Library Celebration and Pizza

As you probably know, I volunteer as an English teacher at the Biblioteca Benjamín Franklin. Each week, I hold a conversation course at the library. There are about 15 students in my class, and the course lasts for about 6-8 weeks. My first course was held from October-December with a wonderful group of students. And, a few weeks ago I completed a second session with an equally eager group of individuals. In order to celebrate their accomplishments and to also say goodbye to the library, a concert and celebration were held.

Andy and Cammie opened the concert with several great songs, and Los Ajusco Mountain Boys followed up the act. It was really interesting to see the reaction of the audience to this type of local music. It is very different from the salsa and cumbia beats that are so common in Mexico. In addition to the great music, there was delicious food—cheese, crackers, fruit, meats. It was quite a spread.

A large group of students from CENLEX (the school where Cammie and I teach) came out to see the show. In addition, Cammie and I were honored and thanked for teaching two English courses at the library. Roberto brought two beautiful pink roses—one for each class that I taught. It was great to mix and mingle with all of the wonderful people at the library one last time. I want to send a big thank you out to Benjamin and Claudia, the directors of the library and the masterminds behind the conversation club. Without their support, this program would not have been possible. In addition, I would like to encourage any individuals living in the DF area to use the library. With your support, the library continues to grow. Finally, if there are any native English speakers living in DF, the library could really use your help. I know they would appreciate any volunteers.

After the library celebration, we went out for pizza. There is a place in la colonia Roma that is called Lucille’s. They have excellent pizza and on Wednesday nights you can get two pizzas for the price of one. Yep, that’s right…two individual pizzas for $55 pesos (around $5). The margherita pizza is delicious. It was great to enjoy some food and conversation with friends and students.

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Abrazos, Nicole
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Enjoying the Attractions Around DF

Although Roberto and I were supposed to go on a much anticipated trip to the state of Hidalgo this weekend, I ended up having to look for a new place to live. So, I stayed in the DF area. But, rather than letting the precious weekend go to waste, I decided to take Roberto to two places that he had never visited: Xochimilco and Teotihuacán.

If you are stopping by the DF area, Xochimilco is one of those charming places that is like a breath of fresh air in the midst of the large city hustle and bustle. The canals are bright with the many colors of the beautiful trajineras reflecting off the water, and there is lots of merriment. From birthday parties to family picnics, there is always something exciting going on. If you ever go, please seek out the Embarcadero Nativitas. The boats at this dock are a lot newer, and the prices are also significantly cheaper. Rather than having a full course meal, Roberto and I opted to buy a kilo of fresh manila mangoes. We savored each and every one of them during our journey through the canals.

On Sunday, we went to the pyramids of Teotihuacán. The name means “place where men become gods,” and was once inhabited by 125,000 people. The Pyramid of the Sun (that’s the giant one in the distance) was completed during the 2nd century AD. It would have been coated with brightly painted stucco. Can you imagine? You certainly need a full bottle of water and lots of energy to climb to the top of this one.

The Pyramid of the Moon is the one that we are “holding” in the distance. While it is smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun, it rises just as high due to an elevation difference. In addition, it offers a fantastic view of the archaeological site and the surrounding lands.

When you climb the Pyramid of the Sun, you must be sure to touch the tiny piece of gold metal that is embedded in the center rock at the top. Then, you must raise your hands in the air. Apparently it’s supposed to give you energy. I think it is a big trick. Of course you are going to have more energy now…you’ve gotten over the worst part—climbing the largest pyramid in the middle of the day.

The excursion was lots of fun and I enjoyed the fact that I got in for free because I looked like a Mexican national. That dark hair and olive skin definitely has its advantages. ;-)

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Abrazos, Nicole

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Lovely Aguascalientes and Something Unexpected

On Thursday night before leaving for a 7-hour trip to Aguascalientes, Andy and Cammie put on a great concert at the Rococo Café. The Ajusco Mountain Boys, a Bluegrass band, opened for the Proper Name and the Nouns. The concert was great and even Nico was able to make it after his trip to France was cancelled due to excess volcanic ash in the air from the eruption in Iceland. In addition, Tania brought her two sisters, Ixchel and Cindy, who are an absolute riot and we celebrated Ixchel’s birthday with a cheesecake.

After the concert, we booked it to Mexico Norte and hopped on an overnight Primera Plus bus headed for Aguascalientes and the Feria de San Marcos. Once we arrived, we were greeted by wonderful Will at the bus station. Will lives in Aguascalientes and invited us up for the fair. He set up a hotel for the ladies and the guys stayed at his apartment.

