Hello All!
We've arrived safe and sound in Cusco, Peru. It was a long, over-night flight but we managed to push through it. We had a four hour layover in Mexico City and we almost missed our flight to Lima. The screens kept saying that our flight was delayed. When Peter went to inquire about them (for the 3rd or 4th time) the agent told him our flight was boarding! The screens were apparently on the fritz but they kept displaying the flight arrivals/departures? Anyway, we're just glad we got on our flight. We arrived in Lima about 1 a.m. and our flight to Cusco was scheduled to leave at 5:20 a.m. So, we hunkered down in some chairs and managed to sleep a teeny bit. We arrived at the gate for our hour-long flight to Cusco with time to spare. About five minutes before they were going to begin boarding, they canceled our flight! We were tired and a bit confused. Apparently, they had another plane going to Cusco at about the same time that wasn't full. So, they cancelled our flight and put all the people from our flight on the fairly empty one. It was minorly nerve wracking only because it was so early, we were exhausted and everything was in Spanish.
We arrived here in Cusco at about 6:00 a.m and were whisked away to our hotel by a nice travel agent we found through some folks we met in Oaxaca. Madeline was patient with our tired Spanish and she got us our first cup of Coca Tea (NOT drugs!) which helps with the altitude sickness. We feel tired, a little nauseous, and light headed, but, that could just be from not sleeping much and needing a good meal. After filling out a few papers, we were sound asleep in our corner room that has an amazing view of the city, valley and surrounding mountains.
From what we can tell so far, Cusco is a fairly large city of 300,000 people. It is full of colonial architecture mostly in the way of grand churches and modern-day hotels. The city climbs up into the green hills. Things are a bit damp here as this is the rainy season (apparently we didn't read the tourist guides much before booking our trip!?) but the landscape is quite beautiful. The Plaza del Arms where we are now is full of cobblestone streets winding up into the hills. There seem to be a lot of travelers here and locals alike. It made Peter's entire trip to Peru just a few moments ago when a shortish woman dressed in very colorful clothing and a typical bowler hat walked by because she had a baby alpaca tucked under her arm. I'm hoping that being here doesn't further one of his dreams of owning an alpaca farm. I feel about full grown alpacas the way I feel about horses - scared! Anyway, I guess I can put my fear aside and focus on my talent in Mexico and now in Peru - being "tall." I'm sure I'll be recruited for the Peruvian National Basketball Team any minute now. Probably as center.
Hope you've all had a super weekend. We miss you a lot and we'll keep you posted on our upcoming travels.
We would appreciate any and ALL prayers to the sun gods since we leave on Tuesday for 4 days/3 nights on the Inca Trail. Did I mention it's rainy season?! As my very wise mother always said "You won´t melt." but the sun wouldn't hurt!
Love,
Kerry & Peter
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
¡Adios Oaxaca!
It is hard to believe that we are leaving this beautiful city and enchanting valley tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time has flown while we've been here in Mexico. It probably has something to do with the fact that we were studying Spanish 6 - 7 hours per day and squeezing in time for sightseeing, relaxing, running, homework, chatting, eating, and all that! We have really enjoyed our time here and the school was fantastic. I am sure that we will visit here again someday.
Today we had classes in the morning and then set out to explore a town called Mitla. The town is known for an ancient archelogical site. The site was very interesting as it was built from enormous stones drug down from the surrounding mountains. The edifices were built between 800 - 1300 A.D. The construction was impressive because of what technology was available and the actual buildings that were there! The walls were also tapered out at the top and the bottom so as to survive earthquakes without collapsing. The bus ride out and back through the Etla Valley is very scenic. The mountains that surround the rather lush valley are quite imposing and covered in trees for the most part. As the sun was setting, the shadows on the mountainside were quite breathtaking to see. We will try to post some photos the next time we are here.
