soy una pausa.

playa del carmen

2010-06-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

in playa del carmen, which is super close to cancun.

and you can tell.

this place is, naturally, hot and humid. but the beach is beautiful, and i can see the waters hitting the shore from the terrace of our hotel room.

but it is a city full of tourists. i took out money yesterday and the atm gave me u.s. dollars. in a weird way, being here feels like foreign territory after two-plus months of living and travelling in generally non-tourist cities.

i'm afraid the overabundance of english-speaking mexicans here will break down my spanish-speaking drive when it comes to interacting with people outside of my friends in the program. we'll see.

i'm on the beach until sunday morning, when i'm going to take a plane to mexico city and enjoy mexico for one last night before my international flight on monday. i can't wait to be in mexico city one last time before home.

but more that anything, i'm happy to be coming home so soon. excited for seattle, and my family and my friends, and seeing hudson, and going to dinner, and walking around in places that i know and remember, and yakima, and sitting around and relaxing without lugging around a bag full of clothes and computer for once. i'm just ready to be home at this point.

in the meantime, though, i'll enjoy the beach...

chichén itzá

2010-06-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

another day. another incredible set of ancient ruins.

monday morning we took a two-hour bus from merida to chichén itzá.

there, i found an incredibly touristy spot (it's only a few hours from cancun and playa del carmen) that was yet again amazing and humid and hot to a point of irritation.

but the ruins and famous, large, pyramid were astounding. there was an incredibly well-preserved court for the juego de pelota that i remember learning about in school (notable in my memory for the execution or torture of the losing team).

the large pyramid was immense and imposing. it was such a sight to behold in that i had been seeing recreations of it for years, especially in the last few months. and there were so many small details of the pyramid that were incredibly interesting. there is an odd echo when anyone in the grassy area that surrounds the pyramid claps their hands. there is a strange squeak that is emitted from the top of the pyramid. really weird. and i loved the long serpents that were carved into the pyramid sides, with the head of the snake protruding from the base.

just an amazing place to see in person. yet again. i feel terrible that the last two weeks, and months in general, have left me jaded to seeing such historically-rich and beautiful places. i have been spoiled by what mexico has had to offer me. i'm sure it will hit me the second that i sit down on the plane monday morning to come home that i am no longer within short driving distance of pyramids and art museums and the history that i have ultimately come to claim as my own. i know how lucky i am to have seen everything that i have in this country, and i am so amazingly grateful.

palenque, day 2

2010-06-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

our second morning in palenque, we hopped onto another van and drove out to the archaeological site a little bit outside the city that contained the immense ruins that i spent the morning and early afternoon climbing up and down.

so amazingly cool.

and humid and intense and hot. it was worth it, but i'm almost certain i sweat out every single bottle of water that i had drank within two days of the trek.

but such an amazing place to be. it is so incredible to have walked around in these sites that hold so much history in every single stone and etching in the walls. there is a certain closeness to an age that usually seems so far away.

in lieu of attempts at explaining the experience, i'm just going to include more photos...

palenque, day one

2010-05-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

(misol-ha)

palenque is so incredibly hot. and intensely humid. i don't deal well with this. but despite the weather, i found it hard to resist the sights.

on our free day on thursday, i laid in bed in our air-conditioned room and ventured out to the pool for only a brief dip. then i slept, and slept and slept.

but on friday, we took our little tour van out to the waterfalls of misol-ha. it was one slender waterfall that fell into a spacious bathing pool that the majority of the kids in my class jumped in to. absolutely gorgeous. and early enough in the day that the humidity didn't kill me.

(agua azul)

later, we went out for our venture to the waterfalls of agua azul. walking up about a mile of terraced steps, we encountered cascade after cascade of beautiful water. every single foot of the trek made a photo. despite the heat, it was relaxing. and i found places to sit down and enjoy the view without feeling too much sicker.

then it was back to the room to hibernate in the conditioned air.

san cristóbal de las casas

2010-05-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

after the eleven-hour-plus bus ride, i woke up to find myself in san cristóbal de las casas in the state of chiapas. home of the zapatistas.

it was a really, really cool city. it's at a high altitude, so the weather was perfect for me. chilly, brisk, and a little bit rainy. one of the best few days i've spent in mexico, aside from being a little bit sick.

there was a fantastic market, with tons of really cheap amber jewelry (which i, unfortunately, never got around to purchasing any of.) it was also a city in which you were swarmed at every patio restaurant table by young kids selling bracelets. my inability to say no to young vendors in chiapas has left me roughly twenty small bracelets richer. it gets too difficult after awhile.

on tuesday, we went to the cañón del sumidero in a boat that toured us through the river and the canyon itself. absolutely breathtaking. with the added bonus of spider monkeys, crocodiles, and a variety of odd-looking birds.

wednesday brought us to two small towns to observe indigenous religious ceremonies and homes in the area. it felt more than odd to be a tourist in someone's homes, regardless of whether or not the people in the home were used to it. i never feel quite right about things like that. i feel like i'm participating in further alienating "them" from "us." it was very interesting, and the women in the home were very nice, but it's still a stranger practice.

i ended up getting really sick on wednesday night and the bus ride to palenque on thursday morning didn't make me feel any better. i more or less wished we could have stayed there until playa del carmen rolled around.

leaving puebla

2010-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

(yes, i know this is a week late.)

the last week in puebla was remarkably uneventful. went to school, went out, saw some things for the last time, tried to talk as much to my family as possible.

my last day there, blanca was in bed sick all day. so i spent the last few hours in the house playing catch with javi and talking to pepe about random stuff. we played wii, too, which was odd.

i'm gonna miss my puebla family so much. but at the end of the day, i still knew that leaving them was bringing me one step closer to being home with my home family. in addition to all my home friends. home, in general. it evens out at some point.

