La Fea Mas Bella

Literally... The Ugly More Beautiful/Pretty

This is my new favorite show - in fact, it even rivals Project Runway. Everyone needs a little drama in their lives, right? Well, Spanish novellas do it better than anything I have ever seen. Lety (the heroine pictured above) is hilarious, and Rogelio, Fernanda, Booz and I all enjoy sitting down and watching the twists, turns, and antics of this cast. And, of course, not one but TWO handsome princes end up falling in love with her!

Ladies... there is hope.

Want to find out more? Check out the story on Wikipedia's site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_fea_mas_bella

C'mon... you know you want to...

Patzcuaro... or Melk in Disguise

This past weekend I went on a trip to Patzcuaro with the school - which actually ended up being a trip to six various places. We visited Tiripetio, Tupataro, Tzinzuntzan, Patzcuaro, and St. Clara del Cobre. It was a long day, but it was fun to see the countryside surrounding Morelia.

The funny thing about Patzcuaro? It was almost exactly (looks-wise) like Melk, a small town in Austria that I visited almost three years ago with a European tour course... it was weird having deja vu in a place that I had never visited before. But, the cobbled streets, open-air markets, multi-color slated roofs, and white-washed walls were a beautiful site... despite the buckets of rain that dropped in thirty minutes and caused me to splash through knee-deep puddles that were deceptively clear...

This is what I learned from visiting Patzcuaro:

1. I didn't really visit Patzcuaro because I failed to try some of its famous ice cream.
2. Sopa de torasco (essentially a tomato-based tortilla soup) should be adopted by the U.S... now, not later.
3. A Mexican comida is like a four-course banquet, and you shouldn't eat anything for two days before (or after) eating one.
4. You only think that street markets go on on for a block or so...

My classmates and I were introduced to a bazillion-million-trillion-frillion tiendas or shops, and though I didn't get anything it was interesting to see the wares displayed... even when it took us a good twenty minutes to walk through the crowded, winding path of the mercado. We saw abuelitos (grandfathers) dancing in the town square, indigenous Mexicans in their vibrant, colorful outfits selling pottery, the "hippie" group of Mexicans in Patzcuaro (headbands and braided hair included), and the strangest death dolls I have ever seen in my life; called Catherine these represent the artistic culture of Mexico - who am I to argue?

The first picture above is the coolest van I have ever seen in my life - I'd really like one... whaddya say Mom & Dad??? You can drive it some... if you want....

The second is, of course, the famous sopa de torasco. I took this picture right before our guide, Jose Luis, informed us that he had been married to his wife for eight years, and dated five years before that. He said, "Thirteen years... but for me it has been like six minutes... underwater." After laughing politely and elegantly like I always do (no comments please), we continued to (literally) fill ourselves to the brim. Wow... I don't know when I have ever been so full, and even Chelsie might have had to admit defeat for this one... =P

The third picture is right before I tasted a Mexican liquor that is very similar to vodka. Now, no worries - look at the size of the cup. Our tour guide gave us all these tiny cups, and explained to us that this liquor is often added to coffee with cinnamon for a Christmas drink, or even to ice cream dishes. I thought it was amusing that we were toasting in a copper shop in St. Clara del Cobre (cobre is "copper" in Spanish, and that is literally what almost every person in that pueblo is trained in), next to a roaring pit fire, with a large group of Mexican artisans surrounding us, pounding and shaping the copper with huge, ferocious-looking tools. How often can I relate a story like that?

The last picture is a painting we saw in Tiripetio that was hanging in the historical university that is located there - the first university in Mexico. When I saw the painting I couldn't help but think of our computer picture with the logo "Thanks for everything Dad" - this picture is for you, my family... =P Not to discredit the artist, who was quite talented... but I couldn't resist.

At the end of this week I will be losing all my classmates and continuing studies in private lessons. This could be good, or it could be very, very bad... I'll keep you posted. But overall, I am learning (despite my frequent desire to take my lists of conjugated verbs and hurl them under the passing tires of a bus) and am truly thankful for being able to be here. Rogelio, Fernanda, and Booz have been great, and are very patient with my stuttering sentences that come out close to, "Me Stephanie has going to the shower yesterday." Well, not quite that bad, but sometimes I'm sure it isn't much better!

Thanks for your e-mails, prayers, and words of encouragement everyone... they are appreciated! I will try to post sooner rather than later...

