A few sights

Caley has been gracious enough to allow me a few minutes on his computer. For you, this means a chance to catch a glimpse of some of the sights I've been fortunate enough to see.

Above is the view of San Cristóbal de las Casas from one of the churches situated on the top of a hill; there were a lot of stairs getting up there...

















This is the pyramid of Tepoztlán; the climax of an hour long ascent up the side of a mountain. I found it quite exciting to stand and imagine what this particular site looked like a couple hundred years ago.

















This is the view from on top of the pyramid, a beautiful sight of the little town of Tepoztlán, nestled in between green mountains.

















Last Wednesday, we headed to a local fair. Every so often, the churches in Mexico celebrate the day of their particular Saint or Virgin. This is marked by the setting up of endless little stalls selling everything from freshly baked bread to pottery to clothing. It was an incredible experience in Mexican culture. Slowly, slowly I am learning how to work my way through large crowds - a skill that is not exactly necessary back home.

My Spanish skills continue to improve. Yesterday I was asked to explain my life philosophy as well as the history and philosophy of both MCC and Mennonites in general. The fact that I could (almost) do so was both encouraging and exhausting.

A plug: to get more pictures and a more complete desciption of Mexican life, including lots of picutres, I encourage everyone to check out Caley's blog - a great writer with a much greater dedication to blogging than myself - http://blogs.mcc.org/salt/caleort/

María tenía un corderito

A week and a half of language school is now over, and I can tell how much my Spanish has improved; three hours of one-on-one tutoring every day will do that for you, I suppose. Other than classes and studying, I've been on a few fieldtrips and a few adventures that have helped me begin to understand the history and culture of the Mexican people. I am living with Sra. Guadalupe, a wonderfully sweet lady who has made my days in Cuernavaca entirely enjoyable.

A rundown of a typical day at Universal:
Breakfast is at 9:00 am, in my opinion, a great time to begin the day. It is always a large breakfast with some version of eggs, beans, and toast. We watch the daily morning shows on tv during breakfast which includes a brief newscast, telenovela (soap opera) gossip, and a few minutes of yoga demonstration (all in Spanish, of course!).

Eventually, after breakfast and other morning activities, I stroll down the street to the school, about a 10 minute walk from my home-stay, where I spend some time catching up on the news and trying to email a few people before class at 11:20. As I mentioned previously, I have three hours of private classes each day. I absolutely love my teachers. So far I have had two different maestras during classes, and have taken excursions with a few others and have found them all to be enthousiastically helpful and kind. The three hours of intense studying has helped me immensely, however by the end of the last hour, my brain is reeling to find even the simplest words and phrases.

After class, I head home for lunch at 2:30. Always amazing, always large, always a great way to relax a bit after class. My host-mom is very patient with my Spanish and during lunch conversation, she listens attentively and helps me out when I'm struggling to be able to tell a story or relate afternoon plans.

Generally, after lunch comes siesta time, apparently a semi-normal activity for people around here. From here on the days tend to vary. Usually, after a short nap and some studying time, Caley (the other Mexico SALTer who is also at language school) and I head to the centro, a place of endless excitement and activity. At the moment, there is a rather large teacher-strike happening, making the roads great for walking and impossible for cars. It is rather exciting.
Dinner is usually around 8:30 or 9:00 and is comprised of a small snack, nothing too heavy, just a little something to tide you over through the night. Sra Guadalupe enjoys the daily telenovelas which we watch pretty much every day during our dinner. It is great Spanish practice for me, although Sra. Guadalupe often has to give me short summaries of what exactly is going on; it is really hard to catch familiar words and phrases when the characters are speaking in excited tones. After dinner, I normally do a bit more studying, and then crash for the night to get a good night sleep before starting fresh again the next day.

A few trips that I've been on so far:
Last Tuesday we had a history lesson at the palace of Cortez, now a museum of the history of Mexico. We went last week during the afternoon with a group from the school and were guided by one of the history professors. There is a large, gorgeous mural painted by Diego Rivera covering one floor's wall. It was a beautiful, tragic depiction of the conquest of the Americas by the Spanish.

Last Saturday was another grand excursion to Tepozlan, a little town about 45 minutes away which has managed to resist much of the commercialization of Cuernavaca and hold true to its indigenous routes. There is a little pyramid on top of one of the mountains of the town, an absolutely fantastic (and highly intense!) hike followed by an equally fantastic view from on top of the pyramid. It took us an hour to ascend and an hour to descend, after which we walked through and admired the old cathedral and convent which are located in the town. It was an incredible experience to walk through genuine buildings which have not been restored or tampered with since they ceased to be used. All together, a beautiful city which holds a few remaining time capsules of a forgotten era.

I had good intentions of posting a few pictures today, however the computer which I am currently using refuses to read my camera, so those will have to wait until another time.

Time for class!

Peace,
Sam