las fotografías

This is a picture of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is one of the churches we visited on our fieldtrip to Cholula, last wednesday.


This is a picture of the balloons in the zocolo, or town square. It´s where we meet our conversation partners in the afternoon and is located in the historic center of town.


These pictures are from my classmates here at the Insitute. I´m going to try to get my photos uploaded onto a computer, so I can share some more. But I don´t know when exactly I´ll have time. I am hoping that sometime next week I´ll be able to. I have some great ones from the pyramid in cholula. Enjoy!

How different is Mexico?

Here are some interesting things I have learned about Mexican culture and language:

1. This weekend we have the presidential elections. That means that Friday at midnight through sunday the bars and clubs will be closed. Just to make sure that everyone can make it to the polls on sunday. Interesante, no?

2. There are many words in Spanish that sound the same in english (cognates). However excited is not one of them. I tend to get excited over the little things in life, like having floss once my bags arrived and being able to take pictures of the pyramids yesterday. So I wanted to express my emotion to others in Spanish. Luckily I asked my teacher before I said something I would regret. Apparently estoy excitado, means excited in a sexual way, and estoy emocional, means excited in a happy way. How embarrassing could that situation have been if I told Lulu (my mother here) that I was excited in a sexual way to see the pyramids?!

3. In mexico the water and the gas in the houses works very differently. There are two containers on the roof, one holds gas the other holds water. It´s not very often that you are on the roof, so sometimes the houses run out of gas. This can be discovered when you take a cold shower. Now, to get more gas, you don´t call the gas company. You wait for the gas truck to drive by. But how do you know when they are coming? Each one has its own jingle that it plays really loudly as it drives by. If you want that company´s gas, you run out of your house and yell at them to fill your tank. So far I know two of the gas company´s jingles.

Tengo mi malleta!!!

***DISCLAIMER: I couldn´t decide whether it was easier to write in english or spanish but I couldn´t seem to collect my thoughts in english. Therefore you are getting an entry in my very poor spanish. Enjoy! ***

Dia dos. Este mañana fui al aeropuerto para las tres vez y finalmente recibir mi malleta. Tenemos las clases en la manana, y estudio la differencia entre ser y estar. Para comida, voy al restaurante vegetariano. Nosotros tenemos dos opciónes para comida un restaurante mexicano o un restaurante vegetariano. Yo probo las dos este semana y decidio que yo prefioro. Ahora las dos son le mismo para mi. Este tarde caminar con mi guía de conversación. Fui al casa de cultura, la parián, y el barrio artista. Hay muchas cosas para comprar.

Day two. This morning I went to the airport for the third time and finally got my suitcase. We had classes this morning and we studied the difference between the verbs to be and to be. (There are two verbs for to be in Spanish, as well as to try) For lunch I went to the vegetarian restaurant. We have a daily choice as to which restaurante we want to go to for lunch. A mexican restaurant or a vegetarian restaurant. I am trying both this week to decide which one I prefer. Right now, both are the same for me. (I like both) This afternoon I walked with my conversation partner. We went to the culture house, the market, and the artists area. There was a lot to buy.

I´m looking forward to returning home this evening so I can unpack and finally settle in. Tomorrow we have a field trip to Cholula to see the pyramids. I can´t wait to snap some good pictures. This weekend I am trying to get a group together to go dancing. So we´ll see how that turns out.

¿Donde esta mi equipaje?

Hola! Right now I am sitting in the laboratorio de mi escuela. I´ve had my placement tests and oral exam and am now waiting for the welcome presentation. My flight from LAX to Mexico City was quite enjoyable. I was able to sleep for most of the way and the staff of Mexicana were quite pleasant. Once in Mexico City I made my way through immigration and found my gate for my next flight. I was then bussed to the other side of the airport with 6 other passengers to board our Turbo-Propeller plane to Puebla. The plane could seat 48 but as I said previously, there was only 7 of us on it. Twenty minutes later we had landed in Puebla. Unfortunately, my luggage didn´t make it. But neither did the luggage of three other passengers. You would think with so few people they would be able to get it together, but apparently this is very common. Strange how this is the one and only time that I didn´t travel with my toiletries in my carry-on. I guess I will know better next time.

