http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Sr--Reina/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Sr Reina en-us Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:44:04 +0000 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:44:04 +0000 OaxacaToday was a travel day. We left Veracruz at 930 a.m. and stopped in Tehuacn The city of water around 100 p.m. There we toured a mineral water bottling plant for the company Peafiel. There was a natural spring underground connected by tunnels. We then had lunch and resumed our trip to Oaxaca. Due to road construction we were delayed for over two hours. By the time we got to our http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-185979.html VeracruzThis morning we went to the fortress of San Juan de Ula in the port of Veracruz. It was an old Spanish command post situated on the port entrance. When it was used it served as a home to presidents military headquarters and prison. Much of the fortress was constructed with coral rock and has bridges that connect different areas. It reminded me of a fortress from 'The Pirates of the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Veracruz/Vera-Cruz/blog-185289.html VeracruzToday was a slower day than usual. After beakfast we headed to the Zempoala's archeological site to see some very interresting ruins. They were not as large as other sites but still great to see. For one reason or another we were not allowed to climb on the ruins as you are in other places. Then we went to Chachalacas beach to walk eat and swim on the beach. Nice to day to reflect http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Veracruz/Vera-Cruz/blog-184910.html L.A. to VeracruzNos fuimos de Xalapa hoy y me senti un poco triste. Xalapa es una ciudad muy bonita con calles empedradas y callejones donde se resaturantes y cafes. Ayer por la noche algunos de nosotros del grupo salimos a comer postre en el centro. Encontramos un local con musica y mucha gente hablando y pasando el tiempo. Me senti muy a gusto y seguro en esta ciudad y me gustaria regresar. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Veracruz/Vera-Cruz/blog-184898.html UntitledThis morning we went to the Universidad Veracruzana to hear two different lectures. The first was by Dr. Rodrguez who presented on ldquoThe Impact of Climate Change in Veracruzrdquo. There were many different aspects presented on the enviornment and how much of a negative effect man has had on the area of Veracruz and the need for conservation. Interestingly most of the research i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Veracruz/Xalapa/blog-184001.html Xalapa from CaliforniaFrom the city of Puebla we headed to Xalapa. Pronounced HALAPA On our way we headed went to a childrens orphanage for boys called IPODERAC. Its a great place which serves street children who are runaways or abonded. There are 60 boys that live there and are sent to school taught independents life skills socializing skills and technical skills. The boys range in a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Veracruz/Xalapa/blog-183688.html PueblaCholulaToday we headed to the Universidad de las Amricas in the city of Cholula. About 30 minutes from Puebla. We first heard a lecture by Dr. Ramirez on lsquoNAFTA and Migration Issuesrsquo. The topic extremely interesting and very complex and really left me with more questions than answers. One interesting note is that NAFTA in Spanish is referred to as TLCAN. We were then give http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Puebla/blog-183685.html PueblaAfter breakfast we left Mexico City and headed to the city of Puebla by bus. Fortunately for my vertigo we are traveling by bus in Mexico instead of airplanes as we did in Canada. The trip to Puebla normally takes two hours but because of road work it took three. We first went to the site of the Cinco de Mayo battle. Now just to clarify May 5th is NOT Mexicorsquos independence http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Puebla/blog-183682.html UntitledUntitledToday was a travel day. We left Vancouver at 1 p.m. and six hours later we arrived in Mexico City. There was turbulance on the flight but it went by quickly. The two people sitting next to me were very funny and told me about places to see while in Mexico. We went straight to our hotel which is Zona Rosa and went to sleep. Hoy fue un dia de viajar. Salimos de Vancouver a la http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Distrito-Federal/Mexico-City/blog-182514.html UntitledAfter breakfast we went to the Vancouver Library to meet with author David Bouchard. He spoke on the importance of being a good reader and on Canadian culture. He was a very engaging speaker and spoke a lot about indigenous people and culture. He himself is a Mtis a person of aborginal and French descent. We then went to Granville market for lunch which is a large farmers market b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-183679.html UntitledBeautiful British Columbia is what the license plates read. And for good reason this place is amazing. Vancouver is surrounded by ocean mountains and trees and the people are all very active and spend a lot of time outside. The population is very racially and ethnically mixed and 30 is Asian. In the morning we went to Dim Sum for brunch at a Chinese restaurant. If you have never http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-182510.html UntitledAfter waking up at 400 a.m. and heading to the airport to catch a 630 a.m. flight we arrived in Fort McMurray. Fort McMurray is a small town in northern Alberta which is the land of the oil sands. In summary this area is the largest oil reserve in the world bigger than Saudia Arabia. This means that a very high percentage of the oil used in the United States is coming from this very http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Fort-McMurray/blog-180596.html UntitledThis morning we went to the Doucette Center at the University of Calgary to meet with professors and teachers to learn about the education system of Alberta and the education program at the university. In Alberta there now seems to be a push towards inquirybased learning. Through this method all subjects are taught through thematic units in which science social studies language arts http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-180285.html UntitledAfter a late night flight from Montreal we arrived in Calgary We headed out in the morning for the Kananski Field Station which is located on the Rocky Mountains. The field station houses special enviornmental education programs for students and teachers which were described to us during a presentation. We met with current teachers studying there during lunch and then we went hiking. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-180283.html UntitledJuly 8th This morning we were fortunate to meet with the author of 'The Hockey Sweater' Roch Carrier. He has not only written some of the most important literature he is quoted on the Canadian 5 dollar bill. He gave a great talk on culture and identity in Canada and joined us for lunch to continue our discussion. After lunch a few of us climbed Mont Real Royal Mountain the mountain http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Montreal/Old-Montreal/blog-180282.html UntitledAfter breakfast we took a tour of Old Montreal where we learned the history of a very and architecture of the city. We then had lunch and headed straight to a meeting with local teachers. The meeting was great and a lot of information was shared about the school systems in Montreal. Since Montreal is in the Province of Quebec the school system is the same as Quebec City with the French http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Montreal/Old-Montreal/blog-180126.html UntitledWell this morning we went on a tour of the Plains of Abraham which was where the British defeated the French in Quebec whereby changing the history of that area forever. It was interesting learning about the military movements and about a war that took 20 minutes. After lunch we headed for Montreal by bus. It was a beautiful drive and we saw a lot of the countryside of the province.Mo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Montreal/Old-Montreal/blog-180122.html UntitledSo I have come to somewhat understand the term Quebecois. Quebecois are the people culture history language food art architecture and much more which make up the province of Quebec. As some have said like the professor who presented to the group today Canada started here in Quebec. And while many may disagree with this statement there is historical fact to support this idea. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Quebec-City/blog-177848.html Quebec CityI woke up this morning at 645 and headed for the airport to fly from Ottawa to Quebec City. The plane I rode in was extremely small and in fact was a propeller plane. After a noisy flight we arrived in Quebec City. We checked into our hotel and then had a guided tour of the city. Quebec City is like a town. The amazing part is I keep thinking I am in France. Everything is writte http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Quebec-City/blog-177410.html UntitledSorry but I have to make this quick. Today I learned about the health care system first hand. Turns out I somehow have vertigo which is some strange thing that makes me feel light headed and dizzy at times. The doctor says that I could have it from 2 to 3 weeks I'm hoping it goes away by tomorrow. Although I missed a tour of the parliament house I still made it to the Fulbright of http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-176994.html