Thursday, March 27, 2008
No longer homeless!
That´s right, we have found a home. We have decided to move in with another English teacher from our school named Hugo. He´s a really nice guy and we think it will be great to have a native Spanish speaker around all the time to help us with our language aquisition. The complex has security and the apartment is two-bedroom, 1-bath. It is already furnished so we won´t have to buy much except for some kitchen stuff (since Hugo isn´t much of a chef and his dinnerware collection consists of basically one plate, one fork, and a couple spoons) and whatever we want to add to our bedroom decor. It will be SOOO nice not to have to squish onto a twin mattress on the floor anymore! Yeah! We can´t wait. We move in Saturday afternoon, and so the eager anticipation for normalcy is running rampant in our hearts. (Actually, it hasn´t been that bad staying at the empty house, but believe us, this is one heckuva step up :) Oh yeah-- one more thing: the apartment is really close to school (walkably close!), so we won´t have to take any more taxis or buses to/from work. We will probably be walking an average of 2-4 miles per day which should thankfully help counteract all the tacos/pan dulce (pastry-type deliciousness). I actually think I'll come back in better shape! Whew. Ok one more thing, again: Our rent for this place is ridiculous. We only have to pay appx US$200/month for rent + all utilities (that is $100 a month per person, my friends. We may never return).
Monday, March 17, 2008
Oaxaca
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During the week of Semana Santa (Holy Week), we took a bus down to Oaxaca for a much-needed vacation. Look, 17.5 hour work weeks are rough-- we deserved it! (Actually, the craziness we went through preparing to leave the US did leave us a bit tired and torn, so we really did need it :). Anyway, Oaxaca is a beautiful place, and we had SO MUCH FUN!
On our way to Oaxaca we stopped in Mexico City. Actually, we were forced into a 6-hour layover there. When we tried to buy tickets from Mexico City to Oaxaca at around 2 pm, we found out the next bus with available seats didn´t leave until 9 pm. Anyway, it turned out to be a lucky inconvienience. We took the metro (subway) and visited the main sqare there-- the buildings seem ancient and are spectacular, beautiful monstrosities. Mexico City is rich with culture, and we plan on returning there many many times over the next year. In addition to checking out the vast city plaza and wandering the beautiful streets, we also stopped for our favoite tacos al pastor, which are little mini tacos made of pork, onion, and cilantro. We like ours with lime and pineapple as well. It is definitely something we will miss when we come back, because I know they don´t have tacos al pastor in America (trust me, after I did my study abroad in Cuernavaca and fell in love with them, I looked relentlessly at US Mexican restaurants to no avail).
Anyway, once in Oaxaca, we had an experience searching for the best hotel. The first night we stayed at a cute place for around US$35/night, although the next day we found a haven that we are likely to dream about for the rest of our lives (for US$30). It is a super cute hotel called Casa Arnel. Holy cow this place is awesome. Granted, the rooms aren´t anything to write home about (although here we are, doing just that), but the place itself, well-- it's quite heavenly. The courtyard is massive and filled with all sorts of tropical plants and such. There are so many little plant-filled balconies and hidden surprises at basically every turn. We spent a lot of time just chillin' in the hammocks there, listening to the parrots, and now and then playing some cards. We did leave Casa Arnel for one night (against our better judgment) to stay in another even-cheaper hotel called Hotel Chocolate Posada. This place was super cute as well (although really not very cute at all in comparison to Arnel), and it housed a chocolate factory that of course acted as constant air-freshener / evil temptress. The chocolate in Oaxaca is amazing, and so we thought it would follow that an experience at this Chocolate Hotel might be a fun deviation. Umm, not so much. Aside from the aroma and outward aesthetic appeal, Hotel Chocolate Posada sucks. We have never heard so much noise so early in the morning. Starting at about 5 am, we were greeted with the pleasantries of steel garage-like doors being flung open, people yelling, and other things that sounded like barrels being thrown around on concrete. All of this nicely echoed in the cinderblock courtyard that the hotel rooms surround. Needless to say, we returned to our wish-it-was-our-second-home Casa Arnel the next night.
