¿Qué Onda?: Some Randomness…

Since arriving in México, I’ve been on this kind of travel frenzy every weekend. First, Acapulco and then, DF. I really haven’t spent much time in the city of Cuernavaca. So today, I got on a bus and headed to the zócalo to scope out the downtown scene. I didn’t plan to go anywhere in particular. I just wanted to pit-pat around the city with my camera in hand.

No matter what city you go to in Mexico and no matter what the size of the city, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find on old cathedral. So, when I came upon this enormous cathedral, better known as La Catedral de Cuernavaca (pretty original name…I know), I wasn’t surprised. But, I still decided to go in and check it out.

As I was walking through the entrance, this random guy stopped me and wanted to know if I spoke English. “Sí, hablo inglés,” I responded. He told me that he was learning English and he wanted to practice it. He asked if he could take me on a free tour of the cathedral. I said, “Sure.” (This kind of thing is not uncommon. It seems that everyone wants to practice their English with a native speaker.) So, he began the tour in English, but eventually switched to Spanish, which was completely fine with me. It was kind of neat to have my own personal tour guide, and I thanked him very kindly for showing me around.

Switch gears…Yesterday my wonderful students decided to celebrate my birthday. They serenaded me in the school courtyard with Las Mañanitas (the “Happy Birthday” song), and bought me a heck load of tamales. “Tienes que probar todos. Es tu cumpleaños.” (You have to try all of them. It’s your birthday.” Each one of the tamales had a different colored ribbon sticking out of the end. The different colors represent different fillings (blue = peppers with cheese; pink = strawberry; green = tomatillo salsa). These were my first tamales since arriving in Mexico, and I must admit they were/are pretty good. I have been eating them slowly being mindful of the advice that was engrained into memory 2 years ago by host mom in Puebla. “No comas tantos tamales. ¡Se engordan!” (Don’t eat too many tamales. They will make you fat.)

Alright. Switch gears one more time…Everyday as I walk through my neighborhood to the bus stop, I enjoy reading the names of the various streets. I live in this really romantic neighborhood, and all of the road names reflect this sort of love theme. Would you like to live on Senda Coqueta (Flirtatious Lane) or Senda Risueña (Smiling Path)? It reminds me of a scene right out of Anne of Green Gables, one of my favorite books. In addition to these entertaining road titles, each of the houses is given a name, too. There is Paloma del Río (Dove of the River) and Quinta Aurora (The Fifth Dawn). It makes the walk up the steep hills or should I say mountains much more enjoyable.