30 de junio - My Substitute Job @ LGO

This morning was probably one of the most interesting experiences of my trip.  I had been asked by one of the teachers to teach English yesterday and I agreed.  Upon arrival to LGO I noticed that the teacher had not arrived.  I was looking for them to check for when they wanted me to teach.  After some time the teacher still had not arrived and never did.  After talking to another teacher I agreed to step in and help teach the class.  Now I don't know if you remember Spanish is not my strong suit nor something that I am proficient enough in to instruct elementary school subjects.  After working out some specifics with another teacher I assumed my position.
I explained to the students that I would be teaching today and that they were going to follow their regular schedule.  I asked one student what subject they do first thing in the morning, they told me mathematics.  PERFECT!  Numbers transcend all languages!  I though that this was going to be easier than I thought.  I asked the children what page they were on and they showed me...at the same time I prayed that it was only number problems...what to my dismay...word problems!! and fractions!! and finding the common denominator!!  Not simple addition or subtraction, multiplication or division...no...WORD PROBLEMS!!  But I knew that I had committed to this assignment and that I was going to see it through so I jumped in head first.
I knew that in order for me to make sense of this I had to have them read it first so that I had time to decipher the Spanish fraction math problems.  A couple times I had the kids read it a couple more times so that I had more time to translate.  Somehow I managed to do it!  It worked through some divine intervention or aligning of the stars or the right phase of the moon cycle.  After about an hour I got through it!
We then went out to physical education and since there was no PE teacher today...I got to teach PE too!  I decided that there was no use in teaching them anything so I had them just divide themselves up and some played soccer while the others played basketball.  Wow!  I forgot how competitive boys get when they play soccer, they disputed every goal and call during the game.  I think that they forgot that I don't speak Spanish very well because they kept coming up to me and speaking a million words a minute.  It's really funny how they still insist on speaking so fast when they know I have no idea what they are saying.  And it is even worse when someone gets hurt or two kids get in a fight because they are all about yelling.

In any event, we finally arrived at the time when I needed to leave and found my way to the principal to let her know that I was leaving and to make sure that there was coverage for the class.  Everything worked out and the principal was very grateful for my efforts.

The morning Zumba class

25 de junio 2010 - Sylvia Romero Contreras y Resplandor

Man!  Cajones isn't even on this sign!!

 The road to Cajones...

Today we ventured back out to Cajones to our community center, Resplandor, for a lecture and literacy demonstration given by Sylvia Romero Contreras.  She explained that Mexico is not an industrialized nation like the United States.  Public schools emerge from the industrialized nations as a way to train and prepare the masses for the working world.  Most of Mexico has not existed this way and their of educating their children has been more of an apprenticeship system in the rural areas with the more industrialized way of educating in the urban areas.  The curriculum for all children comes centrally from Mexico City.  This system is quite difficult as the necessities for education vary from setting to setting.  The type of education that a child in a Mazahua village requires is going to be quite different from the education necessary for a child in Guadalajara as the drive of each family is going to be starkly different.

Sylvia Romero Contreras lecturing to our group.

She also explained that there are not individualized parent/teacher meetings, they are held as large meetings usually under the guise of a family night with the children at the school.  Parents are humiliated and called out for their lack of participation or for their children's misbehavior.  Parents are also called to duty at the school where they may be required to do janitorial work or other duties around the school.  Teachers often reprimand parents for their children's performance in the class and hold the parents responsible for it.  For this reason parents will avoid these situations.

After Sylvia's very informative and interesting lecture, some children and their mothers attended a literacy workshop.  Sylvia gave a literacy pep talk to the mothers about reading to their children and techniques of how they can engage their children in the reading process by changing their voice or their body movement.  It was really exciting to see these mothers taking such interest in their child's literacy in an area that doesn't have a library or many books in the home.

Sylvia demonstrating acting out a story's characters.

A mother from Cajones looking at a book with her daughter.

Jesus and I...straight up G's!

Man...Mexico is H-E-R-MOSO!!

The view of the moonrise from Resplandor...ahhhhh....

