Christmas in Guanajuato

When Christmas decorations began to appear in Guanajuato the week after Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, it seemed strange to me. However, when you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I supposed you are allowed to jump straight to Christmas. Over the last few weeks, Guanajuato has been putting up Christmas trees and poinsettias (Nochebuenas) in the plazas and along all the staircase railings. The markets are overflowing with ornaments, Christmas lights, wreaths and fake Christmas trees for sale. Starbucks has switched to Christmas themed drinks and cups. My church started singing Christmas carols a couple weeks ago.





Since I love Christmas, I've enjoyed watching Guanajuato make the transformation. The weather has gotten a little colder and people are bundling up with scarves and warm coats. Kids are getting excited about presents and parents are preparing for the traditional fiesta of welcome for the baby Jesus. I guess that no matter where you go, the holiday season is everyone's favorite time of year.

Another Side of Guanajuato: Los Callejones

Los callejones (alleyways) are what make Guanajuato famous, and the city is full of them. The majority of the people who live in the city live in this vast network of callejones. This living situation negates any hope of privacy because the houses are crammed together and practically piled on top of each other. Not to mention some of the callejones are so narrow, you can practically step out of your house right into your neighbor's door. They are also incredibly steep and winding. Carrying anything up or down is a test of endurance. Some callejones are nice, with brightly colored houses and newly paved roads. Others are older and you have to watch your step so you don't trip on the cracked and uneven sidewalk.

I took the following photos on an exploratory adventure up one of the callejones. Once I left the main road, I felt like I was in a different world. The streets were much quieter and there was an obvious sense of the domestic side of Guanajuato.

El Buen Pastor

Ever since I spent January at Casa Para Ninos Aleluya (children's home in Guatemala), I had hoped that I would be able to find an orphanage or children's home to volunteer at while I was in Mexico. So I talked with one of the CIEE directors, Lalo, and he helped me get involved at El Buen Pastor.

El Buen Pastor is a children's home run by some nuns at a local church. Some 20-25 girls between the ages of 3 and 16 live there. I am almost positive that none of the girls are orphans; however, they all come from home environments of extreme poverty and/or abuse. The girls live at El Buen Pastor Monday through Friday and return to their houses for the weekends. During the week, they attend school, receive solid meals and are provided with clothes, school supplies and comfortable beds. The girls all have chores every afternoon and when I arrive on Wednesdays, they are all sweeping and mopping up a storm.



My role in all this is to help with homework. Since the majority of the girls are in elementary school, I assumed that this would be a breeze. Until I tried to explain long division and Roman numerals in Spanish...talk about a challenge. In the end, both the girls and I are learning new things. Having patience is crucial to this arrangement. Some of the girls really try to understand the concepts and just like having someone nearby telling them that they are doing their work correctly. And of course, some want me to do their homework for them. Sometimes I think that they pretend like they don't know how to do something so I will help them and pay attention to them.



Even though I'm technically a homework helper, I have been able to spend time talking and listening to the girls. They all are so special and have interesting stories. Some of these stories are heartbreaking. Once I helped Estefania (8) write a note to her mom telling her how much she missed her and wanted to see her and to stay with her for forever. Diana (6) has a million brothers and sisters and last week her brother Marco Polo (no kidding) was staying at the hogar (home) because their father didn't have work and couldn't afford to take care of the two of them. Every few weeks new little girls show up and are absorbed into the group. The most recent are two pairs of sisters Citlali and Perlita and Gabriela and Alejandra. Alejandra is three years old and is one of the most precious little girls ever. It's so precious to watch the older girls help take care of her, play with her and teach her how to sweep and write the alphabet.



When I first started going to El Buen Pastor, it was tough. Nobody gave me any instructions so I had to figure things out as I went. I was super hesitant about my Spanish, and while the girls were friendly, it was a little discouraging to not be greeted with excitement and hugs when I arrived. I stuck with it though, and gradually I've gained a place in the hearts of the girls. I think it all started when I saw Estefania, Carmen and Brenda in the Centro while they were on a field trip. We recognized each other, and I went over to say hi. When I saw them later at El Buen Pastor, they were excited to remind me that we had seen each other, and I got more hugs from them. Since then, they have been my friends and are always excited to see me and sad to see me go. I love the fact that I am a regular at the hogar. I'm so glad that I stuck with it in spite of the challenges. I know that my Spanish has improved, that I've gotten a glimpse of what real life is like for these girls, and that I've made some special friends. I'll never forget the time I spent at El Buen Pastor.

