Easter Vacation

Hi everyone! Just got back to Mexico from a one week vacation in good ole' Michigan. It was great to spend time with my family. Joe, Dad, and I went to UM to participate in Campus Day (an information session and campus tour for future undergraduates). That's right - Joe's continuing the Damiani tradition and will be attending UM in the Fall! April 20th was my mom's birthday, so we stuffed ourselves at Olive Garden to celebrate. And since I dont have a tv in Mexico, I made sure to catch up on all the trashy tv shows that I miss out on (in other words, watch a lot of the Bravo channel). haha Other than that, I made a couple trips to the mall and just enjoyed my family's company. The photos are some that I took from the plane over Mexico - I thought the clouds were really cool!

Not too much new in Mexico...it's hot of course (highs are just below 100 degrees this week). Also, it's cockfighting season here. Although the sport is illegal in the US, it's popular in Mexico. There is actually a stadium here in Leon where cockfights are held (called the Palenque). I haven't witnessed a fight, but I'm reminded of the sport everyday since people buy and sell roosters on the street! My neighboors have about 8 of them in their yard and contrary to popular belief, roosters don't just cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning, they do it all day! It's quite annoying.

Start of 2011

It's about time for a blog update. They are becoming less frequent since things that used to be brand-new for me have become normal and part of my daily routine. Nevertheless...

I learned how to drive a stick shift! This is quite an accomplishment I think - it's difficult. Most of the cars in Mexico are standard so it's a good skill to learn. The reason I learned is that the company car my work is going to buy is a standard, so if I want to use it I had to learn to drive a stick. The problem is that I took the stick shift driving course over a month ago and we still dont have the company car. So now I've gone a month without any practice and am afraid I'm going to forget everything I learned...

I went to a bar down here to watch the SuperBowl. What a good game and half-time show. The only bad thing was that in Mexico we don't get the American commercials - so I had to watch those later. I learned from watching the game on Mexican tv that the broadcasters down here think that if you say anything twice, it sounds better. For example, one broadcaster would say "And that's the end of the first quarter." Then a second later, another one would say the same thing. Is that really necessary?! haha they did that throughout the entire game.

I've tried 2 new foods in the past month... The first is called a torta ahogada. The name literally translates as "drowned sandwich" and is called so because the pork sandwich is submerged in a spicy salsa. The bread is really crunchy so the salsa makes it softer. It was good!

I also tried a flavored michelada. You may remember from an earlier post that a michelada is a drink made with beer, tomato juice, lime juice, and salsa. Sounds horrific but it's actually good. And recently I tried a flavored one! Mine was tamarindo, but you can also have mango, strawberry, pineapple, etc... It's delicious with the flavors!

P.S. The girl in the first picture with me is a Mexican friend and the girl in the second picture is my American roomate.

Holiday Time

Well - its been quite awhile since my last posting. I spent the Holidays at home in Michigan and really enjoyed relaxing and visiting family and friends. Happy New Year to everyone! I'm back in Mexico and it's hard to believe I've been here for over a year now...

In December I went to a concert of the Mexican Pop group "Camila". It was fun. Their songs are really catchy and they sing really well - if only they spoke English I think they would be a hit in the USA.

My work also had a Christmas Party. I was surprised at how fun it was! It was in a banquet room of a nearby hotel and we enjoyed a really nice dinner, followed by an exchange of gifts and dancing. I got some pajamas that have a picture of the Disney Snow White dwarf "Grumpy"on them (!!) - it was a joke since I guess I'm never grumpy...haha just ask my family if that's the case.

In Mexico it's traditional to celebrate the week leading up to Christmas with "posadas." Posada literally means "Inn". Neighborhoods will host small get-togethers with each house taking a turn to host a posada. The hosts act as innkeepers and other neighbors act as pilgrims who come to request lodging. This sequence is supposed to represent the biblical story of Mary and Joseph being refused accomodation at an Inn. At first, the hosts refuse entrance to the other neighbors, but eventually let them in (how else would the party start?!). Once inside, neighbors pray together, sing Christmas carols, children break open a piñata, and there's a feast. Typical foods at the feast include tamales, atole, and punch. The punch here is warm and served with fruit chunks (Don't worry - the Mexicans tell me it's still possible to spike it). I think posadas are a pretty cool tradition!

On a bad note, I finally got food poisening (I say finally because it usually happens to foreigners within their first couple of weeks in Mexico). I went almost a year without getting sick thanks the my iron stomach, but it finally happened. The culprit was some street-side nachos with some bad cheese (I think). Within a few hours, food was coming out both ends and I couldn't walk or open my eyes because of the horrible headache I had and pain throughout my entire body. It was the worst I've ever felt and I had to miss a few days of work because of it. Thankfully, I fully recovered and am back to my normal, stuffing-my-face-with-food self.

Lastly, I got my ears pierced for the first time! One of my friends down here couldn't believe I didn't have my ears pierced so it was her Christmas present to me =) I'm still wearing my starter earrings, but in a couple weeks I'll be able to start wearing my big-girl earrings. haha

Hot Air Balloon Festival

A couple weeks ago, the annual International Hot Air Balloon Festival came to town! The festival is held in a park, and the balloons go up over a lake. It is really cool - some of the balloons are characters, like Spongebob, Darth Vader, a panda, and Coca-Cola bottle! Check out the photo of me in front of the stinger of my high school mascot: the hornet (the butt was all that was left of the balloon by the time I walked over to its landing spot. lol)

Earlier this week, one of my fellow teachers and friends here, Corie, left to go back to the USA. She only planned to stay for about a year, and her year is up, so she's returning to her job as a manager at a Target branch in Reno, Nevada. It was sad to see her go: she was one of my roomates and since we arrived on the same day to Mexico this year (Jan. 4), it was easy to bond over our experiences here.

In 2 weeks I'll be back in Michigan to visit family and friends for the Holidays! I can't wait to see everyone and I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

The Cervantino Festival and My Birthday

A couple weekends ago I went with a friend to the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato city (40 minutes outside of Leon). The Festival is named after the famous Spanish author: Miguel de Cervantes. There are plays and music shows in theaters, as well as art galleries and random street acts (like mimes and guitar-playing hippies). It was jam-packed when we went, and honestly, I wasn't that impressed. Basically, it seemed like a glorified hippy hangout - I've never seen so many dreadlocks and piercings in my life! The best part of the Cervantino was visiting famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera's house (now a converted museum) in the city.

For my birthday I went out to lunch with some fellow teachers at Chili's Restaurant (the American chain). The food was pretty good but my friends and I were unpleasantly surprised later when we all became sick at the same time in the middle of the night! All 3 of us vomited (I didn't even make it out of my bed in time!) and realized that the salsa we shared must've had some dirty tomatoes in it. Can you believe that all this time I've been eating street food and haven't gotten sick, then I go to an American restaurant and end up vomiting afterward for the first time in 10 years?! How ironic. Other than that, it was a nice birthday :)

I've tried one new food item since my last blog: carrot juice! To me it has a very bittersweet taste, but overall I like it. It's very healthy of course, and you can find it at any smoothie shop.

Winter is upon us in Mexico - which means chilly nights and mornings (45-50 degrees), but still hot afternoons. I can't wait to be back in Michigan for the holidays in less than a month!