Finally.. Representing Detroit in Mexico.

Our Family Fun day in Chachalacas!

Our ride.. 8 of us.. with coolers and bags.

Lunch was made on the beach.. Avocados...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..and tuna..

Our Futbol team.. The two girls on the right (Gaby and I) won...

And the results.. blood blisters on my toes. Apparently they don't get blood blisters in Mexico because they thought I was crazzzzzzzzzzzy!

My sisters and I.. playing in the water after the game ...in our clothes of course!!!!!!!!!!

Awkwardly trying to hold on for dear life..

My host mom fell off and had to hitch a ride back!

Posing like usual in front of the mar.. Representing Detroit in Mexico.

And now.. It is Cinco de Mayo weekend therefore I don't have school now until Tuesday! Tonight I am eating vegetarian tacos with Eli (my tutor)..Tomorrow I have Yoga and this weekend I am going camping in Villa Rica ¡¡¡¡free of charge!!!! Thankkkkkkkkkk god!..

Beach Party- Mexican style!

On Sunday I went to Chachalacas con la familia!.. I wore my clothes in the water because that is what we do here in Mexico. We went tubing, played soccer, ate and swam!.. Here it is..
Well here's the thing...The pictures keep disappearing on my USB..
So.. here is another essay that I wrote. I know that there is somebody out there reading them...I hope.. So here I am, learning ..yay.

Enemistad- Guadalupe Duenas
La escritora Guadalupe Dueñas era una de las escritoras más importantes en México. Sus obras es muy popular sobre todo el mundo, específicamente en las universidades americanas y europeas. Escribía sobre el campo y la literatura fantástica. Casi todos de sus cuentos contenían algunos personajes animales. Un buen ejemplo de sus cuentos donde encontraba un anímale importante se llama Enemistad. Enemistad significa el tema de su oído por los gatos. El personaje principio tenia un gran oído por los gatos y todo el cuento describía sus experiencias, pensamientos y el término de su vida por causa del oído.
En la primera parte de las historia, Dueñas hablaba sobre la niñez de la personaje y que ocurría durante este tiempo. Explicaba que la persona nunca le gustaban los animales. También nunca tenía los amigos, los vecinos o las muñecas. Esta persona no tenia algo o alguien a compartir sus experiencias cual es un factor muy importante para sobrevivir una vida saludable. Pienso que ella siempre estaba lejos del mundo. Si estas cosas no estaban bastante, ocurrió una tragedia con un perrito que tenia un gran efecto en su vida también. El perrito se le murió en un accidente y ella lo vio. No podía comer por algunas semanas y no podía olvidarlo. Después esta situación ella descollaba su grande oído por los gatos. Su sobrina tenía un gato en su casa cual eventualmente conducía a su locura. Con la combinación de ambas experiencias este personaje tenía problemas por el resto de su vida.
Cuando leí la historia solo podía pensar en cosas psicologías. Para mí la tema mas grande del cuento es la Psicología. Cuando estuve leyendo, me dije “¿Que paso con esta persona? ¡Este bien loco! Gatos son amables y no van a estropean su vida.” Pensaba que el personaje tenía más problemas que el oído por los gatos. Porque estoy un estudiante de Psicología, querría investigar los sentimientos y pensamientos de esta persona más intensiva. Pensaba que ella tenia una fobia que producía una gran obsesión con los gatos o algo como la enfermedad se llama, en ingles, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” PTSD es una enfermedad que ocurrió después un evento muy trágico o traumático que tiene efectos extremos en su vida. Este evento puede atormentar o obsesionar el resto de la vida. A veces este evento es la causa de la muerte. PTSD puedo producir fobias de cosas con relaciones al evento también. Es posible que la tragedia con el perrito fuera el evento que hubiera producido su locura pero estoy segura que tenia una fobia extrema al menos.
Después leí este cuento, yo leí un artículo por Wikipedia sobre la fobia de los gatos. Es verdad que hay una fobia y esta fobia se llama “ Ailurophobia” (en ingles) es muy común en el mundo hoy en día. Se dice que la fobia es un miedo persistente y irracional con el contacto físico a los gatos, como los arañazos y los mordiscos. También es posible que hay relaciones con como los gatos están represando en obras de literatura. Dueñas menciona el escritor Edgar Allan Poe en su cuento. No hablaba sobre las razones mucho pero mostraba que pensaba que los gatos son malos. Edgar Allan Poe escribió sobre un gato sobrenatural. Su cuento se llama The Black Cat o El Gato Negro. Poe decía que los gatos son brujas en las disfraces. En su historia este gato le atormentaba porque el hacia algo ilegal y lo sabia. No podía entender el gato y los pensamientos malos hubieron hecho. Con la manera que Dueñas escribía el cuento, el personaje estaba parecido que el personaje en el cuento de Poe. En Enemistad Dueñas hacia compariciones con los gatos salvajes también a aunque ella había encontrado con los gatos domésticos. Ella usaba las comparaciones a mostrar la magnitud y la seriedad de su oído. Es muy probable que este personaje tuviera una fobia de los gatos.
En la parte final de la historia el principio personaje encontraba la última fuga de los gatos. Durante su vida ella trataba ir a los doctores y otra de las especialistas pero nada podía curarle. Ella iba a un lugar para descansar y decidía a descansar por todo su vida. La muerte sobre una cosa como así es muy triste pero comprensible. Si ella tuviera algo más que el oído de los gatos, no podía vivir con estas cosas. Nadie quiere vivir como así pero lo hace un cuento muy interesante.

