Today is the beginning of el Cervantino, an annual cultural festival in Guanajuato that celebrates the cultural contribution of Miguel de Cervantes. From now until November 1st there are all sorts of concerts, shows, and street performances...not to mention the people that come from all over the world. I'm SO excited!!!!
You can read a little bit about el Cervantino here (the official website is in Spanish):
http://www.guanajuato.travel/Cervantino/Default.aspx
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
It's all about the experience (and a little bit about don Pancho)
This past weekend I went with Shannon to visit Morelia and Uruapan in Michoacan. It was the perfect trip and I had the greatest time ever. At one point we were talking about how it's so much better to have experiences instead of things. I didn't used to think that way, but now I'm convinced that the experience of doing and seeing things is worth infinitely more than owning things. This weekend was full of experiences, such as...
watching Mexico qualify for the World Cup
seeing street performers in the plaza
listening to an African (Mexican) drum group
riding horses to San Juan, a pueblo that was covered by a volcanic eruption. The church tower is the only thing still visible above all the lava (you can see the volcano Paricutin in the background).
eating gazpacho (mixed fruit covered in cheese and chile)
watching a fireworks show at Morelia's catheral two nights in a row
watching Mexico qualify for the World Cup
seeing street performers in the plaza
listening to an African (Mexican) drum group
riding horses to San Juan, a pueblo that was covered by a volcanic eruption. The church tower is the only thing still visible above all the lava (you can see the volcano Paricutin in the background).
eating gazpacho (mixed fruit covered in cheese and chile)
watching a fireworks show at Morelia's catheral two nights in a row
spending time with friends
Don Pancho: Our guide to San Juan was don Pancho, a man in his 80s who witnessed the volcanic eruption when he was 13. He's probably one of the most fascinating people I've met so far in Mexico. First, Spanish is not his native language since in his village everyone speaks an indigenous language. He's lived all of his life in this village near the volcano and told us that he's only been to one other city in Mexico. His only job is guiding tourists on horseback. When Shannon asked him what he did during the week when there weren't many tourists he said, "I wait for them to come." All of his family lives in this village and there's nothing that prompts him to leave. I'm intrigued by don Pancho. Imagine living your whole life in one place with extremely limited contact to the rest of the world. Imagine never traveling and never seeing more than what you grew up with. It makes me feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to go to university, to live and travel in Mexico, and to understand that there is so much more to life than what I know.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Why I Want To Be A Teacher
Well, it's October. In NC, this would mean sweaters, pumpkins, lots of coffee, and leaves changing! In Mexico, this means less rain, but pretty much just as much heat. This also means that I've been in Mexico for over two months. This also marks probably the longest period of time in over four years that I have not had any contact with students. Sure, I go to university every day, but I don't have an internship in a public school, I don't tutor, and I don't have camp where I'm surrounded by 70-100 kids EVERY SINGLE DAY!! I miss it. I don't remember when I decided I wanted to be a teacher (it certainly wasn't my original career choice), but I'm so excited that teaching is what I'll be doing for at least four years of my life.
In Mexico, there is, as in every country, a lot of poverty. I don't really see it too much here because I am a university student, I live with a upper middle class family, and Guanajuato is a pretty wealthy, tourist-y city in comparison with other places in the country. Poverty still exists, however. The thing that I have the hardest time with here is seeing all the child beggars. You can sit in a restaurant or in any place downtown and, in the period of an hour, there will be around 5 different children, all under the age of 10, asking you to buy gum or flowers for a couple of pesos. You have to say no, even though it breaks your heart. What struck me when I first arrived in Mexico was that children would come in to bars and clubs trying to sell these things, sometimes even at 2 in the morning. This is even worse because these children should be in bed and should NOT be allowed to enter a place full of alcohol and cigarette smoke.
My instinct is to adopt all of these children and give them the opportunity to go to school. More and more I'm convinced that an education is especially vital for children who need to break free of the circle of poverty that they live in. These are the kind of students I want to teach.