hugs and goodbyes and taxis found me at the bus station, waiting with sixteen other students and a teacher for our eleven p.m. bus to san cristobal...

lunes

2010-05-17T13:41:00.001-07:00

as of today, i am enjoying my final monday in puebla.
my class ends it's official run tomorrow at 12:30 with a lecture on the zapatista movement in chiapas. as of tuesday afternoon, it's on to preparing for the "educational vacation" that we will embark upon at 9 p.m. on sunday.

this translates to two weeks on the road. a few days in san cristobal, a few days in palenque, a few days in merida. with an excursion to chichen itza. and then six days of absolutely nothing on the beach in playa del carmen (close to cancun). one day in mexico city. then my early morning flight to seattle on june 7th.

so everything here is coming to a close. i'm rushing to line up all the things i need to do for the last time. seeing as i have less than six days to do them.

my list includes, but is certainly not limited to:
-sunday market (accomplished yesterday)
-delicious potato chips (pictured above)
-cafe milagro and delicious salad (yesterday)
-more movies at cinepolis(tonight and tomorrow, robin hood and nightmare on elm street)
-writing a letter to blanca, trying not to mess up my spanish
-amalfi's
-parados
-cafe teorema, if i can manage it
-thursday night party with the class (catered by a taqueria)
-having a decent sit down at the kitchen table with blanca and talking about random stuff for a long time
-making a play list for the 7+ hour bus rides

its coming along so quickly.

scorpio

2010-05-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

so, monday night, robin and i went to a birthday party for one of the girls in our class in the centro.
(side note: everybody from class showed up to this birthday party. resulting in an l-shaped combination of four tables and very angry mexican waiters.)

we drank a little bit of sangria, which was delicious at this particular restaurant, and i came back in a very good mood, looking forward to having a silly before bed chat with hudson.

i brushed my teeth, put on pajamas, and was about to sit on my bed. that was when i saw the scorpion resting on the notebook on my bedside table.

cue the "robin! ROBIN!"

i didn't really believe i was seeing the thing, and in my state, i jumped up on her bed and paced around nervously until the calvary of our entire host family came in to help hunt the thing.

my host brother threw my gym clothes, back packs and notebooks around until finally flipping over my nightstand to capture the scorpion with a cup.

the terrifying creature was then transferred to a jar and left outside by the cars to suffocate during the night. usually, i would say that was awful, but in the case i was frightened enough to call it deserved.

apparently, it was just the heat and proximity to the garden. i am hoping that in the 9 days and 8 nights i have left in puebla, in my host home, i never see one again.

shivers.

(may i also say that i've been too scared to get up close to the jar to take a photo of the dead scorpion and that's why there exists no photographic evidence of how huge and bloodthirsty it was? that is all.)

monte alban

2010-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

the pyramids of monte alban are amazing. it's about a 20 minute drive from the centro of oaxaca and the drive itself is worth the price of the taxi. it is so incredibly beautiful.

from the vantage point where the handful of well-preserved pyramids are located, one can see all of the city and more.

there were cicadas, or something like them, in all of the trees, filling the air with a resounding and haunting buzz that couldn't be escaped. it was so cool and gave the entire experience a different sort of flavor.

we walked up and down the pyramids that you could, and gazed up at the ones that were blocked off.

it still blows my mind to be in the presence of structures with a history such as these, let alone being able to climb up them and take photos (and steal pieces of broken stone--here's looking at you, mitchell.)

(the view down from the big pyramid, i tried to get everything into my camera's viewfinder, but there's another pyramid to the left. so amazing.)

tule

2010-05-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

we saw the widest tree in the world. go us.

it was momentous and gorgeous and the sound of the birds was absolutely deafening. it was right outside the church and quite the sight to behold in the perfect weather of the oaxacan sunset. i loved it.

oaxaca, oaxaca

2010-05-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

went to oaxaca for the weekend, leaving friday morning.
(it worked out perfectly--i didn't even have time to be sad about my mom leaving. she left for her flight, i went to class and did a hasty presentation over some short fiction, gym, talking to hudson for the first time in a week and wasting my evening with such, and the catching a bus early friday morning.)
it was a four hour trip, but my butt made it through.
oaxaca is super cute. the zocalo is small and pretty simple, but we went to the cultural center attached the huge cathedral of santo domingo and saw some cool artifacts from monte alban.

we stayed in a really awesome hostel in which we were the only americans, i believe. other mexicans and lots of europeans. it was crazy hot at night, but we had free omelets in the morning, so i'm not complaining.
there was some delicious food, but we were plagued by bees and the threat of cockroaches circling our dining area. on the walk home at one point, we were surprised by a scorpion. it was an interesting town for bugs.
the people were so nice and for the first time, i was besieged by enough small kids selling things in the zocalo that i bought something. three scarves for fifty pesos. the boy seemed happy, so therefore so am i. that gets really difficult for me to ignore sometimes.
but there was some cool stuff to do, and also a lot of time for relaxing in the shade in the remarkable heat. a very laid back weekend with adrianna, glory and patrick.

mi madre

2010-05-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

mom came to visit for a week, starting last thursday.

we stayed downtown, in the hotel royaaalty. the hotel was so nice, and we had a beautiful view of the centro and the cathedral.

