Jueves Santo y Viernes Santo (Holy Thursday and Good Friday)

Hi everybody. Since it is Holy Week, and also because Mexico is 90% Catholic, I have enjoyed interacting in the cultural traditions this week. Last night, on Holy Thursday, I went to 11 different churches in the town of Cholula with RosaEna (my host mom), and her friend. It was really interesting. First of all, there were a ton of people there, but not for the reason of attending mass. In fact, we didn't get there until 8:30 at night.

In the U.S., a lot of people attend mass on this day and participate in the washing of the feet, as well as the celebration of the Last Supper. In Mexico, there are a few churches that have mass, but not each one. One reason is because a lot of these churches have been around since the 1700 - 1800s, and therefore, are extremely small. Although not as many people attend mass on this holiday, there is another tradition that takes place. (This may occur in the United States as well, but I have never noticed it). On this night, people attend various Catholic churches, of which are decorated with the symbol of bread and wine on the altar, as well as different statues and images of Jesus and Mary.

People go into these churches and show their respect through praying and approaching the statues. It was very interesting to watch everyone. One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that a lot of the statues involved Jesus' crucifixion. Some represented Jesus' death, while there were others that signified him being blind-folded while in prison. It caught my curiosity because I have always thought of Holy Thursday as the day before Jesus' death. However, the images presented made it seem as if he had already suffered. It was really fascinating to visit these different churches. All of the pews were moved aside, and each church had a purple sheet behind the altar, covering the display of the resurrected Jesus.

As we walked from church to church, there were tables outside of each one where people were giving away soup, cookies, hot chocolate, and juice. I thought that was enlightening because these people were volunteering their time and giving away homemade food. It was inspirational because there are usually always people outside of churches who are trying to sell their food and gadgets. Witnessing these people volunteer their time and essentials was uplifting and made me glad that I was there.

RosaEna and I arrived back at the house around 12:30 that night, and I went straight to bed. I got up around 8:00 this morning (Friday), and got ready for my next adventure. I heard the doorbell ring at 10:00 and went to meet my friends Janet and Mau. Janet is a student I met last week when I was observing an English class. She and her uncle Mau are the ones I met up with on Tuesday night when they took me to Cholula. Today they took me to their hometown of Tepatlaxco, where I was able to meet their family and observe how people celebrate Good Friday.

When we arrived, we began walking around the town and saw a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. We were only there a few minutes, but long enough to see people dressed as soldiers, and somebody portraying Jesus, who was carrying the cross and being whipped. It was really interesting to see, but sad at the same time.

We then walked to another area which reminded me of a Saturday market. It was full of people selling food, and there were a ton of people there who were walking around. We then saw a crowd walking towards us carrying statues of Jesus, Mary, and some other saints. They entered a large church, which is when the Good Friday service began. However, there were too many people to get inside, so we did not go.

We kept walking around the area, and eventually made it back to the house of Janet's grandparents where we had lunch. I was able to meet and eat lunch with some amazing people. It was me, Janet, her sister Jazmin, her brother Abel, her uncles Mau, Francisco (Paco), and Alfredo, her parents Bertha and Bernabe, and her grandparents Valentina and Francisco. Although my Spanish was kind of jumbled at first, they were extremely patient with me, which led us into having some great conversations.

Later this afternoon, we went over to their family business, in which they sell outfits for special occasions. However, these outfits are very cultural and are handmade. For example, they had me try on a white top with a long, skirt that had the beaded image of Mary on it. I have put some pictures on Facebook if you want to see. Janet and Jazmin got dressed up too, so we all started taking pictures.

Before I left, the family thanked me for coming and said I was welcome over anytime. "Nuestra casa es tu casa" they said to me, meaning "Our house is your house." I knew there was a reason I loved this culture so much. I am hoping to meet up with them again very soon.

That's it for today. As always, thank you for reading, and I will write again in a few days. :-)

