La Buena Tierra: EL FIN

Friday, June 25, was my last day at La Buena Tierra. I spent most of it taking pictures of my life. It's funny how when it's the same old same old every day, you don't think to take pictures of it. But I realized that my life had passed me by, and I had one day to document the daily grind of life at La Buena Tierra.

It was a rough day. Goodbyes are not fun. Luckily I am going back to visit and say official goodbyes next week, so I didn't have to say goodbye to many coworkers. But I did have to say goodbye to the entire student body, and the families of the students. It was not fun.

Thursday after school my coworkers had a despedida for me, potluck style. Everyone brought a traditional Mexican dish, and we all hung out and ate together. It even included pay de arroz con leche (rice with milk pie). It was delISH...I'm going to have to get Dad to start making that at Schmucker's!

Friday at the end of the school day the entire kindergarten, elementary school, and all their families gathered to say goodbye to me. They had a prayer for me, then every last one of the 60-some kids came rushing at me to give me a hug. I felt like i was in a mob and was going to be pulled to the ground by those kiddos! I received lots of hugs, lots of cards, many gifts, and lots of love. It was a sad goodbye :(

Here are a few pictures from the last days of school:

The potluck style despedida with my coworkers

David, myself, and Eric Manuel, getting lots of work done :)

Marbella, my life saver, confidant, and nourisher.

David Castro Romero, myself, and Uriel

Fabiola and I - I spent the majority of my year in her classroom.

A few collages from the last days of school, and the reality of my life at Buena Tierra:

Regularizacion...done and done

I have been blessed throughout this past year to be in charge of the intellectual development of 5 specific students. Monday afternoons from 4:30-6 I pound the English language into the flourishing minds of three 13-year olds....Tuesday mornings from 9-11 I make a fourth-grader and a sixth-grader do math problem after math problem after math problem, in addition to writing in-depth research projects on a weekly basis.

Ha. That's a joke. Although the premise of regularizaion (best translated - tutoring) is academics, for me the real purpose is to befriend these students and to walk alongside them in their lives. Through all the frustrations of working with 4-year olds on a daily basis, these five students have brought laughter, perspective, and entertainment to my "work" life.

The truth? Yes, I do "teach" English on Mondays, and I do "teach" math and spanish on Tuesdays, but the reality is:

On Mondays I spend the first half hour of my time with the 13 year olds just hanging out...talking about life, love, and other mysteries. Then for about an hour we work on English, as they have just begun taking English classes this year. These three students, though at times a handful (like any junior-high age kids would be), have refreshed my life. I highly doubt they have learned much English from me, but we have had some good times together. And they remind me weekly how much I enjoy working with that age group.

On Tuesdays, I spend about an hour with a brother and sister who used to attend La Buena Tierra but who have since graduated and are now attending the regular/public/government schools. These two kids are so bright, and I am so sad that their schooling doesn't do more to stretch them. Hopefully our time together on Tuesday mornings has expanded their minds and encouraged their critical thinking skills more than their daily school does. (For example, the boy didn't go to school for about 2 weeks last month simply because his teacher was sick.) They are delightful children, always bringing laughter and crazy imaginations to our time together.

Brenda, myself, and Oscar

hard hard at work

Yesterday, for our last "class," we went to see Toy Story 3. Good times, great movie.

4 links and one month

A few weeks back, in a moment of frustration with school/work, i made a chain of links of paper, one for each day of school that remained. Everyday, upon arriving home from school, I take one link off the chain and throw it away. The thing has gone from long to tiny! There are only 4 links left! I cannot believe Friday is my last day at La Buena Tierra. It's been interesting, to say the least, and I am frankly ready, like every other school year of my life (whether student or teacher) for the school year to be over. Even more-so this year since the year goes so late into the summer!

Today is June 21. That means in exactly one month from today I will be setting foot on U.S. ground. I cannot even believe it. This thought creates such a mix of emotions in me...I am seriously stoked knowing soon i will be seeing so many friends and family, eating schmucker's strawberry pie, (hopefully) going to baseball games, and just being in the comforts of home. But on the other hand, i am SO not ready to leave Mexico. I have already started a listed of things I am going to miss, and it is getting slowly but surely very long. I love it here. And although I'm excited to be going home, I am also very sad to be leaving. But the next month should be full of fun, including a trip to Honduras, so I have lots to look forward to. But see you all in a month!

puebla!

