Flowers, volcanoes and Cinco de Mayo

Hola:

The rainy season officially started today. It is raining at the moment and will continue to rain every afternoon or evening for the next six months. The plus side is it turns everything into a lush tropical paradise, with flowers everywhere – wrapped around trees, draped over fences and sprouting from every available inch of soil. It’s funny to see all the tropical plants we Northerners cultivate as house plants growing like shrubs everywhere. Even Birds of Paradise, which we use in exotic floral arrangements, are part of the landscaping along sidewalks and streets. 

Speaking of flowers, the botanical garden just approved my proposed treatment for painting the wildflowers of Cholula for a poster. They will do the layout and design and have a poster to raise money for the garden, and I will have a very cool souvenir to bring home. This was the second proposal; I used a watercolor wash for the first treatment with the color extending beyond the flower. That apparently put a bee in the “committee’s” bonnet. They didn’t like the fact that I colored outside the lines. That has to be one of the nicest things anyone has ever accused me of.

You may have read about Popocatepetl, or “Popo,” the volcano near Puebla that has been spewing gas and ash the last few weeks. I live too far away to worry about lava, but not too far to avoid the volcanic ash, which is a nuisance and a respiratory irritant, the amount depending on which way the wind blows. It’s difficult to clean up because it turns to concrete when mixed with water and must be swept and bagged so it doesn’t enter the plumbing. 

There is a beautiful legend about Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, or “Izta,” the extinct volcano next to Popo, which happens to resemble a reclining woman. (The names are from the Náhuatl language, which pre-dates the Aztecs and is still spoken in Mexico and Central America.) Like many cultures, Mexico has its own spin on the Romeo and Juliet theme. As the story goes, the great warrior, Popo, was in love with the beautiful princess, Izta. While Popo was away at war, Izta was told he was killed in battle, whereupon she died of a broken heart. Popo returned and, learning of his lover’s fate, vowed to stand watch over her body for eternity. 

The State of Puebla just celebrated the 150^th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans prevailed over the stronger, bigger French army. Puebla is the only place in the world where the event has some actual significance. Everywhere else, especially the U.S., it’s an excuse (for those who need one) to drink Mexican beer. Puebla celebrated with performances throughout the month and a huge parade and fireworks on the 5th.  Jacob, Jonas and Kristin were here for the occasion and now have bragging rights during every Cinco de Mayo for the rest of their lives.

I loved having my kids here to share my Mexican life; this was Jonas’s second visit, in fact. We took a day trip to Teotihuacan, the famous pyramids near Mexico City, spent time enjoying downtown Puebla, climbed the Pyramid of Cholula and sampled the local fare. The unanimous best thing to eat was freshly made blue corn tortillas at the China Poblana restaurant. A close second was chocolate tamales. Before Jonas and Kristin arrived, Jacob and I visited the beautiful little pueblo of Tlaxcala and the nearby ruins and explored Cholula. 

Everyone left shortly before Mother’s Day, but having them here was the best gift I could have ever received. I got to celebrate the day twice: Mother’s Day is celebrated in Mexico on the actual day. This year it fell on a Thursday, so all the mothers at my center were given the day off. I Skyped with my sons on Sunday when it was celebrated in the U.S.  

I have been able to see a little more of Mexico, and traveled to Oaxaca with a friend last month. I fell in love with the place. It’s a beautiful, clean city with wonderful galleries, restaurants and interesting architecture. We took a day trip to the archeological sites of Monte Alban and Mitla, saw the Tula tree, reported to be the largest in the world, and sampled mole negro. I painted a magnificent tree I saw at Monte Alban, which you can see on Flickr, along with the volcano (CNN photo), the 5 de Mayo parade, Teotihuacan, Monte Alban and the Tula tree.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/

Well, once again I have failed in my attempt to write a shorter blog entry. I really do try, but there’s just too much wonderful stuff to tell you about.

Until next time,

Hasta luego

Still feeling good

Wow! I just revisited my blog and realized it’s been almost three months since my last entry. I’ll try to stick to the highlights here, but it’s hard when there’s a highlight almost every day.

I’m still feeling good about my contributions here. We are implementing the recommendations for improving internal communication at my center and turning our sights on external communication. My counterpart wants another volunteer to replace me and continue my work when I leave in June 2013 because there’s enough work to keep someone busy for years.

My counterpart and I were invited by the Peace Corps Mexico office to speak to the new group of volunteers to talk about creating effective counterpart/volunteer relationships. I was honored and very proud to be a role model, and am very fortunate to be paired up with this intelligent, talented, dedicated woman.

