More Mexican Adventure

Culture Fair

Today we had a culture fair for around 1500 high school students. Our cast setup booths for each country represented – around 20 in all. It was a great success – except for the fact that I got sunburned (again!). The kids would go to each booth, hear a little spiel about that place and then get their UWP passports stamped. At the end, we performed yet another BTS for the kids. The afternoon was easy – internal time with the cast. We read our letters to ourselves from the very first week of staging. And then wrote another to ourselves for the end of the tour. I should do this more often – when I’m out of UWP! We all had “thank you” time with each other and hugs were the most common way of showing your gratitude.

Later that night our family took us out to a restaurant at a mall and we watched the Mexico vs. Columbia soccer game – and man let me tell you that was an intense game! Soccer (or futbol) outside of the US is way better! Our family also hooked Phil and me up with a Mexico t-shirt so we could show our team spirit. Unfortunately we lost 1-2 but it was fun anyway.

City Tour

Yeah! We got to sleep in a little. We drove down to Mexico City – Distrito Federal. There we toured around the downtown area and saw the theater, art museum, walked around the streets, El Zocalo (center square), and the big church that is sinking. Mexico City is unique because it was built on a lake (a long, long time ago). The Native Indians, the Aztecs, moved to the location after a vision from one of the leaders. There they settled in an area which had the classic Mexican symbol of the eagle with the snake in its beak sitting atop of a cactus. Well unfortunately for them, the cactus was in the middle of a lake. The Indians built their city over it anyways. And after the Aztecs were conquered, the Spanish built their city on top of the Indian structures. That means Mexico is sitting on top of a lake and shifting sand – which explains why the city has so many problems with its buildings and infrastructure.

Teotihuacan Pyramids

Lunch was AMAZING! We went to a place called Fisher’s. Yes it was a seafood joint and they prepared us shrimp, fish and chips and chips and guacamole. Yum. A bus-ride nap later, we arrived to the famous pyramids of Teotihuacán. This is the home of the Pyramide del Sol (the third largest in the world) and its sister Pyramide de La Luna. After our cliché cast phot with the pyramid in the background, we decided to conquer the beast! Arrrrg. Many photos were taken at the top – some candid, some serious, but mostly were goofy. Then we walked down to the base of Luna breifely before we toured the labrinth and visited the shops. Meawhile, every step you took, a peddler would ask if you wanted to buy an obsidian turtle or mask or a jaguar whistle or a necklace. The only place you weren’t haggled was at the top of the pyramid.

i feel loved

Today we had 2 BTS in one day. The first was very apathetic in my opinion. I had very little energy from the long travel day and early rise. Plus there was literally no audience there to perform for – so my motivation waned. Then we took off to a small school somewhere near the park and I was of course taking advantage of the bus time by sleeping. Once we arrived, the students put on a short presentation for us that included a small band, guitarist, pianist and opera singer. All were very nice to hear. Then we did our routine BTS – this time with way more energy and enthusiasm. I have found that energy is transferable – especially between humans. I was pumped to do the BTS with 500 smiling faces looking back at me. Then CHAOS after the show – fotos, fotos, fotos! No besos! Lunch was great – pollo hamburgers!

Later we had a Jai Ho photo shoot for the Mexican newspaper, Reforma. It is an equivalent to the NY Times. I have never done a photo shoot before but it was a lot of fun. We got dressed in our Indian show costumes and took pictures. We ran through the trees, jumped up, acted casual, posed, and goofed around. Then we made a Jai Hoe music video. Check out how funny this is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivb29IDgWig

My host family was amazing. They gave us maps and printed out some information for our regional learning day at the Teotihuacán Pyramids. At the end of the book they made us, there was a nice little note written in Spanish full of love. I love the love! But one thing I’ve found in my host family experiences is that its hard to receive all the love. It’s almost unnatural human love. I understand that we are guests of the house for a temporary time – but all my host families have shown so much love and generosity towards me and my roommates. That night we had an awesome dinner. I was able to savor many of the different flavors. I was such a rich taste and 100% authentic. Can't get any better!

the world's largest city

Yesterday we left from Puebla from the tearing eyes of our host mom. A two hour drive led us to the Los Pinos grounds, the Mexican White House. Los Pinos stands for the Pines. It was originally a place bought by a rich Panamanian who name it Rancho Ormiga (Ant Ranch) because it was one of his smallest properties. We didn’t get to enter the buildings but from the outside they were very beautiful. We toured the area and learned about the many previous presidents while making fun of the old, traditionally-posed statues. Mid-way through the tour we got some unfortunate news - the first lady was not going to be able to greet us.

