tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255323212011-07-07T23:13:36.708-04:00"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" - Mark TwainUnknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.comBlogger461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-40438152993040253162007-01-10T12:21:00.025-05:002010-06-03T11:11:45.000-04:00<table><tbody><tr><td><div align="left"><span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-45-indiana-jones-eat-your-heart.html">&lt;--Previous </a></span></div></td><td><div align="right"><span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=25532321"></a></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />A wise man once said, "A great Pizza is not made, it's born". Of course I may be paraphrasing, or even making it up, but I believe that was the gist of it. This is the tale of how two great pizza's were born, and how they were then, promptly killed (consumed) by yours truly.<br /><br />We arrived in San Cristobal late in the afternoon. And after 5 hour ride on some of the most windy and "topéy" (yes, this is a new word) roads I have ever had the displeasure to travel on, we were tired and wanted nothing more than to rest and relax. So that night I just settled into the house of my new Host Family... or as I call them, roommates (as I have said before they are both my age). We sat around that night and talked and had a nice soup dinner (little did I know that this was just a prelude of what dinner was going to be for the next month... soup every single night, without exception).<br /><br />The next day we woke up early and headed down the "hill" toward Tuxla Gutierrez, the capital of the state and the nearest big city. The drive down from SCLC to TG is one of the most stunning you will ever experience. The caratera (highway) starts you up at 6000 feet (above the clouds) and in 30 minutes you go to virtually sea level. The highway is constructed so that you can for miles, and watch as the earth slowly gets closer. Add to that the incredible effect of the temperature rising 20-30 degrees (F) in that time frame, and the vegetation changing from pines (like New England) to Palms (think Florida). Sorry no pictures of the ride yet.<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384771954" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041108018986659586" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RfWdCMoSrwI/AAAAAAAAAIc/SoGkqA_nu3U/s200/Ca---on-de-Sumedero-4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a>At the bottom of the hill we got off at a small town called Cahare. From there we walked to the river and found ourselves a lancha (speedboat). Along with 12 other people we started our 2 hour tour of Cañon de Sumedero. The ride started out disappointing for me. The first 15 minutes we were traveling between small hill, and I remember thinking to myself "they are really exaggerating with the whole canyon thing", but just as I was about to complain, we turned a corner and there it was. <a href="http://www.edecanesonline.com/">Edecanes</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384771954" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041110982514093842" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RfWfusoSrxI/AAAAAAAAAIk/VvFcQAuXh4c/s200/Ca---on-de-Sumedero-5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>Walls of rock going up hundreds of feet on either side. Small patches of vegetation made could be found all over the rocks. At times our guide spotted small monkeys playing in the trees, vultures sunbathing on hot rocks, and aligators taking a mud bath (I did find out later that there is a swiming competition that takes place in the canyon every year... I wonder if the competitors know they have reptilian company?).<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384771954" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041111837212585762" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RfWggcoSryI/AAAAAAAAAIs/Jg73QTTAeSs/s200/Ca---on-de-Sumedero-11.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a>Along the tour we had the typical stops you expect, "look here is a formation of rock that looks like a sea horse... ". And while it was an impressive looking rock, I would have to stetch my imagination pretty far (probably with the aid of alcohol) to see a seahorse. The one, most impresive thing you see on this tour is a calcium formation they call "El Arbol de Navidad" or the Xmas tree. And from the pictures, I don't think I need to explain why. The canyon tour goes until you reach a large lagoon created by the construction of a large hydro-electric plant. I was amused to see a small boat pull up to us and sell us beers at this point in the tour. After this small beer break, we made our way quickly back the way we came. After 2 hours in the hot afternoon sun, we were all happy to finally find some shade.<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762391319267/photo/294928804251416060/16" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041113374810877746" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RfWh58oSrzI/AAAAAAAAAI0/CWghnrYdozc/s200/San-Cristobal-17--Artisan-Market-.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>After the canyon I made my way back to San Cris and spent the afternoon just miandering down some of the streets and people watching. And there is plenty to see. Between the local indigenous people, the hippie population, to the hordes of European tourists, and the local Metzito population, it is almost like watching a parade of interesting cultures. Add to that the backdrop of green mountains and old catholic churches and it is easy to pass the time. Those who visit will get to see, and be part of this.<br /><br />To end the two days as a group (with Joe and Maryem) we went out to a Pizza place called El Puente. This is a small "hole in the wall" pizza joint with only 4 tables. It is run by a Italian guy named Pietro. It is also home to the best Pizza's I think I have ever had. After two very busy days, I was starving. So I asked him to give birth to two of these delicacies for me... and promptly ended there lives. Ok, so the story did not have much to do with pizzas... but I was at a loss for a title for this entry. :<a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Learn Spanish Mexico</a> <a href="http://www.learnspanishqueretaro.com/">Spanish Schools in Queretaro</a> <a href="http://www.queretarolive.com/">Querétaro</a> <a href="http://www.queretarolive.com/">Queretaro, Mexico</a><br /><a href="http://www.sancristoballanguageschool.com/">San Cristobal Spanish School</a>, <a href="http://www.sancristoballanguageschool.com/">San Cristobal Language School</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.case.edu/spanish-schools-mexico/"><br /></a><br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><div align="left"><span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-45-indiana-jones-eat-your-heart.html">&lt;--Previous </a></span></div></td><td><div align="right"><span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=25532321"></a></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-4043815299304025316?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-91551101669043687682007-01-05T11:26:00.002-05:002008-12-09T23:12:17.209-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-44-2006-we-hardly-knew-ye.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-46-tale-of-2-pizzas.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >N</span>ew years day we all parted ways, all heading off to our sites for work... but not before Kevin got a really bad case of food poisoning (luckily we heard that with some good medicine he was back on his feet a few days later). Laura and I headed towards my site in the mountains, San Cristobal de Las Casas. But we made sure to take the long scenic route. We started off by heading to the city of Villahermosa. This was only a 1 night rest stop, because, though its name may imply differently (Villa Hermosa = Beautiful City) it is actually not very pretty. So after an quick night of rest, we headed on to our real destination. <a href="http://www.palenquemx.com/" target="_blank">Palenque </a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384778129" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RexJw4XxYCI/AAAAAAAAAIE/ZKgiGEWQIps/s200/Palenque-17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038483187235381282" border="0" /></a>We arrived at Palenque late at night (seems to be trend when traveling in Mexico). Initially we had decided to go to a place that was recommended in the Lonely Planet, but as we were riding the taxi there, the taxista recommended another place instead. We decided to take his advice and were really glad we did. The places name was <a href="http://www.elpanchan.com/">El Panchan</a>. It is actual actually a old hippie retreat that is centered around a restaurant/cafe. The food was delicious, the live music was really good... and it was all incredibly cheap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384778129" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RexKB4XxYDI/AAAAAAAAAIM/JK8SIgW0Mew/s200/Palenque-16.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038483479293157426" border="0" /></a>After we had got a good night sleep and filled our stomach, we headed out to the ruins of Palenque, or as it was originally called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque" target="_blank">Lakam Ha</a> which translates to "Big Water". Lets just start by saying, for all there other faults, the Mayans really knew how to pick the locations for there cities. Lakam Ha exactly what comes to mind when you imagine a Mayan city. It is located in the middle of a jungle. In fact over time, the jungle has actually integrated itself into parts of the structures, adding to the effects. The ambiance is made even more dramatic when you hear howling monkeys screaming all around you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384778129" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RexI6YXxYBI/AAAAAAAAAH8/frG0iiw1lFA/s200/Mizo-Hal-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038482250932510738" border="0" /></a>From Palenque we headed over too Mizol Ha. This magnificent waterfall, also located in the middle of the jungle, that actually has a pathway that allows you to walk behind it. If you follow that path far enough you will find a cave with a small stream coming out of it that you can explore. The site also contained an area for swimming near the waterfall, but unfortunately our bus only made a 40 minute stop, and we were not able to partake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384778129" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RexKB4XxYEI/AAAAAAAAAIU/7IDHrLojxRo/s200/Aqua-Azul-4--Sign-gone-wrong-.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038483479293157442" border="0" /></a>But there would be swimming that day. Our next stop was Aqua Azul. This site was a serious of at least a dozen small waterfalls, flowing the the most surreal emerald green water I have ever seen (except in certain parts of Lake Erie... but I am pretty sure chemical waste was the cause of that). Luckily this stop was scheduled for three hours. So we had plenty of time to walk up and down the cascades, swim in the crystal clear (and freezing cold) mountain stream, and catch a bite to eat. A nice way to end a day.<br /><br />After all this was done, Laura and I headed back to our little cabin in the woods for one last night before continuing on to San Cristobal. On the map they are not very far, but once again I forgot to take into account the hundreds of curves. 5 hours later, and a little car sick, we arrived at the place that will be my home for the next two years.<br /><br /> <span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-44-2006-we-hardly-knew-ye.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-46-tale-of-2-pizzas.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-9155110166904368768?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-24921332056872985942007-01-03T13:25:00.001-05:002008-12-09T23:12:17.694-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-43-all-quiet-on-southern-front.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-45-indiana-jones-eat-your-heart.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A</span></span>fter spending 2 weeks seeing what the state of Veracruz had to offer, we finally made time to check out the city itself. But first we had to return the rental car. We were all expecting the worst, to be charged 10% of the value of the car as was stated in our insurance. But much to our surprise, when the guy at the rental facility came out to look at our bumper held on by wire, he just shrugged and told us that was not even worth worrying about. Not wanting to argue the point, we thanked them for the car, and quickly made an exit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384763905" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMqI3p12zI/AAAAAAAAAHM/vwR3fE2OPV0/s200/Veracruz-6--Clown-.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035915140197112626" border="0" /></a>Chris headed back to to D.F. (Mexico City) for two days so Yale and I spent two days relaxing in Veracruz. The slight crimp in the plan was that we had arrived in Veracuz 1 day ahead of our original plan, so we did not have a room reserved for the night. We figured that would not be a problem, but unfortunately the days before New Years tend to be packed. So we spent our first afternoon in Veracruz going from hotel to hotel trying to find a place to stay. After a number of unsuccessful tries we ended finding a room in a hotel that was slightly more than we wanted to pay, but it was better than sleeping on the street. After a long day we decided to simply relax in the main square of Veracruz and do some people watching in the Zocalo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384763905" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMq3np120I/AAAAAAAAAHU/q2rwFeWqKc4/s200/Playa-de-las-Chachalacas-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035915943355996994" border="0" /></a>The next day we made it over to our hotel. It was about 10 km south of the city center right on the beach, so seeing this as the last chance we will have for a while (I will be 6 hours from the nearest beach in my post, and Yale... well, he's going to the middle of the desert) we decided to enjoy it. The weather was perfect (but the water was really cold), but we spent a lazy on the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384763905" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMtYXp121I/AAAAAAAAAHc/c18mZpS_mrM/s200/Veracruz-33--San-Juan-de-Ulua-.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035918705019968338" border="0" /></a>We were joined the next day once again by Chris, and also by Laura, Kevin (another PC volunteer from an earlier group), and Peggy (Chris girl from the U.S.). We went to the beach for a short while, but unfortunately in 24 hours the weather had gone so we cut that plan short. For the rest of the afternoon we saw some of the sites around Veracruz, the castles, the aquarium, and the old colonial buildings (Veracruz was the first major Spanish colony in the new world, so they had a lot of beautiful buildings from that era).<br /><br />The next night was New Years eve so we all did a little research to try to find a good place to go. Unfortunately, we ran into the same problem that we had on Xmas. Apparently in Mexico, New Years is also a family event. So unlike what we are used to in the U.S., were every bar, club and hotel has a huge party, here nothing... or at least almost nothing. We were lucky enough to hear that there were some restaurants on the sea shore that were going to be open. So we brought in the new year just like we do in the U.S., with friends, dancing, beer and on a table on the beach (ok, one of those 4 things we don't do in the America, I'll leave it up to you to figure out which). So with that we said goodbye to 2006... may it R.I.P.<br /><br />¡Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!<br /><br /> <span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-43-all-quiet-on-southern-front.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-45-indiana-jones-eat-your-heart.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-2492133205687298594?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-30869661879062854682006-12-29T14:30:00.001-05:002008-12-09T23:12:19.152-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-42-join-pc-rent-interesting.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-44-2006-we-hardly-knew-ye.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>S</strong></span>o we headed south, from the mountain city of Xalapa to the tropical plains of southern Veracruz. On the fast toll highway we saw the landscape change drastically and felt the temperature go up with every passing minute. We once again passed through the city of Veracruz again, this time making a point of avoiding the street with the car rental facility, just on the off chance that they would see what we did to there car and chase us chase us down. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMgvnp12yI/AAAAAAAAAG0/wC2yj1Ol7Fs/s200/Balancing-act-on-a-truck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035904810800765730" border="0" /></a>Our drive became a lot slower once we headed south from Veracruz, since the highway went off in another direction, and we had to take the older roads (filled with the dreaded "topes" - speed bumps). In Mexico, they use topes liberally to manage the speed of drivers. That is great is city roads and busy intersections... but I still don't see the wisdom of putting them in random spots on highways. It is hard enough to slow down from 100kph to 10 with only a 5 second warning, but it is even harder to do it when there is no warning. So there were a few times we hit topes at close to full speed and I am pretty sure our little Chevy POP caught some air. </p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMfM3p12xI/AAAAAAAAAGs/zDVta48tlp4/s200/Catemeco-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035903114288683794" border="0" /></a>After a long days drive, and well after the sun had set, we made it to our rest stop for the night. It was a small town called San Andres Tuxla. Apparently, this town has very little to offer other than a nice town square that has the head of an ancient Mayan Statue sitting in the middle (nobody seems to know where the body is). Luckily for us, on this night, there was plenty to do. The one claim to fame of this town is that it is a place where all the "city folk" from the city of Veracruz come down to in order to enjoy the Xmas holidays. So on this night, the streets were filled with fiestas and he town polulation had virtually doubled overnight. We also ran into an American couple, who had family ties back to this town. So they took us around to all the sites and back street restaurants (owned by there relatives) to get free food and get an insite into the real festivities.