While in Oaxaca, we tried all sorts of yummy foods, many of which you´ll see Billy eating in the photos we promise to post soon (he wants a running visual account of his foodie experiences). These food experineces included both of us trying mini fried grasshoppers (not too gross), and walking through a chaotic barbeque-smoke filled market with people on all sides yelling at us to buy their meat and their vegetables.
We also visited the ancient ruins of Monte Alban which were amazing. It really makes you (or at least us) wonder what it must have looked like when those cultures were in their prime. Wish we had a time machine. Anyway, we also checked out some cool museums and such, in addition to walking the many many cobblestoned streets of Oaxaca´s colonial center. It seemed like every little doorway you looked into held exciting secrets (FYI, much of Mexico has streets lined with homes and/or businesses that look like plain flat facades squished tightly together from the front-- to see what they really are, you have to be allowed inside. All their courtyards, etc, are hidden from street view and are accessible only upon entry). There were also coutless food vendors, artists, etc, etc lining the streets and established "mercado" areas. We loved hanging out in the city´s various plazas and soaking in the cultural ambiance. Very, very fun.
Since we were in Oaxaca during Semana Santa, we were also able to watch their Procescion del Silencio (Procession of Silence). I had seen more dramatic versions of this tradition when I was in Cuernavaca years ago, but it was still very interesting. Huge amounts of people come to watch this holy "parade", wich basically consists of people in various types of dress carrying several flowered "floats" with statues of Christ and Mother Mary (many of them being ones of Christ on the Cross). In Cuernavaca, there were men who would actaully whip their own backs into bloody messes, others who would carry huge wooden crosses, and women who would walk miles hunched over carrying mini-crucifixes. The Oaxaca version wasn´t as gruesome, thankfully.
Finally, (on a lighter note) before leaving, we also checked out a 2000+ year old tree called El Tule. That thing was amazing. It is really hard to capture the perspective via photo, but believe us, that was one big tree. The trunk seemed to house many many other trunks within it, all worthy of their own little zip code.
On our way back to Queretaro, we once again stopped off in Mexico City (this time by planned choice). We got up early and went to the temporary museum, Ashes and Snow. This is travelling museum, and believe us, if it comes to your city, GO. We were lucky to have gotten up early, because by the time we left at around 10:30 am, the line to get in was already as long as the notoriously horrific Disneyland ones. We found out that the musuem gets an average of about 250,000 visitors per day. No admission price, but trust us, this place is making money. Almost everyone buys something in the gift shop after going through that spiritually-enlightening exhibit. We certainly did. Just go-- we really can´t explain what it´s like, but you can also check it out at http://www.ashesandsnow.com/
After Ashes and Snow we headed to the famous ruins of Teotihuacan. They had a different feel to them than did the ruins of Monte Alban, although they are equally impressive and appealing. We climbed the huge pyramids and wiggled our way through the zillions of people selling souveniers. Once again, pictures will follow soon. And after Teotihuacan, we said goodbye to our Semana Santa vacation and bussed it back to our cozy mattress-on-the-floor abode.
On our way to Oaxaca we stopped in Mexico City. Actually, we were forced into a 6-hour layover there. When we tried to buy tickets from Mexico City to Oaxaca at around 2 pm, we found out the next bus with available seats didn´t leave until 9 pm. Anyway, it turned out to be a lucky inconvienience. We took the metro (subway) and visited the main sqare there-- the buildings seem ancient and are spectacular, beautiful monstrosities. Mexico City is rich with culture, and we plan on returning there many many times over the next year. In addition to checking out the vast city plaza and wandering the beautiful streets, we also stopped for our favoite tacos al pastor, which are little mini tacos made of pork, onion, and cilantro. We like ours with lime and pineapple as well. It is definitely something we will miss when we come back, because I know they don´t have tacos al pastor in America (trust me, after I did my study abroad in Cuernavaca and fell in love with them, I looked relentlessly at US Mexican restaurants to no avail).