An hour later the tour buses arrived to our meeting location – which also happened to be our sponsor – Xochitla – an ecological park in the middle of Mexico City. Just a note – the small state of Mexico has close to 22 million people – 15 of which live in the city itself. I had no packed lunch – so when I found a snack shop, I found sanctuary for my stomach. There I gorged myself in nachos with cold cheese and a bag of Doritos – which essentially are cold nachos, too. After our routine allocation meeting, we split the group into host-family drop off sites: some stayed at the Xochitla site; the other went to a place called Satelite – close to an hour away. Phil Woods was assigned my roommate and we got on the bus going to Satelite. We quickly learned that with our meeting facility being at Xochitla, we had to get up an hour earlier. Woot!

That night we met our host family. I had no idea what to expect, but was hoping for another great Mexican host family. I trailed into the building to find Phil wearing a big white shirt that said “Po” in black letters. I looked to the left of him to put the rest of the picture together. My host family had made t-shirts with their hostcode: Tostadas de Pollo. I received my shirt with “llo” and completed the code. What a great introduction! We crammed into their small Dodge car with our luggage and went home to their beautiful house in the northern part of Mexico City. My host parents are named Rocio and Pareko and their daughters are named Mariel (Bocho) and Marisel. They had 3 dogs as well.

Quieres tomar una foto?

The following morning we had another BTS (backing track show if you forgot). This one was a lot of fun. First, we were surprised by the Viva la Gente sign spelled out in the bleacher seats. Second our stage was in the middle of their stadium. And thirdly, our audience was full of excitement and over 3000 strong. I think the best part of the experience was after the show: all the kids came running towards with quick little strides and swarmed each of the performers. It was so CRAZY! The rest of the day was like any other, except every 5 steps you took, a Mexican student would catch you or tap you on the back and ask for an autograph or a picture. They would say "quieres tomar una foto?" Si, claro!

That evening we went to a place alled container city. It was really cool. The concept is just as it sounds. It was a mini city built from shipping/cargo containers. The stacked them wide, they stacked them high. They outfitted them with bars and shopping stores. I wonder if we have anything like this in the states. I would like to start something like this perhaps.

Our show went well and many of the fans from the CENCH school we visited came to the performance as well. It was great to see there smiling and screaming faces in the front row. Then time for strike. My favorite activity in UWP – NOT!

The following day was a host family day. It was a very chill Sunday. Matt unfortunately had a meeting that morning back at CENCH and on the other hand, I got to sleep in. I packed, I ironed my clothes, and I ate. Good day indeed. In the evening we went to a 60’s/Hippee party with our host family. Let me tell you that the Mexicans know how to do a themed party! Almost all the people there wer dressed up in 60’s clothes. They had a pork roaster for tacos, snacks, and of course plenty of alcohol. All of which was topped off with a big piñata for the birthday girl. Sorry to say I didn’t enjoy as much of that as I could because I was feeling really under the weather.

Brunch the following day was delicious. More Mexican food! We ventured to a cool site in town where local artists could play music while patrons could sit, watch and chill while eating. The two Mexicans on stage were talented. Then we encouraged Matt to get on stage and sing and play for us. He did so with little hesitation! (Matt is such a performer!)

Eventually it came time to say goodbye. Which was really tough. My host family was so nice and fun. They spoke English really well while still encouraging us to learn Spanish. We had some fun times together, especially around meals. Matt and I can get really goofy and its so great to be yourself around others you haven’t known for a while.

stuck out like a sore thumb

In Puebla our sponsor was the local government again. We were dropped off in the downtown square near and briefly met our sponsor. They also took us on a brief tour of their historic building. It was nice, and old. Ha. Then we went to our allocation meeting spot and facility. It was called CENCH. It was a major high school in the city that was known for its 200 person marching band. At CENCH, our group stuck out like, well, really like a group of 90 international kids in a Mexican school of 4000 kids.

