Viva Mexico

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Hey all,
Welcome back after a short break. A lot has happened since my last entry, so here we go. I have been working 8 hours a week at the Instituto Boulanger. This is not enough to support me here still, but has been a good learning experience and provides a bit of money. The good news, is the Anglo is going to hire me. The bad news is we have to wait for my Visa to come, which takes 30 work days. Meaning I won't start work until around October 20th. The Anglo is a non-profit British language school that pays extremely well, and is located 2 blocks from my house. So, until the 20th I will be teaching at Boulanger and hopefully one other school. I will also be looking to give private lessons.

I have found a pretty good rhythm here and am finally getting used to how things work. Plus my Spanish has come back and is now improving once again. I now have a fridge and a stove in my apartment building so I am able to eat a bit more healthy, rather than the fried food off the street. Wait, no I still eat that. Its really good haha but now I can supplement it with some balanced meals. The owner of my apartment pays a lady to clean every room each week, even though mine is always clean. I also made a deal with the lady to wash dry and fold my clothes each week for $50 pesos, (less than $5). That is the going rate for this type of labor here though.

I have been able to sight see a bit, but mostly right here in Puebla. There has been an international film festival in the Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla (BUAP) wich has been very interesting and the movies cost $10 pesos per student, and I still consider myself a student 😊 One of the best I saw was called Vals Im Bashir a Palestinian film, another good comedy from here in Mexico is Rudy y Cursi (Rude and Cute).

The CIF has also opened an exhibit of photos from their huge photo library. It is called el Nino y el Jugete, the child and the toy.We went for the inauguration which was fun. The exhibit includes photos of children with toys and other props from the 1800s and 1900s. Fairly interesting exhibit overall. I am also working about 10 hours a week with the CIF on the photo Workshop. We are right now finishing up the curriculum to be included which requires a trip to Mexico City to visit a photographer who has done a program similar to this and will probably be one of the guides for our trips. I will be also taking a book making class to get an idea of exactly how the CIF opperates their workshops.

Last weekend I was going to travel to the Mountains to camp for a few days, but it all fell apart when the Anglo asked me to come in Saturday morning for a meeting. Instead I ended up going with a few friends to nearby Cholula for a artisan fair they were having. It was huge, and packed! You could hardly walk in some parts there were so many people. Along with the crafts, there was a smorgasbord of great food. Tacos, chalupas, dried crickets, dried worms, Nopals (cactus), fermented pineapple, Michelada (beer with tomato juice, salsa, salt, lime and of course chile), all sorts of cheese and fruit. All of the vendors are also willing to give you a sample. It was a pretty fun day. I have included some good pictures from it too.

If you are wondering what I do with the rest of my time, I am playing soccer twice a week. The level is pretty low, but the style of play is so different it is hard for me to find a rhythm. I also have to plan for 8 hours of class a week which is usually at least 8 hours of planning. Also, remember everything here is a bit slower, buses, food, submitting papers for the visa, etc. Well I hope I haven't bored you. And sorry for the lateness of this blog. Life has been pretty busy here though, and I don't like to blog without pictures. So thanks for being patient, I think it is worth it.

Thanks for the support guys!
Love
Jake

Oh I almost forogt! Happy Mexican Independence day! Last night I had a good ol fashioned Mexican dinner with Maria's family. Where they served quitlacoche (the fungus), tacos dorados (fried), nopales (cactus), mole, and beer and tequila.

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Photos

The view from my backyard
This is the Volcano Popocatepectl and the picture is a block from my house.

Gustavo
A friend of mine...

A model city
In the Zocalo (center of the city) there is a miniature model of Puebla. I decided to see what kind of fund I could have with it.

Municipal Building
On September 15th thousands gather in front of the municipal building for el grito, the shout. It goes something like this,
iViva la Independencia!
iViva!
iViva la gente!
iVIva!
iViva Mexico!
iViva!

Militarization
In 2006 Felipe Calderon began his war on drugs and began to militarize the country. The results of the war are over 10,000 deaths since 2006 with this year already making its way as the deadliest year and no decrease in traffic.

Photo 6
It is supposed to make you feel safer,right???

On a lighter note
My friend Sandra and Me in the Zocalo

A Wrestling exhibit
This exhibit was pretty fun. To see the difference between wrestling in the US (WWF) and Mexico. Here they have made hundreds of wrestling movies. Most of which include 'El Santo' the most famous Mexican wrestler.

Masks
Completely different day. But related theme. These masks were for sale in the artisan fair. I love the wild colors and faces they use.

Food at the Fair
The smells at the artisan fair reminded me of the state fair, greasy fried food. These are Chile Poblanos and another fruit, whose Name I forgot.

Comments

[Ed Law]

Great Report
Hi Jake, Thanks for keeping us up to date. Sounds like you are making real progress. Keep up the good work-it is a valuable experience. Would love to visit you but are trips to Mexico are finished except I would love to make one more trip to our microcredit project in Navajo. You can look at our web site at Grameendelafrontera.org. It is doing extremely well. Are there any microcredit projects in Puebla? If so would you find out who is operating them. Also thanks for the photos. they really help understanding the culture. Much love, Ed

[Carlie]

I like your hair! ;)

[dad]

Great photos
Hi Jake, You might have a great halloween! I love the masks. Take care of your feet, eyes, teeth, knees, and eat well. I hope your mother forgets to send you a skateboard :)

[Celeste Riley]

Hi Jake
Jake - I am so impressed with what you're doing. I've really been enjoying hearing from you and following your adventure. You're so smart! Stay safe. Love ya, Celeste