<br /></p><p><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5034049363641521138" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RdyJOYWiU_I/AAAAAAAAAF4/WDf7zBfhFw4/s200/Salto-de-Eyipantla-6--Jump-starting-our-Pop-2-.jpg" border="0" /></a>Early the next morning we headed onward to Laguna Catemaco. But on the way we decided to stop at another waterfall (whos name now escapes me). The waterfall was impressive, with a 160 step walkway to the bottom. There we rested and grabed a bight to eat and a little bit of coconut milk to drink. Once we made our way back to the car, we discovered that we had actually left the lights on, and that our little POP was totally out of juice. So the next hour making a spectacle of ourselves for the locals as we tried to jump start the car. After our novelty had run out, one of the spectators came over and told us he had a jumper cable. So we were finally able to get our car stated and continue on our way</p><p><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5034048130985907170" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RdyIGoWiU-I/AAAAAAAAAFw/UsHGtsUksow/s200/Catemeco-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Late in the afternoon we made it to Laguna Catemaco, and were greeted by one of the most stunning places I have seen in my time in Mexico. The weather was perfect (especially after the cold we had felt up in J/Xalapa) and the sun created stunning beams through the big puffy clouds in the sky. We were hungry, so we stop at on of the many lakeside restaurants to fill our stomachs. The food was good, and as we were eating, a waiter came over and told us that there was going to be a "Special Xmas Party" that night. So, we all agreed that it may be a good place to spend Xmas (more on this later).</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMeKHp12wI/AAAAAAAAAGk/msZ0XagIjns/s200/Catemeco-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035901967532415746" border="0" /></a>After we ate, we rented a lancha (motor boat) and got a tour of the lake. We saw many islands covered with different birds, and were even taken to an island that had imported Thai chimpanzees. There were apparently there to be researched by the University of Veracruz, but apparently the research had failed since all the tour operators in the lake keep giving them food, and messing up there habitat. The trip was over in under 2 hours, and after a 10 minute argument with the operator about being overcharged, we headed over to a La Jungla, a camp site that was recommended by the Lonely Planet guide. </p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMcP3p12uI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/6CSkbHAxpnM/s200/Catemeco-12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035899867293407970" border="0" /></a>We had seen La Jungla during our tour around the lake, so we followed our infallible sense of direction (just going along the lake) to find it. This turned out the be the best campsite we would find on our trip. It is located at the end of a 2km dirt "road"(and I use the term loosely). But if you are willing to find your way there, it is more than worth it. It is owned by a European immigrant who decided to settle down here over 20 years ago. While we were there we also meet a Belgian couple who was 4.5 years into there 5 year sabaticle which they had spent traveling around the world (NOTE-TO-SELF: Get a job in Belgium). </p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReMdY3p12vI/AAAAAAAAAGc/rRNVDoqwRwI/s200/Who-needs-a-humvee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5035901121423858418" border="0" /></a>We went back to the restaurant for the X-mas dinner, but it ended up being aweful. The meal ended up being chicken in a bad BBQ sauce with mac 'n cheese, and the champaine ended being nothing more than sparkling apple cider. So we decided to pack it in early that night. The next morning, during Xmas day, we had set in our head that we wanted to spend Xmas on the beach (something none of us had done before). So once again, we followed the Lonely Planet to a place called Playa Escondido. The guide listed the road as "difficult". But that was an extreme understatement. The road was not meant for anything other than high clearance SUV, or horses. You would have to be crazy to even try it in anything else... so 30 minutes later we found ourselves 2km down this road in our Chevy pop. </p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745519" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/ReRRzHp122I/AAAAAAAAAHw/oeyWgnwkr9k/s200/Xmas-on-a-Beach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036240221976779618" border="0" /></a>We never actually made it the whole way to the Playa Escondido. After 30 minutes we came across another beach with a small restaurant. We thought we were there and decided to stop to get a bite to eat. We asked the two girls working there is this was Playa Escondido. They said no, and told us that we were less that a third of the way there down this road. We we adventurous, but we also did not want to get stranded on a random dirt road. So we settled for the beach we had. :)<br /><br /><br />¡Feliz Navidad!</p><p> <span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-42-join-pc-rent-interesting.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-44-2006-we-hardly-knew-ye.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-3086966187906285468?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-77444761615962742332006-12-23T13:26:00.000-05:002008-12-09T23:12:20.599-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-41-freedom.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-43-all-quiet-on-southern-front.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">W</span></span>e woke up at 10:00. Got on a bus at 12:00. Arrived in the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 143px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/Rbd5XNVKhVI/AAAAAAAAADY/b0WR8K8HyQw/s320/POP+with+Damage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023617348977460562" border="0" /></a> City of Veracruz at around 5:00. Rented the car by 5:30. Crashed the car by 6:00. A pretty busy first day in the state of Veracruz if I do say so myself, but it was only that. The first day. We had 3 weeks ahead of us. So after fixing the bumper with a little bit wire, headed north from the City of Veracruz, and after a small stop to make sure our bumper stayed on well enough to continue, we made our way to Playa de las Chacalacas. How did we find out about this place you say? Well, in the rental office we got a map of Veracruz, and it was marked as a must see beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 123px; height: 185px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/Rbd5xtVKhWI/AAAAAAAAADg/Mzntc2z9Yus/s320/Playa+de+las+Chachalacas+1+%28Our+campground%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023617804243993954" border="0" /></a>So we arrived at PDLC late. It was dark, and we had no idea where to stay. For some reason that escapes me know we thought it would be a good idea to camp out. So we spent about an hour asking the locals if there was a place to camp. They kept pointing us to a hotel, so we decided to just find a random spot on the beach and setup camp. Now, the problem with that was, we did not really know if what we were doing was allowed or not, or if the place we were camping was save. So all night every time we saw the lights of a car, or heard a sound, we payed close attention. Of course the next morning we found out that there was no problem with what we were doing, and we also found out, that the we had camped no more than 10 feet from a real camp ground. :) So it all worked out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/Rbd-ydVKhXI/AAAAAAAAADo/ko8Z9FIKSj8/s200/Playa+de+las+Chachalacas+16+%28Attack+of+the+Sand+Fleas%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023623314687034738" border="0" /></a>The next morning we all woke up early (as people tend to when they camp in a tent), and decided take a short walk down the beach. The short walk turned into three hours, as we walked along the beach and climbed over large sand dunes (Las Dunas de PDLC). It would have been a great morning ... but at the end of the walk both C and I looked down and noticed that our legs were covered with bug bites (Y had worn jeans so was spared the worst of it). Apparently this beach is a haven for sand fleas, and we each had hundreds of bites on us to prove it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbeA6NVKhZI/AAAAAAAAAD4/fBFWR12D8Jw/s200/Quiahuixtlan+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023625646854276498" border="0" /></a>So that afternoon we left PDLC and headed north along the coast. We stopped in the middle of the day at an patently uninteresting set of ruins (but they were free with our student ID's so we can't really complain). But we did meet a group of American tourists that were making there way south. They told us about some amazing ruins (Quixhuatlan) named farther north, that was almost unknown to most tourists. So we headed out in search of them. A few hours later we ran across them at the end of a poorly kept dirt road, at the top of a hill overlooking the the sea. The description did not give it justice, it was amazing. Niether my pictures or my description could do them justice.<br /><br />Just across the way from the ruins we stumbled across a quite fishing village named Villa Rica and decided to make camp. This time we asked the locals if we could camp there, and they gave us a <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbeGK9VKhaI/AAAAAAAAAEU/W-RKJzKnq7M/s200/Villa+Rica+6+%28Mexicos+Only+Nuclear+Power+Plant+in+the+background%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023631432175224226" border="0" /></a>resounding yes. In fact on of them let us park our car in his driveway so it would be safe. So we headed over to the local dunes and set up camp. That night we climbed up to the top of one of the dunes, and to our found ourselves looking at a massive industrial complex on the other side of the dunes. At the time we had no idea what it was. The next day we found out two two important things. Apparently the random town of Villa Rica is not as random as we thought. It is actually a place of great historical importance, it was the spot where Hernan Cortés built the first Spanish settlement. Secondly, that random industrial complex was actually Laguna Verde, the first and only (very controversial) nuclear power plant in Mexico.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbeIFtVKhbI/AAAAAAAAAEc/zSSHrtOnh0E/s200/El+Tajin+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023633541004166578" border="0" /></a>The next day we finally made it to our goal in the north of Veracruz, El Tajin. El Tajin was the largest of the Toltec Cities thought to have existed between 300-700 A.D. We made our way through the curving mountain roads to get there, and made it there in the early afternoon. The first thing you notice once you get there is, that unlike the other sites we went to that were relatively tourist free, El Tajin is jam packed with tourists and all the noise and vendors that usually accompany them. As we arrived at the site, we noticed that the show of the Voladores was about to start. It is an ancient tradition of the Totonacs, where they pay drums at the top of a 30 meter pole, and they slowly glide down in sync with ropes tied around there waists. It was an amazing site to watch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbeLWdVKhdI/AAAAAAAAAEs/XXqvZP1F4CA/s200/El+Tajin+20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023637127301858770" border="0" /></a>After the show we made our way into the site itself (free courtesy once again of our student ID's ). The site lived up to its reputation. It was the largest complex by far that I had seen so far. Pyramids stretched as far as the eye could see. We spent 2 hours exploring its paths and checking out the amazing structures. The most impressive of which was the pyramid that is actually the "mascot" of the state of Veracruz (it is on all the license plates.). At the end of the day, we decided we had enough time to make it to our next goal. The city of Xalapa (Ha-la-pa). We looked at the map and it looked like no more than 150 km. No problem, we could be there in 2 hours. Unfortunately, all of us being from Ohio, we did not know to take into account the curves and traffic of mountain roads... 5 hours later, and very late at night, we made it to Xalapa.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbeNddVKheI/AAAAAAAAAE0/dPJfK2XiS1U/s200/Jalapa+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023639446584198626" border="0" /></a>Xalapa is a beautiful city situated in the mountains in Northern Veracruz. If you ever plan on visiting there, be sure to bring a coat, because it gets cold (there icy rain one of the nights). We spent a day exploring the city on foot, and with a 1 hour tour. And at the end we realized two facts. The first was, that the views and architecture of the city are one of the best we had seen. the second... there was almost nothing of any historical or cultural value at all in the city. This becomes even more apparent when the tour takes you to government offices and hospitals as part of its scheduled stops. That was just so it had enough places to go to to fill up an hour. But don't get me wrong, I think it would be a wonderful place to live, a lot of stuff going on, beautiful surroundings, and lots of great restaurants. It is just not a very touristy place to visit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/Rbee-tVKhfI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/ZGUJzxztk5o/s200/cascada+texolo+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023658709512521202" border="0" /></a>Luckily there are a few things to do around Xalapa. The first thing we went to see was the Cascada Texolo, which is located in a small town about 30 minutes (by combi) from Xalapa. We made our way to the falls on an overcast day. It looked like it was about to rain, but luckily, other than a faint mist falling, we did not run into any trouble. We got off the bus near the middle of town and had a very nice walk down a 2km cobblestone road. At the end we saw the waterfall. It was thin, but very high, and the we enjoyed a good lunch at a restaurant overlooking it. Definitely worth the trip out. We made it back to our hotel that night and then went out to enjoy a good meal at an Italian restaurant, and then headed over to a local speakeasy to watch a local band play some Mexican music.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745811" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbehbtVKhgI/AAAAAAAAAFY/_mgsKGHzKxQ/s200/Valle+Alegre+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023661406751983106" border="0" /></a>Our last day in Xalapa, we went out to a "Wild Life Reserve". At least that was how it was sold to us. After driving 15km on a barely passable dirt road, we arrived at Valle Allegre high in the mountains. The term wild life reserve was a little overstated. They had a few deers at the entrance and then assorted cattle and wildebeests in a small field. We spent about an hour walking around the grounds (which were pretty massive), but did not see to much that was very interesting. There were three nice cabins with great views of the mountains and the clouds below, but that was about it. The place would be a good place to have a boyscout retreat, but not much to see for random tourists. The silver lining on the trip was the food. We ordered our meals at the cafateria in the middle of the grounds. And honestly did not expect much, but the food was delicious.<br /><br />After lunch, with a full stomach, we started on the second leg of our trip... we headed south.<br /><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-41-freedom.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-43-all-quiet-on-southern-front.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-7744476161596274233?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-69167295238686771122006-12-19T12:31:00.001-05:002008-12-09T23:12:20.789-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/12/chapter-40-week-v-became-t.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-42-join-pc-rent-interesting.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >"Everyman dies, but not everyman really lives"</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > -Braveheart</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745108" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZQh9VKhRI/AAAAAAAAACk/sGtoqHgshJU/s320/Ruins+3+%28View+of+the+Volcano%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023290978707604754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >O</span>ur first breath of freedom in over 3 months. For the first time in 12 weeks, we did not have a class to go to, a place to be or something prearranged to do. Now don't get me wrong, I had a great time during the training, and I am going to miss it. But I am really looking forward to the three weeks free we are going to have before starting to work. A few days after training, you would have found me 300 km from Queretaro in the town of Puebla. We arrived late on the evening of the 16th after taking a bus through the Districto Federal (Mexico City).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745108" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZQudVKhSI/AAAAAAAAACs/Px9vorw0XiM/s320/Ruins+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023291193455969570" border="0" /></a>Unfortunately for me, the first night away did not start out too well. We found the hotel without any problems, found a small roadside stand to eat dinner at, and then returned to our hotel very tired an full, looking forward to a night of restful sleep. But for one of us (which happened to be me), it was not to be. Let me start off by saying that if the Lonely Planet says "there might be a little noise"it translates into "you can hear every word of every song from the bar downstairs all night long". So lets just say the morning after, I was a little cranky. Luckily the next night we were able to move to a quieter room, and I bought ear plugs (I will never travel without these again).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384745108" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 220px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZRCdVKhTI/AAAAAAAAAC0/atAj77WtQkI/s320/Puebla+9+%28Church+on+the+500+Peso+bill%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023291537053353266" border="0" /></a>We only spent one full day in the city of Puebla. It was meant to be nothing more than a stop over on our way to Veracruz. The city is very pretty (though it has a lot of trash on the streets), with a lot of old colonial architecture. We spent the day seeing the sights the city had to offer. we saw the church that was on the 500 peso bill, a temple built upon a hill that used to be an ancient temple, and took a quick tour of the city. During our travels we meet up with an British girl named Ruth who was also trying to see the city, and she ended up joining us for the day.<br /><br />All in all, if you discount the first night in the hotel, it was a good time...<br /><br /> <span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/12/chapter-40-week-v-became-t.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-42-join-pc-rent-interesting.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-6916729523868677112?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-33574695258872555792006-12-15T12:00:00.001-05:002008-12-09T23:12:20.933-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-39-ruins-in-sky.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-41-freedom.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384744320" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 215px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZBD9VKhLI/AAAAAAAAABg/3gHXsYD7m5k/s320/Last+Party+at+Byrons+9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023273970637112498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I</span></span>t takes almost 3 months for a V to mature into a T. An amazing biological process that not all the V's make it through. But in our case most of us survived more or less in one piece. But some of you may be asking, what does it take for a T to become a V? Well, believe it or not, forcing one letter to undergo spontaneous evolution is a lot harder than one would think. It takes on average about three months. The T has to go through intensive training in a foreign and sometimes intimidating location. The T has to then inherit some of the traits of there environment (eating habits, traditions, and languages) .