I heard a song the other week that reminds me of these kids I see every day:
Esta es la historia de Juan, el nino que nadie amo
que por las calles crecio, buscando el amor bajo el sol
su madre lo abandono
su padre lo maltrato
su casa fue un callejon
su cama, un carton
su amigo, Dios
Juan pregunto por amor
y el mundo se lo nego
Juan pregunto por honor
y el mundo le dio deshonor
Juan pregunto por perdon
y el mundo lo lastimo
Juan pregunto y pregunto y el mundo jamas lo escucho
El solo quiso jugar, el solo quiso sonar, el solo quiso amar
pero el mundo lo olvido
el solo quiso volar, el solo quiso cantar, el solo quiso amar
pero el mundo lo olvido
This is not to say that there are only these type of children just in Mexico. There are so many in the United States, as well. It's easy to laugh at all the stereotypes in this song, but there's a lot of it that's also very true.
And all my people drug dealin jus to get by, stack ya money till it gets sky high
We wasn't supposed to make it past 25 but the joke's on you, we still alive
Throw your hands up in the sky and say we don't care what people say
If this is your first time hearing this you are about to experience something cold man
We never had nothing handed, took nothing for granted
Took nothing from no man, man I'm my own man
But as a shorty I looked up to the dopeman
Only adult man I knew that wasn't a broke man
You know the kids gonna act a fool when you stop the programs for after school
And they DCFS them some of them dyslexic, they favorite 50 Cent song's 12 Questions
We scream, rock, blows, weed park so now we smart
We aint retards the way teachers thought
Hold up hold fast we make mo'cash. Now tell my momma I belong in the slow class
It's bad enough we on welfare
You trying to put me on the school bus with the space for the wheel chair
I'm trying to get the car with the chromy wheels here
You tryin to cut our lights like we don't live here
Look at what's handed us, our father's abandoned us
When we get the hammers gone and call the ambulance
Sometimes I feel no one in this world understands us
But we dont care what people say
There are students like this in every country, that speak every language, and there is no reason why they should not have the same opportunities as everybody else. This is why I want to be a teacher.
In Mexico, there is, as in every country, a lot of poverty. I don't really see it too much here because I am a university student, I live with a upper middle class family, and Guanajuato is a pretty wealthy, tourist-y city in comparison with other places in the country. Poverty still exists, however. The thing that I have the hardest time with here is seeing all the child beggars. You can sit in a restaurant or in any place downtown and, in the period of an hour, there will be around 5 different children, all under the age of 10, asking you to buy gum or flowers for a couple of pesos. You have to say no, even though it breaks your heart. What struck me when I first arrived in Mexico was that children would come in to bars and clubs trying to sell these things, sometimes even at 2 in the morning. This is even worse because these children should be in bed and should NOT be allowed to enter a place full of alcohol and cigarette smoke.
My instinct is to adopt all of these children and give them the opportunity to go to school. More and more I'm convinced that an education is especially vital for children who need to break free of the circle of poverty that they live in. These are the kind of students I want to teach.
I heard a song the other week that reminds me of these kids I see every day:
Esta es la historia de Juan, el nino que nadie amo
que por las calles crecio, buscando el amor bajo el sol
su madre lo abandono
su padre lo maltrato
su casa fue un callejon
su cama, un carton
su amigo, Dios
Juan pregunto por amor
y el mundo se lo nego
Juan pregunto por honor
y el mundo le dio deshonor
Juan pregunto por perdon
y el mundo lo lastimo
Juan pregunto y pregunto y el mundo jamas lo escucho
El solo quiso jugar, el solo quiso sonar, el solo quiso amar
pero el mundo lo olvido
el solo quiso volar, el solo quiso cantar, el solo quiso amar
pero el mundo lo olvido
This is not to say that there are only these type of children just in Mexico. There are so many in the United States, as well. It's easy to laugh at all the stereotypes in this song, but there's a lot of it that's also very true.