Anyway, once in Oaxaca, we had an experience searching for the best hotel. The first night we stayed at a cute place for around US$35/night, although the next day we found a haven that we are likely to dream about for the rest of our lives (for US$30). It is a super cute hotel called Casa Arnel. Holy cow this place is awesome. Granted, the rooms aren´t anything to write home about (although here we are, doing just that), but the place itself, well-- it's quite heavenly. The courtyard is massive and filled with all sorts of tropical plants and such. There are so many little plant-filled balconies and hidden surprises at basically every turn. We spent a lot of time just chillin' in the hammocks there, listening to the parrots, and now and then playing some cards. We did leave Casa Arnel for one night (against our better judgment) to stay in another even-cheaper hotel called Hotel Chocolate Posada. This place was super cute as well (although really not very cute at all in comparison to Arnel), and it housed a chocolate factory that of course acted as constant air-freshener / evil temptress. The chocolate in Oaxaca is amazing, and so we thought it would follow that an experience at this Chocolate Hotel might be a fun deviation. Umm, not so much. Aside from the aroma and outward aesthetic appeal, Hotel Chocolate Posada sucks. We have never heard so much noise so early in the morning. Starting at about 5 am, we were greeted with the pleasantries of steel garage-like doors being flung open, people yelling, and other things that sounded like barrels being thrown around on concrete. All of this nicely echoed in the cinderblock courtyard that the hotel rooms surround. Needless to say, we returned to our wish-it-was-our-second-home Casa Arnel the next night.
While in Oaxaca, we tried all sorts of yummy foods, many of which you´ll see Billy eating in the photos we promise to post soon (he wants a running visual account of his foodie experiences). These food experineces included both of us trying mini fried grasshoppers (not too gross), and walking through a chaotic barbeque-smoke filled market with people on all sides yelling at us to buy their meat and their vegetables.
We also visited the ancient ruins of Monte Alban which were amazing. It really makes you (or at least us) wonder what it must have looked like when those cultures were in their prime. Wish we had a time machine. Anyway, we also checked out some cool museums and such, in addition to walking the many many cobblestoned streets of Oaxaca´s colonial center. It seemed like every little doorway you looked into held exciting secrets (FYI, much of Mexico has streets lined with homes and/or businesses that look like plain flat facades squished tightly together from the front-- to see what they really are, you have to be allowed inside. All their courtyards, etc, are hidden from street view and are accessible only upon entry). There were also coutless food vendors, artists, etc, etc lining the streets and established "mercado" areas. We loved hanging out in the city´s various plazas and soaking in the cultural ambiance. Very, very fun.
Since we were in Oaxaca during Semana Santa, we were also able to watch their Procescion del Silencio (Procession of Silence). I had seen more dramatic versions of this tradition when I was in Cuernavaca years ago, but it was still very interesting. Huge amounts of people come to watch this holy "parade", wich basically consists of people in various types of dress carrying several flowered "floats" with statues of Christ and Mother Mary (many of them being ones of Christ on the Cross). In Cuernavaca, there were men who would actaully whip their own backs into bloody messes, others who would carry huge wooden crosses, and women who would walk miles hunched over carrying mini-crucifixes. The Oaxaca version wasn´t as gruesome, thankfully.
Finally, (on a lighter note) before leaving, we also checked out a 2000+ year old tree called El Tule. That thing was amazing. It is really hard to capture the perspective via photo, but believe us, that was one big tree. The trunk seemed to house many many other trunks within it, all worthy of their own little zip code.
On our way back to Queretaro, we once again stopped off in Mexico City (this time by planned choice). We got up early and went to the temporary museum, Ashes and Snow. This is travelling museum, and believe us, if it comes to your city, GO. We were lucky to have gotten up early, because by the time we left at around 10:30 am, the line to get in was already as long as the notoriously horrific Disneyland ones. We found out that the musuem gets an average of about 250,000 visitors per day. No admission price, but trust us, this place is making money. Almost everyone buys something in the gift shop after going through that spiritually-enlightening exhibit. We certainly did. Just go-- we really can´t explain what it´s like, but you can also check it out at http://www.ashesandsnow.com/
After Ashes and Snow we headed to the famous ruins of Teotihuacan. They had a different feel to them than did the ruins of Monte Alban, although they are equally impressive and appealing. We climbed the huge pyramids and wiggled our way through the zillions of people selling souveniers. Once again, pictures will follow soon. And after Teotihuacan, we said goodbye to our Semana Santa vacation and bussed it back to our cozy mattress-on-the-floor abode.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Blog Debut!
Howdy everybody!
