¡¡¡Día de los Niños!!!

Yes, Mexico celebrates a day for its children. As well as students. I think the day for students is March 24th...anyways, today I went to Julieta´s school to help her with her kindergarten class for their special day. We played lots of games, listened to music, and ate yummy food! Kids are just too cute.

(Some of the ninos trying to eat donuts withou their hands.)

All I do with Dany is laugh. Its gonna be tough without her back home, but I am trying not to think about this for now....Days lately have been filled with children - my students, the neighors, etc. etc. I had a four year old in my English class and she was learning just as quickly as everyone else. So sweet!

(before nap time with Dukee)

This afternoon I went around to distribute my fliers for yoga classes and then went to Estela´s mom´s house to eat green mole and tamales!!! Yummy!


Off to Cuernavaca for a march tomorrow and then a wedding in Cuentepec. Pictures to come!!!

I Heart Mexico!

Another day of pure fun. Time is going to fly and I don´t want it to!!!

I woke up at 8, did yoga, ate breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, watered the plants, did laundry, prepared for my english class, ate lunch, and whoosh - it was 1-30.

Rafael, the taxi driver picked me up and I met Julieta at the market in Emiliano Zapata. I bought cositas for Estela and headed back home. Stopped by the post office on the way and ran into four blond haired, blue eyed missionaries who were all about my age or younger. They spoke Spanish perfectly, and said their mission here was for two years. They asked me if I was interested in hearing what they had to say and I simply said, no, thanks, but thanks anyways....funny....

Anyways, I planned for a super cool English class but the students didn´t show. I think I have two plus more students though....I am going to be giving English classes 6 days a week! EEEk!!!!!

Haha, anyways, so Estela and I were hanging out talking on the couch and out of the blue she said, let´s finish the horno! Horno, or stove, as you people over there know it.

(We are going to make so much bomb bread and pizza in this thing....)

We put glass and sand on the bottom so that it heats faster, and lodo on top of the bricks. I got super dirty and now I think I can make one in the states! The neighbor came over and we went to Estela´s mom´s house for a second, then to buy a cake, and then ate cake with the neighbors!!! We played, talked, hung out, etc. I love life here!!!

(Ninos...)


(Dulce y Leslie....so sweet!)

A Really Good Day

I woke up thinking it would be a lazy day. Wasn´t sure if we had any plans or not, and was not expecting much. Ate breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, watered the plants, layed in the hammock, cleaned up my room. Later I walked outside to find Estela sitting on the hammock and I decided to sit next to her on the ground. She started to talk aboutmy experience, time, and future here. To make an hour conversation short, she explained to me how she really wanted me to focus on myself for the next two months before the Pitzer group comes. As hard as this is for me, I am begining to see how it will benefit me. As Estela said, Jenny, you may never have a time again in your life to dedicate time like this to yourself. We talked a lot about the body, moving energy,and how in two months she would like for me to feel completely free inside. We talked about a lot of activities and exercises for me to do - sun baths with cold water, basketball, hikes, reading, the list goes on and on. It is going to be a busy two months, but I am excited to see how I feel and where I am at by the end of it all. She also expects me to perfect my Spanish. Wheeeeee!!!!!!!....All in all, she wants to make sure my energy and language do not become stagnated and will guide me to a point so that it is not.
At the end of our conversation Delia and Brad arrived with Delia and Estela´s neice Melissa, ready to take us to the posa to swim! We all crammed into the truck and were on our way! The posa was abslutely beautiful and tranquil as always. Just as we got there about 15 bikers also arrived. Melie and I jumped in the posa before the rest of the crew made their way in. We rubbed lodo, mud with clay, all over our bodies and swam around like little fishies! We had a lot of fun together. We took a nap in the sun, I burnt my back, she spent an hour trying to catch a tadpool to take home but never caught one, I took another nap in the shade....A group of drunken Mexicanos were playing guitar and singing, offering me taquilla every five minutes. I sang, BRad sang, Estela sang, we all sang! We ate snacks, fed the dogs, talked with the people, and enjoyed everyone´s company. And turns out that one of the guys singing and playing guitar writes songs for Los Tigres!!!! Crazy....
Anyways, five hours later, we headed out, refreshed by the cold water and a bit hot and bothered at the same time by sunburns and sunkisses.
On the way home we stopped by Melie´s house. It was her brother´s birthday and he had a lot of friends over. We ate cake, food, drank beer, hung out, etc. Another hour later, we were finally headed to Estla´s house, but not for long because as soon as we arrived we remembered that the neighbor´s next door were having a party and we needed to stop by! So off to the neighbor´s we went, more children, more food, more drinks!!! An hour at the party flew by, and we headed yet to another destination - Estela´s sister Ana´s house. There we spent another hour cuddling wth kittens, miniature turtls, and little children. Melie was making Ana´s children laugh, laugh, and laugh. So much fun! Nine o´clock came and went, and it was time to drop Melie back off at home, as she had school in the morning.
By the time we got back to Estela´s it was ten. We ate a snack of mangoes, cheese, and crackers, drank our tea, talked, and off to bed we went!
Whew! What a day....more to come soon!