I held a second workshop at the botanical garden on making planters from recycled materials. My center is adopting the workshop for a public event in April, and people are now bringing recyclables to my office for that workshop. It’s starting to resemble a landfill here and I fear methane is not far behind.

One of my fellow volunteers teaches English in a small mountain community not far from the center. She asked me to help paint a mural near the school and suggested the solar system because the center’s Large Millimeter Telescope is visible on a nearby mountain. I took some photos of the precious neighborhood children hanging over the wall watching the mural unfold. Another photo shows the school’s maintenance employees helping me paint the sun, which was too high to reach. The mural needs a little more work and Saturn’s rings could use some plumping up, but I’m happy with it for now.

The trip there was breathtaking. I passed an abandoned hacienda that was stunning in the afternoon sun. I also photographed a shepherd bringing in his flock and the volcano at sunset. You can see the photos on Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/

My brother, Chuck, visited me a few weeks ago. It was great to share my Mexican life with him. He kept me in smiles, as usual, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. He brought a stack of English children’s books for my English classes that were donated by his local librarian. The classes have moved to the neighboring community, and the response to the free classes has been tremendous. We had 60 students at one point, ranging from 4 to adult. Five other volunteers are picking up the load.

Six bricks: I witnessed an amazing feat of strength and coordination recently. Several men were unloading bricks from the back of a truck up onto a roof. The man in the truck grabbed six bricks at a time with his bare hands and heaved them up to another man hanging over the roof, who caught them in midair -- without dropping a single brick. I can’t imagine picking up that many bricks at once, much less throwing or catching them.

Speaking of amazing strength, the new record for the number of people on a bike is 5 – the father at the helm, the mother behind him holding a baby, with two more children in between.

Don’t try this at home (or anywhere!): I saw a young woman driving a scooter with one hand while holding an infant in the other arm, the baby’s blanket clenched between her teeth to make a windshield. The wind is the least of that baby’s worries.

Every day is a beautiful day in my neighborhood: I enjoyed watching the field behind my house come ablaze with snapdragons (see photos). Flowers are an important industry here, and the neighboring fields around my house are usually draped in richly colored floral blankets, the crops changing with the season and holiday. The same flowers I pass every day eventually end up for sale in the Mercado not far from my house.

We felt the earthquake here last week but there was no damage. I was working on my computer when my office mates said my name. When I looked up they were all staring at me. I said, “What?” and they said, “It’s an earthquake.” A second later I felt the earth sway and we all walked outside. That was it. We didn’t feel the aftershocks either. It was obvious on everyone’s faces that the fear of earthquakes is a part of their existence, especially for those who lived through the devastating earthquake in Mexico City in 1985. Someone I know lives in an earthquake-proof apartment building in Mexico City. The building moves whenever a bus passes.

This weekend I went with friends to Mexico City for the Iberoamericano Music Festival. We were guests of Foster the People (a Grammy nominee) because the lead singer is related to one of the volunteers (also named Foster). We stood on the side of the stage and looked out at 70,000 people in the audience (see photos). We stayed in a beautiful part of the city called Condesa, which has wonderful restaurants, lovely B&Bs, and a great night scene. Yesterday we visited the Anthropological Museum and decided we are definitely coming back for more. Yes, crime is a factor there, as with any huge city -- L.A., N.Y., Chicago, etc. – but with proper precautions there is no reason not to enjoy all of the wonderful culture and beauty the city has to offer.

I am now part of my neighborhood and take great pleasure in being greeted warmly by my neighbors and friends -- the shoemaker down the street, the laundry employee on her way to work, and the owners of the many little shops along my route between the bus stop and home.

Adios for now

Felices fiestas

Hola!

I haven’t written for a few months and there’s a lot to tell you. It’s so nice to be able to write to my Wisconsin family and friends in December from warm, sunny Mexico.

My work is going well and I am deriving much satisfaction from doing what I came here for. My counterpart and I made a presentation to the Director General for improving internal communication at our center, and he approved all our recommendations! Implementing them will keep me busy for my remaining 18 months here. My workshop at the botanical garden also went well, and they asked me to do it again next year (see photo with fellow volunteers helping at workshop http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/). Among my proudest accomplishments is that one of my English students passed the TOEFL (test of English as a foreign language), a requirement for graduation for the master's program.

