By the way...

If anyone is interested in seeing how I taught Thanksgiving to my students, here are the two articles I used:

This one is more of an overview of the holiday:

http://wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm

And this one is a personal story of a Vietnamese immigrant's Thanksgiving:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec06/thanksgiving_11-23.html

Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving)

(me and most of my students on Thanksgiving... I'm front row, left side)

Pumpkin bread was nowhere to be found, and the turkey tasted just a little too boring without canned cranberry sauce, but other than that, my Mexican Thanksgiving experience exceeded all expectations!

On Thursday afternoon, the English language department along with my students and me, sponsored a Thanksgiving celebration at my University, UTEZ. The whole school was invited, and a majority of the English students in the school ended up coming (which I would estimate at about 100—great turnout!). To remind you, I teach four classes total, one on each day from Monday through Thursday. My Monday and Tuesday classes (advanced level) each performed a skit representing the events of the first Thanksgiving. My Wednesday and Thursday classes (intermediate level) pitched in to buy a turkey, which we acquired fully prepared and stuffed from the aunt of a fellow English teacher at UTEZ, who works in catering. My Thursday class also made a presentation on the typical foods eaten on this holiday.

Note: Remember, Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated only in the U.S. It commemorates the “teamwork” between the Wampanoag Indians and the invading Puritan Pilgrims. I learned recently that the second official Thanksgiving was held without the presence of any Natives, instead celebrating a recent Pilgrim victory over the Indian “savages.” Anyhow, Mexico does not celebrate Thanksgiving. So I really didn’t know what to expect with the skits.

The students impressed me, going above and beyond with their preparation and creativity (there were an awkward few who neither knew their lines nor their role, but the majority was outstanding).

Here is a video of the first skit, performed by my Monday class (sorry for the poor quality):


And here are the videos of the second skit, performed by my Tuesday class (my camera’s memory space was running out so I stopped filming between scenes):

Tuesday skit part 1 (pilgrims recalling the first Thanksgiving):


Tuesday skit part 2 (arrival on the Mayflower):


Part 3 (Pilgrims and Indians' first encounter: exchanging facebook):


Part 4 (Pilgrims pray to God for sustenance and miraculously receive delivery from Domino's Pizza):


Part 5 (Indians join Pilgrims for dinner, Pilgrims- in spanish so the Indians can't understand- call in special forces to sack the Indians, "Aqui en la cena estamos"):


I missed the last part, in which the special forces come and behead the Indian chief.

In case you chose not to watch the videos, I will tell you about the most hilarious moment. It came in the second skit, when the pilgrims are huddled inside their cabin during the rough winter of no harvest. One of the pilgrims (my student Gustavo) stands up and says, “I’ll show you how we can get some food,” begins praying, asks God to send them food. All of a sudden there is a knock on the door, and in walks a Domino’s delivery man. **They actually hired a Domino’s delivery man to bring a pie of pizza into the auditorium during this scene. Like I said, above and beyond.

After the skits, the English faculty and my classes were invited to the feast. We had the turkey, corn, peas and carrots, bread, mashed potatoes, and two pumpkin pies which I bought from Costco. The highlights were the turkey, the stuffing in the turkey, which was totally a la Mexicano (ground meat, raisins, peas, and brown sugar), and the pumpkin pies.

It was a great day. I was very proud of my students.

Here are some pictures...

of the banquet:

with my boss/colleague Raquel... about to successfully carve the first turkey of my life. My students were very impressed, and couldn't believe I hadn't carved a bird before.

of me and my plate:

with some of my Tuesday students (Sergio, Alan, Alan's son Alancito, me, Gustavo):

with some of my Thursday students (Karla, me, Belén):


and with two colleagues (Raquel- my boss, and Sarita), already having fun with the leftovers:

Friday was Thanksgiving part 2 for my friend Laura and me. We got haircuts! Then we joined our friend John and Joan, a retired American couple living in Cuernavaca, for a meal of leftovers from their Thanksgiving. It was even more delicious than my Thursday meal. Complete with sweet potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, potatoes, ham, turkey, gravy, baked pineapple and more of that delicious Costco pumpkin pie.

Laura and me with our new haircuts and matching outfit (not on purpose):

The end. (I am thankful to everyone who reads my blog.)

A half-hearted update

To my loyal 20 or less readers:

So sorry for the delays, I have not been in very much of a blogging mood lately, but I know that I owe you some kind of communication.

Life is still good, although I am starting to feel a little antsy. Thank goodness for 3 wonderfully exciting things that will be happening soon and have kept me distracted/positive.

3. I will be moving apartments starting in January, in order to save a bit of money. I will stay in the same neighborhood, and am currently deciding between two rooms that are for rent in private homes (each going for about $130/month!).

2. BACKPACKING TRIP hooorayyyy! On December 12, I will leave Cuernavaca with my friend Laura to spend 3 weeks galavanting through Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala, and hopefully the Yucatan Peninsula. This will include my first Christmas away from Philly and more importantly phamily. Very exhilarating.

Aaaand drumroll please for the number 1 thing that has kept me going for the past few weeks...

1. Mom is coming to visit.
From December 2nd through the 5th, with Aunt Regina. We will spend the time in Coyoacan, Mexico City. Coyoacan is significant for the following reasons: it is where Frida and Diego lived; it is also where Leon Trotsky hid out in exile after Stalin took power in the Soviet Union; there are many varieties of delicious street churros; there are delicious corn cookies sold on the street (imagine sweet crunchy corn bread); there is an enormous artisan market... I could go on, but most of my reasons have something to do with gastronomy or radical socialist historical figures.