How long can one Kansan be lost on a bus in Mexico?

Well... let me kindly answer that for you. Four hours - yes, indeed - cuatro horas. But I desist... allow me to fill you in on the blanks.

Monday morning I went to the school with my host-mother, Fernanda, my first time riding el camion in Morelia. Everything went smoothly, we made it to Baden-Powell, I attended my first four classes - Gramatica, Practica, No Verbo, y Conversacion - found my way back to the house on one of the buses, and thought, "Hey, this is easy...!"

More fatal words were never spoken, I would hazard to guess.

I had orientation Monday night at 6:00 p.m. and managed to get off of my bus five blocks too early... not a problem if you know where you're going with a map - a slightly larger problem if you have no idea where you are, you don't have a map, and everyone that keeps telling you where the street you are looking for is located is wrong. After walking for an hour and a half, I was finally pointed in the right direction by a kind lady, and made it to orientation at 6:30... not too much of a problem, and everyone understood.

I remember telling myself, "You can make it home, now... you've gotten 'lost' once and you can find your way." Right. Well, let me just say that there is not just ONE route for the buses in Morelia - oh, no... there are more like fifteen, and if your driver feels like it, you take a shortcut. Once again, not a problem if you know where you're going, but... well, I didn't. AND... apparently I cannot read, because I got on a bus that circled the ENTIRE city - that's right, I gave myself a pat on the back for that piece of logic - instead of the bus clearly marked ISSTE - which is what I am supposed to take. I thought I was going in the wrong direction, but thirty minutes later I was sure of it - I was even more sure when I asked the lady sitting next to me if this was the bus for Isste and she dropped open her mouth, exclaimed "Mama mia... no, no, no!" (I know it sounds cliche, but she did do this...), then shared a long-suffering glance with her daughter across the aisle that said, "Stupid tourist... I hate when they ask dumb questions like this... they should be shot."

Ah, well... so I rode a little longer until I realized that we were just going further and further outside the city... I don't know where that particular bus stopped, but it wasn't going back to al centro de Morelia. So, I hopped onto another bus heading back into the city [time elapsed: 2 hours], back to where I had started, and found the bus marked ISSTE. All was well... I thought.

But it was dark, and scary, and the wind was howling, and... well, it was dark at least, and I completely missed the corner I was supposed to get off at - it was now 10:30, and the last bus route is at 11:00. My bus driver kindly tried to help me find my stop, even going back over the route once more with just me as the passenger - I could not find it. And... (gulp, swallow) I stupidly did not have my address with me... it was on my computer.

So, we headed back to al centro (my fourth time in one day, I might add, and from the house I am staying at to the center is a 30 minute ride), started the route again, and as my bus driver drove about 5 mph, I frantically searched for the familiar Corona sign that marks my stop - and joy! Happiness! Almost tears, but I woman-fully held them in...

I was home... I had started at 7:15 and made it at 11:25... I know you're making fun of me Dad.

I determined never to make the same mistake again.

Tuesday morning there was a protest being held at al centro, the roads were blocked off five to ten blocks in advance, and the buses were going a different route. I walked twenty blocks (following my map) to make it to the school, and arrived late.

I officially hate buses. Forever.

p.s. (The pic is blurry because I was about to get run over... perdon, por favor.)

Hot Wheels and More...

Yes, 'tis true that I have arrived... safely... and am slowly getting settled in and used to the sound of voices speaking muy rapido!

I left Oklahoma City Saturday afternoon and arrived in Morelia around 8:00 p.m. - and yes, Dad, I did get my sign... it said "Estephany Bahrr"... I was excited, but too excited to get a picture apparently. I'll have to take a photo the next time I feel like a celebrity... =)

After being driven to my new place of residence, I met my new houseparents - Rogelio & Fernanda Cervantes and their little boy - Booz. Suffice it to say that my Spanish is still nowhere close to what it needs to be, but that Fernanda and I were able to communicate fairly well (despite the occasional... okay, frequent... looks of confusion that crossed her face when I tried out my combination of Spanglish...). I fell asleep my first night listening to the sounds of Spanish voices chattering on the streetcorner with la musica espanol from across the street floating in the windows... not too bad, eh?