things we did:
-cholula, the church, the pyramid and lunch at "la esquina mas famosa en cholula"
-dinner at amalfi's with robin and andrea. the waiters flirted like crazy with everybody at the table. good work, mom.
-so many churches downtown, including the beautiful church of the rosary, a gold-plated annex that was absolutely gorgeous.
-the turibus! seeing the battlefield of cinco de mayo and many beautiful viewpoints.
-retouring the cathedral.
-museums upon muesums. all with beautiful art and amazing architecture.
-iron man 2. amazing. there were guys dressed as iron man and war machine waiting ourside the theatre selling masks after it ended. plus, we got to see it a week earlier. and eat caramel corn and self-serve gummy bears!
-lunch with my host family. they were so sweet and gave my mom a gift of chocolate from my host mom's hometown. and we ate some delicious home-cooked posole.
-lucha libre. this time with scary women that looked all too familiar, and midgets that were thrown through the air as weapons. i think that the fights are one of my favorite things here. and i'm almost tempted to go every week. mom had a blast. and we didn't even get teased.
-went to see cop out. the movie was just as funny, but also uncomfortable racist in it's depiction of mexican druglords on the second viewing. still, tracy morgan, caramel corn and gummy bears. plus, my mom.
-skipped school and went to the cinco de mayo parade. so amazing. it was mostly military and schools and bands. the military was amazing though, they come out in full force and color. people kept throwin confetti, so the guys on the sides were both incredibly serious and rainbow colored. i was so happy to be there to witness it.

(that poor guy's head made a cameo in all of my photos....)
-so much good food. and also some food that made us sick. but, i guess it's worth it at the end of the day...
-lots and lots of shopping and compensatory gift purchasing for solomon and grace. mom and i were both so sad that they couldn't come to visit as well. we thought and talked about them all week. sometime soon, we'll all go somewhere together.

it was just a really wonderful week and i felt so lucky that i had the gift of hanging out with my mom for a week in my temporary home. everything we visited and saw was a thousand times more fun and beautiful and interesting while she was with me. and i think my spanish was a little better, too.

(thanks, mom.)

empire of the sun

2010-04-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

lightening the mood after the onslaught of political and social realities wrapped in an alterna-reggaeton wrapper, was empire of the sun, the weirdest band south of asia.

they were awesome.

multiple costume changes for their jobriath-esque delightful freak of a lead singer and their bendy troupe of female dancers.

there was an excellent video display, light show, and the drama of the music was even more than i had dreamed of and better than i expected.

they instantly rocketed into one of the top five bands i had ever seen live.

an amazing time.

and then, we half-ran the mile out to the road, caught an insanely expensive taxi, hurtled into bed, and slept the barely four hours before rushing to catch our early bus to puebla.

and i think my test at nin o'clock went alright. somehow. i feel that even if it didn't, it was still worth it.

calle 13

2010-04-26T19:19:00.001-07:00

my mom had told me saturday about the recent changes in arizona concerning their immigration stance, which i reflected on in disgust and then moved forward in my weekend, intending to return to the thought today.

but sunday night, the unfortunate actions in my country took center stage during what was supposed to be a time reserved for me dancing like a dork and screaming lyrics i half-understand in spanish.

residente, the incredibly handsome and charismatic singer of calle 13, turned around to reveal on the giant video screens his political stance on the issue:

"luz verde para invadir arizona."

and that was not the end of it.

throughout the night, between songs, he returned to the subject, rousing the crowd with his rant against the blatant stupidity of u.s. lawmakers. a boy who had been attempting to get my attention throughout the show tried to make robin and i feel better by letting us know that he thought what residente was saying was "too strong", but both of us gringas knew better. everything residente said was completely valid, and the angry cries of the crowd around us were perfectly understood, even in my broken spanish.

living in the united states, it is difficult to take the time to reflect on some of the internal changes of our nation and how nations truly affect each other. i think it is easy for people, especially young people, particularly myself, to become engrained into that fantasy that nothing happens outside of our country, our state, our city. but to be in the very middle of that crowd, to realize the vitriol that we can inspire by the careless actions and words of our lawmakers, i was jolted back into the reality that someone, sooner rather than later, needs to enact a change in the way that our nation relates. in the way that our nation takes for granted and can be abusive. i am hoping that it will be my generation, but i would be so pleased if it were even sooner.

in any case, the show was amazing, and i danced and sang like a total half-mexican dork. but i took the time to think, and i feel that is what matters.

vive latino!

2010-04-26T19:13:00.001-07:00

and of course, sunday afternoon, vive latino! happened.

it was huge. 4 stages, with almost 40 bands between them.

after an unfortunate incident of getting caught up in a flash mosh pit against that black box in the center of the crowd, robin and i escaped to the bleachers and took in the sight of thousands of people celebrating music together. always a sight for me.

we didn't know many of the bands, but we had a great time walking around, taking in a surprise show by hello seahorse! and just listened to music.

later, we returned to main stage and watched a show by an incredibly popular ska group called ska-p that i had never heard of before. every single one of the thousands of people around us danced and sang along to every word of their incredibly radical sentiment. it was another one of the those odd reflections of the history we had learned about being projected back into the culture. ska-p led the crowd in a rousing cry of "resistencia!" that never really seemed to end.

2010-04-26T19:11:00.001-07:00

we went to go see the famous golden angel that is plastered on the sides of tourist buses and is an icon of the city itself.

it was very pretty, but a little sunny at the time to spend too much time staring into the sky.

what i loved was that, in the 25 or so minutes we spent at the monument, 7 different girls celebrating their quince (in those giant, giant poofy dresses) came with their parties to take photos at the angel. when one left, another giant limo would roll up to take up the space. really funny.

famoso

2010-04-26T19:09:00.001-07:00

in addition to the two murals in el palacio, we also saw two more diego rivera murals in bellas artes.

and on saturday afternoon, we set out to find what is the most famous of his work.

such a delight to see in person.

frida's house

2010-04-26T19:05:00.001-07:00

after our friday afternoon of exploring the zocalo, and an early night in to catch up on sleep we knew we'd need, robin and i set out early saturday morning to find frida's house.

it took some searching and map flipping, but we finally found it.