The following day we were treated to a tour of the Cadbury Chicklets factory. It was awesome! The smell inside the facility was sooo pungent. OK it was so strong that some people loved it, some people hated it, and for some people it made them sick to their stomach. Covered in masks, hairnets, and lab coats, we had fun seeing and hearing about the processes of how to make gum and other sorts of candy.

The rest of our tour was kind of unspoken for, literally. I had no idea what we visited because there was no tour guide to explain the sites we passed. I think the best part of the tour was ducking all the Independence day paraphernalia hanging from the buildings over our open-top bus. LOOK OUT! MORE FLAGS!

The following day, I convinced the dance director that I should go on CI (community impact) work rather than be signed out for dance. We were working on our European medley dances – one for Poland and one for Denmark. I am extremely glad that I asked for this because 1) the CI work we had was awesome, and 2) (writing from a future perspective) they took the Danish dance out of the show. For our CI activity, a group of us students bussed in town to an old-person day center. Think of it as day care for gramps and grandmas. The center provides activities and meals for the people during the day, and then family members pick up their elders at night. We did some sewing activities, some tai-chi (for old people, of course), sang a couple songs and then danced with them. The dancing was the best part. I had the honor and privilege of dancing with an 85-year-old Mexican lady, Rosa. She was light on her feet and took my turns with grace. Ok not really, but it was a great slow dance. So what a blessing to be able to help others than waste time learning a dance that wouldn’t be used!

Later on I was picked up by a stranger. Strange. But not really. My host mom was celebrating a friend’s b-day at a restaurant so she sent Antonio to come pick me up. It was a fun ride to dinner in his BMW Z4 zig-zagging through the Mexican streets. We ate dinner, a quite delicious one. It consisted of many rounds of skewers with varieties of meat. My host-mom knew that I had a big appetite so she took joy in waving down the waiter to bring the latest meat on the floor. I’ve actually had a dinner very similar to this (at a restaurant in Denver called Rodizio’s) so I knew to avoid the overly-rubbery, hard-to-chew chicken heart.

the week Cast B took a break

Veracruz was a blur. A beautiful blur. To date, this is the most modern/commercialized Mexican city we’ve visited. There were loads of advertisements of major companies – Coca Cola, HP, McDonald’s – lining the busy streets of sea-side city. There were huge malls, big name brands stores. But just outside of the city, and if you looked closely enough – inside the city – there was poverty. Again a stark contrast between rich and poor. My hostfamily was in the upper spectrum. They lived in the 12^th floor of an apartment within sight of the beach. My roomie Emil (Sweden) and I really enjoyed the family and their extended friends – like their driver, maid, and chef. The host family consisted of Carmen (the grandmother), Christina (the mother) and her tow sons, Luis (18) and Christian (15). The family was very much into golf.

One of our first activities was a tour of the city. Our sponsor, the Veracruz Local Government, took us to their aquarium. We saw fish, sharks and sea-cows aka Manatees. Three lucky individuals, Phil Woods included, were selected to feed the sharks via an submersed cage. SCARY BUT AWESOME! I’d totally do it. Then we had a tour of a very old part of the city that was held origins to conquest history. Here we saw one of the first churches ever built in the Americas near 1521 when Cortez arrived.

La Dia de Independencia

Happy birthday Mexico! One hundred and ninety-nine years old! Emil and I and our entire troop went to one of their family member’s houses in town and we celebrated the holiday. Like in Leon, my family had other family that was hosting other UWP students. It was great to get down to some classic Mexican tunes (and American ones, too!) while ringing in the birthday of our host country.

After all this partying, our cast had the tragedy of going to the beach. Tough life really. If I was to compare this week to anything, it would be as if UWP had a vacation week. After some group activities most of the cast rushed the shore and jumped into the warmest, saltiest sea I’ve ever swam in. Beyond the awful taste in my mouth, I had the best time floating around in warm sea water. I am such a sucker for warm or hot water. I don’t do cold water – rivers, lakes, the ocean – no thank you! But this one was totally warm!