No Me Soltaras

This is one of the songs we sing at my church in Guanajuato. It's one of my favorites, and I love the idea of knowing it in Spanish and English.

Initiation

Last night I felt as Mexican as I think I ever will. There was a street fiesta for the Virgin Mary, and if there was ever an initiation for being Mexican, that party was it. First of all, I ate street tacos. Delicious as always, especially since a full meal and a drink cost about $40 pesos...about $3.10 USD. Then we ate these fried tortilla things called buñuelos that you eat with syrup...it was a huge mess, but it was also delicious...and cost us $12 pesos for three tortillas (less than $1 dollar). These are basically the Mexican version of funnel cakes. We sat and watched a Mass for the Virgin finish up which was followed by a street performance involving dancers dressed as the Devil, Death, a cowboy, a woman and a bull to name a few. It was quite entertaining because the woman dancer was actually a very large man dressed in an incredibly tight skirt, hose, and heels. The two guys dressed as the Devil had whips that they kept cracking over the crowd. It was loud, children were laughing and everyone was having a generally good time. A kind woman gave us free Ponche which is like hot cider, and it kept us warm while we watched the performance.

The most insane part of the night was when we tried to walk away from the performance. The crowd was so dense, that I couldn't control when I moved or what direction I moved in. At one point, I'm pretty sure I could have picked up both my feet and kept moving forward. I was completely wedged between the people beside, behind and in front of me. Half the time I was elbowing the person beside me in the back and the other half, I was being elbowed. Trying to maneuver this was hysterical. At one point, Jessica got stuck between people going in two different directions and literally got turned around so she was walking backwards. Of course, no was disturbed by this at all. People kept walking, pushing, shoving without an appearance of being crushed, uncomfortable or even impatient. The whole idea of personal space was completely destroyed for me last night, and it was kinda fun.

Of course, my participation in all these very Mexican activities did not prevent my standing out as a gringa. Jessica and I had three guys come up to us specifically to talk to me. Three times it was offered to buy me a drink, once to buy me food, and twice to dance. One of the guys was about my age and he came out of nowhere to stand incredibly close to me and ask me if I wanted to go get a beer. I don't like it when people stand three inches away from me to talk to me when there is plenty of space available. The guy who asked me to dance was drunk and wouldn't take no for an answer. He kept coming back to me and asking for "just one dance." We finally just walked away to avoid him. I guess my blond hair will forever prevent me from being truly Mexican.

Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead from Becky Heiser on Vimeo.

This is an audio slideshow that I created from pictures and information about Dia de los Muertos. I had a lot of fun compiling it, and I hope that you enjoy it!

Tips for Living in Mexico

Today is the four month mark of my time in Guanajuato. Over the last few months there have been several things that I've learned about living in Mexico. I figured I'd share them in celebration of reaching four months.

1. Never wait until the last minute to do laundry. Chances are it will be raining when you are desperate for clean clothes.

2. Don't freak out if you turn around in the convenience store and see a man with a machine gun standing behind you. They are security guards.

3. Mexicans like to set off fireworks in the middle of the day, and if you panic at the explosions, everyone knows you are a tourist.

4. Always look both ways before crossing the street - even a one-way street.

5. If you don't have a boyfriend and people ask you if you have one, lie. It will save you from a world of awkwardness and inconvenience.

6. Make sure you get a the bus headed the right direction or else you could end up further away from your destination than you could have ever imagined.

7. When people tell you the weather gets "cold," take it with a grain of salt. I've seen people wearing scarves, mittens, and wool coats when I was comfortable in a t-shirt and a light jacket.

8. Spend time in the cafes. They are a great place to get a cheap snack, do homework and meet new people. If you are female and by yourself in a cafe, remember the "I do have a boyfriend" line because chances are, you will have someone try to ask you out.

9. Traveling by bus is really cheap. Take advantage of the opportunities.

10. Accept the fact that you will stick out...don't worry, people will begin to recognize that you have been there for an extended period of time. Carrying a camera around all the time is not a great way to blend in.

Just some tips ... you can take them or leave them.

Washing Clothes

The washing machine at my homestay is broken. Apparently it will fill up with water, but not complete the rest of the cycle. Of course, this comes at the worst possible time...I had no clean clothes, and I didn't know what to do. Today I decided to ask the housekeeper how she had washed clothes the other day. Sure enough, it was a washboard in the back patio.

