Friday, February 29, 2008

Week 2

Cuernavaca is beautiful and manageable in spite of recent commercialization. I only spoke Spanish—broken Spanish that is—as soon as I got here. I didn’t have to start school right away so I did some sightseeing of the city. I visited the botanical garden that was the home of Emperor Maximilian and was disappointed by the scale of the place and collections of plants. It was probably half the size of the National Mall and the plants were pathetic.

I also visited the Palace of Cortes, which currently house a museum. At the entrance was a skeleton in its original state in a fetal position. I think that how people were buried back then.
The museum traced the history of Mexico from prehistoric to modern times. I especially the revolution section and learned more about individuals who contributed to the cause including Vicente Guerrero and Emiliano Zapato. I also saw a huge mural painted by famous artist, Diego Rivera, that visually tells the history of Mexico. I hope to have a chance to visit the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo museums in Mexico.

I also visited the Cathedral. It’s kind of ironic that their was a crossbone and skull at the entrance. It was used as a fort as well. The church is still in use. It has a very mystic feel to it. It is probably one of my favorite churches.

I went to a local park near my house, Chapulterpec, which was a lot nicer than the botanical garden and saw all kinds of animals and befriended a gardener who taught me the names of different herbs and plants in Spanish. There are lots of bugumbilias here in brilliant colors of hot pink, purple, yellow, pink, etc. It looks a lot like downtown DC when the cherry blossoms are bloom except their trees that blossom here are called jacaranda ( I think).

My favorite place is the Morelos Plaza which is filled with the young and old, vendors, skaters. At dusk, people come out to dance on the plaza. It has a very cozy feel to it. I bought a few jewelry pieces there. Atiyyah, I got your present already.

The people are very friendly and helpful. Some helped me practice Spanish while others help me navigate the bus route. The public transportation is amazing here, although the buses are quite old. At most, I have to wait for 5 minutes before the bus come. The bus drivers are very skillful at driving a manual bus and giving people change as board the bus. It only cost about 30 cents to go around the city. On average, people’s average monthly salary is $3000 pesos, which is about $300 U.S dollars.

My host mom, Carmen, is a great cook. Her cooking is very healthy and not as all greasy. She also teaches me how to cook Mexican food as well. So far, I´ve learned how to make Mexican rice, guacamole, and cactus. I also made a few Vietnamese dishes for her, but of course, my cooking is not the same since I can’t buy fish sauce here. Unfortunately, I have to shop at a Wal-mart store since it is the closest one to my house. I also learned that the grocery baggers do not get paid here. Instead, they earn money from tips.

I don’t like eating out here because I never know what to expect. I ordered a Cuban sandwich from a vendor and I was afraid to eat it because she put too much meat and the meat looked kind of old. I also went to a fancy Japanese restaurant and the food was horrible! How could they messed up on a California roll or fried rice!

I started school last Monday and it’s very tiring since I am in sessions from 9 to 2. It takes me about 45 minutes to get home and I am starving by the time I am home. But then again, after lunch, I’d take a siesta. I learned from my host mom that the biggest meal here is lunch and dinner is very small. I love the fruits here. Mangoes, papayas, avocadoes are in abundance. I have them every morning along with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.

I had an opportunity to visit one of the largest and most important ruins in Mexico, Teoticuahan, but I didn’t take it because I saw too many ruins already! When I was in Asia, I saw too many temples and in Europe, too many churches. I guess, every country has its specialties.

I am enjoying my time here, but it would be nice to share the experience with someone or to have some familiarities. I guess, that will come with time. As for right now, my priority is to learn Spanish since some of you’ve already written to me in Spanish. My goal is to have a strong foundation of the language and then to continue to study it in the U.S. Already, I am having a hard time conjuring up some words in English. I hope to dream in Spanish soon since it’s a sign a comfort in a language. Hai and Victor, are you guys dreaming in Vietnamese yet???

Take care. Until next time…. By the way, I had a dream in Spanish last night!

2 comments:

Daphne said...

Gotta love the dreams!! Wonder what they mean... :)

bamboo said...

I missed having you interpreting my dreams. The first night in Cuernavaca, I had a dream about a little girl with long hair pulling my leg and wanting to kill me. What is that all about?