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384754055" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 164px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZEydVKhPI/AAAAAAAAACQ/KzIM5ZzdSKA/s320/Patorela+4+%28Diablos%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023278068035912946" border="0" /></a>The evolution goes through many phases. The T's have to do, and learn many new things that will be of us in there new lives as V's. These growing activities include, but are not limited to exploring there surroundings, catching exotic deceases and acting in strange ritual plays (Pastorela). The life of a T is sometimes grueling, and they can sometimes go crazy (See photo on left). But it is all part of the miraculous transformation.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762384744320" target=""><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 160px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RbZCjdVKhNI/AAAAAAAAABw/CPYwgEAnmR0/s320/Swearing+In+34+%28ALL%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023275611314619602" border="0" /></a>The ritual of transformation for the T's took place this last Wednesday. It was a day dominated by letters and acronyms. The head honcho of the V's from DC came down as well as the VP's and P's of CONACYT and SEMERNAT. The ACD and CD were also there, as well as the acting ABD of the US. There ritual involves many speeches in English, and even more in Spanish. But when it is all over the T's take an oath and instantly metamorphose into V's.<br /><br />What a WEEK.<br /><br /> <span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-39-ruins-in-sky.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-41-freedom.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-3357469525887255579?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-77460592637604781762006-12-10T17:17:00.002-05:002008-12-09T23:12:21.544-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-38-city-with-no-roads.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/12/chapter-40-week-v-became-t.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368204685" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007769640605070882" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8r9LFANiI/AAAAAAAAAA8/R7AcO56aeQE/s320/View-From-Town-of-San-Juaquin-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>A</strong></span>nd off went the Three Musketeers. There leader "El Calvo" (The Baldy) lead the way with the planning and coordinating. "El Pelito" (The Hairy) was the first to show up, and "El Asiatico" (The Asian) was the last to arrive. At the crack of dawn they set astride there mighty steed (a 3rd class bus) and headed off the the mountain town of San Juaquin. The journey took 3 hours, and just as the sun crested over the nearby mountains, and the clouds cleared they arrived. They found themselves in a small town, with paved roads, surrounded by the noises of people awaking on a lazy Sunday. They first found feed at the local market, and parted with some of their hard earned franks (30 pesos), for a full meal. Once satified, they located a local guide (taxi driver) to take them to the first of their two destinations. A short trek later they found themselves at their destination. Las Ranas. El Calvo arranged for the guide to return after 1 hour, and they took to exploring.<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368204685" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007769936957814322" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 232px; height: 137px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8sObFANjI/AAAAAAAAABE/YzvCxyUtzf4/s320/Las-Ranas-16.jpg" border="0" height="113" width="215" /></a>Los Ranas were once a outpost for the Otomi tribe (in the 8th or 9th century). And as a result, they are located in a place with a great view of all the surrounding area. The musketeers went where few estraneros had gone before... and some places they were not suppose to go. But the ruins were a site to behold. El Calvo even found himself the center of attention to a group of locals, who he regailed with stories and jokes.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368204685" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007770336389772866" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8slrFANkI/AAAAAAAAABM/SzX2WaXTzeE/s320/Las-Grutas-2.jpg" border="0" height="198" width="157" /></a>Next our guide took the intrepid explorers to Las Grutas. They entered the caves in expecting to face terrible beasts, but were relieved to find out that the most dangerous creature they would encounter was a group of tourists. They were lead through the caves and shown many unique rock formations, that the guide was convinced looked like animals. Once it was done, they made there way back to the sunlight. After sharing a short meal of trail rations (chips) the three tracked down another steed (flagged down another bus), and made there way back home. The day had been long and they were tired. But they were reconciled by the fact that due to there trip the world was a safer place... at least in their own minds.<br /><br /><span style="color:white;"><a href="http://www.queretarolanguageschool.com/">Spanish School Mexico</a></span><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-38-city-with-no-roads.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2007/12/chapter-40-week-v-became-t.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-7746059263760478176?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-17254449704295406482006-12-03T16:55:00.001-05:002008-12-09T23:12:22.185-05:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-37-dia-de-gracias.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-39-ruins-in-sky.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>his weekend, Laura and I took the a trip to the beautiful city of Guanajato. The past weekend some fellow PCT's had gone to the same place and they had been singing praises of it for the whole week. So I had to check it out for myself. But their prases did not prepare me for this hidden gem of a city. Guanajuato is the capital of the Mexican State of Guanajato (yes, like you, I had also never heard of it before).<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368489677" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007765032105162210" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 130px; height: 174px;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8nw7FANeI/AAAAAAAAAAM/xCfGEkT-lSA/s320/Underground-Tunnels-5.jpg" border="0" height="194" width="130" /></a>But, apperently at one time it was the Gold and Silver capital of Mexico. But that is now ancient history. Luckily the legacy of the mines have not been forgotten. In fact they are what provides the modern city with much of its charm. Those mines have now been converted into tunnels, and as a result, most of the main roads downtown are underground. While that does make it very difficult for you to find your way around, it does provides the added benifit of allowing a lot of pedestrian walkways on the surface. So most of the center is perfect for walking. Add to this that the town is nestled in some hills with a horde history, entertainment, and restaurants, and you have one of my favorite places in Mexico to date.<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368489677" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007765311278036466" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 159px; height: 115px;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8oBLFANfI/AAAAAAAAAAU/y6KM7xavUkI/s320/La-Velenciana-Mine-1.jpg" border="0" height="135" width="175" /></a>The days were spent going to all the sites the town had to offer. We went to the Valencia Mines, the Museum of the Mummies, The art museum, the Musuem of Don Quixote (The town has a festival in his honor every year), and simply exploring all the town had to offer. There is much more in this town than can be seen in just 2 days.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368489677" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007765573271041538" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 120px; height: 152px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8oQbFANgI/AAAAAAAAAAc/ZhXOl39fRCQ/s320/Callejoneadas-4.jpg" border="0" height="167" width="146" /></a>At night, we partook in a Spanish tradition that has made its way to Mexico. There is a group of musicians called "Estudiantinas" that start singing every weekend at the Church of San Diego in El Centro, and then walk through the streets singing and telling stories. They are of course accompanied by a group of about 100 tourists. So we spent 2 hours walking through the windy, and hilly streets of the town hearing stories (some true, some not), and jokes. Luckily my spanish comprehension is pretty good... so I understood about 10% of it. :P<br /><br /><a href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762368489677" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007765779429471762" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mq4miS7FPJI/RX8ocbFANhI/AAAAAAAAAAk/WlJwzBPvYjs/s320/Fransisco-1.jpg" border="0" height="160" width="141" /></a>Another great thing that happened this weekend, was we happened to share a taxi with a doctoral student of Mathamatics at the University of Guanajuato (which has the best Mathamatics departments in Mexico) returning from the mines. His name was Fransisco, and he was from Columbia. But the interesting part is, that as a hobby he is a prefessional Organ player in churches. So, in exchange for me agreeing to help him practice English, he gave a tour of all the churches in El Centro, along with an extensive historical overview, and culminating in a free concert in one of the churches (Mozart, Bach and many more). We have exchanged emails, and if I every find my way back to Guanajuato, or to Columbia, I have a free place to stay and a tour guide. Que Buena Suerte!<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-37-dia-de-gracias.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-39-ruins-in-sky.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-1725444970429540648?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1165959009695387722006-11-24T16:26:00.001-05:002008-06-25T19:47:43.459-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-36-first-view-of-home.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-38-city-with-no-roads.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The whole family got together for Thanksgiving. About 70 people, from the PC Volunteers (Old and New) to the PC staff and their families got together for a get together at the PC Office. It was just like in America, except with a Mexican flare. We all enjoyed Turkey (which, I found out originally came from Mexico), and sweet potatoes. Instead of cranberry sauce, we had cranberry jello, and instead of gravy for the Turkey we had a green Salsa. But it was all delicious. Mexico is definitely fattening me up!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6769/2374/1600/141380/1.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6769/2374/320/126532/1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Feliz Dia de Gracias!<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-36-first-view-of-home.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-38-city-with-no-roads.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116595900969538772?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1164756136249716922006-11-19T18:20:00.001-05:002008-06-25T19:49:48.077-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-35-one-birthday-year-is-never.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-37-dia-de-gracias.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >C</span>radled in a valley high in the mountains of Chiapas (the southern most state of Mexico) is the small city of San Cristobal de las Casas (pop. ~135,000). Originally an indigenous village that was "discovered" by the Frier Francisco de las Casas, and named after the patron Saint of Travelers, Saint Christian (Cristobal). The guide books all describe this city as the most beautiful in Mexico. And in my limited experience I would have to agree.<br /><br />We arrived Wednesday afternoon, flying into the city of Tuxla Gutierrez, the Capital of the state. From there it is a quick 40 minute taxi ride up to the city in the Sky. As we rode up the side of the mountains, we saw the clouds get slowly closer and gradually we were in them, unable to see more than 5 feet in any direction. Then suddenly we make it through the clouds. The sun was shining, and in a valley among the mountains ahead of us appeared the city of San Cristobal.<br /><br />The first day, we were all exhausted from travel, so we all took it easy for the night, meeting for a nice dinner and going for small walks through our town center. But the next morning the whirlwind of events started. We headed over to our center, ECOSUR (El Collegio de La Frontera Sur), at 900. We were greated by Miriam from the HR departement, who also ends up being my one half of my new host family (more on that later). We were all welcomed into a large conference room, where the head of the Center gave us a welcome speech. This was later followed up by an introduction to the center and what it does (all pretty standard orientation stuff). The real fun started after that, we were all sent away to meet our new group.<br /><br />My boss Cecilia was the person to guide me over. She was a very friendly lady who started out by telling me how the group was like a family. There are 6 people at this site, and then 5 more scattered across the other sites in Chiapas. I need to learn all there names. :P We all got into a room and meet each other via video conference. It was also coincidentally the birthday of Sergio (the oldest guy in the group at 52), so we had a Fiesta with food and wine. This went on for two hours, we all got to know each other better, and also discussed potential projects and work. Nothing specific was decided with regards to work, but they seemed incredibly open to all the possibilities, and it looks like I will have interesting and a lot of work.<br /><br />After the party... ummm, I mean meeting, I returned to the conference room to meet with my new Host Family. But I believe I will call them roommates from now one. I will explain way. I had mentioned Miriam was the girl who welcomed our group to the center. I will be living with her, and her husband Joe. Miriam is 29, and works in the HR departement, her husband Joe is 30 and is a radio DJ for an alternative rock station. They both speak pretty good english (though I made them speak spanish). We all hit it off immediately, we seem to have many simular interests from exersizing to travel. I spent actually spent all my free time over the next 2 days hanging out with them (more on that later).<br /><br />The next stage of orientation was a tour was a guided tour of the campus, which has more of a feel of a college campus than a work place. Next we were treated to a delicious meal at the cafeteria ( $2 buys all you can eat, even though it was free for us that day). Afterwards we were taken on a guided tour of the city so we could see the sites and some of what this place had to offer. After it was all done, we were droped off at our hotel very exhausted, but the day was not even close to over.<br /><br />At 8:00 that night, we meet up once again with our co-workers to go out to dinner at a one of the many great restaurants downtown. We got to try many native Chiapanecan foods and drinks. I had to duck out early (at 10:30 p.m.) to go an meet Joe and Mirian. We then went out to a bar and watched a live concert of a local band, they were young kids, but very good. I also go my first look at San Cristabal night life... oddly enough, there were more Europeans at this place than Mexicans. I finally got to bed at around 2, but that is not the end of the trip.<br /><br />The next day at 12:00 a.m. I once again meet up with Joe and Miriam, and headed down to the city of Tuxla Gutierrezz (pop. ~600,000). Another time I took the road through the cloads down the warm plains below. They some errands to run around town, so I escorted them, and this was a great oppertunity to see what the city had to offer (a large mall, Walmart, Sams Club etc...). We also went to a great burger place, which was the first hamburger I had had in over 2 months. At around 6 we returned to San Cristobal, and I got a chance to check out my apartment for the first month in S.C. At this point Joe went to put on his show, so Miriam and I got a chance to talk for 2 hours. We both wanted practice in the others language, so we came to an agreement, I would speak spanish to her, and she would speak english to me. So in this method we got to know each other better.<br /><br />After the radio show was over, we meet up again and went out to a great Pizza joint run by an Italian transplant named Pablo. They were great pizzas, with all the taste of Italy mixed in with some aspects of Mexico. Afterwards, we went out to a party at somebodies house. Once again, it was odd to see mostly people of European decent in the middle of Mexico, but they all spoke spanish, so it was a good time. At 3:00 a.m. I got back to my hotel and crashed.<br /><br />The return trip to Queretaro was relatively uneventful, but once I got back, I crashed right away. It should be an interesting two years in the clouds.<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-35-one-birthday-year-is-never.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/12/chapter-37-dia-de-gracias.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116475613624971692?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1163628003231460992006-11-15T16:50:00.001-05:002008-06-25T19:50:53.826-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-34-forest-through-trees.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-36-first-view-of-home.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >S</span>o they like to throw Fiesta's in Mexico. And they will take every and any excuse to throw one. This weekend, for my birthday was no exception. I had 2 entirely seperate birthday parties. Friday night, the day before my birthday, my friends from the PC meet me at a restaurant/bar/speakeasy called Porton de Santiago (doorway to santiago).<br /><br />The night started out slow, with talk and a little bit of drinking, but around 12, the party really started. At that point the live music picked up, and we got together with a table of Mexican collage students who were also celebrating a birthday. As with many great times, it started with a conga line. We all danced the night away, and closed out the place. At 3:00 a.m. I was ready to rest, but this weekend... it was not to be.<br /><br />The next morning, I had to reluctantly woke up early (8:00 a.m.) to go to a half day of Spanish class, I barely made it through. But the day was not over yet, when I got home, I had another birthday party waiting for me. 3 days before it was the birthday of my host brother Raul. So my host mom decided to through both of us a birthday party together. So, immediatly after class I ran home and got ready of another party.<br /><br />There whole house was covered in balloons and there was food as far as the eye could see. It true mexican fashion, the party was scheduled to start at 2:30, and the first people showed up around 4:00. But once the first person arrived they all started streaming in. There were friends, relatives and others in every corner of the courtyard, and the party went on for hours (only ending finally because of the rain started). At 10:00, with only 4 hours of sleep, I was exhausted.