So...we have only been here for a few days and yet we already feel so far behind in story-telling. Hmmm... where to begin. Let us start with the Phoenix airport. So... yeah. For those of you who know us well, it shouldn´t be too much of a shocker to find that we were really pushing the limits when it came time to catch our flight. It took us a while to check in because, well, we ran into some complications for having too much stuff! We both had 2 checked bags and 2 carry-on bags. And you know that whole 50-pound-per-bag weight limit thing? Um...that didn´t really work for us. We actually both had to pay an extra fee for packing too much crap (mostly WAAAYY too many clothes--who cares about bringing essentials like alarm clocks when you can have 15 pairs of shoes and about 16,578 shirts...each?). So yeah.... Billy´s big suitcase weighed 73 pounds and my biggest checked in at 58. Let me repeat that: BILLY´s bag was SEVENTY-THREE pounds. MINE? Heavy.... yes.... but not like that of my boy. And NO-- I did not have my stuff crammed into his suitcase (granted I did have a few things in another of his suitcases that was under the weight limit...but no big deal =). Anyway, we had to rearrange and shuffle some stuff out of Billy´s 73-pounder just to get them to check it at all, as their maximum weight limit is 70 pounds. We also found out that due to the fact we are returning during holiday season (Dec 23), we will have to meet a very strict, no exceptions, no-extra-fee-for-extra-weight option, 50-pound-per-bag weight limit when we come back. Taking into consideration that we are likely to buy many souvenirs, etc, during our stay here, me thinks we may be in a bit of trouble. Perhaps a few of you would like to visit with an extra suitcase, and foster a few dozen outfits for us until we return ;) ?
Wow, this blog is going to be long!! So.... we check in and wait forever and ever and ever to get through security, just in time to hear our names being called via intercom to board our flight for immediate departure. So we did...and we made it. No real bumps in the road yet. We had a quick layover in Houston which was also interesting due to the fact that we had to take a bus from terminal A to terminal B so we could switch planes. This almost made us late for our connection to Mexico City, and I also almost left one of our bags at the "bus stop". Nice one, Allison.
Ok... I need to cut back a bit on the details--- for your sake and mine. Anyhow, all went well and good once in Mexico, except for one tiny little detail. Once we were all checked into our hotel and about to go out for our first dinner in Mexico, I all of a sudden realized that I was missing a bag. Yup....7 bags with us in the hotel room instead of 8. I really kinda freaked... thinking about all the stuff that was in the missing suitcase and not having any idea whatsoever where it got lost in the transition. We called our Mexico contacts/bosses and they told us they would try and call the airport to help track the bag down. The really convenient thing was that I just so happened to have lost the carry-on suitcase that was NOT marked with my name-address-etc!! Sweet. So I lamented the loss of my bag, knowing the chances of finding it were very very very small. But this is what makes it an adventure, no? So we went out to dinner and laughed at the fact that our first dining experience was "eating Mexican food in a Chinese restaurant in Mexico". But seriously, the tacos I ordered were really really really good, and the Chinese-ish thing Billy got (which he thought was going to be a Mexican-ish thing) was OK good. So the moral of the story is: when in Mexico, always order Mexican, even from a Chinese restaurant. After some good laughs and such at dinner, I made one final desperate call to Continental Airlines-- and, as luck would have it, my bag appeared to be safe and sound at the Continental baggage claim desk. Ahhhh... and all was well with the world again. (Oh yeah, while making the phone call about my luggage, we saw a group of obvious prostitutes on the street corner, and shortly thereafter we saw a pair of Mormon missionaries walk by. Welcome to Mexico City, my friends).
The next day, after such an interesting roller-coaster introduction, we began training in the Mexico City branch of InterAct. The owners of the company are a married couple, Rosa and Fernando. They are both extremely nice, hospitable, funny, and supportive. We are very excited to be working with/for them. They bought us breakfast and lunch, and both were really very yummy. This country is definitely made for Billy. I, on the other hand, am already a bit "over" the whole tacos-for-breakfast-lunch-and-dinner thing. We went to this one famous breakfast place on our way from Mexico City to Queretaro where they serve Barbacoa (a very very fatty, as in chunks-of-visible-fat-everywhere-fatty, lamb fajita thing). It was not the easiest thing for me to eat at 10 am, but I did it with the help of a yummy, thick hot-chocolate drink called Champurrado. In later conversations with students at our school, they adamantly insist Barbacoa and Menudo (tripe/intestine soup) are absolutely, no-questions-asked, breakfast foods. Ummm, ok then. I miss my smoothie ;) Billy, as I said, has been in heaven. He ate like 4 or 5 of those lamb taco things, and is trying to imagine ever getting sick of the idea of having many many more meals like those.
