La vida: Life on a Fulbright to México

I'm thinking of doing a Fulbright....

2010-10-30T11:43:00.005-05:00

I've heard that phrase uttered by so many educators, and they usually follow it up with, "but... I'm not sure I'd be selected." Here's the deal, folks: you won't get it if you don't apply for it! And the experience is incredibly worth it. So, if you're thinking about a Fulbright Teacher Exchange, go for it! Take your partner! Take your family! Take your kids! Speaking as someone who grew

P.S.

2009-08-16T12:25:00.007-05:00

The Cycle Continues. I stumbled into the hotel lobby at 3 a.m., exhausted yet oddly alert. I love to travel, even if it is across the country on what has become a grueling 11 (or longer!) hour trip with a long layover in Texas due to thunderstorms. But I am back in D.C., my adolescent home-away-from-home, and the site of where I began my Fulbright adventure last year. How much is the same,

Mexico by the numbers 2008-2009 Fulbright year

2009-07-09T10:12:00.005-05:00

Total students taught: 293Classrooms second semester: 8 Days and hours school was cancelled: 22 days, 17.5 hoursTowns/cities visited: 52Museums visited: 21 (approx.)States visited: 14, plus D.F.Longest continuous bus ride: 15 hoursRuins visited: 11Churches visited: too many to count! Visits with other Fulbrighters: 10 Out-of-country visitors: 8Cooking classes taken: 5Suitcases/backpacks taken (

Tamales

2009-06-17T06:46:00.004-05:00

No, we are not done with school yet! The official date, prolonged because of the flu cancellation, is now July 10th, although I leave July 6th. The last few weeks are becoming packed with despedidas, last visitors to Mexico, our senior's graduation, and of course, a course in tamal-making! Two weekends ago my colleague Lulu and her husband (who we all just call "Médico") invited several of us

Día del maestro/día del estudiante

2009-05-19T11:28:00.006-05:00

Now that the H1Ni epidemic scare is over, we can get back to what life is really about: celebrating teachers! The Day of the Teacher (May 15th this year) is a national holiday here in Mexico, and events range from massive protests in the streets by or against the teacher's union, and get-togethers with fellow teachers. I met up with some friends for breakfast on Friday, and on the following

Life during an epidemic

2009-04-29T09:19:00.003-05:00

To re-cap: since last Friday, Mexican news has been taken over by the swine flu (virus porcino) epidemic. The World Health Organization has also taken the flu seriously, and the outbreak currently is on a level 4 pandemic alert (on a 1-6 scale). Since this version of the swine flu is a pig-carried flu, I've been attentive to news coverage because I work an an agricultural school here in

Virus porcino/Swine flu

2009-04-26T16:52:00.014-05:00

First of all, we're fine! We have our face masks and our vitamins, and all virus-free DF friends are welcome to join us in Cuernavaca. UPDATE: All classes in the country have been cancelled until May 6 in an effort to stem the spread of the flu virus. Also the WHO has raised our pandemic risk level from a 3 to a 4 on their 1-6 scale. My state, Morelos, is one of the 24 states classified as "

Abril is Fulbright placement month...

2009-04-24T09:13:00.004-05:00

...and if you are a teacher looking for information on what life as a Fulbright teacher is like, please feel free to contact me at pippin18@hotmail.com There are a lot of details not in this blog that might be useful to you as you prepare.... y si eres un@ maestr@ buscando información sobre la vida como un@ profesional Fulbright, mándame un correo y con mucho gusto le puedo decir más sobre la

Guerilla gardening

2009-03-26T08:42:00.009-06:00

I like to stay true to my live-off the land roots - minus manual labor of hauling 5 gallon drinking water jugs to the house before we had plumbing and the winter activity of pulling sleds full of frozen clothes, washed in town and brought home to dry. But my other "roots" are in worlds lush with green growing things, like the tomatoes that self-seeded in our compost pile on Saipan, or the huge

Piropos, or what not to pay attention to

2009-03-25T21:09:00.004-06:00

When I lived in Ecuador, piropos were as common as the street dogs are here in Mexico (and just as clean). So common, in fact, that upon my return to the US I felt invisible walking down the street (where was my constant comment brigade?) I had become perhaps too accustomed to the "Hey mamacita"-type comments from boys on the street. But here in Mexico, either I've gotten too old for

2009-02-17T14:18:00.003-06:00

We spent the night in Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico. I was impressed by two things: the cold (I hadn’t brought enough warm clothes) and the botanical gardens, which are in a former covered market. The market's windows have been replaced by an incredible stained glass mural. The plants are varied, well labeled, and include a medicinal section. Nearby is the town of Metepec, which

A new cultural activity: lawn-sweeping

2009-02-17T14:14:00.003-06:00

Although I have heard it said that US lawns all look (too) pristine, I thought our ex-landlady’s request that we sweep the dead blossoms off our lawn was taking “too pristine” to a whole new level. However, sweeping the lawn is not such an abnormal things here, as I’ve observed. Regina was more than happy to participate in a new cultural activity.

