machismo

ma·chis·mo

–noun

1. a strong or exaggerated sense of manliness; an assumptive attitude that virility, courage, strength, and entitlement to dominate are attributes or concomitants of masculinity.

2.a strong or exaggerated sense of power or the right to dominate


Machismo is extremely prevalent here in Mexico, and frankly it drives me nuts. It's definitely one of the hardest cultural differences that I have had to come to terms with, or least learn to be around during my time here.

Today I took a little break and went to hang out with Marbella in the kitchen and eat a pear. Marbella is a mother of one of the students at La Buena Tierra who, instead of paying with cash the required 200 pesos a month for her child to attend the school, comes to school everyday to wash the dishes. All she "has" to do is wash the dishes (about a half hour job), but she stays pretty much all day every day, helping out with whatever cleaning jobs might be calling. She is a gem and at times a lifesaver during tough days like today when other co-workers are driving me up a wall...

So today during my little chat with Marbella I told her about how my friend Karen is going to come visit me over Spring Break. I explained to her that Karen had recently gotten married and that she was going to be visiting me alone and that her husband would not be coming with her. Marbella's response? "Ay pues que bueno que la deja a venir sola" (Oh well that's good that he let's her come alone) Excuse me? He lets her? "Los hombres aqui son muy celosos y no dejan a sus esposas a hacer NADA" (The men here are really jealous and don't let their wives do ANYTHING.) She went on to explain how generally speaking the men control everything their wives do and that they would never let their wife go travel to another country on her own. I was just like, woah. I mean, I know machismo is strong, especially in communities like La Via, but Marbella's comments were just kind of another reminder of the different reality I live in from that of the women here.

Beyond all that, KAREN IS COMING IN ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW! yay :-)
and this Saturday I'm going to San Miguel de Allende to hang out with my aunt and uncle. yay! :-)
and i get two full weeks off from school (after tomorrow) for Spring Break. yay yay ! :-)
i'm excited ....

MOMMY AND DADDY!!!! warning...a very long post....

i had arrived WAY early to the airport... i happily sat down at the appointed meeting spot (McDonald's - aka a place with the same name in both english and spanish = easily found) and opened my book "The Reader" to see how much I could get read in the time I would wait as my parents made their way through customs. When I first saw their faces walking towards me I could tell mom was stressed about not being able to find me, but dad's face filled with a giant grin because he realized seconds before mom, as we made eye contact, that they indeed had finally found me. Surprisingly, I actually had to hold back tears as I gave them both huge hugs. 7 months had gone by since the last time I had seen them... over double the length of time I had ever gone without seeing them before! Oh how I had missed my ma and pa :-) I was stoked to spend the next 9 days with them and see if we could accomplish everything I had planned on our itinerary!

We hopped on the bus to Cuernavaca, and spent the next two hours talking talking talking (with someone in particular dozing off quite often....). When we got to Cuernavaca my host family had prepared my favorite meal: green enchiladas, beans, and rice. mmm mmm tasty! In the evening I took my parents on a walk through La Via, showing them the neighborhood where the kids who attend my school, La Buena Tierra, live. Arriving back home, we then attempted to figure out a way in which all three of us, including all our stuff, were to fit in my one small bedroom... along with the extreme heat of "spring" that has now hit Cuernavaca. It was entertaining to say the least, having us all in the same room! (the miracle was that i didn't hear dad snore ONCE. yay netty pot!)

Monday I left mom and dad to relax at home as I headed off to work. They came about halfway through the day and I believe quickly fell in love with the adorable children I work with every day. The kids were sure fascinated by dad's big camera and loved serving mom and dad "food" from the "kitchens" during recess. After school, on our way to the park where I run/walk regularly, we stopped at a little street vendor for a snack...quesadillas, sopes, and jugo de naranja. Although they were a little hesitant to eat meat that had not been refrigerated since who knows when, I convinced them and they loved it. After eating we walked through the park, where they would spend the other mornings of the week getting their "necessary" exercise :-) After my afternoon English class, we went down to the zocalo to eat at one of my favorite pizza places (i know, i know, taking them to eat non-mexican food, i'm evil) that overlooks the cathedral and an adorable street here in Cuernavaca. It's a delightful scene with great food... and not your typical pizza for the record.