Amid all this activity, I've been reminded of and instructed in a few things. Through my time in class and in life here learning Spanish, I am reminded about the power of learning. It has been awhile since I've been a student at something I knew nothing about. It is a humbling experience. Learning demands a lot of self-reflection, patience, dedication and flexibility. There were days - minutes even - where I was ready to jump ship and coast through it. It wasn't as if I was earning credit, right?! It was frustrating, hard and confusing a lot of the time, and it still is. Through it all however, the beginning of my Spanish learning curve has reminded me of what it's like every time children walk into my classroom. Learning is hard. It is challenging work but above all of that it is infinitely rewarding. It has opened my world even wider than I could have imagined. I can more or less navigate and communicate my way through another language. How cool! Don't get the idea I'm fluent or anything - far from it! But, working through the hard stuff and making mistakes (lots) along the way, has made me appreciate the gift of learning and education yet again. That lesson will remain close to my heart for a long time.
I was also part of a conversation workshop throughout my time at school. It consisted of two hours each afternoon of just having a moderated discussion in Spanish with other schoolmates. The teacher who moderated the discussion was everything you could have wanted in a teacher - patient, understanding, engaged, and fun. On my first day of the discussion, I almost wet my pants! It was excruciating! I wanted to talk but not much was brewing in my Spanish brain. As the days wore on, I became more sure of myself and by yesterday's class, I was itching to talk. In this way, the workshop was very powerful. Additionally, the discussion topics and converstaion that grew out of it was very insightful, too. I learned a lot about how other cultures live, what they value and how they struggle. The discussions offered perspective about how I live in the U.S. and how we present ourselves as a culture/civilization to the world. I have found there to be little respect for and lots of fear about the U.S. and it's role in the world. It is hard to wrestle with these ideas but it is important work. Becuase of the opportunity to discuss and to reflect, I have come to a few thoughts of my own about what is most important. I have been incredibly impressed with the sentiment here in Mexico that family is the most valuable "thing" in life. Daily life and living configurations all are family motivated. Conversing with family, meeting new people, and learning about others seem to be a lot more important here than they are in the U.S. Television, Video Games, Computers, Work and the like take a real backseat here. Perhaps all this is just a reminder for me to carry home and put into practice. Enough of that!
We are off for our Peruvian adventure tomorrow morning. I am a bit apprehensive because I've really enjoyed it here. I think that Peru has a lot to live up to! Oaxaca has really set the bar quite high!
Hope all is well north of the border!
Miss you!
Love,
Kerry & Peter
Today we had classes in the morning and then set out to explore a town called Mitla. The town is known for an ancient archelogical site. The site was very interesting as it was built from enormous stones drug down from the surrounding mountains. The edifices were built between 800 - 1300 A.D. The construction was impressive because of what technology was available and the actual buildings that were there! The walls were also tapered out at the top and the bottom so as to survive earthquakes without collapsing. The bus ride out and back through the Etla Valley is very scenic. The mountains that surround the rather lush valley are quite imposing and covered in trees for the most part. As the sun was setting, the shadows on the mountainside were quite breathtaking to see. We will try to post some photos the next time we are here.
Amid all this activity, I've been reminded of and instructed in a few things. Through my time in class and in life here learning Spanish, I am reminded about the power of learning. It has been awhile since I've been a student at something I knew nothing about. It is a humbling experience. Learning demands a lot of self-reflection, patience, dedication and flexibility. There were days - minutes even - where I was ready to jump ship and coast through it. It wasn't as if I was earning credit, right?! It was frustrating, hard and confusing a lot of the time, and it still is. Through it all however, the beginning of my Spanish learning curve has reminded me of what it's like every time children walk into my classroom. Learning is hard. It is challenging work but above all of that it is infinitely rewarding. It has opened my world even wider than I could have imagined. I can more or less navigate and communicate my way through another language. How cool! Don't get the idea I'm fluent or anything - far from it! But, working through the hard stuff and making mistakes (lots) along the way, has made me appreciate the gift of learning and education yet again. That lesson will remain close to my heart for a long time.