For breakfast he took us to the gorgeous La Mestiza restaurant, and I ordered some delicious and spicy chilaquiles. If you haven’t tried chilaquiles (pronounced chee-lah-KEY-lace), please do. They are fried tortillas mixed with salsa and usually topped with chicken, cream, and cheese. The restaurant used to be an old hacienda, so the architecture and decoration were simply beautiful. Check out the ceiling! Those are baskets up there :-).

After breakfast, Will took us on a tour of the city. Aguascalientes is colonial city and offers lots of beautiful colonial architecture. The weather was extremely hot as the city is not located in the mountains. In fact, it is located in the center of Mexico and has almost desert-like conditions.

Will took us to a nearby church that is known for its Black Jesus. It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite books The Secret Life of Bees, in which a Black Mary is featured.

We also checked out the Palacio del Gobierno that was built in the 17th century. The walls are covered in murals painted by the Chilean artist, Oswaldo Barra, a student of Diego Rivera. If you look through the arches you can see that Barra captured the colors of the Mexican flag in his mural. Notice the green, white, and red.

But, the true reason that Will invited us to Aguascalientes on this weekend of April was for the Feria de San Marcos, known as the National Fair of Mexico. This fair is held from the second week of April to the first week of May each year. The fair is dedicated to the patron saint of the city San Marcos (St. Mark). There are a range of activities and events, including concerts and bullfights, but the main draw is the numerous night clubs and the obscene amount of alcohol that is brought out for this event. I was told that there are some people who make a living just on the fair. In other words, they set up shop for three weeks and live off of these earnings for the other 11 months of the year. Can you believe that?

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a charreada. What is that? It is the original rodeo of Mexico. There are 9 events, which I didn’t quite understand.

Let me just say that it looks pretty…everyone is in sombreros and riding around on horses, but it could quite possibly be one of the most boring sporting events that I have ever been to. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn’t working out. In fact, we even left before it was over. Maybe you need to sport a big handlebar moustache to like this sport. Who knows?

On Saturday night, we went out for dinner to celebrate Andy’s birthday. Cammie made a chocolate cake in DF and brought it all the way to Aguascalientes for the event. We also got to meet one of Will’s friends, Alejandra, and her sister.

On Sunday morning, we found another great breakfast place. But…we didn’t get there in time for breakfast. So, we had lunch instead. I loved the blown-glass chandeliers and the papel picado adorning the ceiling. And if you haven’t already noticed, Alexis tells a great story. Check out her blog.

On Sunday afternoon, everyone headed back to their respective cities, and Andy and I stayed a little longer since we had the shortest bus ride back. We met up with my friend, Mayra, who is from Aguascalientes. I met Mayra a few years back while she was working as an au pair in Pittsburgh. She was and continues to be a very good friend and I enjoyed seeing her again. We had breakfast and she took us to the Museo Nacional de la Muerte, a museum dedicated to representations of death. I know it sounds kind of morbid, but it was really just a bunch skeletons.

On Sunday afternoon, Andy and I treated ourselves to a high-class bus ride on ETN back to Mexico. We arrived in DF around 10:45 PM, and by the time I got to my house it was 11 PM. When I entered, I said hello to see if Sra. Olga was there, but she was not. I turned on the lights and walked up to my room. As I was setting my stuff down, I realized that my room was a complete mess. Totally not the way I left it. Someone had been in it. Then I realized that my computer was GONE! Yep, stolen. From that point, it is a long story, and I never did find out who stole my brand new laptop. But, thanks to the support of my wonderful friends, I made it through the whole deal. Most of my friends in Mexico were worried that I would stop liking Mexico or something, but it is always important to realize that there are good and bad people everyone. Sometimes it’s best just to pick up and move on.

Click for more pictures! (Concert)

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Abrazos, Nicole
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A Concert, Valle de Bravo, and Soccer

As my time comes to an end here in Mexico, I find myself scrambling to do all kinds of activities that I've been wanting to do.

This week my good friend Andy's mom and grandma came for a visit. And, on Friday I got to meet them. While Andy and the gang were practicing for the Proper Name and the Nouns concert, I met the Mrs. Ms at their hotel. Let me just say that they are two very lovely, tall ladies. I always thought that because I'm tall, I won't make a very cute grandma someday, but Andy's grandma showed me differently ;-)

The concert was excellent and featured these awesome individuals: Andy, Cammie, Will G., Aldo, Jairus, and Nico. I finally brought my camera to take pictures of this entertaining group, but would you believe that my batteries ran out? I was lucky enough to get a picture of Cammie and Grandma M. before the show.