such a cool experience. we were able to see some of the preserved spaces of her and diego and walked through rooms that had been converted into studios to showcase a variety of work of both her and diego from throughout their respective careers.

we saw an exhibit of some of their personal photos and drank coffee and had a snack in a little cafe in their courtyard. it was a really cool experience.

later in the day, we went to the museum of modern art. i turned a corner in one of the salas to find "two fridas." it was a surprise, and it would be a lie if i did not say that being able to see such a beautiful piece of art in full detail did not make me tear up a little bit. because it totally did.

cathedral

2010-04-26T19:03:00.001-07:00

the cathedral downtown was just endlessly beautiful.

i couldn't stop taking photos, whenever we were around it.

inside, it was breathtaking and just humongous.

i walked around forever.

outside, there was this really great statue of pope john paul II that had part of his robe constructed out of old keys, because he "holds the key to the heart of mexico city".

i loved it.

palacion nacional

2010-04-26T18:59:00.001-07:00

we went to the palacio nacional, which was pretty awesome.
a lot of history packed into one huge building.
there are two different diego rivera murals there, and as we were admiring this one, we ran into our host brother, pepe, who was in town for a class trip. really funny.
but it was really an experience to be in a building that has housed so much of the events we are learning about in classes currently.
especially seeing as throughout the weekend, we experienced more of that history through marches to the zocalo (of workers dissatisfied with the current president) and the expression of the musicians at vive latino! a really enlightening weekend as the historic and current sense of mexico.

méxico, d.f.

2010-04-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

robin and i went to mexico city this weekend.

absolutely wonderful.

the single best weekend of my entire time here so far.

we left on friday morning and came back early this morning on account of the festival last night.

in any case.

we stayed in an awesome hostel. kind of far from the centro, but very close to a metro station that got us there in a few minutes. we stayed in the "calavera" themed room.

my weekend consisted of:
-five diego rivera murals
-frida kahlo's house
-an excellent dinner in the hipster district
-vive latino!
-el palacio nacional
-touring the beautiful cathedral downtown
-two fridas
-random art in random buildings downtown
-hello, seahorse!, calle 13 and empire of the sun
-a terrible sunburn on my nose
-an awesome time all around

(i took almost 500 photos this weekend and also reached the monthly limit on my flickr account, so extensive photo uploading isn't happening until after my mom leaves next week.)

musica

2010-04-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

the videos posted below should do their best to explain why i am so excited for this weekend.
awesome and weird.
i can't wait to see what empire of the sun conjures up on stage and have heard from very reputable sources that calle 13 is amazing live.

Empire Of The Sun : Walking On A Dream

2010-04-22T15:49:00.001-07:00

Calle 13 Featuring Café Tacuba : No Hay Nadie Como Tú

2010-04-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

Empire of the Sun : We Are The People

2010-04-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Calle 13 -: Un Beso de Desayuno

2010-04-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

coming up.

2010-04-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

so. robin and i are heading out early tomorrow morning for our trip to mexico city.
going to stay in a really pretty hostel in the centro and spend our first two days eating good food and finding as many art museums as we possibly can. diego rivera murals and frida kahlo artifacts are sure to abound.
then sunday, we have vive latino! which starts at 1ish. gonna try and get there for the mid-afternoon, walk around and find some interesting music to take in.
and then in the evening, camp out around the main stage for the one-two punch of calle 13 and empire of the sun. i am incredibly excited. can't wait to take pictures, assuming i can smuggle my little camera in.
gonna be so much fun, not inluding the bus ride home at 5 in the morning on monday, getting back to the ibero just in time to take a test in our literature class.
i think i'll just ignore that part for the time being....

the view from gaia.

2010-04-18T15:38:00.001-07:00

the view from gaia.
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

went to an incredibly fancy restaurant called gaia on saturday night.
robin and i both felt like we stuck out a bit in the gorgeous, ambient restaurant, but had to stick out paying 150 pesos on cake a a margarita because.....
the pool that our table overlooked had a tile mural on the bottom that was designed by diego rivera.
so awesome to look down on the mural and the stunning sunset as we ate cheesecake, creme brulee and drank margaritas that were well worth their price.

rose garden

2010-04-18T15:35:00.001-07:00

rose garden
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

we went to the jardin borda near the catedral and stumbled across a beautiful rose garden within it that had a variety of art pieces dedicated to the virgin.
borda, with it's trees and fountains and flowers and art galleries, was really beautiful.
the rose garden in particular reminded me so much of my abuelita, who would have loved the small loop of flowers. it smelled beautiful and was incredibly picturesque.
we also encountered the little cat there that followed us around for awhile, weaving around out legs. our own little feline tour guide.

teopanzolco

2010-04-18T15:32:00.001-07:00

teopanzolco
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

another city, another pyramid.

this one we crawled around and got a really good look at.

it wasn't a very popular destination, but was very cool to check out.

outside the cathedral in cuernavaca

2010-04-18T15:30:00.001-07:00

outside the cathedral in cuernavaca
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

there was a trio of lovely churches a short walk outside of the zocalo.
all gorgeous, but the older, main catedral was absolutely stunning.
i saw it from the view outside the palace and made robin go there immediately. so beautiful.
afterward, we went to a cafe near the churches and had our first encounter with grumpy cuernavacan waiters and the delicious food that they begrudgingly serve.

the rivera mural in el palacio de cortes.

2010-04-18T15:28:00.001-07:00

the rivera mural in el palacio de cortes.
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

we were surprised to discover that the american ambassador in cuernavaca has commissioned a diego rivera mural in el palacio de cortes.
amazing stuff.
and a total surprise.
the mural is gorgeous, striking, and sad.
it depicts amany political and revolutionary leaders and serves as an indictment of the spanish of conquest of mexico, as reflected in the pain and anguish of the indigenous struggle that is painted in the mural.
seeing this work of art was a perfect cap to our course in latin american history and perfectly evoked my feelings about what we had learned.

cuernavaca.

