EmilyKraemer

Thursday 6/14 and Friday 6/15 We spent Thursday and Friday finishing up plans for the talleres and visiting the schools to present them. Thursday, Sarah and I also visited the schools to talk about coming to do science experiments with the students in class. The teachers were really accommodating and seemed genuinely excited for the experiments. At the end of the day on Friday, we held a meeting with the whole community (well, those who came) to present the talleres and hold sign-ups. There was a mad rush to sign-up and it got a little crazy. Still, I was really happy to see everyone so excited for the talleres. Friday night, we were very tired but wanted to do something fun. We built a campfire in the hotel’s fire pit. We talked and played dominos, and ... read more

Fri 6/08 Friday was the start of our amazing weekend with our friends from Queretaro: the primos (Diego, Arturo, y Suzy) and the other alumnos (Francisco, Sophia, and Juan). They were arriving that night in Pachuca, then we would all leave the next morning to Veracruz together. Also, this was the last day of our class with Aniko in Tec and also of classes in the social incubator! Instead of another class, Aniko took us to la mina (the mine) about 30 min outide the city. Pachuca’s major industry is mining and is so lucrative that actually 30% of the world’s silver comes from Pachuca. The little town near the mine was absolutely picturesque. We walked around a little there and had lunch in a small taco mercado. We had quesadillas per the suggestion of our ... read more

After our amazing weekend in Veracruz, we went back to classes yesterday. In the morning, Aly and I went to the gym. Then, we started the second segment of our class at Tec about Mexico. This part is focused on the economy and government. The teacher is actually from Hungary and speaks six langauges! This makes it easier for me to understand her Spanish. The only thing is that her voice is so soft and high pitched that it's difficult to listen for four hours... Also, we found out that Leslie will not be our tutor anymore. This stinks because we were all beginning to really love Leslie. Last week, we had made friends with a couple from down the street who invited us to come to their house for dinner. The wife, named Martha, was ... read more

This has been such a fun weekend in Veracruz. Saturday morning, we arrived in Jalcomulco, Veracruz and dropped our luggage at the hotel, named Hotel Villa. Sarah, Leslie, and I shared a room. The town was very cute and lunch was awesome! For every meal, we ate in a little restaurant down the street, ran by one guy. He was very creative with the meals, which were all buffet (yay). Then, we left to go zip lining in the forest. We rode in the back of a pick up through the mountainous countryside, filled with mango trees. It was gorgeous. When we got to the base of the trail to the zip lining, we spent some time looking for perfect mangos, which have to be yellow, without openings, and cool to the touch. Leslie LOVES mangos ... read more

This is the first time that I have been able to write in my blog since last Sunday! I have needed all my time at night to make my lesson plans for class. We start every day with class on Mexican history and culture from 9am-1pm. Then we eat lunch and plan for class from 1-3:30. Our math classes are from 4-5:30, and English classes from 5:30-7. We leave the social incubator by 7:30 and eat dinner and shower at the residencias. By 9, we’re working on our plans for the next day. I will try to summarized the past week as well as I can, but there is no way I can do justice to the exciting, inspiring, and completely new experiences I have had working in Tec’s social incubator. Monday began with a quick ... read more

Leslie and José Luís picked us up today at 9am and we went to the pyramids of Teotihuacán. We explored the foundations of demolished pyramids and climbed those that are still intact. The first we climbed is called the pyramid of the moon and is at one end of the central walkway, called the avenue of the dead. At the other end is the pyramid of the sun. From the top of the pyramid of the sun, we could see the ruins of the ancient city below and around us. The zapotec people lived, worshiped, and did business in the pyramids. We also visited the museum that had artifacts found in the pyramids and gave information about the zapotec people. Then, we drove to a town on the outside of Mexico City called Cuyoacan. It was ... read more

Louis were supposed to go running this morning with Aly, but neither of us woke up. I guess I will just wait until we have access to the Tec campus gym to start working out. Leslie and Arturo picked us up at 9 am, and we drove to Mexico City. The other students from Tec couldn't come today, so it was just Louis, Sarah, Aly, and me until the new student from MIT arrived, whose name is Carol. When we got to Mexico City, we first went to the nationa anthropological museum. It was huge! There are many different rooms, each with a different focus. We visited a room about the evolution of humans, which had the remains of Lucy. There was a huge room with Aztec relics, including the pierdra del sol, or rock of ... read more

Today was the day of exploring Hidalgo. I definitely needed to see the beautiful parts of the state, because the area where our residencias are are is not very nice. Before Leslie came to pick us up at 9am I tried out the little gym in the residencias. She ran late, so we had time to play a lil b-ball out front. First, we went to a gorgeous outdoor garden called San Miguel Regla. It is an old, old, old Mexican hacienda in the country side. This is where rich plantation owners controlled large areas of land and all the workers on it. Instead of paying the workers, the hacienda owners (or reglas) housed them and built municipal things (churches, post offices, etc.). Today, it is transformed into gardens, a hotel, lakes (where we rowed around ... read more

Today we travelled to the Tec campus in Pachuca, Hidalgo, where we will stay for the next few weeks. Our guide is named Leslie and is very pretty and friendly. We settled into our residencias, which are private dorms associated with Tec Hidalgo. They are very pretty, and Sarah and I will share a room. However, it is a little strange and will take some adjusting because the owners of the residencias are very conservative. Boys and girls stay on separate floors and may not enter each other's rooms. Also, we have a normal curfew of 9pm. If we ask Leslie (text, call, email) we may be able to stay out later, if she agrees with our plans. She will then give us a later curfew and let the dorm keepers know what time to expect ... read more

After the night before, it was a little difficult to wake up this morning. We had to be at Tec at 9 am to go visit the Querétaro social incubator. Once there, we did a little exercise where each pair presented some information from part of the incubator’s website. Ulysses was my partner and we presented about three of the programs that run there. This was a great way for us all to learn more about exactly what a social incubator is. Then, we heard a presentation from a woman who is one of the beginning entrepreneurs that the incubator supports. She is started a pastry business and participates in classes, business model development, and group meetings at the incubator. She was so lively and passionate about the work she has done at the incubator, and ... read more