I was also part of a conversation workshop throughout my time at school. It consisted of two hours each afternoon of just having a moderated discussion in Spanish with other schoolmates. The teacher who moderated the discussion was everything you could have wanted in a teacher - patient, understanding, engaged, and fun. On my first day of the discussion, I almost wet my pants! It was excruciating! I wanted to talk but not much was brewing in my Spanish brain. As the days wore on, I became more sure of myself and by yesterday's class, I was itching to talk. In this way, the workshop was very powerful. Additionally, the discussion topics and converstaion that grew out of it was very insightful, too. I learned a lot about how other cultures live, what they value and how they struggle. The discussions offered perspective about how I live in the U.S. and how we present ourselves as a culture/civilization to the world. I have found there to be little respect for and lots of fear about the U.S. and it's role in the world. It is hard to wrestle with these ideas but it is important work. Becuase of the opportunity to discuss and to reflect, I have come to a few thoughts of my own about what is most important. I have been incredibly impressed with the sentiment here in Mexico that family is the most valuable "thing" in life. Daily life and living configurations all are family motivated. Conversing with family, meeting new people, and learning about others seem to be a lot more important here than they are in the U.S. Television, Video Games, Computers, Work and the like take a real backseat here. Perhaps all this is just a reminder for me to carry home and put into practice. Enough of that!
We are off for our Peruvian adventure tomorrow morning. I am a bit apprehensive because I've really enjoyed it here. I think that Peru has a lot to live up to! Oaxaca has really set the bar quite high!
Hope all is well north of the border!
Miss you!
Love,
Kerry & Peter
Friday, January 18, 2008
¡Viva Español!
Greetings again from Oaxaca!
We have passed another great week here in Mexico! It has been a bit since we last updated things so, I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on...
Last weekend, we spent time checking out a few museums in town. We saw a cool photo exhibit of an American photographer that documented "decay" in the people and places of New Orleans. Then, we went to a Contemporary Art Museum. I can appreciate the work but it never ceases to confound me a bit. Finally, we visited the Santo Domingo Church and museum. The museum was quite impressive and massive. The exhibits spanned the many years of Mexican History. We saw artifacts from Monte Alban - the archaeological site we had visited the previous weekend. The Mexican Government has been rehabilitating churches all around the country. The Santo Domingo Church here in Oaxaca is in exquisite condition with updated and interesting content.
On Saturday, we tested our Spanish Yoga skills through a HARD class at a local studio. It was fun but challenging. We finished the day with a Film Festival of sorts that showed 4 shortish films on the theme of "Good Neighbors." There were 3 films that were put out by the US government put out. One was about the Ancient Aztecs Gift of Zea Mays, another was a view of Mexican History through the eyes of the Post WW2 US govt. Very interesting subject matter and an interesting discussion followed. This part of Mexico is quite progressive and political.
On Sunday, we went with our Host Family on a trip to Tlaxiaco which is about 2.5 hours from Oaxaca. Along the way, we stopped at three churches that were built by the Dominicans in the 1500's. Gorgeous and astounding in architecture and creation. We then went to a Baptism Fiesta for a friend of our family. The child, Juan David, was angelically dressed all in white. The hue of his clothes quickly degraded as he played hard with his buddies! He was four. The party was quite impressive. The family served about 150 people a full meal, with drinks and a three layer cake to finish things off. There was a mountain of presents - which little Juan kept a careful eye on - and a professional DJ! The music was so loud it was making our internal organs clang around! It was a great party and we felt really honored to be included. This morning, we went to a market close to our home with Carlos, the "father" of the house. It was amazing! We saw an entire dump truck full of oranges! The market was full of sounds, colors, and smells bustling even at the early hour of 6:30 am! We helped Carlos to lug three huge shopping bags full of fresh produce home. The cost of which was about 15 dollars! Truly amazing!
This week has been another rather hard (for me) at school. I am understanding more and more. I am learning more and more. But, the speaking is coming at a frustratingly slow rate. I decided yesterday that I just need to stop pressuring myself to make everything come out perfectly. I just need to talk and let it go. Right!? My teacher, Belen, assures me that my language development is progressing normally and keeps urging me to be patient.
We're off for lunch. Have a fantastic weekend. We're off for a tour of another smaller archaeological site.
xo,
Kerry & Peter
We have passed another great week here in Mexico! It has been a bit since we last updated things so, I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on...
Last weekend, we spent time checking out a few museums in town. We saw a cool photo exhibit of an American photographer that documented "decay" in the people and places of New Orleans. Then, we went to a Contemporary Art Museum. I can appreciate the work but it never ceases to confound me a bit. Finally, we visited the Santo Domingo Church and museum. The museum was quite impressive and massive. The exhibits spanned the many years of Mexican History. We saw artifacts from Monte Alban - the archaeological site we had visited the previous weekend. The Mexican Government has been rehabilitating churches all around the country. The Santo Domingo Church here in Oaxaca is in exquisite condition with updated and interesting content.