Not Sure....

Tides are changing...Kyle is going back to the states. Estela is back. Bills are being passed in Arizona that make me feel sick to my stomach. I am going to be a Senior and graduate Pitzer College. I want to work with children. I want to run, hide, go on adventures. Sing, Scream. Cry. The world is full of so much and taking us in so many directions. I can´t imagine 20 years from now, let alone 100. I do not fear the future, nor do I wonder, but only hope. Hope that my children, and children´s children can grow up in beautiful community spaces and learn how to create these spaces to share with others. I am not sure how I feel right now. Sad, happy, blessed, pensive...I am one. We are all one. There are so many one´s. Not sure where my mind is taking me right now, but its flying. Running, twisting, turning. I just met someone who wants to hitch-hike to Guatemala. Maybe I can go with her!!!! We will see...

April 23rd. Blessed.

My baby neice was born into this world today. I feel blessed for life and blessed to have such a beautiful soul enter into this world, into my family.

All is well here. Really well. I feel good, strong, and happy. Days flying by....

Gracias a todos y todas.

Sounds

Not sure why I am titling this blog ´Sounds,´ but here goes...

I had the whole day to myself today. Estela is still in the states and Dany went to spend the day with her family. It was the first time in a long time, maybe even this whole trip, that I have actually had a full day to myself.

I spent the first half of the day working in the garden. What I thought would be a simple project of weeding became a huge project that entailed weeding, raking, weeding, raking, rearranging plants, cleaning up garbage, etc. etc. All I can say is that I did a lot but there is still a lot that needs to be done. Phew!

When I finally stopped, I realized I still had the afternoon ahead of me and decided to head into Cuernavaca. Went to the bank, stopped by a bookstore, walked through the Zocalo, bought un agua de coco, sat under a tree to listen to a violinist and guitarist but felt creeped out by creepy guys staring at me, and decided to walk to the other side of the Zocalo.

And low and behold, what did I find, but music! And dancing music! Not salsa, or cumbia, but similar, with a more ballroom type beat. I am not sure what you call this type of dance, but all I can say is that it was the hour of old folk. All dressed up in their best attire to dance! And dance they did! There were at least 20 couples dancing and another 30 watching....I must have sat there for about an hour with the silliest grin on my face! It was so sweet! Where in public, do we see our elderlies fully enjoying themselves and life? I totally respected their space and enjoyed my time in it.

Heading to the bus station, I was bombarded with more music! A mini orquestra up top a little cabana like structure in the middle of the zocalo! Playing classical music....What fun!

I finally made it back to the bus stop, hopped on the bus and was headed back to little Azteca.

Upon arrival I made myself the most delicious pasta with home made pasta sauce using basil and rosemary from outside. Oh, and with my homemade bread, of course....I really do need to open up some sort of cafe one day in my life, I have decided....

Enough for now. I am going to read and sleep. Spanish class tomorrow, english class, hopefully go dancing and then the weekend will have begun!!!

Some things are just worth it...

I had just woken up from a deep, deep, two hour nap. I had spent the whole day in Tepotz. and was exhausted. I was groggy, sleepy, and sweaty. I walked over to Kyle´s house and Delia asked me if I wanted to go swimming. Well, of course!!! Oh, but I do not have any money, she says...can you pitch in for gas? Yes, I can, but I wish we could split it, I thought to myself...ni modo...anways, ten minutes later we were on the road and four dollas of gas later, at the same freshwater spring I went to yesterday! There was absolutely no one there, the sun was setting, and the water was perfect!
As we were leaving, Delia offered to give a ride home to one of the owner´s of the spring. Lucky for us, he acceped, and I got to see the pueblo of Emilio Zapata, famous for its haciendas! And the haciendas still exist!!! They are falling apart, but are there! In need of restoration too, I might say, but are beautiful and took me back in time a bit. Speking of back in time, this owner of the spring´s father was a general of one of the hacienda´s way back when and he, the owne, still lives in a quaint little room, or oficina, of one! The walls were litraly falling apart, but nevertheless, told a story, many stories indeed, and I have ganas, as you would say here, to return and spend lots,and I mean LOTS of time with this man. He knows a TON and has the potential to open up my reality about the history of this state! Exciting!!!
So, yes four bucks was a pain in the butt for a five minutecar ride, but relatively, and in the end, totally worth it!!!