<br /><br />But the Mexicans really know how to throw parties... :)<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-34-forest-through-trees.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-36-first-view-of-home.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116362800323146099?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1162943210361692222006-11-05T18:43:00.001-05:002008-06-25T19:50:26.570-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-33-dia-de-los-muertos.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-35-one-birthday-year-is-never.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341231115" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 198px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Ray%20and%20Cristina.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >C</span>erro, in Spanish means hill. This "hill" is about ~8000 feet high. This Saturday most of PC Mexico 3 found themselves staring up a dirt road at the peak of Cerro de Zamorano. What awaited was suppose to be a 2 hour hike up the road/path ahead of us to the peak. But for 2 volunteers and 1 assistant country director, that was not to be.<br /><br />At the base of the peak, I (as the official group photographer) stayed behind with the two Biologists of our group, Cristina and Ron as they searched the rocky areas at the base for snakes. I was instructed to not move and stay a little ways back... lets just say, it did not take much convincing for me to listen to those instructions. Getting bitten by a snake is not on my lifes To-Do list. :P<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341231115" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 174px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Nature%20in%20Action.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>But luckily, or unluckily, depending on who's perspective you were taking, no snakes were found. So the three of us started up the "hill" about half an hour after the rest of the pack. To make the trek even more interesting, we took a large number of "Rons Shortcuts", which, to me looked nothing more than random decisions to go off the path. But my love of adventure got the best of me, and I followed along.<br /><br />And I am happy I did. Going through the woods with two biologist (Ron knows an incredible amount about the wildlife in Mexico) ended up being a great experience. I was introduced to<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341231115" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 124px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Wildlife%2014.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> wildlife that I probably would have passed by and not even noticed. I saw plants that collected water in unique ways, mushrooms that shoot out spores, lizards and bugs that hide away from site. It was great. We arrived to the peak way after the rest of the people in our group, but probably had more fun that everybody else combined...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-33-dia-de-los-muertos.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-35-one-birthday-year-is-never.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116294321036169222?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1162943034069520322006-11-02T18:42:00.001-05:002008-06-25T19:51:20.272-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-32-king-of-mountain.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-34-forest-through-trees.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341240709" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 132px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Rays%20Chocolate%20Skull.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>he Mexican answer to Halloween, Dia de las Muertes (The Day of Dead). The traditions of this day are a mix of the Christian All Saints Day, and traditions of the indiginous people of Mexico. The central focus of this tradition is placed around the creation of Altars. Each alter has 7 steps, and is decorated with chocolate and suger skulls, as well as fruit, pan de las muertos (a special bread only made this time of year), water and whatever the favorite foods of the dead were when they were living.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341240709" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 106px; height: 160px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Pantheon%205.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>There two are parts to this festival, the first night, is to remember the dead children. The second day is to remember the spirits of the adults that passed away. The Indiginous people take it a step farther, and actually go the the graveyards, and sleep next to the graves of the deceased for those two nights. Luckily, the Peace Corps did not force us to do the same thing. Instead they took us to the Pantheon (a large graveyard), and we got to see all the decorations people had put up. The place was packed, and had almost a fiesta atmosphere. The graves were overflowing with flowers and decorations. It was great to see how the people remembered those that passed away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762341240709" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 152px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Alters%208.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Later that night a few of us meet up in the Centro, and went walking around checking out all the events going on in the squares. There were tiendas (little stores) set up everywhere. Also in one of the main plazas, Plaza de Armas, there was a massive alter setup. It was all beautiful, and at the end of the day, I realized that this was less a day of mourning the dead, but a day of celebrating life.<br /><br />Que te via bein</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-32-king-of-mountain.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-34-forest-through-trees.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116294303406952032?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1162915304290188652006-10-28T10:41:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:51:38.432-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-31-domo-arigato-mr-kendo.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-33-dia-de-los-muertos.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><br />R</strong></span>iddle me this Batman. ¿What are the three largest free standing rock edifices in the world?<br /><br />1) Ayers Rock<br />2) Rock of Gibraltar<br />3) ??????????<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762334752187" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 123px; cursor: pointer; height: 185px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Pena-6.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">The third one, that nobody knows is located in central Mexico. Peña de Bernal. This past saturday 3 intrepid PC trainees (and a forth that showed up late), and one Spanish teacher decided to climb it "treacherous" slopes. And by "treacherous" I mean that there were parts of the path that did not even have steps, and that you needed at the very least, Flip-Flops in order to make it to the top.<br /><br />Ok, so the Peña has become very touristy in the last few years. There is a path (that´s even paved in some sections) all the way to the top, and there are tiendas (stores/booths) every 100 meters or so. But it was still a bit of a climb. Due to the altitude we had to make frequent pit stops to catch our breath. We also saw them shooting a video of a group of people doing some rock climbing.<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762334752187" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; width: 162px; cursor: pointer; height: 107px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Town-Market-7.jpg" border="0" /></a>The weather was perfect and we spent about an hour at the top enjoying the view and good company. It still strikes me every once in a while that just two months ago I was sitting in a cube staring at a computer screen, but yesterday I standing on about 6000 feet above sea level, looking out at the landscape of another country.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pcmexico3/album/576460762334752187" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 117px; cursor: pointer; height: 177px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/The-mountaineers-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>After the climb, and the inevitable decent that followed we were all famished. Thanks to Laura we found a nice little outdoor restaurant to eat at. We gorged ourselves on quesadiallas and gorditas (which have no relation to the gordittas you see in Taco Bell). After lunch, we spent about an hour searching for a legendary "Bread Lady" for Cristina and her host mother, but to no avail.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">A good day.<br /></span><br /><br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-31-domo-arigato-mr-kendo.html"><br /></a></span></p><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/11/chapter-33-dia-de-los-muertos.html"><br />Next--></a></span></p><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116291530429018865?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1162318277104314492006-10-21T12:52:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:52:59.197-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-30-ole.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-32-king-of-mountain.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span>n my limited experience in Mexico, I have discovered that there is no better way for an American to get aquainted with the Mexican people than to practice a Japanese martial art with them. :) So in that vein, I participated in the first annual Queretaro Kendo Tournament today. They had a good attendance, and drew people from Mexico City and San Louis Potosi. </p><p>But there was one small difference in the tournament here. Since there is not enough people to divide people into ranks, they have one large group, a free for all if you will. So during the day I had the pleasure of competing with people a large demographic of people. I fought with a 13 year old girl, and a 60 year old man. I got a chance to fight with a someone with 20 years of experience and 3 months of experience. In the end it was a great time, I got to practice my kendo and my spanish. After a few grueling hours of me gasping for air (after a month, I am still not fully accustomed to the altitude up hear in the mountains), I was lucky enough to walk away with a 3rd place trophy. </p><p>Afterwards, we all went out to a banquet at an all you can eat seafood restaurant. It is safe to say that is was the best, and most expensive meal I have eaten in Mexico. But what made it even better was that the whole thing was free for me. The three head instructors spent 15 minutes arguing who was going to pick up the tab, and while they were doing that, another one of the instructors snuck out and payed it without telling them! In kendo terms it was a "Debana Waza" (an attack done before the oponent has a chance to react).<br /><br />The day was a long one, I and had been out for 14 hours doing kendo and speaking spanish, so needless to say, once I got home, I just relaxed and hung out with my Mexican family. Good times...</p><p>NOTE: For the first time today, I said something in Spanish and afterwards (the waiter at the restaurant) they still thought I was Mexican! Fantastico!<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-30-ole.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-32-king-of-mountain.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116231827710431449?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161102354034517552006-10-15T12:24:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:53:21.220-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-29-gringolandia.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-31-domo-arigato-mr-kendo.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>he crowd cheered. Raymundo! Raymondo! Raymundo! There I stood in the middle of the plaza, hair slicked back, dressed in a full suite, red cape draped over my right arm. Then with a barely audible creek, the door infront of my opens, and in walks my oponent. He is as black as night, weighs close to a ton, and stands about 5 feet tall (if you count the horns). I could feel my heartbeat quicken. My senses slowly blocked out everything else, the sound if the crowd, the smell of the dusty plaza floor, the feeling of the light breeze on my skin. There was now nobody else, just me, and the bull.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=/3509scd&amp;.src=ph" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: right; width: 258px; height: 165px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Bull%201%20-%20man%200.3.jpg" halign="right" border="0" height="179" width="274" /></a>This actually did happen... but only in my own mind. What everybody else saw was a stadium with at the most 40 people. It was the company picnic for the local Queretaro radio station. And the main event for thee picnic was the chance for anybody who was brave enough (or dumb enough) to become a bullfighter. Our opponent was a young bull, and this was one of those crazy things that I know I would regret not doing. I started out by watching for the first half hour.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=/3509scd&amp;.src=ph" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Ray%20Bullfighting%201.1.jpg" border="0" height="144" width="254" /></a>The first guy to go out was very impressive, but later I found out he was not a radio station employee, but an actual matador-in-training who was out there to help out if anybody got into trouble. So I felt slightly better. I later watched a few of the radio station employee's try thier luck. Lets just say they did not have much (see the photo's). You would think that would knock some sense into the gringo who was suppose to go next, but that didn't happen.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=/3509scd&amp;.src=ph" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: right; width: 267px; height: 152px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Ray%20Bullfighting%207.jpg" border="0" height="154" width="285" /></a>I went out there, mano y mano... err, mano y toro. I started out at about 10 meters, but the wasn't able to catch the bulls attention. So I approached, centimeter by centimeter. Once I got within about 3 meters, the bull noticed me, and the action began. I don't remember how many passes happened, but oddly enough I started to get the hang of things. The first few passes, all I could was direct the bull past me, but after a while I was able to excersize a little bit of control over it. I made it do circles, zigzags, and twists. I have not had this much of a rush since the first time I put on a bogu (kendo armor) and sparred.<br /><br />I loved it. There is no Kendo in Chiapas where I will be living for the next two years... maybe I can take up bullfighting to fill the void... seriously.<br /><br />NOTE: I learned today that the theory about Bulls being attracted to the color red is, for lack of a better word bull. Bulls follow the motion of the cape, the color has nothing to do with anything. They are totally colorblind. Secondly, the capes the matadors use are heavy, more than 35 lbs of hard leather.<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-29-gringolandia.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-31-domo-arigato-mr-kendo.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116110235403451755?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161101974493655292006-10-14T12:18:00.000-04:002006-10-17T12:26:41.856-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-28-son-dad-mom-daughter.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-30-ole.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>A</strong></span>h. A little bit of america in the heart of Mexico. This Saturday a six intrepid PC volunteers took our first baby steps outside of the city of Queretaro. Since the PC schedualed activity for this Saturday was cancelled, we took it upon ourselves to do something. So, after much thought, and even more cervesa's we came up with the idea of going to the pueblo (village/town) of San Miguel.<br /><br />The town of San Miguel is known for 3 things. The first is the massive church in its central plaza. What makes this church unique is that it is one of the only churches in all of Mexico that is made to match the Gothic architeture in Europe. The edific can be seen from miles and miles around.<br /><br />The second thing that makes this town famous it that they have thier own version of running with the bulls (a smaller version of the event held in Pamplona, Spain). Unfortunately, that happened the same day we arrived in Mexico, so I was not able to participate.<br /><br />The third claim to fame of this town is that there are more American here than Mexican. The streets are lined with cars with U.S. licence plates. The town itself was nice, and worth at least one visit. But I didn't see anything there that would warrent me going back.<br /><br />Actually, the most interesting thing that happened to us there was, it rained. And when it rains up there, it does not mess around. Within 10 minutes the cobblestone roads were rivers. Apperantly one the major problems in old Mexican towns is that there is no drainage systems. We saw stores and churches (with a weddings going on) flooded. We tried waiting out the rain in a cantina and then a restaurant, but it did not cease. In the end we had to send out two of our group to swim through the streets and find a taxi to "ferry" us over to the bus station.<br /><br />In the end it was a fun day... and I can just consider the rain practice, since where I am going has much much more rain than this! :)<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-28-son-dad-mom-daughter.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-30-ole.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116110197449365529?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161101652544843302006-10-13T12:12:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:53:40.035-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-27-salsa-dancing-cowboys.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-29-gringolandia.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>L</strong></span>ast night my host sister got proposed to by her longtime boyfriend. Or more specifically, the boyfriend asked his dad, to ask her mom, to ask her to marry him. This is apperently the traditional way that a marriage proposal is done in the Mexico. Very different from the "guy dropping to his knees" tradition we have in America.<br /><br />So tonight, it was time to make it official. The grooms family was coming over to our house for dinner. It was a very formal affair. Natalia (my host mom) was very nervous when I got home from class. She and her youngest daughter (Diana) had spent the who day preparing for dinner. I noticed they were dressed up, so I excused myself quickly to go upstairs, shower and put on some formal cloths. I got back downstairs just intime to see the grooms family arrive.<br /><br />This was the first time both families had ever meet, even though they live relatively close to each other, and thier children had been dating for over 4 years (apperantly that is not normal, it just worked out this way). The grooms father, mother and sister were also dressed up in full formal attire. The night started out very formally, the grooms father sat down and gave a very formal speech saying (and I am paraphrasing) "I am happy to welcome your family to our family", and this speech was recipricated by my host mother.