I am really excited about my host family. Lourdes is my host mother and she lives with her 23 year old daughter Andrea. My house is literally three doors down from the school, I don´t think I could have asked for anything better. They are both really nice and see the importance of chatting with me and gently correcting my errors. Andrea speaks very quickly, so I often find myself looking to LuLu to repeat what she has said in a different way and slower. Although I understand a lot of what they say I am finding it difficult to express what I want to say. But practice will make that easier. Andrea works at a zoo, training parrots and LuLu has told me she is an expert in the kitchen and looks forward to sharing that with me.

I guess that is about all I have to say for now. I don´t want to take up too much time on the computers as I am sure other students would like to use them. Hopefully my bags will arrive this afternoon otherwise I am going to have to do some shopping. More to come soon!

Email to Blog . . . come in Blog

This post is coming straight to you from my email. It's a feature blogger has that allows me to email in my posts instead of logging into blogger. That way if the institute in Puebla has bans on blogging I can still make sure everyone knows what's going on. I'm not sure why they would ban blogging but you never know, and as I've learned from past travelling experiences, it's always good to have a plan B. With all that said my next post will be coming to you from the heart of Mexico, until then!

What to Pack?

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life and in change there is power." - Alan Cohen

Wow, four days to go. Excited. Nervous. Scared. But most of all sick of waiting. It's the anticipation that affects me the most. What will my host family be like? Will they search my bags at customs? Will I still remember the basic Spanish I learned in college? Will my classmates be older or younger than me? Will it be pouring with rain when I get there? I know once I get there the nerves will go away because I'll no longer have time to think about them. But first I just have to get there. So that means I have to pack.

Hot Fatties- $0.25

Yesterday my roommate, E, and I went to Olvera Street, a thriving Mexican marketplace in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. It's been on our list of things to do for a while and it was the perfect way to get in the mood for Mexico. Can you believe my trip's only 7 days away?!

The highlight of the visit was the Olvera Street Museum. Just next to the old fire station, it's a large room containing a model of Olvera Street, a video about Olvera Street, and a picture timeline of the history of Olvera Street. One picture in particular caught my attention. It was a woman of Olvera Street making fresh Gorditas. Thanks to Taco Bell most of us know Gorditas by that name. However, in this picture the vendor had translated her sign "Gorditas calientes" into english, hence the name of the blog. Maybe it's just me, but I think something gets lost in the translation.

Outside of the museums there are numerous tiendas y restaurantes. One of the things I am looking forward to in Puebla is the shopping. Apparently Puebla is known for its production of arts and crafts including but not limited to Talavara Ceramics, engravings and bark paper paintings, onyx and marble objects, and textiles. El Parian and El Barrio del Artista are marketplaces that specialize in handmade crafts which I know I'll be visiting. I just need to remember to sharpen my bargaining skills while I am there.

Cocina Poblana

As everyone probably knows I am really excited about experiencing traditional Cocina Poblana. So far I have found the following dishes that I intend to try while I am in Mexico:

• Mole poblano: rich, spicy sauce made of chocolate, chile, cinnamon and nuts usually served with chicken (pipian)
  
• Camotes: sweet-potato candies cooked in the stove
  
• Tacos Arabes: spit-roasted seasoned pork served in puffy wheat tortillas
  
• Rompope: liquor based on egg yold and vanilla, created by nuns
  
• Tinga: a stewed pork dish, cooked with chipotle sauce and served on tostadas
  
• Chiles En Nogada: meat and fruit stuffed green peppers topped with a walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds
  

I have also heard that there is a Pueblan style chalupa that is worth keeping an eye out for. This year the city of Puebla celebrates is 475th year. I hope that means I'll get to try Chiles en Nogada which are usually only made for special occasions. I guess if I don't get to sample them I'll just have to make them when I return.