Friday evening Elizabeth and I hopped a bus to Puebla, a city of 1.9 million people located about 2 hours east of Mexico City. After a first impression that, well, failed to impress, we found our way to the city center, which quickly changed our original perceptions. Filled with walking streets, beautiful architecture, and cute cafes, Puebla quickly joined the list of ¨places in which i would like to live in Mexico.¨ (also included on this list: San Miguel de Allende, San Cristobal de las Casas, Guanajuato, and Mexico City)

The city of Puebla boasts Spanish architecture, 70 churches, and the famous azulejos (painted ceramic tiles). It is also the location of the famous cinco de mayo battle that occurred in 1862 against the French invasion of Mexico. The zócalo, originally a marketplace where bullfights, theater and hangings occurred, is now a beautiful huge aboretum-like area, surrounded on three sides by street cafes and on the fourth side by the cathedral that is found on the 500 peso bill. The city claims to be home of two very famous Mexican dishes: mole poblano and chiles en nogado.

We spent our short time in Puebla wandering about looking at the beautiful architecture, eating at cute cafes and enjoying the traditional dishes of Puebla, shopping at the antique market and the artisan market, and listening to the constant music available at various locations. I´ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

The Fonda where we at lunch - i was totally digging the atmosphere and typical Mexican decorations. And our waitress was a gem :-)

The two traditional dishes of Puebla

On the left: chiles en nogadas (poblano chiles filled with a mixture of meat, fruit, and nuts, and covered with a sweet, nutty cream sauce...mmm!)

On the right: mole poblano (a sweet/spicy sauce that boasts chocolate and hot peppers...this specific dish was enchiladas de mole)...for the record, I don´t like mole. But I always try it!

the REAL reason I liked Puebla: around the zócalo I found more than 6 Italian Coffee Companies.... when asked why there were so many in such a small area, one manager told me ¨the people just like it.¨ i totally understand!

typical artisan handicrats of Puebla

The beautiful architecture found around Puebla: buildings covered in tile

What I want - Who needs a ¨good china¨ set when you can have this beautiful set!!! I want it! Only 1,000 US dollars for ALL you see here...seriously a deal. It´s all hand painted! and seriously beautiful.

The cathedral.

The zócalo...a huge square filled with trees, and surrounded by pretty buildings and tasty cafes with outdoor seating to take it all in.

Futbol Fever

3:15 pm today - fireworks are going off in my neighborhood.

Mexico has just beat France 2-0 in its second game of the World Cup.
We are now tied with Uruguay in our group - 4 points each.
We'll see on Tuesday how things turn out head-to-head!

For those of you who know me well, a blog about soccer is probably the last thing you would ever have expected out of me. But like with a million other things this year, I have learned to appreciate, perhaps even enjoy, some extremely cultural things that I wouldn't necessarily get into if I was in the States! One of those, this year, is soccer.

Saturday morning (lucky as I was to be in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas), I managed to make it to a coffee shop by about 9 am, just as the festivities were getting going in South Africa. Lucky us here in Mexico, we got to play the opener against the host country of South Africa! It was exciting to watch the game in a little coffee shop with bunches of other fans (below is a picture of the place i watched it in.) Miraculously, we tied (i think that was a victory for us)!
Today I watched the game against France in my house with some of the extended family. Although I missed the first half because of a meeting at school, I missed none of the excitement. I got to see both goals in the second half.

Here is my rocking team: "Ponte el verde!" (jason and dad, you'd better be wearing your jerseys i sent you these days!)-->

It's fun to be in a country where futbol is the ONLY sport (anyone cares about at least) during the World Cup. I can promise, in the last week I have watched more soccer on television than I have in total in my life before. I'm a changed person :) ha. I hope you all are enjoying the games too!

san cristobal de las casas

This past weekend I checked off yet another thing on my "TO DO" list: return to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. I first went there in August for an MCC Mexico reunion, and basically loved it. Ever since, I have been hoping to get back there before returning to the U.S. And since an MCC family who has lived there the past 4 years was leaving, I took this past weekend to go say goodbye to them and to enjoy the beauty, fabrics, history, and europeans of San Cristobal.