My pre-planned-typed-out-itinerary didn't get followed exactly...it was interrupted by the loathed, but often received, phone call that I had to go to Mexico City to take care of something with my visa. But this time was to be the last time. So mom, dad, and i hopped a bus to Mexico City Monday night. Tuesday morning we, along with Elizabeth, another MCCer, went on our way to the immigration office to meet our lawyer. I covered my thumbs in ink and gave them my thumbprints, and freaked out as they asked me to sign my new visa with the exact signature that was on my passport (mind you, i signed my passport when i was 15...my signature has changed TONS). i thought they were going to deny me for not having an identical signature! but it all turned out okay and, felicidades a mi, i walked out of that building with my VISA IN MY HAND! yayayayay. finally....

after leaving the immigration office we quickly made our way back to cuernavaca so as not to get too "off" on following the itinerary. after the disappointment of taking my parents to my favorite comida corrida to find it closed down, we made our way to the zocalo with the hopes of finding a good place to eat. we ended up at a nice place looking out at the Palacio de Cortez where we shared some sopa azteca, and chiles enogados. As we were finishing up our meal, my dad said "now, if someone were to ask me what i was going to do in mexico, this is it. this is what i would have told them. great food, great company, chilling with great views." we spent the afternoon looking at/photographing the awesome cathedral in cuernavaca and wndering about the artisan market. in the evening i took my parents to my favorite coffee shop near my house where we enjoyed some great cappucino frappes, played a rousing game of 5 crowns, and shared some good laughs. successful day #2.

we awoke wednesday morning .... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!! it was awesome to be able to spend the big day with her, although we ended up spending several hours in a bus winding through mountains (not good for the tummies...). we went to Taxco a cute town about an hour and a half south of Cuernavaca known for its silver. We spent the day walking the cobblestone streets, eating tasty food, buying mom gifts :), and riding a cable car way up high to have a great view of the city. When we got back into Cuernavaca we treated mama to some ice cream (sorry i didn't get to making a cake!)

Thursday and Friday we spent time at school and eating some classic meals with my host family. We also visited the waterfall here in Cuernavaca, hung out in the zocalo, got Dad some more coffee drinks that he was enjoying this week of "vacation" from Lent, and checked out the HUGE market (food, fruit, veggies, meat, pigs' heads, cooking items, etc. etc.) Friday evening we then headed into Mexico City to spend the long weekend there.

Our time in Mexico City was refreshing and relaxing. Saturday we went to my favorite neighborhood in the city, Coyoacan. We walked around, checked out the artisan markets, and got some delicious classic comida corrida inside the food market (chiles rellenos, enchiladas verdes, and tacos dorados). We then headed to a more uppity neighborhood, San Angel, to check out a bazaar/market that exists only on Saturdays with the hope of finding me my perfect painting....success! It is a gorgeous landscape painting full of detail of two indigenous women in a field of marigolds.... maybe i'll get dad to take a picture of it for me. I love it :-) That night I took the 'rents to the best taco place in all of Mexico...Los Sapos, about a 5 minute walk from the MCC office. Mom and Dad fell in love with tacos al pastor and Dad had an entertaining time with the staff and his camera...classic dad. It was delightful.

Sunday we decided to face the crowds and head to the national zocalo. We went into the National Palace and I attempted to be a Diego Rivera expert and explain to my parents the meanings of his murals that fill the walls on the second floor. We went in the Cathedral but left when the kids' choir that was totally out of tune started to sing. ha. We walked down the streets full of street performers to see the Palacio de Bellas Artes and ate some quesadillas at a street vendor in the Parque Alameda. After these adventures down in the city center, we went back to the office and got showered up and all beautiful before heading to the phenomenal Ballet Folklorico (http://www.balletamalia.com/). It was AWESOME. Afterwards we went back to Bellas Artes and the zocalo to take some pretty pictures of the night scene and lights.