Speaking of which, I did a little cooking today with my friend Donna Hay. Together we made a banana cake and an apple and cinnamon tea cake. They were surprisingly easy to make but unfortunately mine didn't turn out as picture perfect as hers. Regardless they are still delicious!

14 days and counting . . .

With two weeks before I leave I decided it was time to look into what Puebla has to offer. If you haven't noticed there's a link on the side of my blog entitled Puebla. It takes you to wikipedia where you can find out that Puebla is the fourth largest city in Mexico. Who knew?!

I also stumbled across a few things I want to do while I am in Mexico. One is canyonning. Doesn't this look like something you've seen on the Amazing Race? Even though my mom is less than enthused, I think it looks like a cool opportunity that I definitely plan on taking advantage of.

The other cool place I came across today was the Africam Safari. Don't ask me why it's spelled Africam but it is. Basically it's a zoo with the feel of a safari. Probably not exactly the safari I have dreamed of, but definitely worth a look.

I have also been advised to check out the local town of Cholula and the famous discotheques of Puebla. Is two months enough time?

Hiking and Mango Chicken Salad

June gloom has taken over LA which means it's perfect hiking weather. I was thinking about hitting the trails by myself this weekend but instead M invited me to join her on one of her favorite local trails.

Temescal Canyon Park is located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area just off of Sunset Blvd. I'd never been out here before but as you can see it's gorgeous! This is a picture of the seasonal creek found near the beginning of the hike. I was lucky enough to grab a photo before all the kids and groups showed up.

The best part of hiking is being able to catch up with your friends while getting out in nature and exercising. The second best part of hiking are the views, like this one of LA. We could see all the way from Century City to the Santa Monica pier. On a clear day you can see down to LAX but today we could only just make out the pier in Venice.

This is a picture of part of the trail. Considering the number of people we met on the trail, it's amazing I was able to capture this shot without a single person. At one point we even met a real alpine man. At first all we could hear was his voice, singing loud and proud as he hiked to the peak. Eventually he emerged from the brush wearing lederhosen and carrying his walking stick to exclaim, "Isn't Los Angeles beautiful?!" We had to agree before wishing him continued enjoyment on his hike.

Honestly if you've never been out here and you live in LA, you should definitely put it on your list of places to hike. If you don't live in LA I would happily take you here the next time you come to visit.

The other activity that makes me happy is cooking. Today I tried a new recipe which I have listed here in case you are feeling adventurous. It's the perfect summertime salad that I found in Everyday Food (June 2005).


Mango Chicken Salad
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (toasted)
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons Major Grey's Mango Chutney
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
4 cups shredded chicken
1 mango, peeled, seeded and diced
10 ounces baby spinach

1. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, chutney, mustard, turmeric and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken and mango; toss.
2. Serve on spinach, sprinkled with toasted coconut.

The Summer Begins

Although much of last quarter felt like a holiday, I am now officially on my summer break. It's wonderful but it's also bittersweet, because this may in fact be the last summer break of my life. How weird is that? I guess I won't officially be able to say that until I am retired because who knows, I may end up being a teacher and having summer breaks every year. At least that's what A thinks will be my career path.

Last summer break or not, it's going to be the best three months of my life. At the end of this month I'll be taking off for Mexico to live with a host family and immerse myself in the Spanish language for two months. Right now I'm super excited about the adventure, but I am also a little bit scared that my nonexistant knowledge of Spanish is going to make life very difficult. Regardless, I'm ready to release the familiar and embrace the new.

Which brings me to the reason why I am blogging. I am a scrapbooker at heart, but lately it's been more of a chore than a joy. So I am hoping that by posting this blog I can have something for people to look through and enjoy, like my scrapbooks, but without the frustration and hatred of cropping that I have been experiencing lately.

Hopefully I'll be able to post while I am in Mexico but who knows. So to all those who read this, enjoy!