After my first trip to San Cristobal I became somewhat fascinated by the Zapatista uprising that happened there and in the surrounding areas in 1994. I recently read The Zapatista Reader which gave some great context to the uprising. Although I can't say I agree with some of their means, I definitely agree with their "end" - equality for the indigenous population. They fought against neoliberalism and globalization. One of their slogans: "a world where all worlds fit" is something that resonates strongly with me. Click the first link about if you want more information on them. I enjoyed browsing and purchasing a wide variety of Zapatista goods :)

I enjoyed the ambiance of San Cristobal that is filled with indigenous women with babies strapped to them with rebosos selling textiles. The area is known for Amber, so shopping there is filled with jewelry and beautiful textiles. I spent a LONG time in the market. I also really like the european-young adult-hippyish scene that SCdlC has going on. It is definitely a tourist location...I was entertained by trying to guess where all the non-Mexicans were from.

Anyways, I love San Cristobal. It was a short but sweet little trip, and I'm glad I finally got there again before leaving.

the beauty of the textiles in the artisan market

the walking street lined with cute shops and filled with women and children selling everything from chicle to rebosos

my favorite chairs ever - if anyone wanted to make me a set for when i got back to the states, that would be great. thanks.

the central square and main cathedral in San Cristobal

adventures in mexico city

This past weekend my Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Bob stopped by Mexico City. We had some grand adventures. Here are pictures of our times on Saturday.

Diego Rivera´s studio in San Angel. The blue house is where Frida lived, and the other side is where Diego lived - connected by a bridge at the top.

The Bazaar Sábado in San Angel. The park was filled with paintings (which is where I got my painting from when my parents were here). Cynthia insisted I get a picture with the painter, and it was even more entertaining given everyone´s leopard-print-like shirts :) The market also had a huge musical instrument section that Bob spent a good half hour at.

Frida Kahlo´s house in Coyoacán: The Blue House on Calle Londres.

Hanging out in the great neighborhood of Coyoacán in the evening.

Hopefully soon I´ll be able to post about our adventures on Sunday at Xochimilco (the party boats on the canals of Mexico City), and Bob and Cynthia´s visit to my homeland of Cuernavaca that Monday. Stay tuned!

agape

welp, i got a tattoo.
it was quite an experience.

I was accompanied on my adventure to Dermafilia in my favorite neighborhood in Mexico City - Coyoacan, by my lovely aunt cynthia and uncle bob who happened to be in town this past weekend. In the midst of visiting all the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo places there are to see between the neighborhoods of San Angel and Coyoacan, we made a stop off at a little tattoo parlor that, don't worry, had been highly recommended to me. After some arguments with the tattoo dudes, and a few rolls of the eyes (on their part) i agreed to finally check off another thing from my "TO DO" list - get a tattoo!

I would like to take this space to officially thank both my aunt and uncle for the support they gave me - on several levels! Thanks Cynthia, for encouraging me to do it (even if your sister disowns you!), and for lending me your hands for my squeezing necessities during the pain! Thank you Bob, for asking the important questions prior to the tattoo, making sure i was sure i wanted to do it, and for being the official photographer of the event :) Les agradezco mucho!

Throughout this past year, a certain Bible verse has continually made itself known to me in various ways. And I realized that it was this verse that I wanted to permanently etch into my skin...
from Colossians 3:
¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

So, many months ago I realized I wanted to somehow turn this idea of "over all these virtues put on love" into a tattoo. However, I hate the english language for several reasons - one of which is that the word "love" is used to refer to SO many different ways of loving (sibling love, sensual love, friendship love, etc. etc.). But the kind of love that I believe this verse is talking about is best defined by the Greek word "agape." Agape is, en pocas palabras, God's love. Check out this link for a more in-depth description of agape. Jes Buller gave me the great idea of somehow using the word agape to draw a person...so the idea of my tattoo is this: it looks like a person, that is made out of the word agape. So the essence is, the person is dressed in, or more-so made of, agape.

