Yesterday was the beginning of the orientations... so we talked about adapting to a foreign culture (well sort of. The lady mostly talked about swears and when they were sometimes accepted, and then she talked about food.) and the point of these sustainable development projects that we are doing. Which are SUPER hands on, by the way.
We went to the new Tec de Monterrey Campus in Cuernavaca, which is pretty cool. Super modern, actually. And there is a pretty garden in the middle of the huge glass structures, which was fun too. We saw many interesting plants and Hector pretended to give a botanical tour while we talked about how these plants would only be able to survive in New Haven if they were kept inside of a fish tank. Saddness.
Once we finished at the tec we had a short tour of downtown Cuernavaca and that was also a good time. The Zocalo was really pleasant and filled with activity. A man who I saw both today and yesterday tried his best to sell me wooden jaguar heads. Yeah, sorry thats not going to happen. We sat outside near Cantiflas' house and drank coffee until we decided that we would return that evening with a group of about 12 people and go to the Salsa club next door. While it is a place known for having far too many foreigners (I can hear Luis tisking me right now), it was the only place that was open on a tuesday night, in the well lit area, that was accessible for a group like ours.
And so we returned. And there was SO MUCH PEOPLE WATCHING TO BE HAD! I was having a field day. It went from extremely talented dancer girl with micro white shoes, a mysterious hip tattoo and bleached blond hair, to her three dancing partners, to the Alabama roommate of one of the people in our group, to groups of American girls clearly getting drunk for the first time. VERY VERY AMUSING. But we did dance, and that made it wonderful. I taught someone from the group how to dance, and then was spun around for a long time by Hector which was super fun. It's awesome when you get to dance with someone who you dont have to teach/lead through it.
Jamila and I came back and went right to sleep, only to wake up feeling super groggy before class today. And the lectures were interesting! Professor Acosta talked about the challenges with working in rural communities and developing a sense of legitimacy with them. All while outlining the fact that los pobres in all definitions make up about 79% of Mexico. Fun fun. The following lecture was about the structure of indigenous communities and the origins of some of their most important traditions. It actually made me really want to take an Anthropology class next term, so that's going to have to happen. They were pretty focused on Morelos and the communities around Cuernavaca, but still super fascinating anyway.
Our afternoon was spent with a tour guide who thought we were 5 year olds with ZERO language skills. Meaning he actually said things like, "OOOK CHICOS! high five! Yo me llllllllllllllaaaaaaammmmmmoooooooo Arturo! Comprenden!? I am called Arturo! Ready!? Cuando yo digo 'UNO DOS TRES' quiere decir que yo quiero tu atencion! Uno dos tres quiere decir ONE TWO THREE! I'm going to quiz you later!" In order to keep a straight face I allowed my hand to twitch out the annoyance. AND IT WAS SO ANNOYING! He was also like, DONT GET LOST! WE NEED TO WALK TOGETHER SO WE DONT GET HIT BY A CAR! I almost felt like running around screaming and throwing a temper tantrum just to follow through with this image he had of us. I didnt, instead I just tried to ignore him as much as possible. I hate it when adults are super condescending like that. It was redeemed by the fact that we saw Diego Rivera murales!
Jamila and I bought some of the brightly colored, cheap paintings that a woman was selling outside of the cathedrals. It was super gorgeous, cant wait to hang these really bright birds in our room. Good stuff. Hector, Jamila and I sat outside drinking Mango smoothies and watching various musicians go by. We were joined a little later on by Jordan, who is coming with us to Hidalgo tomorrow. Now we're back here, thinking about packing for tomorrow since we begin our caravanning tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, I think we are going for the first two weeks to a SUPER rural community. Which means I am very unlikely to have internet and possibly cellphone service. Just FYI. I'm not dead.
So yes, nothing too scandulous for now.
I'm getting more freckles/a tan and it was less intense with the heat today. Let's hope that Hidalgo is awesome tomorrow!
So, I guess you'll hear from me once I've started working!
love.
No comments:
Post a Comment