"ven a verme!" -1/2 woman 1/2 Lizard

Finally some time to up-date. It’s about time.
Last night I went to the fair. The fair is a normal fair that you would think of when somebody says “Let’s go to the fair,” but it’s Mexican. When I say it like that I mean it like that.. There were freak shows. I missed the rodeo (which was why I went) and the shark tank, but I did see a freak show. Only in Mexico will people pay to see a chicken walking like a penguin or a sheep with 5 legs. Or a dog without a nose or another dog without any hair..Or maybe a two-headed child. Or a ½ woman ½ lizard whose recorded voice repeatedly says “ven a verme” (Come see me) over the loud speaker. The thing is the animals had names and the “tour guide” was a young lady who was petting them and being sweet. I hope that they are treated ok… I am sure they aren’t.. It was really sad. The two headed child was a trick with mirrors which made me feel better. I didn’t actually see the child because it made me sick to think about.. Apparently my friends talked to him and saw that it was fake.. It was 11 pm though and the poor kids probably hadn’t eaten all day..They needed to be in bed. That was only 10 pesos (less than a dollar).. The next one which I refused to take part in was 30 pesos. I can only imagine what was inside. There were also hot-dogs 3 x 15 pesos (less than $1.50)..didn’t partake in that either… Only in Mexico. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a donkey show. If you are unaware of what a donkey show is, keep yourself that way! What else? There were lots and lots and lots of unsafe carnival rides that were crazier than any in the states (I went for a spin on the Bumper Cars). Compared to Berkley Days this place was crazy! It was good start to my adventure weekend. Really warmed me up for the real thing. Six Flags or what we call Seis Banderas here in Mexico all day tomorrow. Yes, there is a Six Flags here and I am sure that it will be just the cultural experience that I had been waiting for.. It’s not really something that I would choose to do in Mexico, but we are going for Shauna’s birthday and I am actually excited. I haven’t been on a rollercoaster in a while and I love them. It should be a fun-filled day. We leave tonight/tomorrow morning at 3 a.m. on the “Six Flags” bus (yes, there is a special bus) directly to the park and the same bus will bring us back to Xalapa late tomorrow night. It’s like the old days when we would go the Cedar Point! Oh the old days.. Who wants to go to Cedar Point this summer??! Anyway, We paid the bus people 445 peso (about 40 dollars) and we get a ride there and back and park tickets! Pretty cheap.. really cheap. SO that should be fun. I wonder what kind of fun carnival food they will have. I will bring peanut butter and jelly.

So what else can I say?

Doing Yoga in Mexico is incredible. I haven’t felt this good about my body/self in a very long time. Cynthia, the instructor, is incredible. She reminds me of cousin Kelly in regards to Yoga and her “story.” She is married to a mexican who she met at a Yoga conference in Tulum (ohhhhh Tulum!), who is the director of one of the International Studies programs. So.. they live here in Mexico and teach Yoga and Salsa dancing. She went to school for Nutrition but is having a hard time figuring that situation out here. We talked about this nerdy website that gives you complete Nutrition profiles of different countries. I actually used in for my presentation the other day and kind of felt smart. Haha! I mean who knew that over 50% of the Mexicans diet is carbohydrates. It’s not like they eat a lot of tortillas or rice.. But anyway,we’ve been talking a lot about it and it has re-lit my firey passion for Nutrition…Some day I will make a decision… There are 2 of us taking classes from her. The other girl is from Oakland, CA and goes to school somewhere near Santa Cruz? I think. We are going to keep in touch, because I go to California sometimes! And I will go there again! We have done some pretty advanced stuff, it’s hard for me, but I love the challenge. After class I get to walk an hour home too.. no joke an hour. I like it though. I get to chill out and relax. It’s a nice walk.

Side note…I hate taking taxis and buses.. I think they are a waste of money (and I always get on the wrong bus) so why not walk? Nothing is rushed, everything is beautiful and it’s safe. Not too mention these hills do an incredible number on the calves.