So I spent a good portion of the afternoon, scrubbing my clothes on the washboard. This was new - I've been able to do my own laundry for quite some time and I know how to hang clothes on a line to dry, but washing by hand... It's harder than it looks. Actually the most difficult part was wringing my recently-rinsed clothes to get out as much water as possible before hanging them up to dry. If I had had a second set of hands, everything would have been much easier. My clothes were still dripping a little when I hung them on the line. Needless to say, I was soaked by the time I finished and my hands were red from the soap and from jean-burn.

On the plus side, I have no experienced how many Mexicans have to wash their clothes every time. The sad thing is that I still have a mountain of dirty clothes in my room, so I'll be repeating this experience in the near future. Hopefully, the washing machine will be back in business soon.

A Trip to Michoacan

This past weekend I fulfilled one of my goals for my time in Mexico - I went to Michoacan. This was not an original goal, but since I've been in Guanajuato, everyone I have talked to has advised me to go there. Adjectives such as beautiful, magical (in Spanish this doesn't sound so corny), indigenous, charming, and completely worth it were all used and captured my attention. This past weekend was also Dia de los Muertos which turned out to be perfect because Michoacan is famous for it's celebrations surrounding this very Mexican holiday. I'm spliting my trip up into two blogs...one about Michoacan and the other specifically about Dia de los Muertos. This one is about Michoacan.

My friend Jessica and I traveled by bus to Patzcuaro where we stayed for three nights. Patzcuaro is the largest of the towns surrounding the Lago de Patzcuaro and it really is a charming town. It is very different from Guanajuato, most noticeably through the architecture. All the buildings in Patzcuaro are white with red, slate roofs. The buses (called camis, short for camiones) in the city are basically vans that have benches around the edges of the inside...personal space is virtually non-existant. Everyone we met was really friendly and excited that we were there to visit. There was a huge market in the main plaza where vendors from all around the lake region brought their wares to sell to the people visiting for Dia de los Muertos.

The evening that we arrived, Jessica and I went to one of the muelles (docks) where there was supposed to be a performance of the Purepecha people which is the indigenous group that lives around the lake. While we were there we watched the sunset over the lake and ate some incredible fish at one of the small restaurants. As a side note, fish tacos are amazing especially with avocado and tomato.

The performance was a lot of fun - they showed all the different traditional dances of the Purepecha. My favorite was the dance of the viejitos (old men). The dancers are not old men, but they all wear masks, have canes and walk bent over like it's too painful to straighten their backs. The best part was that they had a tiny little boy dressed like this. He was three and was dancing and stomping as best he could. He was so cute!

Fishing is a huge part of the culture in the region and the people who live on the Isla de Janitzio have an especially unique way of catching the fish. The fishermen have small boats and huge nets called butterfly nets. They paddle out into the lake and then gather in a circle to dip their nets in the water and see what they can catch. It looks really cool when they raise the nets out of the water.

The next day we took a boat from the muelle to the Isla de Janitzio which is famous for its Dia de los Muertos celebrations. The island was a really neat place. There are no cars or animals larger than dogs on the island and all the people that live there are indigenous. They have shops lining the streets that sell local artisan products for incredibly cheap. The whole island is a hill rising out of the lake and at the top there is a statue of one of the heroes of the Mexican war for independence. We were able to climb up the inside and look out over the whole lake. It was beautiful, but climbing the spiral staircase was really scary. We spent a good part of the day in the Panteon (cemetery) looking at all the graves and how the families decorated them to honor their loved ones. My favorite part of the day was the sunset. There are mountains surrounding the lake and they get all misty in the evening and when the sun set, the clouds turned pink and orange and gold. All this was reflected in the water which just served to magnify how incredibly beautiful it was.

The following day, we decided to check out one of the other towns located around the lake. We chose to go to Tzintzuntzan (pronounced sin-sun-san) which means "place of the hummingbirds" in the Purepecha language. We had been told that there were some really neat prehispanic ruins there. It was true, there were ruins and they had round pyramids. The area where the pyramids were was beautiful and peaceful, so Jessica and I spent some time just relaxing in the grass. We visited the Panteon there as well before heading back to Patzcuaro.

It was a great trip and I'm so glad we were able to go. Not only did I get to see a beautiful part of Mexico and learn about the Purepechas and their lifestyle, but I was able to witness a holiday that is so very Mexican in the unique mixture of prehispanic and Catholic inspired traditions. Although Michoacan shares a border with Guanajuato, it is a very different place. By traveling there I got the chance to see another aspect of life in Mexico, specifically the impact that the indigenous groups have had in the area.