About 5 hours later I felt the worse sunburn of my life. My whole frontside and the top of my shoulders were laden with hot-red burns. Thankfully I was smart about putting sunscreen on my face. After learning some new European dances – which naturally involved a lot of shoulder movements – I completely regretted not wearing any sunscreen on the rest of my body. Oh well. It turned into a nice tan a few days later.

For our host family day, Emil and I went to Christina’s ranch about 40 minutes away. When we woke up, we walked around the 40 acres and saw their goats, cows, pigs, donkeys, chickens, turkey and a horse. Emil and I also rode the donkey bareback and the horse with a saddle. More UWP kids showed up with their host family to celebrate a friends birthday of my host mom. Emil and I left to go back into town to watch a movie with our host brothers and then called it a night.

Show night went well but could have had a much better turnout I think. We performed in a basketball arena and we’re greeted by the Governor of the state.

Argh Matey!

CI day 2 – Work at the school

One of the other community impact days, a group of us traveled to a local school. But this was no ordinary school – it was a school that was recently built for underprivileged street kids. At the Centro de Dia Njhoya, kids from ages 3-18 would be grouped together primarily by age or by intelligence. When we arrived our group paired off and we entered different classrooms. Essentially we became the maestro and maestra of the classes.

Aude (Quebec City, Canada) and I were the teachers of a classroom filled with 5 year olds. We started off our two hour session with learning each others’ names and then basic colors in Spanish, English and French. To spice things up, we took the kids outside and played a great game we learned during staging and then adapted it to a 5 year old level and in Spanish. PIRATAS! Basically you act like pirates, I give a command, and the last person to execute that command is eliminated. After we played that game a few times, we wrapped the day up with some water color painting of fruits – Uvas, Platano, Manzana, and Sandia. Fun day! Glad we could impact these children and vice versa!

Later that day, our cast had a teamwork competition. Our goal: keep the egg alive! The premise: build a contraption with the given materials and drop it from a second story window. Long story short, with a paper bowl, two small balloons, straws, paper clips, masking tape, and some paper clips, WE WON!

Templo del Cruz

That night we went to a famous Queretaro church called El Templo del Cruz – The Temple of the Cross. Yet again, there is some major history involved with this church, but low and behold I did not write it down and therefore forgot it! Oops. Anyways, the coolest thing I got out of it besides a tasty dinner was some cool pics of a tree/bush that was in the courtyard. This bush grows thorns in the shape of a cross. It’s the only bush in the whole world that has this special aesthetic defense. The one thing I do remember is a local telling me that they have tried to cultivate seeds from it and grow it elsewhere but to no avail. Pretty cool!

One night on my way home I stopped by in a local park to relax and soak up the scenery. It was a nice little zocalo (square) bustling with many Mexicans getting ready for the much anticipated independence day. Further along my walk, I discovered another zocalo with a large church flanking it. Glad my curiosity got me because I stumbled upon an entertaining water fountain show. Think of the Bellagio fountains, just on a scale 100 times smaller. The music and water choreography was very pleasant. It was neatly framed by another beautiful church.

Show and other fun

The remainder of the week consisted of our show, which was fairly successful and a host family day. The show went well but it seemed a bit off audience-wise. Instead of having one general admission price for tickets, they sold 3 different levels of tickets. I realize that’s how most concerts are set-up, but with UWP there is no way we will fill a 5000 seat venue in a small city of Queretaro. This ticket technique unfortunately separated the preferred seats from the general admission seats, leaving a massive gap between the two. It was difficult to perform to the group way up in the nose-bleed section. Pepe and Jorge enjoyed the show and rewarded me with some amazing tacos al pastor at 1 in the morning.

The host family day off consisted of more sleeping in and easy-going activities the rest of the day such as lunch and laundry. On our way to the Queretaro Aqueduct, we all stopped at the loudest parade I’ve ever heard. It was so loud I could hear the vibrations while we drove by on the opposite side of the street. What was it? No, not a Jurassic Park celebration. It was an native Indian cultural celebration. Hundreds of locals dressed in antique Indian garments danced through the street backed by pounding waves of drums. Their massive headdresses loaded with precious feathers twitched and turned to each step of the dancers. What a sight! There were so many of them