24 de junio 2010 - La Comida

Since coming to Guanajuato I have not mentioned much about my meals here. Our house mother, Dona Emma, is a world class chef and runs her kitchen like a well oiled machine. She spent two years at Cordon Bleu school in Paris. She and her husband own three bakeries (panerias) in Gto. called Paneria Internacional and their son, Juan Andreas, is in cooking school.  So the family is very versed in the culinary arts.  Anyways, we have La Comida everyday at around 3pm and it is the cornerstone meal of the day, every meal pales in comparison to it. When Senora Caballero cooks it, it is always a work of art, her presentation is second to none! Having come from the US, I am so used to Tex-Mex food so authentic Mexican food is a completely new experience. I wish I could bring her back to the States with me.
Here in Central Mexico and also in South Mexico most tortillas are corn and not flour. Flour tortillas are more a northern Mexico thing. I had never had a corn tortilla until I came to Mexico and I kinda like them!  Most of the meals start with a soup, most of them have been tomato based, and are served with lime.  If you have never tried tomato based soup with lime, you need to!
When you have tacos or enchiladas, there is no sour cream or "Mexican blend" of cheese.  They are garnished with a queso fresca and a real mild cream and served with red and green salsas which are very watery, not chunky.
Here are some of the examples of her cooking:

Chicken with mole sauce, rice and quesadillas with guacamole...

Chile rellenos with rice and beans...

Beef tenderloin with wild rice and potatoes...

Sopes con pollo y flautas con pollo...

21 de junio 2010 - Cajones y Resplandor

Today I taught a quick English class for my children at LGO as they had their ceremony for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  During the ceremony my sixth grade classes were singing and doing a special presentation for the school.  After they finished the children returned to their classroom where they signed each others papers, like we would sign a yearbook, and they had a visit from their teachers from first and third grade.  Interesting, in this school and I assume at a lot of other schools, they do not change classes each year in primary, they continue with the same group of students for the six years of primary.  So the students all had their school reflection notebooks signed by their teachers they then visited for a little bit and then moved on.

The children signing each other's papers.

A student speaking with his teacher from third grade.

After LGO I ventured to Escuela Mexicana and apparently I was not enrolled in Spanish classes this week because I didn't fill out an evaluation form. It turned out to be a blessing because my friend Angela encouraged me to venture out to Cajones to the community center, Resplandor. We picked up the bus at the Alhondiga, the site of one of the first acts of the Mexican Revolution. The total trip was about 15 miles, but it seemed that we stopped at every single household along the way. Nevertheless, an hour later, we arrived in Cajones. There were some people already there preparing to teach the children once they arrived.

The exterior of Resplandor

I took some pictures of the center and of the people working and then ventured out down a dirt road away from Resplandor.  What a beautiful countryside!  It was so quiet and the sun was shining, yet it was so cool in the shade with the nice breeze blowing.  I relaxed in the shade and enjoyed the peace for a few minutes.  Our program has been so busy and there has never really been time to ourselves, so just the solidarity was nice...

The children started showing up and the center came alive with activities and classes.  There is a small room where parents and children sat and listened to some people reading books.  In the larger room the children were doing an Earthkeepers activity, they were all active in their groups and having a good time!  It is wonderful to see this kind of enthusiasm out of a project like this.  This center has brought so much to this community already and it is exciting to know that there is going to be so much more!

Juliana reading with a mother and child from Cajones.

Sam working with a group of children at Resplandor

After a while Jesus and Valeria showed up and we chatted for a while in the limited abilities of both of us.  I was unable to converse in Mexican Sign Language (LSM) and they were unable to converse with me in American Sign Language.  So we did the best that we could, they taught me a little bit and I taught them a little bit.  They are very pleasant and the community has really embraced them rather than shunning them due to their disability.

Jesus trying to tackle the art of chopsticks...he finally got it!

We departed at around 4:30pm for Guanajuato.  The trip took a lot longer than it did to get there, but luckily it didn't take as long as some other people from our group.  I have heard it taking as much as three hours!

17 de junio 2010 - Mexico Soccer

Today Mexico is playing in the World Cup again!  After LGO and Spanish class today we headed to Champs for the game.  Once we got there, there was a lot of people already there.  We sat down at a table with Memo, our Spanish teacher from the previous week.  You would have thought that Mexico had won another battle of independence when they scored their first goal.  It was so loud in there and there was much celebration after the game I had tinitus.  This wasn't the only time that Mexico scored, we had yet another opportunity to celebrate!

Coral and Memo watching the game

Mexico won!  2-0!  We went out into the street and there was a crowd celebrating on the steps of Teatro Juarez.  People were cheering, sirens were wailing, and flags were waving.  What a great game it was!

A crowd celebrating after the game.

It really is a commentary on the Mexican people to have such a tie to their national pride on this sport.  It is amazing what this does to bringing people together to have a good time and celebrate.  It really is a big difference from the States.

16 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #15 - The forwarded email / The Heimlich Maneuver

Nothing much has occurred in the past couple days.  I have been just trying to catch up on some sleep and feel better.  We haven't had class so it has been nice for the past couple of days to relax.  I went to the doctor today to see if there was anything wrong with me because of my difficulty breathing.  I was quite impressed with myself being able to communicate with the doctor in Spanish given my limited ability.  I realized that I have learned a lot here!  Nevertheless, there was nothing wrong with my lungs or heart, even though I still am having trouble breathing.  450 pesos later, I am just fine!