<br /><br />After about an hour of talk, we moved onto cena (dinner). Of course this was around 11:00 at night. Needless to say that we were all starving by then. I spent most of the night talking to the grooms sister, she was a lawyer and spoke excellent english. Both the grooms father and mother talked to me multiple times, but the both spoke spanish very quickly, so I had a lot of trouble understanding them.<br /><br />I also talked a little with the groom, who now works as a CPA in Houston. Strangely enough, unlike other Mexican I have meet, he did not want to practice english with me. He spoke exclusively Spanish (which is always a nice change). He and I are about the same age, so he spent some time teaching me some slang ("Que onda, Wei?" --> Whats up dude?).<br /><br />The night was a great experience for me, as part of the PC's mission is to learn about the local culture, and I had first hand view of one of the most important cultural experiences in any culture.<br /><br />Felizidades Gaby y Manuel!<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-27-salsa-dancing-cowboys.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-29-gringolandia.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116110165254484330?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161101048788855302006-10-08T12:01:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:54:04.482-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-26-no-mohawk-please.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-28-son-dad-mom-daughter.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>N</strong></span>ot since I watched old chinese ladies dance perfect salsa in Panama have I felt so much like I entered the Twilight Zone. The night started out like many others, with me going with some friends to an Irish Bar and having a glass of Guiness. But that is where the simularity ends. This irish bar served taco's and quesadilla's. And the Guiness cost $6.50 for a small glass. But the company was good, and we knew that this was just a temporary stop before we headed over to the Antros (Night Clubs) of Queretaro.<br /><br />Our guide, one of our Maestra's named Rosaura (Most of our maestra's are very young. I.E. about my age), then asked how we would like to go the the clubs, taxi or walk. Us, thinking we had managed for two weeks without significant use of cars, decided it would be more Peace Corps-ish, to walk... so an hour and a half later we arrive at the antros named Bailar Columpia utterly exhausted.<br /><br />The entrance is like many night clubs in the U.S. with a big bouncer checking for ID's and padding down the men for guns (because as I am sure you all know, only men use gun ;) ). We entered what looked like a small bar, but our guide led us through the small area into a large courtyard in the back. There we found a large brassband, playing what can be bested decribed as country western salsa. All around there were hombres and senioritas dancing salsa to this "funky beat". Needless to say, I don't know how to salsa, line dance or the combination of the two. But I spent the night people watching. And it looked like fun.<br /><br />I need to find myself a country western salsa dance lesson...<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-26-no-mohawk-please.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-28-son-dad-mom-daughter.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116110104878885530?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161100255577034232006-10-07T11:50:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:54:26.881-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-25the-roof-roof-is-on-fire.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />"Bzzz... clip clip... Bzzz... esta bien?"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span></strong> can think of few things more terrifying than going in for a haircut in a country where you can't actually communicate with the barber. I think people underestimate the power a barber has. They can be the difference in you feeling great, or aweful for the next two to three weeks. With a quick flick of thier wrists, or a snip of the scissors, they can make you an the object of envy, or of ridicule. Why, that makes them close to gods! </p><p>But I had put it off for long enough. My hair was getting so long that no amount hair gel could make it stay in place. So I finally managed to mentally convince myself that I would not look to bad with a mohawk, and to a step into the "esthetica". In the end, my fears were largely unwarrented. It was not the best haircut I had ever had, but neither was it the worst.<br /><br />Three more weeks of reprieve till I go through it again.<br /><br /><br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-25the-roof-roof-is-on-fire.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116110025557703423?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161099988020618122006-10-06T11:46:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:54:51.830-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-24-cantina-con-victor.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-26-no-mohawk-please.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>he fire marshal in the U.S. would have a heart attack if you saw the Fiesta de San Fransisco held last night in the main plaza in the Centro. Hundreds of people standing under a wooden stucture spewing flames. And add to that the the tower of fire was less than 1 meter from a church... but lets rewind.<br /><br />The night was spent taking in the sites, sounds and scents of my first Mexican fiesta. The Fiesta of San Fransisco (I am not sure what it is for, but I would put money on the fact that it is not in honor of the city in California), changed the central plaza in Queretaro into a sceen of music, food and dance.<br /><br />We started the night out by watching indiginous mexican dancers put on a show by the church. The dances were a blur of color as adult and child dancers showed dances that (they claimed) had not chanced in thousands of years. During the intermission in the dance we walked through all the street vendors selling food and sweets. None of us dared to try any yet, since our stomachs were probably not strong enough yet to fend off all Montezuma had to throw at us.<br />Then at 10:30 was the grand finale of the festival. Right next to the church had been errected a tower of wood, and straped to almost every inch of the structure was fireworks. With the flick of a match a dazzling array of fireworks went off in unison, causing parts of the structure to spin in wheels of flame, and other parts came to life in the form of nativity scenes. The whole show seemed to go off without a hitch, and even though we had fireworks flying past our heads, nobody was hurt.<br /><br />As I walked home I remembered what my host mother had said as I headed out "There is no need to go to this fiesta, this kind of thing happens every week in every town in Mexico". And I thought to myself... I'm ok with that.<br /><br />Hasta Luego!<br /><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-24-cantina-con-victor.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-26-no-mohawk-please.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116109998802061812?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1161099770175856172006-10-05T11:41:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:55:15.515-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-23-family-matadors-roosters.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-25the-roof-roof-is-on-fire.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>O</strong></span>n Tuesday night we had a "class" slightly later than the regular hours. After finishing our regular lessons a few of us went out to a local cantina with our schools cook Victor. There we went over all the essential cantina lingo, and did extentive research into local "cervesa". I learned important spanish vocabulary words Corona, Indigo, Bohemia, Mochila, and most importantly "no mas". </p><p>At this point in my PC career, I still can't speak Spanish. But I am happy to report that now, in addition to being able to ask for a drink (cervesa por favor) and directions to the bathroom (donde esta el banio), I can also now add "can I have the check please" (la quinta por favor) to my repetoire. At this rate I will have the whole cantina lingo down by the end of language training!<br /><br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-23-family-matadors-roosters.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-25the-roof-roof-is-on-fire.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-116109977017585617?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1159888568489923722006-10-03T11:13:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:55:35.021-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-22-viva-la-mexico.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-24-cantina-con-victor.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>"Gallos, Gallos, Gallos, Gallos!!"<br /></em><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>A</strong></span>s I sat there, listening to 15000 people yell in unison, I knew I wasn't in Kansas, or in my case Ohio, anymore. It then occurred to me, that at about this time, one month ago, I was sitting in my cube in Cleveland, Ohio, coding, and waiting for the clock to hit 4:15. Now, I was sitting in a stadium with 15000 people watching the Querataro Gallos (Rooster/Chickens... sponsored by Kellogs, thus the name), take on the University of Mexico Puma's.<br /><br />But let me rewind of a bit. This was the end, not the beginning of my first week in Mexico. Grab a coffee and make yourself comfortable, this is not a short post.<br /><br />Last Sunday, after a quick tour of the Cento (center) of Queretaro, I got a chance to meet my host family. Needless to say I was stressed out by the prospect of meeting the people I would be living, eating and spending a lot of free time with for the next 3 months of my life. It was accentuated by the fact that I did not speak any Spanish, and I was told that they would speak no English. But now I can safely say my worries were warrentless. My Mexican family is great. Mi Madre is Natalia, and the first night for Cena (dinner), she treated me to a feast, and started out by saying "Mi Casa es Tu Casa" (my home is your home). Her husband died 2 years ago, but my Spanish is not good enough to ask why without risking being rude. I also have three siblings. A host brother Raul, who is 28 and works at Kellogs as an I.T. Manager. My host sister Gaby is 25 and an Accountant, and my other host sister Diana is 24 and a nurse. It took me a few days to figure out, but I am pretty sure all of the speak almost fluent English, but they refuse to speak it to me (which is good). But it also helps that if I am really stuck, I can say something like "Como Se Dice 'Spoon' " and they can help me out. I also was pleasantly surprised to find out that I did in fact speak some Spanish. So while my grammar was awful, I was able to get my point across. And that was just the start of my week.<br /><br />The first night I was with my host family, Gaby invited me out to one of her friend’s birthday parties. So, my first day in Queretaro, and I was already going to parties. It was a lot of fun, and most of her friends are the same age as me and spoke some English, so I was able to stumble my way around. As a side note for those people who think Mexico is in the stone ages, I can easily counter that by pointing out that for the first hour of the party, all the guys were sitting around an Xbox, playing Fifa Soccer.<br /><br />The next night, I again went out with Gaby and her friends to eat dinner. Keep in mind dinner in Mexico is like lunch in America. Here, lunch - comida - is the big meal of the day. Also the hours of eating are very different that in the U.S. so it is taking some getting used to. Breakfast (desayuno), is usually eaten between 8-10 a.m. Lunch (comida) is usually between 2-5 p.m. and dinner (cena) is usually between 8-10 p.m.<br /><br />On Tuesday one of the teachers (maestras) from our language school OLE invited me and another volunteer (Scott) out to the opening of, what we thought was an small art gallery. So after class that night dressed in casual cloths (jeans and t-shirts), we head towards the building she has marked on our maps. But once we arrive, we immedeatily realize there has been a slight miscommunication. This wasn't an opening of a small art gallery, it was the opening of a new wing of the Museo de Regional (the biggest museum in the City). Everybody there is dressed in suites, and all the T.V. stations in Mexico have reporters walking around. 15 minutes after we arrived the Governor of Queretaro walks in and gives a speech. But even though we were underdressed, our "gringo" caught the attention of one of the museum curators, and she rushed to get us to the front of the line to enter the new exhibit (the only people to go in before us were the Governor and his entourage). So Scott and I were the first foreigners to ever see the art on display here.<br /><br />But the week was not even half done. Wednesday night I get home after going to the gym, expecting a quite night with the family, but it was not to be. The night started of as I had expected. We just sat around talking. I had the longest conversation yet with my host family. But then there was a knock on the door. Raul had come home, but he was not alone. He had an entourage of a dozen men, all dressed up in full suites with him. I was then informed that we were having a world famous Matador join us for dinner (Raul apparently has a side job of being a radio host for a sport radio talk show specializing in bull fights). So I spent the night listening to this matador recount stories of his fights. An amazing night.<br /><br />Thursday night we were invited by the Peace Corps offices to a welcome party at our Country Directors house. His name is Byron Battle, and he is an extremely friendly guy. So at around 7:30 our group started to arrive at Casa de Byron, and I am not exaggerating when I say it was gorgeous. An old Spanish haseinda with a large courtyard, beautiful architecture and a rooftop patio that looked out over the historic downtown of Queretaro. The night itself was a blast, we all enjoyed good food, drink, music and dance. We also got a chance to meet some of the current volunteers. It was very encouraging talking to some people that were in the same position as us a year ago. Many had no Spanish when they arrived, but were able to communicate without any trouble now.<br /><br />Friday night after class we had another welcome party. This time it was held by OLE, our language school. Our host families all came by and brought food for us to eat. And then we had troupe of traditional Mexican dancers come by and put on a show. The show ended by the dancers pulling us all out of the crowd and making us dance with them. After 2 dances I was completely out of breath…. I really need to get my act together one of these days and get in shape. :P<br /><br />The final day of the week was the fullest. I woke up early at 6:30 a.m. to meet one of the Sensei from the Queretaro kendo club to get a ride to practice. While it is always exhausting to do kendo, it is much more so at an altitude of 6000 feet. 30 minutes into class, I was gasping for air, but I somehow made it through the two hours. It was a blast, and I hope to practice with them as often as possible over the next few months. As soon as I got home from practice I barely had enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before I headed out to OLE for a cooking lesson. The class had two purposes, to teach us how to cook using Mexican ingredients, and also to help us learn the Spanish names for many kitchen utensils, and commonly used ingredients.<br />After the class finished and we all gorged ourselves on an assortment of delicious Mexican dishes. I barely had time to catch a small nap on one of the couches at the school before we had to head out to the football (soccer for all you gringos) game. A soccer game in Mexico is like a baseball game in America, except with the energy turned up 100%. Even though we did not know much about either team, we all found ourselves cheering for our hometown (the Gallos). The game ended in a tie, and only one fight broke out (about 10 feet from us). It was a great experience. The day ended by all of us going to a local cantina and grabbing a snack and a few drinks (cervesa).<br /><br />It has been a long and exhausting first week, but full of experiences I will never forget. I know it will get harder from here on out, but I have no doubt in my mind that I have made the right decision by joining the Peace Corps.</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-22-viva-la-mexico.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-24-cantina-con-victor.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115988856848992372?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1159888317062426002006-09-27T11:09:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:55:58.150-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-21-mi-3.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-23-family-matadors-roosters.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>W</strong></span>e arrived late last night to Tequisquapan (Tequis). Our flight from D.C. was relatively uneventful... if you ignore the fact that once we boarded the plane, we noticed that one of our group members were missing! As soon as we were seated on the plane, we did a head count and noticed we were only 19 people (we should be 20). After a quick scan, we noticed we were missing our matriarch, Louis. She is the oldest member of our group at 78, but still sharp as they come (she is an amazing woman who has traveled all over the world, and recently competed in a Dragon Boat race in Taiwan). During our stop over at Miami, we found out that she had been put on another flight, and would actually arrive in Mexico City before us. So at that point we figured she had actually planned this whole thing and was probably used her wealth of travel and life experience to swindle a first class flight to Mexico. :P<br /><br />The next morning we awoke in our Hotel/Resort in Tequis, once again re-united as a group. This is the place the PC Mexico office puts us up for the first two days to help us acclimate to life in Mexico. Let me start by saying, if life in Mexico is like this, I should have no problems getting acclimated. The hotel was beautiful. A traditional Spanish building with a large courtyard, complete with manicured gardens and a heated/hot spring pool. In the mornings we were awoken up at 7:00 by the local cathedral playing Ave Maria with its bells.<br /><br />The hotel was located right next to the the town Plaza (every town in Mexico has one, or many). As the sun rose, the empty plaza became full of little stores, traveling troubadours and wandering bands of Mariachi. There was horseback riding in the river nearby. One of our team members, Diana, was a yoga instructor back in the U.S. So a number of us took the opportunity to start each day with a yoga class.<br /><br />We are getting to know each other a little better here, and I am becoming more and more in awe of the people I am serving with. They have more stories than can fit in this blog post. So if you want to hear them you are just going to have to ask me when you visit.