On Saturday, we tested our Spanish Yoga skills through a HARD class at a local studio. It was fun but challenging. We finished the day with a Film Festival of sorts that showed 4 shortish films on the theme of "Good Neighbors." There were 3 films that were put out by the US government put out. One was about the Ancient Aztecs Gift of Zea Mays, another was a view of Mexican History through the eyes of the Post WW2 US govt. Very interesting subject matter and an interesting discussion followed. This part of Mexico is quite progressive and political.
On Sunday, we went with our Host Family on a trip to Tlaxiaco which is about 2.5 hours from Oaxaca. Along the way, we stopped at three churches that were built by the Dominicans in the 1500's. Gorgeous and astounding in architecture and creation. We then went to a Baptism Fiesta for a friend of our family. The child, Juan David, was angelically dressed all in white. The hue of his clothes quickly degraded as he played hard with his buddies! He was four. The party was quite impressive. The family served about 150 people a full meal, with drinks and a three layer cake to finish things off. There was a mountain of presents - which little Juan kept a careful eye on - and a professional DJ! The music was so loud it was making our internal organs clang around! It was a great party and we felt really honored to be included. This morning, we went to a market close to our home with Carlos, the "father" of the house. It was amazing! We saw an entire dump truck full of oranges! The market was full of sounds, colors, and smells bustling even at the early hour of 6:30 am! We helped Carlos to lug three huge shopping bags full of fresh produce home. The cost of which was about 15 dollars! Truly amazing!
This week has been another rather hard (for me) at school. I am understanding more and more. I am learning more and more. But, the speaking is coming at a frustratingly slow rate. I decided yesterday that I just need to stop pressuring myself to make everything come out perfectly. I just need to talk and let it go. Right!? My teacher, Belen, assures me that my language development is progressing normally and keeps urging me to be patient.
We're off for lunch. Have a fantastic weekend. We're off for a tour of another smaller archaeological site.
xo,
Kerry & Peter
Friday, January 11, 2008
¡Oaxaceña Suena!
Buenas Tardes a todos!
We've survived our first week of language school in Oaxaca! At the beginning of the week, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but, I'm glad that I did! I was meaningfully reminded - and I still am every day! - of the work that is involved in learning something new. I strongly believe that the best way to learn something is to be immersed in it but it is quite overwhelming at the same time. The first day of school reminded me quite emotionally how it is to be adrift in something quite foreign and totally intimidating. It offered me perspective about how my Spanish speaking students must feel when they arrive at my classroom door.
Peter and I are in different classes - he has much more experience with speaking as he spent almost a year living in Costa Rica where no one at his job spoke a lick of English. I had mixed feelings about the first day of school. Being the nerdy, school-loving chica that I am, I was pumped to be back in the swing of learning and challenging myself. At the same time, I was petrified. Truly petrified. I revisited a shade of how I felt my first day of teaching except that communication was absent. I survived the introductions with my broken and sad Spanish from workshops and books. Then, we took off and learned some grammar, verb conjugations, and vocabulary. The last hour of our class we spent in conversation. Talk about instilling fear in the heart of a woman. Whew! We began talking about a reading we'd done in class about the Native American communities in the US. I was excited because I felt like I had a lot to offer the discussion having spent a year on Pine Ridge. When it came around the circle for my turn, I almost started crying. Truly. I had a lot to say but I literally couldn't say a thing. Not one single word. I stumbled through a few things and then passed on the task. It was heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating. I am never at a loss for words and in this instant I couldn't even come up with a coherent thought. Needless to say, I was pretty defeated as we walked home for lunch. At the same time, I was dreading the afternoon session that I'd signed up for - "Basic Conversation!" I practically choked down lunch and I was less than quick when it was time to return for the workshop. Let's just say that I did a lot of listening in the afternoon conversation workshop mostly because noting would emerge. Monday was a very challenging day. But the sun came up again on Tuesday and there was more Spanish to learn...
