For more pictures, please click here
Greetings from México! Another fabulous semester of learning—culturally, intellectually, spiritually, and relationally—is well underway. The students are all immersed in their language, literature, culture, art, dance, and history courses. We continually work to perfect our Spanish. “What is the word for…? What did that modismo mean? Should I have used the subjunctive? What did she mean when she said…? Imperfect or preterite? I understand the words but not the concept!” Day by day the culture becomes more comprehensible, though male-female relationships will probably remain an unfathomable mystery for a while yet.
In early September, we traveled to Mexico City, now an urban area of more than 22 million, that continues to grow, slowly creeping up the flanks of the volcanoes that surround it. The Zócalo (the main plaza) was full of activity and brightly lit in red, green, and white lights sculpted into the Mexican flag and the faces of the major figures of the Independence movement. All the festivity was in anticipation of the celebration at 11:00 p.m. on September 15 of the “Grito,” Father Miguel Hidalgo’s call in 1810 for Mexicans to unite against Spanish rule. The next day in the main plaza, we walked through almost six hundred years of history from the Aztec Empire to the vice-regal period to the modern nation-state. As we wound our way through the tightly-packed street markets radiating from the Zócalo, we realized that, in fact, little had changed over those centuries. The ancient Mesoamerican foods of tortilla, chile, and frijol were still sold along with potato chips, hot dogs, and sodas. Yes, many goods were different, and the vendors now had battery-powered megaphones to compete for the attention of prospective customers. Yet, the human activity—commerce, conversation, disagreements, gossip—remained the same.
We also had a lot a fun. We ate juicy carnitas (roasted pork) with freshly made tortillas, guacamole, and quesadillas as we floated among the gardens of Xochimilco singing along with the mariachis. The Torre Latinamericano provided a spectacular view of the city. We tasted the many versions of the traditional soup, pozole. The Ballet Folklórico offered us an extraordinary performance in the equally fabulous Palacio de Bellas Artes. All of this along with the Museo Nacional de Antropólogia, the Basilica de Guadalupe, the Castillo de Chapultepec, and a quick pass through the Plaza de Tlateloco, where the massacre of protesting students took place before the 1968 Olympic Games, left us ready for a long nap during the bus ride back to Querétaro. Querétaro continues to provide a rich environment for the Westmont in Mexico Program. Though deeply-rooted social and economic inequality remains one of the nation’s greatest challenges,
Querétaro continues to grow and prosper as new industries and businesses develop and locate here. It is a vigorous city with more opportunities to enjoy music, art, drama, and intellectual life than we can possibly savor in one semester. In addition, the city often vibrates with fiestas. And as we continue to explore the city and other parts of the country, we discover many gems: an exquisite altar piece, an enchanting colonial house, a stunning architectural design, or a delicious culinary dish. We also encounter many warm and kind individuals who graciously overlook our cultural and linguistic faux pas. Above all, we discover how God has been and is at work in this place that we are only beginning to understand.
October 11th, 2007
Well, we have all safely returned from our journey to the most populated city in the world, Mexico City, or as we call it D.F. (Distrito Federal). It was an amazing trip to say the least, but I think that most of us are still recovering from exhaustion. We set out on Thursday morning bright and early, and began our bus ride to the state of Mexico. Our first stop was Teotihuacan, which is where the famous Aztec pyramids of the Sun (el Sol) and the Moon (la Luna) are located. We all got to climb to the top of them, and it was amazing to look at the view of the ancient city that was once the center of a powerful and flourishing Aztec civilization.
We then continued on to Mexico City, and arrived at our hotel later that evening. We ate together at Sanborns, a restaurant/department store that is very popular throughout Mexico, and were delighted to find some of our favorite American foods on the menu (which is harder to find than you would think).
The next morning, we went to Templo Mayor, an Aztec archeological site in the center of the city. We got to see the temple dedicated to the god of rain, Tlaloc, along with many original artifacts found in the city, which was once Tenochtitlan. A quick recap of the history of Tenochtitlan for those of you who are unfamiliar with it: the Aztecs were in search of a place to build their city and they found in the middle of a lake and eagle with a serpent in its beak (the symbol on the Mexican flag). They interpreted this as a sign from the gods and built their city on the lake. After the arrival and conquest of Hernán Cortes in 1519, the city on the lake became known Mexico City.
Later that day, we went to Xochimilco, and boated along the river. We ate tacos on the boat and had some enthusiastic encounters with other parties on different boats.
The next day, we went to the Archeological Museum. It was fascinating to see some of the original pieces that we have been studying on our history and art classes. We then walked over to el Castillo de Chapultepec, a magnificent castle that Maximillian used to live in. The castle featured “los Niños Héroes”, a group of young men who fought bravely against the opposing U.S. forces during an invasion of the castle in the late 1840s. We then went to a market featuring local artists, and had time to browse and shop. It was kind of rainy, but before leaving we all got deliciously amazing chocolate filled churros and hot chocolate.