Sunday was a day of relaxation, and after drinking a pot of coffee (literally... Fernanda laughed and said "Te gusta cafe mucho, no?" - You like coffee a lot, yes?), I was able to journal for an hour or so before we headed to el mercado in the downtown area. This is an open-air market that is only open on Sundays, and people flock to this area to buy all kinds of merchandise - food, clothes, toys, music, movies, drinks... etc. Booz and Rogelio love these days, but Fernanda is not quite so fond of them because of the people. Muchas, muchas gentes - many, many people crowd through the spaces between the stalls, and if you are not walking with your nose pressed into the armpit of a large, sweaty woman in front of you, and spooning with three or four children behind (all who seem intent on stepping on your heels, toes, *insert other exposed part of your nether regions*), you are missing out on the entire experience. On the whole, I think I could do without... but it was definitely worth seeing!

After returning to la casa, we got ready for church with the people from Ixtlan. I ended up playing the piano (I need to practice), then listening to the study led by Mateo Gerber in Spanish (he doesn't need to practice), occasionally reading out loud with the rest of the group and then singing a little more (we all need to practice). It was nice to meet those individuals who were able to attend, however, and I was invited to a "py-jama party" with the Gonzalez sisters sometime in the future... sweet... maybe we'll do mambo dancing like in Magdalena!?! One can only dream...

Sunday night, after everyone had left, I was upstairs writing and I had a visit from Booz and his friend, Bethsaida. They found my camera, my recorder, my pens, and especially my computer very, very entertaining... so, we had our first lesson in "don't press all the keys down on the computer at one time or you will screw it up," and "Don't press all the keys down on the camera/recorder or you will screw it up." But... it was okay... and here's the best part... Booz and I ended up playing with his Hot Wheels cars, and watching... wait for it... Hot Wheels World Tour 2005 - all in Spanish.

The incredible part? We didn't get to finish it, and I want to see the end... =P Maybe tonight...

Today I started my classes after taking an exam that placed me (not surprisingly) in the beginners level... but there are a couple of other individuals in the class, and they were very kind. The teachers seem to genuinely care about teaching you in whatever way works best... and I sincerely enjoyed getting started... more on the classes later!

Well, that's all for now - I know it was long, but... hey, that's how it goes, right? Now I am going to try to figure out how to get back to the bus stop and find my way home...!

Hasta luego!

Voyager

Thump... thump... thump...
Is it possible for a heart to pull in so many directions simultaneously?
Eyes closed, count, breathe, smell the essence of home. The thickened gold of corn dust settling into my lungs, the burning kiss of sun freckling my skin, even the musky, dank scent of a dog's loyal breath on the porch of an old house.
Thump... thump... thump...
Can the feet, the hand, the mind, make longing for knowledge attainable?
Conjured images of places painted on the insides of my eyelids, swelling and blending together. Words, always words, whispering to my soul of joy, sadness, parting. Excitement... side by side with tears. Loving to live, hating to leave, knowing the difference.
Thump... thump... thump...
How can I do it... but even more prevalent, how can I not?
The arcing line from point to point... a farewell, blanking into nothingness across a sky full of my mother's eyes. A glow, a flutter, a smile... this is good, this is right. One foot in front of the other, moving on. Not goodbye, then, but a postponing... until we meet again.

Farewell friends and family ~ I have so appreciated your love, prayers, and support. I will write... probably too much :) ... but know that you are the heartstrings of music in my life. I will miss you.

In the Words of Tifani... Sicko

Any ideas how this pleasantly plump peach could have

pitifully progressed to this paralyzing pulp of goo?

We know who you are... and you are banned from our peach-eating table.

A Tribute to My Greenery

3 Philodendrons 1 Bamboo 1 Cactus

(Not Pictured: One big plant... I don't know what it is.)

Will life without them ever be the same?
This is my farewell to you my dear plants:
Goodbye Mr. Plant
Goodbye Arne, Flora, and Nora

Goodbye Bambi

Goodbye Spike

You have been, and will remain, this particular herbivores' favorite foliage friends.

Take care.

Grow often.

Live on.

Analogies and Metaphors

How great are the minds of children? I recently read an e-mail that listed the top 25 of last year's "best" analogies and metaphors written by students and submitted by English teachers across the nation.

My favorites were:

"Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze."
"She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef."
"It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools."

Ah... to be young again.

I am now inspired to write:

"She oozed sarcasm like a soggy diaper."

Please feel free to join in the fun...