Blogs from Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, North America - page 2

My host mother had to spend the day at a "junta", a teacher's convention more or less, in Xico. This small town, famous for it's waterfalls and lack of things to do, is located about 20 minutes from Xalapa. It's an incredibly beautiful town though. I tagged along for a little three hour walking tour while the teachers convened. ... read more

Hello All, The week has started again and I'm back to lots of reading and writing for classes. But not before some relaxed weekend fun with the family. On Sunday the family went to a very "local" open air market, called mercados, on the outskirts of the city where they like to buy fresh produce. The people of the town close six very large blocks and all the local farmers, craftsmen/women and cooks sell out of tarp-covered stands and backs of pickup trucks. The street is packed with the locals and the smells of cooking tortillas and tamales followed us around to each stand. It was really neat. I bought a couple small figurines woven from dyed corn husks. It was a nice morning before the afternoon showers rolled in, something that has become consistent as ... read more

Hello Friends and Family, I know that I have been out of touch for a couple weeks now. My apologies. School is now in full swing and my work has kept me quite busy. There is lots of reading and comprehension that rob the hours of the day from me. Everything has been going quite well down here in Xalapa. The weather is a little crazy, much like Victoria, with the frequent showers throughout the day but overall quite nice. Many parts of México are receiving incredible amounts of rain which has led to widespread flooding. Each day I thank our cities position way up here in the mountains. So I have had time to take a couple trips in the past few weeks. Over my long weekend for Mexican independence day the family and I ... read more

On a short day trip to Veracruz, we stopped along the way to check out where Hernan Cortez lived during his immobile times in Veracruz (when he wasn't conquering other places). Here are some of the pictures of the ruins of his and other homes in the small village.... read more

First Week of School, Fútbol, and Pan I wake this morning around 9am, pack my bag and walk to my school. The doors are open but the compound is quiet and still with only a few of the staff members, noticed by their black collared EEE polo shirts, pacing the walkways. Today is Friday and the first day of my extended weekend, something I will enjoy every week here at La Escuela para Estudiantes Extranjeros. One full week of school has finished and I’ve become comfortable with the idea of resuming studies here in Xalapa. I attend two classes a day, each an hour and a half in length, the first being my grammar/language class at 10:30am and the second alternates each day between Spanish writing at 6pm and Latin American Cultural Studies at 12:30pm. It’s ... read more