Rather than share pictures, I thought I would share a little editorial:

I came home and worked on the computer for a little bit and checked my email.  I happened across an email from an individual that will remain anonymous...  The email was a forward (the bane of my existence...so impersonal...I digress).  The title is as followed:  What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America??"  Okay...so I bit...I read it.   I pasted it below, please don't feel like you have to read it, I only copied and pasted it to illustrate some of the utter ignorance that some possess.  If you feel the need to read it great, but you can scroll down to continue to read my response...

THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER:  As I am writing this email, just now, a good friend here sitting at the table started choking...I noticed that they were coughing and turning red, I lept up and asked them to say something...nothing...before I knew it I was administering the Heimlich Maneuver!!  It is so amazing how your instincts kick in, it literally has been 10 years since my last CPR and first aid class...important is that they are okay!!  Salud!!!!

So...Here is the email as it was forwarded:

What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America? 

I, Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, "Mexican Visitor's Lament"- 10/25/07.

I interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver last week.  Hernandez said, "illegal aliens pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes. What Happens to your country's economy if 20 million people go away?"  Hummm, I thought, what would happen, so I did my due diligence, buried my nose as a reporter into the FACTS I found below.

It's a good question it deserves an honest answer. Over 80% of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more vacated America? The answers I found may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grand-kids  would move back 'home', mostly to  Mexico. That would save Coloradans an estimated $2 billion (other experts say $7 billion) annually in taxes that pay for schooling, medical, social-services and incarceration costs. It means 12,000

gang members would vanish out of Denver alone.
Colorado would save more than $20 million in prison costs, and the terror that those 7,300 alien criminals set upon local citizens. Denver Officer Don Young and hundreds of Colorado victims would not have suffered death, accidents, rapes and other crimes by illegals.

Denver Public Schools would not suffer a 67% drop-out/flunk-out rate because of thousands of illegal alien students speaking 41 different languages. At least 200,000 vehicles would vanish from our gridlocked cities in Colorado.  Denver's 4% unemployment rate would vanish as our working poor would gain jobs at a living wage.

In Florida, 1.5 million illegals would return the Sunshine State back to America, the rule of law, and English.

In Chicago, Illinois, 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.

If 20 million illegal aliens returned 'home', the U.S. Economy would return to the rule of law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage. Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn't be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 Billion in IRS income taxes collected annually, and an equal amount for local, state and city coffers.

No more push '1' for Spanish or '2' for English. No more confusion in American schools that now must contend with over 100 languages that degrade the educational system for American kids. Our over-crowded schools would lose more than two million illegal alien kids at a cost of billions in ESL and free breakfasts and lunches.

We would lose 500,000 illegal criminal alien inmates at a cost of more than $1.6 billion annually. That includes 15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs annually would vacate our country.

In cities like L.A., 20,000 members of the '18th Street Gang' would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft from Americans! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!

Losing more than 20 million people would clear up our crowded highways and gridlock. Cleaner air and less drinking and driving American deaths by illegal aliens!

America's economy is drained. Taxpayers are harmed. Employers get rich. Over $80 billion annually wouldn't return to the aliens' home countries by cash transfers. Illegal migrants earned half that money untaxed, which further drains America 's economy which currently suffers an $8.7 trillion debt.
$8.7 trillion debt.
At least 400,000 anchor babies would not be born in our country, costing us $109 billion per year per cycle. At least 86 hospitals in California, Georgia and  Florida would still be operating instead of being bankrupt out of existence because illegals pay nothing via the EMTOLA Act.

Americans wouldn't suffer thousands of TB and hepatitis cases rampant in our country-brought in by illegals unscreened at our borders.

Our cities would see 20 million less people driving, polluting and grid locking our cities. It would also put the 'progressives' on the horns of a dilemma; illegal aliens and their families cause 11% of our greenhouse gases.

Over one million of Mexico's poorest citizens now live inside and along our border from Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California in what the New York Times called, 'colonias' or new neighborhoods. Trouble is, those living areas resemble Bombay and  Calcutta where grinding poverty, filth, diseases, drugs, crimes, no sanitation and worse. They live without sewage, clean water, streets, roads, electricity, or any kind of sanitation.

The New York Times reported them to be America's new 'Third World' inside our own country. Within 20 years, at their current growth rate, they expect 20 million residents of those colonias. (I've seen them personally in Texas and Arizona; it's sickening beyond anything you can imagine.)