We have class each day from 9:00 - 1:00 and then we have the option to sign up for an "intercambio" which is where you get together with a local student who is studying English and speak both Spanish and English. Then, from 4:00 - 6:00, we have the workshop. You can choose from a number of workshops. Peter took one this week about Mexican History and he seemed to enjoy it. Next week, I've decided to stick with "Basic Conversation" for my workshop because the teacher is really nice and the people in the group are helpful, understanding and patient. The teacher of the workshop used to be an elementary school teacher here in Oaxaca and now he counsels teachers here who are doing continuing education. He taught us about the Mexican Education System yesterday and it was very interesting to me. As you can tell, our days are chock full of Spanish and it is like necessary medicine. For me, the classes have been challenging but I have embraced the fact with challenge comes growth, development and learning.
We are staying with an incredibly kind, generous, sweet and welcoming family. They have been so accommodating and kind. Concepcion, the mother of the house, is such a good cook! We are happy to come home each day at 3:00 for our lunch! The house is almost a compound with extended family inhabiting other parts of the house. The house is centered around a large courtyard with trees and flowers. There are grandchildren, children and all kinds of family floating around. We had a room at the front of the house when we first arrived. However, it because hard to sleep due to all the street noise. So, yesterday after some other guests left, Concepcion offered for us to move to a room further back in the garden. It is much quieter. We have our own bathroom and a small table to work on. There is plenty of space for the two of us and the place is exceptionally clean and tidy. Each day, we have breakfast at the home at 8:15 and then we hightail it to be to school by 9:00! It is a challenge sometimes because we have about a 25 - 30 minute walk. At 3:00 we come back home for the "comida" which is the large meal of the day. As always, the food is delicious and it is even more challenging for us to make it back to school at 4:00 as we're really stuffed! We took the bus back yesterday afternoon, so, it wasn't as painful! Today, we don't have afternoon workshops, so, we're hoping to check out a museum and perhaps the Botanical Garden. This weekend, we are going with the family to a village outside the city to see a fiesta near some old churches.
It will be nice to have some down time this weekend. But, miraculously, I am looking forward to next week when I can continue studying Spanish!
Hope you are all doing well. We miss you and think of you often. Next time, I'll try to post some photos of our school, home and the city of Oaxaca.
¡Hasta luego!
Kerry
We've survived our first week of language school in Oaxaca! At the beginning of the week, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but, I'm glad that I did! I was meaningfully reminded - and I still am every day! - of the work that is involved in learning something new. I strongly believe that the best way to learn something is to be immersed in it but it is quite overwhelming at the same time. The first day of school reminded me quite emotionally how it is to be adrift in something quite foreign and totally intimidating. It offered me perspective about how my Spanish speaking students must feel when they arrive at my classroom door.
Peter and I are in different classes - he has much more experience with speaking as he spent almost a year living in Costa Rica where no one at his job spoke a lick of English. I had mixed feelings about the first day of school. Being the nerdy, school-loving chica that I am, I was pumped to be back in the swing of learning and challenging myself. At the same time, I was petrified. Truly petrified. I revisited a shade of how I felt my first day of teaching except that communication was absent. I survived the introductions with my broken and sad Spanish from workshops and books. Then, we took off and learned some grammar, verb conjugations, and vocabulary. The last hour of our class we spent in conversation. Talk about instilling fear in the heart of a woman. Whew! We began talking about a reading we'd done in class about the Native American communities in the US. I was excited because I felt like I had a lot to offer the discussion having spent a year on Pine Ridge. When it came around the circle for my turn, I almost started crying. Truly. I had a lot to say but I literally couldn't say a thing. Not one single word. I stumbled through a few things and then passed on the task. It was heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating. I am never at a loss for words and in this instant I couldn't even come up with a coherent thought. Needless to say, I was pretty defeated as we walked home for lunch. At the same time, I was dreading the afternoon session that I'd signed up for - "Basic Conversation!" I practically choked down lunch and I was less than quick when it was time to return for the workshop. Let's just say that I did a lot of listening in the afternoon conversation workshop mostly because noting would emerge. Monday was a very challenging day. But the sun came up again on Tuesday and there was more Spanish to learn...