Another cool thing that is happening (speaking of radical political beliefs) is my recent involvement in a retreat center here in Cuernavaca, run by Catholic nuns, one of whom is American, and all of whom are heavily interested in Marxism.

The center, Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development (CCIDD) works with various organizations in Cuernavaca and surrounding pueblos, including children's homes, indigenous artisan communities, orphanages, schools with limited resources in poor areas of town, etc. They bring University groups down for immersion trip programs, to perform community service and learn about international development. Hey SJU, sound familiar? Wolfington, anyone?

Wait, it gets better. The center is approximately 4 blocks from my house, has an outdoor pool, coffee brewing at almost all hours, and a stunningly beautiful property. It's a house, converted retreat center, has about 60 beds, an extensive DVD collection (mostly documentaries), and about 3 or 4 shelves of books sorted into categories like "education," "social development," "Mexico," "politics," "theology," "international poverty," etc. Two of the authors I've spotted so far on the shelves: Paulo Freire and Cornell West. Yahtzee! Also, the center employs a number of local men and women, as groundskeepers, cooks, program coordinators, translators, etc.

Kinda cool, right?

So anyway, I am currently helping at a breakfast program for kids before school in a semi-slum, actually it began as a squatter settlement next to railroad tracks in the 1930s, about 15 minutes from My Neck of the Woods, Cuernavaca. I will be going every Tuesday morning, helping to serve food and clean up. Then I walk back to the retreat center with two sisters who are in the program, to tutor them in English (they go to school in the afternoons). Last week I sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with them for an hour straight because they had to learn it for school.

It's nice to be involved in another community. The CCIDD community is surely a gem in this city.

This Thursday, my classes will be performing Thanksgiving skits. The whole University is invited. After the skits, the English faculty and my students are going to have a Thanksgiving feast! It won't be quite the same as usual, but I think these skits will be quite hilarious. Also, the meal can not possibly be worse than my 2008 Thanksgiving, which I spent in Lima, Peru. We made fettuccini out of a bag. Or frozen fettuccini. Something totally lame like that. Here's a picture, you make your own judgments.


To be honest, it hasn't even hit me yet that Thanksgiving is in 1.5 days. The weather here remains ever-eternally-springish, and the leaves are greener and more alive than ever. No Maggie O'Neill's Wednesday night, nor Turkey Bowl at Steel Field on Thursday morning. I did paint my nails autumn colors-red, orange, yellow- in hopes of getting more into the spirit. Gobble gobble.

What a boring, unpictureful post, huh? Here's a decent photo of me jumping on a pyramid in Xochicalco, Morelos (which is my state). As my friend told me, "una bailarina prehispánica," or a prehispanic ballerina.


As Tigger would say, TTFN: Ta ta for now!

And, Happy Turkey Day!

Graveyard Parties and Peanut Butter Chicken

T.I.M.

The big black pickup truck bounced to a stop in between two sedans in the dirt parking lot. From my perch in the bed of the truck, I surveyed the sight: A big blue Pepsi tailgating tent. At least two venders, pushing around their bicycle/platforms thingies, selling ice cream and water ice to parched children, families, and couples, who milled to and fro between their cars and the main attraction. A large truck/trailer, which seemed to be delivering a set of large speakers to a platform under the tent. Multiple rows of cars smushed into the small lot, which baked in the hot Campeche sun. And oh yes, the main attraction itself: an extensive, chalky marble graveyard.

It was November 2, 2010, the day following Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), one of the most important celebrations in Mexico. And oh yes, my friends, believe me when I say it is a celebration.

I was visiting a friend in Campeche, a city located on the Yucatan Peninsula on the Gulf Coast and he and I had the privilege of accompanying a Mexican family (close friends of his) to visit the graves of three of their most dear relatives (two nieces who died young, about 15 or 20 years ago, and a grandmother).

If I haven’t already made it obvious, I was totally surprised by the party atmosphere in the cemetery that day (for crying out loud, tailgating tents and speakers?!). In the U.S., we regard our dead in a very somber, Debbie-downer fashion. In Mexico, Day of the Dead is a celebration of the memories of loved ones who have passed on. In homes, makeshift altars are built, pictures laid out, candles lit, favorite foods of the dead ones cooked, and stories told of the people who are being remembered. Families visit the graves, bearing fresh flowers and candles to place on the headstone. Sure, at times it borders on the excessive, but overall I believe it is a beautiful way to remember loved ones and honor their legacy.

I felt honored to have authentically experienced this day with a Mexican family.

W.I.A.

Another tradition of Dia de Muertos is called Pibil Pollo (which is pronounced “P.B. Pollo,” hence the title of this blogpost). A Mayan (I think?) dish typical of the Yucatan Peninsula region, I ate this Mexican shepherd’s pie three days straight, nearly fulfilling my friend’s promise that I’d gain 5 kilos during my week in Campeche! Here is a picture of the dish, which is supposed to be wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an earth oven (pit/hole in the ground), but is often cooked in a regular oven for convenience:

Of course I ate lots of other things in Campeche, some of which are…

Homemade fried fish

Homemade baked fish

Maja Blanca, a velvety coconut pudding slice of heaven

Homemade chiles stuffed with mashed potatoes, meat and cheese

Octopus Salad

Shrimp soup

Slow-cooked ribs (my friend’s cousin/best friend Gustavo owns a rib place)

Rib tacos

And after an entire week of being with my friend’s cousins, grandmother, aunts and uncles, half-brothers and mom, as I felt the homesickness coming on, I indulged in Frosted Flakes, my breakfast of youth. The Spanish translation, “Zucaritas,” can be translated roughly as “Lil’ sugar jawns.” Gotta love it.

W.I.L.T.

The sounds of the waves, duh.

The streets of Campeche: