Veracruz

Ahh! I have failed horribly this semester at updating my blog. I will start to redeem myself by posting an entry I wrote in early march but never published because I wanted to add more pictures but never got around to it... So here it is:

The last weekend in February, we went on a program excursion to Veracruz. If you have a good memory, you'll note that one of the first independent trips I took was to the Veracruz. However, the trip we just took was really different from the first one, so it was well worth it. Last time, we spent the entire independence day weekend in the city of Veracruz, but this time around, we used the weekend to explore the entire state of Veracruz.

We started the trip off by heading to the anthropology museum in Xalapa, where nearly all the famous olmec heads are located. It was pretty cool to see the heads- the really are enormous, and we don't know a whole lot about them. There were a lot of other cool sculptures in the museum, but we ended up spend almost three hours on a guided tour, which was just too much even for an anthropology major, especially since every minute spent indoors was one minute less on the roof-top hotel pool Patricia promised us!

By the time we ate lunch and completed the two hour bus ride from Xalapa to the port city of veracruz where we were staying, the sun was starting to set. My friend Abby and I were determined to swim in the roof top pool though, so when we got to the hotel, we ran to change and met up at the pool. I had to laugh when I got to the pool deck and poor abby was sitting in the last tiny triangle of sun that the shade had not yet gobbled up. Since the sun was setting and was kind of chilly, so we opted to head to the zocalo with the rest of the group instead of taking a dip.

In the zocalo we were greeted with a giant communal wedding, where young couple after young couple went up on a stage to be married. It was pretty weird, but I think after 6 months in mexico I have become slightly jaded to the bizarre, because it didn't seem out of place at all. In the zocalo, we relaxed in the warm night air with drinks and the marimba music Veracruz is famous for. We stopped at a slightly sketchy, but more importantly cheap, place for dinner and finished the night up with delicious nieve. Nieve is kind of like italian ice, or sorbet, and the best I'd ever had was when we went to Veracruz last time at a place called "Guero," so it was a real treat to be able to go back this time.

The next morning we woke up early so that we could walk along the pier by our hotel. Although it meant a few hours less sleep, it was a great idea because the sunrise over the port was gorgeous. Here are some of the pictures I took that morning:Hayley and Meara with the sunrise

After our brief stay in the port, we got back on the bus and headed further south in the state of Veracruz. Our destination was the Nanciyaga Ecological Reserve on Laguna Catemaco. I think we were all pretty stunned by the natural beauty surrounding us when we piled out of the bus and onto the boats that would take us to the reserve. As we skidded along the lagoon, we all basked is the warm sun and took in our surroundings: tranquil water spotted with tiny island and surrounded by lush green hills. To the left is a picture of Rouwenna and I on the boat. When we got to the reserve, we had lunch in the restaurant over looking the lagoon and just took in the view. Below are some of the views from the restaurant.

After lunch we hopped into canoes to go exploring. After missing the sun the day before, Abby and I paddle into the middle of the lagoon and just sat around for a good long time, soaking up the sunshine and gossiping, occasionally chatting with more ambitious members of our group that passed us by. I could have sat out there doing nothing for days, but we finally decided to row around one of the nearby islands with all kinds of different species of birds and head back. When we got back to the dock, we jumped in the swimming section of the lagoon to cool off. After swimming for a bit, Patricia told me there was an opening for an aromatic massage, so I jumped at that opportunity. They used scented oils for the massage and pressed an egg all over my body. I smelled so good and felt a jello-y afterwards. I had a moment where I realized that I was indeed on the best study abroad program ever- where else are aromatic massages included? I rounded out the day by sitting on the dock and watching the sun go down.