Exploring Puebla

It is Tuesday, March 26, 2013, and we are almost in the middle of Holy Week, or in Spanish, La Semana Santa. Because there is no school, I am trying to use this week to explore the city and learn more about the culture. Today, I met up with a friend at 10:00 and we took the bus to Zócalo, which is downtown Puebla. We walked around for a while, and ended up going to four different museums. It all kind of seems like a blur now, but it was really fascinating. I thought it was interesting that two of the museums were free, and the others were only about $2.00 or $3.00 U.S. dollars. Here are the names of the museums. Like I said, I don't remember the specifics, but just type the name in on Google and it will tell you about it. They are historic and artistic museums. :-) Museo de Jose Luis Bello y Zentina Museo de la Revolucion Museo de los Muñecos Casa de los Hermanos Serdán We were out until 2:45, going through these artistic and historic museums. We then were able to look through some of the shops before getting on the bus. These vendors are placed, kind of a like a Saturday market, but they are there each day. These people work really hard, and I feel tempted to buy things, just so I can help them out. When I got back to the house at 3:30, I had a quick lunch, but then had to leave again at 4:00. I walked to La Universidad Iberoamericana, where I am teaching English, and met up with a Mexican student who I met last week. She had asked me if I wanted to hang out today, so I agreed. All weekend she had been writing me on Facebook and she was very sweet. When I arrived to campus at 4:30, she hugged me and said "vamos" (let's go). She introduced me to her sister and her uncle, and we all drove to Cholula, which is a suburb of Puebla. They are the nicest people! They were speaking to me in Spanish the whole time and after a while, I was starting to get used to their accents. We went to the pyramid of Cholula, which looks like a small hill with a church on top, but it used to be an ancient pyramid. We walked to the top and looked out at the entire city of Puebla. We then went to a restaurant, where they insisted that I order "pollo con mole" (chicken enchiladas with mole sauce". Puebla is known for its mole sauce, and it is a bit different than what I have had in Portland, but very good! We then got in the car and drove a bit. While we were in the car, they asked me if I would allow them to be my tour guides while I am here. I couldn't stop smiling. They are such nice people! I am going to meet up with them on Good Friday, but I will give you more details on Saturday after I see them. Tonight I have been relaxing and having good conversations with Tonio, my host-dad. He always likes to give me history lessons. Tonight we have been talking about WWII, and the involvement of the U.S. versus the involvement of Mexico. Thank you for reading these blogs. I really appreciate it! If this comes out all bunched up together, I am really sorry. I hope you are all having a great week! I will do another post in a few days. :-)

Puebla, Mexico

Hi everyone, This blog was originally created in September in order to update everyone on how I was doing after I had brain surgery. I have endured six months of recovery, and am continuing to improve as time goes on. In regard to the epilepsy, my seizures have decreased immensely in which I now have 1 or 2 a week, as opposed to having 3 every day. Since the surgery, my seizures have changed in various ways. For example, I can usually tell when a seizure is going to occur, and I usually stay awake the entire time. The best part about it is that I no longer lose my memory. I am very thankful for all that has happened and for all of the support I have received throughout this process. I need to wait 6 more months before I will be fully recovered, but until then, I am enjoying each day and having new experiences. For example, I am currently in Puebla, Mexico, where I am living with a family and am serving as an assistant English professor in La Universidad Iberoamericana. I arrived on March 16, and will be here until May 21. I am going to start writing in this blog in order to keep everybody updated. Although I was very nervous before coming here, I am glad that I did it. Because I studied Spanish and Sociology in college, I was supposed to study abroad. However, the seizures got in the way, preventing me from studying in another country. Fortunately, I was able to stay in contact with my previous Spanish adviser and professor, who was able to arrange this trip for me. I am living with a wonderful host family, and also have an 18 year-old roommate from Seattle University. The members of my host family are Tonio and RosaEna, who are wonderful people, and their four children. Two of their daughters live here at home. Majo is studying nutrition in her university, and Ana Sofia works in finance. She has a 4 year old son named Bruno who is very sweet, and always has a ton of energy. Bruno is learning English in his pre-school, so I have been studying his vocabulary words with him, where I say the Spanish and he says the English. I have a feeling he is better than me, but I will just have to work at that. :-) During the week, my roommate Paige and I walk to school. Because I already graduated, I don't have to attend classes, but I go to her Spanish History class sometimes, just so I can meet the other people. This week is la Semana Santa (Holy Week), which is another form of spring break, all throughout Mexico. After Easter, I will start helping with the English classes again at the university, but until then, I am trying to figure out what I will do this week. Most of the students have left Puebla and are traveling around Mexico. I almost joined some of the other foreign exchange students who traveled south to Oaxaca and to the beach, but I decided to stay here for two reasons. One, it is going to be around 90 degrees down south (way too hot for me), and second, I would prefer to keep practicing my Spanish and meet people who live here. Yesterday (Saturday), I did a little exploration of downtown Puebla. It was funny because I did not expect to end up there. It turns out that I walked about 8 or 9 miles, but I loved it! Puebla is very historic and beautiful in different ways. There are also numerous Catholic churches around the city, all of which are very close together. I am looking forward to Easter Sunday because I think it will be a good experience in celebrating a holiday with a different culture. I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I am taking notes on the cultural differences, as well as other things. I have more stories for you, but this is already a long message, so I will save it for the next blog post (which will be soon). As I said, I am not completely sure what my plan is for this week, but I will keep you updated. I might do a few day trips, but I will be alone the whole time, so I need to make my decisions carefully. Thanks again for all of your support!