By enforcing our laws, we could repatriate them back to Mexico. We should invite 20 million aliens to go home, fix their own countries and/or make a better life in Mexico. We already invite a million people into our country legally more than all other countries combined annually. We cannot and must not allow anarchy at our borders, more anarchy within our borders and growing lawlessness at every level in our nation. It's time to stand up for our country, our culture, our civilization and our way of life.
Interesting Statistics! 

Here are 14 reasons illegal aliens should vacate America, and I hope they are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them:
1. $14 billion to $22 billion dollars are spent each year on welfare to illegal aliens.(that's Billion with a 'B') -http://tinyurl.com/zob77 

2. $2.2 billion dollars are spent each year on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.  http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $7.5 billion dollars are spent each year on Medicaid for illegal aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 billion dollars are spent each year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they still cannot speak a word of English!  http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 

5. $27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.  http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars 'PER DAY' is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. That's $1.2 Billion a year.http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
7. 28% percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens.http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
8. $190 billion dollars are spent each year on illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. - http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 billion dollars per year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
11. During the year 2005, there were 8 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our southern border with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from other terrorist countries. Over 10,000 of those were middle-eastern terrorists.  Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine, crack, Guns, and marijuana crossed into the U.S.from the southern border.  http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, estimates that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period and nbsp; -http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute./.org/publications.php?b=deportation

13. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends.  http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. The dark side of illegal immigration: Nearly one million sex crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in the United States!  http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

 Total cost a whopping $538.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!
 If this doesn't bother YOU, then just delete the message. Otherwise, forward this to everyone YOU know!

The problem with this email is not that it contains or doesn't contain facts, it is the subliminal message it contains.  I am merely going to comment on the utter damage that emails like these do to the American perception of the Mexican people.  It strategically places "percentages" as a way to make you believe that actual data was collected, when in fact it contains so much racist propaganda.  It almost supposes that America would be a better place without Mexican people.  Now I am not for opening our borders as any country has a right to know who is in their country, but I don't feel that this is the goal of the email.  It is a blatant attempt to hit people mentally where they care the most...their pockets...their money, the goal is to incite anger about where their money is going.  

My father once told me a wonderful quote:  "Seek to understand, then be understood".  This has resonated with me only that much more since I have been in Mexico.

Please, as a person who has lived among the wonderful people of Mexico, I urge you to understand the people of Mexico and ask yourself why they risk their lives to cross the border, to not become bankers or lawyers, but to provide for their struggling families back home.

I think I will get off my soap box now... 

13 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #12 - Town of Dolores Hidalgo / Miguel Hidalgo house / La Gruta / Town of San Miguel de Allende

So today we are headed to sightsee and do some swimming in hot springs!

We all piled into a van and headed out to Dolores Hidalgo, the town in which the declaration of independence occurred in 1810. On our way we navigated windy mountain roads no wider than would allow for two small sized cars. Our van was passing oncoming trucks twice it's size...oh and it was very foggy!! We happened to also pass through some falling rocky areas where rocks...no, boulders were still strewn across the road. Then after passing safely through the treacherous mountainous pass we had to stop abruptly for the rancher herding his cattle across the road. I love Mexico!!

We arrived in Dolores Hidalgo and found ourselves at the foot of the steps to the cathedral there. At the top of the steps Hidalgo declared Mexico's independence (Grito de Dolores) from Spainish colonial occupation. He and some others then went from the steps to a building in the same square and took some government workers hostage. This is seen as one of the first acts of the war of independence.

The church of the Hidalgo's famous "Grito de Dolores"

The government building where the hostages were taken

We then moved on to Miguel Hidalgo's house in Dolores Hidalgo (the town Dolores was re-named in his honor). Again we were not allowed to take pictures without a fee, so I snuck a few pictures of the interior. It was a quick tour, not worth what we paid...but neat to see nevertheless.

Exterior of Miguel Hidalgo's house in Dolores Hidalgo

Hidalgo's hip shades

A statue was erected in the square in honor of him and includes the phrase "Sacrificio en Chihuahua", he is definitely revered as a martyr in Mexico. Around the perimeter of the square there are many ice cream vendors that sell some amazing treats. The most unique is the variety of flavors that include avacado, tequila, cervesa, and salsa...I stuck with vanilla...it was fantastic!

Statue of Hidalgo in Dolores Hidalgo

Enjoying non-avacado vanilla ice cream in Dolores Hidalgo

From Dolores Hidalgo we arrived at La Gruta, a hot spring outside the city. It was incredibly wonderful to relax and take a load off in the crystal clear spring water pools. We spent nearly three hours there just hanging out and enjoying some palomas (Squirt soda, lime juice, and tequila in a salt-rimmed glass). We had such a blast!