To top the night off, Andy's mom brought him a birthday cake all the way from Oklahoma! How's that for daring? After the concert, we enjoyed delicious vanilla birthday cake at Andy's house. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

On Saturday morning, I hopped on a bus and headed to Toluca to meet Renée. From there, we grabbed another bus to the little town of Valle de Bravo. What should have been a one hour bus ride, actually turned out to be a two and a half hour ride because we took the "scenic route" through all the little pueblos. But, no worries. It's always nice when you have good company.

When Renée and I finally arrived in Valle de Bravo, our stomachs were doing all the talking. We headed to the lake for a meal on the water. Renee ordered some beautiful garlic-spiced shrimp and I got seafood stuffed fish in a cream sauce. With some agua de sandía (watermelon juice) and some agua de piña (pineapple juice), we were set. Oh, yum-o!

After lunch, we went strolling around the town. It was really cool to see the paragliders coming down from the mountains. I bet the view of the lake from above is spectacular. I was also very impressed by this fantastic fruit stand. Those mangoes look like rows and rows of sunshine. They make me happy :-)

On our stroll, Renée and I enjoyed some guanábana ice. It is hard to explain the flavor of this delicious fruit, but it is sort of like a cross between a strawberry, a banana, and a pear. We ventured about and saw the grand cathedral and this crazy flight of stairs. Kind of scary, don't you think? Then it was back to Toluca and D.F.

On Sunday, Roberto invited me to the Pumas soccer game. I couldn't leave Mexico without attending a soccer game. The Pumas are the team of the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) Their colors are blue and gold (like my alma mater's)...unfortunately I wore green to the game...oops the color of the other team. The stadium is very large and seats approximately 40,000 people. Before the game started, we did this kind of pump-up chant thing where we had to stick out our fist and sing the university's hymn. Haha, that was fun.

While I certainly had fun watching the game and trying to capture action shots, I was also amused by watching everything else that was going on around me. It was so funny to see the different types of food that the vendors were selling. Instead of popcorn and hot dogs, there were potato chips with salsa, tropical-flavored popsicles, and different Mexican candies. I was also entertained by these two little boys sitting next to me who were very focused on the game. Look at them, they definitely know what's up. By the way, the Pumas won 1-0!

This upcoming weekend I'm heading north to Aguascalientes. There's lots in store...a giant fair, a birthday rodeo, and visiting with friends. Can't wait!

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Abrazos, Nicole

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Happy Easter!

After my wonderful stay with my family in Pittsburgh, I returned to Mexico on Saturday. Stowed away in my suitcase was an Easter egg dying kit. In case you didn't know, let me just state a fact: Easter egg dying kits = FUN.

Today, I packed 2 dozen hard-boiled eggs in my bag, some plastic cups and spoons, a bottle of white vinegar, and some bottles of water. Unfortunately, I had a smaller group of students because many people were still on vacation, but needless to say, we jumped right into egg dying. Here in Mexico, they don't have a tradition of dying Easter eggs. So, this was certainly something new for them. I had to explain the art of dying a good Easter egg...because it is an art afterall.

Did I ever tell you that I have wonderful students? Look at all of them...so concentrated.

And, look at those Easter eggs! Aren't they a-w-e-s-o-m-e? Or maybe I should say they are egg-cellent :-) Wow, I am so proud!

After we finished dying the eggs, I explained to them the Greek tradition of cracking Easter eggs. Greeks have an egg cracking tradition, known as tsougrisma, which is somewhat like the Americans' tradition of breaking the wishbone at Thanksgiving. In Greece, friends and neighbors crack their eggs against one another's to see who ends up with the whole egg. The one holding the last whole egg is deemed the lucky one.

Well, Daniel proudly won the Egg Cracking Competition of 2010 with his bright red Easter egg. Yay! I'm so glad I was able to share this tradition with my students. Happy Easter to everyone! Christos anesti to my Greek family!

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Abrazos, Nicole

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The Joys of Being at Home

Fantastic art supplies at my fingertips

An oven with a temperature gauge that works and a mom that lets me use it

A super duper shower that gets hot in 10 seconds, has amazing water pressure, and stays hot for the entire time I'm showering

Watching the Pittsburgh Pens on TV

Recycling almost everything...plastic, cardboard, aluminum, etc.

Coffee-Tea Madness Nights with Dad, Mom, Chris, and Dan

Riding my awesome bike

Big jars of Jif peanut butter

Brown gold...I mean, sugar

Drinking water from the faucet

Shoes that come in my size, yes I take a 9.5

And a whole list of other things...Target, my family, the dryer, my friends, Borders, my bed, yummy home-cooked meals, understanding every word the cashier says at the checkout, skim milk, flushing toilet paper, long jeans, Burt's Bees chapstick...

Abrazos, Nicole

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