We have class each day from 9:00 - 1:00 and then we have the option to sign up for an "intercambio" which is where you get together with a local student who is studying English and speak both Spanish and English. Then, from 4:00 - 6:00, we have the workshop. You can choose from a number of workshops. Peter took one this week about Mexican History and he seemed to enjoy it. Next week, I've decided to stick with "Basic Conversation" for my workshop because the teacher is really nice and the people in the group are helpful, understanding and patient. The teacher of the workshop used to be an elementary school teacher here in Oaxaca and now he counsels teachers here who are doing continuing education. He taught us about the Mexican Education System yesterday and it was very interesting to me. As you can tell, our days are chock full of Spanish and it is like necessary medicine. For me, the classes have been challenging but I have embraced the fact with challenge comes growth, development and learning.
We are staying with an incredibly kind, generous, sweet and welcoming family. They have been so accommodating and kind. Concepcion, the mother of the house, is such a good cook! We are happy to come home each day at 3:00 for our lunch! The house is almost a compound with extended family inhabiting other parts of the house. The house is centered around a large courtyard with trees and flowers. There are grandchildren, children and all kinds of family floating around. We had a room at the front of the house when we first arrived. However, it because hard to sleep due to all the street noise. So, yesterday after some other guests left, Concepcion offered for us to move to a room further back in the garden. It is much quieter. We have our own bathroom and a small table to work on. There is plenty of space for the two of us and the place is exceptionally clean and tidy. Each day, we have breakfast at the home at 8:15 and then we hightail it to be to school by 9:00! It is a challenge sometimes because we have about a 25 - 30 minute walk. At 3:00 we come back home for the "comida" which is the large meal of the day. As always, the food is delicious and it is even more challenging for us to make it back to school at 4:00 as we're really stuffed! We took the bus back yesterday afternoon, so, it wasn't as painful! Today, we don't have afternoon workshops, so, we're hoping to check out a museum and perhaps the Botanical Garden. This weekend, we are going with the family to a village outside the city to see a fiesta near some old churches.
It will be nice to have some down time this weekend. But, miraculously, I am looking forward to next week when I can continue studying Spanish!
Hope you are all doing well. We miss you and think of you often. Next time, I'll try to post some photos of our school, home and the city of Oaxaca.
¡Hasta luego!
Kerry
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Oaxaca Bonita!
We arrived in Oaxaca on Thursday evening without incident. It was the longest bus trip of my life but it wasn´t that bad. We left the plush Palladium Resort in PV at 7:00 to make our 8:45 bus out to Mexico City. We were being conservative with our time because all the other times we went to PV to sort out the bus situation prior to departure, it took a good 45 minutes by taxi. So, we figured we were in the clear. However, traffic had other ideas. We left the resort only to follow what seemed to be an endless string of tail lights into PV. The best part was when we were approximately 15kms from the bus station, it became a veritable parking lot. We were getting nervous as we didn´t expect so much traffic and we were supposed to be at the station at 8:15 to check in. It was a holiday week and so that explains all the cars. Our trusty cab driver was in full command of the situation and he deftly created a third lane to the right (he must have gone to cab driver school in Boston rush hour!) and we arrived at the station at exactly 8:15!!
Our bus trip from PV to Mexico City was 12 hours. It was good that it was an overnight bus as we didn´t waste a sunny day in transit. The ETN bus was very comfy. Kind of first class - roomy seats, foot rests, snacks, movies with headphones (mine was broken, however...) and all the fixins. The only downside was that we felt like we were cows in their last holding place before a barbeque! It was a meatlocker on the bus! I came prepared with long pants and long sleeves but that was no match for the ETN climate. Even Peter was cold! The bus driver was seperated from the main compartment of the bus so I think he was just out of touch with our situation because I´m sure he would have turned up the heat. I was doing my best to impersonate a tiny fetal position to conserve as much of my own body heat as possible.
We arrived in Mexico City at 9:00 am with our next bus on Cristobal Colon Line not departing until 2:30 pm. We checked our bags at the luggage locker and warmed up in the sun outside the bus station. Unfortunately, there weren´t any nice park benches, so, we opted for ¨Piss Corner¨ You can imagine how it got it´s name! After a while, a really, really old woman came and sat down next to Peter with her family. She was showing us some keychains and trinkets from the Basilica. She said we should go there because we never would know when we´d be back in Mexico City. So, since we had A LOT of time to kill and the place was near, off we went. We´re glad we did. It was an amazing complex of a variety of churches of different eras. Very impressive with gardens and TONS of people. From what we saw in our short stint in the largest city in Mexico (27 million!) it is very polluted and has a zillion cars - I suppose there´s a cause/effect relationship there.