2010-04-18T15:25:00.001-07:00

downtown cuernavaca.
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

the town was so gorgeous and lots of fun.
we went to the pyramids of teopanzolco, the palacio of cortes, a really fancy restaurant, and a lot of super rad churches.
there was a lot of statues and art devoted to people like emiliano zapata, benito juarez and jose maria morelos throughout the city, this being due to the historical positioning of the city with many leaders throughout mexico's history having come through cuernavaca.

the only problem with our trip was the unfortunate timing. there have apparently been some murders related to the drug wars in morelos, where cuernavaca is located. the violence from the drug wars in mexico have spread into this state as well. the first night we were there, one of the women in the hostel warned us that there had been a threat that something would go down that night in the zocalo and just to be careful. we didn't quite know what was going on and took a taxi with a latvian girl from the hostel (having a very fun conversation in spanish on the taxi ride there) and found that everything in the town had shut down that night because of the threats.
nothing ended up happening, and robin and i got some well needed rest because of the lack of salsa club to go to, so everything was alright. but the next day we saw processions of federal police and army trucks that kept vigil, driving through the zocalo. during our dinner on a restaurant patio, we counted over 10 trucks with heavily armed police creep slowly through the street in front of the palacion de cortes. insane.
we're lucky nothing like this is happening in puebla.

hostel experiencia.

2010-04-18T15:00:00.001-07:00

outside the hostel experiencia.
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

we went to cuernavaca this past weekend, leaving right after our final for spanish 315.
the town is about two hours away from puebla, in the state of morelos.
robin and i stayed in this awesome hostel that doubled as a spanish school for language students.
it was an awesome set-up, with a pool and a really cool layered appearance.
the walls on our way outside were covered in photos of emiliano zapata and subcomandante marcos (one of the major figures from the ezln). it was pretty interesting to have some basis of understanding of the political leanings of the hostel owners after taking the class. kind of cool to be in the space.

bowling.

2010-04-18T14:56:00.001-07:00

bowling.
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

one well-needed break during the chaos of a three week crash course in latin american history and politics was my downtime last weekend of seeing "date night" on saturday (it's called "un noche fuera de serie" here, but is just as cute and hilarious with subtitles) and then bowling on sunday.
such fun.
i ended up doing pretty well.
i think i bowled around an 80 for both games. pretty pleased with myself considering my usual inconsistency with the game.

starbucks and studying.

2010-04-18T14:54:00.001-07:00

starbucks
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

so. this has more or less been the culprit behind my two week absence from blogging.
an insane amount of homework.
somehow, in the planning for this trip, i had forgotten that there would be school involved. and how.
luckily, our first class is over with (i thinkk i did alright--high b to a low a, which is more than respectable considering the amount of work and my problems with grammar) and next week we start literature.
our literature class should be amazing, and even if i hate the teacher, i will still love doing the work.
the only catch is that i need to try and get most of the work done ahead of time and get some presentation dates switched around, because...
(pause for drumroll effect)
my mom is coming to visit on the 29th!
i am so excited and have been devoting my bored-in-class-time to making lists of things i want to do during the week that she is here.
expect another week of silence as my mother and i traverse cinco de mayo celebrations, climb pyramids, and drink wine and eat tacos.
there will be lots of work, but at least i have vive latino in d.f. next weekend and my mom's visit to make up for it.

enferma

2010-04-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

today was my first day of getting sick here (a result of probably finally giving in to the dietary changes) and also marks my first ever day of skipping college classes due to illness.

way fun.

i got sick in the middle of the night, thought i was good, went back to bed, got up, got ready, then realized while staring painfully at my breakfast that i probably couldn't handle anything today.

so i stayed in bed and slept for four hours.

still have a bit of homework, but i'm feeling better, and blanca was nice enough to prepare "sick person food" for lunch along with providing some stomach enhancing medicine. so things should be good.

to make myself additionally better, i am going to watch this video. (going to be seeing these dudes in a little over two weeks..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhzKgS6sKkw

javi!

2010-04-04T16:13:00.001-07:00

javi!
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

this little guy is the cutest boy in the world.

la familia

2010-04-04T16:12:00.001-07:00

la familia
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

finally got a picture of the family.
(we went over to blanca's mom's house for easter, and a very good lunch.)

from right:
jose luis (host dad)
blanca's grandma
blanca (host mom)
pepe (host brother)
javi (host nephew)
pedro (host cousin)
mane (sara's boyfriend)
sara (host sister)
karen (host sister/javi's mom)
blanca's niece

el panson

2010-04-02T23:53:00.001-07:00

el panson
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

i would be remiss not to include this statue that was close to our hostel.

i adore it.

(can't wait to go to mexico city and see frida's house, it will make the circuit complete.)

la iglesia

2010-04-02T23:51:00.001-07:00

la iglesia
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

another view of the city, from the opposite hill of pipila (you can see him with his arm outstretched on the horizon).

guanajuato

2010-04-02T23:49:00.001-07:00

guanajuato
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

went up a terrifying lift to see the towering stature of pipila, a massive figure, and this was the view of the city from the hill.

a perfect vantage point for the gorgeous church in el centro.

de cervantes

2010-04-02T23:47:00.001-07:00

de cervantes
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

guanajuato also hosts a cervantes festival, so there were these assorted don quixote statues and references (and a theatre), as well as crazy amount of souvenirs in his likeness.

am even more inspired to get my spanish together enough to read the beowulf of latin america (except more entertaining, i assume).

museo de los momias

2010-04-02T23:44:00.001-07:00

museo de los momias
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

mummy museum.

super odd and incredibly morbid.

it was just a museum full of dead bodies.
some more frightening than others.

the museum also boasts the 'world's smallest mummy', which was an infant child that had been preserved with it's mother. i didn't quite have the heart to take a photo.

rivera!