We have been taking a lot of taxis, and for the time being we are staying in our bosses´ empty house. They recently moved from Queretaro to Mexico City and so we have free reign of their 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house--- mattress on the floor included. It has been interesting for us to go without a car, phone, Internet, etc etc for the past few days. We are searching for a place of our own, but it may take us a week or two before we find something appealing close to work. We definitely DO want a place close to work--hopefully close enough so we can always walk. If not, we may end up spending all our earnings on transportation! Rosa was wondering why we didn´t just drive here since we were from Phoenix (which, by the way, came as a surprise to her because for some reason she had it in her head we were Canadian). But seriously, even though a car would be WAY more convenient, I cannot imagine driving here. There does not seem to be any laws regarding Right of Way. It translates mostly into "he who is most aggressive wins". Drivers here are crazy. Crazy. I don´t really know how else to describe it. As an example, a bus we took an experimental ride on actually ran into the bus next to us!
As far as work goes, we are very excited to begin teaching. We have been observing classes and we have both already taught a class. Funny thing though-- we got here right in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week), which means that we have all of next week off! I know, I know... it´s about time for a vacation! So that´s exactly what we´re going to do. We are planning to take a bus from Queretaro to Oaxaca tomorrow, and will return sometime next week. Oaxaca is an awesome city south of us, famous for its chocolate =). Oaxaca also reportedly has some amazing ruins that we will go see. Neither of us have ever been there, so it should be interesting. We will take lots of pictures and try to get them uploaded ASAP. Sorry we don´t have any pics up yet, but they will come, believe us. Lots of love until next week!
So...we have only been here for a few days and yet we already feel so far behind in story-telling. Hmmm... where to begin. Let us start with the Phoenix airport. So... yeah. For those of you who know us well, it shouldn´t be too much of a shocker to find that we were really pushing the limits when it came time to catch our flight. It took us a while to check in because, well, we ran into some complications for having too much stuff! We both had 2 checked bags and 2 carry-on bags. And you know that whole 50-pound-per-bag weight limit thing? Um...that didn´t really work for us. We actually both had to pay an extra fee for packing too much crap (mostly WAAAYY too many clothes--who cares about bringing essentials like alarm clocks when you can have 15 pairs of shoes and about 16,578 shirts...each?). So yeah.... Billy´s big suitcase weighed 73 pounds and my biggest checked in at 58. Let me repeat that: BILLY´s bag was SEVENTY-THREE pounds. MINE? Heavy.... yes.... but not like that of my boy. And NO-- I did not have my stuff crammed into his suitcase (granted I did have a few things in another of his suitcases that was under the weight limit...but no big deal =). Anyway, we had to rearrange and shuffle some stuff out of Billy´s 73-pounder just to get them to check it at all, as their maximum weight limit is 70 pounds. We also found out that due to the fact we are returning during holiday season (Dec 23), we will have to meet a very strict, no exceptions, no-extra-fee-for-extra-weight option, 50-pound-per-bag weight limit when we come back. Taking into consideration that we are likely to buy many souvenirs, etc, during our stay here, me thinks we may be in a bit of trouble. Perhaps a few of you would like to visit with an extra suitcase, and foster a few dozen outfits for us until we return ;) ?
Wow, this blog is going to be long!! So.... we check in and wait forever and ever and ever to get through security, just in time to hear our names being called via intercom to board our flight for immediate departure. So we did...and we made it. No real bumps in the road yet. We had a quick layover in Houston which was also interesting due to the fact that we had to take a bus from terminal A to terminal B so we could switch planes. This almost made us late for our connection to Mexico City, and I also almost left one of our bags at the "bus stop". Nice one, Allison.