Our bus departed from Mexico City on time and we had the opposite temperature problem this ride. Even I was hot! That aside, the ride took 6.5 hours and seemed to meander through countryside, hills and we even saw a large volcano looking range along the way. We quickly hailed a cab and found a hotel near the city center of Oaxaca. We were starving when we arrived and raced down the the center to find some food. After a meal, we collapsed into bed.
We spent Friday exploring the city on foot - not unlike many other tourists. Any time we walked even up the tiniest incline, I was a bit out of breath. Peter informed me that we were at 5000 feet. It seems that will take some time to get used to. Either that, or I´m a lot more out of shape than I thought! There seem to be a lot of Mexican and international tourists here. It is a beautiful and easy colonial city that is 476 years old. After collecting our things for school today (notebooks, pens, dictionaries), we had an early supper and called it a day.
We arrived at the gates of our school today a bit before 9:00. When we got there, a man approached us and asked if we were Peter and Kerry Lake. We said, ¨Si¨. He is our homestay ¨father¨ I guess you could say, Carlos Martinez Giron. He whisked us back to his home to leave our belongings for the day. He was expecting us yesterday but we didn´t know that, so, we apologized profusely. I hope he doesn´t think it was a big deal because it´d be nice to start out on the right foot! Anyway, our homestay is delightful. We have our own room and bathroom and the room is enormous. There are a few other rooms with students that surround a small courtyard. I´m sure we´ll learn a lot of spanish language and culture just from spending time there.
We went back to school to face the music, i.e. the placement test. I´ve been cringing about it since we arrived! And rightfully so, I found out. The lady handed me a test and told us to go out on the porch to complete it. Peter suggested that I ask for an easier version just from the looks of his - she gave us the same one. So, after looking over the test, I decided that he was spot on and asked for something easier. Thank God they actually had an easier one! I did a great job answering a few questions and then nailed the matching pictures to very simple vocabulary words. I only screwed up some of the masc/fem matching of articles on those, too. But, then then gave some photos that were a sequence that I was supposed to write a story to match. Didn´t they know that I have NO CLUE about making sentences and I have little to no idea about vocabulary? I came to find out that the written test was a cinch compared to the oral exam that came next. It sounded pretty parroty on my part as I fumbled to use some of the words of the professor to answer his questions. When all was said and done, I am in class 1-B. So, not bottom of the ladder, but VERY close. Peter is in class 2A - he´s killing it! It should be a great learning experience for both of us!
Tomorrow we´re off on an excursion to some ruins in the mountains. Now, we must go to our homestay family to start out on a better foot.
Hope you are all doing well.
Miss you!
Adios! (Spanish is really a cinch!)
Kerry & Pedro (see!)
Our bus trip from PV to Mexico City was 12 hours. It was good that it was an overnight bus as we didn´t waste a sunny day in transit. The ETN bus was very comfy. Kind of first class - roomy seats, foot rests, snacks, movies with headphones (mine was broken, however...) and all the fixins. The only downside was that we felt like we were cows in their last holding place before a barbeque! It was a meatlocker on the bus! I came prepared with long pants and long sleeves but that was no match for the ETN climate. Even Peter was cold! The bus driver was seperated from the main compartment of the bus so I think he was just out of touch with our situation because I´m sure he would have turned up the heat. I was doing my best to impersonate a tiny fetal position to conserve as much of my own body heat as possible.
We arrived in Mexico City at 9:00 am with our next bus on Cristobal Colon Line not departing until 2:30 pm. We checked our bags at the luggage locker and warmed up in the sun outside the bus station. Unfortunately, there weren´t any nice park benches, so, we opted for ¨Piss Corner¨ You can imagine how it got it´s name! After a while, a really, really old woman came and sat down next to Peter with her family. She was showing us some keychains and trinkets from the Basilica. She said we should go there because we never would know when we´d be back in Mexico City. So, since we had A LOT of time to kill and the place was near, off we went. We´re glad we did. It was an amazing complex of a variety of churches of different eras. Very impressive with gardens and TONS of people. From what we saw in our short stint in the largest city in Mexico (27 million!) it is very polluted and has a zillion cars - I suppose there´s a cause/effect relationship there.