2010-04-02T23:43:00.001-07:00

rivera!
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

yes, got to go to his childhood home, which had been turned into a museum.

the upper floors had a sampling of his art from over the years, and it was amazing to see how he had changed his styles.

my favorite was a nude sketch of frida kahlo.

absolutely amazing.

sol

2010-04-02T23:40:00.001-07:00

sol
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

(here's to you, little brother)

the view from the hostel

2010-04-02T23:37:00.001-07:00

the view from the hostel
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

ended up leaving puebla on wednesday morning and making the 5 hour trip (gratefully, in christian's car) to guanajuato, a gorgeous city.

this was the view from the hostel balcony.

the town is full of beautiful architecture, winding cobbled streets, and hills decorated in an array of brightly-colored houses. and every landmark has a story.

cafe teorema

2010-04-02T23:34:00.001-07:00

cafe theorema
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

my new favorite cafe.
it is a bookstore/cafe by day and a club with live music by night.
and also appears to be owned by cuban-mexican socialists. it's open air in parts and has a wonderful feel, as well as really interesting art work.

i drank a rompope latte with some fresas con crema. a delightful meal.

but later that tuesday, robin and i returned to the excellent pizza place amalfi's and were insanely popular. our waiter flirted like crazy and the owner came by and introduced himself. and we ended up getting complimentary dessert. i'm not sure if we looked pretty or maybe just ended up being charming, but apparently they can't wait for us to return...

iglesia

2010-04-02T23:30:00.001-07:00

iglesia
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

went to el catedral in el zocalo on tuesday. incredibly gorgeous but nothing too our of the ordinary as far as giant, ornate cathedrals go.

i really loved walking around and taking in all of the details.

this photo only really represents a small fraction of architecture and decoration to be found inside.

i kind of want to take the bus over to the zocalo on easter sunday just to see what's going on here. i bet it is amazing.

washington apples in el costco

2010-04-02T23:27:00.001-07:00

washington apples in el costco
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

went to the mexican costco.
exactly the same as home, right down to the washington (!) apples.

(i checked later, and they're from yakima, wa. of course.)

mi casa

2010-04-02T23:25:00.001-07:00

mi casa
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

here's the front of our house, which i think is very cute.
our room is to the far left, behind the cars, separate from the house.
i adore this space, except for the past few days.
before we left on wednesday, we realized that the sink wasn't running and the toilet wasn't flushing. so we go to use the facilities in the house and lo and behold they're not working either.
apparently, our host mom accidentally left the garden house on and used ALL of our water. the family promptly left for vacation, promising it'd be fixed by the time we got back from guanajuato.
we're back early, they're not here, and now our room smells like pee.
beh.

lucha

2010-04-02T23:21:00.001-07:00

lucha
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

i loved this dude.
he was far too handsome for a mask (clearly).
and it was super obvious that the ladies loved him.
he didn't do as many flips as i would have wanted though...

lucha libre

2010-04-02T23:19:00.001-07:00

lucha libre
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

went to las luchas on monday.

so much fun! it was super packed and really cheesy and just like a baseball game in the states but hilarious and entertaining the entire time as opposed to only some of the time.

all i could think throughout the four bouts was that if i had been a little kid growing up in mexico, this would have been my most favorite thing in the whole world. it was goofy and awesome and surprisingly acrobatic.

i loved seeing all the little kids with their masks on (they sold lucha masks like candy at this venue) and when i later asked christian if he went to watch the luchas when he was a little kid he gave me the equivalent of "duh!" in spanish. i wouldn't have expected anything different.

luca, robin, christian

2010-03-29T11:48:00.001-07:00

luca, robin, christian
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

christian brought both his mom and his adorable boxer puppy, luca, along for the day. it was a really nice group. the dog didn't quite want to walk anywhere. but it was entertainment enough.

piramides

2010-03-29T11:46:00.001-07:00

piramides
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

and i mean a pyramid. there were various ruins around the base of the hill under the church, downstairs passages it looked like, but this was beautifully restored. the stairs were open for walking and many people sat on them to watch a show that was taking place in the market outside the reserve.

iglesia

2010-03-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

iglesia
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

and it was one hell of a walk to reach the top. this maybe only a quarter of the trek up stairs and dirt hill. and walking down these stairs was a little bit horrifying at times. crowded and dizzying.

hermanos

2010-03-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

hermanos
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

from any point walking around the perimeter of the church where it was perched on top of the hill, you could see ahead for miles and miles. all of puebla is easily visible from this particular vantage point. these kids were just particularly adorable.

escaleras al iglesia

2010-03-29T11:41:00.001-07:00

escaleras al iglesia
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

sunday, we went to this hot spot in cholula where there's this gorgeous church built by the spanish, iglesia de nuestra señora de los remedios, that just so happened to accidentally be built up a hill from unexcavated pyramids. pretty fun. super beautiful.

lagarto

2010-03-29T11:36:00.001-07:00

lagarto
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

note to my sister: i did not lie to you about these lizards.
they're everywhere. scurrying about, popping out of bushes and cracks in the sides of buildings. so much fun to look out for.
i'm determined to catch them with my camera more often.

chapulin

2010-03-29T11:33:00.003-07:00

chapulin
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

they sell roasted grasshoppers around here sometimes for snacks.
i totally ate one.

chapulines

2010-03-29T11:33:00.001-07:00

chapulines
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

see these roasted grasshoppers?

boletos para vive latino!

2010-03-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

boletos para vive latino!
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

purchased!

