the train. When we finally got to the front of the line I was afraid to get too close to the tracks as people were completely ignoring the yellow caution line. I waited for 2 trains (each time the door closing with a piece of someone's shirt or backpack sticking out of the doors as the train zoomed off. This of course after the people waiting on the anden were pushing them in far enough that the doors would close. ) when I was at the front and finally a train stopped, the doors opened and I didn't really have to do anything. I lifted my foot to get on the train and my feet didn't touch the ground again until we pulled into La Raza and I stepped onto the platform. All I could say was "¡Dios mío!" and kind of scream and just float along. I had one hand wrapped tightly around my purse (everyone knows the metro is where you get robbed) that had all my money, my camera, and Salva's wallet in it. The other hand was pushing people as I was trying not to get stuck in the doors again. These are not doors that pop open again when they close on something. I didn't want bruises all over my arms and head like the time I was going to the Smashing Pumpkins concert and didn't quite make it in on time. But this time I made it in. It was kind of like a stampede, but with a much lesser degree of panic. It was like being carried in a current. I was stuck. I was "standing" in the middle of the train completely surrounded by men. There was one other girl but she was lucky enough to be standing on the one seat in the corner. Thankfully, Salva had forced his way in as well so we weren't separated which would not have made the situation any easier. My main problem with the Metro is not actually how crowded it can get, but more the heat. Oh my goodness the heat. And it's a disgusting swine flu incubating heat that just makes you feel gross. Fuchi Fuchi metro. Not to mention the reason the trains were delayed was because it was raining so some people were wet and the air was thick and humid. And HOT. No ventilation. I tried to put my feet down on the floor of the train but could only stand on other peoples' feet. It kind of reminded me of the Mars Volta concert were I was smooshed really hard by people trying to get closer to the stage and my back cracked all the way up my spine...and the guy behind me had felt my spine cracking and was like "Ayyy ¿Estás bien? ". But that was an exciting, vertebrate aligning experience (until I was pressed up against the smoke machine which I'm sure had some carcinogen in it. I was coughing and blowing black boogers out of my nose for days). This experience was....not. This was yuck. Only 3 stops to La Raza which of course was basically empty and then one stop to Autobuses del Norte. I have never thought of Mexico City as having fresh, clean air. But as I climbed the steps leaving the subway my perspective of clean air was slightly skewed. Not exactly the crisp September air of Michigan, but it'll do. All in all, it was an adventure. And hey, you can't beat a trip around the city for 2 pesos (less than 20 cents).

Guanajuato.

I love Guanajuato. Many of the streets are underground tunnels (calles subterráneas ) that run under the city leaving the streets above for people to walk on. It's so beautiful there. So full of life and colors. The tunnels give sort of an eerily beautiful vibe to the city. We also met some really great people from different parts of the world like Texas, Nicaragua, Venezuela etc. Guanajuato is very different from Pachuca. They both have their own charms, but there is something about Guanajuato that makes you feel a little more alive. A little more curious. A little more alert. Lately I have been feeling like my brain is in hibernation here in Pachuca. Like it has gone a bit numb from doing the same thing everyday. Think Guanajuato was just what I needed to wake up. Can't wait to go back there.




Another thing I love about Guanajuato is el Callejón del Beso. There are lots of really skinny little alleys in Guanajuato and there is a legend that a girl from a wealthy family fell in love with a poor miner. They were forbidden to see each other so he rented the apartment on the other side of the alley from her house and they would meet at night and kiss while standing on the balcony of each lovers' side of the alley. Of course the story ends tragically, but v. romantic nonetheless. I love it. There are so many alleys in fact, that there is actually a verb here for people who are just walking around or hanging out in the alleys: callejoneando. And there are students (estudiantinas) who do shows walking around in the alleys singing for tips and people follow them all through the city. So at night all you can hear are men singing from about 6 to 11. It is an awesome tradición. You should go there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHfnrpYyaIg


But of course, the craziest thing about Guanajuato is el Museo de las Momias (The Mummy Museum...or Mommy Museum according to the terrible English translations.) It's really quite creepy because when the family of the deceased can't pay the taxes on the burial plot, the bodies are exhumed and if destroyed they are cremated. If not, they can be put in the museum. The bodies can be dug up after only 6 years. Creepy. You could go to the museum and see the mummy of your dead grandmother whose taxes you couldn't pay. Also saw the smallest mummy in the world. It died during a c-section and was premature. The mother was only 6 months along. So basically the mummy is a 6 month old fetus. The mommy mummy is displayed next to the fetus looking very pregnant with a big slash across her stomach from the c-section scar. As the Mexico travel book says. "The museum is yet another example of Mexico's obsession with death."

For Margo.

Do not be fooled by her sweet kitty-cat appearance. If this mexican doll were a 4 day old baby, she would be gnawing on it too.

Everyday is Saturday.

It's summer vacation in Pachuca, Mexico. It feels like everyday is Saturday. I have a little less than a month to relax and do whatever I want (although the number of pesos I currently have in my wallet is v. limiting).
Good thing I have Nolita to keep me entertained. She is constantly getting into mischief like: clawing apart unopened bags of bread. Knocking over my plants. Sticking her face in my food when I am trying to eat. Meowing like a banshee at 6 am. Also she is a biter. At this moment she is pulling clothes off of their hangers in my closet. Cute.

Spoke to mom today. She fell when she was running and broke her nose. I have so many qualities like my dad, but I must admit falling on my face/hands/butt/knees/back is a trait I have gotten from her. Wasn't it just last month she dropped a bed frame and broke her foot? Good thing we aren't heavy drinkers. Hope her nose heals quickly.

Have a skype date with Nick and La Shawn (too bad Liam can't join). Wish the circumstances were happier ones. I just hope I can give Nick some comfort at such a difficult time. I never met his mom, but I am sure she was a wonderful woman. Anyone who reads this blog please keep Nick and his family in your prayers. LOVE YOU NICK!!!

Today would have been Josh Sturgill's 25th birthday. I have been thinking about him a lot today. I wonder what he would be doing now if he were here?

I love the summer. I love being able to take naps whenever I want. Stay up as late as I want. Drink micheladas all day. Tonight Marlies and I are going for tacos and renting a movie. Tomorrow party in Real del Monte. Hooray for summer vacation! Hooray for micheladas! Hooray for Mexico! Hooray for chick flicks in English with Spanish Subtitles!

"Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you."- Maori Proverb

Me: I'm starting a blog.

Adam: Well aren't you hip?

Me: I have nothing else to do. Which stands to reason that the blog will probably not be very interesting.

Summer vacation

Saturday was the 4th of July. It was a bit strange to celebrate it in Mexico, but fun nonetheless. Marlies had a party at her house and invited just about anyone who lives in Pachuca. It was a great time, but maybe just a little too much drinking on my part. Sunday we had a post 4 de julio fiesta at Marlies' house. We pulled all of her living room furniture out into her yard and drank micheladas. Once again a bit too much drinking on my part. Besides that, it was basically a perfect day. I am watching Margaret's cat for the vacation. Se llama Nolita y es muy pero muy traviesa. Today she ripped a hole in my brand new bag of bread and pulled down my curtains. Sometimes it's nice to have the company though. My dad got back to Michigan today after 3 months on the Appalachian trail. I'm proud that he made it to his halfway point and wish I could see him this summer. Today I plan to clean my apartment and watch movies. Being a teacher is the life. Some of the time.

"To see the Summer Sky

Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -True Poems flee"

~Emily Dickinson