School is winding down already. It’s weird. These next couple weeks are all about papers and presentations. We have a week break May 1-7 or something and then 2 more weeks of class. I come home on the 25th and I think I am ready, but I know I am not ready, but I think I am..but.. It has gone by way too fast. Waayy too fast. It’s time to get back to the real world…especially when I am about to start doing hippie hair wraps on the streets to make some extra money (they are popular here!). I could probably get 20 pesos for each one…

Good update.I hope it was anticipated.
Side note…I hate taking taxis and buses.. I think they are a waste of money (and I always get on the wrong bus) so why not walk? Nothing is rushed, everything is beautiful and it’s safe. Not too mention these hills do an incredible number on the calves.

School is winding down already. It’s weird. These next couple weeks are all about papers and presentations. We have a week break May 1-7 or something and then 2 more weeks of class. I come home on the 25th and I think I am ready, but I know I am not ready, but I think I am..but.. It has gone by way too fast. Waayy too fast. It’s time to get back to the real world…especially when I am about to start doing hippie hair wraps on the streets to make some extra money (they are popular here!). I could probably get 20 pesos for each one…

Good update. I hope it was anticipated.

By the way, I forgot to introduce my kids.

still here!

I am still here. I have been pretty busy and nothing too exciting has been going on. The weather has been poopy and I have been sleepy!
This past week was full of traveling and visiting, but not a whole lot of excitement to tell stories with!
Mat arrived on Tuesday! I left for Mexico City Tuesday night and spend the early hours of the morning and the afternoon taking a tour of the Basilica de La Virgen de Guadalupe. It was beautiful and the story behind it is pretty incredible. She is the basis of Mexican-Catholism, which is a powerful thing here in Mexico. I will be sure to add that along with pictures real soon! Wednesday afternoon I met up with Mat and his Mexican adventure began. We stayed the night in the city trying to figure out where we were, what we could do and where we could eat then came back to Xalapa. We weren't very succesful. It is very polluted and huge. I kept thinking that we were in the right spot, but we never were... I guess you really do need to know something about the city to have a good time.We spent 2 nights in Xalapa, doing the Xalapa thing and going to Villa Rica. We then went to Veracruz and Boca Del Rio. We spent one night on the beach with an ocean view of a cold windy night and the next night in the Historical Center. The weather definetly could have been better. It was a good visit though. It was very good to see him. He reminded me of the real world that is back at home that I will soon have to return to. I am not so sure if I am ready for that!! We also learned that my Frommer´s 2008 Mexico book is a piece of crap and shouldn't be used!.. I planned the whole trip based on it and it didn't live up to the stars it gave!..

It's hot today, and it's only going to get hotter tomorrow. The 90s is really hot. It's hard to walk back and forth 2 miles twice a day in this heat.. It's time to start taking the bus..which is probably hotter! The busses are crazy.. as you can see. The drivers pimp them out and play their music so loud. They put jesus on the back and dingle berries in the front windows. I sure hope jesus or someone is watching them cuz they drive like maniacs. Their horns are even interesting. Some whistle at you, others so the whole "waah ooo ga" thing. It's kind of an interesting experience, if you are willing to get lost, then willing to walk about the same distance to your destination from a different direction. I do that often. I also get stuck in the seats because their is no leg room. Buses only cost 5 pesos and 3 pesos with a student I.D card. So that is like 30 cents or something ridiculous. Taxis are cheap too and are also pimped out. They cost 20-30 pesos, which is 2 to 3 dollars. When I was in chicago I think it was about 12 dollars to go half the distance. In Detroit, who knows..do we even have taxis? Yes I know that we do...

Horray for public transportation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if anyone wondered....

There really is a university here. Yea, with a campus and everything..

See!

semana santa dos mil ocho has come and gone.

School started up again today. It's a good feeling. These past three weeks have been an incredible amount fun but I haven't accomplished much. I need to have some sort of feeling of responsibility. Last night I met with Elizeth for the first time in two weeks and we walked to el Cerro de Macuiltepetl, which is an old volcanic something or other in the middle of the city. It´s a beautiful walk and when you finally reach the top you can see all of Xalapa. It is almost breathtaking. Of course I forgot my camera, but don't worry, I will return! Afterwards I forced myself to visit that oh-so-foreign WSU website to make sure that things are going as they should. My summer classes are registered for and I am on my way to the finish line! If only somebody can teach me how to use PowerPoint things would be gravy! Afterwards I wrote a paper (and then realized today that I need two more pages!!) and went to bed early.
This morning I woke up early and finally went for a run. I ran to the train tracks then around Los Lagos. I haven't gone running since I've arrived here, but I just kept going. It felt good. The pollution and elevation here definetly does a number on the lungs, but when I get back to the states I will probably feel invincible! Then I went to school. Sat in class, didn't understand a word he said but still felt accomplished when I left! Now I am here trying to complete this paper about a movie that I saw 5 years ago in Spanish...trying to make something up about the social structure in Mexico and how it relates and..well...Bullshitting is difficult in Spanish. I used to be the queen of it back in the states when it came to papers and such.. Believe me, it's tough here..very tough!!!!!!!!!
more later..