(to note: ticketmaster mexico has way more delightful looking tickets than the blue ones in the u.s.)

chorizo

2010-03-27T13:11:00.001-07:00

chorizo
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

my host mom really is a wonderul cook.
and i'm pretty certain that chorizo with eggs is a weekend staple.
we eat almost every meal with a stack of covered tortillas and a small cup of salsa verde or some equivalent.
i have so far been looking forward to lunch time as the best part of every day.

amalfi's

2010-03-27T13:06:00.001-07:00

amalfi's
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

after class, robin and i went to the gym and then trekked to the mexican walmart for household (as well as anti-skin scorching) necessities and she bought the closest thing to honeycrisp apples that she could find. which was a treat for both of us. a quiet and pleasant afternoon.

for dinner, robin and christian and i went to the centro and had dinner at this amazing place called amalfi's. we had pizza with prosciutto (which was misleading as it was only for thinly sliced ham, goddamit--not that i'm complaining, it was still really good) and the single most delicious vegetarian pizza i've ever eaten (eggplant, spinach, zucchini, and tomato). this all supplemented by the bottle of red wine that we shared. and flan for dessert. i can't help but think that the experience was heightened by the incredible handsome-ness of the waiters. happy birthday to me.

after, christian took us to a hotel bar not far from the restaurant, where we sat on a large balcony, warmed on the slightly chilly night by propane heaters and provided toasty blankets. i had a fancy drink with cranberry, lime and a surprise cherry at the bottom and listened to an array of ambient electro and daft punk remixes. all this while admiring the view above and over the hotel as well as the fish-tank like swimming pool that robin and i fought the urge to jump into.

and then out to cholula for a little while. just so i could see the assortment of small bars fixed into train box cars called container city. we listened to music and the array of hair metal music videos and people watched.

and then home, to sleepily think of the people that i wish could have celebrated with me... there's next year.

happy birthday

2010-03-27T12:47:00.001-07:00

happy birthday
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

seeing as no one could properly remember 'las mañanitas', our venezuelan teacher had everyone sing the venezuelan 'happy birthday'.

then class continued in it's mind-numbing pattern for two hours more.

pastel

2010-03-27T12:43:00.001-07:00

pastel
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

it was my birthday yesterday.
so my teacher procured a cake for class that reminded me of the epic cake-eating sequence in matilda. it was ridiculous. maybe just a trait of mexican costco bakeries to sell cakes almost too rich too eat.
pretty excellent.

gate to school

2010-03-27T12:34:00.001-07:00

gate to school
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

the school, which is gated, is on an absolutely gorgeous campus. that i intend to take more photos of. particularly of the random geese.

la verdad nos hara libres

2010-03-27T12:32:00.001-07:00

la verdad nos hara libres
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

the ibero's school motto and seal, which more or less is the same as "the truth will set us free."

cart o' kool-aid

2010-03-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

cart o' kool-aid
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

there exists a mexican walmart, and it makes me feel right at home.
one of the oddest things about being here so far is the fact that my culture shock has been alleviated by the fact that puebla has an incredible amount in common with the yakima valley, right down to being stared at for doc marten boots and short hair. it's still one hell of an experience, but to some extent there is a lot of comfort in the things that are recognizable.
also, a cart full of kool aid? 30 packets for 10 pesos? that's just ridiculous.

class

2010-03-27T12:28:00.001-07:00

class
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

our classroom. pretty simple and small. there's the large sliding glass door that becomes the fourth wall of the room. we have a half-circle of chairs and listen to our teacher subject hop for three hours a day, rarely writing notes on the board, but mostly just passionately pointing at the maps. i have a lot of list-writing time on my hands.

tito

2010-03-23T16:24:00.001-07:00

tito
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

oh yeah, and we have a pet turtle in our room.
his name is tito.

parado's

2010-03-23T16:23:00.001-07:00

parado's
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

oh, and did i mention the best taco's ever. courtesy of this man.
that's pineapple you see bookending the meat tower. delicious.

popocatépetl

2010-03-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

popocatépetl
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

one of the volcanoes that lays outside the city. ominous, but absolutely gorgeous when the sun sets.

afuera de la casa

2010-03-23T15:17:00.001-07:00

afuera de la casa
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

the gorgeous patio right outside the door of our room. robin and i have what is essentially a studio apartment that is separate from the main house. two beds, bathroom, dressers, pet turtle (tito), but no unfortunately no shower. in any case. i open the door to this beautiful little corner. i am fully planning on doing a lot of reading and writing out here, especially once it starts to get hotter. as of yet, it's been very warm and sunny, but not too intense. hopefully, it never will.

centro

2010-03-23T15:10:00.001-07:00

centro
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

there was a crazy amount of people in the centro when we went. we think maybe for preemptive semana de santa celebrations. there were balloon vendors ("que globos!") and a collection of schoolkid projects where they made sculptures out of recyclable materials. really cool. and gorgeous.

cafe milagros

2010-03-23T15:00:00.001-07:00

cafe milagro
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

the wonderful cafe in the centro.

cantadores del camion

2010-03-23T14:59:00.001-07:00

cantadores del camion
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

sunday afternoon, coming back to our house from the centro, two guys got on the bus.
one of them announced, in a perfect radio-announcer voice, that they would be providing entertainment for the rest of our journey. they proceeded to drum and strum and sing for 10-15 minutes, sounding absolutely perfect even through their stumbling as we rounded corners and hopped over speed bumps.
absolutely amazing. it was one of those moments (series of minutes, to be honest) that doesn't quite seem true in retrospect.
it was an bizarrely wonderful way to kick of my time. it's kind of put the entire city into a perspective that's been rose-colored by the experience.

los primeros días.