The hot spring pool where we chilled out

After the La Gruta we made a quick trip to San Miguel de Allende. We only had about 20 minutes in the city which is about the same size as Guanajuato. We were able to see the main square in the city with a very dynamic cathedral, La Parroquia, in it's center. Hopefully we will have a chance to return soon before we leave.

La Parroquia in San Miguel de Allende

We then made the trip back to Guanajuato, it was nice to return after a long day and get a good night's rest before work in the morning.

12 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #11 - Diego Rivera house in Guanajuato / US Soccer / Scorpion in the house

This morning I got to sleep in, it was much needed!

After getting ready we hustled to meet some others at Plaza de la Paz and headed to the Diego Rivera house.  This house, not too far from downtown Guanajuato, is the childhood home of Mexico's beloved painter.  If you have read my other blogs from Mexico City, Rivera was the painter who was married to Frida Kahlo and painted all of the murals in the National Palace and Secretary of Education buildings.

Exterior of the Diego Rivera house

The bottom floor is the only level that I have pictures from as they would not allow pictures taken of his paintings.  The first level just had some furniture and original items from the house.  As we ventured up the house became a large collection of Rivera's paintings and artwork.  I have to say he was quite a versatile artist.  His paintings spanned such a wide variety of styles.  I am definitely a fan!!  I so wish I could share what we saw.  You could literally get right up and put your nose to the canvas and see his brush strokes.  What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

I wanted to take pictures of some of his paintings, we couldn't, so here is his table...

After the visit to Rivera's house we headed to Champs again to catch the US-England soccer match. It was really a good game and the US got lucky with its goal, it just so happens that the goalie for England can't hold onto the ball. I guess a tie is better than a loss, it was a good game nevertheless.

Saturday night was just a restful night, for once, we didn't go out but just stayed in and watched movies. The silence of the tranquility was broken when Marta came in and informed us that there was a scorpion in the drawer in her room. I rushed to my room to get my camera and then assist because I have been dying to see one of these things alive. I had never seen one in the wild. When I got to the room apparently the thing had disappeared so I had to remove articles in the drawer to find him. I finally found him in a table cloth in the drawer. Boy was he fast!! I didn't know they could run so fast!! Anyways, here is a picture of the little bugger...

Escorpión

Tomorrow is going to be a big day, we are heading to San Miguel and to Dolores Hidalgo as well as the hot springs at La Gruta.

11 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #10 - World Cup / Symphonia de Guanajuato

The World Cup begins today!  Mexico is playing South Africa and the children at LGO are ready!

The kids doing their exercises wearing green to support Mexico soccer

After teaching for an hour in Maestro Dany’s class, the children became quite anxious.  Almost immediately after I finished, the children rushed over to the TV to watch the Mexico game.  There is something to be said about the nationalism within Mexico.  They are so proud of their team that they stop school to support their team.

When we arrived at school the children were all either wearing green or wearing Mexico jerseys.  I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to wear our jerseys so I did not wear the Mexico jersey I bought.  But after teaching in Maestro Dany’s class I entered my class and was greeted well.  I asked the class to wait one moment as I took my Mexico jersey out of my bag.  When I unfurled it in front of them, they started cheering.  I asked them if it was okay and they shouted, “YES!”  So I put on the jersey and they cheered.  I took my seat next to some students to watch the game which was a blast!  They had brought snacks and I got to try these puff-style wheel crisps that you put salsa picante.

It quite apparent that everyone in the school was watching because with the cheering and noise level we might well have been in the stadium watching the World Cup.  This was definitely the case when Mexico scored a goal in the game.

We left the school and headed to Champs Sports Bar to watch the rest of the game with our Spanish teacher, Memo.  Right as we got there the game finished up and our Spanish class decided to conduct class at the bar, so we played some vocabulary games with our teacher.  I have to tell you that, here, the world stops for soccer.

Later on we all met at Teatro Principal for Orchetra Symphonia de Universidad de Guanajuato (OSUG), there were about 12 of us who all got dressed up for the occasion.  I couldn't believe it, it was only 40 pesos for the concert ($3.20 American)!  The symphony performed selections from Mozart, Hayden, and Brahms.  They were absolutely wonderful and had this amazing visiting conductor who had to have been like 85 years old.  Anyways, it was kinda cool one of the cellists is Mike the proprietor of Zilch, our favorite hangout, the place I have been raving about the awesome live music.  Then we noticed that the French horn player was the wife of a musician that my friend Angela and I had seen play the previous weekend.  It is very cool how populous Guanajuato is (~200,000 ppl), yet you run into everyone like it is a small town.

Exterior of Teatro Principal

After that we got something to eat and finished the night at Zilch and a salsa bar called El Bar.  I am really enjoying spending time with the people I have met on this trip.  GOOD TIMES WITH GOOD PEOPLE!