<br /><br />Tomorrow we take a short 1 hour trip up to our home for the next 3 months, Queretaro. And it will also be what I anticipate will be one of the 2 most stressful experiences in my PC experience. Meeting my host family (the other being my fist day at work). Hopefully it will all work out.<br /><br />Asta Pronto.<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-21-mi-3.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/10/chapter-23-family-matadors-roosters.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115988831706242600?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1159888029858562172006-09-26T11:04:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:56:50.276-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-20-start-spreading-news.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-22-viva-la-mexico.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">NOTE: The next few posts are backlogged. It has been so busy, I have only been able to type them on my laptop, and have just now gotten around to posting them.<br /></span><br /><em>"Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to fly to D.C. to meet with 19 other people. After a 2 day orientation, you will be flow south of the border to participate in operation "Mexico Impossible" as the third group (MI-3)..."<br /></em><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>N</strong></span>eedless to say, this was an invite I could not refuse. So on the morning of September 20th I flew out to D.C. to meet my fellow Peace Corps volunteers. We meet on the 15th floor, in a large conference room that had a panoramic view of all the historical sites in downtown D.C. All of us total strangers, soon to be friends, co-workers, and fellow gringo's in a foreign country.<br /><br />After going through the filling out of even more paperwork (something that all people who apply to the Peace Corps are very familiar with), we started our "Staging". Which, as best as I can describe is an orientation to prepare you for our orientation. It was lead primarily by ? and ?, who lead us all through a number of ice breaking exercises and some informational sessions.<br />The exercises were very well run, but in and of themselves nothing exceptional. But what was exceptional is the group of people I am with. We ranged from 26-78 years of age. The room was filled with people who's life experiences ran the gambit of business leader, teacher, engineer, aid worker, envirmentalist and teachers. We had close have close to 500 years of work experience between us.<br /><br />The only small hurdle we ran into during staging, was the problem with our FM-3 visa's. For a reason unknown to us, they had not gone through as planned. This had also happened in the last two groups. But unlike the last two groups, we were able to take care of the issue by taking 2 trips over to the Mexican embassy. We all took it in stride, and it even gave us all a chance to have free tours of downtown D.C. 48 hours. The staging was over in a flash. But at the end, we all felt like we had known each other for much much longer.<br /><br />Manyana los vamos a Mexico! (I think that means, tomorrow we are going to Mexico... or I could have just insulted someone's 3rd cousin... I'm not very sure.)<br /><br />"...This blog post will self destruct in 5..4..3..2.."<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-20-start-spreading-news.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-22-viva-la-mexico.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115988802985856217?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1158332032693496702006-09-11T10:23:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:57:11.090-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-19-escape-from-cleveland.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-21-mi-3.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span></strong>'m leaving today, I want to be a part of it, New York, New York.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=daa7re2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/New%20York%201.0.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="157" hspace="5" width="250" /></a>This weekend I took a trip down to the Big Apple to visit my little Sis before heading out for the Peace Corps. Every time I visit New York I am always taken aback by the sheer scope of the city. While Cleveland, where I spent the last 8 years is one of the largest cities in Ohio, it is smaller, and has less people than any of the Burrows in New York. The streets of New York are packed at all hours of the day, a sea of humanity moving in an odd sort of organized chaos.<br /></p><p><a dir="'daa7re2&amp;.src=" target="_blank" store="&amp;prodid=" done="http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos"><img style="width: 142px; height: 192px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Labor-Day-Parade-6.png" align="left" border="0" height="233" hspace="5" width="147" /></a>The diversity of New York is also amazing. I have known about it, but it really struck me on this trip. It started on the bus ride down from Boston. The man behind me was taking on his cell phone, his conversation jumping from fluent english to fluent spanish effortlessly. In from of me were seated two girls who were talking Russian. To my left was seeted a lady talking in an african language. And throughout the bus you could catch converstations going on in a multitude of different languages.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=daa7re2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="width: 133px; height: 190px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Broadway-2.png" align="right" border="0" height="236" hspace="5" width="147" /></a>Part of me understands why some New Yorkers never leave the megalopolis their whole lives. There is no real need to. You want to see what China is like? Just go to Chinatown. Want to go to Italy? Little Italy is just down the street. Pick a country, and there is probably a portion of NYC were the people, buildings and food is almost identital to what you could find by travelling to the country.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=daa7re2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="width: 138px; height: 177px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/Ground%20Zero%207.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="247" hspace="5" width="173" /></a>Death. I also made a point of visiting Ground Zero. It was the weekend before the 5th anniversery of the attack, so there was a lot going on. News crews from across the world were camped out and preparing for the cerimonies the next day. Memorials and homages to those who had passed still hung on the fence surrounding what is now a large construction site. But if not for those, it there is nothing on the site itself to remind us of what happened.<br /></p><p><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=daa7re2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="width: 206px; height: 173px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/NYU%206.0.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="233" hspace="5" width="241" /></a>Life. The city is teaming with life. I was only there for one full day, but there was so much to see in do it was overwhelming. I got a chance to travel through the U.N. building. Sitting in the halls where all the resolutions are made (and then not ignored). I walked a few blocks away, and ran into a parade. A few streets over from there were performers in a park. A few meters from there people playing volleyball by the bay. Take a stroll down Broadway Ave, and watch a guy in underwear play a guitar. Everywhere, something was going on. Again, a real different atmosphere from the laid back and quite environs of Cleveland.<br /><br />This trip just re-enforced my decision to join the Peace Corps. There is so much out there to see and do. In a week I will be in Mexico. </p><p>These vagabond shoes are longing to stray...<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-19-escape-from-cleveland.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-21-mi-3.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115833203269349670?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1155754026529380282006-09-03T12:27:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:57:49.613-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-18-bar-hop-la-dr-seuss.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-20-start-spreading-news.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>he rockets flew through the air. One exploded just a few feet to the right of my car. The resulting shockwave caused my body to be flung against the driver side door. But I maintain control, and bit hard on my lower lip to keep my from passing out. Shards of molten shrapnel have embedded themselves in the hood, but the bulletproof glass keeps them from getting inside. In my rear view mirror I can see the vicious motorcycle gang , "The West 6th Skeet Shooters", giving me chase. It was suppose to be raining today, but my luck, the sky was clear, giving my persurers a clear shot at me. Getting out of Cleveland wasn't going to be easy. But I, Ray "Snake" Blakney, had been through much worse.... </p><p>... Ok, so my 10 hour drive from Cleveland to Boston didn't quite happen like that. In fact, other the cload cover and rain brought on by the remnants of tropical storm Ernesto, it was uneventful. But what if it had happened. And what if John Carpenter made a movie about it. I wonder what the promo poster would look like? Hmmm....</p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082340/quotes" target="_blank"><img style="" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/EscapeFromCleveland.0.png" border="0" height="347" width="263" /></a></p><p>Now that's I movie I would want to see! Anyway, I am now back in Beantown for most of the next 3 weeks. All I have let to do is pack my whole life (80 lbs of it) before heading out to Mexico. Soon the real adventure begins...</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-18-bar-hop-la-dr-seuss.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-20-start-spreading-news.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115575402652938028?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1156860929999569102006-08-27T09:03:00.000-04:002006-09-05T09:24:43.553-04:00<div align="center"><table width="98%" align="center"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-17-enjin-geiko.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-19-escape-from-cleveland.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><p align="center"><strong>I</strong></span> met friends last night, for dinner and dessert.<br />Little did I know, today my head would hurt.<br />Waterstreet Restaurant, that was the place.<br />Most of us were late, but it wasn't a race.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=bf26re2&.src=ph&amp;store=&prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><img style="WIDTH: 287px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" height="192" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P3290003.jpg" width="260" align="middle" border="0" /></strong></span></a><br /><br />"Training", said my friends, that's what awaits.<br />For my life in Mexico, the Peace Corps, away from the United States.<br />So they bought me some Tequila, the large shot was plenty.<br />But after much prodding, the big glass was empty.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=bf26re2&.src=ph&amp;store=&prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="WIDTH: 287px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P3290013.jpg" align="center" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But the night, did not end, it had only begun.<br />It would be full of drinking, and dancing, and oh so much fun.<br />We moved from bar to bar to bar, on a whim.<br />I was worried it would rain, I didn't want to have to swim.<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=bf26re2&.src=ph&amp;store=&prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="WIDTH: 198px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" height="206" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P3290059.jpg" width="190" align="center" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We closed out the bars, and spilled, onto the street.<br />There some friends, and strangers, did we meet.<br />But it was late, and we had to get to bed.<br />This morning I woke up, and took two Tylenol for my head...<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=bf26re2&.src=ph&amp;store=&prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 197px" height="200" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P3290022.jpg" width="273" align="center" border="0" /></a> </p><p align="center">...Farewell Cleveland.<br /></p><p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-17-enjin-geiko.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/09/chapter-19-escape-from-cleveland.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115686092999956910?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1155045573594063912006-08-19T09:57:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:58:16.102-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-16-el-nio.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-18-bar-hop-la-dr-seuss.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/1600/practice3.0.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 127px; height: 233px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/practice3.0.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="242" hspace="5" width="141" /></a>T</strong></span>he sun shone through the huge windows, casting long shadows on the room full of dark figures. Each one, cloaked in head to toe in deep indigo garbs, and donning full sets of armor. They each squared off if pairs. One on one, the way it was meant to be. A silent bow to each other signaled the start. They face off, with long bamboo weapons poised and ready. Then, suddenly, the silence is broken by the multiple yells of "Men, Men, Men"! No, I'm not describing what happened when a group of Star Wars fans accidentally stumbled into a Chip 'N Dales show. This was the special Enjin Geiko that the people at the Cleveland Kendo Club had put on to bid me farewell and see me off on my next grand adventure. For those of you who don't know what kendo is, it's basically Japanese Fencing. And the yelling of "Men" is actually calling out the target required when striking ("Men" in Japanese roughly translates to "Head").<br /></p><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/1600/practice19.0.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 245px; height: 157px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/practice19.0.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="164" hspace="5" width="246" /></a>This past Saturday I was honored to be the "special guest" at this event. The primary purpose of a Enjin Geiko is to thank the person who has been part of the dojo for practicing together (in the case of some people, I have been doing kendo with them 2-5 times a week for almost 5 years). The secondary point is to push a person to their physical limits. The event started off like a normal practice session, with stretching and warming up, followed by some rounds of Kihon (basics). But after that was done, the main event began.<br /></p><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/1600/practice27.0.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 177px; height: 199px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/practice27.0.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="188" hspace="5" width="168" /></a>The "main event", involved the person who is leaving (yours truly), getting in the center of the room, and everybody else encircling him. Then, starting from the lowest ranked person and going to the highest ranked (Sensei's) he squares off and spars with everybody, one after another with no break. Now to put this all in perspective, a 3 minute kendo match typically makes a person feel like they have just sprinted 400 meters. Add to that that you have no time to catch your breath between matches, and the fact that all you opponents get progressively more rested, and more skilled.... lets just say that after the first 5 matches, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my arms up, and I became nothing more than a glorified practice dummy. Ah, good times!<br /></p><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/1600/kendoEnjin24.0.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 236px; height: 154px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/kendoEnjin24.0.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="168" hspace="5" width="230" /></a>After the yelling had subsided, and I was in good enough condition to remain upright of my own volition (and by that I mean, they leaned me up against a wall and secured me in place with what I believe to be duct tape). We started a ceremony to hand out the menjo , or promotion certificates, a number of us had earned at the <a href="http://www.clevelandkendo.com/" target="blank">Cleveland Kendo Tournament</a> back in June. A great way to finish a good practice.<br /></p><br /><p>To cap off the festivities we headed over to Asiatown, and hit up Superior Pho Restaurant (which, as you can tell from the name, is superior to the Number One Pho Restaurant across the street). It also happens to be owned and operated by a mutual aquaintance of mine and another member of our dojo's . There we were all treated to a delicious meal, cold beers, and good company. At the end of the day, I was painfully exhausted, and blissfully full.... I'm really going to miss this. </p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-16-el-nio.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-18-bar-hop-la-dr-seuss.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115504557359406391?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1155580789658518952006-08-14T11:49:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:59:46.457-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-15-its-not-you-its-me.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-17-enjin-geiko.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>N</strong></span>o, this post is not concerning the odd weather that has been encompassing the U.S. for the past few years. For those of you who had your heart set on hearing about cold water currents, humanities effects on the degradation of our ecosystem, and the resulting repercussions on the worlds weather patterns, please go <a href="http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/intro.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p>For the rest of you, I ask that you allow me a this chance to be self indulgent; selfish if you will. This post is about me, or more specifically, about my position within the group of new Volunteers being sent to Mexico this year. </p><p>Last week, I had my first opportunity to "meet" (through email) most of my fellow volunteers. And wow, talk about an amazing group. We got a response from almost everybody, and here is a rough overview of the kinds of people who will be a part of group M-3. There will be a lawyer, a doctor, someone with 25 years of I.T experience and a music degree, a mechanical engineer with 20 years of research background, and teacher with 20 years of experience teaching in Africa, Asia, and South America, an environmental engineer with a Masters and PhD... oh, and a 26 year old kid (niño) with a B.S. and 7 years of work experience. Yup, you guessed it, the last unimpressive one would be yours truly.