The Big Move

2009-01-29T18:40:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday, Regina and I moved from the house we were in on Calle Georgina to a little bungalow in a (gulp!) gated condo community called Torres de Cuernavaca. For those who have visited already, I have good news: we are all of a 3 minute walk from the old house. We have traded the neighbor's "shut up you *&*$*#*$ dog!" for the crowing of a rooster in the morning and small groups of children

Inauguration Day

2009-01-29T18:11:00.007-06:00

It was still very, very dark when we awoke at 5:30 on Tuesday morning, Jan. 20th. Based on our last morning rush-hour experience in D.F., we had vowed to take no chances with the traffic for Inauguration Day. Sure enough, the normal one-hour bus ride into the capital took Heron with with our new president!an extra half-hour, and the metro was a crush

The legend behind the smog

2009-01-11T08:38:00.008-06:00

This weekend with my brother, whose visit so far has also included the pigs and rabbits at my school, we traveled by bus through Cuatla to the town of Amecameca, or "Ameca," to the locals. We visited the local church, ate cecina, rice, beans and enchiladas in the market for lunch (the sausage we also tried brought the pig visit full circle), and strolled around the zócalo to get our bearings.

La noche de los rábanos is not the only thing in Oaxaca

2009-01-03T22:19:00.012-06:00

For Christmas, or la Navidad, we flew to the city of Oaxaca (located in the state of Oaxaca) with some family friends who were willing to satisfy my curiosity about the famous (in my mind) "Noche de los rábanos." The Night of the Radishes has fascinated me every since I read Sandra Benítez's book Night of the Radishes. Hence, the trip to Oaxaca, which besides radishes has beautiful textiles,

The Virgin and the Baby that Wasn't Born in December

2008-12-19T22:50:00.008-06:00

Yeah, I know, what a way to ruin Christmas by pointing out that Jesus really wasn't born in December. But in a country as Catholic as México, nobody is really going to care. Besides, Christmas here lasts almost until the month people think Jesus was born (March). More about February 12th and why you don't want to eat your cake and get Baby Jesus later. The holiday decorations started

T-day in México

2008-11-23T21:27:00.013-06:00

I've invited my whole English department for a little cultural event at my house this Thursday. They are coming after work; I am taking the day to cook. Can't any American cook a turkey? I hope so! Here's a running diary of the experience:Oct 30- See ad on Cuernavaca expat listserv for organic turkeys. Nov. 8 - Decide to buy organic turkey. Email contact, who asks me to pay for half upfront

el 20 de noviembre

2008-11-23T20:54:00.002-06:00

The 20th of November celebrates the beginning of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The ideals of the revolution were based on Zapata and other's beliefs in land rights (land for those who work it) and free education for all. It was recently pointed out to me that every 100 years Mexico has a revolution (the independence movement started in 1810), so watch out travelers in 2010! In my school

Death and the Lady

2008-11-03T17:17:00.013-06:00

The month of August was dedicated in the Aztec tradition to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, "Lady of the Dead." This goddess of death has come to be known as La Catrina in current Día de los muertos tradition, and she is portrayed as a sexy, bony skeleton dressed to kill. Cuernavaca celebrated its 2nd annual La Catrina competition this year, and the Catrinas were quite something. Made out of

Día de los muertos

2008-11-03T16:01:00.010-06:00

Many people in the US are familiar with the "Día de los muertos," term, or Day of the Dead, but I think what is often forgotten is the celebration behind the day. We are so accustomed to death being equated with sorrow, fear, and all that is bad, that to rearrange one's cultural perspective and consider death as part of the journey of life, as did the pre-Hispanic cultures, can be a

Halloween in Mexico

2008-10-26T08:04:00.005-06:00

It was really like any other Halloween party - the devil and his angel girlfriend, a few witches, a Batman, his belly straining against his belt, a princess, and Abe Lincoln (from Salem, OR). What set this party apart was the salsa/duranguense/merenge dancing (the men could really hold their own!), the tickets (70 pesos) to get in, the michealadas (beer with lime juice and salt) and the

Dolores Hidalgo

2008-10-24T14:02:00.005-05:00

Dolores Hidalgo was renamed after the war for independence in honor of the priest who started it all: Miguel Gregorio Antonio Igancio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallega Mondarte Villaseñor (a.k.a. Miguel Hidalgo). The town is a mere hour bus ride from Guanajuato, so on our way back stopped in to see the church and the town where the famous "Grito de Dolores" happened on September 16th, 1810. In the