And all my people drug dealin jus to get by, stack ya money till it gets sky high
We wasn't supposed to make it past 25 but the joke's on you, we still alive
Throw your hands up in the sky and say we don't care what people say
If this is your first time hearing this you are about to experience something cold man
We never had nothing handed, took nothing for granted
Took nothing from no man, man I'm my own man
But as a shorty I looked up to the dopeman
Only adult man I knew that wasn't a broke man
You know the kids gonna act a fool when you stop the programs for after school
And they DCFS them some of them dyslexic, they favorite 50 Cent song's 12 Questions
We scream, rock, blows, weed park so now we smart
We aint retards the way teachers thought
Hold up hold fast we make mo'cash. Now tell my momma I belong in the slow class
It's bad enough we on welfare
You trying to put me on the school bus with the space for the wheel chair
I'm trying to get the car with the chromy wheels here
You tryin to cut our lights like we don't live here
Look at what's handed us, our father's abandoned us
When we get the hammers gone and call the ambulance
Sometimes I feel no one in this world understands us
But we dont care what people say
There are students like this in every country, that speak every language, and there is no reason why they should not have the same opportunities as everybody else. This is why I want to be a teacher.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
I actually have to do work here?
Unfortunately, the academic side of study abroad has picked up a little (or it could be that I just procrastinated). The latter is more likely.
Anyway, I'm reading a novel (finally) for my literature class on Wednesday. I have to say that I'm so thankful that it's not poetry because I've about had it with poetry in any language. NOT my thing. This book, however, would not be my first choice to read. It's called "El luto humano" by Jose Revueltas (translated: The human suffering) and it's pretty depressing. So far, two people have died, and the rest are walking with the corpses in this crazy storm to some unknown destination. Ugh.
It's taking me forever to read it because the vocabulary is kind of abstract, and there's so much description and not very much action.
On the bright side: I'm becoming extremely adept at looking up words in the dictionary. My mastery of the alphabet is stellar.
Anyway, I'm reading a novel (finally) for my literature class on Wednesday. I have to say that I'm so thankful that it's not poetry because I've about had it with poetry in any language. NOT my thing. This book, however, would not be my first choice to read. It's called "El luto humano" by Jose Revueltas (translated: The human suffering) and it's pretty depressing. So far, two people have died, and the rest are walking with the corpses in this crazy storm to some unknown destination. Ugh.
It's taking me forever to read it because the vocabulary is kind of abstract, and there's so much description and not very much action.
On the bright side: I'm becoming extremely adept at looking up words in the dictionary. My mastery of the alphabet is stellar.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The past week or so
Comiendo tacos en la calle! Que rico!
Shannon y yo en el centro.
Celebrando dos meses en Mexico con postre y cafe.
Clara y yo en la playa!
Todo el grupo en el Oceano Pacifico en Ixtapa
Esnorkel en la Isla de Ixtapa
Y, por fin, tengo mi visa de estudiante! Nunca tengo que regresar a San Miguel de Allende, salvo por gusto :)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A Really Good Day
Today was a relatively normal day but there were just lots of little things that made it great! First, I got to sleep late because I didn't have class until 11. I went downtown before class to buy tickets to go to Ixtapa this weekend with Lisa and some other exchange students. Yay for the beach!! Then I had fonetica y fonologia which I have now decided is my favorite class that I'm taking (which is surprising because I didn't like it at first). Afterwards Clara and I went downtown for milkshakes and sat and talked, in Spanish, for over an hour. When I got back to the house I had a letter (thanks Mom) and a package (thanks Petey) waiting for me! I love snail mail :) I had a really good violin lesson this afternoon; I'm so glad that I have the chance to continue playing my violin here because, otherwise, I would miss music a lot (who would have ever thought I would say that?). Then I met up with the group going to Ixtapa to finish talking details for this weekend's trip. To end it all, I ate dinner with Eloisa and Octavio and we talked almost the whole time about bull fights. Haha.
Although this might seem rather boring (and it's really just a list of what I did today), all of the things combined to make an awesome day!
Although this might seem rather boring (and it's really just a list of what I did today), all of the things combined to make an awesome day!
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