By the way Mexico tied South Africa...

div>

10 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #9 - Recycling at LGO / Dr. Ann Graves

We were quite surprised when we arrived at LGO that there was not going to be any dancing/morning exercises this morning.  But what we found was even better, that the school does recycling as a whole.  Kids literally bring in garbage bags full of recyclables and they put them out in the courtyard for collection.  This is done as a community, the parents are even involved.  What a wonderful thing!

The recycling at LGO

I helped my friend Michelle teach Maestra Alejandra's class, which is right next door to my classroom.  If I haven't said it enough, I love teaching English here!  The kids are so wonderful and they want to learn!

Michelle teaching the class

We went out to PE and played some more volleyball after going through some more exercises.  This time I joined the girls team and they really liked that I was helping them out.  We had an absolute blast.

Some of the children from 6th grade "B", my class.

Later on in the day we had class at Escuela Mexicana and enjoyed a lecture by San Diego State's Head of Special Education Dept., Dr. Ann Graves.  She gave a wonderful presentation on Context and Combination for Literacy Development.

Dr. Ann Graves lecturing to our group

9 de junio - Guanajuato Day #8 - Second day teaching English at LGO

So I am absolutely loving teaching English! We arrived at LGO for the morning exercises. I finally got some pictures. I can express how nice it is to see the kids getting the physical exercise that they need at school. There is definitely more emphasis on physical health for the children. They seem more attentive and alert in the classroom after the 20 or so minutes of exercise.

The children at LGO doing their morning exercises.

When they were done one of the teachers, Alejandra, approached Michelle and I about teaching in another classroom, we immediately accepted. The teacher warned us that the classroom was a little tough. When we arrived the teacher Maestro Dany was very welcoming and let us do our thing. The class was a little more distracted and crazier than the others, but they were not misbehaved by any means. They had a good time learning and we had a great time teaching. They seemed quite disappointed when the lesson was over, but they were happy to hear that we would be back. I think I really am enjoying this teaching English thing.

We finished at LGO and headed to Escuela Mexicana for Spanish class. It is getting better, I am definitely happy that I took Spanish as it is really helping to hone my speaking skills from what I have learned just through conversation. I am really not liking conjugation of verbs though.

Waiting for class outside Escuela Mexicana

Later on that afternoon we had class for our Cultural and Linguistic Diversity class. We engaged in a simulation which separated the class into different "classes". Each "class", red, green and blue group, were all treated differently by the instructors and when the simulation was over we discussed how we felt about the simulation. I happened to be in the green group which was the worst treated group. It really made me upset, even though I knew it was an activity, to be treated with such disrespect. Things like that can really open your eyes to how we treat others.

During the simulation, our view of the red (privileged) group

After class we headed upstairs in Escuela Mexicana for salsa class.  It is getting fun, but it certainly makes a tiring end to a long day.  We dance for an hour and Armando works us pretty good.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the longest days of the week for us, we are literally going from 6am until 11pm.  Looking forward to the weekend!

Paty and Juliana doing some salsa dancing before salsa class

8 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #7 - First day teaching English

When the chidlren got to school today they participated in morning excises. You have not lived until you see about 400 children all doing movement and dancing to music. They have one of the best PE teachers I have ever seen. She is ready to go every morning with music and once the children get their backpacks to the classroom they come down and participate. This goes on for about 20 minutes. It is so nice to know that the children's physical health is still considered a part of their school day. Most children have one hour of PE after this as well. I was quite upset, I had brought my camera, but not my card so I don't have any pictures. I will take some tomorrow.

Once we got to the classroom we were out the door and off to PE. The children got an opportunity to play volleyball, they even invited me to join in. I had so much fun as they were cheering for me and yelling "Vamanos señor Chris!" I have to say that the children sincerely looked happy at school.

So I have to say that I was very excited at the notion of teaching English. Unfortunately there was a conflict in my schedule and I wasn't going to be able to teach at the time that she normally teaches her class English. I made a point to speak with her to let her know the situation. She was so happy to accommodate and quickly suggested a solution by letting me teach at 10-11a. I was so happy that Maestra Carmelita was willing to be flexible with her schedule to accommodate me. Being an itinerant teacher in America, the notion that a teacher would be flexible with me was not even a possibility. Maestra Carmelita has been so wonderful and helpful.

So after about 45 minutes it was finally 10am. Time to teach English for the first time in a foreign country in front of 40 children who speak Spanish. "Just jump in!" was what I told myself. No day but today!!!! I introduced myself to the class and explained that my Spanish is very limited and I assume that their English is very limited...so we can help each other, right? They agreed and we proceeded. I gave each child the opportunity to introduce themselves to me in English, they did such a good job!! We then did an activity on the Smart Board on the geography vocabulary that they are learning which included the words: river and jungle, which came out as: "rriber" and "yoonglay". They worked so hard at it and did a wonderful job. They were such a great and respectful class, a credit to Maestra Carmelita! I can't wait to teach again!!

