Busy Girl

Whew. This week I began teaching a kids class so my schedule has really gotten busy. Between teaching at the Academy and doing lesson plans, I am definitely working more than 40 hours a week. Who would've thought my first full-time job would be in Mexico? I'm not complaining too much though - the kids are adorable and teaching is very rewarding.

Thursday afternoon I went to the Feria (Fair). Every year, Leon has a month-long city fair to celebrate its foundation. It is very similar to any American county fair: lots of food, farm animals, rides, and stuff to buy. The only difference is that Leon's also includes a huge outdoor stadium (called the Palenque) that hosts cock-fighting (legal in Mexico) followed by live entertainment (singers, comedians, etc.). It's a unique lineup that I would've liked to see, but was unable to because I teach during the evening.

Earlier I mentioned that teaching was rewarding. That's because of things like this...I asked one of my classes to tell me the first thing that came to their minds when they thought of the USA. This was their list:

• hamburgers and french fries
• Hollywood
• fat people
• blonde people
• skyscrapers

Unfortunately, their list is pretty accurate. Speaking of the USA...the other day I saw a Mexican wearing a shirt that said "Redneck: It's a state of mind." How funny - I'm sure the man had no idea what his shirt meant.

I haven't eaten too much new food lately, but here's what's worth mentioning:

• Pan de Feria (Fair bread): different types of dense, sweet bread sold only during Fair month
• nopales (cactus that is shredded and soaked in juices): it is actually pretty flavorless
• mole: a delicious sauce that is generally served over chicken
  

There's no school or work on Monday because it is Constitution Day. That means tomorrow I'm going on a day trip to a charming nearby town called Guanajuato. Stay tuned!

A very Mexican weekend

This past weekend was very exciting! On Saturday, I went with some friends to a soccer game: Leon vs. Merida (a city in the Yucatan). Leon plays in the second highest professional soccer league in Mexico. They have a nice stadium that seats about 50,000 I would guess. Leon won 2-0 and it was a great atmosphere. Soccer fans are quite intense - there was one section where the people remained standing and chanting the entire game! They never shut their mouths or stopped waving their hands.

Then there are the other type of fans I saw on Sunday at a bullfight...! I was not sure how I would hold up while watching a bull die, but I was fine. There were 3 bullfighters, and each performed twice, so I ended up watching 6 bulls die. The first time I felt a little sad but fortunately/unfortunately, after each successive death I became increasingly numb to any of the bulls' suffering. The most entertaining part of attending a bullfight is actually watching the crowd. Everyone is wearing cowboy hats because the sun is shining down; and shouting obscenities at each other, the bull, the bullfighter, and the band (which plays different music depending on the stage of the fight). It is all in good fun though - it seems like the objective of all the shouting is just to make those sitting around you laugh.

Earlier last week was the 200th birthday of Leon. To celebrate, the city wheels in carros alegoricos (floats) that each celebrate a different aspect of the area's history. For example: in the picture, I am standing in front of one that celebrates sombreros and tequila.

The new street food that I tried this week was jicama and cucumber doused in chili sauce and topped with cheese. It is aptly referred to as a bomba (bomb) because of the way it makes your insides feel after eating it. It was a great snack! The dairy in the cheese counteracts some of the spiciness, but it does leave your insides a little uncomfortable. Bombas are street food that not even all Mexicans eat because of the spiciness, so I was proud that I handled mine without a sweat ;-)

2 Bars

This week started the new semester of daily classes at Boston Academy. I teach 3, hour and a half classes each day, along with a 5 hour Saturday class. When you add the prep time for each class, it is pretty much a full time job. The pay is not very good by USA standards ($10/hour), but it goes a long way in Mexico. My students are fantastic! I love all my classes. My favorite might be my class of all boys ranging from 11 to about 50 years old - they have been with each other for awhile so they joke around a lot and aren't shy to participate.