Our bus departed from Mexico City on time and we had the opposite temperature problem this ride. Even I was hot! That aside, the ride took 6.5 hours and seemed to meander through countryside, hills and we even saw a large volcano looking range along the way. We quickly hailed a cab and found a hotel near the city center of Oaxaca. We were starving when we arrived and raced down the the center to find some food. After a meal, we collapsed into bed.
We spent Friday exploring the city on foot - not unlike many other tourists. Any time we walked even up the tiniest incline, I was a bit out of breath. Peter informed me that we were at 5000 feet. It seems that will take some time to get used to. Either that, or I´m a lot more out of shape than I thought! There seem to be a lot of Mexican and international tourists here. It is a beautiful and easy colonial city that is 476 years old. After collecting our things for school today (notebooks, pens, dictionaries), we had an early supper and called it a day.
We arrived at the gates of our school today a bit before 9:00. When we got there, a man approached us and asked if we were Peter and Kerry Lake. We said, ¨Si¨. He is our homestay ¨father¨ I guess you could say, Carlos Martinez Giron. He whisked us back to his home to leave our belongings for the day. He was expecting us yesterday but we didn´t know that, so, we apologized profusely. I hope he doesn´t think it was a big deal because it´d be nice to start out on the right foot! Anyway, our homestay is delightful. We have our own room and bathroom and the room is enormous. There are a few other rooms with students that surround a small courtyard. I´m sure we´ll learn a lot of spanish language and culture just from spending time there.
We went back to school to face the music, i.e. the placement test. I´ve been cringing about it since we arrived! And rightfully so, I found out. The lady handed me a test and told us to go out on the porch to complete it. Peter suggested that I ask for an easier version just from the looks of his - she gave us the same one. So, after looking over the test, I decided that he was spot on and asked for something easier. Thank God they actually had an easier one! I did a great job answering a few questions and then nailed the matching pictures to very simple vocabulary words. I only screwed up some of the masc/fem matching of articles on those, too. But, then then gave some photos that were a sequence that I was supposed to write a story to match. Didn´t they know that I have NO CLUE about making sentences and I have little to no idea about vocabulary? I came to find out that the written test was a cinch compared to the oral exam that came next. It sounded pretty parroty on my part as I fumbled to use some of the words of the professor to answer his questions. When all was said and done, I am in class 1-B. So, not bottom of the ladder, but VERY close. Peter is in class 2A - he´s killing it! It should be a great learning experience for both of us!
Tomorrow we´re off on an excursion to some ruins in the mountains. Now, we must go to our homestay family to start out on a better foot.
Hope you are all doing well.
Miss you!
Adios! (Spanish is really a cinch!)
Kerry & Pedro (see!)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year from Puerto Vallarta!
Greetings again, All!
We´re in beautiful Puerto Vallarta celebrating our friend´s wedding as well as the New Year. We hope you´re all doing well and rang in 2008 with family and friends. We have been having a great time down here - surfing, eating, sunning, etc...! We got (for free!) upgraded to a swankier part of the resort, so, it´s been the royal treatment. All this will end when we hop a bus at 8:45 pm today for an overnight bus to Mexico City! From there, we will get a bus for the final leg of our bus tour to Oaxaca.
We´re off for breakfast with our friends, Matt & Jen, who are now married! It was a beautiful ceremony - especially the setting - on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Hope you are all well. Miss you.
Adios!
Kerry
We´re in beautiful Puerto Vallarta celebrating our friend´s wedding as well as the New Year. We hope you´re all doing well and rang in 2008 with family and friends. We have been having a great time down here - surfing, eating, sunning, etc...! We got (for free!) upgraded to a swankier part of the resort, so, it´s been the royal treatment. All this will end when we hop a bus at 8:45 pm today for an overnight bus to Mexico City! From there, we will get a bus for the final leg of our bus tour to Oaxaca.
We´re off for breakfast with our friends, Matt & Jen, who are now married! It was a beautiful ceremony - especially the setting - on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Hope you are all well. Miss you.
Adios!
Kerry
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