Guanajuato

2008-10-24T12:26:00.010-05:00

Guanajuato has always been one of my favorite cities. Built in 1546 in a rambling, cobblestoned style reminiscent of Spain's Toledo, it is the capital of the state of Guanajuato. The wealth of the silver mines was transmitted to its beautiful, Baroque-style churches. The city is also famous for the Alhóndiga, a fortress-like granary, that was the site of the first battle for independence in

Cursos

2008-10-06T23:56:00.002-05:00

With a little bit of cooperative learning, use of rubrics, and how to clean the computers mixed into the instruction, our course on the use of the language laboratory software began today. The positives: 1. The software expert knew something about effective teaching methods. 2. We got lots of time to become familiar with the two programs we use, TellMeMore and EduStar.

Jilotepec

2008-10-06T23:44:00.004-05:00

Without knowing exacty where we were headed, Regina and I left Cuernavaca on a 9:30 a.m. Pullman bus. Three buses and five hours later, we pulled into overcast and rainy Jilo, a town of 40,000 (maybe?), where a fellow Fulbrighter, Jen will be teaching during her Fulbright stay. If I had been able to find Jilotepec on the map, I would have realized we were headed north, and minded

I'm doing what??? part II

2008-09-22T21:34:00.006-05:00

Monday morning, 7:30 a.m. The campus is oddly quiet. I find out why: classes have been cancelled, and the primeros (first year prepa students) are taking a beginning-of-the-year diagnostic test while everyone else gets the day off. A chosen few - 13 - of us are going to be in a workshop all day to learn how to run tutorías. I guess the exam prep and oral exams I had planned will have to wait.

¡Viva México!

2008-09-19T19:57:00.003-05:00

El 15 de septiembre is the big night for celebrating Mexican Independence Day. Fortunately for us, it was also the birthday of a colleague, and he took us out to celebrate both occasions. Unfortunately, the teachers on strike have completely taken over the downtown zócalo (more power to them!), so the "grito," or re-enactment of Miguel Hidalgo's yell that began the fight for Independence

Tepotzlán

2008-09-19T19:21:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we went to Tepotzlán, a town known for its sacred energy and a pyramid that has survived over 500 years. The town is beautiful. It's small, surrounded by oddly shaped mountains, and has the best tianguis (market) I've seen yet. It also is known for the wild variety of nieves, or sorbets, you can buy, although they were a bit too icy for my taste. However, the flavors are exotic -

Mug shot, multa

2008-09-19T19:10:00.002-05:00

¡Éxito! I was able to file my paperwork yesterday with the Instituto Migratorio. The only hang-up: I was supposed to have registered with them before the 12th. The multa (fine) is about 450 pesos. "But," I countered, "I was told to come back today." "Who told you that?" the woman with my paperwork asked me. "Er.... the woman who was working here that day. I could have come of

Mug shot

2008-09-11T20:35:00.003-05:00

I wanted to register myself with the Mexican government, I wanted to get my mug shot, fingerprints, house address, and passport details safely filed away in some file cabinet. I really did. Instead, my paperwork was turned away for a number of reasons: 1. They want ALL the pages of my passport copied. Yep, every single one. Same thing for the FM-3 visa I have. 2. The

Feria de Tlaltenango

2008-09-11T20:07:00.007-05:00

The Tlaltenango Festival has come to a close, and the only sign that a full half mile of street was for days a huge, vibrant conglomeration of smells, colors, and people are the freshly trimmed tree branches along the road and the brillant facade of flowers covering the church that sat at the center of the festivities. This year was the 288th year since the miracle sighting of "Nuestra

I'm doing WHAT???

2008-09-09T21:24:00.003-05:00

"Teacher," one of my students said to me as I was walking out to the parking lot to meet my carpool. "Teacher, do we have a meeting today?" "A meeting?" I stopped. It was 1:30, the end of my day on Tuesdays, and I couldn't think of any meetings I had been told about. Which didn't mean much. "You're our asesora. Are we meeting today?" By now I was surrounded by several eager faces

School, Week Three

2008-09-03T22:02:00.004-05:00

Classroom: Some of my students have begun to "sacar las uñas," or bare their teeth, as we might say in English. However, armed with my glare (which needs no translation) and my favorite phrase this week: "We have 6 problems. We have 4 problems. Now we only have one problem," we have managed to get along alright. As usual, there is always one class that gives me the opportunity to run

D.F., home to 23 million

2008-09-01T20:57:00.016-05:00

D.F., or México, as many call it, emerges from the greenery that separates it from Cuernavaca to stretch out in an endless roll of white buildings shrouded in smog. Blue sky peeks through each day, but even at the ground level one can see how the air thickens into a brownish hue. We went into D.F. to get a box of teaching materials I had mailed to myself at the COMEXUS office, and stayed 2

A few lessons learned...