On Sunday morning, five of the girls went to a folklore ballet in Bellas Artes, a beautiful elaborate theatre. For those of us who wanted to sleep in, we spent the morning leisurely shopping and exploring the city. After the ballet we went to the Cathedral, and experienced a glimpse of the Catholic Sunday service. The building was built immediately following the conquest and is the first in all of Mexico City. We then packed up our things and headed out. On our way out of the city, we went to the museum of Frida Kahlo. We got to walk through the house that she was born in and see many of her original paintings, as well as some by Diego Rivera (her husband). We finished off the trip with a visit to another market to eat Comida and do last minute shopping. And it ends there because I slept all the way home on the bus.
October 18th, 2006
Since running with the bulls in San Miguel things have slowed down a bit. We all have been settling into our homes and school and generally adapting to the Mexican way of life. To be honest, not a whole lot has happened, however, as I am required to write, I’ll press on. Last Tuesday we met at Ray and Brenda’s house for some good Italian food spaghetti, real salad, garlic bread etc. The food is amazing here, but you still miss all the foods home, so clearly spaghetti was a highlight. Apart from good food we also had worship in english for the first time down here courtesy of Nate and his guitar. I don’t think anyone wanted it to end.
Here we are at the Rosentrater’s and clearly there has been alot of group bonding.
Another highlight has been the food. Last Friday everyone but Sarah, party pooper, went to our, well at least my, favorite taco place, Taconazo. Great meat and great prices I mean does it get any better than that? … No, no it doesn’t.
Obviously Nate agrees with me. And because tacos weren´t enough we all went to get crepes at a creperia. They came filled with chocolate or strawberries or bananas or some delightful combination thereof. They were delicioso. After crepes, the girls all ditched the guys at Larissa´s house and had “Girl´s night,” which I can only assume involved pillow fights, truth or dare, and lots of chocolate ice cream.
So that´s about it, now we are preparing to go to Mexico City this weekend - no classes for 4 days :D . We leave tommorow bright and early and I´m sure the next blogger will do a fantabulous job filling you all in. Hasta Luego.
October 11th, 2006
The weekend of September 23rd was certainly filled with exciting events. On Saturday the 23rd, the majority of our group took a little trip (only about an hour away) to San Miguel to see the running of the bulls. This is an annual event in San Miguel, and it was one insane experience. 5 of us took the bus and we arrived around 11am with about an hour left to find a good spot. We decided to stand on the steps near a church, figuring that we would be safe because we were surrounded by 2 rows of people both in front and behind us. Little did we realize that we picked the area right where they let out all of the bulls. Everyone in the crowd was so close together that it was almost hard to breathe. Then, once the bulls were let loose, the crowd swayed back and forth and even forward to avoid having any contact with one of the bulls. We fell once or twice and everyone around us was yelling “¡Levantate!¡Levantate!” (get up get up!!). Needless to say, it was an unforgetable experience….and I’m thankful that I will never have to do it again!
The streets of San Miguel….
This does not even begin to describe how close together we all were….
¡Toro!¡Toro!
Later on after we had comida at a local restaurant, Katherine, Ryan, Nate, Mike, and I all took a bus back to Queretaro because we were going to our first Gallos soccer game (Queretaro’s soccer team). The first half of the game we sat in the cheering section, which consisted of many fans yelling chants that included “Gallos con huevos….” Between the 1st and 2nd half rain was pouring down like no other. So we all headed for cover and then when the rain let up we sat on closer to the field on the side. Unfortunately the Gallos lost, but that didn’t stop the crowd from cheering for them even after the game had ended.
The boys with the team flags…
Trying to stay out of the rain….
¡Si se puede!¡Si se puede!
October 4th, 2006
Rachel Fabela, Junior
This last week that we have been in México was full activities. Querétaro was full of excitement, patriotism and events! All of September leading up to “díá de la independencia” has been in preparation for this last weekend. Decorations were put up around the entire city, fireworks were being set off every day, parades closed streets and sometimes even the entire centro! Thursday (the 14th) you could hear the pounding of the drums at Convento de la Cruz from everywhere in town. That entire day all the streets and intersections surrounding the church were filled with dancers in indigenas costumes. On Friday (the 15th) we all headed to plaza de armas or plaza de la independencia for “el grito de Dolores.” Every pueblo, town and city in México reenacts the call for independence that started the war in 1810. The governor of Querétaro repeated what Father Hidalgo had said almost 200 years before followed by the entire crowd (including us Americans) shouting ¡Viva México! Everyone sang the Mexican National Anthem and that was followed by a fireworks show. Although it was raining pretty much the entire time we still got to experience one of the biggest and most important days in Mexican history, in Mexico!
The previous night we went to a theatrical event called “Las Leyendas.” 4 actors took us to different parts of the centro around Plaza de Armas and retold stories and legends about Querétaro and Querétanos.
This last week on the (15th) was also Mike’s b-day so we celebrated a little late on this last Tuesday at the Rosentrater’s. His birthday dinner (compliments of the Rosentrater chefs) was complete with pasta (something we had all been craving), amazing salad (another thing we had all be craving), garlic bread (yum!), and chocolate cake from Gigante! It was a fun time for us all to relax and unwind from a few busy weeks.