My son, Jonas came for a week at Thanksgiving, and I loved showing him my Mexican home, the local sites, my center and the town where I lived when I arrived in Puebla. We had Thanksgiving dinner with fresh produce from the local Mercado, a turkey from COSTCO and fresh cranberries from Superama labeled, “Something special from Wisconsin.” It was so much fun to Skype with my family on Thanksgiving – Jonas and I on the Mexican side of the table, my son Jacob and the rest of my beautiful family on the other. I also Skyped with my kids on the first night of Hanukkah. Jonas lit the menorah candles, prayer and all. It was beautiful.

My kids might come for Cinco de Mayo -- a big deal in the State of Puebla because it commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The rest of Mexico is blase' about the holiday; the U.S. makes a bigger deal out of it.

I was a guest at a Posada last week, a Christmas tradition held at the homes of the more devout Christians to re-enact Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging on what is now known as Christmas Eve. After enjoying a traditional Christmas punch called ponche (like mulled cider with stewed fruit), we re-enacted the posada, choosing whether to be outside and pleading for lodging, or inside saying “No.” (Since it was chilly outside, and having assumed no guilt whatsoever for the innkeepers’ selfish behavior … or other acts to follow years later, for that matter, I opted for inside). We took turns reading our part from a printed script. The whole role play lasted about five minutes, thanks to a very familiar conversation I overheard among the family members about doing only part of the hours-long re-enactment so they could hurry up and eat. Afterward we played with sparklers – the big, 2-foot-long kind, which they call “Luz de Bengala” (lights of Bengal). The Mexicans were surprised to learn we celebrate with sparklers on the 4^th of July. After an untraditional dinner of “Mexican hot dogs” (avocado, cheese, mushrooms and bacon), the festivities wrapped up with the breaking of a Piñata.

In the past month I have visited Tlaxcala, Queretaro, Leon and Chignahuapan. Tlaxcala is a lovely little pueblo about two hours north of Puebla with a charming centro and archeological ruins nearby. As my friend and I were exploring the ruins I commented that during my visits to ancient sites I sometimes imagine that the people I encounter there are spirits from another time. At that moment a coyote ran across our path. Cool or what?

I and several other volunteers were weekend guests in Chignahuapan, Puebla, at the home of a woman who works at our center. The town is famous for hand-painted Christmas ornaments and produces millions every year. After shopping for souvenirs we headed for the thermal baths nearby. The baths are nestled in a river gorge and offer a spectacular view of the fog-shrouded cliffs from the outdoor pool (see photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/). I had a soak and a massage, then considered asking someone to flip me over with a spatula.

The photos of the harvesting of marigolds (cempazuchitl) on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/ were taken on Oct. 31 in my neighborhood just before the holiday of Dia de los muertos. These are traditional flowers of the holiday and can be found everywhere -- on alters honoring deceased loved ones, in doorways, and used to create pathways to lead the departed to their alters. I was lucky to catch the harvest during the brilliant yellow light of late afternoon.

I have two more weeks of vacation and might take some day trips, but am mostly looking forward to relaxing, painting, reading, and doing lots of nothing until I return to work on the 9^th.

Until next time, may you all find happiness and peace in the new year.

San Miguel de Allende

Hi everyone!

I have been busy these past few weeks. My Peace Corps group returned to headquarters last week for more training, which no one was looking forward to. But it was relatively painless,and it was nice to see some people I haven't seen since June.

From there I went with two friends to San Miguel de Allende for the weekend. We didn't realize that weekend was the festival of the patron saint, San Miguel, but we came at a perfect time. The festivities began with fireworks at 4 a.m. and continued for two hours. They were repeated the following night with a spectacular show. I saw some things for the first time – fireworks were shot from the windows of the huge church in the center of the city (a jaw-dropper), and a flaming circle was launched over the throng of people packed into the central square. Just when it started to descend and I said "this isn’t good,” it ignited into a starburst and dissipated before hurting anyone. A piece of shell casing landed next to someone near me, however, and a cinder hit my friend above the eye and made a carbon tattoo. I never witnessed this kind of show in the U.S., probably because it would never be allowed.

People from five nearby pueblos converged upon San Miguel for the weekend and to participate in a massive parade dressed in indigenous costumes. Sunday morning we thought we heard the sound of horses in the street and ran to the balcony of our hotel. The sound was coming from people walking down the street wearing anklets made of shells. They were decked in fabulous feather headdresses, skull masks and glittering rainbow-colored costumes and on their way to the parade starting point at the end of the block. So we grabbed our cameras and ran to the corner to join them.

We had an amazing time photographing people while they waited for the procession to begin. People were mingling with others in similar costumes, adjusting children’s plumage or reminding them to behave, practicing knife fights, painting faces – and everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. One pot-bellied man in a costume involving a skull, feathers and makeup was having a final word with his wife, who was dressed in normal, modern attire. I could imagine this man as a furniture salesman or fruit peddler during the week, now transformed into a ferocious weekend warrior.