A couple nights ago it was a co-workers birthday, so we went out to celebrate at El Pantheon - a bar in Leon that is famous for its bullfighting decor. All over the walls there are pictures of famous bullfighters and there are about 6-7 bull heads pinned up also. Another cool thing about the restaurant is that as long as you continue to buy drinks, they bring food out for you. We had chips and salsa, sopes, and fajitas for free! What the bar is really known for however, are its creative birthday celebrations. The restaurant staff put a hat on the birthday girl or boy, who then has to get up on the bar and act like a matador: waving a cape to simulate a bullfight and then dance for a little bit. It is all hilarious until the restaurant staff takes the hat from the birthday girl and puts it on your head next... after the hat has been passed around a few times, things get even crazier. One of the cooks comes out dressed in a bull costume (hairy red tongue and all) and performs a certain "dance" for the birthday girl. I won't ever forget that night... :-)

Let's see, what else can compare to that? This past weekend, some teachers and students went to a Rock bar called the Red Mosquito. One thing that's different between Mexico and the USA is that it is not considered unprofessional to hang out with your students outside of class. I am still getting used to this, but we all had a good time at the bar. The music was performed by a band who played cover songs from the USA and Mexico.

The weather has been warming up a little here, finally. I've tried a couple new foods:

• chiles rellenos (chile peppers stuffed with cheese and fried - mouthwatering)

• caneja (toffee) flavored ice-cream (There is an entire street nearby that is one ice-cream shop after another. It is very cool - all the ice-cream is homemade and sits in the barrels in which they make it.)

• Corona beer served with limes (everyone knows that Corona is from Mexico, and here they always serve it with limes - I love it - it adds such a nice flavor!)

It's been over two weeks and still no stomach problems! My biggest danger so far has been a busdriver who texts on his cell phone while driving.

Another couple days

Another couple days in Leon and the place is starting to feel more like home. Yesterday, my friend and I went to the Zona Piel (literally translated = skin zone). Since Leon is the leather capital of Mexico, this is THE place to come for shoes, jackets, and purses. I have never seen so many shoe stores in my life – there were hundreds of them both inside and outside – and high quality too! I was expecting cheap quality, but I will definitely be returning there to make a purchase or two (I was too overwhelmed the first time!).

The most surprising thing here is still the weather – I never expected it to be this cold. At night it has been dropping into the 30s and I’ve had to borrow gloves, a jacket, and sleeping bag to put as an extra layer over my bed (since home heating doesn’t exist here). My friend and I keep hoping that “tomorrow” it will get warmer – we want to wear all the cute clothes we packed!

One interesting thing here in Leon is that a lot of the women dye their hair gray. Just like American women put blonde highlights in their hair, Mexican women are fans of the gray look. I should ask one of them why they want to look like an old lady…

Not too much new cuisine lately (although today I did eat the best tacos I’ve had since I’ve been here). The other day my friend and I had Nutella and strawberry crepes, and I also tried some freshly squeezed OJ – which they drink out of a bag with a straw (that is, if you order it “to go”!)

Tomorrow it’s back to teaching and hopefully it will be warm enough later to go to la Feria (annual Fair in January that celebrates the founding of Leon). “Esparky” the pet Chihuahua that lives in my apartment says hello (People who speak Spanish always add an “e” to the beginning of English words that begin with an “s” – like Sparky.)

A New Place

Well, today I said goodbye to my first home in Mexico: Hostel Menavi (my room there is pictured). Although it was strange living in a hostel at first, I surprised myself at how attached I'd become to it. The reason I moved to an apartment just down the street was a practical one: I will save about $150 a month on rent. This new place (Hospedaje Donato Guerra) has 6 rooms, is only for women, and is run by a family that actually lives on the same floor I do. Right now I can hear the mom quizzing her sons on Latin American capitals :) My new room is a bit dirtier, and without a tv and (currently) a pillow, but if I really didn't like it here, I could always move back into the Hostel.

Otherwise, I did some new things the past couple days. Yesterday, my friend and I went jogging in the Metropolitan Park. It is very far north in the city, so we had to take a bus to get there. It was nice to breath the fresh mountain air and escape the buzz of the city. It's about 5 miles to circumnavigate, so we got a good workout. The park also has other features like a petting zoo and campsite, and every November is host to a hot-air balloon festival.

Today, my friend and I finally bought cell phones! The entire transaction went smoothly until the 2 men helping us tried to explain a 2 for 1 deal regarding recharging our pay-as-you-go phones. We finally figured it out after much laughter and mistranslation.

I've only tried one new type of food recently: elote. This is the Mexican word for corn on the cob, although the word also refers to the form in which street venders sell it: kernels in a cup, mixed with a little sour cream, mayo, cheese, lime juice, and chili powder. It's quite tasty!

