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Published: August 19th 2007
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Food
Ironically, the only picture I have of food is this pomegranate. And I didn't even eat any. I found this one in the garden attached to the back of my school. There are some big differences between the way I live my life in Mexico and the way I live it in the United States. Some of the differences are cultural, some are by circumstance. Since I am immersed in Mexican culture, I live how the Mexicans live to a certain extent. Of course I get the royal treatment because I am a guest. So it's not 100% accurate. But, for example, I sit at the table for 'la comida' and I eat and eat and eat. Do I think about how many calories something has? NO. Do I worry that I will get fat? YES. Do I let that stop me from eating? No. Because my job is to enjoy the food Marina has prepared. Will I eventually have to say that I'm full? Yes. Will it be before I've eaten more than I want or need? No. It's amazing how much a person will eat if it's sitting there hot and steaming in abundance before them.
And how many times will we say we are going to take a nap after 'la comida'? Countless times. After comida my body starts to droop, my eyes get heavy, my mind gets
Country Church
Here is where I worshiped with my first host family. clouded. It's like clockwork. It's like I've been drugged. The way I eat a meal is one cultural difference that makes my life here so unlike my life in the US.
I can hardly begin to explain the other aspect of the culture that impacts me so deeply. I experienced it before in Panama, so I almost took it for granted when I got to Mexico. The shock had worn off. The awe at how people could live this way did not strike me as hard the second time. But now as I prepare to leave Mexico and return to the culture of the US, I can't help but notice that a change is going to take place.
How can people be so relaxed and so entertained with so little? How can Marina be happy with a kitchen the size of a 1/2 bath? Every time it rains how do they not tire of covering the little courtyard so the bird's cages don't get wet and the water doesn't pool on the tile? Or running up to the terrace to take down the laundry hanging on the line since they don't have a dryer? It's not about making
La Parroquia
Looks just like a postcard doesn't it? Funny thing because it was actually constructed from looking at a postcard image. Let's just say the front looks a lot more picturesque than the back. life easier. It's not about making money so you can have everything at you fingertips. It's about rolling with the punches. It's about needing to do things because they need to be done, which brings a sense of accomplishment. Life here is all about living in the present. You don't really make plans until the last minute. You don't buy in bulk because you don't have that much $ at one time. What you family thinks is more important that what anybody else thinks...
Up until now I have been copying thoughts from my journal from last night. As most of you know, I get a little sentimental and philosophical at times. So that was your dose of deep thoughts for the day. Am I excited about coming home?? You bet!!! I seriously can't wait! But I had to start off with the deep stuff, so you could see that my trip was meaningful. ...I'd also love to talk about all the fast food chains I'm going to eat at when I come home. And how I hope my mom will take pity on me and serve me a few good American meals before I go back to Greenville.
Cupola
This cupola belonged to a church in Queretaro. It was the most ornate of the churches I visited. There is an image of Jesus at the very top that is haunting. It's very faint, so it doesn't show up in the picture. And how I can't wait to see all the people I love most in this world! But none of that is really interesting. 😊
It's raining now, so I don't really want to leave the internet cafe. My eyes are getting a little blurry though. I was going to write about my experiences going to mass, going to the hot springs, and going to the circus. I'm really tired though.
Briefly...I went to mass last month at a little country church and felt very moved by the experience. There's something about kneeling on the floor without any cushions that's humbling. I was also proud that I understood the sermon. The Father talked about prayer and how to rely on God for everything. He was so emotionless though, almost mechanical. I know that the Catholic religion is very ritual, but he seemed devoid of life. Today I also went to mass, but in a big church downtown. It was a little harder to hear and I tried my best to follow along with the bulletin. What has got me flabbergasted is that they only served the wafers, no wine! My family told me that only the priest gets to
Last Day
This was taken at the school in the courtyard. Last day of school, hooray! Actually, more like "booo" because I don't want to stop learning Spanish! drink the wine. I think this congregation is getting cheated somehow. It just doesn't seem right not to drink the blood of Christ, especially when you believe in transubstantiation. (Sorry if I spelled that wrong.) Maybe they don't have enough money for wine? Like I said, I'm flabbergasted.
Going to the hot springs a few weekends ago was really quite a treat. Now that I think about it, the water was a little gross. Let's not think about that. My friends and I kept saying that at least it's hot...so maybe it's killing all the germs?? The place we went was called La Gruta and had a few connected pools and a steamy cave. It was scary swimming down the corridor to the cave. I got a little dizzy but I got out of the water and was fine. My favorite part of the day was eating guacamole on the sundeck and chatting with my friends. I got a tiny bit of a tan. It's really dissapointing how pale I still am. Well my excuse is that I live in the mountains, not near the beach. I'm at 6,000 feet, not sea level. (Of course I'm closer to the
Hot Springs
I don't actually have any pictures of the pool-like hot springs. We spent most of our time on the sundeck anyways. sun up here, but there's nowhere to lay out!)
Lastly, I went to the circus yesterday with my host family. It was a little dinky, but I still loved the acrobats. I got popcorn and they poured hot sauce on it. Some like butter, some like hot sauce. Here, apparently they like it with hot sauce. Why am I not surprised? Another highlight (or low point) was the trained mini poodles that were dyed pink and wearing little costumes. Poor things. They jumped through hoops, stood on their hind legs, and made like a conga line at the end. So much for seeing tigers and lions and bears, oh my! Oh, and they had a camel that they let the little kids come up and feed with a bottle. I was entertained. That's all that matters.
I think that's about all I can write for today. I hope that soon after you read this, you will be calling me, visiting me, and hanging out with me! I'm comin home Saturday!
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Tia Marie
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!
I can't believe that you're coming back in a week! At the beginning of your blog, you're quite poetic and I think you're really on point. I hope you enjoy every minute of your last week there -- which includes continuing to eating everything! :-) See you soon!!