2010-03-23T14:24:00.003-07:00

alright, now that i finally have the time and the precarious internet to back me up i can finally update this thing.

i arrived here late saturday night, courtesy of a very sweet taxi driver who got a teense bit lost..

the family is absolutely wonderful. the mom and dad are sweet and funny. and the sisters (21 and 19) are quiet so far but seem incredibly nice. the brother (16) reminds me a lot of my sister, which is a good thing. and the baby son of one of the daughters, javi, is the absolute cutest thing i've ever seen. he knows my name already: "lirri" and is just adorable. reminds me a lot of my brother when he was little. except much more rambunctious, in a good way.

my roommate robin spent the first three months of the program with another girl, kristina, who was only here for winter quarter. she hadn't gone home yet, so both convinced me out with them for the evening. i dropped my stuff on in our liberally-sized bedroom and we left with robin's boyfriend to a bar in cholula (a part of town, i live in zavaleta), called bambuko's. i drank an ill-advised madonna (lots of pineapple and coconut) and ended up being louder than usual for the rest of my first evening. we left the bar and went to this taco stand called parado's. best. taco. i. have. ever. eaten. it was amazing, a suiza, and not even due to tipsiness.

the next day, sunday, we ran around the city to do some of kristina's favorite things. we went to the zocolo, the center of the city, beautiful colonial architecture and an insane amount of people. the three of us walked around an open air artesian and antique market and i managed to do some souvenir window shopping. already have a mental list of half the gifts i will be buying for people. afterwards we bought some frappes in a adorable, brightly-colored, and heavily-decorated cafe near the market--cafe milagro. i adore it. can't wait to go back.

we came back for a late lunch (my host mom cooks wonderful asada and chorizo, my favorites) and afterwards went to a shopping center and watched "alicia en el pais de las maravillosas" (the retitled movies here crack me up. i was so tired that my first 3-d movie gave me a headache, or maybe that was just the excesses of time burton... no se.

for kristina's last puebla dinner, robin's boyfriend drove us to a restaurant that specializes in posole. amazing. i ordered a tostadad "con todo"--those of my detractors will be amazed to know that i did not ask for it without beans. it was delicious anyway.

monday was the first day of class. it'll be alright. it's school. the teacher is cool, but rambles passionately, which has it's pluses and minuses. the campus of the ibero is beautiful, and only 1 15 minute walk away, which is wonderful! there is a pond and many fountains and ducks and birds wandering all over the place. the actual buildings remind me a lot of davis, though, which is interesting.

robin took me to a gym that's maybe three minutes from the house. not too expensive. it was a litle over 40 dollars (500 some pesos) for a monthly membership, but it's been so odd to already fall into a routine like working out within three days of moving to a new place.

last night (monday), we tried to go to a concert for this electro/techno/pop artist/producer named david guetta--el frances! the tickets ended up being obscenely expensive (550 pesos, when the day before they had been 400), so we went to parado's again (even better when not a teense tipsy) and then went to a house where two girls from our study program live. they had a balcony outside their room that overlooked the side of the stage. the actual middle of the stage was obscured by a giant tree, but we could hear wonderfully. robin and i didn't stay too late, only until 11, just bs-ing and watching lady gaga videos (telephone. i love it). apparently, guetta didn't take the stage until midnight, which we could hear from our house which is more than a mile away. crazy.

so, my first three (almost) days have been jam-packed and robin and i have been planning ahead for the next month already. we might go on a trip next week for semana de santa (a week off to make up for my missing spring break) to an undetermined location and are definitely going to spend a weekend in mexico city at the end of april, going to bellas artes, frida's house, and this:

http://www.vivelatino.com.mx/info_festival/vive_latino_2010%11_listado_de_bandas_por_dia/

my god! was it not my mexico fantasy that i would get to see calle 13?? and rodrigo and gabriela and empire of the sun are just amazing bonuses. i am soo excited.

but as for now, movie-watching (furia de los titanes next weekend!), e-mailing, reading and writing for class, birthday dinner planning (pizza, wine, and flan!) and a little bit of shopping.. it's already been one hell of an experience. this city, at this point, has presented itself to be just my speed.

monkey in a bush

2010-03-23T14:24:00.001-07:00

monkey in a bush
Originally uploaded by oliviajean26

this is the only productive thing that occurred during my five hours in the houston airport.
oh, bush sr....

antes.

2010-03-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

was doing some research on mexican poets (because i am, at heart, a very huge nerd) and found this. just felt like it fit perfectly for the moment of nervousness before taking this particular plunge.

i'm so excited to discover more words and voices such as this one.

-----

Entre irse y quedarse

Entre irse y quedarse dude el día,
enamorado de su transparencia.

La tarde circular es ya bahía:
en su quieto vaivén se mece el munco.

Todo es visible y todo es elusivo,
todo está cerca y todo es intocable.

Los papeles, el libro, el vaso, el lápiz
reposan a la sombra de sus nombres

Latir del tiempo que en mi sien repite
la misma terca sílaba de sangre.

La luz hace del muro indiferente
un espectral teatro de reflejos.

En el centro de un ojo me descubro;
no me mira, me miro en su mirada.

Se disipa el instante. Sin moverme,
yo me quedo y me voy: soy una pausa.
-Octavio Paz

Between Going and Staying

Between going and staying the day wavers,
in love with its own transparency.
The circular afternoon is now a bay
where the world in stillness rocks.

All is visible and all elusive,
all is near and can't be touched.

Paper, book, pencil, glass,
rest in the shade of their names.

Time throbbing in my temples repeats
the same unchanging syllable of blood.

The light turns the indifferent wall
into a ghostly theater of reflections.

I find myself in the middle of an eye,
watching myself in its blank stare.

The moment scatters. Motionless,
I stay and go: I am a pause.