Monday, our last day together. We spent the morning making lasagna and homemade applesauce. HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE. mmm mmm mmm. it rocked. (and there's more in the freezer for me for later!) We spent the afternoon searching for boxes and a way to send back the paintings and hammock and just generally speaking packing up in an attempt to send TONS of things back to the U.S. In the evening I made my parents some classic Mexican hot chocolate. We went back to Los Sapos for more tacos al pastor because dad just had to have more :-) We got some tasty ice cream and walked through the park before calling it a night. Tuesday morning we had breakfast together, said our goodbyes, and I headed back to Cuernavaca for work and my parents were off to the airport to head home.

Oh, how to describe the week.... It was phenomenal, fun, relaxing, exciting, stressful, and tiring. It was interesting to have such a role reversal between me and my parents with me being the totally in charge, all-knowing, translating, decision- and plan-maker. But although that interesting aspect of the week brought a bit of stress to myself at times, it was just such a delight to be with my parents again. i love them dearly and have missed them so much! Just over four months until i see their shining faces again :-) mom and dad, THANKS FOR COMING!!! it was beyond phenomenal. i love you LOVE YOU!!!

a glimpse into my near future....
1. my aunt Cynthia and uncle Bob are moving to Mexico today...yayayay! I will hopefully be seeing them soon...
2. this Friday starts Spring Break...which is 2 weeks long in Mexico! yayayay
3. karen is coming to visit me in two weeks from yesterday... yayayay!
4. i REALLY need to hit it hard with the interviews for my project. they've been going well, but it's about to get to crunch time. hopefully i find the time to get everything done!

hope you are all well.
hasta la proxima.....

(p.s. i'm waiting on dad to get me the pictures and once i get them i'll put some up from their visit!)

novelties

Monday afternoon I was informed that one of the teachers at the primaria had her molars taken out and was not going to be able to be at school the next day - nor accompany the field trip that was planned for that day. So Lizy asked me if I would be able to take her place. I gladly accepted, excited to finally learn what was inside the awesome looking building on Calle Vincente Guerrero that I have passed countless times during my 6.5 months here.

Tuesday morning I was assigned my group of 5 students that I would be responsible for during our trip. We all piled into one ruta that a dad in the community owns and drives daily. (He told us his job is extremely tiring and monotonous as he drives the same route from 5 am until 10 pm every day of the week.) 5 adults and 23 super excited kids in first and second grade made their way to the Papalote Museum.

Walking through the doors the kids' eyes grew huge and I myself was impressed with what I found there, having no idea what to expect. It was a children's museum, but not at all a "museum" in the general sense of the word. It was all hands-on, super colorful, fun, exciting, learning adventures. Examples of options of things to do were: play a giant piano by walking on it with your feet, play "mindball" like soccer but using your brain waves (whoever relaxes more pushes the ball further towards the other persons' goal), and a bed that had thousands of screws pointing up on it...you laid down, the screws raised you up so you were laying on a bed of screws...kind of freaky, but really awesome!

For many of the students who rarely, if ever, even get out of La Via (the community where La Buena Tierra is located), this day was full of new experiences and fascination. I have to say, the most hilarious experience for me was watching a mother and two kids experience novelties of their own... I was waiting outside the bathrooms for my group to use the facilities, when a mother and two kids walked up to a drinking fountain outside the bathroom. Now, this probably sounds like nothing funny is about to happen to any of you. But in a world where drinking out of la llave (the tap) is extremely dangerous and unhealthy, the concept of a drinking fountain is completely foreign to these people. The woman had no clue how to make the water come out, nor did any of them know where to put their mouths, or how to get the water streaming out to go into and stay in their mouths for them to swallow. I seriously had to consciously stop myself from laughing out loud as I watched their struggle...it is completely understandable why they had difficulties with this high-tech device. I had to remind myself that some things that are like "duh" to me are total novelties to others! After this experience I then had to enter the bathrooms to help my group use the automatic sinks and the paper towel dispensers that require you to wave your hand in front of them to have the towel come out. More novelties i tell you. They could not figure those devices out if their life had depended on it. It was a really interesting experience and a great reminder of the differences between the "world" I come from compared to the world these students live in and know.

We arrived back to school around 1:30, with 5 adults glad the day was over and 23 students totally wiped out and exhausted from an exhilarating day of fun and novelties.