Tomorrow I'll begin preparing my second lesson for this Saturday's class, and finalize what classes I'm teaching for the new session that begins Monday.

Weekend

It's hard to imagine that I've been in Leon for almost a week. There are some things that will still take some getting use to (like being stared at wherever you go - can you ever get used to that?) but I'm sure that in the next week, this place will really start to feel like home.

My first class on Saturday went (almost) as good as it could've. The "almost" part referring to the fact that only 3 of my 6 students showed up. The director was telling me that when it gets "cold" here (around 40 degrees), people don't come simply because of the cold. Neither of us really understand it, but I guess it is another culture difference to get use to. The 3 students that did show up where great. After substitute teaching, it is so nice to have students who yearn to learn. I mean, they hold onto my every word, it is great. We were working on learning the future tense, so one activity we did was read each others' palms to predict what "will" happen. It was hilarious. The student I did the demo on thought I was a genuine Palm Reader and freaked out when I told him he will have 4 children and lose all his money when he turns 50.

Later that day the young teachers went for a relaxed lunch in the central plaza (above). It is really precious the way the trees are trimmed like little mushrooms. Sometimes a band even plays in the gazebo. Afterward the girls took the bus to go to the "nice" mall, called the Plaza Major. Basically, the farther north in the city you go, the richer the people are and the nicer/cleaner things are. If you can see the hill off in the distance above, that is where we headed. Once you walk in the mall, it is like you are in the US. No joke. The movies in the theater are even in English. My friend stopped to eat at Cinnabon - haha.

Shall I get to the new cuisine I've tried? :) The always available street food is the best part about Mexico, and I haven't gotten sick yet! Fingers crossed...

• Mexican pizza (substitute chorizo for pepperoni and add a mayo-based spicy sauce on top)
• Mexican ketchup (tastes like sweet and sour sauce?)
• polvorone - a type of shortbread cookie
• leche con fresa - a watery milk with blended strawberries drink, served over ice
• gordita - fried tortilla pocket with your choice of ingredients inside (I chose cheese, picadillo, and chiles) *picadillo is ground meat with tomato sauce

This week I have a little more training and then the new period of weekly classes starts next Monday. I am looking forward to buying a cell phone and figuring out where there is a gym or park nearby to exercise.

First 5 days

Walmart, Sam's Club, Sears, McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King, Subway...Where's Anna? You couldn't guess that I'm here in Leon, Mexico? Didn't the American franchises give it away? Well, to be fair, those places are only on the outskirts of the city, and thankfully I will be living in the central zone of the fifth most populous city in Mexico for the next 5 months.

Since arriving 5 days ago, my temporary placement has been everything I hoped for: friendly people (maybe that's just because I'm the whitest person they've ever seen?), a vibrant city, and a wonderful staff at the school where I will be teaching English. This week, myself and another girl have been training for our first lesson tomorrow. The vibe at the school is casual, yet professional, and teachers have great relations with each other and the students.

My current living arrangements are at a hostel very close to the school. It might seem strange to live where I am, but it is very convenient, clean, has hot water, and is owned by a young couple who sacrificed an entire evening to figure out how to get the wireless internet on my laptop to work. I'll be staying here a little while longer, until I find a more permanent apartment. This I have no problem doing, especially since it seems the only way to find an available apartment in this city is to know someone who knows someone, if you know what I mean. I feel like I'm being pampered here in my hostel, though. Many places do not have hot water or wireless internet, and are very dirty by American standards.

Did I mention the food here? Yes, this is the part of my blog where my some of my followers pay more attention ;-) I won't let you down. Everything I've eaten has been delicious:

• chile and cheese soup
• chicken quesadillas
• mexican hot chocolate (has lots of cinnamon)
• Rosca de Reyes (a bread eaten on 3 Kings Day - if you find a little plastic figurine baked inside your piece, you have to throw a party for the people around you!)
• sopes (small, thick tortillas topped with chorizo, queso, cilantro, and salsa)
• chilaquiles verdes: tortilla chips fried and covered in green salsa and topped with cheese and sour cream (Mexico's version of vegetarian nachos?)
  
• Chicken Milanese: breaded chicken stuffed with ham and cheese (a cordon bleu influence?)

I can't wait to experience more of what Mexico has to offer!