</p><p>I had two separate reactions to discovering this. The first is "how the heck did I get into the same program as these people?". I mean, I'm not too bad at what I do, but I also do not have any delusions of grandeur (at least not without the aid of alcohol). Many of these folks have more "work" experience than I have "life" experience. In many of the emails last week I got a response saying, "I am old enough to be your grandparent" (their words, not mine). What makes it even more impressive is that, many of these people are near retirement. But instead of using the money they have saved up to live life in comfort and relax, they have all decided to give back to the world. Once again... wow.<br /><br />My second reaction, is "That's awesome, the Peace Corps think I am good enough to hold my own in this group". And this is the point I puff up my chest, and start strutting around the streets(until the people on the streets, including our neighborhood bum "Jimbo", start giving me weird looks). True, I don't have the experience that these people do, but I did beat out 7000+ applicants for this position. Latin America is the most competitive region in the Peace Corps, and Mexico is a one of a kind program that most applicants would love to get into. And there is also the fact that a lot of the technology I work with is cutting edge. It's impossible for somebody to have 25 years of wireless software development experience, consindering the fact that some of the technology has only been around for 3-4 years.<br /><br />So, for the next few years, I will be the baby of the group, "el niño". The only member of the team in their 20's. I look forward to it, and can't wait to learn from all of them! </p><p>Now all this baby has left to do is decide what brand of diapers to pack. Huggies? Pampers? Costco Brand in bulk?</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-15-its-not-you-its-me.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-17-enjin-geiko.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115558078965851895?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1151518714997638052006-08-09T13:41:00.001-04:002008-06-25T20:00:08.163-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-14-six-degrees-of-peace-corps.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-16-el-nio.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">B</span></strong>reakups are always hard. Even if you are the one doing the breaking up... </p><p>I made sure I arrived a little ahead of time, so I could mentally get prepared. I wore my Sunday best (granted, I usually bum around the house in shorts and a grubby t-shirt on Sundays, but you get the point). </p><p>It started like countless other breakups that I have been a part of (on both ends)... "we need to talk." From that point on, there was no doubt where the conversation was headed. I made it short and sweet. There's no need to draw these kind of things out. This day had been coming since I decided to join the Peace Corps. </p><p>It's was hard. But that was to be expected. We had been involved for over 5 years. We have had our ups and downs, but there is definately more good than bad. In fact, if I had decided to stay here in Cleveland, it probably would have lasted for a long long time. But my decision had been to follow my dream instead.</p><p>What's makes this whole thing even worse, is that I still have to deal with them for the next 3 weeks before leaving Cleveland. There will be the awkward moments of pretending nothing is wrong, when everybody knows there is. And then the uncomfortable conversations, "How are things? How is the family?". The day to day conversations that were once casual small talk will now be forced politeness. But it has to happen.</p><p>Breakups are always hard. Today I broke up with my <a href="http://www.sherwin.com/" target="_blank">job</a>... ;)</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-14-six-degrees-of-peace-corps.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-16-el-nio.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115151871499763805?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1153616935836676602006-07-22T20:58:00.001-04:002008-06-25T20:00:28.727-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-13-i-can-no-longer-vote.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-15-its-not-you-its-me.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">This blog is suppose to be specialized. I intend to do my best to follow a theme, and not stray off on random tangents. This theme is of course the Peace Corps. If it has nothing to do with it (stuff like, what I did the other day, how I ended up in a dress, and how hung-over I was afterwards) I am leaving it out. But this weekend I did participated in an event that I have done for the past 4 years. And as I was standing there covered in dirt at the Mud Volleyball tournament, it occured to me, this will not happen again. So, in my attempt to tie it into the Peace Corps, lets play the Six Degree's of Peace Corps ( a shameless rip off of the Six Degree's of Kevin Bacon).<br /><br /></span><blockquote><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Mud Volleyball has mud --> mud is used to make mud huts --> mud huts are lived in by people --> people are volunteers --> volunteers make up the Peace Corps.</span></em> </blockquote><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=1debre2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="width: 264px; height: 170px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/HansonGroupies2.jpg" align="right" height="160" hspace="5" width="231" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span></strong>his adventure, like many others, started at the crack of dawn (actually, 7:30... which is virtually the crack of dawn for a Saturday). As our hero looked out his windows at the skies above the city of Cleveland, he noticed one thing strangely absent. The bright yellow ball that usually makes it's way across the sky. Instead, all he saw was grey. Undetered he packed up his adventure gear ( swimsuit, two towels and an extra t-shirt) and headed out. Upon his trusty steed H.C. (Honda Civic), he made his way east to the Richmond Heights Airport. There he meet up with the rest of his party. The sky was behaving, still, nothing but a slight drizzle had fallen. Maybe there was hope yet.<br /><br /><a dir="'1debre2&amp;.src=" href="http://www.blogger.com/href=" target="_blank" done="http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos" store="&amp;prodid="><img style="width: 231px; height: 158px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P1010039.0.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="178" hspace="5" width="278" /></a>As they all began to gear up (wrap their feet in duct tape) for their first battle (match), they kept looking up at the sky, expecting the worst. One member of the party members (Sue), took it upon herself to be the weather sooth sayer, and spent the first hour saying "the sun is coming out, I can see it" as she pointed at a slightly less dark patch of storm clouds. Of course, this new power was probably supplimented greatly by the amount of beer that had already been consumed. So the games began. They fought valiantly for the first 3 matchs, winning.. only 1 (and that was probably because their opponents were being distracted by the team wearing liderhousen and bunny suites).<br /><br /><a href="http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lordrayven1111/album?.dir=1debre2&amp;.src=ph&amp;store=&amp;prodid=&amp;.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos" target="_blank"><img style="width: 153px; height: 186px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6769/2374/320/P2210019.jpg" align="right" height="214" hspace="5" width="177" /></a>Then it came. Between games three and four. The monsoon. The kind of rain that falls horizontaly instead of vertically. The kind of rain that knocks over tents, and laughs at anyone trying to use an umbrella. They later found out by listening to the person on the talking box, that 4-6 inches had fallen in a 1 hour period. Drenched from head to toe, and freezing, the members of the party were desperate. So, when asked by a companion (Jmocha) if they would be willing to wear "anything" to get warm. Without hesitation, and to a man/woman, they said yes. Within 5 minutes Jmocha had returned with his treasure. 15 Hanson T-shirts he had found at a thrift store. It was then, that Team Hanson was born.<br /><br />Unexpectedly, this shot the party into mini-celebrity status. The rumors spread like wildfire. People were coming from all around and cheering on the people brave enough to wear Hanson t-shirts in public. They even got free food from some of the vendors for "having the guts to wear those". At the end of the long but fun day they were all exhausted, cold and craving a nice long warm bath. But they all came away from this experience learning two very important lesson.<br /><br />1) Sue has no weather sense.<br />2) <a href="http://www.hanson.net/" target="_blank">Hanson Rocks! </a><br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-13-i-can-no-longer-vote.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/chapter-15-its-not-you-its-me.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115361693583667660?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1150228931530321942006-07-14T15:45:00.001-04:002008-06-25T20:01:12.772-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-12-same-bat-job-different-bat.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-14-six-degrees-of-peace-corps.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>I</strong></span>t's finally done! </p><p>As of midnight last night, if I were living in the newly formed Post Colonial America of 400 years ago I would have lost my right to vote. I am no longer a land owner!</p><p>Actually, since I owned a condo I guess I never really was a "land" owner to begin with. And since I'm a minority, I would not have had any rights in the first place. If I was female in that era, that would be three strikes against me.</p><p>But regardless... finally, my condo is no longer "my condo"! :) </p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-12-same-bat-job-different-bat.html"><--Previous </a></span></p></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-14-six-degrees-of-peace-corps.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115022893153032194?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1151671417970927092006-06-30T08:42:00.000-04:002006-07-12T08:35:34.976-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-11-i-would-like-to-thank_22.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-13-i-can-no-longer-vote.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>H</strong></span>oly mother of all PC assignments Batman! </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Now </span>that I've had a chance to read through the mountain of paperwork and documents that came in the invite/welcome package, I have a pretty good idea of what they plan on having me do for the next 2 years. </p><p>So "Ray, what will you be doing in the Peace Corps?" you ask. Will I be teaching people the <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200606270860.html" target="_blank">benefits of using a condom</a>? Will I be in working on my <a href="http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=8A09A6C561009483D518A256393C75DC?a=d&c=fnl&amp;d=HASH01eda2475340c580a1108cc0&dt=hierarchy&amp;p.a=b&p.s=ClassifierBrowse" target="_blank">beekeeping skills</a>? Or maybe I will be spreading the most important American core value (capitalism), by training people on <a href="http://www.vault.com/nr/surveys/occsurveydetail.jsp?response_id=9181&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ch_id=256&amp;occ_name=Nonprofit" target="_blank">free market economics</a>? If you are asking these questions, it means you already know a little bit about what the PC does... it also means you have skipped chapters 1-11 of this blog. </p><p>The job description they gave me sounds almost exactly like what I do now, except in Spanish, and in better weather! Here it is, straight from the horses (or PC welcome books) mouth:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Working For:<br /></strong><a href="http://www.conacyt.mx/" target="_blank">CONACYT </a>- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología<br /><br /><strong>Project:<br /></strong>Institutional Strengthening Project</p><p><strong>Staging:<br /></strong>September 20-21, 2006</p><p><strong>Pre-Service Training:<br /></strong>September 22 - December 15, 2006</p><p><strong>Service Date:<br /></strong>December 15, 2006 - December 12, 2008</p><p><strong>Job Title:<br /></strong>Knowledge Management and Information Technology Specialist </p><p><strong>Primary Duties: </strong></p><ol><li>Analyzing current information and knowledge management systems and procedures.</li><li>Identify gaps and needs in information systems support.</li><li>Identify opportunities to introduce software and systems that will give Centers and clients a competitive advantage.</li><li>Designing, testing and implementation of proposed knowledge management systems.</li><li>Organization of data for a research and development center to facilitate the<br />transfers of information and technologies to researchers and clients.</li><li>Assisting centers with the procedures for protecting intellectual property, securing patents, and other legal protection for work results.</li><li>Helping to develop quality improvement systems and controls.</li><li>Debugging of software and systems.</li><li>Advising centers on equipment and infrastructure needed for systems and<br />develop work processes to feed into the designed systems.</li><li>Provide training in specific platforms and software.</li><li>Provide advice to businesses on integrated IT and business information needs.</li><li>Helping develop instructional and informational materials as necessary.</li><li>Providing leadership to unit in meeting objectives.</li><li>Traveling to meet with industry and other center representative as necessary.<br /></li></ol></blockquote><p>Now for the only bit of information in the welcome book that I was not at all happy to hear about.</p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>"Work hours are usually from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM... typically 30 minute to 1 hour lunch breaks..."</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><p>That's almost as bad as the hours at the (now defunct) internet startup I worked in Silicon Valley... but without the one-in-a-million chance of ending up rich at the end of it. </p><p>The only thing that they don't tell me is exactly where I will be working. I realize this makes sense for other countries, because the final decision is made after the invitee/trainee makes it to the country. But Mexico is different. They knew exactly where I would be working before I was even cleared for <a href="http://www.peacecorp.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.howvol.stepstoapply.inviteandprep" target="_blank">Placement</a>. Ah well, the guessing game will probably continue until December. </p><p>Don't forget to tune in next week to find out if our hero is finally able to close on his "<a href="http://www.pointeatgateway.com" target="_blank">Bat Cave</a>" (condo). </p><p></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-11-i-would-like-to-thank_22.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/07/chapter-13-i-can-no-longer-vote.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115167141797092709?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1150293621259489182006-06-22T17:46:00.000-04:002006-07-03T09:17:39.303-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-10-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-12-same-bat-job-different-bat.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>he following is an except from the speech I gave as the postman dropped off my invitation.</p><blockquote><p><em>"Thank you, thank you... I would like to start of by thanking the Academy (Peace Corps) for giving me such an award (invitation). Thank you Hazel for nominating me for this position, and thanks to Suzanne and Sarah from the placement office. Regina from the Mexico office for approving my position. And my family and friends for supporting me through this process, I couldn't have done it without you.</em></p><p><em>But let's not forget all the little people who helped me get where I am today. The U.S. postal service workers for delivering my application, the internet technicians at Adelphia for allowing me to email questions around the world. Tel Mundo for playing hours of over acted tele-neuvela's so that I could get used to hearing Spanish. The Rosseta Stone language software for teaching me such useful phrases as "La mujer veijo esta pelo azule" (the old lady has blue hair). Bittorrent, for getting me the Rosseta Stone software at a big discount ;) . And last but not least all the people on Ebay who bought my worthless old junk for much more than I originally paid for it. Without all of your support this wouldn't have been possible.<br /><br />You love me, your really really love me. Sniff... I promised myself I wouldn't cry... sniff...."<br /></em></p></blockquote><p>Needless to say the postman gave me a strange look and left very quickly after seeing this. I think it is safe to say that he will put a request for a different route after today. :/</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-10-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-12-same-bat-job-different-bat.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115029362125948918?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1150375517630095372006-06-15T08:38:00.000-04:002006-06-23T08:37:51.176-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-9-los-interview-numero-dos.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-11-i-would-like-to-thank_22.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">A</span></strong>gain? </p><p>I called the title agency last night because I needed to schedule a time to sign the papers and finally sell my house. But to my surprise they tell me that we won't be able to close since the mortgage papers had not come through yet. </p><p>What?!?!</p><p>This was the first I have heard of any more delays. Again, it happens one day before I am suppose to sell. So I called up Tom, my seller agent, and ask what is going on, he told me that he had just been told by Melodie,the buyers agent, that this new financing had also fallen through. </p><p>This Mortgage Broker messes up twice on the same house?!?!</p><p>So the buyer is now once again searching for finiancing and will instead pay me rent for the rest of the month. I was looking for a buyer for my house, not a tenent. Hopefully the third time will be the charm... </p><p>What could go wrong?<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-9-los-interview-numero-dos.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-11-i-would-like-to-thank_22.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-115037551763009537?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1149598267638188492006-06-06T08:27:00.000-04:002006-08-15T15:31:14.546-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-8-email-from-placement-officer.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-10-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>H</strong></span>ola! It is now (6/6/06) unofficially official. As of September 22nd of this year, I will be living in Mexico. </p><p>Last night I spent over an hour on the phone talking with Regina Montano who is the HR contact in Mexico. She was very friendly and took the time to explain the <a href="http://www.peacecorp.