2008-09-01T20:54:00.002-05:00

1. If the woman at the ticket counter says she doesn't have a credit card machine, even though she's looking at you like you're stupid, it may mean that someone else at the same counter with the same company has a machine for credit cards. 2. If someone says the bus passes by a certain street, it may mean just that (not that the bus actually stops)3. Don't stress out about your students missing

God did not come in peace

2008-08-26T21:12:00.005-05:00

The Cortés Palace rises above the Cuernavaca streets with the solid walls of a building that means to stay for awhile. Its varied history goes back to the earliest settlers of the area, the Tlahuicas, whose pyramid was razed by Cortes in 1522 to make room (and provide some building blocks) for his palace. During its lifetime, the building has been a textile factory, a jail, and government

Morelos teachers on strike! (but not my school)

2008-08-26T20:45:00.009-05:00

First of all, the linguist in me wants to know if this is a paro, or a huelga? I've been told by locals that both terms apply to the current situation, and I've been (with equal sincerity) told that this is only a paro, and that it will become a strike if it goes on for much longer. Here in Mexico a paro usually refers to a work stoppage regardless of whether or not the work was paid, while a

Favorite line from a telenovela

2008-08-26T20:33:00.004-05:00

Mother (to teen-age son): From now on, you're going to have to take care of your own clothes, your own room, and there will be no more money from us!Son (with face of shocked anguish): No, no, you can't do that to me!

What does the boob tube tell us about who we are?

2008-08-26T20:24:00.003-05:00

In 13 minutes of TV commercials during the soap opera (telenovela) hour, the commercial breakdown was: Cat food: 1Razors: 1Life insurance: 1Visa card: 2Medicine: 2Feminine products: 3Commercial chains: 2 (Avon, Pizza Hut)Cell phones: 2House cleaning products: 2Mouth care: 3Hair: 4Public service announcements: 6TV shows: 8And finally..... Food (with a noted focus on fiber to cure constipation):9In

What does food cost?

2008-08-25T21:49:00.008-05:00

Yes, it's cheaper to live in Mexico - but it's all relative. The average teacher in 2005 only made about 8,150 pesos a month. At today's exchange rate that's about $800 USD. I've also heard of a lot of teachers who worked for free in order to "prove" themselves as they try to placed in schools. Some other facts: the gross domestic product per capita in Mexico is $10,751 USD (Source: United

Silver mecca: Taxco

2008-08-25T21:09:00.012-05:00

Taxco, unlike Cuernavaca, has clung steadfastly to its colonial charm, aided by being labeled as a National Heritage site in 1990 by the Mexican government. Building codes require old buildings to be restored and new ones, from the Oxxo (a type of 7-11 store) to the Pemex gas station, to use a colonial style.Known for its silver, Taxco charms the eyes as well as the pocketbook; we strolled for

Regalitos de mis colegas

2008-08-20T20:43:00.003-05:00

I am so grateful for all the support people have been offering- my mentora switched classrooms with me, so I didn't have to change rooms in the middle of my marathon day, and during my one 20 minute break during the 8 am-3 pm day another colleague brought me cheesecake. Also, the maintenance guys are going to buy and install a new white board in the classroom I share with my mentora this

First days of school

2008-08-19T21:24:00.008-05:00

Luckily for me, we had electricity when I was in the computer lab on the first day of school; my colleague Delfina was not so lucky on the second day, although we did get power back to the most of the school towards the end of the day. One of the other teachers on the 5th semester team took her students so they could work on math in his classroom, and letting kids out early and starting later

Thunderstorms and Time

2008-08-15T22:15:00.010-05:00

This evening we were startled by a massive thunder and lightening storm that lasted for several hours - the first booms were normal by Oregon standards, but then a deafening CRAK! and accompanying flash of lightening sent us scrambling to the window, convinced we would see the neighbor's house in flames. It was the loudest thunderclap I've ever heard! The thunder and lightening show went on for

Primer día en México

2008-08-13T22:37:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow will be my first day at work, so today was the opportunity to buy supplies for the house and my classroom, figure out where things are, buy a cell phone, and learn the bus system. I am now the proud owner of a little Nokia that ribbits when you call! I got 50 pesos ($5 USD) worth of time with the phone, which translate into who knows how many phone calls. Monica's mother took Regina

2008-08-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

10:38, Alexandria, Virginia. We arrived last night a bit bleary-eyed after flying across the country. It felt surreal to have the US State Department fly me to a meeting in DC! My fellow "Fulbrighters," or "becarios," have impressive credentials: one woman helps run a study-abroad program in Spain each year and another teacher was in charge of an American University Spanish language summer