Ok... I need to cut back a bit on the details--- for your sake and mine. Anyhow, all went well and good once in Mexico, except for one tiny little detail. Once we were all checked into our hotel and about to go out for our first dinner in Mexico, I all of a sudden realized that I was missing a bag. Yup....7 bags with us in the hotel room instead of 8. I really kinda freaked... thinking about all the stuff that was in the missing suitcase and not having any idea whatsoever where it got lost in the transition. We called our Mexico contacts/bosses and they told us they would try and call the airport to help track the bag down. The really convenient thing was that I just so happened to have lost the carry-on suitcase that was NOT marked with my name-address-etc!! Sweet. So I lamented the loss of my bag, knowing the chances of finding it were very very very small. But this is what makes it an adventure, no? So we went out to dinner and laughed at the fact that our first dining experience was "eating Mexican food in a Chinese restaurant in Mexico". But seriously, the tacos I ordered were really really really good, and the Chinese-ish thing Billy got (which he thought was going to be a Mexican-ish thing) was OK good. So the moral of the story is: when in Mexico, always order Mexican, even from a Chinese restaurant. After some good laughs and such at dinner, I made one final desperate call to Continental Airlines-- and, as luck would have it, my bag appeared to be safe and sound at the Continental baggage claim desk. Ahhhh... and all was well with the world again. (Oh yeah, while making the phone call about my luggage, we saw a group of obvious prostitutes on the street corner, and shortly thereafter we saw a pair of Mormon missionaries walk by. Welcome to Mexico City, my friends).
The next day, after such an interesting roller-coaster introduction, we began training in the Mexico City branch of InterAct. The owners of the company are a married couple, Rosa and Fernando. They are both extremely nice, hospitable, funny, and supportive. We are very excited to be working with/for them. They bought us breakfast and lunch, and both were really very yummy. This country is definitely made for Billy. I, on the other hand, am already a bit "over" the whole tacos-for-breakfast-lunch-and-dinner thing. We went to this one famous breakfast place on our way from Mexico City to Queretaro where they serve Barbacoa (a very very fatty, as in chunks-of-visible-fat-everywhere-fatty, lamb fajita thing). It was not the easiest thing for me to eat at 10 am, but I did it with the help of a yummy, thick hot-chocolate drink called Champurrado. In later conversations with students at our school, they adamantly insist Barbacoa and Menudo (tripe/intestine soup) are absolutely, no-questions-asked, breakfast foods. Ummm, ok then. I miss my smoothie ;) Billy, as I said, has been in heaven. He ate like 4 or 5 of those lamb taco things, and is trying to imagine ever getting sick of the idea of having many many more meals like those.
We have been taking a lot of taxis, and for the time being we are staying in our bosses´ empty house. They recently moved from Queretaro to Mexico City and so we have free reign of their 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house--- mattress on the floor included. It has been interesting for us to go without a car, phone, Internet, etc etc for the past few days. We are searching for a place of our own, but it may take us a week or two before we find something appealing close to work. We definitely DO want a place close to work--hopefully close enough so we can always walk. If not, we may end up spending all our earnings on transportation! Rosa was wondering why we didn´t just drive here since we were from Phoenix (which, by the way, came as a surprise to her because for some reason she had it in her head we were Canadian). But seriously, even though a car would be WAY more convenient, I cannot imagine driving here. There does not seem to be any laws regarding Right of Way. It translates mostly into "he who is most aggressive wins". Drivers here are crazy. Crazy. I don´t really know how else to describe it. As an example, a bus we took an experimental ride on actually ran into the bus next to us!
As far as work goes, we are very excited to begin teaching. We have been observing classes and we have both already taught a class. Funny thing though-- we got here right in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week), which means that we have all of next week off! I know, I know... it´s about time for a vacation! So that´s exactly what we´re going to do. We are planning to take a bus from Queretaro to Oaxaca tomorrow, and will return sometime next week. Oaxaca is an awesome city south of us, famous for its chocolate =). Oaxaca also reportedly has some amazing ruins that we will go see. Neither of us have ever been there, so it should be interesting. We will take lots of pictures and try to get them uploaded ASAP. Sorry we don´t have any pics up yet, but they will come, believe us. Lots of love until next week!
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