I also photographed the remarkable face of a woman who was begging on the sidewalk. I asked if I could photograph her and promised to pay. She agreed. Then I told her in Spanish that she had a beautiful face, and took her photo just as she looked away and smiled, perhaps recalling hearing those same words from admiring young men. You can see all the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/. There are lots … I had trouble deciding which ones were really special. But I hope you will feel as if you were there, too.

Everything I have heard about SMA is true – it is a haven for Americans. Most of the people – shopkeepers, waiters, hotel staff -- speak English, the buildings are maintained and freshly painted, and the cobblestone streets and sidewalks are in good repair. In other words, it is not representative of the Mexico I have seen, and is not the place to come if you want to experience the true essence of the country. That said, there are many fine restaurants and shops, and the scenery is breathtaking. I can understand the appeal for Americans and look forward to going back.

Today I completed the workshop manual for the garden I have been writing to you about. It felt good to get that off my plate. I have an appointment there on Tuesday with the communications director to discuss artwork for a new book they are publishing. I may decide to let them use some of my past work, or create something new for the book. In either case, I feel so privileged to have this opportunity. Imagine – my artwork in a book to help promote a beautiful botanical garden in the heart of Mexico.

Until my next post, I hope you are finding ways to do things that bring you great satisfaction.

Donna

New photos posted

Check out my latest Mexican photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/

Some bests and worsts

I´m sitting in an Internet cafe and it´s pouring outside, so I thought I would take advantage of the time and write another update. As the salt tag line says, "When it rains, it pours." It rains heavily almost every afternoon or evening here and floods the streets and sidewalks in my neighborhood. If this kind of rain occurred in Milwaukee it would be on the 6 o'clock news; here it's a daily event. The rainy season ends in October; none too soon.

In my last update I mentioned I saw people decorating the floor of a church with flowers. As I suspected, it was in preparation for a religious event. This one was to celebrate the ascencion of the Virgin. The churches all over the pueblo were creating similar carpets, or alfombras, which the parisheners walk on as they carry the statue of the Virgin out of the church for a procession in the street. I´ll upload some photos soon.

I just started teaching English to three master´s degree students, and I´m having a ball. I now officially have too much to do, and that´s just the way I like it. I have my primary job of helping with communication strategy at my center, a secondary recycling project, a project at the botanical garden, English classes, and Spanish classes, and the time is going very quickly. When I need some down time I enjoy my new garden room, which is now filled with green plants.

I compiled a Best and Worst list -- all true:

BEST

new fruit: guanabana (pronounced (gwə-nä'bə-nə) -- great as agua fresca or in sorbet or ice cream.

cookie: tortila de santa clara

band name: "Los Dandys." And they are -- dandy, that is.

Mexican entree: Mixiotes (pronounced mish-ee-OH-tees. These are little plastic or parchment bags filled with chicken or other meat in a tomato broth, seasoned with avocado leaves, onion and sometimes vegetables, and steamed for hours. There´s a store nearby that sells them already prepared.

comment: I was working at a children´s event last week, and spoke to the kids in Spanish. One boy, who speaks only Spanish, told my Mexican friend: "She was speaking English and I understood everything she said."

folklore: I visited a church in Tlacatepec last week that houses a Black Christ. Legend has it the statue was discovered on a mountain top there, and no one knew where it came from. A church was built to honor it, and the Christ remained there for some time until it was stolen, where or by whom a mystery. The next day the Christ reappeared on the mountaintop, where it is said he preferred to be. It was stolen several more times and each time reappeared on the mountaintop. By the way, it has decidedly Roman features -- straight, narrow nose and thin lips. I´ll upload photos of that as well.

WORST

menu items:
lard-fried agave cactus worms
butter-fried ant roe

form of transportation: local busses. They get me where I need to go, and for only $6 pesos (about 40 cents). But the bus drivers get paid by the number of routes they complete, so some days I feel like I´m riding on a coach out of hell.

most difficult to pronounce (not really a "worst") Chiconauhquiauhitl (goddess of nine rains)

sighting: a butchered hog being carried over a man´s shoulders into a meat shop. The pig´s head and four hooves were dangling by small pieces of skin, probably to prove to the buyer that they came from the same pig that was purchased. I involuntarily groaned and covered both my eyes with my hands. A young teenage boy who was helping stared at me like I was from another planet.

It has stopped raining and I’m heading for the Mercado. More soon.