My friend Michelle and I walked down to Escuela Mexicana for Spanish class and stopped for coffee at Cafe Tal...they roast their own coffee! It is so good!! and it is only 8 pesos (64 cents!!!!!!!!). Circle K coffee isn't even that cheap! Spanish class went well, just a lot of conjugation of irregular verbs...what a challenge!

After La Comida we ventured back to Escuela Mexicana for U of A class. We listened to a lecture by Jackie Mackenzie. She dicussed her studies of Mexico and the indigenous people of the country and the challenges that they face. One of the most striking comments she made was that the poorest of poor will sell goat milk just to buy Coca-Cola to put into their child's bottle because people who drink Coca-Cola are seen as a status symbol and it makes them feel important. Another story that struck me pretty hard was that of a person who urged another to not give the indigenous people the good clothing with the tags still on them. This infuriated this person and she said that you must give these people the best because they will wear it with pride because they will take care of it and will pass it down to their family. When they wear it they will leave the tags on it to be proud that no one before them had worn it...only them! Things like that really show you the state of the poor in Mexico.


Dr. Jaqueline Mackenzie lecturing

After class we walked upstairs to Salsa dancing class...This was my first experience dancing salsa. As if walking 6+ miles everyday and tackling "EL hill" wasn't enough. I sure got a workout and boy was it fun! There are about 11 of us taking the class. It started with the basics but transitioned into some pretty difficult steps. If you haven't heard salsa music, it is quite fast, so if you don't have the steps down...GOOD LUCK!

7 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #6 - First day working at Luis Gonzales Obregon

So I got up at 5am this morning cuz that's when my roommate got up and I didn't want to be late as we have to compete for the bathroom. Anyways, I had plenty of time to eat breakfast and wake up. I would later pay for such an early rise. After getting ready me and Angela walked to LGO for our first day of observation. We filed into the office and met the director of the school. She led us into the common area where all of the children were lined up around the perimeter of the courtyard according to class. Every one of the children was wearing a uniform and they looked so professional.

Since I don't know Spanish very well the assembly was difficult to understand. Nevertheless, the whole school is involved in a Monday procession where the national anthem is sung, the salute to the flag is done, and poems and parts of the constitution recited. There is also music with trumpet and drum accompaniment. This, amazingly, lasted almost 45 minutes and is done every Monday morning at 8am. Every class was so well behaved despite the long time that they had to stand at attention. When the assembly was over the children then all filed to their individual classrooms. I arrived at the classroom and sat in a chair to observe the children. The class I observed was a 6th grade classroom led by Maestra Camela Perez with, what I counted minus about 5 empty seats, 32 students. I had an opportunity to observe a writing prompt being done: "What is the most important thing about the quote of the day?" The quote of the day was: "Respect and a positive attitude is important to a good life for you." They then did some group work where they were constantly watched over for their participation, respect for others, good work, and helping out others. After a couple hours of work the children then took recess, which consisted of having a snack and some down time. The children don't eat lunch at school, they wait til the afternoon to eat La Comida. I said goodbye to my teacher who informed me that she wanted me to teach English to her class tomorrow. I am so excited about this possibility. Definitely looking forward to this! Sorry, no pictures of the school assembly, will post some after next Monday's class.

Then me and my friend from Canada, Michelle, walked to Escuela Mexicana where we met Lenore, Kara, and Coral for our beginning Spanish class. Our teacher, Memo, was really great and very helpful even though we just kinda jumped into the world of Spanish. We learned about regular and irregular verbs. Conjugation was never my strong suit, but I am going to do my best!

Michelle and I then walked to University of Guanajuato where we walked around the campus. It is located in a very beautiful building in the downtown area.


Interior of University of Guanajuato

Later after la Comida some of us went to Mega, Guanajuato "Walmart", and had McDonald's. It was nice to have some American food again. On the cab ride home I got some pictures of the tunnels. There are 23 total tunnels in Guanajuato, the longest being 3km (1.8mi).


One of the tunnels at an incredible rate


Another view of the tunnel, it's like the Indiana Jones ride at Universal

5 y 6 de junio 2010 - First Guanajuato weekend

We woke up on Saturday morning to go to Escuela Mexicana which is where we are going to take our extracurricular classes like Spanish, cooking, and salsa dancing. I will not be doing the last one! This place is also where we will be taking our U of A classes, which is the reason we are here in the first place.

