Semester 2007
From swinging piñatas to finding a new a puppy, this week has been an adventure. The class room scene was back in action starting Monday, except this time with an unfamiliar scene. Classrooms inside are entitled with names of Spanish speaking countries, whereas outside classes resemble little tiki-huts enclosed with a table, chairs and a chalkboard. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday our alarms are replaced by Gerardo’s wonderful little
Chihuahua, Max, who proudly barks at the crack of dawn making sure we are wide awake. We then have breakfast and take a thirty minute bus ride to our wonderful new school, where only the teachers speak Spanish and the students consist of our Scholastica group and Catholic Priests. However in
Mexico the learning is boundless. When leaving the classroom the education and experiences never seem to end.On our days off from Spanish
School we attend class with our delightful Scholastica professor, Vicki Zeman, where we learn about comparative health care systems within the United States and
Mexico in addition to learning more in depth about cultural differences among Mexican and American cultures. This week in Estela’s class we ventured out in the city of Cuernavaca to the Jardin Botanica (Botanical Garden). Expecting to see exotic, rare and beautiful flowers we were surprised by an array of medicinal herbs and plants. The colors consisted of green, green and green. When looking at a glance, one may see a garden full of green dull plants, but when really looking you get to see the plant and its personality. Each plant, even though from afar may look alike, they’re all different with a special purpose and meaning. Although it may not have been what we expected, we were still exposed to a different idea of the importance of culture and medicine in Mexico.
Our social life has been jam-packed with new experiences and adventures. We visited Cuernavaca’s renowned mall, Liverpool. With two-stories and a food court, it resembled a mall similar to those in the United States, except this time the stores were unfamiliar. After looking around, we went to a restaurant to watch the Mexico vs. Brazil soccer game, where we enjoyed the company of some new friends we met in
Cuernavaca. Our weekend continued by celebrating
Mexico’s Independence Day. We all gathered together to celebrate downtown in the central square to dance and explore the city limits. The weekend ended with meeting our new friend, Frieda. Britta, our animal lover and caregiver of the group, gladly adopted a skinny stray dog roaming on the streets of
Cuernavaca, of whom we now call Frieda. She is now one of the gang, and was a wonderful addition in celebrating the birthday of Gerardo and his wife Sophia.
On Tuesday, we all gathered together with the extended family of Sophia and Gerardo to celebrate their wonderful birthdays. The party started with a delicious Mexican home-cooked meal and ended with a wild game of musical chairs and two candy-filled piñatas.
And as for now…we continue to undertake in this wild
Mexico adventure, never knowing what’s around the corner. The learning experiences are endless while the friendships continue to grow deeper and deeper. So adios for now! You are all in our thoughts…
With Love,
The Scholastica Crew
Photos to come
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