I love it :)

Making TAMALES

My "TO DO this year in Mexico" list includes a myriad of goals, one of which is learning how to cook Mexican food. Throughout my year, my host family has been teaching me how to cook classic Mexican dishes. As I scribble furiously on a pad of paper and take picture after picture "documenting the moments" of each recipe, I feel that in learning the tricks of the trade of this delicious cuisine, I am learning so much about the culture and people of Mexico. In the past ten months I have collected TONS of recipes, which I have been compiling into a cookbook/recipe book. As I am nearing the end of my time here in Cuernavaca, I realized recently I was lacking one very important and traditional dish in my cookbook: tamales.

So, I told my family I needed to learn, and they talked to someone talked who talked to someone who knew someone who talked to someone....and we found someone who makes tamales for a living to teach me to how to make them.

It was quite an endeavor. The overall process was pretty simple, but as I watched this old Mexican woman kneading the dough for what seemed like an eternity, claiming that this was the most crucial part of the whole process, I wondered if I would have the patience and/or arm strength to get the job done! I also wondered, after watching her dump a pound of manteca(lard) into the dough, if I really wanted to eat these things.

It was a disappointment to hear that I wasn't allowed to touch the dough...apparently if anyone besides the person who started working it touches it, the tamales won't turn out. (Also, if you're pregnant you'd better not even be in the HOUSE when someone's making tamales, or bread for that matter. Apparently yeast doesn't like to work when pregnant women are around.) So instead of a "hands-on" learning experience, it was more of a "sit and watch and feel terrible you aren't helping this nice little lady who is doing you such a great favor" experience.

We made tamales verdes, or tamales with green salsa and shredded chicken. Wrapping themasa (dough) and the salsa/chicken mixture into wet corn husks was a time consuming process. Then, as the 20 minutes she claimed they would take to cook turned into 2 hours, and it was then 10:00 at night, I was starting to get hungry! But when they finally came out, I enjoyed a delicious (though very late) dinner of tamales and atole de ciruela (a hot, corn-starchy beverage that is always served with tamales). Buen provecho!

wonder hands working the masa

the ingredients: corn husks, masa, and salsa/chicken mixture

the tamal ready to be wrapped up and put in the steamer

the only tamal i got to make (since i didn´t want to contaminate the batch)

the giant pot `o tamales

finished products: tamales and atole

enjoying the deliciousness

Festival de Nopales

I hate nopales.

My first night in this country, August 15, 2009, we went to a taqueria where I had the best and the worst things that I was to eat during my time here in Mexico. The best - tacos al pastor (just ask my dad). The worst - slimy green cactus nastiness called nopales.

The "nopal" is the green "pad" part of the cactus plant, and its flavor and nutritional/medicinal value is truly enjoyed by Mexicans. I am enthralled watching the little old Mexican women remove the prickly spines from these pads in order to sell them to the masses. Mexicans love nopales. I, on the other hand, do not. But despite my loathing of this extremely common Mexican food, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the "Nopales Festival" in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

The first ever "Festival de Nopales" was held at El Charco del Ingenio, the botanical garden in San Miguel. Along with live entertainment, I found nopales prepared in every way possible: various guisados (stews), pie, salad, cake, shampoo, soap, chips, earrings, salsas, liquor, face cream, juice, tortillas, jelly (just to name a few) ALL made out of nopales. It was quite entertaining to see all the ways nopales could be used. And I DID find something I like - "Pay de nopal" (nopal pie) is very tasty stuff! It doesn't taste a bit like the slimy gross vegetable I had my first night in Mexico.

Enjoy the photos of various "nopal" products and happenings at the festival:

The nopales in their natural setting.

several guisados we all tried: sadly, i was only a fan of one.

my aunt cynthia checking out some nopal jams and such

my uncle bob, myself, and my aunt cynthia at the entrance to the festivities (don't ask about the giant paper dolls)

Bob and Cynthia learning all about the prickly suckers

nopales roasting on an open comal....searing heat grilling at your nose...

These nopales had to have been at least 3 feet in length, and were filled with cheese and goodies and sewn shut to be cooked atop a fire.