Pictures to come soon!

Freshwater pools and Poverty..

This morning Magda, one of Estela´s sisters, took us to a fresh spring-water pool. It was absolutely gorgeous, clean, and full of beautiful fish! I could have stayed there all day long,the spring was surrounded by big shady trees and the water was the perfect temperature! I want to be there every day! Unfortunately, it is privately owned, but lucky for me Madga and Estela know the owners!!! I didn´t have my camera with me but pictures to come...

What else....while Delia was making bread I was outside talking with David, one of Estela´s brothers. I am not sure how the conversation started, but he started talking about Dany´s family´s land. What land, I asked....People here own land collectively, he explained to me, and her family is on some of it. Her family may seem poor, he said, but they are rich. Very rich. They own land, tienen tierrra, and this, my friend, is worth more than anything...Wealth and poverty can be SO relevant...Tis in the eye of the beholder, my friend, the eye of the beholder...more to come later...

Vecinos y Albercas...

It´s hot here....really, really hot. I set up this little pool so that the neighbors could come and enjoy it, and enjoy it they did! In the picture is Andrea, Dylan, and Jorge, all siblings, whom absolutely LOVE to come over and hang out....whether it is to swing in the hammock, eat food, or run around like maniacs outside...it´s always fun to have them around and they teach me a lot...They are such characters, if it isn´t already obvious through this picture....

Cuentepec Otra Vez...

Yes, Cuentepec otra vez indeed! Every time it is such a journey...I was there for five days this time, part of which included Semana Santa. On Friday there was a huge procession of the villagers gathered to march through the streets while a group of actors reenacted the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. See below.



The procession lasted at least three hours in the hot sun, and I had viejitos pushing me out of the way like it was there last chance simply in order to run to the front of the procession to put down colored pieces of material for the people to walk on. Throughout the whole procession I was with Dany´s mom, and she was looking out for me like a mother hawk. She always knew exactly where I was, even though there was no way for me to get lost. Talk about genuine caring...If I could define Dany´s family it would probably be just this. They are wonderful, and care not only for themselves and their family members, but for their friends, like myself as well.

I had a lot of epiphanies in Cuentepec...good and bad...The first two days I felt sad, almost sick to my stomach. I began talking with Dany´s sister´s, primarily Ana, who is 18 years old and an aspiring lawyer, about the changes that have taken place in Cuentepec over the past 15-20 years. After asking the simple question, has this community changed much over the past ten years, she didn´t even have to think a second before responding, ooooooh, YES. A lot. How come? I asked...Television is huge, she tells me, people go outside more often....just eight years ago there were still no cars here. There was only one bus that took people to and from here and even before that, people traveled to Temixco, for example, by burros! The culture and traditions are disappearing here, she reassures me....before 99% of the people here spoke Nahuatl, and now less than 50% of the people do. Ten years from now, I asked, what will Cuentepec be like? A city! She exclaimed. Many people want to come here, she continues, as it is calm, pretty and there is fresh air. People have already started to come, she reassures me....

I then began to realize that changes such as these are happening, and have happened all over the world due to forces such as globalization and industrialization, just to name a few.

After talking with Dany, Ana, and another of their sister´s Monica, about these changes I began to realize that these girls do not deny the changes, they simply have accepted them as a fact, and continue to live their lives and preserve their cultures and traditions to the best of their potentials. After telling Dany how I feel sick to my stomach when I think of these rapid changes, she simply responded, no los piensas, meaning, just don´t think about them. I got the message from here that life is simply too shot and significant to dwell upon this to a point of sickness and that we must live our lives, love our families, and move on. Well, not necessarily move on, but I think you get my gist....

Oh gosh, what else....so much to tell! We spent another day at the river, as you can see below, and had a dia de campos, a picnic! We packed tortas de huevos, egg sandwiches, and her sister and her family brought soda and chips!

(The river crew! Minus Dany, who was taking the picture. Monica, me, Angelica, Erica, Cristian, Lourdes, and her husband...)

(Angelica, Monica, y Erica)

(Below - Two adorable boys who happened to be at the river with us...)

Cuentepec is one special place...