The transition to Mexico has been interesting. The water finally got to me...I have been sick all weekend. I guess it is just expected. Many others in my group have also gotten sick, so I don't feel like I am the only one suffering. The altitude is still affecting me. I am so tired still and feel always out of breath. It may just be the pollution mixed with the insane amount of hills. The altitude from Casa Caballeros, where I am staying, to El Jardin is a difference of 300-400 feet (that is like 3 or 4 blue whales according to mi amiga, Angela).

On Saturday night we went to a few different bars looking for a place to dance. A couple places were quite packed but the dancers there were very good. Typically bars will hire professional dancers to come out and dance with patrons. They make it look very easy. After some bar hopping we decided to go to Zilch again. I have to say the bands they have there are absolutely awesome! This particular band was a latin fusion jazz band. I can't tell you how great they were!

I have been speaking a lot of Spanish, granted it is absolutely horrible in grammar and most of the time I forget what I said two seconds prior. I would say 80 percent of the Spanish I am speaking now I have learned since arriving in Mexico one week ago.

On Sunday, I slept in for the first time and lounged around the house. I got some emails done, read a little, watched a movie and then took a siesta just in time to leave the house to catch the Lakers-Celtics game downtown. It was quite an experience trying to watch a game in English with the audio dubbed over with Spanish, so it just sounded quite mumbled the whole game. Anyways, after a long day it was nice to turn in early and be ready for work tomorrow. I start working at Luis Gonzales Obregon and taking class at Escuela Mexicana.

Sorry no pictures this weekend.

4 de junio 2010 - Guanajuato Day #3

Today we ventured out to Cajones to visit the rural school Jaime Torres Bodet. Now, when I say rural, it was approximately 15 minutes of driving down unpaved mostly rocky terrain, I am surprised that we did not need a 4X4. I got an opportunity to chat with a student teacher named Donovan. We had a great conversation about education and learning second language. This school itself had about 4 classrooms and there were three student teachers there.


Donovan and his class at JTB.

After visiting the school we arrived at Resplandor International, a community center erected by volunteers from U of A. The center offers the community a place to gather as well as take classes, and be seen by a doctor. The center is still in process of being finished and will be a great opportunity to do some manual labor while I am here.


The exterior of Resplandor International


The interior of Resplandor International

We then had some extra time before we left, so we were taken to a home in the town where two deaf children live. There we met Jesus and Valencia and their parents. They were such a wonderful nice and inviting family! They were so grateful for the help they received from the participants last year and they are looking forward again to this year.

Later that afternoon after la comida we took a tour of Guanajuato by van. We saw so much! We were able to see Diego Rivera's house where he grew up in Guanajuato not far from the town's center. Our first stop was the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato which is a museum that houses approximately 100 mummies exhumed from the cemeteries in Guanajuato around 1865. The town imposed a burial tax that many could not pay and therefore the bodies were exhumed. To their surprise the bodies were very well preserved...


Close up of one of the mummies of Guanajuato

After the mummies we ventured to a silver mine, which unbeknownst to me Guanajuato was a booming silver town back in the days. We ventured down many stairs deep into the mine that was done under very little light. We had an opportunity to see silver still within the rock.


The long descent into the mine


Raw silver in the rock, it appears white

We then went to a museum of the torture implements of the Spanish Inquisition. Some of the devices were actual artifacts while most were just replicas. Important to note, we had only been paying 30 pesos for each museum which equates to about $2.40 American. Anyways, it was quite chilling and haunting the kind of things that were done to people who had gone against the Bible at that time.


This would ruin your day!

The final stop on our tour of Guanajuato brought us to the outlook which provided a breathtaking view of the city. It is located on a hill at the foot of the statue of El Pípila, a hero of the Mexican Independence, who set the first battle in motion by setting fire to a door at a grain storage building located in Guanajuato, called Alhóndiga de Granaditas. Miguel Hidalgo and three other major leaders of the Mexican Independence were beheaded and their heads hung from the four corners of the building to quell the insurgents. Their remains rested in the Angel of Independence in Mexico City recently on May 30th when they were removed for analysis. Okay, enough didactic ramble...the views from atop this hill were amazing, it afforded a complete panoramic of the city.


Alhóndiga de Granaditas


The statue of El Pípila, hero of the Mexican Independence


The view of downtown Guanajuato at night, under a 10 second exposure. Teatro Juarez and El Jardin can be seen in the bottom right hand corner.

We then decided to have a night on the town and found a great place in El Jardin opposite to the Teatro Juarez atop a restaurant called VanGogh called Zilch. They have amazing live music and great atmosphere. The greatest part about it is that it is free. We just hung out with great conversation and great music and had a great time!


Band playing at Zilch