Mexico City's Pyramid Complex

I seem to be on a bit of a roll here so I am going to post some picks of my trip to the pyramids outside of Mexico City.  Martin and I took a bus at 6am and got to the gate by 9:30.  Teotihuacan: this complex was old to the Axtecs - they thought the ruins (already abandoned in their time) was the birthplace of the gods. Interestingly, some people feel there is spiritual/psychic power in this place so you occasionally come upon groups of people sitting and meditating(?).

Quetzecoatl - the feathered serpent:

I had been at the complex 30 years earlier and it is much more built up/uncovered than before, with good museum displays in place, etc.

No picture of Martin, my buddy from Kent.  An affable young man if ever there was one...He asked, as we walked along, did I think people thought we were mother and son, and I said, "yes, likely, cause I don't look rich enough to have employed you as my toy-boy."

That's all for now - Karen

Cobblestones, Opals and More

I arrived at school this morning sick sick sick and my students found the expression "Moctezuma's revenge" quite amusing.  I sorted out lessons for the day and headed home - throwing up twice on my way.  Fireworks at both ends - nice.

Queretaro - the nearest city to little Tequis has some great little corners to discover in the old part of town:

I love the little things you discover in new places.  There is a bird who make a sound like the strident music played during the shower-stabbing scene in Psycho - it makes me laugh every time.  And here is a snap of some cute little nests that are built on wires:

 Butter packaged differently than I am used to:

There have been so many festivals centred at our little plaza, and many of them include dancers in traditional gear:

Flower vendors set up their wares every weekend: 

Tequis is renouned for its opal mining, and I spent a great afternoon there poking around the mine tailings picking up rocks.  I did not have the eye for finding the opal bits (you can see what they look like in situ)  but I did commune with the rough rocks (those of you who know my "thing" about rocks will smile).  You see that a lot of the opal is a reddish-orange, but occasionally another facet of the rainbow shows up. I also picked up a little ring that has a multi-coloured opal held between the fangs of 2 serpents - I could not resist the connection to Mayan and Aztec art - or at least that was my excuse!  The mines have been owned by generations of several families and they are under pressure from the Chinese (no surprise there) to sell the whole thing over to them.  They are resisting this, thank God.

I haven't mentioned the local cobblestone roads yet - my-oh-my are the old roads ankle-twisters.  On some they have filled in with dirt or cement to fill the deepest crevices, which is a relief:

Some of you will know that I dream of having a little place in Mexico to escape the grey, wet winters of the Pacific Northwest.  I would love to create a little patio like this one! Gorgeous, isn't it!

 Gonna go now - I don't want to push my recovery as I don't want to waste the weekend "calling Ralph on the big white phone".  Adios!  Karen

Lay of the Land

Colourful - this place is colourful!  I have landed in a town called Tequisquiapan ("Tekis") which is in the hills 3 hours north of Mexico City.  I was picked up at the airport along with 3 young Englishmen and an Australian woman and we were swept up into days of welcoming activities and tons of help to get settled.

Here is our street and the large (brown) metal gate into our complex:

 One of the 2 gates is for cars, and the other for entering by foot... Everyone lives behind walls so that the streets, as you go along, seem quite bare.  We, like everyone else, have a central sunny coartyard inside the gate....My apartment is fine - and an astounding improvement from the tenement horror that was my situation in China. I picked up some Mexican blankets and they have done wonders to brighten up the place

 A fun event in those early days was a drive into the hills around the area and a wild, wet exploration of a series of caves that have water blasting down through the rock inside.  There was no way to take a picture inside the cave but here is a snap from outside.  The water was neck high in places and one had to hold onto ropes to keep from going under. Then, outside, there was a lovely river that came out from the caves and was great to lounge in  (the water in both places was lukewarm).

The main square of town is a lovely spot, lined with restaurants and shops 

That is a poor street dog, of which there are hundreds, trying to survive.

                                                                               Charming, eh?
                                                          Will go for now - mountains of marking await me.
                                                                                  Adios!  KMG

I Have Landed

Hola!  First pic celebrates the glorious colours and flowers of Meh-hee-co!
I landed in Mexico almost three weeks ago and it has been its usual get-settled-in-a-new-land-and-job" oh, and by the way you-don't-speak-the-language craziness from the get-go.  It is now Aug 28th as I write and launch this puppy, and school has been in session for a week and a half.  At this point I have settled into a flat, stocked it with multiple trips to various stores, sorted my cell/handy/mobile with multiple trips to various stores and begun teaching English (Year 7,8,10, 11 and 12: non-Brits  Y=Grade+1)  and History Y10 and Y11.  The English National / Cambridge program is considerably different from what I am used to, so there has had to be a huge learning curve negotiated in short order.

Quiet it is NOT, however, in the evenings.  We (the 5 new teachers) live close to a square (Magdelena Plaza) - here is the church at the centre:

The plaza is a lively place and we are regaled with music (great, except when it is the band practicing the same song on what sounds like a bagpipe for hours late into the night).  Also at night are dog-fights (street dogs are a real problem here) and an amazing amount of random fireworks (for no particular reason, it seems).  By 5 am the roosters are in full voice and the day begins again.  It is just damned lucky I am a morning person.... I am into a rhythm of heading to school at dawn (a 10 min walk - arrival 7am).  Everyone leaves smack at 3:00 (Mexicans to go home to have their lunch) and I have started to do that, too, as it is eerily quiet by 3:30!  Most of us head home to catch a nap to make up for the shattered sleep we had the night before!  Most of the teachers have adopted a street dog.

Speaking of the school:

There is a peek at the sign and the nursery end of the school building (potato vine on the fence)...
I am going to post this and perhaps come back and do another post after I sort out dinner.

Adios!  Karen