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.wherepc.LatinAmerica.mexico" target="_blank">PC Mexico program</a>, which is, by all account very different from any other PC program in the world. We then spent about 20 minutes going through a questionaire to determine whether I was right for the program. The questions were pretty generic to most interviews I have been in, but focused a more on PC, and Mexico situations. Here were some of the questions to the best of my recollection.</p><ul><li>What are 4 good qualities about yourself?<br /><em>Response: </em>You want me to limit it to only 4?<br /></li><li>What do you think you would contribute to PC Mexico?<br /><em>Response:</em> Oh, I don't even know where to begin...<br /></li><li>If the PC offered you another job, would you prefer it over Mexico?<br /><em>Response: </em>That depends, does the PC have openings for a beach bums in Tahiti?<br /></li><li>How well will you deal with living in a strange new land for the next few years?<br /><em>Response:</em> I have dealt with living in America for the last 10 years... it doesn't get more strange than this.<br /></li><li>Will you fullfil your 2 year commitment?<br /><em>Response: </em>I can't really commit to an answer right now, ask me again in a few years.<br /></li><li>What would you do a co-worker accused you of only being in Mexico to learn Spanish and party?<br /><em>Response:</em> I would use my learned Spanish to invite him out for some drinks after work.<br /></li><li>What do you imagine your life in Mexico being like?<br /><em>Response:</em> See question above.</li></ul><p>In the end she asked me if I had any questions for her. I said no... but this morning it occured to me, I should have asked which city I would be spending the next 2 years of my life in. :/</p><p>Though the phone line between <a href="http://www.cleveland.com" target="_blank">Cleveland </a>and <a href="http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/photos/queretaro/queretaro-city/queretaro-city.shtml" target="_blank">Queretaro </a>kept breaking up, we made it through the interview. After we finished she told me that she thought I would be a good fit for their program, and that she would get the official paperwork started so that D.C. could send me my invitation. </p><p>So T-88 days till I escape from Cleveland....</p><p>DISCLAIMER: For those of you that sarcasm is lost on, and take things too literally ... I would not recommend actually using those answers in your interview. I will not be held liable for the results.</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-8-email-from-placement-officer.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-10-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114959826763818849?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1149514821059062702006-06-05T09:36:00.000-04:002006-06-06T08:52:03.946-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-7-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-9-los-interview-numero-dos.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>S</strong></span>o, I have heard nothing from the my PC placement office for the last 4 weeks. This is longest I have gone without some sort of correspondence from the PC since I started this process. Honestly I was getting a little restless. But this morning I get into work to find the following email.</p><blockquote><em>Hi Ray,<br /><br />Thank you for checking in, and congratulations on your medical clearance! I'm so glad to see that things are moving along with your application process.<br /><br />I just wanted to let you know that our staff with Peace Corps in Mexico are interested in interviewing you, in order to confirm that your background and experience will be a match for their programs. This interview should last about half an hour, and will be by phone. Please be prepared to discuss your professional and educational background, as well as your interest and motivation for serving in Peace Corps - and specifically, in the Mexico program. My colleague, Suzanne Zoller, will be in touch with you to set up a time for your interview next week. Our staff in Mexico is interested in interviewing you as early as Monday, 6/5.<br /><br />Many thanks!<br /><br />Sarah Crites</em></blockquote><p><br />What a great way to start the week!<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-7-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-9-los-interview-numero-dos.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114951482105906270?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1149515686831391012006-06-02T09:42:00.000-04:002006-06-13T16:03:28.710-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-6-medically-cleared.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-8-email-from-placement-officer.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>T</strong></span>hree days till I close on my condo. What could go wrong? I have done all the paperwork, am moving out in 2 days to a unit with month-to-month lease, and the buyer is moving in the same day. What could possibly go wrong?</p><p>Last night I was at home packing, feeling good after a game of beach volleyball with <a href="http://www.clevelandplays.com" target="_blank">Cleveland Plays </a>when my phone rings. It is Melodie, the buyers agent. She called to let me know that the buyers finiancing just fell through and that he would not be able to close on time. </p><p>But he has been able to secure new financing, and the buyer would still like to move in on the scheduled date, and pay me rent until we close (which is now scheduled for 3 weeks from now). As long as nothing else happens, this is no big deal, and I am not out any money.<br /><br />Should be ok... what could go wrong?<br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-6-medically-cleared.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-8-email-from-placement-officer.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114951568683139101?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1147284980742539342006-05-10T14:10:00.000-04:002006-06-05T10:52:22.423-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-5-under-qualified-for-mexico.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-7-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It took just over 9 weeks for me to get from the stage of "starting to fill out my application" to get "medically cleared". With all the 1 year application horror stories I have been reading about, I really didn't expect to get this far, this soon. But the waiting is not over yet... not by a long shot. </p><p>I emailed my recruiter (Hazel) the other day to find out who my PO was. She responded within a few days, and let me know that I would be working with Sarah. In a move that made me feel like a cyber-stalker, I did a quick search through the yahoo newsgroup, and discovered much to my dismay, that Sarah is natoriously bad at replying to email. Oh well, I sent her one anyway, and have yet to hear back.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-5-under-qualified-for-mexico.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/06/chapter-7-first-bump-in-road-to-pc.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114728498074253934?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1146668159383449892006-05-03T10:34:00.000-04:002006-06-13T16:04:30.550-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-4-mystery-of-k-solved.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-6-medically-cleared.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span></strong>never thought that there would be a IT position in the PC that I may be under qualified for. Most of the IT projects I have heard about involve basic computer maintenance and education, and the most complicated ones are setting up databases and writing some simple software. No problem. I can do that in my sleep. But get a load of this excerpt from a PC newsletter describing the current volunteers serving in Mexico.</p><em><blockquote><em>"The median age of our PCVs in Mexico is 45, with an average work experience of 15 to 20 years. Most have either MAs or PhDs. " - <a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov/noteworthy/update/rpcv_spring06.pdf" target="_blank">RPCV Newsletter 2006</a></em></blockquote></em><p>I am 26, with barely ten years of experience (if you count college). And definitely no Masters or PhD (even though Prof. Ray does have a nice ring to it). </p><p>So basically what it comes down to is a numbers game. While I may not be middle aged with two decades of work experience behind me, honestly, how many people can I be competing with for these positions? A person with a B.S. in Engineering and extensive software development experience definitely is not the typical PC applicant. </p><p>On the flipside, going to Mexico would almost feel like a cheating. I will probably have a nice apartment with electricity, running water, air-conditioning and even DSL internet. I will also not be sent out, and make close friendships with a group of people my age. </p><p>Well, I guess I've decided to roll with it. They warn you when you apply to the PC, that it will probably not be like you expect. So if I get sent to Mexico, fine, if I don't make this program and get sent somewhere else, also fine. I'll leave this one up to the roll of the dice. Isn't that what doing something as "crazy" as the Peace Corps is all about? :)</p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-4-mystery-of-k-solved.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-6-medically-cleared.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114666815938344989?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1146495498583189272006-05-01T10:43:00.000-04:002006-06-13T16:05:18.603-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-3-sold-my-condo.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-5-under-qualified-for-mexico.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>I</strong></span> think I may have finally solved the mystery of the "K" in my nomination code. I was surfing around the web, and found somebody who was nomintated for exactly the same program I was. </p><p align="center">143-06-044-K8/b</p><p>The only difference was, he was actually told what everything stood for. So now I know, I am nomitated to go to Mexico in September! So, "K=Mexico"... now why didn't I think of that?</p><p>This is really exciting. This program was only started two years ago (2004), and is the only one of it's kind in the PC. The Peace Corps webpage describes the <span style="font-size:85%;">Mexico</span> program as follows:</p><p><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Technical Research and Development</span> </span></strong></p><p><em><span style="font-size:85%;">"Volunteers will work with research and development staffs in basic and applied research related to technological challenges facing Mexico's manufacturing and agro-industrial sectors. These activities will promote the technological development of small and medium-sized Mexican companies seeking to improve production processes and product quality and to create jobs at the local level. </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-size:85%;">The Mexico/Peace Corps program is a unique partnership that provides the first opportunity for the Peace Corps to recruit highly specialized, technically-trained and experienced Volunteers to work side-by-side with their highly skilled and specialized Mexican counterparts. " - <a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov">www.peacecorps.gov</a></span></em><br /></p><p>Hmmm, so they think I am "highly skilled"? Hahaha...</p><p>Anyways, as most of you know, if I could choose any region to go with the PC it would be Central/Latin America. It is the only region they offer that has the two things I am looking for in my PC experience. They speak one of the big world languages (Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, and English), and have warm weather! As an added bonus, after this, when I visit California, and everybody assumes I speak Spanish... I actually will!</p><p>So now, at least I have an idea! But from what I hear, there is a 50% chance this will change. No use getting my hopes up... :/ </p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-3-sold-my-condo.html"><--Previous </a></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-5-under-qualified-for-mexico.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114649549858318927?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1146059630272238372006-04-26T09:45:00.000-04:002006-08-15T15:40:55.116-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-2-k.html"><--Previous</a> </p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-4-mystery-of-k-solved.html"></strong>Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:180%;" >T</span>wo weeks.<br /><br />That's all it took from the time I placed my condo on the market, to signing the contract of sale. As I signed the contract, the reality of I was doing hit me for the first time. Up until this point, joining the Peace Corps had been something that was going to happen in the future. I knew it would happen, but it almost seemed surreal. Now it has become real. </p><p>The comfortable life he have been living for the past few years was doing its best impression of George Bush's approval rating, by slowly crumbling away. I suddenly came face to face with the fact that I was an addict. Not to drugs, or alcohol, but to most addicting thing of all. The "routine". This addiction affects 90% of Americans, and is one of the leading causes of the terminal desease "Acute Boring-us Life-itus" or ABL. </p><p>The symptoms of ABL are very hard to detect, and it's onset can take many years. Some of the symptoms include:</p><ul><li>Going to the same bars/clubs every week.</li><li>Going to the same party's every year.</li><li>Developing and aversion to trying anything different.</li><li>Not learning anything new.</li><li>Not meeting any new people.</li><li>Being able to recite T.V. Commercials from memory... even the boring ones.</li><li>Trying to convince others that you don't have ABL.</li></ul><p>What's even scarier is that the carriers of this disease can even convince themselves (with the aid of alcohol), that they are actually cured. </p><p>I realized to my dismay, that I was already showing many of the symptoms of ABL. Most apperant of these symptoms was his ability to recite a dozen different "<a href="http://budlight.whipnet.com/" target="_blank">Real Men of Genius</a>" Bud Light ads from memory.</p><p>I was hoping I had caught the disease in time, and that the Peace Corps would be just what the doctor ordered. </p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-2-k.html"><--Previous</a> </p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/05/chapter-4-mystery-of-k-solved.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114605963027223837?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1146063089497225192006-04-17T09:58:00.000-04:002006-08-15T15:41:34.776-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/02/chapter-1-ray-decides-to-save-world.html"><--Previous</a> </p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-3-sold-my-condo.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:180%;" >F</span>or the past few weeks I have been trying to figure out what the "K" in his nomination code could stand for. After watching an especially stimulating episode of Law and Order, I thought to myself "if Lenny is able to solve a murder, and collect enough evidence to convict the criminal in an hour (with commercial brakes) I should be able to figure this mystery out." </p><p>So, by following the examples set by such great detectives like <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a>, <a href="http://www.tv.com/matlock/show/216/summary.html" target="_blank">Matlock</a>, and <a href="http://www.thesimpsonsquotes.com/characters/chief-wiggum-quotes.html" target="_blank">Chief Clancy Wiggum</a> I set about sorting through all the facts...<br /><br />1) By going to the <a href="www.peacecorps.gov" target="_blank">peacecorps.gov</a>, I found out there are four countries the PC goes to that start with K. </p><ul><li>Kenya</li><li>Kyrgyz Republic</li><li>Kazakhstan</li><li>Kiribati</li></ul><p>2) By comparing the work areas listed on peacecorps.gov I discovered Kiribati does not have a Business Advising work area... so much for spending the next 2 years on a tropical island. :(</p><p>3) After comparing the timeframe for departure (July-September), with my work area on the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacecorps2/" target="_blank">yahoo newsgroups </a>Unofficial Program list, I was left with the following possibilities.</p><ul><li>Kenya - September - Business/IT Advising</li><li>Krygyz Republic - July - Small Business Advising</li><li>Kazakhstan - October - Business Advising</li></ul><p>So in conclusion to my research... I still have no idea when and where I will be spend the next two years.</p><p></p><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/02/chapter-1-ray-decides-to-save-world.html"><--Previous</a> </p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-3-sold-my-condo.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114606308949722519?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25532321.post-1144423509131782062006-02-24T22:45:00.000-05:002006-06-13T16:05:43.130-04:00<table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-2-k.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><tr></td><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>I</strong></span>t was a day like any other in Cleveland, Ohio. Our hero was sitting in his cube, innocently writing another line of code, for another computer program, all in the hopes of making his company another dollar. He was, as most people are, another cog in the great American Corporate Machine. Then with no warning at all, the proverbial light bulb went off in his head. And not one of those household light bulbs that you have in your bedside reading lamp. This was one of those industrial strength light bulbs used to illuminate football stadiums (or at least he assume it was, since he had never actually been in a football stadium).<br /><br />He, Raymond C. Blakney, was going to save the world. But there was one problem, he had no idea how to go about it. He entertained all kinds of idea's. First he explored the feasibility of donning a spandex outfit and flying around the world saving people from fiery buildings and preventing school buses filled with school children from falling off bridges. But discarded that idea, when he realized he did not know where to buy a spandex outfit.<br /><br />Next, he thought "maybe I should become a world renowned scientist, and use my extensive scientific know how and resources to discover the formula for World Peace". After an eternity(consisting of 5 minutes) of research and calculations, he came up with the following irrefutable formula for World Peace.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(Global Warming * Cost of Oil)<br />------------------------------------- - "G.W. Bush" + "1000 lbs of Guava" = World Peace<br />5.63 * e^9 tons of Unagi Sushi<br /></span><br />But then he realized he didn't know where to buy "1000 lbs of Guava", and thus, his inability to shop once again foiled the plan.<br /><br />How was he going to do it? Was there a way he could go out into the world, and help improve peoples lot in life?<br /><br />So it is decided. Ray is joining the Peace Corps...<br /><br /><table width="98%"><tbody><tr><td><p align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"></p></span></td><td><p align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://rayswonderlust.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-2-k.html">Next--></a></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/25532321-114442350913178206?l=www.mexicolanguageschools.com' alt='' /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05272323610653832236noreply@blogger.com0