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.

a poem ...

Human Family

By Maya Angelou

I note the obvious differences 
in the human family.

Some of us are serious,

some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
 as true profundity,

and others claim they really

live the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones

can confuse, bemuse, delight,

brown and pink and beige and purple,

tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas

and stopped in every land,

I’ve seen the wonders of the world

not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

called Jane and Mary Jane,

but I’ve not seen any two

who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

although their features jibe,

and lovers think quite different thoughts

while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

we weep on England’s moors,

and laugh and moan in Guinea,

and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,

are born and die in Maine.

In minor ways we differ,

in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

trabajo nuevo

In December, Marion (MCC Country Rep) came to visit me and La Buena Tierra. After school, we hopped on a ruta and headed to the zocalo. We picked a place right by the bus stop with phenomenal tortillas made with blue rice to eat. As we were enjoying the delicacies of Mexico, Marion asked me the following two questions: 1. Are you bored at La Buena Tierra? (to which i responded with a fuerte YES!) 2. Do you like history? (to which i also responded YES!) She then told me that Lizy had told her in their meeting about her desire to have a written document about the history of La Buena Tierra. Marion had the brilliant idea to have me work on it (considering the boredom/history questions described me to a T), and decided to talk to Lizy about it once January rolled around.

Well, long story short, Lizy was stoked about it, as was I, and was Marion. So...I wrote up a project proposal and off I went! If anyone wants to read the whole proposal, in spanish that is, let me know and I can send it your way. If not, I will try to give a basic rundown here, so you all know when I am spending my time doing these days!

The objectives of the project are to:
1) explain the history/story of La Buena Tierra, how it got started, how it functions, what it offers, etc.
2) note the changes in the community as a result of the school, and what all the school has accomplished in its ten years of existence, and
3) serve as a model for others who have interest in this type of work and who may want to start a similar school/project elsewhere.

Basically, I am going to be spending the rest of my time here interviewing everyone that is or ever was related to or associated with the school, and writing up a final project with all the information I gather.

I am super excited about this new work. To begin with, I was feeling rather unneeded and purposeless here, and this project has given me not only "things" to do during the day, but also a sense of purpose. I am also happy to be sort of working in the world of academia again - researching, organizing, writing, etc. etc. Call me a dork, but i really enjoy it. I am also really looking forward to getting more into the community of La Via, getting to know the people and their stories better, and learning what life is like for them. I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous to go door to door asking all these people if I can interview them, but I think it is going to be an incredibly humbling and learning-filled experience that will help me better understand so much of what I live every day at La Buena Tierra with the children of that community.

Okay, in classic natalie form, i've rambled enough. I just wanted to give a little glimpse into my new work. Monday starts the interviewing....we'll see how it goes!

my dearest elena marie

Two weeks ago today, I walked away from my dear friend Elena at the Mexico City airport as she passed through the security check on her way back to Kansas. As I walked the trek back to the metro, I thought back about what a phenomenal experience it was to have her visit. More than the things we did, it was just the comfort of having such a good friend by my side that had made those ten days such a blessing.

I thought about the great conversations we had, just sitting around and doing nothing. I realized how much I have truly missed having deep, meaningful discussions with people who value my opinion but stretch me at the same time. I thought about the fact that I had probably laughed more in the last ten days than in the last 3 months combined. I again returned to my thoughts of how silly I was to move so far away from all the people I love and have such deep relationships with. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad I am here and am learning more than words can describe, but at the same time, I sometimes question the logic of leaving behind such phenomenal relationships! I thought about all the fun things that Elena and I had done during her time here, especially those that I might never have done on my own...

We climbed big old aztec pyramids (Teotihuacan)

We explored the Jardin Borda and all its beauty.

We found a great part of town, that included a beautiful waterfall, right here in Cuernavaca!

haha, best memories here i'd say ...
we went to a National Park: Las Lagunas de Zempoala.
It was beautiful!
(Though apparently more dangerous that it appeared...)

and our time at the park included HORSE BACK RIDING up a gorgeous mountain, with trickling brooks and the whole nine yards!

have you noticed a theme of nature yet? good old elena :) here i am rock climbing (i took a wrong route...) up to the top of a mountain in Tepotzlan.

Here we are at the top of the mountain, overlooking the view of the town.

And of course, we enjoyed lots of delicious Mexican food.
Here Elena is enjoying a sope and some agua de jamaica.

We had had a delightful time together, filled with lots of joy and the occasional little brawls that best friends are bound to have :) I loved it all. It was a time filled with lots of nature, great conversation, delicious food, and unbeatable company. I was sad to be leaving my dear Elena at the airport, but had a smile on my face recognizing the blessing it had been to have her here with me.

My wandering mind was quickly shook back into reality when I entered the metro station and saw the THOUSANDS of people trying to cram onto the trains. Luckily, Mexico City has something right, and during peek hours divides metro cars between those for men and those for women and children. I was very grateful for this fact as I spent the next hour with my body smashed up against several women. Luckily, being tall, at least my head is above everyone else and I have the chance to breath, albeit the most polluted air in the world. I arrived safe and sound back at the MCC Office and soon headed off to take care of some things for my Visa.

who knew "rain days" existed

it started raining at about 9 am yesterday. more like a drizzle most of the day yesterday... made me take taxis instead of walking, but other than that, not too bad. but last night it picked it up a notch. i woke up several times to the beauty of the rain, but it was seriously coming down. after a rather stressful day yesterday, i really appreciated the soothing sound of rain to sleep to. but when i got up to go to school this morning, it was POURING. i realized the unfortunate fact that i had no clean socks to wear, so threw on my sandals instead...bad choice. i was FREEZING all day long. okay, by freezing, i don't really mean it, i just mean cold and rainy. i covered my feet with paper towels and my coat to try to stay warm for most of the day...

so, when i came to work in a school in mexico i'll be honest, the following thought did go through my mind - "bummer, no snow days for me this year." little did i know things like "rain days" would exist! we did not have school today. we canceled classes because of the rain. most of the school is outside, minus the classrooms (which themselves leak water through the ceilings). and to have to carry child after child after child to the bathroom in the pouring rain is not exactly fun. the school is right in the middle of La Via (the street/community) and the students from the one side of the Via could hardly even have come if they had wanted to: the "street" was a giant mudhole that was basically impassable. So given all this, the director decided to cancel school for today. The hilarious part is...only three students ever even showed up that we had to turn away! The last time it was rainy only 15 of 45 students came....today only 3. I never knew rain could have such an impact on a school day.

needless to say, when i got home i took a warm shower and take a mug of hot tea. i intend to spend the rest of the day under my covers reading or watching a movie. it shall be delight. (even though i still don't have clean socks to keep me warm...) stay tuned for a blog about the delightful last two weeks with my first visitor!!!