Why does she keep blending the cookies?

Hola everybody! I have now officially been in Mexico for a month! I can pretend like it isn’t really going by that fast though, because February is short. Right?

I haven’t updated in a while- somehow this always gets put off until tomorrow. Now I have major catching up to do!

Three weeks ago, the weekend of the 20th we went to Veracruz for Carnaval, one of the biggest in the world! I went with Laura, Tina, and Gabriele. There were a TON of people. Picture Oktoberfest (drunk people) meets Mardi Gras (colors) meets latin dance movie. That's Carnaval. Not exactly my scene, but I still had a lot of fun. We waited four hours for a parade that lasted 20 minutes (actually, it lasted hours… there was a break in the floats and everyone just left because they thought it was over), then went to a concert and danced far more than necessary. Laura and I stayed in a hotel-like complex above a family’s house. The room itself was pretty gross and Carnaval pretty crazy, so I was glad we stayed only one night.

The next day Laura and I donned our matching green raincoats and got on the bus south for Alvarado. We were still with Gabriele and Tina, but picked up two other friends as well. We explored the town of Alvarado and the boats for a few hours, returned to the bus station, and embarked for final destination Tlacotalpan.

Tlacotalpan is one of the prettiest places I have ever been. We stayed one night but it felt like longer. It is a quiet little riverside town where every building is painted beautiful bright colors and has arches along the front and all the streets are cobblestone. The parks are great and kids of all ages are outside playing… one group had skateboards with two wheels called ripsticks (reep-steek). We spent several hours trying to master how to ride them in the town’s plaza. We stayed at a huesped house at night, and explored the town by day. We went for a boat ride (so nice to get back on the water!), ate great food, and walked down the bright streets. They're filming a telenovela (soap opera) there, so we got to watch them film that too. The town and the night was so perfect it was eerie.

Two weekends ago, we stayed close to Xalapa. Friday was what will always be remembered as “The Cookie Incident.” Laura and I thought it would be fun to bring cookies to a dinner party, and adventure ensued. We rode past the grocery store on the bus, but figured we’d stay on just to see where the route goes. Turns out, it goes far far away, up a very big hill, down a dead-end dirt road, and then stops. Stops. So we hiked back to civilization, managed to find all of the ingredients despite language barriers and lack of baking popularity, and rushed home to find… a broken oven! After a while, we got the oven working, but the cookies were rock-like so we decided not to bring them to the party. Good thing we didn’t… way too much food anyway! Gabriele made a feast of the pizza and pasta ever.
Saturday I went to a pool just outside of Xalapa with Laura and friends Hector and Jacob. Pool accessories are a tad different here… apparently a wide, dry, slanted tile platform is sufficient for a slide, and small raised areas are diving boards. Sunday, we went to a peaceful little town called Naolinco, where (seemingly) everyone makes leather shoes, belts, wallets, and purses. It is really nice to get out of the city for the weekends, especially to little pueblos like this one! It was also “Dia de la familia” that weekend, so we had a nice dinner outside on the patio with extended family.

Last weekend, I went for a run and found one of my new favorite places in Xalapa. On my map it was a big green space with the word “Panteon.” Thought it was some kind of park, but it turns out panteon means cemetery. Regardless, it is gorgeous and close to our house, overlooking Xalapa. From there all I can hear are the birds, and pinwheels and far away dogs. Uncanny how the cemetery looks so much the same as Xalapa below!
Hector was playing guitar for an international teleconference out of Xalapa on climate change, so we went to watch him and to check out the conference. The music was great, but the conference was really weird- people look to this woman with dyed-blonde hair as a god. Hard to explain- I agreed with their intentions, but their words lacked substance, the entire affair was overflowing with propaganda, and it was all communicated in a way that looked like a poorly done middle school presentation. Strange experience. We left early and went to Tina’s birthday party, then got up the next morning to go to…
El Cofre del Perote! This is a mountain near Xalapa, one of the tallest in Mexico. Six of us climbed it together- it was a beautiful day and we were rewarded with a great view of Xalapa and the surrounding country. It was tough climbing, we chose to go straight up instead of walking on the road that winds its way to the top. It is really beautiful, but the entire top of the mountain is covered with antennas, which takes away from it. From where we started, it took us about 4 hours to go up, and 2 to descend. Then we went to one hiker’s aunt’s house for dinner where I had my first tequila of Mexico!

Also of note:
My class schedule is finalized at last! I’m taking three classes at the EEE (School for Foreign Students), and one at the Universidad Veracruzana with Mexican students. I still haven’t seen my professor for my class at the real university yet… maybe he’ll come to class today? I’m also just getting started with a class in prehispanic painting that I think should be pretty neat. It is 1 on 1 with the teacher, and it is a style and medium I’ve never used before.

A group of us have started playing ultimate Frisbee a couple of times a week. It is a great time- ultimate frisbee in the truest sense of the phrase! We play in the dark with a light-up disc on a teeny field of wet grass, poles, trees, and giant roots. And there is a cactus garden in one of the goals.

The title is from when Patricia was baking downstairs. Laura and I didn’t know what she was making and were really hungry, and thought we were smelling cookies. But she kept using the blender! Hence, “Why does she keep blending the cookies?” Turns out it was a cake for the twin’s birthday.

Other major highlight is that I found pianos! Roberto, my once-invisible-now-slightly-less-difficult-to-locate cultural aide, and I went to the Arts section of the campus and he showed me where to find the practice rooms. Piano withdrawal is no longer an issue.

Also, catastrophe of the month was that my camera died. Luckily, Laura lets me use hers when I want a photo of something. I found a place that repairs cameras, and I think it should be fixed tomorrow! I’ll upload pictures soon.

Okay, update complete. I miss you all very much! Adios!