We are starting to get a little more comfortable with out Latin Dance class and in no time we will be unstoppable!
October 1st, 2006
Katherine Robertson, Sophomore
On Friday, the 8th of September, our group and professor Angelica met to take our first venture out of the state of Queretaro to the neighboring state of Michoacan. During our three-day trip, we visited many different sites and cities including Tzintzuntzan, Pátzcuaro, the Isle of Janitzio, Santa Clara de Cobre, and Morelia.
In Tzintzuntzan, we saw our first pyramids (or yucatas) and visited the convent. For both nights we stayed in an awesome hotel in Pátzcuaro that had courtyards right outside our rooms! I think that we all enjoyed our trip to the Isle of Janitzio because we got to take a little boat through the lake and then climb to the top of the isle and up the inside of a huge statue of Morelos that has murals counting his story all the way to the top. Once at the top, you can see the entire lake and all the little isles — it was a great view!
In Santa Clara de Cobre we went to a shop behind which copper products are made and we actually got to see all the steps to the process. The guys (and Rachel) also got to help out a bit with some of the steps… We also thought that it was pretty cool that, in that same shop, they made the helmets for the movie Troy! We all tried on helmets just like the ones from the movie and I have to say that they aren´t too comfortable.
On our way back home (Queretaro is our home for now) we stopped in Morelia and went to the cathedral, Plaza de Gobierno, and the sweets market! Our professor Angelica explained to us the meanings of the many murals throught the Plaza de Gobierno including one by the famous Diego Rivera.
Although we all had a great time on our trip, we also felt great to come home to Queretaro to which we have all become well-adapted (at least we hope so). Until next time, que Dios les bendiga!
September 19th, 2006
Sarah Fanslow, Sophomore
Our time in Queretaro has only gotten better!! There are many things to explore and do, the only downside is there is also more homework to do. 
For the most part this past week was normal and uneventful. We went to our classes, spent time together, explored and discovered new parts of the city and had a good time. We are becoming more accustomed to the culture, and dang, we might as well call ourselves Mexicans! well, not yet anyway.
It is the “temporada de lluvias” (rain season) in Queretaro and all of Mexico. Boy has it rained. There was one day where there were rivers in the streets!! If you look carefully at the picture you will see what I mean.
This weekend, acutally tomorrow (Friday) the group will be leaving for Michoacan. This is another state in Mexico about 4-5 hours away in bus. We will be spending the weekend there and exploring various historical sites and just hanging out. It should be a very fun experience, all our senoras keep telling us how great Michoacan is. I am sure you will hear all about it in next weeks blog…
paz afuera!!! (peace out)
September 7th, 2006
Jolie Bernal, Sophomore
This saturday (sept 2) marks the start of our third week. It seems that we are finally figuring out our bus routes, good taquerias, prices of taxis, and general need-to-know information.
Last Sunday we made a group trip to the city of Bernal. It took us about an hour in a large van, which fit us all pretty well. Bernal is a very quaint little town with HUGE rock jutting out. When we first arrived we walked through a couple blocks of vendors, and then began to climb the rock. The climb time varied between 20 and 40 minutes. Once we got to the end of the hike, it was possible to climb further, but also dangerous so we decided that our elevation was fine.
Above is our first group pic. It is just about where we had a very satisfying lunch, and in front of the peña de Bernal (the rock we climbed).
Otherwise, all of us students have different schedules which coincide within varying classes and activities.
September 1st, 2006
Ray Rosentrater, WIM 2006 Director
My wife, Brenda, and I arrived in Querétaro almost a month before the students. During that time, we busied ourselves with such things as finding and setting up an apartment, becoming well acquainted with the city of Querétaro, improving our Spanish, and taking advantage of the local cultural offerings. We arrived in the middle of the celebration of the 475th anniversary of the founding of Querétaro. The celebration went on for a week and included many performances of folkloric dancing and singing.
In addition to these events, we enjoyed attending the Sunday evening concerts in Jardin Zenea where we would watch to locals dancing to Paso Doubles and Rumbas. Saturday eveings were often spent at the Express Arte Café where we would drink coffee and enjoy a Crepe while watching performances of Tango and Flamenco.
Finally, the day (actually night ) of arrival was here. The flight arrived in the middle of a rain storm, but the rain had let up by the time the vans arrived at the Centre Intercultural de Querétaro (CIQ) where the señoras were waiting to meet everyone.
The next day was bright and sunny when we had our first meeting at the CIQ.
Everyone then had their first (daytime) look at the city as we walked to a restaurant for a welcome comida with the host families. Of course, there had to be music!
The following week included orientation, the first days of classes and a welcome meeting in our apartment.
You can see more WIM photos at snapfish. Login as wim-share@westmont.edu with the pasword wim2006.
Stay tuned for future posts by students!
August 30th, 2006
Previous Posts