That night we took part in a Temescal, a ritual steam bath. It's an indigenous cleansing ritual where you sit in a tiny adobe hut with stone that have been cooking in an oven all day, and then water is thrown on the stones to make hot steam. I wasn't sure I wanted to do it because my only other similar experience was with Bikram Yoga- yoga that you do in a 90 degree, closed up, steamy room, and I most definitely did not enjoy that experience. But I knew I'd regret it if I didn't do it, so I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, my gut feelings were right on. During the experience, I really didn't enjoy it at all, but I'm still glad I did it. When I first entered the hut, the heat was overwhelming and I could imagine staying in for a half hour. But after a few minutes, I started to relax and adjusted to the heat. We did some singing and chanted as more water was thrown on the stones creating more steam. But then after 10 or fifteen minutes, I started to feel really uncomfortable again. I think the most difficult part was that the air was so hot and thick, so you could never get a breath of fresh air. By the end I was so focused on getting out of there, I didn't really enjoy any of the cleansing powers. But the very last part was covering ourselves in mud and jumping into the freezing lagoon, which in retrospect was pretty cool, but in the moment I was a little too grumpy to appreciate it. I'm glad I did it, but it's not something I will be trying again any time soon.

The next morning, we were all running around trying to take advantage of our last few hours in paradise. The highlight of breakfast was the crocodile siting! Meara and Hayley said they had seen one on their canoe trip, and I was super jealous, so I was I really excited when we got to see one too. Although it did make me wonder if dangling my feet in the water the day before was such a good idea... After breakfast, I took a mud bath, which consisted in being covered in mud and sitting in the sun until it dried and then hopping back into the lagoon and washing it all off. Afterwards, Abby and I went for one last canoe trip. Next thing you know we were on the bus, heading back to Puebla. I was very sad to leave and felt like I could have stayed a week!

Mud bath!

Carnival and Ash Wednesday

I can't believe we are already in March! Time is flying by here. Last weekend we went on an amazing trip to Veracruz, but first I wanted to write about some of what was going on in my life in Puebla before that.

Two weeks ago, on Saturday the 17th, we had a party to celebrate carnival. There were no parties on the schedule for this semester, but after the success of the halloween and Alica in Wonderland parties, we all wanted to have more this semester. Patricia actually came up with the idea for a Carnival party. It was perfect because we got another opportunity to wear costumes. Carnival is a big deal here is some of the coastal cities like Veracruz; there are parades and concerts and lots of drinking. Drunken crowds aren't really my thing, so I was very happy to celebrate at Patricia's house.

I was in charge of decorations, so I got to have a lot of fun picking out pretty paper and sparkly things, creating giant masks and stringing up lights. I also had a blast making my costume. I was inspired by the green sequins I still have left over from my luchador costume, and decided to go as a garden. I went shopping with my friends Abby and Arianna, and they helped me pick out some sparkly green fabric. I also got some giant pink flowers for inspiration. I went over to Abby's house friday night, and she worked some real magic with safety pins and designed the cutest shirt for me. The next day before the party, my host mom got really into it and helped my sew parts of my costume together. As you can see, the end result was pretty fabulous!

The party went extremely well in my opinion. Everyone did a really good job of inviting their mexican friends so there were tons of people there! The music was going all night and everyone was dancing. The only not so hot part was the fact that the beer ran out around midnight, and Patricia refused to buy more since we had already consumed a whole lot, so people started trickling off after that. But while it lasted, it was excellent.

So of course, after carnival comes ash wednesday. I went to a service at the local church and it was quite an experience. I first realized it would be a little different as I approached the church and there were vendors with cotton candy and tacos and bubbles all waiting outside. One set of doors had a giant sign that said SALIDA (exit) and the other ENTRADA (entrance). I went over to the entrance side, and waited with the crowd. It felt kind of like I was waiting for the haunted mansion at Disneyland. After five minutes or so, they opened the doors and we filtered in while the other group exited out the other doors. The priest then said a quick, five minute service, and the people started getting up and moving to the front of the church. I was a little confused because there was no one to distribute ashes. Then I realized people were putting the ashes on themselves with a stamp! There was a cross shaped stamp that you dipped in the ashes and then stamped on your forehead. The whole thing was pretty devoid of any spirituality. I felt a little like I was in Brave New World, or some other futuristic scene where religion had become totally institutionalized. It made me very nostalgic for the meaningful noon-time ash wednesday services at smith!